Phoe

Breathless Dead

It is ok to wonder.

And it is ok to worry.

And it is ok to wander.

And it is ok to w- um. To... uh? To w'experiment. It's French or something. Shut up!

It's ok, ok? That's the point I'm getting at. Whatever it is you're doing, whatever it is you need, that's fine. It isn't a problem. This is somewhere that's permitted. Time will flow as it always does and (if you let it) your heart will heal. If it needs to. Or it might grow. If it wants to. Or maybe nothing will change at all. That's not really a big deal either; you're here.

You're welcome.

Dyssia, the phone you're borrowing belongs to one Squire Tianic. She's a girl like a lot like Yue and a lot not like Yue at all, someone with wholly different aesthetics and sensibilities and a completely different build and face who nevertheless feels like she might be sort of long lost twin when the pair of them stand together. It's the girlishness that does it. That, like, sense that she's on the cusp of transforming into something but either hasn't quite gotten there or is choosing to stay exactly where she is. She's not really from 'round here, but ''round here''s kinda a relative term when you live in a big flying castle.

Do you think that part is weird, by the way? I guess you must not. What part do you think is weird? Anyway she's not in a rush to get that back: she's got a workshop she's attending this week and she finds the screen a distraction. So don't worry about it. And anyway anyway what's more important is that Tianic's chic and trendy - for a given definition of those things - so the phone you're holding is just about the coolest thing ever.

And I know what you're thinking! You're thinking, hey! This phone cover isn't three wolves howling at the moon at all! And you're right: it's not! It's way cooler than that! You're holding the machine-printed perfection of a dragongirl idol with a sassy, sinful smile that's somehow just for you even though it's not really for anyone at all. Her hair is pink and lovely and her horns are curling and purple and lovelier, and her eyes, even in phone case form her eyes just make you wish she'd reach out and grab your heart for realsies. She's been all the rage for a little while now, ever since her hit song got blasted across the entire earth for a solid thirty minutes. What can I say? If she loves you, you love her more.

It's not important. I just wanted you to know. It can be enough, y'know? Just existing. You don't have to be the one who changes everything to be the one who changes everything. Take the woman just over yonder. The one who looks like she's shining in the dark even though it's the middle of the day and the sun frankly couldn't get a single lumen brighter if it wanted to. She's prowlin' up and down a line of dancers, beautiful but... well like I said, prowlin'. There's nothing of contentment in her posture, and everything of yelling a whole buncha bunches in the way her arms are flailin'.

She's a little far away for you to make out what she's saying (or maybe she's not? I dunno, you tell me what you hear) but it's obvious to even the littlest dummy that it's heated. Nobody really looks at her when she does it. Nobody stops dancing. But her arms go still, and her voice goes silent, and her body goes ker-lean against a tree, and when it does like magic the choreography becomes more intricate as if she'd cast a spell on the whole lot of them. They're not just a line anymore: they shift and weave between each other and there's a sense of animistic power to the whole lineup. And even though nothing she did had any effect, you know it's her fault they all got better.

Her name's Yin, if you care. Usedtawas Princess Yin, but that doesn't matter anymore. She's been thinking about a change of career for a long, long time. There's mountains and rivers and valleys and big city markets between her and happiness, but all the same. The Department of Curses is gonna have a lot of use for her, someday.

Elsewise, there's not a whole ton going on.

Yue's been showing off the finer points of Sun Farming. Once upon a time when she was just figuring out the craft, it was an art of careful drawing of special seals and setting little glass beads in them, and then hunting down a patch of sunshine with just the right properties and jarring it for later use. What use was that? She had no idea! But it's different now. She's had time to practice.

Now when she wants to farm sunlight, she borrows a flock of sheeps from a neighbor and watches over them for a week or three. She ties her little beads all into their wool so that they glitter with rainbow sparkles like they belong in some far off fairyland where all the girls wear silks and dance in the rain. That doesn't need to make sense, it's just what pops into your head when you look at them. But she tends the flock, and the flock wanders. The beads gather sunlight and the grass and the herbs and the weeds all grow in response. The sheeps eat their fill and Yue gets to swoop in for extras as they go, which she usually dries out and hands out to people when she's got the time for it. And the nice thing about it is that just by letting this happen, the flock naturally seeks out all the kindest, warmest sunlight. It's so pure and lovely you can even power electronics with it for a little while. Which is nice if you're out in the field and still want to watch anime.

It's slow work. And it's not all that rewarding, in most senses of the word. But Yue's quiet when she goes about it, and there's a cute little smile that steals its way across her lips that's all girl and no Demon Swordswoman at all. Even though, the whole time, she's carrying at least three different blades with her. Usually more if it doesn't scare the flock.

But just now she's listening to Redana's story and nodding in all the right parts. Her dumplings are getting cold and her tea is getting bitter and neither of those things matter against the name 'Rosepetal'. She smiles and claps (twice) with delight. And then she nods, and there's wisdom in her eyes when she opens her mouth.

"Well I mean... she won right? Everyone's out of that place that got caught in it. I'd say she pretty much stopped him. Y'know? And if he parted ways without attacking her again then he gets that, too. What more's she supposed to do? Lock him up? She'd never, not my Rosie!"

And she laughs, which is to say she giggles, which is to say she curls into a ball and almost tips out of her chair, the idea's so funny to her.

And Bella? Bella doesn't say much. She's been doing a lot of that, lately. For a bit she got into arguments at the drop of a hat, but even though nobody was keeping score she kept coming away from them with this awful sense that she'd been the loser. And over time that started shutting her mouth instead of trying to make some criticism or cutting point. And then she went still. She ate more, and started taking naps in the grass. One time she pet a cat, and that was... well, I don't really have time to get into what an experience that was for her.

Well, except. This time? Something about the story twigs something in her. And she leans across the table. And her body is tense. Her eyes are golden and gleaming when they look into Yue's soft blue ones. Her muscles are tenser than steel wires, and her claws dig grooves into Yue's very nice dinner table.

"No. That's bull--" she sucks a breath in through her teeth and flinches, "That's nonsense. You don't believe that, and this other woman's an idiot if she does. You've done a lot to try and make it seem like everything is soft and fluffy here but there is no way that anybody's--"

"Hmmmmmm~" hms Yue (hmmily), "Know what I think you need? A good fight."

"I... what?"

"Yeah! You're itchy and nervous and you've got nothin' to take that out on stuck in here. I thought you needed rest at first, but IIIIIIIIII think you really need a good fight! So how about it? Wanna take me on?"

"There's... what the fff... you're joking again, right? I would kill you."

"Mm. No you wouldn't~"

"Just because you know a magic trick that cuts a ship in half doesn't mean that I can't--"

And that thought never finishes, because Yue has grabbed each of the two of you by the hand. She tugs (very gently, just a suggestion) toward the door.

"No, c'mon! Let's go for a walk, and then you and I'll have a fight tonight. There's a place I wanna show you. I think this whole thing's gonna make a lot more sense to you when you see it."

*******

Dolce, of course, has no idea where the civil service is headquartered. Or, well, where a local branch is at any rate. I don't really know what he's looking for, or why he wants to find it. So I can't say if he'll be successful or not, or if this whole trip just puts a lotta kilometers on his feet and slims down that round, fluffy butt of his. Not that he needs that! I'm not butt shaming, just so we're clear. It's a very nice butt. Everyone who's seen it says so! But it's just...

Oh, right. You're wondering what he does find, if it's not a government office. Well, I'll tell you. He! Finds! A!

Beautiful, slender foxgirl. A willowy figure in delicious minty green with silky, floofy hair and even silkier, floofier tails. Four of 'em! And when I say he "finds" her, what I mean is that he is poumced upon! Nyahaha! This is a fox heist, sucker!

"You have just been heisted, sir!" says the Heroine, "By Katherine Isabella Fluffybiscuits! Esquire! My card."

She (don't spoil it) hands him a leaf. Which is not a card, but a distraction, which she uses to tie him up. Not uncomfortably tight, but just the way that Hyra taught her to, so that there's lots of room to wiggle and even to talk back! It makes it more fun. Plus, this guy's gotta understand what's goin' on. Right?

"I dunno what your story is, sir, but I know what mine is! I! Am stuck! Doing community service! Because I kinda sorta maybe a little bit almost doomed the world? I dunno how Cy and Actie get off without so much as a slap on the wrist when the whole thing was-- huh, where are they, anyway? I woulda sworn one or both of 'em'd be out for Cutie Justice by now. Anyway the point is I'm in big, big trouble.

"But you! Are my ticket out of that trouble! I've heisted you fair and square so you have to do what I say. That's Fox Law, probably. And you're gonna cooperate, right? You're gonna act like you were lost and I found you! Which is totally true by the way. And you're gonna follow me to the local magistrate's office and tell them how I saved you! From... oh gosh I dunno, monsters? No wait, monsters aren't real. Giant crabs? No no no, that's played out. Oh, demons! There's lots of those! So yeah. I saved you from river demons and I'm a hero and stuff. And also you wanted to go see the government building and get a tour and stuff and I'm your escort 'cause I'm a super duper good girl - make sure you include that ok???? Super Duper Good Girl. Don't you dare forget the duper! The duper is everything here! This whole scheme won't work without it."

Katherine Isabella Fluffybiscuits, Katherine for short, grins and does a giddy yip as she smells freedom in the air.

"And once they realize how true that is they'll commute my sentence and I won't have to go to Cutie Fox Island and I'll get to stay with mom aga-- I mean Y-Yueeeeeeeeeh no go back go back go back I mean mom! My mom, all right? To you she's my mom. I get to go back to her and she and I are gonna go on adventures like she promised me and everything is happy and good forever and nobody needs to say anything about who corrupted which sunshard or who stuck whose tails onto whose's butt and... come to think of it, where's Damn Fox? The horizon looks less mountainy than it... hm. Uh oh.

"Ok buddy, we're on a clock now! You don't mind, right? No, why would you? Then I'm just gonna carry ya! Off we go, to the root of all evil: the County Clerk!"

She is kidding. That's a Fox Joke. About carrying him, I mean. Katherine, Kat for short, is many types of good girl but she is at the end of the day still a foxgirl. She can no more perform manual labor than she could unfloof her fluff. In fact, about an hour into the walk she has somehow managed her way up onto Dolce's shoulders.

But, I hasten to add, she is very good at pointing. And always in the right direction, too! It won't be long now before he's caught sight of the answers he's looking for. At least, if they're anywhere to be found in the first place.

Return to Thellamie

Yes, that is true. There is a moment that is darker than the deepest dark. Where Eclair cannot answer Mayzie because she is desperately and yet somehow elegantly slurping a soup bowl's worth of coffee as though she will die if she waits another second. Where she cannot see Mayzie or Yuki because even the sharpest eyes in Thellamie don't work without any light at all.

And yes, of course she's wearing her mask. There has been not one single solitary moment beyond the safety of closed doors where the Mystery Builder has been without her costume. Even drunk off her ass she knew better than to ruin the efforts of her best friend and new traveling companion. She was trained better than to do that.

But it is also true that it is only for a moment. Only for one merest heartbeat. And that is because she, the Mystery Builder, is Eclair Espoir. And she is called the Violet Flash. And this is another reason why:

The room is ablaze with pearly Light. That is how the First Darkness was first given shape, yes? Therefore it is the only natural response to a moment of complete blindness. Eclair is too inebriated to control herself. What is normally an act of precision, of carefully selected minimum viable effort all comes spilling out at once.

There are hundreds of different shapes glittering all around her. Some of them mere motes of raw Light, some of them ruined fragments of a heart she had not quite put back together, but still more of them, and more of them, and more of them Heartblades. An arsenal, a treasury, vast and blazing. An Avel is half a dragon already, and unable to be elegant about it Eclair Espoir has dumped that truth out into the open.

There is nothing of cleverness about this. Nothing of planning. Nothing of purpose. It is not to be remarked upon whether this was an appropriate response to the moment because it is an instinctive and automatic response to the situation. She: the Detective, had declared her eyes were open.

So then, they could not suffer to be closed again. Not even for a moment.

Breathless Dead

"I mean, I've read stories! About knights and stuff that is. I went to school, y'know? Ok well I was homeschooled but Sis brought all the books from not home school and she did a great job with me after... anyway did you know I was a knight? Briefly? And then a wolf! Slightly less briefly! But ok well not a knight as I cosplayed one so I could get kidnapped by a dragon. Princess! A Princess dragon. I assume you've got... no? Back where you're from? Huh. Well, goshies."

Yue laughs, even though nobody else does, and busies herself for several quiet minutes making little tippy taps on her weird rectangle, which cannot possibly serve any purpose. She's very polite about it, though! Which is to say she makes extra careful special sure to glance up about once every twenty seconds or so to make sure everybody's got a conversation partner and enough tea and snacks to last the moment, though she's running out of both of what she thought to bring today.

She purses her lips for a second, and gives this table full of new friends a sad look. For just the briefest of moments, mind you!

"Well, dang it. I was just talkin' to Sis and she said she's not available to come look at your boat for a hot minute. I totally forgot, this is such a bummer! See there was this, uh, lil' spot of trouble at a shrine about a week or so's hike up thataway? We used to have this big old metal giant plugged into it but this and that happened and whoosh, plowey! Kerblammo! It went and blew up. So a friend of mine, unfortunately no longer with us, she plugged her giant evil death machine into the spot where it had been but without her around anymore to juice it that didn't stick. So Sis, uh, her name's....... Xiu. Well I should call her Princess Kikill right now but anyway Sis' big thing is buildin' castles and towns so she's hangin' out down there until some better infrastructure builds itself back into the area so that... I guess you don't need the details, huh? Anyway it's gonna be like a month or so before she'll be back home?"

"A month?!" says Bella.

"Yeah. Sorry, Bells."

"Bella."

"Oh, is that a no go? Dang it. You've just all got these real hard to pronounce big city type names so I was hopin' I could--"

"My name is Bella Hostilius Tredecima Mosaic. And I've fought hard for every piece of it, so I would appreciate it if you said it properly."

"Sure thing. Uh. Belluh? Did I get it? Beller?"

Bella's gaze falls down to her teacup. She is surprised to find it filled again. She takes a sip and finishes with a very loud sigh.

"Actually, do you know what? 'Bells' is fine."

"Yay! I knew we were friends! So that leaves... hokay, here I go. Dany."

She points. Bella gives a nod.

"Nice. And you two are married. That's so sweet, I love height play! I mean, congratulations! And then there's Dol... Dull..."

She points again, snapping her fingers and willing this fiendishly complex name to her lips.

"Dolsee? Dollshay? Ah jeez. What about Dolchef? Would that be ok? All right and you're... Vasilly. Yeah that one's real easy. And you two are married, too! Oh goshies wow it's a whole love boat thing, huh? That's so neat!

Yue blushes. Something about this arrangement seems to intimidate her a little bit.

"Which leaves My Lady Dissident Knight, the Guardoness. Dyssie? And you're not married, but... oh. Oh! Ohhhhh! Fox Harem. Ok, ok, ok! Got it! It's so nice to meet all of you!"

She grins, not just from ear to ear but all the way down to the very bottom-most reaches of her heart. And it is a very special kind of magic indeed at play here, if a woman like this who not so long ago was threatening you with swords and who still hasn't managed to say a single one of your names correctly and who's only known you for an hour or so can look at you and really for actually call you her friends.

And for you to believe that she means it, too. Because you do. Not to put words in your hearts but I can tell. And it's true that there's no Hestia wavin' at any of you from across the table. Zeus doesn't offer you a proud nod. Demeter doesn't threaten to stab you, and Aprhodite's screams are nowhere to be heard. There's everything of divinity in this moment and in this green and blue and glittering world all around you, but there are no gods that you can see.

I'm not gonna tell you what a friend told me 'cause I don't think you're ready to hear it. But even if she's wrong, I'll say this instead: if you think about it, it's not so strange that you can't hear their voices. Bella keeps sniffing the air, deep and very unsubtle whiffs in Yue's direction, and all she gets for her trouble are stiff ears and a blushy complexion. Because there's no scent of deception in the air. No transactionality, no ulterior motives. There's nothing like that going on at all. Which means, well, couldn't it just? If there's nothing to ask a god for, do you need to hear their voice? If they don't have anything to teach, do they need to speak in the first place?"

"Well, ok! My girlfriend is swingin' by for- y'know I've been meanin' to propose to her for years now? But I said to myself, right from the start after she turned back into a girl from bein' a wolf and then I turned back into a girl from bein' a wolf instead of her, I said 'if I'm gonna do it I've gotta beat her in a duel first'. It just makes sense, right? It's romantic! But I haven't managed yet. I'll get her, though! The problem is there's this one move I really wanna finish the fight with but it's sooooooo telegraphed and right when I go for it just, whoops! Haha! Y'know? But she's been so patient. Hyra's great. You're gonna love her!

"Whiiiiiich, haha! Segue! So here's my deal for you. If you want it. My house isn't the biggest, but if I move my table I've got space to roll out the extra futons. And if, y'know, if you don't mind, while we're figurin' out your whole message dealie and findin' whoever it is you need to deliver it to, consider yourselves at home. Ok? I'll give you the grand tour of this whole area if you want, and any other places you're curious about. I may not look like it, but I've been all over the world! All the way to Ys, and even the Sky Castle! I figure if we've got at least a month before you guys can take off again we should just call it a vacation. Yeah? Sound nice? Guys?"

Bella takes one more deep breath. And for the first time since landing, she relaxes.

"I don't presume to speak for anybody else, but I accept. Thank you for your hospitality... Demon Swordswoman."

Yue squeaks somethin' fierce and hides her face among her bags as she begins to pack up her little tea party, just all the bits that everybody's done with. Bella's grin is full of teeth. Her laugh is sharp, so sharp it sounds wrong against the air you're breathing, but then again, is there maybe a little bit that fits in?

"I. Um. Er. Ah. O-ok! Yeah! Th-thank you! I promise it's gonna be a blast! Mhm, well--"

Yue's weird rectangle suddenly erupts in song. A quiet, vaguely trebley, high tempo techno bop with a lot of words about the beauty of the moon under a clear sky. She scrambles to fish it back out of her pocket and taps it with her thumb, silencing it in a hurry.

"Oh! It looks like the west hill's ready for harvest? Do you guys mind if I...? Um? Is, uh, is something wrong?"

Wide-eyed, Bella slowly turns her head to look at Redana. Her mind is filled with memories, of a carnival and a movie theater and painting after painting after painting that played just this sort of music, with the liquid crystal paint that blended together to make moving images without a crank to wind it. She is remembering the Tunguska. But that's, surely that's impossible?

"Dany, you don't think...?"

Return to Thellamie

"The shape of it keeps eluding me. No matter what I reference, I..."

There are three things worth noting about the scene unfolding right now. Oh, four. Sorry. Counting is hard. Hi, by the way! Me again! Better times, huh? Seems nice! But, yeah. Four things. We'll cover them as they come up.

The first noteworthy element is that Eclair has commandeered the entire table to disassemble her notes into this, er, "handy" flowchart. Dinner is now finger food only. Lucky thing there's so much crab and little sandwich squares and stuff, and lucky it's all floating around free to grab if you ask for it instead of being a "now or nothing" affair like most dinners. The table is now only for napkins.

Vessenmer Dyes. Tammithyn Murr. Idiot/Assassin/Chariot/Professional Nuisance/Cleaning Partner/Dimwit/Investigative Wall[1].

[1]in much smaller letters underneath she has remembered to write "Aadya, the Rock Upon a Mountain (???)"

Timtam

Civellia - Assassination? Civellia - Kidnapping? Civellia - Reincarnation?

Chrysanthemum. Masks. Network - Imperfect? Khaganate. Kel. Civils. Wanted Poster (Increasingly Accurate).

Dollwaltz. Fireworks. Antimaid. Ruthmoreness?

"'Cursed be they that open dead inside.' Why would she paint that on a building in Crevas? It was verifiably her handwriting, same as the script on the invitation to the Chrysanthemum. Same as it's ever been in the time I've known her. Known her. Do I know her? That is a question that terrifies me. Possibly I do not. Certainly I do not understand what she meant by this damnable riddle.

"Cursed be they that... to literally open? To disturb the dead, somehow? Does it refer to a beginning, perhaps? A warning about... about starting the game without one's heart in it? Or to the contrary, a cry for help? Did she set this entire chain of events into motion because of something she had already done, or was made to do? But then... what am I to do with this? I am certain. Certain there is a light somewhere in these words, and if I could only read them properly I would have a proper angle. But I have searched every... mmmgh."

The second thing that you should know is that Eclair has forgotten to ask for that coffee. Which is a shame, because Vespergift makes really good cups. Worse than that, somebody keeps refilling her booze. She's so in the zone she's just kind of drinking whatever's to hand without really thinking about it, and it's very much getting to her. She can keep her powers of speech or her powers of movement, and she has very much chosen speech. Her penmanship is degrading into vague symbols at this point, and the crab leg she's holding isn't being used as a pointer so much as a floppy, clacking stim device. She keeps scratching her chin with it, which keeps making her laugh, which keeps throwing her off, and then she takes a sip without thinking about what she's doing.

Somebody should cut her off. But in your defense, this is really funny.

"She has, as we knowww, a lot of resources. Enough for costumes, masks, travel, accommodation for both herself and for... friends. And we know that it is money we know she has been sourcing from the Khaganate. In addition to the testimony that you-"

She jabs a claw at Mayzie and almost manages to look cute doing it.

"-provided that she purchased my pass with such treasures, and when I arrived the first time with that pass in hand I was accosted by a young Khaganate princess who barked threats at me about an assault on the Manor the Khatun was planning. I understand that she has been very, uh, aggressive in her movements of late, but she does not strike me as the sort to sell out on her position just because of an alliance with Timtam. Just what could she have offered that would even be of interest to a power like that? Nevertheless, this girl was barely more than a child so I am inclined, contrary to the standard position, to take her yapping very seriously. Too specific to be a lie and she was far too unguarded to consider what should or should not be kept secret."

Oh right, the third thing. This isn't super important, but I did specific noteworthiness and not importance so, wahey. But yeah this is a dinner table so there's a dearth of those little red strings detectives are always using to build a thought board when they're lost. But! Luckily? Eclair has access to a lot of crab shell legs. They're crisscrossing every which way all over the board, with the really important thoughts marked with claws pointing back at Timtam's name.

Pretty cool, right?

"Still, none of this suggests a motive! Even proceeding from the assumption that this is some form of aggressive, long-distance flirtation the nature of the traps do not fit neatly into any encompassing vision of the crime I can devise. Why has she worked so hard to constantly implicate m- implicate Eclair Espoir? And having set so many teeth against the Maid-Knight, why then not allow the jaws to close? Why leave so many hints and invitations, but then drop fireworks and run away? Why did the game with Erika Fullbright tilt so ridiculously from the very first turn? Why, when I- when Erika made a countermove did the setup collapse so precipitously? How could she be so over and so underprepared at the same time? Or was she? But then at the same time why never capture m-Eclair? What is the nature of the game? And for that matter why does she have any interest in the Goddess? I have chased down every lead that I could and still I..."

Eclair groans. She puts her head in her hands and finally takes a glance at the clear, sweet liquid that's still in the glass she's still been drinking out of. Her shoulders slump before suddenly jerking back up, and she waves her free crab claw in the air with entirely too much enthusiasm and vigor.

"Coffee. Please. I... strong. Large. As strong and as large as anyone in Vespergift knows how to make. Drowning in cream, if I am not being overly presumptive of anyone's time already. I am begging you. This is about life or death."

"...I am an idiot. An idiot! How could I allow myself to think so narrowly? I followed every avenue? Cretin! Dullard! I never even received a physical description of Tammithyn Murr! Does she exist to begin with? Ahhhhhh, the trembling, frightened Nun buying dyes and asking for help from Paladins, so terrified of the love drunk Maid-Knight. I had written her off as someone Timtam simply lied to, but what if?! Aaahhhh! Why do the Civil posters have Eclair's face and not Timtam's, not even a masked facsimile if she was who..?! Aaahhh! The Me Who is Not Me, the... dyes that won't come out.

"Lady Evening, I am so.... stupid! I could never deserve your poetry if I lived to be a thousand! No, damn it, no wonder I don't know what connects all this! She wants me to chase her! She wants me to have clues enough to follow! But never catch her, no, not until she's ready! Every time I get close it's smoke and fireworks and she slips away. And while I chase I neglect to follow up on the proper channels and yield all of my advantage! What is a detective for? To stop a crime? Hardly! To find the truth! And I!!!"

She stands, and her legs promptly sit her back down again. She is trembling with laughter and with anger. Where is that coffee, damn it? Wait no, that's very rude. She is so sorry. Is she even vocalizing any of this?

"I've allowed myself to be caught in the shell game. Everything I've seen is what she's planned for me to see. If that's the case I will be trapped forever. Never mind the game, then. I have to flip the table. There's something I'm not supposed to notice, and that... I need to circle back around. To Crevas, to Vessenmer. I need to track down that little Khaganate Princess and dangle her out a window until she sings. I need to find out the name of the Civil Healer who was allegedly tending to the Goddess when she..!"

So. Uh. Right. Fourth thing. Eclair Espoir is being... very loud. Right now. These are not her typical quiet musings, or her generally restrained demeanor. But she can't tell. Maybe someone else should try talking? If you can bring up some kind of good point or a clever place to look for information she might shut up and just nod too much.

Oh, and getting her onto that black, bitter, disgusting caffeine might not be a bad idea either. That might distract her too. You know, before everyone in this entire silly building knows everything about who she is and what she's in the middle of. I don't know, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just the actual, proper detective in the room here. What do I know?

Breathless Dead

It is later now! Not a crazy amount later? But later enough for there to be tea, and brownies, and for everybody who needs it to do a little bit of calming down from all the freaking out about who cut what in half or who said what bad word or even really silly stuff like which mountain was secretly a nine-tailed fox in disguise.

And of course, Yue insisted on providing the tea and snacks herself. After that big whoopsie whuh whoah with the crystal boat-monster/monster-boat (which by the way these people are being super sweeties about, even though a lot of them are obviously pretty upset)? Well, let's just say this'd be a real quick crash course in discovering who the real monsters are if she made 'em cook their own food as guests.

So with apologies to any sheepboys who were looking forward to showing off their culliminary (?) arts, that's the story of how everybody in spite of everything wound up seated together around a big blue table with big blue chairs with steaming mugs of crystal clear steaming white tea and very very faded little plates with a brownie each on them, facing a slender girl in the blossom of her youth (we think?) as she awkwardly arranges all of her swords on an empty seat next to her and plays with her mess of soft brown hair to cover up the fact that she's not entirely sure how to start talking again.

"So. Um. Uh?"

Bella lifts a hand to cut her off. She still has one fluffy ear bent toward the space where not twenty minutes ago there had been a picturesque little mountain, as if by straining her thoughts on it she could listen in on the shouted conversation between foxgirls. But her golden eyes are locked on Yue, and every muscle in her body save that ear are tensed and ready for battle. She hasn't so much as touched her tea or her brownie, though she hasn't been able to keep herself from occasionally giving them an appreciative sniff.

"I want you to explain to me what the fuck,"

Yue whimpers.

"...Is happening," Bella continues over her, though through a wince now, "For starters, is this even Gaia? We did make it, right?"

"Uh," ums Yue, "Lemme check something real quick. Kay?"

And so saying, she pulls out a weird little pink and white rectangle and taps at it with her fingertip for a period of twenty to thirty-one seconds, give or take, before suddenly looking up with a very bright smile on her face.

"Yup! You're using a super duper old word for it? Like, I dunno if even the First Princess called it that but yeah! Yeppers! Welcome to Earth! You guys tourists, then? That's pretty funny. I kinda thought, especially after somethin' that happened a bit and a half ago, that anybody who came outta space was gonna be these, like, suuuuuuper spooky conquering monsters come to eat us. But you like brownies! You're, like, Burrower cosplayers? That's neato! I think I like you 'cause you've all got nice smiles. Well, except for you Ms. Catgirl."

"Bella."

"Oh, sorry! I mean I'm sure you have a very nice smile! You just haven't been usin' it. I'm super sorry about your boat. I promise though, ok? Before you're finished with your vacation I'm gonna figure out how to put it back together again. Oh! I bet Sis'd know! Yeah ok yeah! I'll call her in just a little bit and we'll get you all patched up! She's a Princess too y'know, and a whiz with machines! That's worth a smile, right? C'mon, don't let your tea get cold!"

Bella frowns more deeply than ever, but she does pick up her cup and take a long, slow sip. Her eyes widen in surprise. What she tastes reminds her of nothing so much as a certain floral wine she was once partial to a very, very long time ago. The flavor here is a little more subtle, but it's bright and full of tasting notes like a whole chorus of flowers, and the trees around them, and the grasses beneath them. It's also lighter than anything she's ever drank before, including water. Swallowing almost feels like being cleansed, not that that makes any sense.

Quickly, she takes a second sip. And then a gulp. And before she knows it, she's drained her whole cup. Yue just laughs and starts a new one steeping for her. Bella's cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"...You are royalty, then. That simplifies things a lot. We'll take tea with you, Highness, but--"

"Oh, haha, no. No, silly! I told you, didn't I? I'm just Yue. I'm not a Princess, I'm a sun farmer. Like, I thought about Princessin' for a bit? But the whole swords and adventures thing is really more of a hobby for me."

"You were disinherited, then?" Bella continues without slipping a beat, "I'm very sorry. We'll discuss it with your sister in that case. We just need someone with connections to your Empress."

"Huh?"

"Listen," says Bella as she pinches her nose between two claws, "We have come a very long way. Across the entire galaxy, in fact. And before we've got any time for leisure we need an audience with your Empress so we can deliver the message we were tasked with. Now. Can you get us an audience or can't you?"

"Ok see you keep using that word but like... I dunno how to say this? The only Empresses I've ever known are a) fictional and b) like, super, mega evil? 'Empress' is a word you put in stories so the kids know it's ok when she gets punched in the face, y'know? Like granted they tend to also make 'em kinda hot? So it's, I get bein' a fan and all but unless you know how to jump into a manga you're not gonna find any here."

"Your 'First Princess' then! Would you quit fucking around and- FOR GODS' SAKES KID WOULD YOU QUIT SQUEAKING! IT'S JUST A WORD, GROW UP!"

So hey! Hi! All you other peeps. Enjoying the brownies? I bet you are~! Here's what I think's worth knowing about your dessert while these two sillyheads sort a couple of minor differences out.

So, like, first of all? These things are so fudgey it should be illegal. They are denser than the core of a star. I mean not really? For one thing they're not hot and for another thing you can just eat 'em and for a third thing they are literally brownies? So they're soft right? But just soooooo packed with gooey chocolatey goodness that it doesn't feel like it's ok to be eating them, even though Yue insisted that it was. Well, if you believe in that sorta thing anyway. But I'm getting off track. The point is, if you're a fan of a more open and cakey brownie then I'm super sorry about that. But I'd bet you a tail that you're gonna be a convert by the time you're finished with this one.

'Cause the second thing is, that density is mostly carrying flavor. The chocolate is dark, but somehow it's also smooth and not even the teeniest bit bitter despite not being milky or overly sweet. It's enough that when you bite into the part where she's stuffed chili you're not even overwhelmed by the heat because it plays so well with the ooey gooey fudgey kablooey that's dancin' all over your tongue, even though the heat is so strong it nearly knocks Bella out of her seat when she finally gets un-mad enough to try eating hers. Poor thing, is she sensitive?

Well anyway, third thing is surprise! There's nuts in there too! And those provide just such a pleasant crunch that it probably awakens somethin' primal and real and huntery inside of you, just like it does for me! But it's also got a bit of a cooling effect, if that makes any sense? Like, a nut's just earthy right? So you can't taste earth and fire at the same time, unless you eat a volcano. Which is not the same thing as a lava cake! Even though they sound very similar!

Anyway the last thing you're gonna notice, fans of foreign food that you are, is that what you're eating is empty calories. And what I mean is, there's something you're not findin' in there, no matter how hard you look. Yue doesn't cook with heavy metals or highly processed industrial chemicals, see? And I know that's really strange for you! But it does something to the flavor to not use 'em, and you're maybe seeing for the first time how that might be true.

'Cause, like, to be clear? There's no nutritional value in here for you mighty biomantically engineered space cats. That's the slang term for cool people by the way, not Bella specifically. And it's an old term for sure, but you guys seem like you, well never mind. The point is, this brownie right? It should feel like nothing but empty air to you. But there's something about it, something very deeply magical, and it makes you feel full instead. And not just full, but content! So enjoy it, ok? I think Yue's just about got her talkin' feet back under here.

"Right, sorry, I didn't realize how far away you're from. I guess there's all kindsa different places and I shouldn't'a gone and assumed like that. Y'know they say when you assume that you... well anyway. This is a bit of a history lesson but maybe it'll clear some stuff up?

"So once upon a time, there were ten suns. And that's--"

"...The curse of Apollo!" Bella gasps and covers her mouth to keep from showing her clenched teeth.

"Er... sure? Well, that's too many suns. So all the people went underground, right? To beat the heat. And they built giant cities down there and basically ran things like normal. But eventually a brave and beautiful Princess was like, 'That's too many suns'. So she took up her bow and arrows and she shot them out of the sky."

Yue pauses for a moment and covers her ears, to allow for any catgirls present to use their choice of swear words. But maybe the idea of killing a star with an arrow doesn't sound weird to you guys anymore after watching a sillyhead kill your monster-boat/boat-monster? I dunno. Either way the moment passes to nothing but silence, and she lowers her hands again and moves on.

"You passed them on the way down, I'm sure. All those glowy chunks floatin' around the upper atmosphere? Yeah, suns. So she, pew, pew, pew! Crack! Sun Sounds! Aiyeee, probably, I dunno I wasn't there, and down they went. One, two, three, all the way up to nine! And the tenth sun, knowing what was good for it, up and set in a hurry. So the First Princess called it good and left things at that.

"But the Burrowers, right? They see the planet cooling down and come up to the surface for the first time in, like, ever. And they see this dry, blackened nothingburger of a planet and go, 'eh, pass'. So they took all of their stuff and they built these huge space elevators, and from there they built a bunch of ships and they sailed away, and as far as I'm aware they all died out there somewhere. Or maybe not? Did you see anybody like that while you were passin' through? Big, weird masks? Always commandin' demons? And talkin' about, like, finance and marketing or whatever? No? Oh well.

"So they leave, right? But that means they missed the rains. They missed the rivers startin' to flow again, the trees and the flowers growin' back, the skyfish flitting through the clouds... and of course, they missed the Sunshards. And whoever's got one of those gets to be a Princess, see?"

Yue pauses for a moment to pass around second cups of tea. This one is different, bein' a puh'er and all, and tastes kinda like dirt but in a really good way? It's weird but don't knock it. And to go along with that she opens up a bag and fishes out a bundle of little skewers stuck through blocks of crystalized sugar with fresh fruit in the middle. They are, unfortunately, strawberries and not shanzai like they oughta be but even so, though you don't and can't know this, you're holding in your hands now Yue's actual dessert specialty. Her favorite treat.

It means she really, like really likes you! I hope that comes through!

"And then yadda yadda yadda a whole buncha stuff happened but that's the important bit. So, like, the way it's structured is you've got Guards, right? And their job is to be kinda like a knight sorta deal? Getting in the way and harassing and kidnapping, but like, in a sexy way. And above them, kinda, you've got the Baronesses, who mostly are there to be pretty and convince everybody to engage in honorable sword duels and they're really good at that so it's a neato line of work. And then you've got handmaidens, then princesses,"

"And they're the ones in charge?"

"Then queens..."

"Oh, so we need to see the Queen, then."

"Oh, no, sorry, Queens are pretty much retired Princesses. They don't do much but everybody respects 'em. Some know a lot though, so Iono. Anyway after queens there's Countesses..."

"Countesses outrank Queens?" says Bella, now with her hands clenched on both of her temples.

"And then at the top there's Princesses!"

"But you already said!"

"No I said princesses. And now you understand why I got confused, right? Because it sounded like your girl said she was--"

"Princess Redana." Bella half snarls-half groans.

"See right no, but obviously not? 'Cause if she was a Princess she'd have blocked my-- w-well anyway like you said you're not from around here. It's my mistake. So sorry! You see how your choice of wording mighta been clearer?"

"Mmmgh. So there's nine pr--PRincesses, then."

"Uh, no just seven I think. Princess Qiu's got three sunshards 'cause she's kinda the best at swords. She was up to four for a little bit but she got fox heisted so I'm sure we're back at seven. Unless I'm bad at math, which is always possible."

"Is... is this 'Qiu' in charge, then?"

"Hm? No, I shouldn't think so. Like if the civil service told her to knock somethin' off she'd go and do it real quick. But she's a good girl so they don't fuss with her mostly. And that's all, like, food distribution and housing maintenance and work allocation stuff mostly, lotta boring decrees that keep everybody moving while the Princesses fight each other to see who gets to kiss whomst. Easy, right?"

"I," says Bella, "Need wine."

"Oh! Uh, sure. Well, um, j-just one more time so we're all crystal comfy cozy clear and all, I'm Yue! Just Yue, y'know? Some people call me the Demon Swordswoman, but please don't be one of them 'cause it's really embarrassing. But mostly what I do is farm sunshine! Which is good for all sortsa things but mostly people just use it to watch tv and... oh I'm ramblin' somethin' extra, aren't I?

"Uh, yeah. So you're... no don't tell me! princess alpha omega Redanny? Right? And you're... oh goshies, nobody's said your name, Big Snake Lady Who Wants Sword Lessons. And you over there? Sheepy? Sheepy McLionKissies? Help me out! Why don't you guys tell me what you're all about? I'd love to help you deliver your message if I can! Consider it an apology for the whole, uh, misunderstanding with the lake earlier!"

Return to Thellamie

The glass is in her hand before she can protest. This is a bad idea. This is surely a bad idea. Mayzie has even indicated that it is alcoholic. Difficult as that is to believe, given the smell. Perhaps it is not especially potent? But then there would be no need for the warning.

No, this is a bad idea. This can only be a bad idea. Champagne has already been consumed earlier in the evening, and stress, a lack of food, and relative lack of sleep will only have lowered tolerance further. Shudder to contemplate what kind of tragedy this is certain to unleash. Recommended course of action: set glass down and feign forgetfulness until the meal has passed. Tighten grip, shift arm, and--

A toast? Then all is lost. Damn you, Yuki Edogawa. You will be held responsible for this is, be certain of that.

"To... to home. To rebuilding it, discovering it, and to everything that worthy of returning to."

There. That is surely a toast worthy of the Mystery Builder. At the very least if I am to make a towering ass of myself at any point tonight I should make sure my fall is suitably spectacular. It does not and will not do to prematurely disgrace the persona I have been given for the sake of Mayzie and Vespergift. I should...

"What is? Sweeter than expected. Mayzie, you are certain this is- very? How could that possibly be equivalent to four flights by itself? Yes it was a larger glass but even so, the flavor! No I refuse. This testimony is written in purple. These are the words of a potential criminal. I will disregard it as self-evidently untruthful until physical evidence provides a clearer, urk."

She had meant to stand up. How could she already feel the floor shifting under her. With a small moan, Eclair takes her seat again and reaches for a leg of crab. This is something she has never eaten before. The inherent messiness of it seemed somehow distasteful, and surely there could be nothing about it as succulent as a properly prepared piece of fish?

But as she traces her finger along the knuckle, she smiles. A curious preparation indeed. Why did they see fit to leave it in the shell like this if not as a final challenge to the diner? You must best this animal to partake of its calories. She had not until this moment noticed the puzzle of it all. But perhaps, apply force here and... here. Application of heartblade at fingertip, trace. Twist.

The crab leg slides from the shell whole and unblemished. Eclair's smile broadens to full-on delight. She sets it on her plate, applies a knife and fork, and takes a demure bite. She tilts her head and stares at her plate in astonishment. Sweet flesh, and yet brine? There is a presence of herbs as well, no doubt from the boiling process. No indeed, this is another treasure worthy of the Chrysanthemum. How is she ever to hate this city again, as is proper?

...Someone has refilled her glass. She is not certain whom. She is only vaguely aware that she is sipping at it. She quickly turns to bread and soup and sandwiches and yet more crab to bury her mistake but it's.

"No, it is not pointless. Effects will not be counteracted but this is... fun? The flavor is sublime. Satisfying. I had forgotten the degree to which food can be something other than a waste of time. Even the elements without interactive qualities feel good in this place. No, Mayzie, there is no need to look so concerned. I am merely enjoying myself. I am aware of the effect of alcohol on my person now and I will simply..."

A blush rises up and paints her cheeks. She turns away and busies her hands with a napkin, folding it and weaving it around a second one until she has created a paper fish. A koi, specifically. She hands presents it to her new investigative partner without commentary. It was once upon a time her favorite animal. What more can she say?

"New recommended course of action: find coffee. The stronger the better. Surely the two will counteract? Yuki Edogawa, I am most certainly holding you responsible for what transpires this evening. Every blessed moment of it."

She laughs, perhaps at a higher volume than is proper. But can she be held accountable? There is color seeping into her world again, in more than just the words meant to unravel mysteries. But how annoying that it should be discovered through a meal.

"Unforgivable."

Breathless Dead

Ok! Ok ok ok! Also, not... ok?

Like, this is a lot, actually. A whoooooole heaping helping of a lot. Where does one even begin to count all of the a lot there is? Well obviously you start with the crab-- wait. No but like, they've got snakegirls??? Why is that second one in chains? Is everybody just... erm, I'm sorry, what's with all of the little dudes in the yellow robes? Why does everybody look so... dirty?

Oh right no the monster, of course. Ok but then why is there a tiny happy-sad wolfgirl laughing and crying and asking her like a million (four) questions? Oh wait no, she said something else, didn't she? A very very, super duper important little word.

"Right!" chirps Yue, "Ok! I think I get it!"

Her smile is as simple and radiant as the dawn. You know the one, right? When it rises just right over the hill and catches the scattered bits of all the other suns and the whole sky just lights up with green and purple and orange? Well I mean she's just regular Yue-colored the whole time but that's how it feels right? It's a smile, like... ok picture it, right? You've been up all night workin' on a special project, just a fun bit of art ok? And you decide to make yourself a cup of coffee, lots of cream and sugar as a special little treat, yeah? 'Cause of course you do! You've been up all night! And little treats are good for the soul! And you step out onto your porch with your little kitty mug and riiiiiiiight as you're blowin' on it you look and--

Oh. Y-you get it. But it's that kind of feeling ok? That's what her smile's like. It is only in this moment that some of the gathered crew of the Plousios might realize that they didn't understand what being happy really looked like until just this second. There's both a sharpness and a softness to it that genetically codified releases of endorphins on completion of a task defined by your Purpose really lacks. She's kind of a plain sort of girl, her lots of swords and gorgeous armor dress notwithstanding. But smiling like that (there's all that girlishness on display again, by the way), she's almost prettier than this whole Gaia thing you came to see.

"Right. Ok. How did this go again?"

Yue takes a deep breath. And then! She tosses her beautiful sword high into the air. Immediately following the motion she jumps into the air, but not after it. Her hands snap up and behind her back to grab the hilt of the giant blade she's got secured back there. She lands again and slashes at nothing, just the air really, digging the tip deep into the soft earth before... zip! She flips over top of it and bounces perfectly off of the top of the handle and tosses one of her wire-daggers forward to catch her first sword again. And as she's flying up she flicks her wrist, one two three now! And her sword dances through the air to smack against the side of the ship. She yanks the wire back even as she's dropping back toward the ground and the crowd of weirdos gathered in front of it.

She lands and, whoops, shoot shoot shoot! Takes four little hops to get her balance and then another two to avoid bobbling all of her pretty weapons all over the ground. Finally she gathers it all together and makes an awkward show of sheathing everything, growing paler and more worried looking the entire time.

"Um," she ums, "Were, uh... are none of you gonna... like, I thought! But you said!"

"This is a waste of time," says Bella, "Listen. Kid. I'm glad you're not scared but we're really busy here. If you could at least tell us which way we need to go to find your Empress that'd be a big--"

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh gosh gosh goshies I'm so sorry! I am so sorry! Please don't be mad! I'll fix it, ok? She, um, er, sh-she just... she said she was a Princess! So I just! I thought that! You were supposed to! It was the most obvious thing I could! I was! But none of you! I mean, nobody? Nobody at all? I mean no! I'm sorry! I shoulda known better! I thought I heard Princess but you musta said princess and that's just a whole other... oh gosh, do you promise you're not mad?"

It is a testament to Bella's growth as a person that she does not in this moment toss Yue into what's left of the lake. To her growth or to guilt, maybe. Either way she doesn't do it. She simply steps forward and looms (good goshies is she good at looming!) over Yue. And it is a testament to her growth that she chooses her regular hand and not the one covered in spiky death gauntlet to touch the shoulder of this messy brown-haired sword repository and try to calm her down.

And just as she does that, Yue notices her longsword rattling loose in its sheathe. She reaches for her hip and clicks it into place, nice and snug and secure.

That's when the Plousios snaps in half. It's not a perfect cut by any stretch of the imagination (in fact it's very super wiggly), but that doesn't make the ship any less in half. Water rushes from its bifurcated carcass, roaring and splashing as it dumps its contents back into the Terraced Lake. Not enough to fill it? But enough that you can look at it and see what it's supposed to be again.

Yue looks up. And up. And up. And up at Bella, and gives her a sheepish smile.

"I. Er. Really thought you'd parry that? It was, like, sayin' hello y'know? 'Cause you were all... ahahahahaha uh. Right. Um. So. Who um. D-do you guys like tea? 'Cause I can--"

"...What the fuck?"

"EEEEEP!"

Bella turns around and beholds the carnage. Her arms fall limp to her sides.

"What the fuck?"

"Sh-sh-she swore a cuss! Oh goodness, oh golly, aishya! Um. Er. Oh. C-could you n- I mean no it's ok ha ha ha ha please I just didn't you'd be so... weak? I mean no! Of course not! Believe me I'm the last girl on earth who's got room to say that to anybody! You just need practice! Unless you don't wanna? I mean I'm so so so sorry, I really thought I heard Princess but you tacked a lot of other stuff in there huh hahahaha I feel real dumb right now can we just--"

"No. I... what the fuck?!"

"YESSIR MA'AM SIR GIANT CAT LADY WHO COULD PUT ME ON A SHELF I BET I AGREE LET'S ALL HAVE BROWNIES AND LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER WE MUST HAVE SO MANY OTHER WORDS TO TEACH EACH OTHER PROBABLY! I MEANT STUFF! THINGS! THAT DON'T SOUND LIKE... oh. Um. Do you guys need to do anything about those crabs?"

Breathless Dead

In a house, on a hill, by a lake (well, by a number of lakes but let's not dwell on details), less than half a day's walk from what you could call Town but more than a full day's walk from what you could call The City, a girl spends her morning in ritual. Not an official ritual, or a very fancy one, but important enough to her to repeat it every day she's home. The half-remembered tune, hummed because she does not know the words. And also because she cannot whistle. Not that she hasn't tried. But all the same it's a beautiful tune, and it lifts her onto her toes so she can dance. She leaps, birdlike, across her kitchen, minding the frying pans with one hand and the steaming basket with the other. All while keeping one eye on the kettle so that she does not miss the moment when the water reaches its proper temperature.

This is a day like any other, but it is also a very special day: it is her first morning home again after her trip to pluck the silver needle leaves while they were at their proper peak of freshness. Later, tomorrow probably, she would go through the process of sorting the best leaves out and handing them away to her friends, family, and assorted neighbors, but today? The first cup was all for her. Only for her. It's the kind of breakfast Princesses have, probably.

Silver Needle is a very particular tea, requiring a very particular brew to bring out its very particular flavors. But the girl making it for herself is not very particular at all. She loses herself in her song again, and when she twirls her way back to the stove it's with a thought toward keeping the pork from burning instead of washing the leaves with pre-boiling water. She does not mind the steep either, so she can fluff the rice instead. She cracks an egg and stirs it into some diced onions so she can fry them in the pork juices, and her tongue darts out from between her lips in anticipation. It's only after she's arranged the bowl to her liking (piled deliciously but messily high) that she remembers to pluck the leaves from the water again, well after the one minute and thirty seconds where they release their best flavors.

That's ok. It doesn't bother her at all. She can drink it without blowing on it like this, you see. And if it's a little bitter then it's nothing that a dab of honey won't fix. It's not important that it be perfect. Really, nothing she ever does quite is. What matters is that it's for her, and nothing and no one can take that away from her.

Does she take the first bite of breakfast first? Or the first sip of the season first? That's the only question occupying her mind. She brings the cup to her lips, and that first delighted shiver up her spine is met with a loud rumble of thunder from outside. The girl sets her tea down again and reaches for that honey after all, while she turns her head toward the window with a quizzical expression etched on her face.

That's funny, she thinks. It didn't strike her as a particularly rain-bringing night last night. And nothing about the early morning had really disagreed with the night. But sure enough the sky is growing darker, and quickly. She stops and thinks through a perfect bite of pork, egg, onion, and rice: is she forgetting something? She remembered to bring in the laundry, right? No, she must have because all her clothes had been out with the sheets, and she can never get to sleep on a bare mattress. No worries, then! It might be weird, but what's a little rain against the best breakfast ever when you're already inside?

At least, she'd liked to have thought that way. Before she'd even had time to eat her way down into the Problem Zone where she realizes she'd added too much rice to go with her delicious, indulgent proteins and her meal was about to become half as delicious if she didn't do something fast, she's interrupted by another rumbling. Much louder than before, and actually if she thought about it this was really more of a roar at this point? Her dishes rattle in the cupboard. Her miscellany topple from her table and make a mess on the floor. Her teapot wobbles awkwardly off the end of her foot after she spears the handle with her leg to keep it from shattering. With a little kick that has one quarter too much flourish for how scared she suddenly is, she flips it back onto the table and busies herself making sure it's too centered to fall over and break.

And now, several things have become clear. One: this is not a storm. Weirdly enough it is raining? But the patterns are unnatural, and it's much too dark for how little is actually managing to fall. Also there's never been thunder this loud or this close, so much that it makes her feel like she's in an earthquake. No, this is something else or she's a mouse. And she isn't: she's a girl. Well, 'a woman' is possibly the more appropriate term, but she's resisted using it for most of her life. And really, she's straddling the line a little bit between the two. When the light hits or right or especially when she smiles there's an element of girlishness to her that seems to fill her being. But here in the shadows? With the grim look on her face as she marches toward her front door? The word does her insult.

She throws open the door and steps out into the storm, still in her pajamas. Her gaze turns upward and her jaw drops down. She beholds a massive floating structure of blue crystal on other blue crystal, roaring like a monster and billowing black smoke and storm clouds as it passes. Too big to make any sense; only able to be taken in its totality because of how high up it is. And yet, nowhere near high enough. This thing is going to land. It's going to crash, from the looks of things. And very, very close by.

"Oh... goshies," observes Yue the Sun Farmer, "That's gonna be a problem."

And she's right. Because whether that thing is a monster, or it's just full of them, it's very definitely evil. Just looking at it makes her eyes feel unclean. And if a monster (or monsters)' gonna come land on top of her home? You're gosh danged right that makes it her business, sun farmer though she is. Though her job is a little less relevant than her hobby at the moment.

Into her house, she darts like sopping wet lightning into firs the bathroom (to fetch a towel) and then the bedroom (to fetch appropriate clothes), frantically dabbing herself dry before wriggling into a dress the color of dappled sunshine and seafoam, covered throughout with decorative plates of simple metal armor that, at least while she's running around her house, don't seem to confer any sort of real protection at all. Hopping, tripping with a mighty 'yeep!' and rolling around on the floor, Yue manages to wrestle her sandals onto her feet and ties the straps tight. She rolls up over her shoulder and pops back onto her feet with an even mightier 'meep!' which is not at all a frightened reaction to the latest round of crashing roars coming from outside, and rushes over to her umbrella stand.

"Um. Uh. Hm. Uh? Hm. I dunno what I, erm, oh this one's really good but-- oh maybe the big one? No no no, that's ridiculous, how would that even help? I should just grab the-- no but it's so cool though! Oh, gosh gosh goshies, how do I pick?"

Yue's umbrella stand, it should be said, is stuffed full of swords. Also one (1) umbrella. Which she grabs! Obviously! But then her hand hovers over the hilt of a big two-handed sword roughly the size of a surfboard before drifting away to a delicate silver rapier. She grabs a katana without really thinking, then makes a face like she just ate a lemon and shakes her head once, twice, three times. And then! Weeeelllll, maybe? No, no. No. She puts it back. Then picks it up again. Then puts it back. She makes another little face and snatches it up once and for all and quickly ties it around her waist before she can think about it anymore.

"There's no time for this you sillyhead! If you don't go fix this right now, this afternoon's picnic'll be ruined! Probably! Think about how much is at stake, ok?"

In the end, she takes the giant sword. And the rapier. And the katana. And a pair of daggers attached by a loop of metal wire, and a small handaxe, and lastly a beautiful silver sword with a small but ornate guard and a straight, elegant blade. She smiles as she slips it into her belt. She leaves behind the bow, which she is still practicing and not that confident with, and her collection of handguns 'cause as cool as they are, this is a serious moment, ok?

Also? She forgets the umbrella. Instead of grabbing that, she goes back to her table and grabs her teacup. Somewhere in all of this, it's gone cold. She stubbornly sips it anyway, then stares out the open door at the smoke belching, sky splitting horror descending like a Sky Shark on everything she loves. She makes a pained, fussy sort of noise, and hopping from foot to foot puts the kettle back on the heat.

It's just! Bad luck! To not enjoy tea properly before an adventure! Probably! What would you know about it?! And while she's waiting for Cup Number 2 she's got time to go rummaging through her kitchen to find the container full of brownies she'd made the other night, the ones made with dark chocolate and chili crisp that she dotted with flaky salt like the first kiss of snow on a dark hill. Because, like, maybe monsters like brownies? Especially spicy ones? Hyra would be disappointed, but she of all people would understand if it was to save the picnic. Er, world. Whichever!

"Ah ah ah ah, hot hot hot owie owie ow!"

Yue clutches at her cup, too fresh and too hot to be enjoyed but out of time to wait, and dashes out the door with her swords rattling awkwardly against her scrawny frame. Instantly, she is soaked. Instantly, her palm moves to cover the cup and protect the precious tea inside. She's running with all her might, moving like the wind down the hill and toward the Terraced Lake.

Once there, she bravely hides behind a rock to gasp for (strategic) breath, sip (strategic) tea, and peak her head out (so, so bravely) to see what kind of crystal beast it is she has to fight. She's seen a lot in her life at this point, y'know? But this really takes the cake. Well, the brownies anyway. Which, she’s realizing, she did not bring enough of. Shoot.

How could it be anything but a monster? Or a city full of them? Maybe even a monster full of monsters. Because other than a giant plume of steam, everything she sees is terrifying, if not outright evil.

This pockmarked, scarred monument to excess and the color blue is sitting in the lake down the hill from her house, still belching black smoke into the plumes of rapidly evaporating water that are blotting out the storm clouds it already formed around it as it crashed. She watches dozens, if not hundreds, of tubes (...tongues? Please do not be tongues) suddenly zip out of the sides and begin drinking up the lake to such excess that she worries it’s going to run dry. And from the sounds of shouting coming from all over, she can tell that other people from around the area have come to the same conclusion. Though, none of them have quite been brave enough to get as close as she has.

Well then. There’s really nothing for it, is there? Space Monster though this may be, it (or they) is (or are!) being very rude and if she is going to be able to keep from disappointing her friends and her neighbors the very least that she can do is step up and do something about it all. Besides, hasn’t she been practicing a metal cutting technique? That should work on crystals too, shouldn’t it?

She takes a long sip of tea. It’s delightfully warm and not at all bitter, enough to fill her belly and all the way down to her feet with the quiet strength of springtime. She takes a deep breath and steadies herself. Ok girl, now’s the time to make a good first impression.

Yue steps out from behind her hiding place and draws her favorite sword. No, not that one. Or that one. Or those. Not that one either. Her simple, straight longsword with its beautiful silver blade and its minimalist guard. It’s the weapon she’s been with the longest, and the one that she trusts the most. Not that you aren’t cool, other swords! You’re super duper cool! The very coolest! Like, why else would she have brought you all unless you were so precious and perfect? But everyone knows you lead with surety. And this is the blade that goes with her dress, and the dress is what taught her she could be a swordswoman in the first place, so in the end that’s all the choice there is to make.

She settles into a combat stance, and suddenly the pieces of her armor make sense. She is guarded, as much as she is guided, by the perfection of her form. It steps like this, following like this, moving like this, and finishing like this. She points her blade at this demon leviathan ship thing, as it moans and opens its jaws/docking bays at the sight of her, and focuses all of her effort on looking as cool and as poised as possible.

“Um! Excuse me! You are being extremely rude right now!” she chirps, not at all nervously, “If you’re here for a fight that’s one thing but that is no excuse not to at a minimum introduce yourself before you go sluprin’ up our lakes like that!”

Her foot slides into position, the beginning of the dance.

“My name is Yue! Just Yue! Of the Terraced Lake! I brought snacks and butt kickings but I dunno if I’ve got enough of either so I hope you’re good at sharin’!”

Return to Thellamie

"So typical of a tree to sneer at the thought of an axe. Utterly pathetic. I would encourage you to put the Rot Star's words out of your mind, Yuki Edogawa. Difficult as that may seem. Her frightened yelps might creak with menace, but it does not do to confuse which one of you properly fears the other."

Ten steady steps forward. The distance could be cleared in fewer, but the gentleness of the motion in important. She reaches out with her finger and touches the tear that refuses to fall.

She brushes it away. But that is not true. Eclair pulls at it, instead. And in the motion, in the space, as her hand pulls away from Yuki's face, she comes away not with a fleck of salt water but with a thin opaline sword. An épée, to be more precise about it. Eclair lifts it high before she kisses it to her own forehead, and watches her friend with a smile.

"I am a Maid-Knight of the Aurora. The Morning, Noon, and Evening may be far from infallible, but in matters of the heart they are never incorrect. You may therefore trust my words are the truth. You know love and you know family, Yuki Edogawa, even if you cannot explain either. And you are greater than what you seem. Certainly you are greater than what comes most naturally to you, though that is not to imply that what comes naturally is not great."

With a wave of her free hand, she bids the blade to evaporate into light once more. Now she offers a curtsy, with her fingers placed perfectly about where her skirts should be, though she is still wearing the uniform of the Mystery Builder.

"Be at ease. What I have shown you today is the result of years of training and struggle. Continue practicing, and do not be afraid to take breaks. In time you will perceive the door that you are trying to open, and when you finally see it you will understand it all. If you ever feel lost in the dark, remember this:

"Starlight and destiny are burdens as certainly as they are blessings. If you lack for either it only means that your feet do not have to carry as much weight. You are not attempting to become more than you are: your heartblade is not a sign of your inadequacy. Therefore do not be afraid of failure, and do not be ashamed of what you know you can be. You are merely teaching your heart that it can be held with more than one grip. Once it comes to you, you will see at last how vast and brilliant Radiance truly is. More than could ever be matched by mere stars."

She yawns and walks over to a nearby chair to flop over and stretch herself out in an extreme display of both fatigue and impropriety. She is nearer to Mayzie now, almost near enough to note the purring, even if she doesn't dare approach that light out of sheer delighted nervousness that she might get burned.

"...If there is one thing that I despise, it is the way a lack of work allows the fatigue to catch up to my body. I shall need to eat soon if I am to ask you any questions. Is it not the stupidest thing imaginable? It should be against the law."

Breathless Dead

"What..." Bella's voice is barely more than a whisper, "...Was that?"

It has been an eventful afternoon.

The very moment the dropship opened up, Bella's mouth had fallen open in wonder. Only one other time in her life had she beheld a field of grasses and flowers this vibrant or fragrant, and it had fallen utterly short of the magnificence of this day. To call it perfumed would be a lie, to call it a portrait would be an insult. The myriad dotted reds and purples and yellows popping out of the green-brown-orange grasses had no discernible pattern to them, because nobody had arranged them. It could not be called a garden because it served no master to begin with. And when she'd seen the first butterfly, Bella had thrown herself on the ground with delight and refused to move from the spot until she was certain she'd counted every kind in the field.

When they found a waterfall it was another moment where everything had fallen still to appreciate the rush of the current more. Watching fish breach the surface at the bottom where the foam gave way to clearer waters, Bella's tail twitched with ancient instincts she did not know she possessed. It took every part of her willpower not to pounce on them from a hundred meters up. The last time she had seen anything like this she'd only been able to view it in comparison to Nero's Tellus, but the presence of life here shook even her oldest memories free from her thoughts. It could no longer be looked at through the lens of what was 'allowed'. As if existence were a question of legality or political influence.

She could hardly move through the forest for all of her twirling and leaping. To the top of what seemed like every tree; to peer at the leaves in their hundred patterns with wonder and curiosity and to laugh at the top of her lungs every time she startled another bird. To sniff at the many kinds of bark and learn the scents of sap and how it compared to the nectar of a flower, and to bend her ears to catch every paw and talon as it stalked them through the foliage. This, she told Redana, was a world she had dreamed of. In her worst moments it would come to her, this place of a trillion noises that still felt like silence, and when it filled her mind it was the only time she could steal real rest from the Palace. She spoke of it without even grimacing or glaring at anything.

But now, her finger points at empty space ahead of a plain of chest high grasses. There not moments ago was a creature she had never seen. A magnificent beast and proud, covered from tip to tail in soft, spotted fur and walking on four legs. Its head had sported a pair of sensitive, triangle shaped ears that had lifted to comical height when it sensed the pair of them. She had stared into its slitted, jewel-green eyes, watched its back hunch and its long tail lower as it dug its claws into the earth. At once predator and prey. At once majestic and delightful. Equally ready to spring forward or backward, equally likely in its demeanor to welcome or repel. It felt so far above the pair of them in its attitude, and then it had vanished without a sound as if it too could will itself across distances without the need for motion.

"What was that?" she says again, "Do you think it has a name?"

Bella looks at Redana, her eyes full of awe.

"They could try for a thousand years to engineer a Servitor that would rival that... creature and never come close to it. Dany, I can't - what was - can you even - without..."

Words fail her, and she takes the woman next to her into her arms and starts to cry. Redana feels both warmer and cooler, softer and firmer, but above all more real to her than she ever has before. She squeezes, teases out the shape of muscles with her fingers and takes deep breaths of that rich golden hair, more soothing than its ever been even with the scent of roses washed out of it forever. She feels hands against her back, and releases a purr from deep inside her throat.

She has never felt more Human in her life.