Opening note: So many people who have clicked on this story may be wondering who on earth 'The Sheelos Sisters' are, therefore I'll grant a brief introduction in this authors' note (oh yes, multiple authors). We are not new writers here by any means, but five writers who have come together with a common admiration of the Sheena/Zelos pairing. Our group consists of Arctic Husky, Lilikoifish, Lil-Samuu, Rose-Wisteria, and Strawberry Eggs--maybe you've seen us around before. For further info, check out this account's profile.

On to a note on the following fan fiction: this is just a side-project of our collaborative account. It is a story whose plot spawned from a single theme; in this story's case, the theme is 'mending'. Each chapter will be written by a single author, but no two chapters in a row will be written by the same author. Styles of writing will vary, so you readers will have a chance to see how us Sheelos Sisters can combnie our powers of fluff, angst, humour, drama, and action to create irresistable romance!

Without further ado, this is the beginning of our collaborative project. Chapter one has been written by Arctic Husky, better known as The Zelda Master amongst the Sheelos fandom. Enjoy!

"Mend your speech a little. Lest it may mar your fortunes." -William Shakespeare

Stitch Up

When people spend long periods of time together, fights become inevitable. Even the closest of friends get into bouts at times, although they often blow over after quick apologies and muttered forgiveness. Such a reality was even true amongst the group of heroes traveling throughout Sylvarant and Tethe'alla; and it was especially true for Sheena and Zelos.

Almost every day, at least one argument would overcome the two friends, and it was most frequently Zelos' fault. Everyone would be around the campfire, mingling amongst themselves when Sheena would shriek out of nowhere. She would erupt, shouting a different accusation at Zelos every time; and every time, Tethe'alla's Chosen would give the same response: "You're exaggerating." No matter what Sheena shouted at Zelos, he would always say that same line.

"Zelos! You used up all of our rations!"

"You're exaggerating."

"Zelos!! You groped me!"

"You're exaggerating."

Sheena would always storm off and brood alone for a few minutes, and then Zelos would meander over and sit down next to her. He would say something to her softly that no one else ever heard, but it would always make Sheena blush and look away with a very discreet smile. When she would turn back to Zelos, she would put on a stern face and say, "Fine. But don't do it again!" and then everything would return to normal.

On one particular evening, however, the ninja and the noble got into a dispute that did not proceed in the regular fashion. The little group had decided on camping out that night, despite the fact that they still had time to reach a major towns or city if they desired to do so. Occasionally, though, the party of eight enjoyed to spend some time separated from society to simply appreciate one another's company. Whenever they spent the night at an inn, they would all wander off in different areas during the evening and often not communicate with more than one other member of the group.

At their resting point that evening, everyone was dispersed about the centre of their campsite, which was marked by a pile of logs that would become a fire when the sun began to set. There were scattered conversations occurring across the campground. People would jump from discussion to discussion if they overheard something of interest to them; such was the benefit of being with the people that they were close with. They could completely break away from a conversation with one person for a moment to join in another one, and then return to the initial chat without anyone being insulted.

Colette had distanced herself slightly from the group so that she could focus on mending a hole in one of her socks. She knew that she would have gotten distracted had she joined the others in their conversations, and since she really wanted to finish the job before the sun set, she hunkered down next to one of the trees surrounding the campsite and sewed. While Colette slipped the thread in and out of the sock's fabric, she considered the amusing side of the cloth she was darning: after all of the battles that the group had endured that day, the only tear out of all of their clothing was the hole where her big toe poked through her sock.

She looked over towards the others as she continued to stitch up her sock's hole; Colette felt no need to closely watch her own work because sewing had become such a second nature to her during their journey—despite her clumsy tendencies, she was the most proficient seamstress in the group. As she looked over at the others, Zelos and Regal were observing the small pile of firewood while speaking to each other. From where she sat, Colette could not fully hear the conversation that ensued.

"I'm concerned that we won't have enough wood to keep the fire going through most of the night," Regal commented as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

The redheaded Chosen crossed his arms over his torso and stared at the older man. "So? Why don't you go and get some?" he inquired as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No one is leaving the campsite," Raine cut in, the tone of her voice ultimately making the decision final, "It's too dangerous so close to nightfall."

Zelos merely turned his head away in defiance and found his vision met with Sheena and Corrine, who were sitting on the ground a few feet away. "I know!" Zelos beamed, walking up to the summoner and her spirit; they both stared up at him incredulously as he continued, "We can just get Sheena to send out her furry, little slave to get the wood. No one would care if it didn't come back, right?"

He had spoken his words with an unwavering grin on his face, but as Sheena's eyes widened and her hands balled up into fists he recognized his mistake. The Chosen opened his mouth to utter a laugh to assure her that he had been joking, however she didn't give him so much as a second to do so. "Zelos!" she shrieked, jumping to her feet. The sudden yell stole everyone's attention away from what they had been doing. "How can you possibly say something like that?!" Sheena continued to blatantly label Zelos as the 'bad guy', "Corrine means so much to me, and you... If anyone around here is worthless enough to leave and never be missed, it's you! You're unwanted here!"

Sheena remained standing firmly in front of Zelos, panting subtly after such an outburst. All eyes rested upon them expectantly; a shrug and a 'you're exaggerating' would undoubtedly be Zelos' response to the ninja's harsh words. But the reaction never came, and Zelos simply stood in front of Sheena with a dumbstruck expression. He did not take her words lightheartedly, and he did not react smugly; instead, he gave Sheena a quick, solemn look before trudging off as the summoner usually did and sitting alone on one side of the camp.

Since Zelos did not give Sheena his usual, mysterious line, she was left just as distressed as she had been at the beginning of the argument. She nervously glanced about, catching the facial expressions of all of the people around her. Raine, Regal and Presea all looked away, as though ignoring the situation; Colette, Lloyd and Genis all wore slight concern on their faces, however Colette seemed the most visibly shocked by the occurrence.

Sheena nervously brought her fingers to her lips for a moment before walking off to the side of the camp opposite Zelos. She sat down with her back against a tree as Corrine galloped over and curled up at her side. Instead of speaking any words, the summon spirit allowed Sheena to run her hand across his fur as she always tended to do when nervous or upset or frustrated. Corrine could tell by the light tremble in Sheena's fingertips that she was in a nervous state, as opposed to half-hearted pats of sadness or sometimes painful strokes of anger. She did not fully understand what had made Zelos react the way that he had, and it further worried her because she was the cause of it. Had it been her tone of voice, her words, or her actions? There was no way for Sheena to know without confronting him, and that thought in itself made the situation more troubling.

The summoner was not the only one dwelling on what had just come to pass; the argument's other participant was thoroughly absorbed in thoughts and misunderstandings himself. Zelos had recognized the error that he had made almost instantly after he had uttered it, although that blunder had become a mere afterthought once Sheena spoke her own senseless words. Worthless... unwanted... It had been the first time that he ever heard such things escape Sheena's soft-spoken lips. And she had sounded so confident when she said it, he thought, which only worsened Zelos' dark mindset. It may have been a habit of his to irritate Sheena—at times intentionally, while at other times accidentally—but he never did so in a mean-spirited way. The idea of purposely hurting Sheena would appall Zelos should it ever have crossed his mind, and under normal circumstances his thoughts could not be any more distant.

As he sat crossed-legged on the grass, glaring vacantly across the campground on that night, however, he briefly felt an authentic fury towards the female ninja who appeared just as lost as he was. Despite his scattered thoughts and uncertainties, the Chosen knew that the roots of his rage were the words that Sheena had spoken to him. Her voice saying them was so unfamiliar, yet the words themselves raised undesired memories of Zelos' childhood. He had heard them so often in his past, and even as years went by, they managed to shake him no matter what context they were spoken in; to hear them from Sheena, towards himself, was almost too much to take.

But he could not confront her about it.

And she refused to speak to him.

Ending note: We hope that you've enjoyed reading the first piece of writing that The Sheelos Sisters have to offer you. We have many things in the works that we hope to get moving on soon, so please keep and eye out for them (and an update in this story as well)! And of course feedback is appreciated in our group works as it is in our individual accounts. Farewell for now!

-The Sheelos Sisters.