Post by Phantom on Jul 23, 2011 23:42:46 GMT -5
So... I think by now we're all aware that I love Soul Eater. Especially the character Crona. He's easily my favorite along with Soul and Maka. Anyway, this is just an alternate universe story, a sort of 'what if', if you will, relating to Crona. Basically, I shall pose you a question. What if Crona had decided to run away from home when he was a little kid? With that being said, let's begin.
Chapter 1: One Small Step
What time was it? Crona didn’t even know anymore. All the young boy knew was that his body ached and what felt like hours had passed since his training had begun for the day. He still clutched Ragnarok’s blade in his tiny hands, inhaling and exhaling deeply and hardly daring to let his gaze rise to meet his mother’s. It was hard to tell whether she was proud or disappointed in that moment. She hadn’t spoken a word since he had begun, only observing as Crona fought against the small animals she had brought in as training fodder. It worried him.
“That’s enough for today, Crona.” Medusa finally said. Crona’s breath caught in his throat at those words. They were done? She was letting him go? He could hardly believe it. Much to his delight, however, it appeared to be true. Dark blue eyes met the bright yellow gaze of his mother, who appeared to be the slightest bit satisfied. Crona offered a very slight smile, but inside he was cringing. He hated what Medusa was putting him through. Why was he the one she chose to be Ragnarok’s partner? Wasn’t it clear that he didn’t know how to deal with it?
“Well? Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to go to bed?” Medusa’s voice snapped Crona from his thoughts, causing the little pink-haired boy to shake his head vigorously in an attempt to clear his head. He had let his mind wander again. Silently, Crona hoped that Medusa wouldn’t reprimand him for doing such a thing.
“O-Of course, mo… Medusa. I… I’m sorry.” Crona squeaked. He had almost referred to her as ‘mother’. The young boy was still uncertain of whether or not he should even refer to her in such a manner. Medusa wasn’t particularly motherly, and she certainly could have treated him better, but Crona couldn’t openly complain about it. Doing so would only result in his being sent into the little, dark room that he hated so much. “G-Good night.” Crona said at last, bowing his head slightly before at last taking his leave for the night. He barely registered the soft laugh that Medusa gave as he left the room. Crona wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know what she thought was so funny.
After making his way through the hallway outside where he and Medusa had been, Crona came to a door and carefully opened it. The room was fairly small, but unlike the dark room this one had furniture. In particular, it had a small bed. Crona knew it as his, and knew it as what was likely the only thing that he really could call his own. On any other occasion, Crona would have climbed into it and gone to sleep for the night. This night, however, seemed different. Crona couldn’t put his finger on just why that was, but something felt different.
Crona was no fool. He knew that Medusa had plans for him once he became stronger and more capable of using Ragnarok. He wasn’t absolutely certain of what those plans involved exactly, but they couldn’t have been good. Crona wanted to get away. He wanted to find somewhere else to be, somewhere where he could be free, but knew it was unlikely. Medusa kept a good eye on him during the day, and usually never left him alone. What could a boy hope to do in the situation he found himself in?
He barely registered Ragnarok going out of weapon form and vanishing into his back. It appeared as though his partner didn’t have anything to talk about at that moment. Good. Crona didn’t want to talk to Ragnarok, anyway. He just wanted to think. Crona crawled up onto his bed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to just think for a long moment. The silence was something he treasured. No Ragnarok yelling at him, no Medusa scrutinizing him, it was just him and his thoughts. Crona liked that.
“What can I do? Medusa definitely won’t let me leave on my own, and I can’t just ask her if I can leave. She’ll just lock me in that room again.” Crona murmured. That was something he definitely didn’t want. Being alone in that dark room with Ragnarok was something he couldn’t deal with. He didn’t know how to deal with it. Still, Crona thought that anything would be better than staying where he was for much longer. He didn’t even know if his mother viewed him as anything more than a pawn for whatever her plans were. Too young to even begin to understand those plans, the six-year-old felt completely lost in whatever his mother’s grand scheme was. Maybe it was too late to even figure any sort of way out of it.
…Or maybe not. An idea came to Crona at last as he opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. He could just run away. While probably not the wisest idea, it seemed like the only option at that moment. “I’ll just wait until it gets later. Once Medusa is asleep, I’ll sneak out and never come back. Then she won’t make me do any more training with Ragnarok.” Crona told himself. The idea seemed to make sense, at least in Crona’s mind. If he wasn’t there, then logically his mother couldn’t make him train. It was genius! All he had to do was wait until he was sure that Medusa was asleep, and then he would be able to sneak away. Satisfied with his plan of action, Crona allowed his eyes to close again. He would just have to make sure he woke up at an appropriate time so that he could actually put the plan into action.
Only a couple of hours had passed before Crona found himself waking up again. He couldn’t sleep. Too excited to try his hand at freeing himself, Crona found that he was wide-awake. In his mind, Crona thought this was a good thing. It meant that he could leave sooner. Glancing at the clock was meaningless, especially since the young boy couldn’t yet tell time, but he found himself looking regardless. After a few moments of failing to determine what time it was, Crona decided to disregard time and just make his way out of the house.
Slowly but surely, Crona began to make his way toward the door leading out of his room. Inwardly he was glad that Ragnarok had helped himself to what was meant to be his dinner. Anything that would keep his supposed partner quiet was good in his mind. Once his tiny hand reached the door handle, however, Crona felt said partner emerging from his back. A frightened ‘eep!’ escaped the poor boy. Ragnarok was awake.
“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ragnarok demanded. The tiny demon sword glared at his partner, but Crona didn’t seem to make much of it. Frightened though he was, Crona wasn’t going to let Ragnarok intimidate him. At least, he hoped that he would be able to keep himself from being intimidated.
“I… I’m running away.” Crona replied boldly. “I can’t take it here anymore, Ragnarok. I don’t even know what Medusa plans on doing with us. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. I… don’t know if I could deal with even knowing.” he explained quietly.
“You think leaving is going to be any better, stupid?” Ragnarok asked harshly. The harsh response didn’t surprise Crona. He had expected his partner to be against the idea. “I may be stuck with you, but I know a bad idea when I see one. Leaving is definitely bad. What would you have out there that you don’t have here?” Ragnarok asked.
“I w-wouldn’t be l-locked in a dark room with you whenever Medusa is displeased with me.” Crona replied. That was his best reason for wanting to leave. “…I also wouldn’t force you to work with me. We’re stuck together, it’s true, but once we leave I wouldn’t make you fight. We would be able to do whatever we want.” Crona continued. This garnered a groan in response from Ragnarok, causing Crona to tilt his head slightly to the side in confusion. Hadn’t what he said been good?
“You idiot, I actually want to fight! Telling me not to would be the dumbest thing you could ever do outside of running away!” Ragnarok snapped. The demon sword clearly was not happy with Crona’s suggestion of running away. Crona had to wonder if Ragnarok would fight him if it came down to it.
“Well, what do you want me to do? I can’t… I don’t want to stay here.” Crona admitted. Seeing the glare Ragnarok was still giving him, Crona held up his hands defensively. It looked as though Ragnarok might have been about to yell for Medusa to come and potentially ruin his grand plan of escape. Crona was desperate. He didn’t want Medusa to find out that he wanted to leave. “Please don’t call Medusa, Ragnarok! I’ll give you all the candy I can find if you just keep quiet! Please!” Crona begged.
That remark seemed to have intrigued Ragnarok. Crona knew his partner was much more agreeable when food became involved, and this appeared to be the case. The demon sword placed his hands on Crona’s head and offered a sort of compliant expression. It appeared as though Ragnarok would cooperate… for the moment. “Okay, fine. I won’t call for Medusa, runt. But just where the hell do you intend on going?” Ragnarok asked. Pleased that his partner wasn’t going to call his mother, Crona went back to where his bed was and carefully pulled a few candies out from under his pillow. He offered them to Ragnarok, who practically inhaled them before the pink-haired boy began to think of his answer. Where could they go? Crona was unaware of any nearby places they could hide from Medusa that she wouldn’t know about. Where could a six-year-old boy and his freaky demon sword partner hope to go when the one that would be doing the walking didn’t know anywhere they could go?
“…Wherever the road takes us.” Crona finally decided. He could hear Ragnarok stop chewing as he spoke, evidently surprised by the answer. Crona himself was surprised by his bold response. Usually he would have left such a choice up to Ragnarok, but the idea of gaining freedom seemed to have made him become a bit bolder. “I… I think it’s better if we don’t have a set destination. That way, w-we can figure out where we belong for ourselves.”
“You’re just saying that because you have no idea where to go.” Ragnarok deadpanned. Crona cringed as Ragnarok said this. It was true. He really had no idea of where they should go or where they could go so that Meudsa wouldn’t find them. Did it matter, though? Crona doubted it. Instead of responding to Ragnarok’s point, though, Crona moved away from his bed again and back toward the door. At last he opened it and cautiously moved out of the room. After glancing about for a brief moment and determining that it was safe, Crona gave a silent nod to Ragnarok and began to tiptoe his way through the hallway. He motioned to Ragnarok to keep quiet, which his partner seemed to be doing rather willingly for once. Crona couldn’t put his finger on why, but it seemed as though Ragnarok didn’t mind cooperating with him all that much. Maybe Ragnarok was secretly tired of having to put up with Medusa as well. Maybe his partner had wanted to leave all along. …Maybe Crona was just having delusions of grandeur. Crona really didn’t now. All he knew was that he was on his way at long last.
Crona came to a stop after several minutes and sharply drew in his breath as he realized what room he had to pass next. Medusa’s room was only about a foot away from him. His body trembled slightly as fear began to take hold of him. What if he messed up? What if he tripped over something he couldn’t see in the darkness and ended up being caught? For a long moment, Crona just stood where he was in silent deliberation of what to do. Only when he felt Ragnarok’s hands begin to roughly run across his head did he finally decide he ought to move. He had to clench his hands together in order to keep himself from crying out as Ragnarok urged him onward, but somehow he was able to sneak past Medusa’s room at long last.
“I… I thought you didn’t want to leave.” Crona whispered. Admittedly, he was surprised that Ragnarok seemed so willing to make him move past his mother’s room. He had thought for sure that Ragnarok would have given him away if given the chance. Instead of giving a direct response, however, Ragnarok just shrugged.
“I don’t. I just hate seeing you be such a wimp. You’re the one that decided we should run away, not me. Be a man.” Ragnarok reprimanded quietly. Crona gave a quiet nod as his gaze went to the floor, realizing that Ragnarok was right. He had been the one to decide they should leave, and therefore he ought to have started acting like he was in charge and not Ragnarok. “Now get moving before she hears you. We don’t have all night to stand here.” Ragnarok stated. “Or would you prefer I blow this mission of yours right now?” Ragnarok asked deviously.
“N-No! I still want to do this!” Crona whimpered.
“Then get moving!” Ragnarok hissed. This was enough to urge Crona on at last. Without another word, Crona moved onward and didn’t dare to look back at where Medusa’s room was to see if she had heard their little conversation.
Soon enough, Crona reached the front door. “Well, this is it wimpy. It’s not too late to back out, you know. I could just call for Medusa right now and bring an end to all of this if you wanted. What’s to stop me from doing that, anyway? You’re a wimp. You won’t last five minutes out there.” Ragnarok stated bluntly. It was becoming clear to Crona that Ragnarok truly was against the idea. Even if he was, though, for some reason the sword was going along with the plan. Perhaps he had been right all along in believing that Ragnarok really did have just the tiniest soft spot for him. Then again, Crona could have been entirely wrong about that. Either way, Crona shook his head in response to what Ragnarok had said.
“N-No. I’ve m-made up my mind. I’m going.” Crona said boldly. Even if Ragnarok did have an argument against what he had said, Crona didn’t want to hear it. The little boy was about to take the first steps into his new life. Crona shakily lifted his hand to the doorknob, about to open the door, but stopped himself as uncertainty gripped him. Maybe this was a bad idea. What if they didn’t get very far at all? What if Medusa found them before they even got far enough away to call it a new life? Crona slowly put his hand down, and for a moment it seemed as though Ragnarok had won. However, it was only a moment. Timid though he was, and as uncertain as he felt, Crona remembered his reasoning for wanting to leave. He didn’t want to be involved in whatever Medusa had planned.
“O-Okay. H-Here we go.” Crona squeaked. Tiny hands went to the doorknob, and at last he put his effort into opening the door. As the door creaked open, Crona was greeted by he cool night air blowing against his face. It felt surprisingly good, and for a moment Crona forgot his resolve and simply let the air blow against him. After a few moments, though, he shook his head and began to move outward. Closing the door behind him, Crona stepped out into what he would consider the great unknown. It was one small step for a boy, and one giant leap for that same timid boy. What lay beyond his home was uncertain, but Crona felt ready for it. At least, he hoped he was ready for it. One thing was certain, though. Crona wasn’t about to go back.
Little Wayward Soul
Chapter 1: One Small Step
What time was it? Crona didn’t even know anymore. All the young boy knew was that his body ached and what felt like hours had passed since his training had begun for the day. He still clutched Ragnarok’s blade in his tiny hands, inhaling and exhaling deeply and hardly daring to let his gaze rise to meet his mother’s. It was hard to tell whether she was proud or disappointed in that moment. She hadn’t spoken a word since he had begun, only observing as Crona fought against the small animals she had brought in as training fodder. It worried him.
“That’s enough for today, Crona.” Medusa finally said. Crona’s breath caught in his throat at those words. They were done? She was letting him go? He could hardly believe it. Much to his delight, however, it appeared to be true. Dark blue eyes met the bright yellow gaze of his mother, who appeared to be the slightest bit satisfied. Crona offered a very slight smile, but inside he was cringing. He hated what Medusa was putting him through. Why was he the one she chose to be Ragnarok’s partner? Wasn’t it clear that he didn’t know how to deal with it?
“Well? Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to go to bed?” Medusa’s voice snapped Crona from his thoughts, causing the little pink-haired boy to shake his head vigorously in an attempt to clear his head. He had let his mind wander again. Silently, Crona hoped that Medusa wouldn’t reprimand him for doing such a thing.
“O-Of course, mo… Medusa. I… I’m sorry.” Crona squeaked. He had almost referred to her as ‘mother’. The young boy was still uncertain of whether or not he should even refer to her in such a manner. Medusa wasn’t particularly motherly, and she certainly could have treated him better, but Crona couldn’t openly complain about it. Doing so would only result in his being sent into the little, dark room that he hated so much. “G-Good night.” Crona said at last, bowing his head slightly before at last taking his leave for the night. He barely registered the soft laugh that Medusa gave as he left the room. Crona wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know what she thought was so funny.
After making his way through the hallway outside where he and Medusa had been, Crona came to a door and carefully opened it. The room was fairly small, but unlike the dark room this one had furniture. In particular, it had a small bed. Crona knew it as his, and knew it as what was likely the only thing that he really could call his own. On any other occasion, Crona would have climbed into it and gone to sleep for the night. This night, however, seemed different. Crona couldn’t put his finger on just why that was, but something felt different.
Crona was no fool. He knew that Medusa had plans for him once he became stronger and more capable of using Ragnarok. He wasn’t absolutely certain of what those plans involved exactly, but they couldn’t have been good. Crona wanted to get away. He wanted to find somewhere else to be, somewhere where he could be free, but knew it was unlikely. Medusa kept a good eye on him during the day, and usually never left him alone. What could a boy hope to do in the situation he found himself in?
He barely registered Ragnarok going out of weapon form and vanishing into his back. It appeared as though his partner didn’t have anything to talk about at that moment. Good. Crona didn’t want to talk to Ragnarok, anyway. He just wanted to think. Crona crawled up onto his bed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to just think for a long moment. The silence was something he treasured. No Ragnarok yelling at him, no Medusa scrutinizing him, it was just him and his thoughts. Crona liked that.
“What can I do? Medusa definitely won’t let me leave on my own, and I can’t just ask her if I can leave. She’ll just lock me in that room again.” Crona murmured. That was something he definitely didn’t want. Being alone in that dark room with Ragnarok was something he couldn’t deal with. He didn’t know how to deal with it. Still, Crona thought that anything would be better than staying where he was for much longer. He didn’t even know if his mother viewed him as anything more than a pawn for whatever her plans were. Too young to even begin to understand those plans, the six-year-old felt completely lost in whatever his mother’s grand scheme was. Maybe it was too late to even figure any sort of way out of it.
…Or maybe not. An idea came to Crona at last as he opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. He could just run away. While probably not the wisest idea, it seemed like the only option at that moment. “I’ll just wait until it gets later. Once Medusa is asleep, I’ll sneak out and never come back. Then she won’t make me do any more training with Ragnarok.” Crona told himself. The idea seemed to make sense, at least in Crona’s mind. If he wasn’t there, then logically his mother couldn’t make him train. It was genius! All he had to do was wait until he was sure that Medusa was asleep, and then he would be able to sneak away. Satisfied with his plan of action, Crona allowed his eyes to close again. He would just have to make sure he woke up at an appropriate time so that he could actually put the plan into action.
Only a couple of hours had passed before Crona found himself waking up again. He couldn’t sleep. Too excited to try his hand at freeing himself, Crona found that he was wide-awake. In his mind, Crona thought this was a good thing. It meant that he could leave sooner. Glancing at the clock was meaningless, especially since the young boy couldn’t yet tell time, but he found himself looking regardless. After a few moments of failing to determine what time it was, Crona decided to disregard time and just make his way out of the house.
Slowly but surely, Crona began to make his way toward the door leading out of his room. Inwardly he was glad that Ragnarok had helped himself to what was meant to be his dinner. Anything that would keep his supposed partner quiet was good in his mind. Once his tiny hand reached the door handle, however, Crona felt said partner emerging from his back. A frightened ‘eep!’ escaped the poor boy. Ragnarok was awake.
“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ragnarok demanded. The tiny demon sword glared at his partner, but Crona didn’t seem to make much of it. Frightened though he was, Crona wasn’t going to let Ragnarok intimidate him. At least, he hoped that he would be able to keep himself from being intimidated.
“I… I’m running away.” Crona replied boldly. “I can’t take it here anymore, Ragnarok. I don’t even know what Medusa plans on doing with us. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. I… don’t know if I could deal with even knowing.” he explained quietly.
“You think leaving is going to be any better, stupid?” Ragnarok asked harshly. The harsh response didn’t surprise Crona. He had expected his partner to be against the idea. “I may be stuck with you, but I know a bad idea when I see one. Leaving is definitely bad. What would you have out there that you don’t have here?” Ragnarok asked.
“I w-wouldn’t be l-locked in a dark room with you whenever Medusa is displeased with me.” Crona replied. That was his best reason for wanting to leave. “…I also wouldn’t force you to work with me. We’re stuck together, it’s true, but once we leave I wouldn’t make you fight. We would be able to do whatever we want.” Crona continued. This garnered a groan in response from Ragnarok, causing Crona to tilt his head slightly to the side in confusion. Hadn’t what he said been good?
“You idiot, I actually want to fight! Telling me not to would be the dumbest thing you could ever do outside of running away!” Ragnarok snapped. The demon sword clearly was not happy with Crona’s suggestion of running away. Crona had to wonder if Ragnarok would fight him if it came down to it.
“Well, what do you want me to do? I can’t… I don’t want to stay here.” Crona admitted. Seeing the glare Ragnarok was still giving him, Crona held up his hands defensively. It looked as though Ragnarok might have been about to yell for Medusa to come and potentially ruin his grand plan of escape. Crona was desperate. He didn’t want Medusa to find out that he wanted to leave. “Please don’t call Medusa, Ragnarok! I’ll give you all the candy I can find if you just keep quiet! Please!” Crona begged.
That remark seemed to have intrigued Ragnarok. Crona knew his partner was much more agreeable when food became involved, and this appeared to be the case. The demon sword placed his hands on Crona’s head and offered a sort of compliant expression. It appeared as though Ragnarok would cooperate… for the moment. “Okay, fine. I won’t call for Medusa, runt. But just where the hell do you intend on going?” Ragnarok asked. Pleased that his partner wasn’t going to call his mother, Crona went back to where his bed was and carefully pulled a few candies out from under his pillow. He offered them to Ragnarok, who practically inhaled them before the pink-haired boy began to think of his answer. Where could they go? Crona was unaware of any nearby places they could hide from Medusa that she wouldn’t know about. Where could a six-year-old boy and his freaky demon sword partner hope to go when the one that would be doing the walking didn’t know anywhere they could go?
“…Wherever the road takes us.” Crona finally decided. He could hear Ragnarok stop chewing as he spoke, evidently surprised by the answer. Crona himself was surprised by his bold response. Usually he would have left such a choice up to Ragnarok, but the idea of gaining freedom seemed to have made him become a bit bolder. “I… I think it’s better if we don’t have a set destination. That way, w-we can figure out where we belong for ourselves.”
“You’re just saying that because you have no idea where to go.” Ragnarok deadpanned. Crona cringed as Ragnarok said this. It was true. He really had no idea of where they should go or where they could go so that Meudsa wouldn’t find them. Did it matter, though? Crona doubted it. Instead of responding to Ragnarok’s point, though, Crona moved away from his bed again and back toward the door. At last he opened it and cautiously moved out of the room. After glancing about for a brief moment and determining that it was safe, Crona gave a silent nod to Ragnarok and began to tiptoe his way through the hallway. He motioned to Ragnarok to keep quiet, which his partner seemed to be doing rather willingly for once. Crona couldn’t put his finger on why, but it seemed as though Ragnarok didn’t mind cooperating with him all that much. Maybe Ragnarok was secretly tired of having to put up with Medusa as well. Maybe his partner had wanted to leave all along. …Maybe Crona was just having delusions of grandeur. Crona really didn’t now. All he knew was that he was on his way at long last.
Crona came to a stop after several minutes and sharply drew in his breath as he realized what room he had to pass next. Medusa’s room was only about a foot away from him. His body trembled slightly as fear began to take hold of him. What if he messed up? What if he tripped over something he couldn’t see in the darkness and ended up being caught? For a long moment, Crona just stood where he was in silent deliberation of what to do. Only when he felt Ragnarok’s hands begin to roughly run across his head did he finally decide he ought to move. He had to clench his hands together in order to keep himself from crying out as Ragnarok urged him onward, but somehow he was able to sneak past Medusa’s room at long last.
“I… I thought you didn’t want to leave.” Crona whispered. Admittedly, he was surprised that Ragnarok seemed so willing to make him move past his mother’s room. He had thought for sure that Ragnarok would have given him away if given the chance. Instead of giving a direct response, however, Ragnarok just shrugged.
“I don’t. I just hate seeing you be such a wimp. You’re the one that decided we should run away, not me. Be a man.” Ragnarok reprimanded quietly. Crona gave a quiet nod as his gaze went to the floor, realizing that Ragnarok was right. He had been the one to decide they should leave, and therefore he ought to have started acting like he was in charge and not Ragnarok. “Now get moving before she hears you. We don’t have all night to stand here.” Ragnarok stated. “Or would you prefer I blow this mission of yours right now?” Ragnarok asked deviously.
“N-No! I still want to do this!” Crona whimpered.
“Then get moving!” Ragnarok hissed. This was enough to urge Crona on at last. Without another word, Crona moved onward and didn’t dare to look back at where Medusa’s room was to see if she had heard their little conversation.
Soon enough, Crona reached the front door. “Well, this is it wimpy. It’s not too late to back out, you know. I could just call for Medusa right now and bring an end to all of this if you wanted. What’s to stop me from doing that, anyway? You’re a wimp. You won’t last five minutes out there.” Ragnarok stated bluntly. It was becoming clear to Crona that Ragnarok truly was against the idea. Even if he was, though, for some reason the sword was going along with the plan. Perhaps he had been right all along in believing that Ragnarok really did have just the tiniest soft spot for him. Then again, Crona could have been entirely wrong about that. Either way, Crona shook his head in response to what Ragnarok had said.
“N-No. I’ve m-made up my mind. I’m going.” Crona said boldly. Even if Ragnarok did have an argument against what he had said, Crona didn’t want to hear it. The little boy was about to take the first steps into his new life. Crona shakily lifted his hand to the doorknob, about to open the door, but stopped himself as uncertainty gripped him. Maybe this was a bad idea. What if they didn’t get very far at all? What if Medusa found them before they even got far enough away to call it a new life? Crona slowly put his hand down, and for a moment it seemed as though Ragnarok had won. However, it was only a moment. Timid though he was, and as uncertain as he felt, Crona remembered his reasoning for wanting to leave. He didn’t want to be involved in whatever Medusa had planned.
“O-Okay. H-Here we go.” Crona squeaked. Tiny hands went to the doorknob, and at last he put his effort into opening the door. As the door creaked open, Crona was greeted by he cool night air blowing against his face. It felt surprisingly good, and for a moment Crona forgot his resolve and simply let the air blow against him. After a few moments, though, he shook his head and began to move outward. Closing the door behind him, Crona stepped out into what he would consider the great unknown. It was one small step for a boy, and one giant leap for that same timid boy. What lay beyond his home was uncertain, but Crona felt ready for it. At least, he hoped he was ready for it. One thing was certain, though. Crona wasn’t about to go back.
