The past several hours had been spent practising on the piano. She had managed a few playthroughs of the song she was practising when Celica had visited her, as well as a couple of half-attempted playthroughs of other pieces. Not one of the other ones she had attempted got played without at least a dozen faults. She cursed herself for every mistake she made, going so far as to playing the intro to [i]some-guy-whose-name-she-couldn't-remember's[/i] 5th symphony. It had been a wonderful stress relief to be able to smash the keys with wild abandon... if only for a few seconds. 

The piano had been left behind, however, in favour of looking for something to eat. It was rapidly approaching dinner time and she wanted to get there before the canteen was filled with students. A couple hundred other students would have the same idea, of course, but a couple hundred was better than a couple thousand. With hope she'd also meet Tsukiko there. 

The thought of Tsukiko, however, was followed by a sour taste in her mouth. It wasn't that Tsuki had ever displeased her, quite the contrary in fact. No, it was the memory of what Celica had said, as well as her and Alice's confrontation. It happened several hours ago and the taunts still made her hackles rise. She knew she shouldn't let it get to her like that, but how could she not? She—

Further musings were interrupted by a weight settling on her shoulder, no more than a few hundred grams at most. Glancing to her side she came face to face with a very small woman; a waterfall of golden hair falling past her shoulders and down her waist, interrupted only by two pairs of slim and transparent wings jutting out from her back. 

Sylphide looked up at Lily, a gentle smile on her lips. "I heard about what happened earlier," she said, her voice devoid of judgement or anger of any kind. She wasn't scolding Lily—much to her relief—nor was she about to lecture her; she simply said it. "How do you feel?" She continued, sitting down on Lily's shoulder rather than stand up. 

Lily pressed her lips into a thin line at the question, her eyes hardening. "I'm fine," she replied, looking forward again. "You don't need to worry." 

"And yet I do," the Mythic shot back. "You worry me, Lily. You are a very kind woman if only you let yourself; I see it in you, in every word you say to other people." 

Gritting her teeth, Lily stopped walking, one hand place on the wall and her eyes fixed on the floor. "Don't talk like you know me. You know [i]nothing[/i] of me.

"On the contrary," Sylphide continued, ever patient and gentle, "I know a lot about you; where you came from, why you're here, the reason for why you acted as you did when you and Al—" She was interrupted by a loud bang echoing through the hallway. Turning her head she saw Lily letting her clenched hand fall down her side. 

"Fine, you know of me, but don't for a second think you know what it's like. You, a pretty little Immortal, how could you possibly know what loss is? Your are surrounded by beings of equal power and age expectancy. You're so kind and perfect that they can't help but like you. You don't have to fear losing them, don't have to worry about them going away. Of course, the question is, why would they? They stay because you're kind, pretty, and perfect. They don't have a reason to leave. You—" her head jerked to the side before she could react, a stinging pain blossoming in her cheek. Looking forward she was faced with an almost angry looking Sylphide, a sight which would have terrified most, her right hand raised.

Sylphide lowered her hand, her gaze becoming noticeable softer as she did so. "I advice that you be careful with your words, Lily," she said. After a short while she sighed and shook her head. "Lily, trust me when I say this: You have issues, and there is no way around it. The way you reacted to Alice taunt's can't just be ignored."

Lily was quick to protest. "But we already fixed it! Ikari told us to talk it out and apologise, and we did!"

Again, Sylphide shook her head. "You apologised and you gave half an explanation for why you reacted so violently, that is true, but it's not something that'll keep you from reacting like that again. Remember that you are not school students who got into a fight, but soldiers whose purpose is to defend your Disc. As it is, nothing is keeping you from acting against such taunts again." She was silent for a while, lips pursed as she examined Lily's face, looking for any signs of anger of which there were—surprisingly—none. 

With a small smile, Sylphide continued. "Ikari was, and is still, a loner. She and her fellow Kitsune have never been much for living together with others save when having made a promise to aid someone. She doesn't know a lot about handling conflicts, and saw an apology as being sufficient. In that regard you may call her childish. We Fairies, however, live—or lived—in large colonies, and we had a lot of conflicts which needed resolving." 

"And how's that going to help?" Lily asked, her voice almost subdued, but with a definitive edge to it. "You can't fix my problems, can't jump back in time to make it so I was never abandoned."

"You're right, I can't. No one can. What I can do, however, is tell you this: Unless you start moving forward, and past your old hardships, you risk pushing away those you love. I don't know for certain, but I fear that even Tsukiko will only stay with you for so long, if you continue clinging onto your past. I'm not telling you to forget everything that happened, but let go and accept that that isn't your life anymore. You may not have had much of a family at all, but if you work towards it... you could get a family of your own. The past cannot be changed, but you can accept it as it was, and focus on making a brighter future for yourself." She stopped, then smiled at Lily. "I know you can." She reverted to her Fairy form, barely twenty centimetres tall, and fluttered off. 

Lily stood where Sylphide her left her for several minutes, eyes downcast but mind racing. Could it be true? Would it be possible for Tsukiko to leave her if she didn't... let go of her past? How [i]could[/i] she let go of her past? It was there; ever present and unchanging. She couldn't let it go, but...

She crouched down, leaning against the wall with both her hands gripping at her head. No... No. She wouldn't let Tsukiko leave her. She couldn't. She was everything she'd ever had, and losing her would... would. 

"I can't let that happen," she whispered, almost choking on her own words. Try as she might she couldn't keep the tears from trickling down her cheeks. "I won't. I..." She looked up, a fire of determination fighting to gain a foothold in her teary eyes. "I... I need to talk to her."