In the True Universe, many rallied behind their new King. Many picked up their arms, ready to stand behind the one whose destiny had been written in the stars long before his birth. Some had already passed through the dimensional gate. Yet the Dreamscape's weird time laws meant that they may not necessarily arrive at the time they were supposed to. They may arrive several years into the future, a few minutes into the present, or even in the past. Yet that mattered little to the person in question – Mane – for right now he had his hands full.
Mane was stooped over his study table, overlooking the designs he received just a day ago. He was clad in nothing but a pair of sleeping shorts, leaving his trunks and legs bare. In his hand was a large towel, and his hair was wet, indicating that he had just come out of the shower. Though his hair wasn't completely dry, and though it fell carelessly upon his forehead and covered up his eyes, the water of his hair didn't fall onto the designs on the table. Mane was a careless user of Edict. For he built up heat in his hair and slowly dealt with the moisture in it.
Mane's eyes were full of confidence as he revised his plans for the day. He knew what he ought to do, and in a few minutes time he would have to show what he was worth. He was quite confident in his abilities. But a man could never be careless when it came to restructuring a barrier. So he was just going over his plans.
"That should be enough," Mane rolled the papers up and pushed them to the side. His hair was sufficiently dry now. All that was left was to comb it and make it appear presentable.
"She is still sleeping," Mane smiled slightly when he cast his gaze to his bed. Laying upon the generous spread was Sunflower.
The lovely maiden was covered entirely with a large blanket, exposing nothing but her head. For some reason, since the first time she had 'accidentally' fallen asleep in his room a few months ago, she had refused to have her own bed. In fact back at the tower, she had moved from her room into Mane's. Mane could only smile bitterly when he recalled that even in his own room, he didn't have the privacy he would have wanted. That said, having her around definitely had its advantages.
For starters, his hair was no longer his own problem. Personally, he wished that he could cut his hair. However, since it was a gift from his mother, he dared not desecrate her memory. This was where Sunflower came in. Mane wasn't big on grooming himself. In fact, he hardly ever worried about his looks. It helped that he was a charming boy. But Sunflower was having none of that. With her around, Mane's hair was always well kept. And her fashion senses meant that Mane wasn't allowed to dress shabbily either. To her, Mane was representing the entire tower when he went out, so he wasn't allowed to dress like a, as she put it with much couth, 'a village merchant'.
"Where did I put my blindfold?" Mane wondered, before remembering that he left it in the washroom. When he returned with his blindfold in hand, Sunflower was awake. She sat on the bed, half-clad in the large blanket whilst rubbing her eyes groggily.
"How many times have I told you to wear something more decent when you go to bed?" Mane grumbled as he reached for one of his t-shirts.
When Sunflower sat up, the blanket slid off her torso, revealing her generous chest and fair skin. This didn't faze Mane in the slightest though. The shirt he picked was a large, white one. To Mane it was okay, but to Sunflower it was like a personal blanket. Mane placed Sunflower's hands upon his shoulders in well-practiced movements that indicated that this wasn't the first or even the tenth time that he had done this. Besides, the look of irritation on his face from seeing her partial nakedness showed just how exhausting it was to be sharing a room with Sunflower.
"I get warm easily. I cannot sleep with a lot of clothes on." Sunflower argued as she lifted her hands so that Mane could place the shirt on her fully.
"I never asked you to wear a full set of clothes. Just wear something. At least put on underwear!" Mane fumed. She was sharing a room with a man. So why was she so unreasonable when it came to decency! Why did they have to have to have the same argument each morning?
"Well this wouldn't be a problem if someone decided to just share the bed with me in the first place," Sunflower argued. Since the time she started 'living' with Mane, the young Supreme had not slept on the same bed as her. He either slept on the floor, or on the couch. There were times he didn't even sleep, choosing to spend his time training in the Training Room, and even sometimes falling asleep from exhaustion in the said room.
Sunflower's argument was simple. She was a Fire Elemental and run hot. Mane was capable of switching from one element to another. And after two years of training under highly talented Elementals like herself and her sisters, he had gotten a better grasp of his powers. He could effortlessly switch to his water side when going to bed, and then stick to her to keep her cool. That way they wouldn't be having these sort of arguments each morning.
"If I could trust you to keep your side of the bargain, I would have obliged. But you have proven over the years that your word is pretty much useless." Mane countered, causing Sunflower's eyebrows to twitch in annoyance. But even she couldn't come up with a comeback, for she knew that Mane right not to believe in her. If her actions were anything to go by over the past couple of years, Mane would be pretty foolish to take her word as more than what it was – a word.
"If you were stricter, maybe I would have no choice but to abide by my own word"
Somehow Sunflower still found a way to oppose Mane's statement, placing the blame onto the young Supreme instead of holding on to it as she should have.
"Oh really now Sun?" Mane smirked evilly as he stared Sunflower deep in her eyes.
"Yes," Sunflower stared back defiantly, yet she couldn't help but feel a slight chill in her heart as she did so.
"Good choice of words," Man smiled as his eyes switched to those which were True. Sunflower's spirit was firm, and that made it a bit difficult for Mane to do that which he wanted to do. But everything changed once True Eyes were activated.
"Your words shall bind you," Mane's voice boomed, passing through Sunflower's ears and shackling themselves into her head, binding her to her words. For Mane was using Words of Power.
"Mane shall accompany you in sleep, and in turn you shall be clothed," Mane added, before breaking his hold on Sunflower.
"What did you do that for?" Sunflower immediately grumbled once she was free; her eyes flashing with a bit of anger as her palm struck towards Mane's chest.
"I followed your advice, didn't I Sun?" Mane coolly took her blow head on. With his current abilities, this wasn't enough to hurt him. Besides, Sunflower's blow was without Edict. And as an Elemental, she was basically like an Animal Hunter without her element. So it felt like a gentle caress, rather than a blow.
"You asked me to be sterner, did you not?" Mane smiled and pulled Sunflower off the bed as he wrapped his arms around her well-toned waist. The t-shirt was so large that it extended all the way to her knees. So Mane wasn't worried about pulling a half-naked Sunflower off the bed.
"Get off me," Sunflower was still furious though. And she tried to pull herself away. "You promised you would never use that on me again!" she raged, and Mane felt bad only for a little while. At least he felt bad until he remembered that she also promised never to lie to him again – and had broken her promise that very day. Still, that small guilt in his actions remained.
"I'm sorry. I could bind myself though." Mane apologized whilst suggesting a next course of action.
"Don't you dare!" Sunflower finally looked him in the eye and warned him.
"Why wouldn't I? I love it when you smile. It lights up much of my day. The darkness that remains is of my own making. Yet I have caused you to frown. Seems like that option is a pretty good one." Mane shrugged. To him it wasn't that big a deal. Unlike a certain someone, binding himself to Words of Power wasn't that dangerous because he mostly kept his word.
"Just shut up and let me groom you," Sunflower struck Mane's naked chest with a helpless sigh. "You can never stay angry at me for long," Mane smiled cheekily before placing a kiss on Sunflower's cheek, much to her pleasure for he wasn't this expressive very often. Usually she was the one who had to butter him up with hugs and kisses.
"I assume that you've figured out what you have to do by now. I know you didn't sleep." Sunflower stated as her fingers brushed through Mane's thick locks.
"Mmm. I already know what it is I must do." Mane replied.
"And the twins? Did they get your message? Did you see them?" Sunflower probed. She knew all about Mane's plans because he seldom hid anything from her. As she brushed his hair, she wondered how much of Mane's plans had gone smoothly.
"They did get my message. And I did see them. That traitor Silver chose to remain with them though." Mane smiled as he spoke. Sasha had run off in the morning to explore the city. With her strength, Mane didn't hold much worry for her. As for Silver, the little monkey pleaded to spend more time with Lily. And honestly, Mane was over the moon when he heard Silver's request. For Silver was highly mischievous, so Mane was very happy to hand over the stubborn little critter to someone else.
"Done," Sunflower patted Mane on the shoulder once she was done with his hair. Then she reached into his luggage and picked out a white shirt, a black pair of trousers, and a pitch black robe. After she helped him put on his clothes, she admired her 'creation' for a few seconds before placing his blindfold over his eyes.
"You still owe me for what you did," she stated right before Mane left, causing the young Supreme to whip his head in her direction.
"What can I do then?" Mane asked.
"Not telling you. I will take what I am due when you return." Sunflower shook her head before kicking Mane out of the room.
"Sometimes I wonder whether my room is my own room," Mane sighed as he walked down the hall.