SOD: One ship has sailed~.
Andrew: Shinn, we're almost there! Trista!
SOD: Yes, my friend. We'll officially be in Trista by Chapter 21.
Andrew: I'm just excited to see what you've done with Class VII.
SOD: Oh, you'll be quite surprised... haha...
Andrew: ... What did you do?!
SOD: Bye!
"Mmm..." Groaning slightly, Relon's vision begins to open.
In a matter of seconds, the blurriness disappears as he finds not the bed's roof the first thing to be greeted by, but rather the simple color blue. More specifically; a light sky-blue.
"Huh?" Blinking his eyes hard, he leans back taking in his current situation.
Claire is in bed with him. Her back against his chest. The new couple completely spooning.
"Oh yeah, me and Claire..." A happy breath escapes his mouth.
She must have rolled off of me at some point in the night. What time is it even? The sun is barely out.
Sitting up, he looks over to the wall where a clock is located.
It's a little past seven. We still have a little time before we should head out.
"Mmm." Looking to the girl, he sees Claire roll over now facing him. "Relon..." She mumbles, the young adult laying back down smiling at her.
(Dreaming of me by any chance?)
"Emil..."
That was someone close from what she told me back then. I wonder who Emil is. Maybe she'll tell me at some point.
Kissing her forehead, he pulls away getting out of bed.
"That's two now. One more and we'll be even." He jokes to himself grabbing his coat from the table and heading out onto the balcony to be met with the fresh morning air. "Ahh, I missed this." He stretches his arms, Pippin rising from its corner and floating out next to him. "Morning Pippin." He greets stretching his legs.
Over in bed, Claire slowly stirs awake. Rubbing an eye, she looks around noting of Relon's disappearance to find light chatter coming from the open balcony. Getting out of bed, she gives a light stretch walking over to see Relon leaning over the railing chatting with his sword.
"I'm still not looking forward to saying goodbye to Grunoja. Kinda started to like the... thing? Is that the right term to use? I haven't read much about monster genders. But they don't exactly need to reproduce since they just respawn in their given area when they're slain so..." He stops sensing someone behind. "Oh, morning. How'd you sleep?"
"Morning." She greets hugging him from behind. "I slept better than I have in a long time." She rests her chin over his shoulder. "Thanks to you." She pecks his cheek.
"And now it's four to two." He notes.'
"Are you really going to keep count?" She chuckles shifting to fully see his face.
"Maybe. At least until I catch up." He responds with a chuckle of his own.
"You know you could. Wait, when was the second kiss?"
"A few minutes ago while you were asleep. Sorry, too cute I couldn't help myself."
"Hey, I have no complaints being kissed by you." She mentions.
"Neither do I. Though, I'm sure some others will complain about my tardiness. I'm not looking forward to that." He notes turning around opening his arms, Claire stepping forward wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. You're worrying too much." She reassures resting her forehead against Relon's.
"You haven't seen Aunt Cecily when someone doesn't follow her rules." He laughs softly, his hands slithering down her waist and under her shirt resting against her bare back.
"Someone is slightly touchy."
"No, I just love the the touch of your skin."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Mhmm. And I know you love my warmth."
"I had no intention of denying it." She retorts, their eyes gazing at the others.
Taking note of the shift in mood, his red eyes shift down towards her pillowy lips. Following his eyes, Claire closes hers perking up her lips. Shifting his hands to hold her waist, he leans in, his heart beating heavily all of a sudden until...
Knock knock knock.
Both open their eyes as the sound comes once more from the door.
(And my bad luck strikes again.) He sighs rolling his head back as Claire buries her face in the boys chest.
"Next time?" She asks.
"Next time." He answers with confidence.
Walking over to the door, he senses two familiar presences. Opening the door, he's greeted by Alfin and Norowareta.
"Good to see you two awake. Was gonna go get you soon actually." He greets, both walking inside as Relon takes a glance down both sides of the hall before closing the door.
Turning around, he finds Alfin and Noro eyeing the Major. Slowly turning around, Relon is met with one of the happiest face a young girl can make. Property of Alfin, her eyes gleaming like diamonds full of delight.
"Alfin, calm down!" He rushes covering her mouth. "Before you say anything, yes we are together. Right?" He looks back for confirmation.
"Yes, we are." Claire answers humored over the situation.
"So, please don't freak out and above all else, don't tell anyone! Especially Musse. The last thing we need is more drama and commotion. Okay?" She nods. "I'm going to let go. Don't scream. Okay?" She nods, Relon slowly releasing his hand for the girl to tackle into him.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO!" She squeals, Relon having barely caught her.
"Thanks, Alfin." He sighs letting go as the girl hurries over taking Claire's hand.
"So how was it?!" She asks with haste.
"How was it? How was-" Both adults' eye bulge wide.
"Alfin! No! Nothing happened! Dropping this NOW!" Relon interrupts pushing the girl away from Claire to Norowareta's amusement. "Noro, you too?!" He jerks.
"Major Claire." Noro wheels over before bowing to the woman's surprise. "My brother is a kind and caring man, but he tends to think of others well bein before his own so please take care of him."
"Noro..." Relon stares in awe not only at the sheer amount of words used but the normal volume each was heard from.
Squatting down, Claire smiles at the girl who stops bowing.
"You don't have to worry about a thing. I have Relon's back as he has mine. Right?" She turns looking to said boy.
"Yeah." He comes over patting his sister's head. "I can't have the people I care about worry forever."
"Awe! This is so precious!"
"Alfin, what are you doing, you're part of the family too aren't you?" Relon waves over, the cheery girl jumping onto his back. "Hey, I didn't mean pounce on me again!" He protests earning laughs all around.
Later
"I swear, Alfin refused to let go harder this morning than last night." Relon comments walking through the city wheeling Norowareta with Claire dressed in casual clothing next to them. "Just what all did you two do? I figured after yesterday, you'd be exhausted."
"Talked." She answers.
"About?"
"You."
"I should have known." He chuckles.
"You love your brother, don't you?" Claire asks leaning over for the cheerful girl to nod.
"Thanks for coming along, Claire."
"No need to thank me. I was planning to do this anyway."
"You got a point. Now that I think about it..." Relon begins looking around.
"Looking for any eyes on us?"
"Osborne and his network is bothersome. I always feel like I'm being watched."
"He certainly doesn't try to hide that fact."
"I'm surprise you're not worried about him doing something about us." Relon comments eyeing one of the shops he would be dragged into by Alfin.
"I've known Chancellor Osborne for some time so I'm confident he won't take any action as far as 'us' goes."
"Hmm, alright then. What's on the agenda for the coming week?" Stopping, he looks ahead to see the road to Celdic.
"That's right, I didn't get to tell you, did I? Chancellor Osborne has been having me perform investigations outside of Heimdallr."
"Really? Congrats, Claire! Wait, who'll be watching Alfin?"
"Lechter."
"... I'm okay with that."
"I figured you would be."
"I'm sure I don't have to tell you but be careful."
"I will. Same to you. Thors is a tough place but if you make it, you'll be even stronger than when you enrolled."
"I've heard. I think we'll be fine though."
Reaching the exit to the, Relon helps Norowareta onto Pippin before placing the orbal wheelchair-now-backpack on his back.
"Alright, this is it." He states turning to face Claire, Heimdallr behind her.
"Yeah. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see each other again."
"Yeah..." An awkward silence befalls the two.
Glancing to Noro, he does a quick gesture of his head, the girl nodding.
"Pippin, let's go." With that, they fly off.
"Definitely not ready to show affection in front of her of all people." He walks closer to his maiden as does she.
Taking the other into a hug, Relon gives a light, yet long kiss along her neck, the woman releasing a small breath of pleasure.
"I think I've found a drug and I'm slightly addicted." He says pulling back to rest his forehead against hers.
Placing her gloved hand to his cheek, he holds it.
"That makes two of us." She gives an equally long kiss on his cheek before they part.
"Stay safe, Icy Maiden."
"Study hard, Flaming Bachelor."
"... Nah." Both say in unison chuckling. " I will." He jumps a good distance away, the path blazing to life around him. "I'll be sure to add a letter for you when I write to Alfin."
"I'll look forward to it." She softly says smiling.
Taking in her beautiful feature, Relon turns around setting into a runner's stance before blitzing off leaving a nothing but a red flaming streak.
Zooming along the trail like a bullet, he takes site of Norowareta and Pippin in the sky.
Did they go slower? No... I got faster.
An image of his fight with Osborne and his time with Claire flashes through his mind and with clenched fists, he bursts to new speeds passing the duo.
"Brother?!" The young girl lets out baffled by the sheer speed her older sibling shows already a good distance away.
Stopping over a cliff, he breathes a few breaths before turning around and looking down the path he just zoomed through.
This still isn't enough to beat Mister or Aunt Cecily. And it sure isn't enough to take down Osborne.
Seeing Norowareta and Pippin come into view, his mind goes back further.
Get stronger to find the answers to my family. My real family. Just where are you guys?
Celdic
"We're back!" Relon shouts opening the door wheeling in Norowareta.
"They're back!" Like a stampede, many of the young residents comes charging to a halt before them.
"How was it?"
"Where did you go?"
"Did you bring anything back?"
"Alright! Calm down, you all. We just got back and would like to settle down before we do any Q and A's." With a few groans, the young audience returns to the main room as Relon wheels Norowareta forward taking note of one of the teens Relon's age.
"'Bout time you got back." A boy with silver hair says.
"Silver, please don't start anything. It's not even noon yet." Blaze calls approaching.
"I'm not! I'm just saying!"
"And whatever you just say tends to come across the wrong way." She looks to Relon. "They're upstairs." She answers before Relon can ask it.
"Thanks." Heading in that direction, he helps Norowareta up the steps, the door already open.
Reaching the top, he spots Yujiro laying down on one of the beds and Cecily inspecting her pike.
"We're back." He announces.
"We know." Yujiro states sitting up as Relon places Norowareta on one of the beds.
"When you said you were taking Reta to Heimdallr for her birthday, we were expecting you to be back by around sundown, not the next morning." She glances over towards the boy.
"Neither was I honestly. Sorry. Stuff... happened unexpectedly." He notes to see Yujiro get to his feet walking over to the boy, his nostrils flaring to stop in his tracks.
Both eye the other, the human legend's facial expression unreadable before a huge smirk creeps onto his face as he grabs the boy around his neck.
(You dirty dog, you finally nailed her, didn't you? Don't lie, her scent is all over you.)
"What are you, a bloodhound." Relon wrestles free, his face flushed.
"Like I said, a lot happened."
"Yeah, considering I also smell a hint of Osborne, I can surmise as much."
"Care to explain?" Cecily asks taking a stool and seating next to Norowareta.
"Short story or long story."
"Short please." The woman answers as she begins to inspect Norowareta. "Hung out with the girls, was just leaving the palace to come back when Osborne showed up, we had some words and ended up sparring against him. After that, we ended up staying the night and the next morning, we got up and here we are."
"Please tell me you and Pippin won." Yujiro pleads.
"Not only did we win, but we broke that black sword of his"
"YES! THAT'S MY BOY! Been waiting ages to one-up that bas-
"Ahem." Cecily coughs
"Basssshful chancellor him. You're clear for me. Hearing that made my day." Yujiro says happily.
"And considering Noro is fine as far as I can see, consider yourself cleared. Today and yesterday has left us little to do so I've finally found time to get back to reading."
"Huh, I guess Claire was right in not having anything to worry about."
"But we're not done, Relon." Yujiro states placing a hand on the young male's shoulder. "I want the long story. And don't leave a single detail out. Come on, you can tell me as we go for a morning walk."
"But, I just got back."
"Nah nah nah, you made my day and you're going to continue to so I can hear those juicy details, I mean the romance that bloomed from you and that police woman." He coughs at that last sentence, Cecily putting away for her pike. "Tell me this, kid. Did you two get together finally?"
"Y-Yeah..." He averts his eyes.
"Aha! Atta boy. Let's go, I want to hear all about it." Yujiro exclaims taking Relon down the stairs and out of sight.
"Did you have a good time, Reta?" The girl happily nods. "Good."
Taking the time to shower again from all the running amd change into another attire, the two set off on their morning walk heading towards the park.
"So she actually had a fashion contest just to impress you? Boy, if you didn't get with her after that, I would've slapped the hell out of you."
"I know, jeez."
"But good on ya for getting a night with her, you dirty dog."
"I keep telling you nothing happened!"
"Uh huh, I totally believe it."
"You're the worst." Relon sighs earning laughs from his guardian.
"But in all seriousness, I am proud you pulled one over Osborne, if he didn't look it, I'm sure on the inside he was absolutely livid."
"I would be too if Pippin somehow shattered. I'd probably lose all sense of reasoning to be honest."
Reaching the park, they head in. Stopping at the orbal station, they both release a surge of energy before heading inside.
"But tell me, did you two kiss?"
"Why are you so into this still?!"
"Because my boy is growing up!" Yujiro shouts back, familiar monsters joining their group.
"Yes we did! Can we drop this now?!"
"Answer me this then; was it on the cheek or the lips?!"
"The..." He stops twitching at the answer. (cheek.)
Yujiro sighs.
"Can't win them all, I suppose."
"We got interrupted!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." The man brushes off as they come to a stop in the clearing.
Away from the two and other monsters, the elder beast known as the Lord of the Forest amd Grunoja stand before them.
"It should be a day or so until we receive word from Thors. Now we just wait." Yujiro states laying down.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Relon says.
Turning to Grunoja, they fist bump before Relon makes his way atop the beast's head.
"Guess goodbyes are almost upon us..."
"Yup. Don't get depressed this time like you did when we entered Legram."
"Mister..."
"I'm going back to my nap." The man states dozing off.
Looking up to the canopy, Relon falls back atop Grunoja, all of the beasts either going off to do their own thing or simply rest around the larger beasts.
"Don't worry." Relon calls out. "I won't." He finishes, his eyes closing to rest.
Next Day
"Relon, it's here!" Cecily announces walking into the main room where everyone else is located. "And you have two letters."
Sitting up from his spot next to Norowareta and Yujiro, Relon looks on stoically as the woman and the other orphans gather around. An anticipation of silence quickly settling in as he takes the suitcase-like package.
If I didn't already know the results, I'm pretty sure my heart would just about be ready to explode.
Slowly opening it, he digs his hand in to feel a single paper. Taking it out, he reads aloud.
"Dear Relon Namikaze- Lucinance, we are excited to inform you of your acceptance into Thors Military Academy..."
"You got in..." Cecily notes in a low tone, the information slowly sinking in before the roof bursts into cheers and hoorays.
"Hmpf. Don't know why they're cheering. We knew he was going to get in." Yujiro comments next to Cecily.
"Well, we knew." She corrects, both smiling proudly as he's bombarded from all directions by the happy orphans. "I expected Reta to be saddened but it seems she isn't showing it."
"I know. The kid and her talked the morning of her birthday."
"They did?" He nods.
"Seems they both have come to accept the terms their situations put each other in. They certainly have grown up before our eyes."
"Indeed. I just hope with the coming times, all will be okay."
"You and me both." He mutters.
Bending down, he opens the package some more revealing his school uniforms.
Red, huh? Lucky me.
Looking back down, he picks up the two letters.
They're from Rean and Laura!
Quickly opening them, his eyebrows raise up slightly as a grin forms.
They're both going into Thors and they already got their uniforms. Red's their color too! I guess the students further away were prioritized compared to those like me that are only an hours walk. But Rean, Laura, and I are in the same class... What are the odds?
Evening
"So, class starts in a few days. What's the plan?" Yujiro questions.
In their room, he leans against a wall eyeing Relon pack his belongings.
"Enjoy the time I have here. Once there, make a few friends, probably keep to myself, make the grades, and go from there." Relon answers opening his shirt drawer and picking through which to bring.
"When you say keep to yourself, what exactly do you plan on showing."
"Martial arts, Pippin. I would prefer not to reveal my firebending but with how bad my luck is, I doubt I'll be able to hide it forever from my classmates."
"Sounds like a solid plan. Got me curious on how they'll react to Pippin." He leans off the wall. "Just a piece of advice; You may wanna spend so more time with your sister."
"That's the first you've referred to Noro as that."
"Cecily did adopt the girl as her own so technically, she's my niece. But you get it."
"Yeah. I was planning on showing her something right after I... there! Finish!"
"You're done packing already? Damn, that was quick."
"Well, we did travel around Erebonia a lot. And it's not like I ever carried many outfits." He turns eyeing the man who begins to whistle. "Anyway, I'm heading to get Noro."
Outside
"Not long now." Norowareta says looking up to Relon behind her.
"Yeah... Taking the station will have me there just under an hour so I don't have to leave at night or dawn like many other students that live further out."
"Hm. We can see you off."
"Yup. Ready to go?" She nods.
Heading along the road, they pass by the remaining monsters, many of which disappearing to who knows where as the night monsters begin to surface. Passing the farm and a few windmills, they walk up a hill.
Taking in the sight, the young girl's eyes gleam at the sight before her. The scenery like that out of a work of art. The windmills slowly spinning to the soft breeze, the descending sun coating the cloud in an orange glow. All it speaks is one word.
"Pretty..."
"I thought you might like this. Consider it the last gift from me since we ended up staying in Heimdallr." He explains taking a seat on the ground next to the girl.
"Happy belated birthday, Norowareta."
Nighttime
Sitting atop the roof, Relon looks to the full moon basked in all its white glory. Sensing a familiar pressing land behind him, he continues to stare at the orb in the sky.
"Mind telling me why you plan on heading to Ashland this time?" Yujiro asks taking a seat next to the boy.
"I don't know when I'll get a chance again and we didn't have time to look around as much as we to wanted to before. There's dozens of huts in the first area, after only searching through five, it was time to head back to Heimdallr." Relon stands, Pippin going to hoverboard mode for Relon to hop on.
"Any idea when you'll be back?"
"By tomorrow evening. Maybe the night."
"Alrighty then. Be careful out there. Hope you'll find some good info. Maybe even the hut that belongs to you."
"Yeah. That's the goal anyway." Pippin ascends into the air before taking off, a red trail left behind in its wake.
Hours pass before he takes sight of his destination. Landin along the path, he hops of standing on the trail. On one side a lush forest and on the other, his birthplace.
"It feels... odd being here. Not in a bad sense. I just can't put my finger on it." His sword nods in agreement. "Let's get going, we're burning... uh... nighttime?" Disregarding that statement, the two head in with Relon igniting a flame as his guide.
"With the terrain this way and the distinction between trees, it's pretty easy to find our way."
Walking along, it only takes a few minutes before he comes to a specific burnt tree. Placing a hand, he leans in his forehead before stepping away.
"Last time we came, I lit it on fire. You'd think it would have burnt down after being on fire twice so now I wonder..." He looks around. "Can these trees now fully burn down? Lookin closely, some of the areas where trees once were are completely gone. Maybe the ones immune were mixed in with normal trees."
"Grrrrr." Turning around, he's approached by familiar wolf-like monsters. six in total.
The same number as before.
Looking on at the wolves, Pippin comes ablaze.
"Wait, Pippin." He halts.
Raising the hand on fire, he eyes the beasts who all lock onto the flame.
"They're not showing the intent to kill." He relinquishes the element, the wolves' sights going to the boy.
Reigniting, they remain stoic until they all look between one another.
"I'm Relon Lucinance." Relon introduces, all snapping their heads to him. "I thought so. You're not just random monsters. You're protecting this land for my family, aren't you." He kneels before the canines.
A nod comes in response from each.
"I see. Sorry about before." Surprisingly, a nod comes in response. One disregarding the incident.
Clearing a way through, Relon gets to his feet.
"You're going to escort us?" Another set of nods. "Thank you." Returning to his walk now surrounded by Ashland's guardians, minutes pass before he reaches the mountain wall.
Placing a hand against the warm structure, the hidden door opens.
"Thanks again, you guys." The wolves give a howl before turning and vanishing into the warm darkness. "Just like that, one more secret revealed." He looks back to the entrance. "And more are just waiting to be uncovered." Looking to his sword, both nod walking inside.
I'll have to make a log or journal of everything that I learn. It'll help me sort everything out. Just thinking now of trying to organize everything in my head is giving me a headache.
Stopping at the entrance to behold the large array of huts as far as the eye can see, he takes a deep breath.
"I'm glad the hunts are lined up both vertically and horizontally. Time to finish that first row."
12 Hours Later
"We've been here for who knows how long and we're still on the first row. The fact that even after taking a break for dinner at a nearby town and we've made almost zero progress is insane. There must be well over a hundred tents." He sighs going inside another.
Entering the another house, he stops eyeing the new setting. Divided by cloths into four corners, in one are the beds and clothing shelves, another a small kitchen, the third the living area, and where Relon is being the front entrance.
Going to the living area, he opens the shelves and closets proceeding to search thoroughly.
"Hm?" Stopping, he pulls out what seems like a sticky note. "Mom, going to the main tent. I forgot where Emilia and Subaru's place were..." Widening, he shoots up. "There's a main tent?! And from the way whoever wrote this note, it sounds like it can tell which tent belongs to the residents." Quickly putting everything back the way it was, he and Pippin rush outside.
"Now, if I had to put a main tent somewhere among others, where would I put it? I'd most likely put it at the center where everyone can reach it easily."
Walking down the middle row, he reaches the are coming to a stop.
"It should be around here somewhere. I just wish all of these huts looked different. That'd help." He comments for Pippin to float towards one hut. "Pippin?" Following after, they stop before one in particular, it no different than the rest.
Now that I think about it, Pippin was there with my family from that memory. Maybe it remembered something. Then again... Ack, too much thinking to process.
"Is this the main tent?" It nods floating through the cloth entrance followed by Relon.
halting his step, he stares oddly at the emptiness the tent has. Nothing at all except a staircase in the center going into the ground.
"Why am I suddenly nervous?" He grips his jacket sleeve. "Get a hold of yourself, Relon!" Shaking his head, he looks to Pippin and the two begin their descent.
Walking down the descending staircase, he comes to the bottom. Darkness all around them.
"Is there anything to light?" He wonders, Pippin flying to the ceiling and catching on fire another upside-down bonfire like deeper in the cave. "Whoa... there's walls all over the place." Walking up to one, he reads the text. "Family Tree and Home Residency... Wait, then where's my name?!" He begins searching down each list. "If I can find my name, then there should be a tree showing who's my parents and siblings are!"
Frantically, his eyes scan each and every name connected by a line to another.
"Where?! Where?! Where?! Come on! Everyone's a Lucinance but I know my name and my sister Kanade. They should be next to each other so I just have to point out the names with horizontal lines! Kanade... Relon... Kanade... Relon... Come on!" He moves behind a wall skimming through more family trees. "Nothing!" He hurries over to another.
Tap.
Halting his search, he looks behind at what hit his head to see Pippin facing the boy.
"What was that for?!" Pippin shakes its body disapprovingly. "What are you...?" He realizes it.
He realizes just how frantic and tensed he's been since coming down her. No. Since entering the cave. Taking a moment to inhale and exhale deeply, his shoulders loosen from the tension they've been holding. A slight stiffness proof of how long they've been like that.
"Thanks, Pippin." He breathes out, the sword nodding before walking to one of the thin walls holding a bunch of names.
Following after the sword, he halts at one of walls to the far right of the room. Pointing the tip of the blade, Relon leans forward to gasp.
"Relon Tarbin Lucinance... I have a middle name... Relon Tarbin Namikaze-Lucinance... Haha, that's a mouthful." He glances over to see his sister's name. Kanade Moyasu Lucinance... Huh." A chuckle escapes him, his eyes on a pair of names above his and Kanade's.
So that' it. That's what their names are...
Sitting down on the cave floor, he just looks at the names.
"I know their names now..."
Outside
"It's already dark out. We should hurry back." A nod from Pippin comes before the presence of the forest's guardians approach. "Thanks again, you guys." Relon thanks bending down and patting a few of their heads, the canines seeming to enjoy it.
Stepping away, they howl before disappearing in all directions into the darkness.
"Let's get going." Hopping on, they take off into the night.
One thing struck out to me. In my family tree, I only was connected horizontally to Kanade. So then, who was that male's voice from that memory? Was that dad? No, he sounded way too young. Maybe a cousin? If so, what's his name? And where is my dad? Could he... No, thinking like that won't help any. All I can do is be patient. Hopefully my time at Thors will give me a lead.
With that final thought and the burning memory of the four names instilled within him, Relon and Pippin fly off into the night.