Terms used in the stories' translations before we begin:

Mage(T-Moon), Sorcerer/Wizard(AMB) = Majutsushi

Magecraft(T-Moon), Sorcery/Wizardry(AMB) = Majutsu

Magic(Both) = Mahou

Magician(T-Moon), Mage(AMB) = Mahoutsukai

Decision - Simply call the five users of True Magic by their titles such as Fifth Magician and use 'mages' for sorcerers and 'magicians' for Elias, Chise and their kind? Yeah, I'm going with that. Some decisions have to be made when blending two worlds. Expect the setting to be a little bit more liberal with magical power because of the inclusion of Mahoutsukai no Yome into the mixture.


England, Ainsworth house

"... Heroic Spirits, huh?"

"What's that, Elias?"

The tall magician with a chimeric horned skull for a head, Elias Ainsworth, turned his head very slightly as he sat leaning against his big hand in his fauteuil to face his young red-headed Japanese apprentice, who was sitting in the middle of the red couch before the table with a cup of tea held on a small plate resting above her lap.

He laid out his palm before him in the air. "Mmm. A matter for sorcerers/mages, mostly. Think of them as people who were pulled from the time axis,"

"Huh?"

"... and from the cycle of reincarnation for committing great deeds. In essence, many of the historical or mythical figures you may have heard of are likely counted among their ranks. For example, let's see… Cú Chulainn, Napoleon, Achilles, Siegfried, and probably some of the more elusive ones like Robin Hood."

"Napoleon… Siegfried…" Chise recounted. "Cú… Chulaine?" she tilted her head as she tried to pronounce the name.

"An Irish legend. It translates basically to 'Chulainn's Hound'. I've once or twice heard him called the Irish equivalent to the Greek Heracles, though his fame is mainly limited to his homeland, so he's not as prominently known as, let's say, this country's King Arthur, or your own country's Nobunaga Oda."

"Huh... How many Heroic Spirits are there?" Chise asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"Hmm." Elias raised his head towards the ceiling. "I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that question. Fame is, strictly speaking, not a prerequisite. Just a very strong indicator."

"Have you ever encountered one?"

"I haven't." he stated simply.

That is probably for the best. Chise didn't think she could even imagine Elias in a room with figures of a historical importance. History. Another subject she thought she might need to brush up on, now that life has taken a turn for the better.

Slowly, Chise decided to steer her eyes towards the person sitting on the other side of the table, leisurely sitting with one knee up by her right armchair as she held her cup in one hand while stealing a glance at Silky as the fae walked along the inner wall with an emptied tray against her chest. Hailing from the same country Chise had been born in before coming to be auctioned here in Great Britain, this bespectacled woman who was acting like she had been invited over for tea by a friend, was a mage. She also had the same red color of hair Chise herself possessed, though that appeared to be where the similarities ended. Her eyes appeared practically the opposite color of Chise's. She'd come dressed in a simple white dress-shirt that was opened up several buttons down the collar and black trousers, having left her bright orange jacket out by the entrance, yet she'd entered wearing a thin scarf made of a fine lime green fabric hanging loose mostly over her left shoulder, contrasting quite strongly with her hair.

Rather than having been invited on over as a guest, the woman had sent a letter with a familiar announcing her appearance three hours in advance and knocked on the door smelling distinctly of cigarettes and with a smile on her face. Her name was Touko Aozaki. Reverse the order if they began speaking in Japanese. Elias had said she is a user of runes, as well as an absolute first-rate puppet-maker, and also a person the ruling Mage's Association had hunted in the past. In short, she was a troublesome person.

Chise thought the woman's eyes behind her glasses looked almost kind.

"(So she's an artificer, a magus craft maker like Angelica?)" Chise thought, thinking back to her first visit to Angelica Burley's shop as she brought her cup up to her lips with both hands. She remembered seeing her hold something that looked like a prosthetic arm. Would an arm made by this mage be any different?

"Oh?" The mage turned her head when she realized she had the eyes of her hosts turned to her once again. "What? Is your lesson over already?" she asked, giving the magician's young apprentice an amicable smile.

It took Chise a second to realize the red-haired woman was using their shared tongue. "Ah."

Elias turned his eyes to his apprentice(and wife, but let's not delve into that right now).

Touko smiled and switched language. "Been a while?"

"... Been around a year." Chise answered.

The older Japanese lady widened her smile for a moment before something seemed to catch her interest, as she placed her cup in the middle of her other palm and leaned forward, gazing intently into Chise's left eye.

"...(As expected of a 'Grand'. She's dangerously observant.)" Elias thought as he pulled all corners of a muffin's wrapping to release it, and subsequently ate it whole. His eyes never left the two sitting on opposite ends of the living room table.

"U-um…"

"Ah, sorry. Body modifications are my forte. I couldn't help but notice the irregularities in your body." Touko apologized as she took off her glasses and started wiping the fogginess from the right lens. Though she didn't apologize for the frankness of her language.

"O-oh. I see…" Chise replied as she averted her face, bringing a few fingers up to touch the area around the eye that originally belonged to Joseph. As Chise prepared to place her cup and its plate back on the table in front of her, she threw a glance at Touko and was surprised to see a strange… intensity in her older fellow national's scarlet eyes. "(Huh?)"

Touko turned her eyes back towards Chise and gave her a polite smile as she put her glasses back on. "Hmm?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Chise answered and pulled back further into the couch. "Though, what is this job you've got for Elias, and what does it have to do with Heroic Spirits?" she asked.

"What she said." Elias said after turning again to the visitor.

The mage pushed up the brim of her glasses. "Worry not. With the Fifth Holy Grail War over I wouldn't expect to see any more Servants out and about. The subject in question is merely associated with a good number of people likely to have become Heroic Spirits. For all intents and purposes I'm just asking your help in one of my curiosities. Though you can call it research, if you want."

"So you just need some extra hands?" Elias asked.

"(... Did she just say 'Holy Grail'?)"

"Un. Ordinary humans and fellow magi from the Clock Tower won't do. The first one can be easily manipulated, but will probably result in boring outcomes, while the latter might try and hijack my venture for themselves. That said, I don't actually expect to make any money out of this, so to make it interesting I decided to place a bit of hope in a pair of hermit magicians making medicine in the outskirts of the capital." Touko said while slowly bringing her hands in for a clap.

"Not sure I'll trust you word for word, but what are you actually hoping to achieve?" Elias crossed his arms as he threw a glance at the Silver Lady who was walking in between them to take the plate that previously carried sweets.

"Hmm, let's see." Touko started by cupping her chin between her fingers and raising her eyes into the ceiling. She then closed one eye and threw a lighthearted finger gun at him. "Best-case-scenario, I'd hope to have a chat with the Lady of the Lake."

"What?" Elias raised his head. It was probably a good thing he wasn't drinking tea at the moment. He might have spilled it.

Chise wasn't stoic in the face of that sort of answer either, even as one of the reptilian-like fae frequenting the house placed itself on her shoulder and rubbed its head against the underside of her chin. "The… Lady of the Lake?" Chise spoke quietly.

"Just so. Same being from Arthurian Legend, hopefully. Legends might suggest there are more than one." Touko confirmed as she wrung out a popping sound from her fingers before bringing one down into her bag.

"What do you hope to learn from such an ancient fairy? Some of Merlin's secrets that he reportedly taught her in the tales?" Elias asked.

Chise felt like her head was about to start spinning when she heard such the name of such a renowned magical figure spoken as if it was just bothersome business-as-usual.

"While I wouldn't object to anything from the legendary magus' repository even given from second-hand sources, I would just like a chance for some pointers in how to restore some old runecraft I've been working on."

"You shouldn't bother the ancients for clues to your research."

"I am a horrible person." Touko smiled with an ever so insolent and not in the least displeased smile. "I have no real indications anything of import will actually show up, and if it turns out badly I would be wholly content to suffer the consequences myself. But, if you're willing to assist, I would be happy to donate a few of my somewhat more redundant materials to this medicine shop of yours." she said as she produced a paper note and passed it out towards Elias.

Elias leaned forward and extended his arm to take the note from her hand. "..." For a couple of seconds he stared at the contents of the note before he raised his head. "These are…"

Touko smiled again as she turned her eyes and watched as Chise left her seat and took to leaning with her hands planted against Elias' armchair. The literal bonehead magician sent her a glance before he ran his eyes through the listed materials, various things that could be used for medicinal purposes. Chise didn't know the language proper, but written in Latin script for Elias to read she was able to deduce many of them were likely Chinese.

"Elias?"

"Hmm…"

"Uhh, what are these?" Chise asked.

"..." Touko looked at her like she thought it had already been explained enough.

"What do you think?" Elias asked as he turned to her for input.

"Ehh, uh…"

Touko leaned on her hand and smiled. "If you don't want them I'll probably end up selling them."

"(I want them... Wait, I could potentially buy them? How big an expense would it be compared to if I did a task that could turn out to be so dreadfully troublesome? Ahh, but knowing this Grand's reputation, it wouldn't be far-fetched to think she'd ramp up the price as compensation for being refused...)" Elias pondered.

"(He seems… hopeful?)" Chise tried to analyze with an eyebrow raised by half a centimeter. She turned her head towards Touko. "Umm, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell us a little more what this job entails?"

'Rustle'

The members of the household lowered their heads as Touko sighed lightly and fished something out from one of her pockets. A clear glass vial. No, there was something thin moving within, silvery white strands floating like hair within an area of null gravity. Touko twisted the cork, which appeared to be attached to a piece of blue cord, and pulled it open.

"Do you know what this is?" the renowned mage asked as she held it up.

"Well, it's…" Chise blinked several times. "H-hair? A talisman?"

"Correct," Touko said simply as she raised both hands, very loosely cupping her free one just beneath the object in question. Chise's eyes widened when she saw the free-floating strands gather and begin to twist themselves into shape. For a moment it turned into a straight, tight spiral, then came undone again and began shaping into what resembled the outline of a really tiny dagger. Or perhaps a miniscule representation of a longsword.

For a moment, Chise squinted when a glimmer of golden light appeared to sweep across the preserved fibers.

"What did you take that from?" Elias asked slowly. "A fairy?"

"No. 'Something more like'... a descendant of Arthur Pendragon, I'd say."

Chise perked up, and slowly leaned forward. "There's… really someone like that?"

"From the things I saw, I felt there was more to it than just that." Touko answered her in an unsatisfying manner.

"King Arthur's been dead for near a millennia and a half. Barring some persistent magical efforts, anyone still carrying that blood should have lost what little of Arthur existed within the extended Pendragon lineage. Even inbreeding could only hope to retain a sliver, even if it ultimately comes from a Knight of the Round Table." Elias said.

"I'm not all clear on the details myself, but there's no mistaking the activation of one of the King of the Britons' personal arms." Touko said as if recounting some surprising weather while she was pulling her arms up and stretched before her right hand went down to her temple.

"A Noble Phantasm?" Elias jerked forward in surprise.

"Just so." Touko, glasses off, pointed a single finger at the household's senior magician.

The atmosphere had changed.

"So King Arthur truly... existed, did he?"

Elias turned his head towards his apprentice. "According to Lindel, yes. I've heard the neighbors speak his name a few times. The Pendragons are like... hmm, I suppose it differs depending on the fairy." he said as he crossed his arms.

Chise tilted her head curiously.

"Ah, look at it now." Touko suddenly said.

The two turned their heads as the magus raised the talisman. The miniature sword made of grey hair started slowly rotating as if touched by wind before it started to look as if it had suddenly been sprinkled with a fine golden dust.

"..." Chise gaped slightly.

"... Blonde?" Elias remarked curiously.

"It started doing this a while back. I'm not entirely sure when. One day when I turned my eyes to the vial in my temporary workshop it had suddenly changed color, and within minutes it was back to its original grey. I suspect it reflects something that is happening to the original person."

"Transformative magecraft?"

"Most likely, yeah. My project runs on whether the ancient fairies will react to the trace essence of Arthur." She leaned on her side. "You. Sleigh Beggy, right?"

"Eh?" Chise's shoulders jumped a little in surprise.

Touko smiled. "Then you should be alright."


The next day

'Klink'

"You've got soup on your chin." Ruth said as he sat beside Chise at the kitchen table.

"Ah, sorry."

As she reached down to take the napkin, her eyes lingered for a moment on the jar encased in a green cloth sitting at the far side of the table where they stored the talisman the magus had left them before she averted her eyes and wiped her chin. Touko Aozaki had left the house after deciding a time and place with Elias. They had accepted the job. Chise just hoped her wish to acquiesce to Elias' desire for the medicinal items offered in the contract wouldn't clash too hard with his oft expressed desire to avoid troublesome matters. Elias had placed a spell over the jar to keep the passing neighbors/fairies from catching its scent, but she couldn't help but notice Silky throwing a passing glance at it every now and then, knowing what it contained from having overheard their conversation.

Still, maybe that was just her being reminded of the rude visitor. Silky had been furious when the talisman slipped from Touko's finger and displayed enough of a supernatural sharpness to leave a small nick in the floor's wooden planks that it surprised even the magus. Now they kept it like they'd first seen it, only kept in a different container.

Silky came in holding a brown backpack in her arms and gave her question in the form of a look. Chise gave a small smile and nodded her thanks.

They would leave in the afternoon. Apparently Touko wanted them on site in the evening, and had advised them to bring a modicum of camping supplies. Something about using the passing hours to gather the wind elements for a magical boost.

Still left them with ample time for unpleasant anticipation.

Someone knocked on their door when she was looking through books in their library. Four gentle knocks. Chise reached the door first with Ruth following. She could almost tell before she opened it who it was from the sound of someone coughing on the other side.

The local priest, and Elias' watcher from the Holy Church, Simon Cullum stood in the opened doorway.

He raised his head and moved his hand away from his mouth to give her a gentle wave.

"Good morning." he said with a smile.

Chise returned it. "Good morning. The usual?"

"If it isn't too much trouble?" Simon closed his eyes lightly sheepishly and joined his hands vertically in an apologetic manner before Chise went to retrieve his cough medicine. Ruth stayed seated in the hallway, head turned to where Chise went before he turned it towards the priest.

"..."

"..."

The casual silence was oddly soothing.

"What, it's just Simon?" Elias remarked as he walked down the stairs.

"Well that's a fine how-do-you-do, isn't it?" Simon jovially replied as he leaned slightly to the side.

"What do you want?" Elias pressed with his usual tone, laced with a grain of what could be heard as slight exasperation.

Simon raised a hand to his neck and started rubbing it. "(Let's not play dumb.) Pretty sure you have a fair idea, though?"

"Touko Aozaki, huh?"

"Haaaah, I thought so. The Holy Church and the Clock Tower's devotees are bitter rivals. Our observers actually called me in the middle of the night when they confirmed she had passed close to the village."

"Hnnn… Sorry to give you trouble. I had little to no control over her visit. She just came at her pleasure."

"Fits her profile. Shall I assume she's recruited you for a job?"

"And what if she did?" Elias crossed his arms, his tone laced with a casual defiance.

"Believe me, I don't care one way or the other, but there are going to be some folks in a higher echelon of the Church who are going to want to know what such an eccentric, accomplished mage was doing out here in the woods."

"I'll admit to participating in an experiment of hers. Any more than that will be too invasive."

"Thank you. At least with that I'll have a tear of bread to hand over when they come hounding me for info." Simon moved his hand over to his trachea before he lowered his chin and coughed.

"So you will not be trailing me, then?"

"You would… you would allow that?"

"No."

"Thought so," Simon laughed for a moment. "Insistently monitoring a target on the move is outside my expertise. Ah, Chise."

Chise returned with a medicinal bag in hand, turning her head to look between Simon and Elias. Her expression briefly turned quizzical.

"Sorry to trouble you," Simon apologized before he reached out and received the package. "I hear you met with Touko Aozaki. What did you think of her?"

"Eh? Huh? Ah," Chise raised her eyebrow for a moment. "Uhhh… pe-penetrating…?"

"Penetrating?" Simon tilted his head as he lowered his hand down to his side.

"How should I say it… It felt as if she were looking right through my skin. Like if she was seeing down to the blood vessels and my nerve endings…" Chise replied.

"Oh… hmm." The priest didn't have good enough an idea of the magi's repertoire to outright refute the possibility. Frankly he'd only skimmed the records on the magus' in question, but his superiors had launched into something of a tirade about her many troublesome affairs. At least, the ones known to the Church. He'd made the observers' messenger repeat herself twice as he heard her name spoken in the night. Granted, he'd been half-asleep during the entirety of the call, but he honestly never expected to hear Touko Aozaki's name spoken with relevance. He scratched the side of his neck uncomfortably.

"(Talking about Arthur will probably set off an alarm within the Church.)" Elias further cautioned himself as he noticed Silky emerge from a doorway, with a new, light turquoise scarf resting against her forearm. Almost certainly another gift for Chise.

"What's wrong?" Chise asked as Simon appeared to keep his silence.

"Ahh, it's nothing. Just be careful when you're around that mage." Simon closed his eyes and made a strange gesture with his hands raised and turned inwards at the approximate level of his chin. "While she's not an explicit troublemaker, she is possessed of a nonchalance about the proven fact that it inevitably seems to follow her around. I'd tell you to watch your doors and corners, but as I have no proof you're heading into the city I can only ask that you prepare a warding of caution."

Chise silently felt a drop of sweat form somewhere near the base of her hairline when she realized he'd gathered the possibility of them going camping from a probable glance into the kitchen where she'd been going through evaluating potential necessities with Elias and the large backpack with the very noticeable sleeping bag hoisted beside the table. The tent(which for some reason it surprised her Elias had on hand) was in a different room, but you only need one plough to deduce a man intends to farm a field.

"We don't need your coddling."

"I just don't like seeing you do so many reckless, dangerous things." Simon closed one eye and sighed with the knuckle of his index finger pressed above his brow. Chise raised her head as she recognized a curious increase in his expressiveness. His next words didn't reach her ears as she noted a change in the speed and instability in his movements.

"Simon, are you coming down with a cold?" Chise asked.

"Huh?" Simon and Elias turned their eyes down towards her.

Chise just silently looked up at him until he got the memo.

"Mmm, you may be right." he said as he touched his palm against his forehead, pushing his left foot back half a step's worth.

"Shall I prescribe some cold medicine for you before you go?"

"No, I still have some of that modern medicine prescribed by the pharmacy, though I thank you for the offer."

"Are you sure?" Chise asked again.

"Yeah, don't worry. I don't need to tell you that most of the world's population these days make do without the benefits of the mysteries." he said before he tried to stifle a cough. "Well then, I'd better be off. Please be careful out there."

"I'll try my best."

"I'll do my outmost to make sure that you do." Elias said as he lowered his head down and peeked at her face from over her shoulder. Simon laughed lightly as he waved them goodbye when he made for the door. Chise watched him close the door behind him before she turned and raised her chin to look up at Elias.

Standing tall again, he turned his head and met her gaze for a moment before he suggested she take a book from the library. "It's a rather lengthy bus ride out there. You might want something to entertain yourself with."

"... Good idea." Chise remarked before she made for the house library.

Before too long the two managed to finish their preparations in time to leave for the local bus-stop. Silky saw them off quietly while insistently wrapping the new scarf around Chise's neck as the girl held onto the straps of her portion of the camping gear. Ruth offered to carry some in human form, but was distracted when the fairy started to stroke his forehead affectionately, at which point Elias started to head out. Silky returned Chise's wave before she returned indoors and took up a broom.


In London

"Smells good,"

"Hey, what's inside?"

"What's wrong, frown-face?"

"Why don't you pull down that hood? Let us have a good look!"

"Hey, why don't you lower the hood and let me see your face? You've got a pretty interesting style for someone so short. You momma's dress-up doll 'r something?"

That last voice was human.

A pair of laced brown boots moved at a pace just below that of a jog. The girl they belonged to threw a glance at the traffic lights down the street before a passing truck obscured her view. For a brief second the guy following her forcibly entered the periphery of the field of view under her hood before she cast her face straight forward. A black creature with a lipless mouth full of human-looking teeth and a single bulging eye jumped in from the right to grab a glance beneath her hood and fell down to get stepped on for an instant before the confused owner of the foot raised it and looked behind him, allowing her a moment's reprieve because of her sustained pace.

The lump-like creatures in question, to explain them, were an amalgamation of various base emotions coming into being one paper thin layer at a time from the everyday curses vented by the millions-strong human population of London.

A baker grieving a downturn in his shop's customer count, inexperienced garbagemen finding themselves at a loss of how to get the stink off their person, a bad domestic situation or the stress from overwork; anything. The vocal cords of the average person acted as a low-input worker in the largely invisible factory giving birth to fairly weak, but stable curses able to take on a nominal recreation of form. The strongly negative aspects of many of the composite materials could come to affect people in the form of almost any common ailment, weak enough you could likely treat it without the need for advanced magecraft. And like many spirits, these beings made from unintentional, runaway curses would react more strongly when they come across unusual humans, especially those possessed of a certain degree of sensitivity.

The man following her closely was a teenage boy probably on the cusp of going into his twenties with the sides of his head mostly buzzed while leaving much of the upper scalp untouched. He had a nose with a prominent bridge, she noticed when she spared him a glance the first time, a trait which a certain mentor of hers had once offhandedly told her was called an aquiline nose, alternatively a Roman nose, or even more on point a hooked nose, when they passed an important portrait she didn't recognize during a case. It wasn't an inherently unattractive physical trait, though, it made his persistent stare all the more look like that of a large eagle.

"I'm talking to you."

It was hard to look at his face directly for long even as he demanded her attention when they crossed a corner. She turned her eyes his way, well inside the hood where he could not see them.

"(Why is he… so fixated on me...? Just give up already.)" she thought, turning her eyes back forward.

"Oh my. Is he harassing that child?" she faintly heard one old woman saying to an acquaintance. The old woman, an aged lady with a mass that made her look a bit like a grey standing oval in her long shawl and bushy grey hair was making the futile gesture of trying to cover her mouth with her hand as she spoke. Futile because her eyes were pointed directly towards the younger man. A single, probably intense look from the delinquent sent her scurrying away past them a number of meters away on the same pavement.

The girl could not blame the old lady or her acquaintance. At that age it would be far from surprising for her to have developed some kind of limb condition. The slightest chance of being forced into a physical altercation could well spell a health disaster for the elderly and worn. The person she was supposed to be meeting up with would have undoubtedly told him off by now, but she didn't have that kind of courage until push becomes a combative shove with lives on the line. She noticed a few other people walking the pavement turning their eyes on them, some whispering amongst themselves.

The taller person reached for the back of her hood with a shallow scowl twisting his face, but even as she sensed it draw near the only change was a slight lowering of her eyebrows as she saw the black creatures scutter about in front of her feet. Maybe if they weren't present she could at least offer up a modicum of conversation, however brief, yet right now she found she couldn't even summon up the words to throw him off. Closed off, she only found the strength to extend the length of her stride for a couple of steps to keep her out of his reach as they reached a light crowd.

Grasping only air as he tried to quickly close his hand around the fabric of her hood, the older teenager slowed for a moment and raised his chin as his eyes simmered into a cold, easily compartmentalized anger. He put his left hand in his pocket and followed. "I don't know what you think gives you the right to keep ignoring people like this, but someday it's going to catch up to you. You're from the countryside, aren't you? Don't you know the services and goods us cityfolk can provide? Ever been to a karaoke shop? I bet you'd stand out like a black candle at an amusement park dressed like that!" he said as they waded through a trickle of other pedestrians walking the opposite way with an unpleasant, raised edge on his mouth. "..." The creatures at her feet weighed on her lungs.

A wet squeak rose accompanied by an animal-like shriek when one of the lumpy, partially transparent things leapt in and accidentally found itself pressed underfoot. The girl flinched as the presence of the supernatural creature, though harmlessly trampled by her boot changed somehow and brought the overly alarmed gravekeeper's eyes down where it met with the lone bulging eye that appeared to lack an iris.

Lacking the sensibilities needed to catch the sound, the older teenager pushed forward with a gleeful grin. "Gang's got both boys and girls there, if you're afraid you'll have no one to go to the toilet with."

He caught her on the left shoulder, but just when she opened her mouth as she felt herself getting pulled back another hand clenched into a ball and would've shot right past her head had it not been for the difference in height. The girl heard a sickening crunch just before she steadied her feet. A cold sensation permeated the top of her cranium as she turned to see the man walking behind her land on his upper back and heard the faint sound of a tooth clattering against the hard pavement. A certain voice residing near her right hand let out a restrained cackle. The girl gaped for a moment at the view before she set her eyes on the blonde woman who'd thrown the fist.

Her light blonde hair was partially tied into a ponytail but much was left to hang freely down her on neck and covered a part of the left side of her face as well. She wore a scarlet red jacket, a white turtle-neck shirt and weathered black jeans. The woman appeared to be close in height and age with the guy she'd just sent to the ground to the shock and gasps of many of the other pedestrians. "Sorry about that." She clicked her tongue as she massaged her knuckles. "I happen to know that weirdo from a while back. Nothing good would've come of it if you'd listened to him." she said before turning her eyes, initially landing them wrong before lowering them further down past the hood. With her business apparently concluded, she again turned and raised her own hood before she walked away.

The girl briefly looked after her and spared a glance at the older person lying down, a missing tooth and a trickle of blood escaping down his cheek and then towards the other girl's retreating back. "..." But her sense of not knowing how to feel about this other person's situation faded as a cold sensation resembling a wave of an icy crackling ocean washing over the narrow section of exposed skin between your socks and the hem of your pants invaded her nervous system. She almost yelped as her back straightened and she felt one or two of the small creatures climbing up onto her legs, matching the coloring of her black tights farther up with all but their eyes. Not that the general passerby would be able to see them anyhow and determine them to be the source of her distress. The girl went almost completely still. Under the cloak and hood there would be few who could tell she was trembling, and those who did might ponder if she was in shock after finding herself directly in the scene of an apparent assault.

As a nearby adult was probably making a call for the police or an ambulance, one of the creatures looking like they were formed from a thickening viscous black fluid had climbed up the girl's laced brown longboots and was reaching for the side of her kneecap.

'CLANG!'

Bulging eyes halted into stillness for a moment as the sound of a shutter slamming down came from somewhere above. A moment later all the creatures making the climb relinquished their progress and slithered down back to the area around her feet, twisting their eyes in a manner human eye sockets would not have allowed as they screened the surrounding buildings and sky for the source of the sound. The adult making the call heard the sound too, and took his ear off the phone to look over the girl's immediate area for a few seconds. The girl, previously feeling a grip touching the bottoms of several of her organs and spine snapped to and blinked repeatedly before she looked down at the knocked-out teenager almost a meter away and practically ripped herself away from the scene. Practically all of the dark creatures that had returned to the ground, though still wary, snapped their eyes onto her back and hurried after her. The hooded one jogged towards the edge of the pavement and turned to await the stopping of traffic before her along with a handful of fellow pedestrians while resting her hand against the nearby pole.

The supernatural creatures moving amidst the unaware London folks moved using an array of different means, from moving on almost cartoon-ish legs while possessing the overall frame of a football full of water, to slowly flying or rapidly bouncing. One of them was slowly growing a mouth of small, thin teeth as they closed on the crosswalk, and another was shaping the ends of its appendages into crude replications of human hands.

The girl watched the final large, white truck go by and narrowed her green eyes on the traffic lights, acutely, but not openly aware of the approaching group of dark glob-like beings. The lights turned green to roughly match her eyes on the other end of the crosswalk, and the girl sprung forth as the coming automobiles slowed to a stop before the line of painted white bars on concrete.

Her following leapt across the crosswalk faster than her feet were currently carrying her, and a raise of her eyes showed her another two creatures 'sitting' on one of the walls before an alleyway doing or not doing something incomprehensible. They didn't feel like they'd caught the stimuli her body had been giving the others for a while now. She shut them out for now and tried to find herself in relation to the nearby relevant bus stop. "... To the right… left, then right."

A hornet or another similarly large insect whizzed past her shielded ear. The buzzing sound barely registered for but a moment. On the opposite view of the street, one of the cars that had stopped and was waiting for their green light housed a large man of Asian origin with spiked back brown hair, sunglasses and a brutal series of claw marks running down his right brow was gripping his left clavicle as he noticed the parade of low-level spiritual beings from behind his windshield.

"Hmm?" His eyes followed them to their quarry and he found the curiously familiar sight of a girl in a grey cloak and hood moving across the crosswalk in an apparent hurry. He tilted his head and grinned in recognition. "... Ganbare, uchideshi-chan." he said, wishing her well as he lowered the side-window and grabbed himself a smoke.

Said girl crossed the crosswalk with a feeling like she had a loose rope tied around her ankle getting tighter. Turning right, she imagined the bus stop she was looking for to be just past the city block on the opposite end of the narrow road that stretched out on her left. Crossing it took scarcely more than five seconds, but by then the creatures tailing her were forming up around her. She raised her head some for a moment, then lowered it back down. One of smaller ones became daring when she slowed her pace of movement and tried partially enveloping her foot only to slip off, while the one that had grown hands on its 'feet' started trying to steal a hold of her perceptions by stepping out and keeping itself in front of her and staring. The one growing teeth was growing larger as it bounced behind her, making an unsettling noise a nearby cyclist pair could not detect.

"Pleaaseee~"

"Hey. Hey."

"Stay for a while!"

"Like beef tendon~"

"Why won't you play?"

Her head turned slightly in her hood. A nearby tree planted in a slot of soil partially obscured the sun for a few moments. The girl parted her lips before she bit down in the corner. A businessman smoking a cigarette was walking in the opposite direction, but aside from that, the number of people populating the street appeared to be significantly fewer than before the previous one.

"!"

Discovering the entrance to a narrow alleyway coming up on her right, she abruptly stopped. The suddenness of the action brought forth a moment of surprise in the toothed pest-like phantasmal being. It started forming an additional pair of narrow slits for eyes around its main bulging white orb as the rest grouped around her while she gave the surrounding buildings a glance. The noisy posse formed out of everyday curses and grievances followed or clung fast when the girl's feet started moving toward and into the passage, itself small enough to only accommodate about three people walking shoulder to shoulder, but plenty enough space for a girl her size and frame.

Once she passed the corner, her arm bent above the elbow outward and her hand could briefly be seen within the cloak inching closer to a hook holding a golden metal cage, within which a strangely animated cube bearing the colors of gold, steel and cobalt jumped up and down, its queer facial pattern expressing a feeling of pleasure as it imitated an exaggerated sound of licking its non-existent lips.

"Sllliiirp~!"

A terrible sound left the alley. Metallic, scraping for an instant, then an ear piercing, shrilling echo that carried like a wind over the grey urban setting.

"What was that? A gunshot?" said a short-haired bespectacled man in a light-colored trench coat, raising his head while talking to an old lady with shaded circular glasses sitting inside a bus stop. Her hands drew the top of her cane closer to her lap as she craned her neck left and right.

The girl in the hood walked back out onto the narrow, cobbled road. The face that she had kept low throughout her walk was still low, but steadily rising as the grey-haired teenager beneath the hood inhaled, turned her chin up, and exhaled. The action appeared to restore some amount of color to her face. Her lips closed as she opened her eyes, if only about halfway, ignoring the rather uncouth burp that somehow held enough force to briefly cause the right hem of her cloak to rise. She turned on her heel, throwing a rather embarrassed glance in toward the alleyway as she raised a hand towards an extra strap hanging from her left shoulder and pushed her feet forward in the direction of the bus stop.

The aforementioned alleyway was left almost completely silent with her departure. The relatively narrow passage between buildings was lined with dulled red and grey brick, a few spots where wear and tear exposed an underlying layer together with a set of garbage cans, one of which had apparently been tipped over at some point in time. Only a small scatter of fading supernatural matter remained of the group of solidified curses that entered, giving off a quiet yet somehow high-pitched chime as what was left of their bodies followed the wind inward into the passage. A rough crescent comprised of powdered white concrete lay on the ground with them. Barely enough to be worth calling it rubble, the broadly scattered pieces could be followed almost from one wall to the other up to its point of origin in the wall to the left of any who entered from the street.

A narrow, slanted gash had been etched into the wall, beginning high before descending steeply down the left, close to a decimeter deep at its widest point up near its center.

Wiping sweat from her brow with a gloved hand, the young gravekeeper felt her body temperature return to normal after moving her limbs some more. The cool city air was far from fresh, but it gave her blood what it needed to function. When she reached the corner at the end of the path she turned right, bringing her to the intended bus stop. She quickly skipped towards the spot where they put the bus schedules, gently pushing past the bespectacled man standing in the way before pulling out her phone. Her green eyes reflected in the glass sheet. An old lady grasping a cane glanced over in her direction from her seat on top of a simple wooden bench attached to the booth.

Her shoulders sunk. She brought her contacts' list up and sought out a name as she moved back out. She pressed the 'call' button and pressed the cellphone against her ear.

'Duurrrrrt'

The person on the other end of the line picked it up rather quickly. "Luvia? I'm very sorry, I got delayed and it seems I missed my bus. Next one will be arriving in roughly fifteen minutes. I-"

"Well that's wonderful!"

Somehow, someone sounded bewilderingly cheerful. Why?

It would appear that the wealthy young lady speaking on the other end of the line had been running herself almost ragged after an unexpected business complication turned up in one of the several establishments owned under her family's name and she had been… more or less forced to address it in person. Whilst hurrying towards their mutually established rendezvous point her eyes had been caught on a confectionary store, and she'd passed it, crying, mourning the sacrifices demanded in the name of punctuality. The girl in the hood thought she was being dramatic, but while the other was speaking she kept her mouth politely zipped. This London early afternoon was nasty with its traffic. Neither of them had lessons today, so why did it have to be like this, the young Edelfelt head wondered aloud. She had a habit of that, it seems.

"Anyway, since we're mutually misfortunate I'll tell my driver to turn this limo around-"

"E-eh?!" The girl thought she heard a shocked voice coming from the background on Luvia's end.

Completely disregarding him, the older girl continued without stopping to acknowledge or maybe even notice her servant's displease. "- and stop by that store. This temperature we have today outdoors beckons the candy industry and the modern human physique together like two lovers~"

"I-is that how it works?"

"Yes," Luvia said as if it was matter-of-fact. "Do you desire a particular flavor or shall I call you once I'm at the store?"

"Uhh, umm… Miss Reines usually brings up a delectable selection even without my input. Can I entrust you with that same faith?"

The high-class lady brought a hand to the top of her chest, her expression that of a touched maiden. "Very well. I shall ensure our simple paper bags contain a feast that will quiet that rumbling dragon heart of yours."

The girl in the hood held a pensive look on her face in the moments before the call ended and she pulled the phone down from her ear. "(A simple 'I'll put my faith in you' was enough.)" She collapsed it in both hands held in front of her chest and stood there for a few moments before she turned back and stood to lean against the bus stand.

"Not going to sit?" the elderly lady seated on the bench behind the glass raised her head slightly. The girl peeked over her shoulder from under her hood and met the eyes of the kindly lady in shaded glasses, white coat and black hat grasping her cane.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Oh? But the next bus is still 14 minutes out isn't it?"

"..." Reluctantly, she made her way beneath the small ceiling and took a seat next to the older lady. As she gently plumps down, the girl feels the elder turn her eyes back out through the transparent wall warding off most of the elements.

She relaxed as she realized the old lady wasn't following up with small talk and raised her head towards the ceiling before shutting her eyes, listening to the very faint sound of a minimal scattering of raindrops falling against the bus stop.

The minutes pass and the hooded girl manages to make her way to an open space around several large buildings. The grounds are wet with scattered pools of water, residuals of a brief rainshower that had brushed against the London landscape. Luviagelita Edelfelt stands alone beneath her umbrella, covering her from the shoulders up but easily recognizable by her blue dress. Luvia turns and sees her as the crown of the umbrella moves out of the way. She beams at her before she takes a few swift steps to join her with a bag hanging from her other shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" the girl apologized as she slowed her pace to a near halt before coming to stop in front of the Finnish magus.

Said magus serenely shook her head. "It's fine. As promised, our unexpected treat." Luvia said, opening her eyes before showing the large paper bag from the confectionary store resting against her left shoulder along with the stem of the umbrella. "What would you like to do? Snack on one here and now, or wait before our business is done and then savor them all in one go as a finish for a day well spent?" she asked before meaningfully rustling the bag.

The bag had a plastic window running down the middle that exposed some of the contents. Her question sent the hooded girl's eyes right to the flamboyantly colored treats. There was the primary colors of red(albeit pinkish), yellow and blue, and then there was the rest of a rainbow's worth of sprinkles sticking to the transparent plastic. She saw the distinct curve of at least one donut, but she suspected the presence of at least another one.

"U-" she left her mouth hanging open. Considering her words with a desperation normally reserved for answering her teacher during classes, she could only stare at the paper bag with glittering eyes and unconsciously express her feelings in the form of a staggering gulp.

Luvia's eyes were wide, blinking twice at the sight of the magus' apprentice still appearance. A very girlish laugh escaped her for a moment before raising a single finger. "I am certain Miss Reines in this situation would have said that a little bit of drool would have made it into a perfect picture right now. Right, Gray?"

The girl reflexively sent a hand to her mouth to deal with the phantom saliva and averted her gaze, or so she tried, but it was all very entertaining for the girl who had haughtily secured her mentor as a private tutor for herself. They moved to sit by one of the benches scattered around the area and Luvia opened the paper bag and invited for her hand to enter. "Now, Gray, pick well, for any others will have to wait until after the rink."

Gray, no surname given, carefully reached for the inside of the paper bag and took out a large thing whose name, year of invention and a brief summary of the baking process Luvia lovingly provided. The magus apprentice felt bad, creasing her brow for losing herself to the imaginary overstimulation of her tastebuds during the early point of the explanation.

The two girls sat down on a bench while they consumed their selected treats with the utmost care. If they were aware of how their blissful expressions transformed them into lighthouses attracting the gazes of several nearby cityfolk, neither showed it.

"Are you seeing flowers orbiting that girl in the hood too?"

"What's this, some sort of confectionary witchcraft? How good is that?"

That store whose brand vaguely showed on the paper bag would suddenly find itself with a vague 5% increase in customer numbers over the next two days.

"Will these last until after we…"

"I will apply a modicum of culinary preservation magecraft the moment we're out of sight." Luvia said as they moved their feet.

Gray could only vaguely recall some legends of a place where the wine was always cool, presumably from the ancient Greek. Was it perhaps in the land of the honored dead in the Elysian Fields? What about Valhalla and its plentiful mead? She lacked her master's indiscretion and knowledge to even try to pry into the method and history, so the area of influence for that specific magecraft will remain under lock until further notice.

The two girls from that world deposited their used napkins in a trash bin and continued on their short trek through the city. The sound of an airplane making its way across the distant sky drew Gray's eyes up. She vaguely recalled having travelled in a helicopter, though her time in it had been spent largely unconscious and instead woke up in a bed.

"(That reminds me, doesn't Miss Luvia own a private jet?)" Gray notes to herself as she eyes the wealthy magus.

"Hm? Is something the matter?" Noticing eyes on her from within Gray's ashen-colored hood, Luvia asks as she turns on her heel.

Gray averts her eyes first and then her head. "No, nothing."

"?"

The hooded girl then turned her eyes down to the bag Luvia was dragging along. "What is that?"

Luvia followed her eyes and just smiled. "Our equipment and a change of clothes. It would be dangerous to proceed dressed as I am. Yours… might suffice, but I have..." Luvia said as her smile dropped professionally and she cupped her chin. She snapped her fingers and the smile was returned as if was back from a break. "Well, let's get it on once we get into the dressing room. It's not far now." she said. Gray nodded, and followed close by her side.

A few minutes later, the two considered a carriage selling hot dogs, but reluctantly stayed themselves so as to not upset the rhythm of their stomachs ahead of time too much, before making a beeline towards their destination that was now coming into view.

"I must say, when I first asked if there was any favor I could give you in return for your most helpful assistance with my… most grave matter" the wealthy lady allowed herself a moment to "ho ho ho ho" laugh at her own terrible joke "I never expected to hear you ask me to bring you to an ice skating rink."

"... Some months ago, just before the incident aboard the Rail Zeppelin started I saw an advertisement before a museum. When you asked, I let slip-"

Luvia nodded twice, all full of a cocktail of excitement and high-class self-confidence and other emotions. "I heard your motivation the first time when you explained, and my readiness to repay you has not wavered one bit since."

Embarrassed, Gray lowered her face again. "Y-you need not mention it."

Previously, this young lady of the Edelfelt family had run into a curious incident regarding the grounds of a mage family linked by some kind of patronage with hers. The plot of land the family had newly settled had had a history they were unaware of by the time they started preparing it for housing their workshop. Seeing as how she had entered under his tutorship not so long ago, Luvia had rather promptly made her way to the office of Lord El-melloi II, looking for advice. She had provided him with a rough overview of the family's field and the characteristics of the land they expected would get involved with the workshop and so forth, but rather than solve it himself with his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge, he had instead pointed them to the newly discovered feature of the lands and suggested she seek out Gray for assistance. Why? Naturally because there were undiscovered graves located in the terrain and the families involved studied a completely non-related field of magecraft.

Luvia would have been more comfortable just hiring her for her services as a gravekeeper, but even with her mentor's urgings in favor Gray had made things a little more complicated when she to their surprise insisted it didn't feel appropriate taking payments from a friend. She'd been surprised with herself in that regard, having seen Luvia's wealth flaunted so brazenly in front of her eyes many times in the past she might have considered it akin to taking a shot originating from a bottle containing a small sea. Yet the thought had nagged at her, and so she held firm. An embarrassing mistake, as it would have secured her some extra money for fair labor. Though it turns out Luvia herself was firm on the idea of some kind of repayment, and their mutual acquaintance, Reines El-melloi Archisorte, who hadn't been present during the first talks of the "job" had weighed in when she heard them speak of it near her. That's when they settled on the ice skating rink.

"..."

Gray looked up at the large building when they arrived in mild awe. Luvia beheld the hooded girl from the side, only able to see her nose from her angle.

"Let's go in, shall we?" the Edelfelt family head tilted her head as her words drew the younger girl's gaze.

The first thing that hit Gray when they entered was the chill. It had been anticipated, of course, but Gray still raised a gloved hand to massage her nose. They(Luvia rather) paid and proceeded towards the changing room where a family were outfitting themselves in overalls to protect themselves from the ice and cold. The silver-haired young lady needed very few adjustments to get ready. She swapped her lower outfit, a short white skirt paired with black leggings for a pair of pants. Luvia changed out of her dress and somehow made herself look almost as splendid wearing her blue coveralls as she did in her dress. The garments were probably made from the finest material. She would expect nothing less.

When they were just about done and on their way to the rink, Luvia surprised her with a request: "Would you turn around and remove your hood for a moment, please?"

"..." Gray's brow creased, the question "Why?" on her expression, but with some more quiet urging the girl turned her back to her and slowly pulled her hood back, revealing a head of silvery hair tied into an elaborate braided bun. Luvia's breath ceased for an instant. Streaks of splendid golden blonde hairs appeared to be scattered amidst the silver. Most visible was the streak above her left eye most of the time, but with her hood out of the way one would see almost half her right bang being the single largest concentration of the invasive color. From behind, she spied a lock of such hair had made its way into the braids surrounding the bun.

"Ah, while we're at it, mind if I redo the glamour?" Luvia asked.

"Alright." Gray replied, holding in place. As Luvia untied the black and gold ribbon holding the bun in place, Gray reached into a pocket and produced another full black one and handed it over by her shoulder. Luvia tied it for her, then took the black and gold ribbon and unveiled a yellow gem in the palm of her hand. The apparent golden embroidery in the small strip of pretty fabric drained its color into the gem. Meanwhile the golden streaks on Gray's head gradually seemed to be vanishing too.

Luvia stared at the sight for a few moments before she reached into her bag. Gray's eyelids were lowered in apparent resignation as she pocketed the newly drained ribbon she handed back to her.

"Now then…" Luvia said very gently with something Gray vaguely recognized to be anticipation in her voice.

The feeling of the other girl's knuckles running down the space above her ears brought some surprise back into her expression, and shortly she found Luvia's hands down the sides of her jawbone, holding some kind of strap… made from wool…

Reaching a hand up as Luvia's retreated, she pondered. "... This is…"

"Yes. A cap. I figured you would do well to wear something not quite as limiting as your usual hood when you're out on the field." The rich young woman raised a hand with a finger up to further draw in her attention. "Listen, ice skating is not a sport to be trifled with. There are real dangers to restricting your field of vision." She retracted her hand and crossed her arms. "Anticipating those, I took a leisurely trip to the mall the other day to pick this one out. How is it? Is the color to your liking?" the rich girl asked with an obvious spirit of anticipation.

Gray touched one of the tassel-ended appendages running down over her temples from the main body of the woolen cap. She didn't have a mirror, but it seemed as if the tassels incorporated at least most of the overall color into its pattern. Viewed from the front, the woolen cap sported broad horizontal stripes. It was very simple: topped with grey and white, continuing down with a thinner stripe of white, then a fairly vibrant lime green before another white line and on its goes to grey until ending with the green at the tassels. Gray was holding it with both hands as she extrapolated the wholeness' features from the parts visible to her eyes, not even really thinking of removing it to have a proper look as a normal person might, or worse, look in a mirror.

After a few moments of mild bewilderment, the girl settled her eyelids back down and gave a rather beatific smile, forgetting to direct her eyes to the giver of this gift, but the Edelfelt took no offense. This distraction was proof enough to indicate appreciation. "... Thank you, very much."

Luvia's smile was practically plastered solid as she watched her temporary charge emote her gratitude. She closed her eyes though, turning her head a little to the side and raising her chin, her chest filling up with pride. "Well of course, it is only appropriate that I, THE Luviagelita Edelfelt provide the most optimal equipment for any venture I sponsor, whether the idea originates from myself or not." Gray did not miss how Luvia's cheeks had turned a little red. Whether from the radiant chill of the space in which they found themselves or whether it was completely internal, she could not say.

"Now, let's get to it. The main event!" Luvia announced, interrupting Gray's thoughts and grabbing her wrist, the one not holding her pair of ice skates by the laces as she was pulled along.

Equipping the ice skates was no major hassle, but standing up required a brief moment of assistance. Luvia held Gray's hands as they slowly stepped over the threshold. The newbie-girl's foot slid a little as her blades touched the ice.

"You'll get the hang of it soon. I'm sure of it." Luvia said as she held her hands while the second foot crossed over.

The girl overfocused on the sound of the blade grinding against the frozen surface. The older teenager with the golden coils for hair released her hold of one of her hands and let Gray orient herself, though the latter predictably had her eyes on the first three meters in front of her feet for a fairly long moment as she worked her balance in sync with the lengths that now took precedence over the soles of her feet.

The blades took on the disorienting shape of two copies of the edge of Add's scythe in her mind, suddenly making her feel as if she was standing on a rope with the blades menacingly residing below. It was absurd. She had trained for so much of her life to make that very shape her instrument, and now she regarded that part of her longest friend as a phantom threat? Pathetic. Add was just beneath her jacket, more likely than not watching her progress, probably with a jape at the ready for when she slips one way or the other.

But there would be no mercy. Not for Add should he open his mouth, nor for herself if she cowered in fear of failure in this purely recreational activity, even if the punishment for the latter would merely be massive self-reproach. She sucked in her lower lip and assumed a position roughly mirroring Luvia's.

Luvia helped Gray through their first slightly curved march towards the other end of the rink. Though she wasn't significantly shorter than her, when she raised her other hand in a panic Luvia took it over the girl's head. Luvia watched Gray's eyes steel into form from the side. Gray's foot found its balance atop the blade and Luvia slowly let go of her hands, leading her to the handles at the edge of the rink before fully committing.

Grasping the support beams with both hands behind her back, Gray raised her head and then pushed off. Her eyes briefly went wide when her leg shook, but she lacked nothing in speed when she steadied herself once more. She looked over her shoulder to see Luvia gliding gracefully.

"How do I slow down?" Gray asked as she turned her head forward again.

Luvia spent the better part of a minute explaining and demonstrating in depth as Gray with heavy beats in her heart twisted and turned on her feet so as to avoid running into the edge of the rink. In the end it felt really quite simple. Under Luvia's supervision she started moving more quickly, more daring.

"Ihihihihi! Smooth running today! None of the usual shaking. Could get used to this! Maybe you should invest in a pair of roller blades?" Add quipped.

"..."

"Oh?"

"Maybe so." Gray said as she folded her hands behind her waist and pressed forward on one foot, earning an approving nod from Luvia who was gliding close by outside of the girl's field of vision.

She couldn't help but wonder how her mentor would have fared if it'd been him trying to guide her, probably spending at the very smallest 10, 15% of the time on the sides. Though she'd love to see him practice what he preaches, she knew he was like to twist his ankle if he tried in this particular case, regardless how well he can envision the form. Imagining him walking around the Clock Tower with a cane didn't please her, but the idea of seeing him flail about atop the ice brought a mixed feeling of alarm and amusement.

Maybe Add and Miss Reines had been rubbing off on her, in some small part. That thought apparently made her smile.

"Gray, are you ready to try running circular?"

"How do you mean?"

"Extend your hand," Luvia said while demonstrating by raising her hand.

The message was clear. Even Gray, deriding of her own intelligence as she was, could imagine the movements that would come next and so extended her hand while moving closer to the older girl in the blue and white coveralls.

Approaching from the opposite directions, when the two grasped each other's hand the motion practically played out on its own. Viewed from above, Luvia's figure ran clockwise, while Gray's ran counter-clockwise for the short while they were in contact before parting. When separated, Gray smoothly turned and slowed to a stop, arms falling back close to her waist as she made eye-contact with the Edelfelt family head.

In her mind, Gray produced various images of her classmates and friends in winter clothing, together with their teacher, sprawling about the chilly space. Flat fooling around, Svin loudly reprimanding him, Miss Reines standing off to Luvia's side with her arms crossed watching and anticipating one of the former about to fall or get a tongue-lashing. Probably best to leave the image of Yvette out, for the next one's sanity, but there she were. And then her mentor with a deep-set face of wrinkles, most probably about to yell out at the problem duo.

Even as a single strand of golden hair seemed to reemerge well before its time above her brow, Gray blissfully observed the imagined picture before her eyes as Luvia tilted her head, curious as to the greater smile curving into shape on the younger girl's face.


That's the end of the prologue of this little side-project of mine. Thought I'd start real softly, and what better way to do that than go with delightful treats after chopping your problems to bits with a scythe. Gray's snarky, frankly sometimes cruel internal side will show later when she's not feeling under the weather. Writing Luvia's dialogue took some effort and still I'm not entirely satisfied. I do hope I captured the others in an acceptable manner though. Yes, the girl who delivered the punch to the delinquent scumbag was Alice Swayne from Mahoutsukai no Yome, if it wasn't obvious

Can't promise anything in regards to time estimates on when the next chapter may be coming, as I am currently revamping my other story, Gem in the Brush, while also working on my Warframe x Mass Effect crossover and three original works. I honestly can't hold to a single story continuously for too long without spotting one of the others and falling into those depths. Easily distractible, plain and simple.

Oh, right, the disclaimer: Mahoutsukai no Yome belongs to its proper creators, as do Lord El-melloi II Case Files to the Fate-branch Type-MOON franchise, I only enjoy them and put them both ever so gently in the blender because crossovers are just such good fun.