no foxes were harmed in the writing of this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Strike Witches.
After a couple false starts and taking into account the larger story I plan to write, I finally finished the chapter. It was more difficult than I originally thought, and wasn't helped by the crazy work schedule of the past two months. Things have calmed down, so I should be able to spend more time writing and update more frequently.
My sincere appreciation to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorited. Thanks!
Morning briefing. The 0700 assembly to receive the day's assignments, intel, and announcements was arguably the worst part of the day after having to actually wake up.
Like many of her fellow witches, Eila had never been particularly fond of the early morning assembly. When she was first assigned to the 501st, what had made it barely tolerable was the chance to see the quiet, newly arrived Orussian witch as their paths crossed during the day.
One recent late afternoon Miyafuji had told Sanya, Lynne, Perrine, and herself about the Tanabata festival in Fuso. The heavenly weaver and heavenly herder had been separated, each placed on opposite sides of the Milky Way for neglecting their duties because they were so enraptured with each other. Out of pity for the devastated couple, the gods allowed them one day a year to meet - the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month - known as Tanabata. When the 501st had first been created, the morning briefing rapidly became her own Tanabata, and as much as she hated to attend the cruelly early meeting, it was her one guaranteed moment in the day when she could be near the sweet, diminutive witch.
Her infatuation with the quiet silver-haired beauty soon grew to the point where those brief encounters were not enough, and she began volunteering to accompany her on night patrol to get closer to the introverted witch. At first Sanya refused to even talk during their patrols. But one cold winter night Eila came to the hanger before patrol with two cupcakes, offering one to the green eyed Orussain.
Curiosity piqued, Sanya asked why Eila had brought the treats.
"Today's my birthday," the Suomi witch informed her bashfully while fishing a solitary candle from her belt box. "Well, yesterday, actually."
"Oh! S dnyom Rozhdenia!" the night witch blurted out in her native tongue. "Why didn't you tell anybody it was your birthday today?"
"I didn't want to make a big fuss about it..."
"Silly! It's an important event! You must share it with your friends!"
Eila had wanted to tell Sanya that she was, but Sanya's smile stopped her from saying anything. It was the first time Eila had seen the Orussian witch smile during her time with the Strike Witches. She felt a deep joy she hadn't felt for a very long time when Sanya's lips curled upward and eyes crinkled with amusement. She smiled back shyly.
After the birthday girl blew out the candle, Sanya insisted they eat the cupcakes quickly so they wouldn't be late for their assigned night duty. The cupcakes were awful! - Eila was certainly no cook - but Sanya graciously ate the whole thing without grimacing along with the Soumi witch. In the sky that night Sanya revealed her own birthdate, and over the next several weeks she opened up to the older witch, telling about her life before joining the military and about her family, especially her beloved father who had sponsored her musical education in Vienna, and about the Neuroi scattering them far, far away.
Eila had felt her infatuation grow into protectiveness, and finally give way to love. The silver-haired beauty was always quietly reserved and guarded her emotions so closely that Eila had feared revealing how she felt towards her younger friend. Even after the short-haired witch began "mistaking" the Soumi witch's bed for her own, Eila couldn't tell whether Sanya came to her because she felt safe sleeping next to the long-haired vixen, or if Sanya felt the same way about her.
And so, even though she still disliked the early morning briefings, she felt a certain nostalgia as she sat through them, listening to the announcements and day's assignments.
"Eila?" Minna's voice broke through the pale-haired blonde's reverie.
"Huh? Uh... yes?" asked the Soumi witch, flustered. Shirley, Lucchini, and Hartmann snickered quietly as she tried to regain her bearings and vainly tried to recall what the Lieutenant Colonel had just said.
"I said your new strikers are scheduled to arrive today," repeated Minna, tolerantly.
"Oh!" exclaimed Eila, not even pretending she had been listening. "That's great news!" A heartbeat later, she realized what that meant. She felt herself deflating inside. Next to her, Sanya grinned happily at the thought of the Soumi witch rejoining her in the sky. Eila, however, wanted to find a deep cave to hide in.
The witches broke off for their assigned duties for the day. After her therapy session with Miyafuji, she was to assist Lynnette with barracks cleaning, then help prepare lunch with Lucchini. The afternoon would be spent on light training exercises with Sakamoto and the junior witches, pending Miyafuji's approval. Normally she would compensate the drudgery of these assignments with a little teasing in the case of Bishop, or pandemonium in the case of Francesca, but her mind wasn't looking forward to it.
The cool blue glow of Miyafuji's healing magic subsided. "That's it," smiled the Fusan. "Your physical therapy is finished."
Eila flexed her knee and arm. "It's still feels stiff," she complained, pointing at her knee.
"That's probably because you haven't been using it for a while," explained Yoshika. "I accelerated your healing, but your muscles, tendons, and ligaments are still recovering. It'll take a little while for you to be able to use them fully."
"How long do you think that will take," Eila asked, slightly annoyed.
"It could take a couple of weeks, it could take six months. Everyone is different." Yoshika put her index fingers together and twisted them. "But you may always feel stiff," she warned, almost mumbling.
Eila felt irritation boiling to the surface, and was about to give the smaller witch a piece of her mind. With sudden realization, her annoyance deflated. "I'm just glad you saved my life and my limbs," she said humbly, looking down at her bare toes. "Thank you."
Yoshika scrubbed the back of her head energetically, smiling. "No,no!" she demurred. "It's my duty to help my squadma... my friends."
Reaching out, Eila took Yoshika's hands into her own. "No, really. Thank you," she repeated. "You've given me another chance in life. I'll cherish the gift, always."
"Ahhhh..." Yoshika smiled nervously, blushing from neck to scalp. "I'm grateful my humble powers could help you," she said as she bowed formally.
"You don't give yourself enough credit," replied Eila, softly. She began getting dressed as Yoshika waved "see you later," heading to her next duty.
Schlack! Squuuuurlch Squaaaaarlch. Squuuuuurlch squaaaaarlch. Back and forth, back and forth. Squuuuuuurlch squaaaaaaaarlch. Eila lifted the mop and rung it out with a schloorckle. Back, forth. Back, forth. She rhythmically pushed water across the slate floor, lost in thought.
"Uhh, Eila? Are you feeling okay?" Lynnette asked, timidly.
"Huh? Wha...?" Eila replied.
Are you feeling okay?" the Brittanian repeated.
"Why do you ask?" replied the Soumi witch, continuing her mopping.
"Well," Lynnette hesitated, "I'm not soaking wet, and you haven't tried to mol... ah... touch me or anything yet."
Eila stopped. "What are you nattering on about?" she asked, an are you nuts? look on her face.
Lynne's face became flushed. "I mean, well, usually you try to... that is you typically gra... er... what I want to say is..."
Eila stared at the Brittanian in disbelief. Were the cleaning chemical affecting her brain? She was raving like a loony!
"... You don't seem to be your regular self," concluded the brown-haired witch.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Eila rejoined.
The Brittanian made a small panicking noise. She was concerned about her friend, who was clearly out of sorts, but to point it out was to openly invite the sort of attention she really wanted to avoid from the Soumi witch. "Ahhhhhhh..." she nervously tried to find the words to delicately explain the change in Eila's behavior, when suddenly the pale-haired witch was outlined in a blue glow, her familiar's ears erupting from beneath her hair, tail slipping out from under her grey-blue jacket. Lynnette watched in fascination as Eila stiffened, ears twitching like little radar dishes before flattening against the taller witch's skull.
"You manifested..." began the Brittanian, pointing at the Soumi witch's ears.
Eila didn't hear her. In the back of her mind, she heard her familiar whisper to her: Run! They are hunting you! No, that wasn't correct. She doubted that the fox spirit channeling her magic could even grasp the concept of human speech. Instead, her familiar on very rare occasion communicated with her by bathing her mind in images and emotions. She felt a foreboding, shadowy menace chasing after her, and an image of running fast through a forest.
"I... forgot to do something," Eila said, suddenly turning to Lynnette. "Can you finish the cleaning by yourself?"
Lynnette looked down the hall. There wasn't much mopping left in the witches' barrack - maybe another ten meters. She should be able to clean it by herself in five minutes.
"Yeah, sure, but..." Lynne protested to Eila's retreating back. "I wonder what that was about?" she asked under her breath.
"Excuse me, everybody," Minna stood at the entrance to the common room. Mio, Lucchini, Shirley, and Barkhorn looked up. "This is Gustav Laakkonen, from Soumus. He's here to deliver and calibrate Eila's strikers."
Behind her, a young man about five centimeters taller than Shirley snapped to attention, crisply saluting the witches. He had a smooth face, high cheekbones, and kind, star-blue eyes. His short hair was the same pale color as Eila's and uniform the same blue-grey as Eila's jacket. If Minna had not introduced him, there would have been no doubt regarding who he was and why he was on the base.
"I think she's still cleaning the barracks with Lynne," replied Barkhorn.
"I'll go get her," sang Lucchini. "We have cooking duty next." She got up and shot past the Wing Commander into cooridor.
Minna turned to follow Lucchini, Gustav in tow. "I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing Eila," said the Karlslander, making small talk. "How long have you known her?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied politely. "It's been a while. We've known each other since grade school."
"That's wonderful," smiled Minna. "Soumus has been very fortunate."
"Yes we have, thanks to the contributions of all the allied countries. Without their much needed help, we'd have been overrun a long time ago."
"I'm sure the tenacity of the Soumi people had something to do with it as well," Minna said praisingly.
They rounded the corner to the dormitories, where they found Lucchini speaking animatedly to Lynne.
"She's not here!" Lucchini reported, dismayed.
"She said she had to do something," confirmed Lynne.
"Do you know where she went?" Minna asked.
"No, she just headed the way you came. You should have seen her on your way here..."
Minna pursed her lips while Gustav stood mildly nearby.
"Are you from Soumus?" Lynne asked, curious.
Gustav smiled, nodding. "Yes, ma'am. Pleased to meet you," he said pleasantly. Lynne blushed and nodded back, flustered. "I'm sorry," she continued, "I have to finish here." Gustav nodded while she wheeled both mop buckets down the corridor.
"She should be in the kitchen soon," suggested Lucchini.
"We'll stop by in a little bit," agreed Minna. Turning to Gustav she said, "In the meantime, let's check to make sure the strikers were delivered to the hanger in one piece. Nodding, Gustav followed her back down the corridor.
Eila made her way rapidly down the hall from the barracks towards the hangers. As she passed through the services, she felt her familiar's ears twitch and tail bristle. They're close! Hide! Images of lurking behind boulders and in piles of leaves cascaded through her mind. She looked around her quickly and made her move.
"If you don't mind, I'll wait here and get set up to calibrate Eila's strikers," Gustav told Minna as he guided the facilities team's lowering of a large crate from the back of a transport truck. "It takes long enough to get them ready, and I don't want to lose any time."
Minna nodded. "I'll make sure we find her and send her over," she replied.
As she left, Gustav slammed the truck's rear gate and slapped the side hard to let the driver know he was dismissed.
Lynne hummed to herself as she wheeled the water buckets into the laundry room. With a grunt she lifted the first one up and poured its vile grey contents into the wash basin by the large washing machines.
"Has Eila turned up yet?" Barkhorn stood in the doorway, fists on hips. Behind her stood Shirley, smirk on her lips.
"No, not yet," Lynne replied, picking up and emptying the second bucket.
"When you're done there, help look for her," ordered the Karlslander. She and Shirley headed down the corridor.
"...check the bath and sauna..." Lynne could hear the Liberion say as they turned the corner.
Lynne washed her hands in the basin then wheeled the buskets across the hall to the custodial closet.
In the laundry room, a hamper shuddered slightly, then a small pile of clothes lifted, revealing two amethyst eyes. They're gone, Eila thought to herself. Hearing no noise, she cautiously got out of the canvas basket, showering a cascade of sweaty women's undergarments and shirts about her. It would have to be that one, she complained to herself, sticking her tongue out unhappily.
Inside the witches' mess Lucchini had already begun preparing the ingredients for lunch. Large metal bowls were filled with onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes. A pot of water was boiling on the stove next to a large pan with sizzling olive oil. Lucchini was rapidly rolling meatballs into a bowl, grumbling lowly to herself.
"Sorry I'm late," Eila announced, rushing into the kitchen. Thirsty, she grabbed a glass of water, chugged it down, then refilled it.
"Where have you been?" accused Lucchini. "Minna is looking for you and..."
"...I forgot to do something," interrupted Eila, lamely.
"Nevermind that," dismissed Lucchini. "I need you to put the pans of *batons* in the oven and put those packages of spaghetti in the boiling water."
Eila quickly put the bread in the oven and dropped the noodles in the pot, stirring with the large wooden fork as she added a dash of olive oil to prevent sticking. "What next?" she asked.
"Start sautéing the onions and garlic until they are clear. Add oregano, basil, bay leaves, and paprika."
"Paprika?" Eila asked.
"It's that red powder in the jars above the counter."
Eila reached up for the spices. Run! They're here! The warning thundered in her head, an overwhelming desire to flee enveloped her.
"Eila! No! That's Cayenne pepp..."
Eila didn't hear the Romagnian; the panic from her familiar was overwhelming. In a fear soaked daze she dumped the contents of the jar onto the pan of sizzling olive oil.
A choking cloud of burning spices billowed up from the stove, enveloping Eila, spreading rapidly through the kitchen. "Uwaugh!" the Soumi witch yelped. Startled by the sudden, intense burning in her eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, she hopped back away from the spice-bomb epicenter, knocking over her glass in the process. The glass tipped over into the frying pan. Cool water hit hot oil. The mixture exploded from from the pan, sending sizzling oil flying across the stove and prep area, and a cloud of acrid steam billowing from the open door of the dining area.
Moments later, Lucchini flew staggering out of the entrance, collapsing against the far wall, doubling over choking and hacking.
Down the hall a sudden wave of started and fearful exclamations erupted.
"Aiy! Mein gott!"
"Was zum Teufel?"
"It burns, it burns!"
"Gas attack! Neuroi gas attack!"
The base fire alarm started wailing, as an evil black acrid smoke began pouring from the door. Sakamoto came dashing through the burning haze, sleeve held against her mouth as a filter, her eyes watering a river of tears.
"What happened?!" the Fusan asked, rubbing Lucchini's back as the Romagnian coughed and wheezed.
"Eila had an accident in the kitchen. I think she started a fire," the younger witch choked.
"Where is she?" Mio asked, looking around for the pale-blonde.
"Wha?!" exclaimed Francesca, voice panicked. "She's not out here? She must be trapped in the kitchen."
"Yakkaidana," Mio muttered, looking into the doorway. She couldn't see more than a meter in the burning haze. She thought furiously about how she would enter the room to rescue the fallen witch. She couldn't leave Eila to suffocate in the kitchen fire, yet she couldn't leave Lucchini, who was rapidly succumbing to the acrid cloud. And why does it smell like Szechuan peppers out here? she asked herself.
The fire brigade appeared from around the corner, axes and extinguishers in tow, faces covered by bioweapon gas masks. "Eila's trapped inside!" Mio shouted as they ran past her. One remained behind tending to Lucchini and Mio as the others rushed into the murky gloom. The hiss of their extinguishers mixed with the sound of the building's evacuation and the fire klaxon. Sakamoto and Lucchini peered anxiously at the doorway through their masks while listening to the sound of the fire being extinguished. A few short minutes later, two of the firemen came out.
"There's nobody in there," one of them declared while the other went to give the all-clear signal.
"What happened to her?" exclaimed Lucchini.
"Did she come out with you?" Mio asked, concerned.
"No! And this is the only exit. Maybe she's hiding in the walk-in?"
"We checked," the fireman replied, "there's no one there."
"Huh?! Where could she be?!" Lucchini asked, distraught.
Minna, Barkhorn, Shirley, and Lynne crowded into the cooridor, coughing and eyes watering. "What's going on?" Minna asked.
"There was a fire and Eila's gone missing," reported Mio.
Alarmed, Minna ordered, "Mio, Lucchini, and Shirley, you start checking the outside perimeter. Lynne and Barkhorn, wake Hartmann and check every room in every building. I'll wake Sanya and check the hangers." Looking at all the assembled witches, she continued, "We need to find her quickly. She may be hurt and require medical assistance. Let's go!"
"Roger!" echoed the witches.
A knocking on the door woke Sanya. "Nnnn?" she asked, opening the door slightly.
Minna stood in the corridor, worried look on her face. "Sanya, is Eila in there with you?" she asked urgently.
"Ah... no," the Orussian answered shyly. The question implied more than she was comfortable revealing.
"There was an accident in the kitchen and we can't find Eila," Minna informed her, stress tickling the edge of her voice. "Please come help me find her."
With a look of alarm, Sanya replied, "Yes, ma'am." She shut the door, only to re-emerge dressed seconds later.
"Uh... Sanya," Minna observed, awkwardly, "You're wearing Eila's clothes..."
"Da," she replied quietly, hugging the light blue coat around her. "It's quicker to put on than my uniform," she explained.
Minna nodded. "Let's go," she said, leading Sanya towards the hanger. As they headed down the corridor, Minna asked, "Can you detect her with your Magical Radar?"
"No, ma'am," the silver-haired witch replied. "I can only detect Nueroi and people and other objects in general. I can't tell who a person is just by detecting them."
"Maybe you can detect someone behaving erratically?" suggested the Wing Commander, hopefully.
"On this base?"
"Good point," conceded Minna, grudgingly.
Mio, Lucchini, and Shirley emerged from the witches' barracks entrance and fanned out across the open space.
"We'll check the barracks and facilities areas first, move on the admin, tactical, then finish at the armory and airfield." The other two witches nodded in understanding. "If we haven't found her, we'll conduct a reverse search."
The three witches began searching the grounds. As they turned the corner of the Witches' facilities building, they saw the staff standing outside. "You, men!" Mio called out to the soldiers milling around. "Flight Lieutenant Juutilainen is missing. Help us locate her!"
A chorus of "Yes, ma'am" came from the assembled staff. They began splitting up to find the missing aviator.
Lucchini searched the grounds to the west of the barracks up to the tree-line of the encircling forest. She prepared to climb up the nearest one when she was grabbed by the collar from behind.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sakamoto demanded.
"I was going to make sure she wasn't hiding in the woods..." the Romagnian responded, staring longingly at the branches being denied her.
"She's a fox, not a cat," admonished Sakamoto.
"But... but... but..." stuttered Lucchini, arms outstretched for the trees.
"No napping until we find her."
"Awwwwww..." whined the Romagnian as she was half dragged by Sakamoto to the next search grid.
"What is going on down there?" Perrine said to Miyafuji as they made their approach to the base.
In the distance the two witches could see smoke rising from the facilities building and ant-sized people dashing frantically about the grounds of the base.
"It looks like there was a fire!" exclaimed Miyafuji, worried. "I hope nobody was injured."
Perrine looked over at her friend. "I'm sure they would have ordered us back to base earlier if anyone was seriously hurt," she consoled the Fusan.
Miyafuji nodded, face still betraying her worry. "I wonder why those people are running around outside," she said.
"Good question," agreed the Gallian. "Let's hurry back and find out."
Sensing the coast was clear, Eila slipped from her perch in the tree Lucchini had tried to climb, and landed in a crouch, ready to spring to action. That was close! she thought to herself. If spaghetti-girl had taken her nap...
Her thoughts refocussed on escaping her persuers. Drat that Sakamoto, she cursed in her mind. She had to go and conscript the service staff, too. In the back of her mind she could feel her familiar; the wretched furball seemed to be enjoying itself!
Timing her move just right, she dashed across the clearing and over to the barracks, flattening her back against the building. She tried one window, finding it locked. She tried a second window. This one was open. She slid it up, quickly but quietly, and slipped in steathily.
As she slid the window shut someone pounded on the door.
"Wake up! Hartmann!" Barkhorn bellowed from the hall. Bristling, Eila looked about her frantically, then dove.
The door flew open with a crash. Silhouetted in the frame stood Gertrud, arms angrily planted on her hips. Lynnette stood timidly behind her, fists to chin.
"Wake up! Now!" the Karlslander bellowed even louder.
"In 50 minutes," Erica replied automatically, sleepily slurring her words.
"No minutes! Eila's missing! You must help look for her!" declared the brunnette.
"You can handle it without me..." replied Erica. Eila could feel herself getting groggy just listening to the little Karlslander's sleepy voice.
"Grrrrrrr," growled Barkhorn in irritation. She strode through the wreckage of Hartmann's room, grabbed Erica by the ankle and yanked her out of the bed. "Yii-Aaaaaa!" exclaimed Gertrud as Hartmann hit the floor, completely naked. "Put some clothes on!" the older Karlslander ordered, flustered. In the hall, Lynne turned ever darker shades of red.
"Mmmmnnnnn," grunted the shorter witch in irritation. She sat up and grabbed clothes from her bed, sniffing them, rejecting those that didn't smell quite fresh enough. Once she was satisfied she had a clean enough set, she quickly dressed and followed Barkhorn out of the room, ignoring the pig-tailed brunette's lecture: "...pper Karlsland soldier maintains order and always has a clean uniform at the ready..."
After the door closed behind the Karlslanders, Eila lifted her head from behind a hillock of junk.
"Holy crap!" she muttered quietly. "Barkhorn wasn't overreacting about this place..."
"This place sure is lively," Gustav said to the tech working next to him as he watched the commotion outside the hanger.
"Have you ever worked with witches before?" replied Tomas, a crooked smile on his face.
"Sure; I was stationed at Kauhava," Gustave assured.
"And it wasn't lively up there?" Tomas asked, disbelievingly.
Gustav turned back to his equipment. "Not like this..."
Both men looked up as Perrine and Yoshika taxied into the hanger, drifting over to their launchers. After they dismounted, both witches came over to where the two men were working.
"What's going on," Perrine asked.
"There's been a fire," Tomas replied. "And evidently Eila's gone missing."
"Missing?" Yoshika exclaimed.
"Yes, and we need to find her so he can calibrate her strikers," Tomas nodded, motioning with his thumb over to Gustav.
Perrine followed his thumb. "You must be... the man from Suomus, with Eila's units."
"Second Lieutenant Gustav Laakkonen, ma'am." He saluted smartly. Perrine smiled while Yoshika grinned in embarrasment. "Yes, I'm preparing to calibrate them as soon as she arrives." He looked at both witches, taking them in.
Young, Fusan, still has magic, he thought. "You must be Pilot Officer Miyafuji," he said to Yoshika. "Your destroying the core over Venezia has inspired us in Suomus to fight the Neuroi even harder."
Yoshika's cheeks colored as she laughed in embarrassment. Turning, he noted the dark blue Gallian uniform with gold piping on the sleaves. "And you must be Flight Lieutenant Clostermann," he exclaimed. "Your work restoring Gallia after the Neuroi motivate us in Suomos to do the same."
It was Perrine's turn to blush at the unexpected praise. "It's the least I can do," she demurred.
"Perrine, Yoshika, welcome back," greeted a soft voice.
They turned to see Sanya, dressed in Eila's coat, and Minna.
"Oh, hei! En tiennyt siellä oli toinen noidan Suomen täältä," said Gustav to Sanya, smiling broadly.
"Chto?" replied Sanya, startled to be greeting in Suomi. Gustav looked taken aback by her response.
Perrine quickly introduced Gustav. "And this is Flight Lieutenant Sanya V. Litvyak, of the Orussian airforce," she said. Gustav saluted. Sanya blushed, while Minna said "You three please keep looking for Eila, I'll check to see if the others have been successful."
"Pleased to meet you," continue Gustav.
"Same here," replied Sanya shyly.
"Come, Sanya," said Perrine to Sanya. "You really should change into your own uniform." She led both younger witches from the hanger to search for their missing friend.