Velvet returned home late, yet she was still received by two obviously worried teens. It took only the beginning of their explanation for her to realise they were not worried about her, though. Once Margaret was done summarising what Laphi and her found on Hexen Island, they all agreed that this was not good. It was much the opposite of good in fact, if at least unlikely to be related to the Lord of Calamity.

"Can we destroy it?"

Her question was taken seriously by both of them, which told her enough of their own thoughts on the matter. Margaret spoke up first, brows furrowed while tapping her fingers together. "The Caelix is too intricate to be destroyed wholesale. Or, hm." She eyed the other two again, though this time with a certain annoyance. "Well, as Empyreans, for which I still await an explanation for," she noted with a look specifically to Velvet, "you certainly have the power to do so. But I don't think that you should. Hexen Island is far out to sea, but the Caelix' destruction while active might still have repercussions for Glenwood."

Her memories being what they were, Velvet deferred to the girl's judgement. Laphi carried the conversation while she still considered: "And you are the only one who knows how to shut it down."

Margaret nodded softly. "Melchior and I, well, Artorius were the only ones who knew. I still have to sort through that and it's hard to describe."

"I figured it would be complicated," Laphi mused with a sideway glance to Velvet. "Chances are any existing interfaces are worn down after such a long time of working unattended, not to mention the Malevolence. We will have to clear it out first." The older Crowe met his gaze evenly, wondering what he was thinking about.

"We can do that easily between the two of us."

"Or," he answered with a little grin, "we use it for Margaret to gather some actual experience in this life."

This time, even Margaret joined in on the flat stare leveled at him. "Me," she began, more baffled than indignant. "Go to Hexen Island. Without a bonded seraph. To fight opponents I can hardly track, react to even less, and that have accumulated enough power to injure a god." Her tone was devoid of any emotion bar incredulity, the concept's very essence filling each word. "Do you believe me suicidal?"

"I mostly agree," Velvet noted toward her brother before giving Margaret a nudge, "except for one thing. If everything works out, you won't be alone for much longer." She paused for effect while the other two gave their full attention to her; Velvet smiled. "I talked to Ma-, er, Nica." Close. "She has a seraph girl around who might be interested in traveling with you, but she hasn't decided yet."

Margaret's eyes grew wide over the news while it was Laphi's turn to be baffled. He blinked at Velvet, trying to comprehend. "You, she, she got Symonne to do this? I..." He trailed off, obviously unsure how to continue. Or how to feel about this. Margaret's gaze wandered between them.

"Friend of yours?"

Velvet pointed at Laphi with a grin. "Friend of his. Bit of a tease, that one."

"Ah, I see. So Laphi's girlfriend might become my partner."

Laphi opened his mouth to deny the claim, but then shook his head and ignored Margaret's grin. "She's a lot better at this than you are, I'll say," he noted. "And considering you, she will tease you too. I'm just not sure I can survive living door to door with her for a few days with my dignity intact." Velvet grinned at him, having a bit of an idea what he was worried about.

Then however, her brother changed the subject, a little thoughtful as his gaze wandered between Margaret and Velvet. "But that aside, I guess I could bond with her for this one, as a safety measure."

...she could not let this opportunity pass by, not when it presented itself so easily. Velvet's grin grew wider. "Which one? Maggie, or Symonne?"

"Velvet!"

Margaret broke into laughter again while Laphi's cheeks began to get some colour. It seemed he had forgotten that a big sister was even better at destroying her little brother's dignity at every opportunity. Velvet chuckled as well and, once Margaret was done laughing, commented on the actual idea: "Anyway, you have a point, but I don't like it much."

"Figures." Laphi thought about it for a little longer, then he shrugged. "Whatever. If she agrees, we have to consider how to play it with Symonne, too. She is an enemy at the moment, but one Nica believes we can subvert to our side."

"...this is getting better and better," Margaret muttered, expression having fallen somewhat over this piece of news. "I remember being the first man to be called Shepherd. I remember dying by your hands, after so many atrocities. I'm a girl that has yet to see her fifteenth winter, and now I'm supposed to go on a training trip into Malevolence hell, with only someone serving the Lord of Calamity for assistance, while also playing games of intrigue. Anything else you need from me? May I solve the issue of the Empyreans' near-constant slumber while I am at it? Find a way to cure dragons? Oh wait, I know! Lemme ascend to godhood real quick, it's possible so I have to have done that before I turn eighteen!"

She crossed her arms and stared at both Crowes. Velvet blinked back at her, baffled by the sudden surge of sarcasm. Margaret had a point though, she quietly admitted; this was a lot they heaped onto her plate all at once. She sighed, feeling sheepish about having forgotten the girl's age. "Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Laphi considered the two women for a moment, then continued. "We can shelve the issue of Hexen Isle for a while; it kept to itself for a thousand years, one or two more will not do too much harm. Symonne is the bigger issue."

Velvet nodded at him, a thought forming. "Agreed. But, considering the situation, we might get away with telling her straight-up that we know about her." She elaborated before either of the other two could interrupt. "Then we will show her one or two of the cards up our sleeves and strike a deal. Nothing Margaret might learn from her will be used against the Lord of Calamity, nothing she learns while bonded to Margaret is used against us."

It was not a perfect plan, even Velvet could tell that, but it felt more promising to her than having Margaret play intrigue with Symonne. The girl herself shook her head, though. "I don't like that, either. It sounds like too much of a risk to take when operational security is the name of the game."

She felt some exasperation over how contrarian the girl acted; the fact she was reasonable about it only made it worse. Thankfully for Velvet's mental state, frayed as it still was, Laphi played peacemaker. "You both have a point," he began with a glance between the two of them. "Let's leave that issue until later as well, once we see how Symonne acts. More importantly, you are going to leave soon, seraph or no."

His eyes were on Margaret, who did not meet them and nodded. They had all known, from the moment Artorius' past came through. The girl herself heaved a sigh. "I heard what you said about me not being him, but..." she trailed off, heavy silence descending for a long moment. Again, Velvet could guess what she was about to say even before she got it out. "Just because I am no longer Artorius Collbrande does not absolve me from those sins."

"It's a little eerie how similar you act," Velvet muttered, mostly to herself. Then, to Margaret: "Do you have any plans yet?"

Her former student fidgeted a little before tilting her head, a shake aborted halfway through. "Nothing concrete, but... for now, I want to travel around and see if people need help. But for later, I want to become Maotelus' pactkeeper."

"I can see why you would," Laphi answered her. "Though, in the interim, one of the other four might be amenable. And they're around."

Velvet had agreed with the understanding. She did not agree with this, and threw her brother a flat stare. "Could you stop trying to give her overwhelming power right from the start?" The quip earned her two chuckling kids. Even Velvet herself had to smile a bit.

Once they were done laughing however, Margaret leaned back and sighed wistfully. "I... that is, looking back at this past life, I never would have thought we would be together like this again." She did not spell it out, but Velvet knew. Laphi knew. How the time he spent with the Crowes was one of the happiest times in Arthur's life.

Velvet did not comment. She simply gave Margaret a pat on the shoulder. "Catch some sleep and sort out your thoughts, chances are you're meeting Symonne tomorrow."

"Alright. Good night."

. .

. .

Elsewhere, the woman known as the Blue Valkyrie took a stroll by the lakeside.

To Hyaci Maltran, frequent evening walks were a way to destress from the day's tribulations. To calm her feelings when they became hard to bear, to ponder difficult issues. To go over a day's events and ascertain she made the correct choices. Sometimes, to reminisce. Of simpler times, of her youth. To wonder how far her own student would go before breaking like Hyaci herself had. It was better now, of course, but Alisha was nothing like her; still so full of hope, so optimistic. Inspiring, in a way.

Yet Hyaci also knew just what awaited. Who conspired in the shadows. What was a single princess' optimism when compared to the Lord of Calamity?

She was drawn out of her idle thoughts by a loud splash. Snapping back to attention in an instant, Hyaci grabbed for her spear and turned to the disturbance, then paused. Before her, among the rippling surface, stood Symonne. A single glance was enough to take in her state of complete nudity, shining droplets running down her rosy skin. Soaked, black hair clung to her neck and the tips of her shoulders; the lilac of her eyes was more pronounced as she studied Hyaci, who arched an eyebrow in response. "Is there a reason for your casual public indecency?"

The seraph blinked and glanced down at herself, then she rolled her eyes. A gesture that gave Hyaci pause, for she had never seen Symonne do it before. Mana quickly took the form of her usual garments, indecent as they already were to Hyaci's sensibilities. Symonne herself tilted her head somewhat, though the slightest smile played around her lips; yet another first. "You're just uptight," she chirped.

Hyaci took a long moment to just... take in the rather quite visible changes in Symonne's behaviour. And appearance, for that matter. After getting a glance at her entire body, that nagging feeling of something being different had finally found something to latch onto; her skin changed from its previous, inhuman white hue toward a rosy, healthy colour.

"I fail to see how upholding basic rules of decency can be assumed as 'uptight'", she finally answered, deciding to just keep up the conversation instead of arguing and see where it went. A nod was given to Symonne, who stood on the lake's surface. "I did not know you can do that."

The girl herself shrugged after a clarifying motion toward her feet. "I rarely ever do," she admitted softly before stepping off the water and in front of Hyaci; they began to walk together, as they sometimes did. Only this time it felt a little different, more like two comrades walking and not her with a particularly intelligent hound. A hound with apparent news: "Either way, I will be leaving for a while soon."

"You are returning to duty?" Curious indeed, seeing how Symonne had remained in Ladylake for the better part of a year. Hyaci took a look at the old woman she seemed to have taken a liking to, yet found nothing odd about her. Beyond that... peculiar sense of humour. More curiously, at the moment, was how freely the girl herself emoted; she shook her head a lot more pronounced, frowned, like an actual person would.

"Not yet," she began slowly, "or somewhat, rather." Hyaci leaned her head toward Symonne to communicate her curiousity, which was noticed without doubt. "The elder I am observing has some friends of strong resonance, one of which took a compassionate student. This student will head out into the world soon, though she is lacking a companion at the moment. They asked me to go with her."

As the girl spoke, Hyaci began to realise that she had rarely spoken that much in one go before; never about such a light subject, at least. She admittedly did not know which intrigued her more: this student, or how Symonne changed. In the end, she asked about the subject that would actually give her an answer: "What about that girl?"

"She might be someone to keep an eye on, so I'm going."

Or not. Grumbling internally, Hyaci accepted she would not get more than that and nodded; the wisdom in this choice was easy to see, having their trusted seraph in the center of potential trouble. Still, this was too little to work with. "What else can you tell me about that girl?"

A shrug, much to her annoyance. "I have yet to meet her, but I know she is fourteen."

This was at least something, or so Hyaci thought. She frowned and went through the handful of prodigies around Ladylake that she kept an eye on. None of them was that young. Telling Symonne so earned her a frown to almost mirror her own, followed by another shrug. "I will keep that in mind, but I can't say what it means yet."

"Very well." If Symonne actually did not know more, she would have to accept this. "I will notify our friend of your departure." Her meaning was understood easily enough; even with no one in sight and under Symonne's illusion, she would not risk actually naming their true allegiance. It had always been like this beside that one conversation.

Symonne's step faltered momentarily, enough for Hyaci to notice. When the girl caught up with her again however, it was with a thoughtful look. "Say," she started and met the taller woman's gaze curiously, "I never asked, but what made you join us? I know for a fact I never worked my illusions on you."

She needed a moment to realise just what the girl asked her to reveal. The many thoughts and feelings that went into her choice. Casting that all off with a hollow chuckle, Hyaci offered a gentle if predatory smile to Symonne. "I want Hyland," she told her. Nothing more, three words that summarised her intentions quite clearly. Smart thing that Symonne was, she understood. She did not ask any more questions. Simply nodded and raised her hand as if to say goodbye, then split off and back toward the city, likely to go home.

Hyaci carried on on her own path, unaware of the symbolism in this parting.