They all remained sullen during the journey back to Lastonbell, but Edna noticed her own mood improving ever so slightly. She worked the initial grief out of her system as time passed, though admittedly with a few instances of her nearly breaking down again. Sorey and Mikleo appeared to be much the same. Then again, Edna knew she would not forget that one minute anytime soon; it was not a happy memory, yet burned into her mind just like those she treasured most. A friend had been consigned to dragonhood right in front of her eyes; the mere thought of it made her shudder. It made her think of Eizen and then she was back to holding back tears.
They returned to Lastonbell like this, half a week after their encounter with Heldalf and a full week since leaving town. Edna said her goodbyes, trying hard to ignore the tiny voice telling her this would be the last time she saw them alive. She ignored it, but its mere existence drew her ire; that was why she ended up gliding through the gate, leaving Sorey behind as he had to talk to the guards.
She wandered the streets alone from then on, seeking the Crowe's Nest but having forgotten where to find it; Lastonbell was vast. Much to her own impediment, Edna's pride stopped her from asking other seraphim for directions even when she met them. Greetings were exchanged, but she did not stop to chat. In truth, she did not feel like talking to strangers; she rarely did, but right now she wanted to be alone. Or perhaps to speak with Laphicet.
During her odyssey, the lady seraph came upon a hole in the cobblestone road; pedestrians completely ignored it, but carts had trouble maneuvering. Thinking of her own advice from days earlier, Edna quickly patched it up. And again due to her own pride, she shaped the patch to become stone which seamlessly fit into the road. Just as she had hoped, prayers began to trickle in over the next hour; they increased her power a little bit, though not by much; it made sense, seeing how humans only ever prayed if they wanted or got something. Then again, in the privacy of her own mind, Edna admitted that she rarely cared about people.
Even she knew that this disregard of others was a lie.
Thankfully, another observation distracted her from uncomfortable truths; sometime into the afternoon, Edna took notice of a seraph man wearing a red scarf. Remembering Eizen's letters and what he wrote about the Bloodwing Butterflies, she kept her eyes open and began to notice them everywhere; almost every seraph in Lastonbell wore a red scarf somewhere on their person. The realisation made her roll her eyes, even though her mind continued to work through the implications. The Crowes were working hard behind the scenes.
Then, a stroke of luck! Edna overheard a group of human guardsmen talking about the tavern she sought; following them finally led her to where she needed to be, just as the sun began its descent on the horizon. Instead of walking through the front door and making a scene however, she walked around the back and into a vaguely familiar yard. This was where she encountered Alisha again, she recalled. It felt like an age ago, after everything. Which brought Edna mind back to the last week. Her expression soured as she considered how to break the news; Laphi and Velvet needed to know. They had to be told and Edna was the only one who could, but she hated having to put what happened into words. Her steps slowed in response to these thoughts, the pain churning in her gut like a living thing. Yet Edna's feet never stopped walking, regardless of her feelings.
No one stopped her when she hopped over the fence; much to the earth seraph's surprise, the backdoor was unlocked. Edna hesitated in the doorway, but entered anyway; her umbrella was folded and held aloft, then she took in the house. It was completely normal to most peoples' eyes, but Edna had lived on a mountain all her life; the hardwood floor and carpet caught her interest first, especially the latter. She went so far as to take off her boots, feeling the fluffy fabric under her feet. Her investigation of a normal person's living standard led her up the stairs, reasoning that out front would be the tavern. Perhaps she might find Velvet in the kitchen, but actually getting there felt like a bigger effort than waiting elsewhere. She wandered through several rooms and examined them from top to bottom, going on her knees to peek beneath drawers and tables out of curiousity.
Her exploration ended when she reached what she thought was a sitting room; of course Edna first considered to poke around some more, but her senses told her otherwise after she opened the door. Inside that room, there was a being of strong mana. Edna froze before even seeing them, well aware she intruded in someone's home. Seconds passed without any reaction to her entrance and only then did her eyes roam the area. She quickly found an old human woman, asleep on a couch.
"Oh."
Relieved and feeling silly, Edna settled opposite to the stranger and looked around again, leaning her umbrella against the wall. If it was just someone's vessel here, she felt it was fine. At the same time, she wondered just who the elder might be.
"I see I'm not the only one to pay a surprise visit."
Edna flinched when the woman spoke to her, apparently not asleep after all; her eyes were open and she wore a wide grin, slowly straightening. The voice she used was still full of vigor despite her apparent age. Edna stared at her dumbly, shuffling around a little without any idea how to respond. "Now now, sweetie," the elder coaxed gently. "No need to feel awkward around old Nica. What brings you here?"
Much to Edna's surprise, she did relax; her awkwardness still remained, though she found herself answering nonetheless: "Probably the same that brought you, I'm visiting Velvet and Laphi."
"Laphi, hmm?" The question and knowing cackle made Edna's cheeks grow hot in a faint blush. "Ah, what I would give to be young again!" Nica then huffed and threw the seraph girl a wink. "But enough of that, you are right. I just dropped by to bother these two, so how about you keep Laphicet busy for me? He is such a dear boy but his head is in the clouds, I'm sure he will appreciate a down-to-earth girl like you."
She already opened her mouth to respond when Nica's words registered; Edna hesitated and, ever so slowly, her lips curled into a wide grin. "I don't know," she retorted, "I'm told I have a stony expression far too often. I might end up soiling him, and I really don't want to get on Velvet's bad side. I heard she is a dragon of a sister."
Nica's grin widened in response, though she gave a sage nod. "Hear, hear! But let me tell you, making her mad is simply divine." The message was received and confirmed; Nica knew what Edna also knew, of their divinity. Of the truth. Knowing this, the elder rose to her feet and the earth seraph did much the same; they both took a few steps toward each other and shook hands. It was an odd feeling for Edna, the firm yet fragile handshake but also the fact she immediately liked this stranger.
Velvet chose that very moment to appear in the doorframe. Her eyes flicked from one woman to the other, then back; they met her gaze, hands still clasped, waiting for what she would do; the newly minted Empyrean heaved a sigh at the sight and called over her shoulder: "Run as fast as you can, they met!"
Instead of heeding her however, a blond head poked around the corner from above her own. Laphi then glanced down at his sister, mock-whispering: "Do we have to evacuate the city?"
"Better leave the city behind so all the rest holds them up."
Edna had to fight for her snicker to remain internal, even more so when Nica finally let go and put the same hand over her heart; the other, she thrust into the air. "Why, you wound me so! To pretend you could outrun me!"
Velvet just raised an eyebrow at her. "What will you do, granny? Have Bienfu carry you after us?"
"Oh no, I have been found out!"
At this point, their banter was interrupted by a snort. Edna covered her mouth even before their attention shifted, but the giggles still broke through. She could not help it, it was just too funny; the fit even had her bent over laughing, trying to get a hold but setting herself off again moments later. It went on like that for a little while before she finally calmed down, though everyone gave her the time. Finally, she saw Velvet's indulgent smile through teary eyes and noticed two Normin pop out of the granny.
"Oh n-n-no," the purplish one with the face-covering top hat fretted, shuddering and looking between everyone. "Am I going to become a carrier again?" His high-pitched voice made Edna snort again, but no giggles followed. Instead, she picked the strange creature up; Bienfu beamed at her. "Oh, there's a cute girl!"
The other Normin chuckled in a dark, womanly way and made to lounge on one of the tables. Velvet finally entered the room as well, with Laphicet following right after; the seraph boy floated to the ground with a friendly smile that grew brighter when Edna returned it. "Hello, you two," he greeted cheerfully. "I can guess what granny is doing here, but what about you? Where is Sorey?"
And there went her smile. Edna grew tense all over for a moment, the insane desire to flee the city dominating her mind before she fought it down. Lowering Bienfu back to the ground and crossing her arms, she barely managed not to hug herself; seeing her behaviour change, the sibling gods dropped their relaxed stances as well. She had to force out the words: "We separated for now to cover more ground. Lailah is gone."
Before she knew what happened, Velvet ushered her to one of the couches and made her sit between them. Nica settled opposite to them, with Bienfu climbing on next to her.
"What happened?" Velvet asked once they were seated. It was the question Edna dreaded, yet one she knew she had to answer; they needed to know. But oh, how she did not want to talk of it. Words failed her, again and again.
"The Lord of Calamity happened," was what she finally ground out. All emotion was banished from her voice, the scab torn and this newest wound hurting once again. No one interrupted her however, they all waited for Edna to continue; the girl herself was not meeting anyone's gaze, unable to, really. Without even realising she did it, Edna's hand closed around Laphi's. He squeezed back, giving her the strength to keep going. "We ran into him a few days out of town. He, he tried to recruit Sorey and when he refused, he just... just..."
She could not do it. Fresh tears prickled in her eyes and Edna wiped her face, trying to force them back but failing miserably. Her throat constricted as the memories flashed before her mind's eye.
"Killed her?" Velvet completed the sentence, but Edna shook her head. She tried again but got no words out. She just continued shaking her head, shuddering, until a pair of slim arms closed around her; a moment later, she was pressed against Laphicet's chest. It made her feel safer even as she hid her face.
"Turned her into a dragon," Nica finally put it together. Edna nodded against Laphi, squeezing him for comfort; she could not help but sob quietly, being reminded of how her friend was gone. Another presence embraced her from behind and she could feel viscous darkness deep beneath the woman holding her firmly.
She did not know how long they sat like this; the urge to cry as she had before faded slowly, pushed back by comfort. Edna's chest became lighter again. "Aww, how sweet," Nica cooed from elsewhere; for once in her life however, Edna did not care about being seen in a moment of weakness. She felt safe like this, protected from all the evils in this world; how hilarious that the two people holding her may just be the worst of all.
When the elder began with some other tease however, Laphi growled. A toneless "Enough" that shook the room and made Edna shiver; when she glanced up at him, he was leering at Nica, who laughed in his face. "It's almost cute how you try to intimidate me. Now be a dear and stop scaring Edna, would you?" Just like that, the emotionless mask slipped off his face and he glanced down, finding a lightly upset girl still held in his arms. Both blushed, but neither pulled away even when the other women snickered at them.
"You're jerks," Laphi commented with a huff, which only prompted Nica and Velvet to actually laugh.
Edna finally felt ready to let go at this point, though she missed her friend the moment she did and quickly held his hand again. Then, as her mind began to work properly again, her attention focussed on something Nica said before. "How do you know my name?"
"Who knows?"
The question was given with an impish grin, though Edna knew she had not introduced herself yet. Her gaze wandered to Laphi. "Did you tell her?" He shook his head, then Velvet told her no to the same question. Edna frowned. "Did anyone else tell her?"
"Yes," Laphi responded with a grin; the old lady was grinning, too. Apparently, they decided to play a game with her about this. Edna wanted to complain, but her curiousity was greater and she continued the questioning.
"Was it anyone from Margaret's group?" Another no, which deepened her frown. This left only Sorey, Mikleo, and Lailah, or so she thought at first before her eyes fell on the quiet Normin. Bienfu. Bienfu, she remembered from Eizen's letters. Just to make sure, she closed her eyes and recalled a few of them, then blinked at the curious seraph. "You were the partner of Magilou Mayvin?"
Velvet's smile reappeared, she noticed; Nica's grin widened as well, so she knew this was the right track. Bienfu, however, fidgeted. "Um, well," he began, but Grimoirh cut him off with a decisive "No". The grey-furred Normin wore a faint smile of her own, but her dismissal merely felt like trickery.
"Then you're lying to me."
"Not exactly," Grimoirh corrected. "It is the wording of your question that changes the answer." Edna's annoyance faded as fast as it appeared with that; she pondered the question she asked anew.
When she thought she had it, Edna asked again: "You were the servant of Magilou Mayvin?"
Velvet burst into laughter, bright as a bell. Laphi joined her a moment later and Nica cackled as well, their mirth a clear indicator this was wrong. Bienfu pouted while Grimoirh shook her head. "No, dear," the female Normin denied with a soft chuckle. "While appropriate, this is not the issue I meant."
Encouraged to find the truth, Edna began to ponder again. Seconds passed and turned into a minute before she realised she had the wrong angle; it actually did not matter because she knew Nica's knowledge originated from Eizen, with Bienfu being the link. Furthermore, she knew the Normin was with Magilou from her brother's letters. 'Was', a stray thought of hers went, 'or is?'. The single word in her question which could be different. All of a sudden, Edna understood why they found this so funny. Why these vibrant green eyes appeared so ancient when she stared into them, and how Velvet knew this woman. The pieces fit together despite being impossible; then again she thought the same of Innominat's return until three weeks ago.
The old human woman watched her expectantly, so Edna asked the question: "You are Magilou Mayvin?" Laphi squeezed her hand at once and the elder's grin returned.
"Correct," she crowed, "you passed! With Eizen unavailable, we are now going to let you take his place in our cabal! Swear fealty to the one true Lord of Calamity!" Her spiel confused Edna momentarily, but also drew a deep sigh from Velvet. The seraph girl tilted her head.
"No."
At that however, Magilou's expression turned to mock surprise barely hiding a nasty grin as she turned to the resident hellion. "What do we do now?"
"Stop wasting time and get to the point, that's what we're doing."
Magilou chuckled and waved her off. "Fine, fine," she placated Velvet without a care; Edna would have loved to have half her confidence, laughing off the annoyance of two Empyreans within half an hour or so.
Sighing again, Velvet took Edna's other hand and spoke more kindly: "Can you tell us what happened, in detail?" She obviously knew what she asked of her, seeing how there was no urging or insistence; Velvet simply held her hand and spent comfort. Through it all, Edna worked up the strength to speak.
"I can try," she muttered while squeezing back harshly. Neither sibling commented. It was not a long tale, yet to Edna it took an age to tell. She detached her mind and tried not to think of it, but it hurt nonetheless. Lailah ended just like Eizen, all their combined ambitions broken in seconds.
When she finished, Velvet carefully let go and stood. Magilou called after her as she made her way to the door: "Off to hunt?"
"No, to check where she went. We can't afford a rogue dragon waltzing into Pendrago. Or Lastonbell, for that matter." Her response was reassuring in a way. When Laphi made to follow his sister however, she waved him off. "Stay," the woman ordered with a nod toward Edna, who got the message as well; perhaps she ought to be annoyed about being treated like a child, but she was too grateful to care. As it were, Edna did not want to be alone with her thoughts.
So he stayed and Velvet left, leaving them all in an odd kind of silence. Grimoirh broke it with a hum: "To find a shepherd unable to bond with even just two seraphim in such a crucial time."
Bienfu nodded almost violently in response. "It's bad-bad, isn't it?"
"What about Margaret?"
She only realised she asked the question out loud when all eyes turned to her. Knowing it stood in the room, Edna turned to Laphi and elaborated: "You groomed her to be a shepherd, no? How strong is her resonance?" For some odd reason, her questions drew another cackle out of Magilou.
Ignoring the elder, Laphi sighed; he refused to meet her eyes throughout the explanation he gave. "Margaret's determination is not because of us. She carries the life of a past shepherd in her very soul, a powerful resonance and the drive to right the wrongs in this world. She would carry the torch if you asked it of her. But who exactly she once was, I am not going to say. That is her own secret to share. Though I expect," he added with a glance to Nica, "that some of us already know."
"And will not speak of it," the elder agreed with his unspoken demand. Edna still puzzled through everything, but found too little at odds with it to protest. She lacked the energy to distrust, or to be snappy; she just slumped a little.
"Makes sense," was her only comment.
"Regardless," Magilou added with a wink, "it's not how big your resonance is, but how you use it." When Edna and Laphi both stared at her in incomprehension, she sighed but did not explain whatever she might have meant. "The shepherd's system," she instead told them, "was put in place as is for efficiency. There is one prime lord to spread the flame to all sublords and who carries their bonds, exactly for a case like this, for a candidate who offers the strength of character but lacks the resonance to support all sublords."
Boy and girl nodded attentively, committing her impromptu lesson to memory. It made sense to Edna, though thinking of the firekeeper's role reminded her of Lailah and once again brought pain. Thankfully, Magilou distracted her from that line of thought: "You have no vessel at the moment, correct?"
She blinked at the human woman, then nodded her head. With the previous conversation and the speculative look Magilou threw Laphi however, Edna knew exactly what she was about to suggest. Her own "No" was echoed by her friend, which wiped the grin off the elder's face. They glanced at each other and Edna motioned for Laphi to go first.
"While I wouldn't mind a sublord," he began carefully, "Edna only qualifies for two of the three criteria I need: enjoying my trust and being responsible with the power. The third is having a proper goal to use it for, and there is none I can see. And, well, receiving that much power and then giving it up if she bonds with Sorey later will be mayhem on her perception of her capabilities."
He made a good case, she had to admit; Magilou nodded as well, though she obviously also noticed Edna's faint blush over being compliment. In an attempt to play over it, she added her own opinion to his: "I don't become a sublord for no reason. I don't bond with a person for no reason, either. If my only reason is that I need a vessel, I will find myself some object. Lot's of people are stupid, but you already know that about a thing that doesn't think even before you bond with it." Her fellow women huffed at that last part.
"You're absolutely right," Bienfu agreed loudly and with a beaming smile. "People are sooo bothersome, I totally get you! So, what's your favourite kind of vessel? I used to like balls of yarn and such things."
"Used to?"
"Well, uh, at this point..." he trailed off and glanced at Magilou, who eyed him with an easy grin. "You know?"
It took her a moment to understand this woman had been Bienfu's vessel for a thousand years. The sudden understanding reminded her to ask about how she managed that at some point. For now however, she shrugged and answered the original question. "I guess. I don't really play favourites with my vessels, anything not too ugly will do."
"Hm." Laphi studied her for a moment, then hopped to his feet. "Give me a moment, I think I have some pure gemstones left over from my work." He left the room before anyone could stop him; Edna was now alone with Magilou Mayvin and her henchnormin, a chance which she wished to use for some inquiries. Unfortunately, the old woman pre-empted her.
"Could it be," she mused with a sly look, "that you do not want to be sublord because then the boy you like is your boss?"
Edna stayed quiet but had to keep her gaze averted. Seconds passed in expectant silence and her self-control slipped, cheeks turning the darkest shade of crimson the elder had ever seen. Instead of laughing about her crush however, Magilou huffed and stood; several slow steps were made and then a hand was placed on Edna's head. She looked up, finding a gentle smile directed at herself.
"It's a good consideration," Magilou agreed quietly. "Just make sure you actually bring it up at some point, sweetie. That boy is too young to get the hint unless someone points it out, and Symonne already has a head start. Although you might be ahead on actually admitting to your feelings, even if it's just in your own head." Edna's cheeks grew even hotter, but she just received another pat before the elder turned to leave as well.
"Ahh, these old bones need more rest than ever." The Normin left with her, though Magilou stopped in the door and met Edna's gaze over her shoulder. "And for the record, you will have a long talk with Grim one of these days. It helps to talk about your feelings once in a while, keeps them from eating you from the inside." She left with these words and now Edna sat completely alone, as well as mightily confused.
Her loneliness did not last long, however. Laphicet returned soon, carrying a handful of gemstones for her to pick from. Thinking of Magilou's words and seeing his smile, Edna considered to speak her mind... but then decided to give it some more time. It was good as it were, at least for her.
While Edna came to rest however, Velvet's mind grew ever more agitated.
Her feet carried her faster than any mortal ever could. Even the winds themselves were left behind as she raced along the Meadow of Triumph; ironic, that was how the name felt to her in these moments.
As she ran, Velvet admitted to herself that she underestimated the current Lord of Calamity. While they had expected him capable of great feats, the ability to compress Malevolence like he apparently did was not among them; the only being she knew could skip the drake stage when turning a seraph was Innominat, after all. Moreover, she had not expected him to outclass Sorey so horrifically.
Even as the countryside flew by however, the analytical part of her mind dissected what information she could get out of this short encounter. A picture formed as she recalled reports of his appearance at Glayvend Basin: Heldalf bred war and fostered the spread of Malevolence, staying mostly in the background and letting others do the dirty work. He acted much like them, though perhaps still unaware he was being hunted.
Thinking of the Lord of Calamity, now that she knew what he looked like, made the idea to follow his trace into Rolance tempting; if Velvet could hunt him down now, that would be one important goal in their plans accomplished. She refrained, though; preparations for the death of Heldalf were ongoing and she knew she had to wait, at least until Laphi completed their final trump card.
Her thoughts continued to wander on the run, back to the other important matter she learned from Edna: Sorey's resonance was actually fairly weak. Not enough to bond with two seraphim normally. It was an unexpected issue, though one she should have seen coming since the day he had to separate from Alisha; that, Velvet knew, was her own mistake.
Regardless, as it were, Margaret might have to take his place as shepherd. Velvet did not like the idea, knowing the kind of person her erstwhile student was; a young woman, far too young to carry the sins and the will of Artorius Collbrande. A man who held the strength to save the world and whose legacy once again rose to the same challenge. Sorey was no saviour like Arthur, that much was now clear to Velvet; he had the will, but lacked the strength to save the world. On the other hand, Sorey constantly strove to improve Desolation; he had his own strengths, but was born into the wrong time to be called upon as shepherd.
From everything they learned, Velvet knew this man would not stop until he either died or broke; yet even a weak shepherd was not easily broken. Which brought her back to their own preparations and an idea she had recently, an idle thought that bore consideration and discussion with Magilou; for in Velvet's mind, the problem could be solved quickly if they managed to convert Symonne for good. She could deliver Heldalf to them, to her.
Her thoughts ground to a halt when the land changed visibly; deep craters and patches of glass came into view. A sense of growing heat and then Malevolence followed, along with hellionised plants crawling along. Not long after that, the dragon became visible. Velvet stopped her run some distance from what used to be seraph Lailah, spreading her domain toward the growling beast; it immediately ceased hostilities and slumped forward, resting on the ground as it watched her. Velvet watched it in turn; she studied the creature properly for the first time, saw that it was indeed a quadruped just like Edna said. She saw crimson scales ooze lava like sweat, a terrible heat surrounding the dragon. She might even have admired the elegant curve of her wings and the way her bulk somehow appeared streamlined, but it hardly mattered. For right there on her head sat a pair of white horns, bending backward to form a halo. That was when Velvet understood the true extent of this tragedy.
She breathed out unsteadily, eyes pricking with tears. Her hand twitched as her heart clenched, the strips of skin shifting ever so slightly. She knew she should make the painful choice herself, take it off poor Edna, but at the same time she felt it was not a choice she could make for another.
Into that mental struggle spoke the dragon, her voice warped and dark but still female: "You. Who?"
Amber eyes snapped back to Lailah; her gaze rested upon the lonely intruder she approached without Velvet even realising. There was no hostility to her stance as she leaned down on her frontlegs; Lailah peered at the being she perhaps remembered, much like a dog sniffing something curious.
"Velvet," she told the docile dragon and reached out slowly; her hand came to rest on Lailah's snout. "You're quite a bit of trouble, you know?" she could not help but add. Scalding air caressed her skin as the dragon breathed out, her clothes shriveling up from the ambient heat.
"Know," Lailah coughed out. "Danger. Hurt. Kill."
Slowly, Velvet began to stroke the dragon. "Not like that," she corrected softly. "It's your horns." Lailah blinked, eyes swiveling as if to see the top of her skull; the sight was as endearing as ten tons of volcanic murder could ever be. Velvet continued to pet as she put her thoughts into words: "A white-horned dragon's heart can forever remove a seraph's blessing." Lailah fell still again, listening attentively.
"Long ago, my friends and I learned that little tidbit. Back then, there was a dragon with white horns, too; Zaveid's wife, someone he fought desperately to save. For a while, we all thought Eizen went after her to remove his curse. Eizen, do you remember? Edna's brother?" A barely visible nod was given and Velvet continued to reminisce. "He didn't. He killed her and set her free from dragonhood. That day, he told us he wasn't afraid of turning one day. He'd rather take that over living forever with a curse that hurt all those he loved. It's why he never came home for Edna."
Lailah breathed again, now lying flat and watching only Velvet, whose shoulders slumped. "We, my brother and I, we already killed most of the dragons around the continent last year. The only one we met and didn't kill was Eizen. Out of all of them, you're the only one with white horns." Her gaze met Lailah's then, sad more than anything. "If we manage to find a way to purify dragons, it will hurt her to choose. If both you and Eizen are restored, he will leave; he won't risk hurting her with his Reaper's Curse. Only your heart can remove the curse, but taking it means killing you."
If only there were a better way, but no amount of lamenting could change this. Velvet stepped forward and hugged Lailah's head, more for her own comfort than the dragon's. She could still do it right now, it would be easy; but Velvet was not Lord of Calamity anymore. She had to consider more than just Eizen and Edna; Lailah was important to the fate of Desolation, a firekeeper.
"It's not my choice to make," she ultimately whispered to the dragon. "I'm sorry." Steam hissed around her cheeks.
They stood like this for a moment that may as well have been an eternity. Lailah's eyes were staring through Velvet as if she was not there, the woman herself just as absent-minded. She found the dragon and made sure it did not try attacking, but now she also knew Lailah yet remained. Her soul was still there, but no one knew how long that might be. She was not Eizen who could keep fighting regardless.
Then again, Velvet realised, she could at least offer comfort. She focussed and traversed the earthpulses with her true body, creating a rift at the same time to swallow herself and Lailah's dragon. It took the crimson creature a moment to realise what was happening, but it relaxed against Velvet's hand when she spoke: "I don't think you like being like this. Want to stay around me for a while?"
Lailah stared at her dumbly and tensed again when she beheld the obsidian scales of Empyrean Minkkubi. "Don't worry," Velvet soothed her as she continued stroking the smaller dragon's snout. All the hellions Lailah's presence created up above were swallowed as they spoke, leaving the area pristine except for what flame had wrought. "No one will hurt you here. And you will hurt no one here. Take a little nap, yes?" Minkkubi gracefully slid around Lailah and wrapped her into an odd, many-limbed embrace. "It's okay."
Finding herself enveloped by a quadruped twice her size, with an almost clear mind and in a spot where no one would be hurt by her presence, Lailah finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.