Disclaimer:
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is the creative property of Seven Arcs, whom created this wonderful anime/manga series. Anything not attributed to Seven Arcs belongs to their respective owners, such as other series, references, and vice-versa. This story is written purely just for fun, guys; please for God's sake, don't sue me! I'm just a college student with too much free time on his hands! On the other hand, any specific author created characters I created for this fic (despite how unoriginal they may be at times) are mine. So without further ado, let's get on with the show!
The Surgeon General's Warning:
Read at your own risk.
Mahou Shounen Enforcer Chrono!
Before Lyrical
Entry 1.21:
The Chariot (VII)
A Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha AU fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
Sincerely, I think it has been an eternity since I had a breakfast, with "family and friends", then again, methinks the morning of Friday, Aprilis the 4th, T.C. 4654, would be one of the all too rare times before I would enjoy such an occasion again. It was unfortunate Grandmother and Grandfather could not be present. They did express grave regret at not being present at all the entire time I was home, but I knew better than the begrudge for such a thing. For those who possess power, time only brings about exponential chains of responsibility that one must carry, regardless of the bearer's feelings.
"Mmm~! Isn't today's weather just great? Mommy feels she made a perfect decision," Mother beamed in a sing-a-song tone, nodding at her own "apparent" genius(?). "Hmm, mmm, that's right! Today's just the day to go out on the town in: Lil' Vene~zia~!"
Her good cheer, though, was met by a round of subtly stiffening backs around our small dining table du jour for three, the manse having transported us to our own private aquarium through which the morning sun cast a bluish glow all around us. Beyond the thick acrylic glass, the denizens of the deep made their daily rounds in the vivacious kelp forest, and out of the corner of your eye on occasion, you may just spot the fabled merfolk peeking out from behind a curtain green. The majesty of it all was not lost even on a hard case like Ryuune Zoldark, caught somewhere between bewitched and fearful all at once, being surrounded by so much water. Understandably, being a Corellian, she had never been to the sea in her short life.
Still... Aye, my, me, I knew, this dreaded event was coming all along; delayed only by the shear force of misfortune, which upon such an auspicious day (seventy-two degrees Centigrade, clear sky), the Mysteries would hold back no longer. It was Spring, and the start of the season when the new Undine trainees would start making their appearance, along with the early train of tourists that would culminate into the bash of Summer. Shame; Ryuune and myself would probably miss it this year, granted I would make such a feat as convincing her to come to such the festival something of a personal crusade, before we graduated in just another two and half years time.
The sound of a double-tap chime in my thoughts, though, distracted me from an immediate verbal cessation to Mother. Across the table, a certain Corellian Hellcat clearly wanted a word or two, before she inevitably submitted to what was to come.
Hey. What's this about... I could see the agitated shudder in her jaw. ...going out? And. Lil' Venezia?
Obliged, I filled her in as brief and to the point as possible, a preferred efficiency for those of us in the business of war, but to see Ryuune Zoldark pale at...
H-Hey, cut the phobium. Y-Y'er not... Se-rious. Right? Me. Civilians. Mingling. CROWDS. SHOPPING? DRESSES! ...Are you trying to get me killed?!
"Uuuuu..."
Suffice to say, our secret conversation completely failed the test of subtlety, as Mother was whimpering openly, heart wrenching tears coming to her almost magically so. If there was a metaphor that suited her watery-eyed expression, it was that of an abused puppy, complete with dog ears in fact (or was that a sleight of hand acquired headband?), and we must be villains of the blackest hearts to...
"L-L-Lin'buir, d-don't cry! P-Pl-please, please! I'll go; I'll go; promise!"
Like a punch to the gut, my jaw dropped, as the atmosphere took on an auspiciously happy shine. I could not believe how quickly Ryuune Zoldark just cracked under pressure from the relentless assault of my mother's tear ridden eyes, and her lonely-looking puppy impersonation. With a joyful cry, Mother all but darted out of her seat in a blur, arriving a heartbeat later by the blonde-haired girl's side (sans "neko mimi" / cat ears), whom she proceeded to nuzzle with glee.
"This fellow is great~! Chrono dearest, you'd better treat her nice, 'kay?"
Understandably, the object of her affections was reacting like a cat to water, and trying her best not to scream, while her expression turned blue with black squiggly lines dribbling down from her cheeks. It made for an interesting contrast to the happy, lovely glittering atmosphere that clung around Mother, but even I knew better than to ignore the wordless cry for help (a timely distraction). If I did, the unspoken Grim Reaper that curiously resembled a certain Corellian hellcat, substituted with gleaming deathly red eyes, hovering above the delightful scene, would be spoken for I imagine at a later date.
But wait? Did she just call Mother, "Mama Lin"? ...cute. No! I mean, must be my delusions! Yes.
"Y-Yes, but, er, pardon my curiosity, Mother-"
"O~kay, Mommy forgives you!"
"Will it be just us or-"
"Of course not, Mommy invited her best friends too."
Her best friends? Wait...oh. Oh! So that's how it is.
The order of the day was to change over into casual clothes, and Captain Lindy Victoria Harlaown Le Fay was dead serious, meaning if you had jeans, wear them. Form up outside on the front of the manse by 0900, er, I mean, nine o'clock sharp, and no later; anyone late will be subject to a penalty game, and anyone caught being too flashy would take a penalty game, too! That was all, and being obedient young soldiers, who would loathe to disappoint, I made sure to make my own appearance at least fifteen minutes early.
What confused me was the disappearance of Ryuune Zoldark. Well, not so much disappearance in the literal sense but more so: why was she not out here already? earlier? or at the same moment as myself? I assure you we had nothing close to a passionate rivalry in the legendary realm shared by the likes of Mother and Captain Lowran. Still, it was odd.
"I wonder what delays her?" I murmured, inspecting myself over once more.
Jean-Pierre had left me at the doors, taking his leave to carry out his other duties, after giving me look-see himself: khaki trousers, plain shoes, light blue shirt with sleeves up and left unbuttoned to be a decorative jacket, and white T-shirt. I was still fashion illiterate due to my relative youth and upbringing, but he assured me I would be able to pass for a ordinary citizen easy, until someone would start to actually pay strict scrutiny to myself. He told me you could dress a wolf in sheep's skin but a wolf was still a wolf, ergo an unalienable truth.
Again, I wished my older compatriots would not use idioms that flew completely over my hand and expected me to understand them by myself. It would be cycles down the line before I understood that one and many more "pearls of wisdom" spilled out onto my plate.
KRAK-BAM.
If the sudden noise had been the explosion of a thermal detonator or anything that remotely resembled an explosion, I assure you I would have been the first person to kiss the dirt. Master Drill Instructor Sergeant Major Walon Vau (Mysteries! I am going to shake the habit of referring to him like that one of these days) had drilled "Incoming!" into my training platoon quite adamantly, up to the point where we could recognize a small plethora of weapons by sound alone. Our squad bay was never quiet when we were on deck, including bed time. Either you learned to sleep with the "noise", or you would not sleep at all.
"Gyahhh!" came a familiar feminine shriek, "Lem'me go! Lem'me go! I'm not gonna... Not gonna go out like this!"
"Mou, now don't be shy! Mama Lin is absolutely, one-hundred percent serious that you're perfect!"
WHAT!
I am sure Mother did not have a predilection for drama. If anything, it was shear natural genius! Out through the flung open doors came Mother, happy as can be, dressed quite youthfully (and I dare say to impress?), and in her wake, the second surprise of the day that made my jaw drop. I do not know how they do it, but once again, the staff had succeeded utterly into transforming Ryuune Zoldark the Corellian Hellcat into a bonafide little angel; the fact, she was forced to ride out on a cushion of air at Mother's behest only helped to improve her image.
A magnolia white sundress, beach sandals (and is that a fresh pedicure and nail polish?), a matching dainty purse and shawl for comfort, and a fashionable summer straw hat complete with a long blue ribbon: she, the advent of a "Little Miss Sunshine" without a doubt. Naturally, Mother dropped her off right beside me, the radiant palmtop hellcat, bereft of her nigh-impenetrable armor of tomboy, seemed more feminine than ever. Understandably, the girl gave a cattish yowl upon landing, retreating hastily under the brim of her straw hat trembling.
Perhaps, she did not like to show off skin? I did not see anything wrong, in particular, about her dress that may constitute indecency, so why all the fuss and flustered curls?
"S-Stop starin' at me!" Ryuune mewled out almost too adorably.
It was so powerful that I was taken aback with a hasty cough, "S-Sorry, I was but-"
"See, see? It really suits you. Tee hee hee, why don't you give him a little twirl for extra points?" giggled Mother in a giddy high, as she descended the steps. With her ponytail tied low, tailing along under the brim of her cowboy hat, I would have to say her image was clearly that of the unbelievably energetic country girl from the Amerian "Wild West". "Mama Lin knows her baby boy best. Follow Mommy's lead and you'll have his heart in no time~!"
"Wh-Who! Who'd want a flaming idiot durasteel-head that attracts trouble like a burning exhaust port?"
"But, y'know, what's life without adventure, Ryu~Ryu?"
I suspect something monumental happened in the past hour and a half that I was not a part of, unfortunately, between those two "women". Then again, considering the many unpleasant travails of the past week, methinks it was an acceptable outcome, as the situation in front of me turned into a surrogate familial debate of sorts. The dilemma was I would prefer to have advance warning of any potentially awkward schemes about to explode in my face.
"Ah, someone's late," Mother remarked all of a sudden.
"H-Hey! Changing the subject already? That's cheating!" Ryuune blurted out, red-faced. Now, why on earth was she still using her "summer hat" as a shield against me, I wonder? Was it not awkward to argue with someone while holding an object out at arm's length to ward off another?
"But they're really-really late, really~!" my mother went on without missing beat, indicating to her charm bracelet, an eccentric trinket adorned with gold, silver, glass, and LED beads. Shaking her wrist, an unexpectedly nondescript small holographic display lit up showing us the time and date. Funny: I was expecting something a lot more cutesy to be frank. "Mou, and That Tiger Girl even swore all high and mighty she'd be here on sharp this time."
"'Tiger Girl'? Who's that?"
Ah, someone was failing to realize she was contradicting herself. But, oh well, it was a good change of subject as any, considering Ryuune stopped, finally, using her summer hat for a shield and wore it as it should be. ...I have to admit it; the "Little Miss Sunshine" look suited her certainly.
"Oh, the kind of childhood friend who never grew past Sorcery and Mysteries."
"Huh?"
"The best game for kids to grow up with, uh-huh," nodded Mother, with a wink.
"Eh... I really don't get it," at least that what I assumed Ryuune's lips murmured mutely in turn, as she lowered her gaze in awkward ignorance.
"Ah-a~ah! Don't worry, Mama Lin will play with you, before bedtime tonight."
"Eehhhhhhh!" that she blurted out aloud.
"Now, let's see if I can get a hold of..."
"M-Ma'am, I-"
"Oh!"
Mother must have seen the distant flock of avians scattering into the air, for when I turned to follow her line of sight, my own eyes caught the gleam of metal in the sun. The muted purr of a distinctive set of repulsorlift engines greeted us next as the gleam materialized into a rugged, robust Arrow-23 transport landspeeder, a favorite of civilians and soldiers alike. Featuring military-grade armor, blaster-resistant windows, and a top speed of four-hundred kilometers per hour, thankfully it bared our house colors and lacked the more military upgrade packages I am used to seeing. Arrow-23s from where I stand usually are armed with a single laser cannon or a concussion grenade launcher; both of which can be aimed from within the safety of the craft.
The macabre delusion that we were about to become the victims of a hit-and-run assaulted my thoughts briefly, before I banished them away. Absolute nonsense I tell you...but real.
Soon enough, the landspeeder taxied to a stop before us, engines shutting off on an almost mellow note, before the side entry hatch hissed open. Voices from inside the cabin became immediately audible, oddly enough; in fact, there seemed to be quite the commotion because the Arrow-23 was rocking about in a surly manner. I was tempted to go investigate myself when a sudden curiosity came flying out: a head.
"Well, how rude!" cried the airborne dismembered clam shell-shaped head with an eerily familiar voice. That over-the-top effeminate tone...could it be?
"Ah, Bobby~!" Mother wailed histrionically, moving to intercept at once.
"Huh? Oh, could it be, could it be? 'O Lady? 'O Lady~!"
Naturally, she caught it, causing the scene to change shift, metaphorically, to a dazzling display of warmth and flowers, as if the moment in time was a happy reunion long in the making. For myself, I could not resist the tic that infected my brow instantly with an unhealthy twitch; a reaction that I noted was replicated in Ryuune's scowl. Our mutual verbal reaction in synch was:
"What the frak is that?"
"So cruel! Oh, Bobby my sweet, who did this to you?"
"'O Lady, 'O My Fair Lady, it was so terrible~!"
Further elucidation on Bobby's part was halted by a most untimely feminine yowl that remarkably replicated the ferocity and immense primal pressure of a hrosma tiger! The landspeeder shook, and all was deathly quiet, then a low pained moan:
"Muuuuhh...n-never again! The Great Leti will die, definitely, absolutely, if the great me has to do that again..."
The first feminine voice I did not recognize but the latter masculine voice, its owner emerging from the hatch, was...
"S-Sorry, Missus Lowran, but-"
"It's not Missus! It's Miss Lowran, you useless dragon!"
...Lieutenant-Commander Tetsuya Onodera (as expected) in the flesh, with one sickly-faced Captain Leti Lowran draped upon his shoulders, piggyback style. I never met the latter before but immediately I was struck by two things: first, the lady's beauty, whom resembled my mother as such that they could pass for sisters, though I would rather not get into the hairy argument of their three sizes. Second, the command mantra tattoo prominent on her forehead was similar in design to Mother's, save it bore triangle seals on the east and west, facing inwards, while seals in the shape of "eyes", tapered at either end into sharp points, aligned vertically to north and south. And of course, they were inked to match the amethyst color of hair, just like how Mother's seals matched hers, too.
The latter feature, clearly, distinguished her as more than just a beautiful face but an eminent magus; a magi with sizably deep pockets. Command Mantras hailed from the venerable magical theory of symbology, and are considered the high masterpieces in the art, for unlike conventional symbols they require no invocation to activate. Able to generate a variety of phenomena at great "outputs", they are suffice to say quite exhausting and expensive to manufacture; thus, only a select community of individuals possess them.
Fashionably speaking, Captain Lowran had gone the opposite direction of Mother and was the definitive "city girl" in business casual, though I had to wonder... Were those glasses she wore genuinely necessary? In our fantastic day and age, it was already child's play to have one's vision corrected to standard, if not enhanced to be far superior.
"Erm, my apologies..." Tetsuya colored faintly at the oddly affectionate rebuke. He, too, was dressed casually for the occasion but the presence of his khaki utility vest gave the hint that he was prepared for a hike and worse.
I wonder why?
"Tet~su~ya!" Mother entered the fray with a coquettish lilt, having handed Bobby's head off to me. The sound of her voice diverted the poor man's attention clear away from the grousing tiger woman on his back, leaving him blissfully unaware he had just been caught "between a rock and hard place" in beautiful metaphor.
"Ah, C-Captain, it's good to see you."
"En~chante!"
"Sorry about your droid, but we were running late and so-"
"Now, you don't have to say anymore because I bet that clumsy tiger is the bad reason, isn't she?"
Well, now, that's rare. I was not aware that this particular facet of Mother could carry a conversation, without being her usual "extraordinarily cutesy" self.
"Who's clum-sy..urghhhh...ah, how unsightly. The great me feels sick," Captain Lowran groaned miserably. I wonder why she was referring to herself in third person? It was rather --- eccentric. "Thank the Mysteries, my little Griffith isn't here to see his 'Number One Mother in the Universe' like this. The Great Leti, who sleeps through parent-teacher conferences because they're too damned slow, would be shamed into the shadow of thunderstorms!"
I glanced over at Ryuune, and her response, expressed plainly on her face, defined my reaction exquisitely so:
WHAT...?
"I think your lil' Griffy would be mortified if he knew his mommy wasn't what she sold herself to be on the package. The vision of discipline and zealous professionalism! Perfection. Elegance. Symmetry, oh my~!"
"Guh...! T-Tetsuya, you dr-dragon, say something!"
Such a suggestion, Tetsuya could not refuse clearly, for he winced at the amethyst-haired woman's lustrous manicured nails digging into his shoulders. "Ah, well... I was surprised that Missus Lowran-"
"It's not Missus; it's MISS Lowran, urrghmmm, dam-mit!"
"Er, well, her true self was something else from the image she projected. It's... quite interesting really."
Mother laughed, pleased apparently at the tiny blow dealt to her self-proclaimed childhood rival-friend's ego, "See, I told you she was to-ra-bu-ru, Tetsu~ya!"
"Tet-Tetsuya!" Captain Lowran pounced back with a vengeance, instantly, red face with embarrassment, "You useless dragon! Ugh...oooo. I'm, n-never letting you drive again!"
Suffice to say, the situation before myself and Ryuune unraveled into something, so I was told by the droid in my arms, which resembled a love-comedy sitcom, minus the physical tugging and pulling. Bobby, humming aloud in delight, confessed "she" was responsible partially for scheming the above drama because "she" could not resist playing Cupid for a tiny bit. Thus, "she" did not mind terribly that Captain Lowran had decapitated him during her fit back in the speeder. As for the poor man at the center of the storm, methinks Mister Onodera deserved a medal honestly for his sacrifice to the good of all.
I should be remorseful for getting him into this situation, but since he did volunteer of his own volition to be thrown into the maelstrom, please do not think less of me for not being more sympathetic.
Still, such a happy scene could not last forever, namely because Ryuune Zoldark hated to be left out of the loop. Clearing her throat, a most disgustingly grotesque noise that left me appalled on the spot for it was without a doubt unladylike behavior to the hilt, she caught the attention of the frolicking adults. Their heads immediately snapped to attention, like an artillery shell had detonated nearby, but Captain Leti Lowran stole the hour once again.
"UOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" she hollered, wide-eyed, leaping off Tetsuya, as if powered by an ejection seat. The poor man, fortunately, managed to keep his balance.
Faced with a such an awesome reaction that cut her off prematurely, the young Corellian hellcat froze up, unbelievably so, making herself an easy to target for the grasping paws of the veteran Mid-Childan tigress. Her previous fatigue gone, and indeed I was stunned by both her sudden approach, a blur of amethyst, and miraculous recovery, she hauled the girl up by underneath her armpits. Ryuune howled, not in agony, but in spontaneous laughter for she was struck by a most insidious tickling attack by Captain Lowran, as the woman pirouetted about, effortlessly.
"What, what, what, what's this? Who is this?!" she said aloud, her glasses catching a most odd gleam in the sun. I was reminded of a mad scientist looming over an operating table where her next fearful victim, bound and gagged, struggled and screamed helplessly.
"Gyah...! Ah...tee hee hee...y-you...ahahaha!"
"Hey, yous: stupid Chihuahua and useless Dragon! Blonde hair, blue eyes... Is this your secret love child you've been sneaking behind Leti the Great? ...THAT'S CHEATING!"
...huh?
"I, the Great Leti whose roar shakes the Heavens, want a baby kitten girl like this too!"
Suffice to say, jaws dropped and faces turned beet red at such a bold declaration. Just what in the Mysteries was this woman? The only person who seemed to come close to her type that I could think of was Nagi Dai Artai, but unlike himself, she was throwing her ego around like it was a badge authority or some such.
"L-let, tee hee hee, le'go of, pffttt, me, y-you... You old hag!"
Instead of the temperature dropping, as one ought to expect in such a classic escalation, someone seemed to turned the thermostat level up to "INFERNO". I came to learn fast that Captain Leti Lowran was not the type to let her anger run cold; oh, no. She was the type of stubborn hardcore "daughter of a bastard" who was always at her best, pardon the possible pun, "at climax!" (whatever that means).
"Old...h-hag. Old. Hag, huh?!" hissed the sharp-eyed woman, revealing a gleaming feral smile, "Isn't that some great guts you got there, little cub? Good."
With those parting words, Captain Lowran dropped the Corellian hellcat and leapt aside, parallel to my gawking mother and the Zipang dragon, clearing valuable space in a flash before the girl even landed on the ground. Projecting a faint murderous air, she looked every bit the part of a tiger, awesomely so.
"Then I, Countess Leti Valere Lowran of The Chariot (VII), challenge you to a test of valor!"
Oh, Blood and Ashes! What a disaster! Now, it makes perfect sense: that ego, that appearance, that influence, and that...
"Everyone, outta the way! Harlaown, here: watch the stuff."
"O Sir, it might be smart to follow what the little lady says," Bobby chipped in, with a worried tone.
With a thunderclap, the countess slammed her open palm into the white cobblestone pavement, heaven and earth seemingly shook, as day turned into night(!). Inscribed spontaneously onto the ground at Captain Lowran's feet, encompassing her, was a glowing magic circle, unlike any I had ever seen before: a pair of concentric circles, rotating in opposite directions that framed a perfect diamond. Visible in the band formed between the circles (aside from the triangles made from the intersecting lines and curves), an archaic glyph, unique to each of the four sides, to which they appeared to represent the four fundamental elements(?).
I did not get an additional moment to examine the circle for the air became frenzied with brilliantly crackling electricity, forcing me to scurry away instinctively to relative safety. Of course, Mother and Tetsuya saw to their own refuge, too, but glancing over at them, I was stunned to see there was naught an ounce of anxiety on Mother's face at all. If anything, she looked annoyed, and it was the poor man beside her who expressed concern on his strained countenance.
A roar pierced the moment, drawing my attention back to Countess Lowran, as she rose up to her feet. Pulsing visibly, the magic circuits in her right arm were all aglow, creeping all the way up to her face: a column of orange flame sprouting spontaneously from the ground. Light and shadow were cast about, dancing in the firelight, as a black silhouette took shape within.
"Hnn...ah! Good, the carbon concentration is just right. Turn up the heat! That's it; that's it! Yes! Athanor: synthesis complete!"
With that command, the countess snatched the object out of the flame, shattering the spectacle in an instant. The night gave way back to day, and the only evidence of her work was the faint of motes of spent mana, to which I saw Mother mouthed plain as day "Show off, mou", with a dead fish-eyed stare. Brandished proudly in her hand was a weapon, too short for an adult, but seemingly just the right size for a child: by my reckoning, a partizan affixed to rich oakwood and adorned with a small amethyst standard, bearing a gold trim. The spearhead made of a most curious metal that showed off a visible grain pattern, not unlike the ridges of a fingerprint, and possessed of a resinous luster.
"I won't bother with tiresome specifics," Lady Lowran tossed the partizan over to Ryuune, "but you'll get used to my partizan real quick; after all, it's the same one I used when I was your age, and my eye says we're a pretty alpha match."
I thought it amazing she remembered how to create a weapon from that long ago off the top of her head, but more importantly, what manner of magic was this? You see, if it was an obvious enough by the fireworks in my eyes, I had been inspired by her feat of magic.
As for the Corellian girl, she was not impressed in the slightest by the spectacle, catching the partizan one-handed. The air hummed whilst Ryuune Zoldark maneuvered the two-handed polearm with surprising ease and grace, before slamming the weighted spike-tipped butt into the cobbled pavement with dire finality. Somehow, I thought it more beautiful she was doing such an awesome thing in little more than sandals and a sundress, and true to the Countess' words, the partizan was an ideal match.
"Don't worry, Old Hag; as long as you're not cheating, I won't hold back when it comes to kicking shebs!"
"You blind brat, I know you're squinting at the Great Leti's magnificence beneath the morning sun that breaths the soul back into all who bare witness, but that's genuine Damascus steel! A work of art crafted by my-"
"Who cares about some expensive thing when you have vibro blades?"
"Ehhhhhhhh! Barking is cheap. C'mon, c'mon! Show me what you've got, girl!"
"Don't hafta say so, woman!"
Their nigh ritualistic preamble over, a custom only possible in a "civilized" duel, the two lionesses charged at each other. The younger of the two had no set form for her weapon but she held it abreast as such that it was naturally most advantageous to wield. Why the Countess had obliged Ryuune with such a courtesy; the only answer I could think of was "to be fair". Clearly, there was a huge disparity in height, but to take on an armed opponent, no matter how young, who did not fear combat, Leti Lowran must be a meister of more than just magic.
But, wait, when charging someone armed with a melee weapon, in particular, would it not be smart to create a...
"Hiyoooooo! An opening!"
I see, so she is a "cheater".
"Che! YOU-"
Kicking off both pumps she wore into impromptu projectiles, Ryuune found herself surprised by a pair of women's footwear that flew with surprising accuracy. Clearly, it was not the first time the countess had attempted such a "clever" maneuver, and her younger counterpart was forced to think fast. Evade or defend: neither choices seemed particularly attractive against a seasoned opponent. Could instinct prevail over experience?
"It's not enough to be strong; you need a good head on your shoulders too!"
With an irritated snarl, the Corellian girl went whole hog, batting aside the projectiles with careful parries, while stepping forward boldly. It was an insane maneuver, for she was not optimal striking range, but here so she did an ingenious thing, shooting the partizan up and forwards, barely holding onto the spiked butt in a two handed grip. Her reach had near tripled and striking now with her entire body, screaming!
Whoosh!
The reckless blow missed; Countess Lowran, scarcely batting an eye, as she step aside from the deadly arc and leapt through gracefully like a ballerina in beautiful form. I could not call the act a martial technique at all considering how extravagantly she displayed herself. Her eyes so clear and sharp had seen through the wager, with hesitation, and so she landed on one foot astride Ryuune's line of attack, well within reach of her long nimble legs. But the only warning she received of an unexpected development was...
Crack.
A feat of strength and simple physics, the Corellian cat had outdone herself, breaking the shaft of the partizan in twain. As Ryuune rose up to recover, the countess in turn pirouetted in place and her right leg snaked out, a striking serpent, to coil around the girl-child's throat. With the height difference, it would be easy to leverage and toss her to the ground, but such a move Ryuune sensed. The broken end of the shaft switched to one hand, her free hand shot up abruptly to intervene.
Silence.
"Hah...but....the most important thing....Tiger Lady...is to never give up. A zero-point-zero-zero-one percent chance is still a chance! The will to survive, to keep fighting with all you've got! That's my victory!"
It was all over. Yes, she was off balance, back arching uncomfortably so. Countess Leti Lowran held her hostage in a standing leglock by the neck, an amazing feat of balance and strength, and was ready to still toss the girl straight to the pavement. Ryuune Zoldark's arm had held off the possibility of a knee choke (of all things), but the real threat was the jagged, broken end of the partizan's shaft that hovered just centimeters away from the amethyst-haired woman's thigh.
Had it been true combat: neither of the lioness would be prowling the savannah anymore this day, I suspect.
And so, the Countess of the Chariot brow knitted together and she gave a huff, a clear end to hostilities as set the one who had caught her "interest" back straight and stepped back. Ryuune, too, tossed the broken shaft away, and in a surprisingly feminine gesture checked herself over; the action, oddly, emulated as well in her older counterpart, making them seem like a pair of grooming "big cats". Then, without a word, they made eye contact and smiled. An convivial air of warmth blooming spontaneously, it was like two wild animals had recognized each other at last, realizing that they spoke the same language.
The boundary between child and adult ceased to be, just for a moment, before...
"KYAAAAAHHH! I like this fellow!"
So did the tigress, Leti Lowran, exclaim with joy, swooping up the little hellcat into a boisterous hug, cuddling cheek to cheek.
"She's the best! Hey, hey, Lindy! If she doesn't marry your Chrono, can I arrange a marriage interview for my little Griffith? He needs a strong girl just like this to make a real man among men out of him!"
Giving out a near wounded roar, Ryuune responded in kind as the receiver of her affections.
"ARRRRRRRGHHHHHH! No, no, no! It stinks! It-it stinks~! G-Ge'er offffa meeeeeeeee! NOoooooo~!"
There was nothing we could but smile and wave like happy fools at the frolicking zoo animals.
---
The sea.
Time: 1545, excuse me, a quarter till four in the afternoon, so did the nearest timepiece (a lamppost with accompanying clock face, analog, antiquated, classy?) available read to my eyes.
The salty spray in the air.
The sea gulls cawing as they glided about beautiful, clear skies.
In such ideal conditions, I pondered in anxiety, how was it possible I ended up alone with Countess Leti Lowran!? Yes, she and I, sitting alone together for a break amongst one of many assorted piers, facing the crystalline aqua waters, under the canopy of an umbrella, with milk shakes for company on the table. Oh, and we must not forget a stack of "souvenirs", mostly clothes and other feminine things that I, Bobby, and Lieutenant-Commander Tetsuya Onodera had been obligated to carry. Thankfully, it was not as big as the monstrous landfill it used to be prior to all of us figuring it was best to take loads of it back to the landspeeder in-between shopping sprees at various boutiques.
I was glad we had brought the Arrow-23 along for its ample cargo capacity of eight-hundred kilograms was an indispensible asset!
Now, why are we shopping so much that I feel inclined to blow it up into grandiose metaphor? Well, bear in mind I have never been on a shopping spree in the company of sanguine females before, especially not Mother, and, erm, not that I think it was bad thing... You see, Mother and Countess Lowran... They were not buying anything for themselves. Oh, no! They were attempting to spoil Ryuune Zoldark, the Tomboy Extraordinaire, rotten.
Every single article of fashionable clothing, accessory, footwear, must-have's, girlish things to complement a royal princess' wardrobe; they hit every boutique, store, and beauty parlor, I swore, known to the female mind and connoisseurs in Little Venezia, racking in expenses I dare not to even calculate! The numbers would surely drive me mad, too. Why they were going through such bombastic lengths to doll her up escaped my imagination utterly so, and it was only just forty-five minutes ago that the two childhood friends-of-sorts declared the end of business for the day.
Alas, there was no peace to be found, for Mother then snatched up both the unsuspecting Mister Onodera and the worn out Corellian hellcat, declaring they would return in hours or so time. The reason: they were heading over to the Aria Company for a short Undine tour of the waterways. It was quite the gale force tail wind she left behind in her wake, sending skirts and hats flying from unsuspecting bystanders.
Thusly, I was left stranded with a slack jawed Leti Lowran, fuming up a black storm complete with fire in the skies and thunderbolts. Bobby was nowhere to be found, having left a helpful sticky note on my back, directing me to a location to relax, while "she" dealt with the majority of our purchases. How kind of him to leave behind just a fraction for us to carry around until "she" rejoined us later.
"Boy, do you realize how many conventions of common etiquette you are violating?" the countess engaged me suddenly in a steely formal, controlled voice. "Feigning silence and refusing to entertain a lady are intolerably disgusting behavior to be seen in a gentleman of your station."
Suffice to say, I was mortified red to my toes. We had been in a cold war for the better part of the half an hour sitting there, and, erm, I was intimidated by her --- awesome presence, to say the least. You see, Mother's words earlier had been a foreboding that had come true with brutal reality, for I had been thrown naked into the den, no, the court of an immensely different Leti Lowran of the Chariot, a complete paradigm shift! Her transformation, in fact, must have taken place the moment we had stepped out of the landspeeder and subsequently into the eye of the public; before then, she had been "smoking and joking" along with everyone in the cabin. I just failed to notice the difference at all as her attention had not been directed at me.
And now, I was paying for it...
"F-Forgive me, l-l..."
"Ma'am. Do have some consideration, boy."
Mysteries, did her glasses just flash just now with a starry glint?
"If that is too much for you, hmmm, I think one of Tetsuya Onodera-han's customs, from his homeland of Zipang, should suffice. Yes. Leti-sama will do."
S-sama?!
"A term of high respect, and I think we are well acquainted enough to allow the use of my first name, boy."
"A-As you wish," I conceded, shying away under the piercing intensity of her sharp gaze, despite my best effort. How strange; I had no problems holding my bearing with SNCOs and officers, but I was unsettled genuinely to be in the tiger woman's presence.
"Tsk."
Not because I was afraid of her, but because I did not want to make a bad impression. Certainly, I had questions I wanted to ask...
"If you have questions of me, is that not a good excuse for idle conversation as any?" she posed to me in all seriousness.
"Yes, but I would not wish to im-"
Her brow twitched with the faintest beginnings of a scowl. "Ask."
It was not a suggestion but an order, see?
"Well, I am not too bold, why do you wear a mask?"
"A mask?" she raised a curious brow. The rising ire I sensed in her coiling demeanor began to flow away.
"A face for the inside, and a face for the outside. Mother, I would assume you know her circumstances, but as for yourself..."
"When you got my age, hmph," the countess favored me with a secretive smile, as she and I were privy to a private joke, "what used to be a mask eventually becomes a part of you."
I felt myself frown ever so slightly, "I-Is that so?"
"People have many masks. As you age and form more relationships with others, the number of mask you have increases."
"Hnn."
"Well, that is bit one of life's many little toppings. My turn."
"P-Pardon?"
"A question for a question is only fair, is it not?"
I would have appreciated a more in-depth explanation, but I suppose I can handle this one on my own --- I think.
"Did you like what you saw?"
"...ah?" I flushed, ears burning red. Somehow, that felt rather...promiscuous.
"Silly boy, the art, not the women."
"Th-the art?"
"You want to learn it, do you not? After all, you will begin to take your first steps as a sorcerer in a few short days, and even a fool boy like you must have an ambition in mind."
"Me? An ambition?"
"What kind of magi do you want to become, Young Chrono?"
The answer came a lot quicker than I expected, speaking with an uncanny certainty.
"He, invincible under the sun and untouchable as the moon, piercing the heavens."
And lo, Leti Lowran chuckled, a rich, veiled noblewoman's mirth that left a sparkle in her sharp eyes.
"Then, allow me to impart to you with the first of many of birthday gifts. I have one prepared just for you, but this one comes first, a favor from Tetsuya Onodera-han: an heirloom passed down from your late father."
..TH-...a gift from That Man!?
"I present to you: The Core Drill."
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
Well, there you have it. Entry 1.21 in all of its glory. Thoughts, feelings, questions: hey, fire away, fellas. Things are pretty self evident here. Lots of WAFF and some comedy to sugar coat the sprint of character development. And yes, a special "item" makes its appearance at last. Look forward to the next episode as we get back to the Battle School for more character driven goodiness, and if I pace this right, we ought to be able to see the grand graduation exam arc soon enough. After that, next stop: a little desert hell hole we all know and love --- Tatooine --- for "Airborne" School.
Oh yeah, time for a small advertising service announcement thingie here: if y'all get bored in between waiting for new episodes, be it anime, manga, or fanfiction and whatnot, but you're dying for a fresh/unique AU fic go read Kara no Kyokai: The Borderline to Emptiness by Tempest Dynasty in the Naruto section. I guarantee, he is the only fella who has the guts to fuse Magical Lyrical Nanoha with Naruto and the infamous Warhammer 40K gothic-scifi military tabletop game series. Give it a shot; you won't regret it.
Thank you all for tuning in and remember, I always encourage each and everyone of you to feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. Your comments can really make a difference, I assure you, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail (although you really don't need to boost my ego too often). You know how to get in touch with the maestro here.
Tsudzuku!