[CENTER][h1][color=B3ADAB][b]CATHERINE CORIANDER[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr][b]Tune Town, Melody Island, East Blue[/b][hr]Blue eyes reflected white clouds, those that blanketed the whole sky above Melody Island. Her short, platinum blonde hair hanging back with her head, Catherine Coriander looked closely enough to see the clouds drifting against each above in the high winds. So vast and distant, she was completely sucked in by the sight, not so uncommon, yet still so fascinating all the same. If she could walk to the sky, how long would it take to reach those clouds? If she were to ride them, how far would they take her? If-

“Coriander, I’m not washing anything you muss up because you’re spacing out,” came a voice from the window, snapping her from her daze. Seeing the flash of her mother’s ponytail floating out of sight, Corainder became more aware of herself, looking down to see her soggy nun’s habit brushing against the dirt and grass. Gasping out, she lifted it up, brushing off the bottom before clipping the garb to a line stretched across their yard. [color=B3ADAB]“It’s fine, jeez,”[/color] mumbled the teen girl, before she grabbed the next article of clothing, continuing on the line. Laundry was a day long chore, but finally it was coming to an end, and Cori still had the rest of the afternoon to herself. The young nun hardly looked it at the moment, wearing a somewhat over-sized dark blue shirt with long sleeves that once belonged to her father, and a long gray skirt, but it was plenty fine to bum around the island for a bit, even if she felt a bit awkward. She’d spent so much time in her nun’s habit it was starting to wear out, honestly.

As she finished hanging the last of the laundry, she tucked the basket to the side, wondering if there would be any more rain, only to spot a visitor. A short ways away, Verbena came up the hill, eyes scanning the area, the chubby boy scratching at his curly hair, a hoodie over his form. The two met eyes, Coriander giving a wave.

“Who’re you?” Verbena wondered.

[color=B3ADAB]“What do you mean, it’s me!”[/color]

Verbena shrugged. “I don’t know an Amy, but there’s a nun who lives here called Cori.”

[color=B3ADAB]“I’ve known you since you were in your mom’s tummy, don’t give me that!”[/color] Coriander grumbled.

“Whatever,” Verbena grumbled, heading off in another direction. Coriander blinked, knowing nothing in particular was off that way. It was also weird for Verbena to be alone, never mind that he seemed to be looking for something. How very curious, Coriander thought. It seemed she had some searching to do as well, giving her mother a farewell promise to be back in time for dinner.

Her first stop happened to be the library, where she caught Sorrel’s mop of purple hair skulking in between the rows of books. “Who’s sneaking around? Not me! Why don’t you go mind your own business.”

Hands on her hips, Coriander snapped, [color=B3ADAB]“There’s no need to get an attitude with me, mister!”[/color]

Sorrel flinched, hand fiddling with the bowtie under his shirt collar. “S-sorry, it’s just…” Coriander leaned in slightly. “Nothing! Everything’s fine.”

Coriander pursed her lips. [color=B3ADAB]“Uh-[i]huh[/i].”[/color]

“Y-yup,” he grumbled, before putting his hands behind the straps of his suspenders and whistling, the boy moving on his way. Coriander at once learned nothing, and oh so much.

She found Rue by the docks next, the day slow, port mostly empty, waves lapping against wood, shore, and stone in the breeze. The small girl froze like a deer when she spotted Coriander coming her way. Feet skittering as she looked for a place to run, Cori got to her first. [color=B3ADAB]“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?”[/color]

Pink bow struck stiff, a braid lagged behind as the girl went to the dock edge, holding her teddy bear out over the seawater. She held the faded brown stufftie by the top of the head, the neck blatantly thin and stretched with all the filling squished out from years of hugs. “Don’t move or he gets it!”

[color=B3ADAB]“...Rue, that’s not my bear. That’s not how it works.”[/color]

“Yeah but when I start crying I’m going to tell everyone that you threw my bear in the ocean because you’re mad about not being able to swim anymore! Then you’ll be sorry!”

[color=B3ADAB]“I-I can swim! I could a few years ago!”[/color]

“Then explain yesterday!” Rue demanded.

[color=B3ADAB]“You explain yesterday! How did you guys even get lost? You all know the island like the back of your hand!”[/color] Rue was struck, jaw gaping. [color=B3ADAB]“And who taught you to be like this, anyway?”[/color] Coriander muttered. Rue pulled her bear back into her arms, the hem of her black dress trailing behind her as she fled. [color=B3ADAB]“You’re being such a brat! I’m just going to find out what’s going on from Peppermint or Cassia anyway!”[/color] Rue didn’t stop, turning off and out of sight. [color=B3ADAB]“If you’re gonna be in trouble then running won’t help! Oh whatever.”[/color] Rubbing her forehead, she wondered, [color=B3ADAB]“What did you guys [i]do[/i]?”[/color]

A short time later, Corainder found the next kid at Cassia’s house, but it wasn’t Cassia peeking into the windows. Coriander channeled her inner cat as she skulked up on the unassuming Peppermint, the green haired girl shrouding her eyes as she looked into the window, clad in gray jeans and a pink T-shirt with an angry faced red chili pepper on it.

Coriander brought her mouth right up to Peppermint’s ear. [color=B3ADAB]“Find Cassia yet?”[/color] If Peppermint could have jumped to the moon, she would have. With a squeal and a pair of flailing arms, she scrambled away from the window, just as quickly trying to calm herself, arms going back to her sides as she stopped mid run.

“C-Coriander! F-funny seeing you here.” The nun’s arms didn’t leave her hips, and her stern expression was unyielding. “I-I was just wondering if Cassia could play! He probably...I mean...you know…” Her blue eyes bored into Peppermint’s teal. The young girl’s head lowered, chin resting against her chest, tears starting to form in her eyes. “We lost Cassia.”

[color=B3ADAB]“You [i]lost[/i] Cassia!?”[/color]

“We don’t know where he went! We looked everywhere, except…”

Coriander raised a hand, silencing her. [color=B3ADAB]“Just get everybody and tell them to meet at the well. Okay?”[/color] Swallowing back her tears, Peppermint nodded before dashing off.

The cloudy day still relatively bright, wind picking up a little, Coriander assembled with the four kids, sitting on the edge of the stone well with the children lingered in front of her. Verbena jabbed a finger at Peppermint. “Traitor.” The girl pouted, once again pushed to the verge of tears.

“We’re so in trouble now!” Sorrel groaned. The two boys had their spines struck stiff when Coriander raised a hand, beckoning them over. Daring to do so, they headed up to the well. Coriander brought her arms down, karate chopping both of them on the head. “Ow! It wasn’t our fault, he went off on his own!”

[color=B3ADAB]“That’s not why I’m mad!”[/color] Coriander burst out. [color=B3ADAB]“You’re not in trouble because of Cassia, I’m mad because you didn’t tell anyone that something is wrong! If he, or any of you guys, got hurt or lost, you can’t hide that from us! Even if it was because you did something wrong. You guys being hurt will last way longer than us being mad or frustrated. If the whole town has to go out to find him, we will, and you should never feel bad about that, okay?[/color]” Sorrel and Verbena both nodded. [color=B3ADAB]“Okay?”[/color]

“Yeah…” the two boys said. Coriander grabbed the two of them by the shoulder before looking to the two girls and jerking her head, calling Rue and Peppermint over into the huddle.

[color=B3ADAB]“Okay, where have you guys looked so far?”[/color]

“He wasn’t at your house. Or Amy’s,” Verbena said.

“Who the heck’s Amy? But he wasn’t at the library either,” Sorrel mentioned.

[color=B3ADAB]“And he wasn’t at his house or the docks, I know. What about your hideout?”[/color]

“Hideout? We don’t have a hideout!” Rue sneered.

“Not for people over 13 we don’t!” Peppermint blurted. Verbena and Sorrel shot her nasty looks.

“We’re not gonna hang out with you anymore if you keep snitching,” Verbena grumbled.

[color=B3ADAB]“Fine, fine, there is no hideout,”[/color] Coriander sighed, rolling her eyes. [color=B3ADAB]“What about Tacet City?”[/color]

The four kids all froze, as though struck by an unseasonable chill. Sorrel shook his head. “No way, he’s a scaredy cat! He’d never go there alone.”

“‘Sides, we’re not allowed to go there,” Rue said.

Coriander was silent for a moment, before reasoning, [color=B3ADAB]“It’s our best bet. If he’s not there then we’ll come back and rally the town to find him, okay?”[/color] With some trepidation, the kids nodded. [color=B3ADAB]“Let’s go find Cassia!”[/color] Coriander cried, pumping her fist in the air. Or at least, she attempted. Only her sleeve struck out, the loose, overly long fabric tied into a knot on not one but both of her arms. Holding them out in front of her, she stared, before glaring at Sorrel and Verbena, who chuckled at her expense. Rue let out a laugh, Peppermint failing to hold back her own snickering. [color=B3ADAB]“You guuuuuuys!”[/color] Bursting into laughter, the kids dashed off, Coriander rushing after them down the hill as they struck out to the far side of the island, where the colloquially named ‘Tacet City’ sat under the same gray sky. Far larger than the modest town of Tune, it had sat in ruin for hundreds of years, decrepit and fading, its true name lost to time. Yet it had sat there as an ever present fixture, not even known to the founders of the village for some years after Tune was first built, the city still having secrets yet unearthed and sights yet unseen. But that is a story for another day, while this tale still remained to unfold.
[COLOR=8FBDF2][center][h2]A Cloudy Day of Melody:[/h2][h1]The Capital of Ghosts[/h1][/center][/color]