Hagumi’s hand paused, hovering in the air somewhere south of her mouth, swirls of steam curling into the air in front of her face from the bit of scrambled egg impaled on her fork. It took the seraphim a moment or so to realise her breath had caught in her throat, and Hagumi let her breath out slowly, doing her best to remain calm as her mother’s words sank in... Slowly, Hagumi lifted the forkful of scrambled egg to her lips; chewing the food and then washing it down with a swallow of hot tea before she placed her utensil ever so gently back down on the table beside her still mostly full plate.

Was she ready? Hagumi closed her ice blue eyes for a moment as she felt her mother’s arms wrap themselves around her. A part of Hagumi was, admittedly, a little angry at her father. “He wouldn’t have done that if I’d came back with some pretty boy seraphim,” Hagumi muttered under her breath, not loud enough for most of those in the large room to hear, with the exception of Torva and perhaps her mother, the latter being so close... For several long, tense moments the air in the room became bone chillingly cold before it returned to its previous warm, comfortable temperature.

“I don’t know, mother,” Hagumi finally said softly as she stood up from her chair and then turned to face the other woman, Hagumi’s hands moving to grasp her mother’s gently… “The quest, mother, was no vacation,..” the younger seraphim added, her eyes gazing deeply into her mother’s. “The battles I survived… the enemies I faced, all of them have made me stronger… but will it be enough? A part of me says ‘Yes, it will be,’ but then another says, ‘I don’t know.’ I guess I don’t know what answer to give..”

“But I am sure of what I can do. I shall have some surprises for the council,” Hagumi added as a sudden smile spread across her face like a new dawn across the eastern horizon. Giving her mother’s hands one more squeeze, and embracing the older woman tightly, Hagumi placed a kiss lightly on the crown of her mother’s head before she turned to look at Torva. “Let’s go for a walk. I’ll eat something later.” Turning, Hagumi left the dining hall, Torva in tow, and a short while later found the two walking along a street leading away from Hagumi’s home and toward the city’s east edge…

Hagumi eventually lead Torva to a small, park-like area, which in appearance was like the rooftop garden of Hagumi’s home, with benches set about a central fountain. Patting one of the low stone benches, Hagumi sat down and watched the golden-yellow mid morning’s sun climb slowly higher into the sapphire blue sky as Torva seated himself next to her. “Torva, I would have had to undergo The Seven Wonders eventually,” Hagumi murmured as her eyes tracked a lone seraphim soaring across the skies above them. “The answer I gave was the truth. No one can ever be truly ready for a test they do not know… All I can do is their best, and trust in my magic.”

Seeing that Torva was still worried, Hagumi grasped his near hand and squeezed it tightly. “And my best is pretty good, if I do say so myself,” Hagumi added with a smile, sounding more like herself again as she turned to look toward the distant mountains. “This is one of the places I used to sneak off to… Well, for a while until I was found… then I had to find a new hide-a-way… It wasn’t that long ago, really, but it feels was ages ago… now.” Hagumi lapsed into silence as a elderly seraphim walked past… knowing he was staring at she and Torva, although their backs were turned to him.

Seeking to lighten the mood, and get her mind off the certain to be grueling ordeal to come, Hagumi stood and turned back toward the city.. “The inventor’s competition is today,” Hagumi said as she looked over her shoulder at Torva, who had stood with her. “I wonder. Yes, let’s go watch, it should be fun. Maybe Cadogan is there? I bet he would be” A strong gust of wind ruffled Hagumi’s golden-blonde hair ad her wings, dislodging a single pristine white feather and placing it squarely across the bridge of Torva’s muzzle, tickling his sensitive muzzle and nostrils as it fluttered in the wind.

Hagumi and Torva approached the entrance to the competition area, just in time to see Cadogan approaching as well, Chii in tow, the little dragoness hurrying to catch up with The Great Inventor, who looked rather excited and maybe a little drunk as well. “Hey,” Hagumi called out, raising her voice to be heard above the hustle and bustle of the large crowd, lifting a hand to wave at Cadogan and Chii. “I told you he’d be here,” Hagumi said cheerfully as she glanced at Torva before looking to Cadogan and Chii. ‘And I bet The Great Inventor has plans to win. I’ll be rooting for you,” she whispered, leaning down briefly to whisper into Cadogan’s ear.