I pulled down my hood for the first time since my arrival in Askr. My long hair fell out of place revealing brunette hair with blonde tips. I was in my quarters contemplating wearing an outfit for the spring festival but I wasn't sure if I was comfortable wearing a revealing bunny outfit. I wasn't even sure why I was even considering wearing a costume.
"Perhaps if I wear a short white dress and bunny ears then maybe… no this is ridiculous."
Then I heard a knock on my door. I quickly put my hood up and tuck my hair inside of it. Nobody here would recognize me if I didn't have my signature coat and hood on. I answered the door.
"Hey Kiran!" It was Sharena dressed in a white and light gold colored bunny outfit
"Sharena! You look super cute with those bunny ears!" I said cheerfully
"You really think so? Kiran you're the best!"
"Yeah I think it suits you perfectly Sharena"
Alfonse then enters the room dressed in a bunny outfit. He looked extremely uncomfortable in the outfit. He looked at me with pleading eyes like he wanted me to convince Sharena to let him dress like normal. It was actually kinda strange to see him dressed up like this. His shirt exposed his bare chest and his pants looked a bit too tight on him. It was even weirder when I realized… he was a bit more toned than I thought he would be. He certainly wasn't Ike or Hector when it came to muscles, but still.
"Um… Kiran? Are you ok?" Sharena asked after I had spent several minutes studying the Askran prince.
"Y-yeah… I was thinking about strategies we could use for the next battle. Who knows? Maybe we'll confuse our enemy with these bunny outfits. I'm not sure how effective that would be against the Muspel army though." I said to deflect Sharena away from the fact that I was staring at her brother.
"Oh I like the way you think Kiran! That's why I got an outfit for you too!" Sharena then gave me an entire outfit complete with long bunny ears and black tights.
I could feel the color in my face drain away slowly, as this was a more revealing version of the bunny outfit. It was more similar to the one Camilla wore last spring.
"Come to think of it, I've never seen you wear anything but that coat of yours. I don't think I've seen your face either. It's always covered by that hood." Sharena said wryly
"I like it though… It makes me feel mysterious and interesting." I pouted.
"I'll have to admit… I'm kinda curious about what you look like too." Alfonse reluctantly admitted.
"Well… since it's you two… I guess I could show you guys what I really look like. But you guys need to leave so I can get dressed."
The two Askran royals left my room for me to change out of my usual attire and into my bunny suit. I undressed myself down to my underwear and then I put on the dark tights. After that came the actual suit itself. It was a little weird on me, since I had a small chest area and my figure was a bit more boyish than most girls my age. I put my hair in a long ponytail and placed the bunny ear headband on my head. Finally I put on the thing I dreaded most about the whole thing… the gold stiletto heels I wore on prom night back when I was a senior in highschool.
I still don't fully understand how I managed to summon half of my wardrobe from my apartment but it was better than not having any of my own clothes.
"God I hope I don't have to go to battle in these because the boots I wear with my normal outfit wouldn't look right." I thought to myself.
When I got up from putting my stilettos on, I instantly started regretting my decision as I began to walk awkwardly towards the door. I opened the door feeling embarrassed and awkward. I started to understand the pain Alfonse was going through in a way. Though my pain was mostly from wearing uncomfortable shoes instead of tight pants.
"So u-um… h-how do I look?" I blushed as I stuttered.
The looks on both their faces said a lot. They were definitely surprised to see my face.
"Kiran! You were hiding that the entire time?" Sharena asked incredulously
"I know it sounds a bit weird but… other than the part about being mysterious, it felt… safer I guess. I just feel calmer with my hood on. This war is putting a lot of stress on me so if putting a hood over my head helps me cope then well…" I rambled
"I'm not sure if I fully understand how that works. At any rate, I think you look great." Alfonse awkwardly complemented.
"I could say the same to you as well… you look rather dashing, Alfonse." I blushed again
"Are you feeling ok there Kiran? Your face is turning kinda red." Sharena asked
"I-I feel just super. I-in f-fact, I'm gonna walk down to breakfast in this outfit. I've gotta go eat bye!" I then zoomed out of the room as fast as a bunny.
"Is she already at the dining hall? How did she even run that fast in those shoes of hers?" Alfonse asked.
"I dunno. Maybe it's a girl's thing in her world!" Sharena suggested
"I find that hard to believe Sharena. Those shoes look maddingly uncomfortable."
"Maybe we should ask one of the heroes if they've seen Kiran!" Sharena said optimistically
"It's worth a shot, I guess" Alfonse grumbled
Sharena catches the attention of Robin, who was on her way from the dining hall heading in the direction of the library.
"Robin, have you seen Kiran anywhere? She kinda suddenly ran off on us and we're worried about her." Sharena asked
"Ah I just spoke with her about some personal issues she's been having. She wanted to ask me for advice but I'm afraid I wasn't able to answer her questions very well. I'll admit I was shocked to see her real face. I've never seen her without that hood covering it so I didn't even recognize her at first."
"Personal issues? Is it something I said?" Alfonse asked as his face scrunched up with worry
"I don't think you have said anything wrong, Alfonse. She'll come around eventually... especially when she has said nothing but good things about you and Sharena"
"Of course she wouldn't! She's our super bun bun pal!!" Sharena said cheerfully
"Sharena please… no more bunny talk. We still need to check on Kiran. I don't want to lose her to the enemy again" Alfonse said with a serious tone of voice
"Surrrreee If you say sooo~ Alfonse and Kiran sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-"
"Sharena please stop. We're just friends, that's all. Besides she will have to go back home eventually, it just wouldn't work." Alfonse protested.
"Don't say that. Besides I bet she totally has a huge crush on you. I've seen the way she looks at you longingly." Sharena teases him some more
"I think you two would be a cute couple. If you think she'll leave when the war is over, then you should give her a reason to stay. I dont think it's a bad idea." Robin said while chuckling
Alfonse clenched his teeth together, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably. He actually blushed for a brief moment. It was silly to think that his friend would actually like him that way. It would be selfish to keep her away from her homeworld longer than necessary and besides he promised to himself that he wouldn't get too close. At least that was how he wanted to rationalize it in his mind. However, there was a small part of him that wanted her to never leave and stay in Order with him forever.
"L-Look, there's nothing between me and the Summoner. I just need to find her"
"Alright if you say so… she's in the dining hall eating chocolate chip pancakes"
"Thanks"
I began to mull over the conversation I had with Robin or at least the normal female version of her. The two possessed Robins were sitting in a corner faraway from looking at me like a damn snack. The two Grimas have this weird like/hate relationship with me. It is hard to explain though. They mostly hate me, but they seem to also find me oddly interesting and entertaining. It's similar to how a pair of kids would be entertained by playing with their food and making gravy volcanoes in their mashed potatoes. It was not a feeling I particularly enjoyed, but it was nice knowing that they would safeguard their prey (aka me) from Veronica and the Mupellians before eating their aforementioned prey. I figured I would send out all the versions of Lucina, Chrom, Marth and Alm to kill them permanently if they ever finally decide that they were hungry for Summoner blood.
I then realized that I've spent half my time coming up with strategies for the possibility of becoming the main entrèe for a pair of divine dragons when I should have been drafting strategies for the next battle. I took a bite of my pancakes, courtesy of Jakob, and began to scribble notes into the margins of my journal. At first it was innocent enough, just a few notes on some who i should send out for the next battle and how best to equip them with seals, and skills, formation tactics… pretty normal stuff. Slowly but surely it devolved into doodles of some heros and then some doodles of Anna, Sharena and then finally Alfonse. His by far ended up being far more detailed than the other stuff I drew. It felt like I was a middle school girl drawing hearts around her name and her crush's name. 'Kiran Alfonse together forever!~'
"Yeah like that'll ever happen… it wouldn't be proper for the summoner and tactician to be romantically involved with a member of the Askran Royalty. It would create too much conflict of interest. Plus, it would probably paint a bigger target on my back that says 'bargaining chip please kidnap me and make me your hostage' than I already have. Though… I guess there wouldn't be much of a difference in that regard. I would still do anything for Alfonse and Sharena. They are my friends after all…" I thought to myself
"Kiran! Thank the gods we found you. We've been looking everywhere." Alfonse sighed in relief
"I told you guys where I was gonna be at… it's not as if anybody could come swooping in to kill me or anything. I'm pretty sure that Grima would make short work of them if they tried. It's rather sweet of you guys to worry though. Especially you, Alfonse"
"What do you mean? I always worry about you. You don't have a weapon and you don't know how to fight. We almost lost you before…"
"I-it's just that… you just seem so level headed most of the time that I kinda expected Sharena to be the one freaking out. N-not that I didn't think that you wouldn't… I m-mean…"
"Won't you two worms shut up already and continue your mating rituals somewhere else? You two make me want to puke!" Male Grima hollered from across the room.
"I-It's not like that! We're just friends!" I stammered.
"I can smell your sweat from all the way across the room Summoner! You can't lie to me"
"Nobody asked you for your opinion Grima! Don't act like you weren't looking at me like I'm a piece of meat either. If I hear another word from you, I will personally have five Falchions shoved right up your rectum!"
Grima grumbled to himself and maybe to his other self as well. Probably because he reeeaaalllyyy did not feel like having his host body bleeding profusely from his hind quarters. The Askr twins just looked at me like I had sprouted devil horns or something.
"Kiran, can you tone down your language?" Alfonse asked seriously
"I'm only trying to keep them in line. Can you guys forgive me for being a little harsh? Pllleeeaaassseee?" I asked as I gave the siblings the puppy dog eyes.
"I can't say no to that Kiran!" Sharena said as she gave me a big hug
"See Alfonse? Sharena gets the idea because she's pretty awesome." I grinned slyly
Sharena seemed to be soaking in the praise while Alfonse just sweatdropped at the whole scene. To be fair it was probably rather ridiculous from the perspective of an onlooker. I mean we were all dressed in bunny outfits and I had just smack talked Grima of all people while looking like a playboy magazine reject.
"I suppose I can't stay upset about it for too long. Besides, we've got a spring festival to go to and while I'm more interested in the history and origins of the festival, I'm sure Sharena would want all of us to go with her." Alfonse sighed.
"And by go you mean 'drag' right?" I teased.
"Heeeeyyyy! Whassat supposed to mean Kiran?" Sharena pouted.
"It means that Alfonse is going to give us a history lecture on the way there. I'm rather interested in comparing the traditions here in Zenith and the ones from my home country in my world. I've noticed that a lot of Askr's traditions mirror some of the ones I have, but with a few noticeable differences."
Sharena began to have groans of increasing discomfort at the thought of listening to her brother drone on and on endlessly about the symbolism of rebirth as represented by bunnies and painted eggs or whatever. Nonetheless, she was obviously just as curious about my world as Professor Alfonse.
"In what ways?"
"Well a lot of people in my world do similar things but for me the Spring Festival is called Easter and it has a more religious context. My family are not devout but they do attend church and the like on Easter Sunday. So when I was a wee summoner, My mother would wake us up at the crack of dawn to get us all prettied up for the occasion and I hated every minute of it. She said it would be sacrilegious for me to show up to Church on the day of Jesus Christ's resurrection or something like that, though I don't recall that ever being in the religious text. I didn't pay too much attention to the religious bits of it."
"That's interesting, but what does that even mean? I mean the Jesus resurrection thing?" Sharena asked.
"Oh right. I almost forget that Christianity is not as ubiquitous here. Long story short my parents believe in a god who is supposed to be the creator of basically the entire world. He then had a son who goes around doing prophet stuff like turning water into wine and stuff but his ultimate purpose and fate was to die so that the sins of humanity would be forgiven. In doing so he supposedly made it we would not be sent straight to Hell when we die. Hell is where sinners go after death to be punished and tortured for all eternity, by the way. Anyway, Jesus dies via execution and then they bury him. They later find his tomb empty. Turns out he got ressurected and decided to pay his disciples a visit and then he eats one last meal with them before going straight to Heaven, which is supposed to be the good place to go after death. Though to be honest, I would just like to think of Easter as a day of rebirth. It's much more digestible for me that way"
"It's sure not like the divine dragons we have here. I would be very interested in hearing more about it later but I don't see the similarities quite yet." Alfonse muttered
"Well I'm getting to that part, Your Royal Smartness. Anyway, we'd attend the hour-long sermon and then we would go to my grandparents' house to hunt the eggs we had dyed and painted the night before. The Easter bunny would then hide the eggs at night. Some of the eggs were not real eggs, but hollow eggs made of a material called 'plastic' and they would be filled with sweets and money and tiny toys and stuff. After that, the Easter Bunny would show up and then my mom and my grandma would harass me and my brother Kaiden into taking photos with the Easter Bunny. I don't mind taking photos mind you, but they would take like thirty photos each and no kid likes to sit still for forty minutes for anything. Anyway, my brother being the dastard that he was, eventually spoiled the actual fun part of the holiday for me by telling me that the Easter Bunny was not real and it was just Grandpa dressed up in a head to to toe bunny suit. I was really upset because I really believed that he was real. Though… it did explain why I would hear the Easter bunny mumble about having 'Nam flashbacks occasionally"
"That sounds interesting… but what exactly do you mean by 'Nam flashbacks though?" Alfonse asked confused
"Oh right you wouldn't know about the Vietnam War. My family on my Dad's side have a long history of serving in the military since World War I which was about a century ago now that I think about it… Anyway My Grandpa is a war vet from the Vietnam war era and he…"
"Wait did you say World War… and there were more than one of them?" Sharena paled
"Yeah. There were two world wars in my world. Though some people count the Cold War as the third one. I personally disagree since most of the fighting done was by proxies if I remember correctly. The Cold War was still pretty nasty at the time though. Lots of fear mongering went on particularly involving communism and the atomic bomb threats."
"Kiran… what kind of horrible world do you live in?" Alfonse looked at me with fear
" Well if you want to look at it from an international political perspective, it's rather horrendous right now. But from a technology standpoint we are several centuries ahead of Zenith. We don't have any healing magic, but what we do have in terms of health is actually quite remarkable. Literally the biggest health issues right now, are things related to being overweight. My country is actually infamous for it's obesity epidemic. Oh and cancer is definitely still a thing you can die from even with treatment."
"I really don't know what to say… but your world sounds interesting. I would like to visit it one day." the Askran prince nodded
"I wanna go too! Everytime I hear about Kiran's homeworld it makes me even more curious."
"I will gladly show you around and whatnot, but opening the portal to my world would be one thing but unless we can get Brave Veronica to agree to close it for us, this world's Veronica and literally every enemy of Askr would try to follow us into my world and it will only go downhill from there. Trust me when I say that acts of war on Embla or Muspell's part would be a death sentence for them. I could only imagine the political climate in Zenith would change drastically if my world were to find out that other worlds exist."
"I suppose you're right about the bit about needing to find a way to shut the portal to your world if we ever open it. Even if your world could handle the likes of Embla and Muspell, I wouldn't want to risk the lives of the innocent civilians. It also sounds like a security hazard for Zenith as well. The wellbeing of the people Askr always has to come first."
"Spoken like a true leader, Alfonse. I'm sure you will make for a fine King one day and when that happens I want to be there for you. While I do want to eventually go back home and see my friends and family, I'm afraid that you guys are not going to completely get rid of me."
"Like we'd ever want to get rid of you. You're our friend and our Summoner so we want the exact opposite of that. I'm still disappointed that you guys went and formed a great legendary hero without me though."
"It was kind of a joke? I mean… Alfonse and I make a good team on the battlefield and he helps me with tactics sometimes. That much is true and yet… I do wonder what would happen if the three of us were fused together… not only we'd have the best of each movement type but we'd be dragons and we could dance for the others on the frontlines"
"Um… aren't we getting off track? The spring festival is going to start soon and I would like to get out of this ridiculous outfit soon."
"Of course, Alfonse. How about we go hunting for eggs together when we get there? Maybe that will keep your mind off things. We could use a break from all the fighting anyway."
It was true. We hadn't had any breaks since the last festival two months ago. I didn't want to think about the Day of Devotion festival though. I was an incomprehensible mess for the entire duration of the event. This was because I had the bright idea of trying to ask Alfonse on a date, but whenever I tried to say anything it was like I could only speak in gibberish. He eventually had me sent to the med bay with several healers in tow plus Henry and Tharja. Apparently, he was convinced that I was hexed somehow. I eventually had to explain to the two dark mages that my "issue" was brought on by nerves and not by dark magic.
"I guess you're right, Kiran. A break would do everyone good."
"Then it's settled. We shall depart immediately. Last one there is a rotten egg!" I declared before taking off my high heels and dashing like a mad woman to the festival with my bare feet.