Daichi: Okay, so now that I've properly gotten over my fear of Reaping Shades…

Verity: That's one way to put it… Now you just need to stop being afraid of Boulder Boars.

BlackGatomon: We don't own these things.

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Aster,

My sister told me that my recent letters may have been a little overbearing. And she's probably right. I just freaked out, because the Yggdrasil Labyrinth has, for years now, been the setting of my worst nightmares.

You seem to enjoy exploring. I did, too. At first. A beautiful forest, hidden within the bark of a giant tree, it seemed like something out of a dream. Ruins and dragons and oversized butterflies in the most brilliant shades of violet and blue. Blue deer, walking flowers… it was unreal.

And then, of course, reality set in. The first Stratum required nothing more than quick wits and a way to avoid the more aggressive predators. The second… that was when things got worse.

It was the most beautiful place I ever saw in High Lagaard. We'd done well to make it through the first five floors, and were sure the next five would go by just as easily. And then a blue pumpkin showed up out of nowhere, and nothing anyone threw at it would leave so much as a scratch.

I'm not sure how many of us made it out, actually… I think the survivalist may have gotten away, but given that she was running deeper into the floor, there's not a lot of hope there. All I knew was that I was never going back.

But just because I couldn't make it in Yggdrasil doesn't mean you can't. I guess. Just be careful, watch out for your guild, and don't be too stubborn to run from a fight you can't win. I'm not sure what I'd do if you just vanished. You're one of my best friends, after all.

Stay safe,

Ariadne

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"Do you still think you shouldn't tell her about Fenrir?"

"Again: Criticize my spelling. Not my life choices."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?"

"Go away, Raquna, this doesn't concern you."

"So you don't want me to tell you that the ice cream maker finally defrosted?"

"I never said that!"

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Ria,

Okay, so I've been talking to some of my guildmates, and they've told me to try and be a bit more sensitive. Well, Simon did, Arthur was messing around with some of the boars after the rest of us explicitly told him not to, but I'm not entirely sure what I expected from him in the first place.

Of course, as you're well aware, sensitivity is not one of my strong points. So, failing that, I'm just going to tell you about things that happened recently outside the Labyrinth. More specifically, the ice cream maker.

Yes, you read that right. Our protector, Raquna, just so happens to be from a noble family, the Sheldons. From someplace called Ontario, and they apparently really like maple syrup, even in ice cream. Which Frederica seemed to want, and I'm not sure if Raquna mentioned it in a letter or something, but we have an ice cream maker now. Which we aren't very good at using. To say the least.

The second attempt came out just fine, but the first one… we don't talk about the first one. It's embarrassing. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

The ice cream tasted great, though. And I think we've sort of gotten the hang of it, so long as we don't repeat the first attempt, so we'll probably keep making it. I'm thinking we'll try flavoring it with some of the berries from the Labyrinth next. It's the tastes of the woodlands without having to leave the safety of home!

...Yes, I am aware that we'll have to go into the Labyrinth to actually get the berries.

Aster

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Aster,

Congratulations. You have officially piqued my curiosity with information that I can't actually weasel out of anybody. Well done.

...Is what I would say. But for the fact that your letters come with a return address, and you included the full name of one of your guildmates.

Nice try.

Ariadne

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Raquna,

I'm pretty sure we've never met. And, unless Aster has seriously loosened up in the time he's been in Etria, there's a good chance that he's never even mentioned me. I'm an old friend of his, and a recognized explorer in High Lagaard, for all that it matters when I haven't been to the Labyrinth in roughly two years.

Anyway, the point is that Aster and I know each other pretty well. And… well… he embarrasses easily, though he tries not to let people know it. He insists on professionalism, but the truth is, that doesn't really come naturally to him. You'll understand if you make it long enough for him to get comfortable with you.

Anyway, that's not where I was going with this. I was just going to ask what happened with your first attempt at making ice cream, since he's outright admitted that it was stupid. Whatever it was.

Hoping for a reply,

Ariadne

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"Raquna, what's that you're reading?" Asterion asked, praying that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a letter from my new penpal, is all." That wasn't very reassuring.

"...Please don't tell her."

"...Wait, are you actually blushing? So she was right about you getting embarrassed easily?"

"Simon, I'm throwing Raquna to the wolves."

"No, you're not," The medic stated, grabbing his wrist before he could actually do so. Asterion could only watch as Raquna pulled a piece of paper from the bag and started writing as they walked.

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Ariadne,

I was sort of surprised to get your letter. Mostly because I wasn't sure Asterion even had friends- if his professionalism really is an act, he's rather good at it. And then he threatened to throw me to Fenrir's wolf pack if I responded, so I guess you were right.

Though I'd had my suspicions, of course. Mainly because of our first attempt at making ice cream. It was taking a long time, we were tired, and he decided to ask Arthur to use ice magic on it to make the job go faster.

It didn't. It made a block of ice that took half a day to thaw out. I trust you will use this information for good- by which I mean teasing. He needs to loosen up, really.

I'm not too worried about the consequences- we took a mission to eliminate Fenrir, after all, so we were going to be in conflict with the pack anyway. I should be fine.

Raquna

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Daichi: And thus, Ariadne finds out about Fenrir due to ice cream. Asterion really should have let Simon criticize his life choices- it'd be less painful.