Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of preparation and relaxation… especially for the one who has begun to change.
~保護者~
"Revving Up and Winding Down"
~保護者~
That they were unable to leave this realm was clear. That their enemies would be using this time to recover and gain strength was also clear. There was no telling how long he and his forces would remain trapped like this, but he refused to be idle regardless. He had sent demons off to recover as well, to train, to gather weapons, and so on. It would keep them busy and out of his hair for a time while he thought.
As it happened, Zareil was plotting as well. There were undoubtedly powers that she could take from someone or another demon that would make her capable of growing stronger and more capable in a battle, something that complimented what she was good at. But what would such a power be?
Beyond this, there were some people she had varying interests in. The Balancer that had come into this timeline was going to need to be dealt with. It was growing increasingly obvious that he knew way too much about what was going on, and that bothered Zareil, much more than she was willing to let on. Furthermore… Rose and Eila, two beings of Light that were gifted in opposite skills regarding Light, needed to be dealt with. While Rose wasn't as strong as Zareil, her overall battle skill was something to be wary of and she was certainly going to be hard to kill. Eila on the other hand would be easy to kill, if she was alone. As long as they were near to each other, it would be hard to get close to either. One of them needed to die, then she could take down the other.
Her mind drifted to thoughts of the fights she had on Mobius when she went after Espio, something that made her absent-mindedly drift a hand over the spot where the aforementioned chameleon had stabbed her. Zareil's interest now lay in Aniko and Toru. Aniko showed great promise, obviously operating much like a berserker demon (which Zareil enjoyed, as she was one), and was certainly capable of fighting on a grander scale if her Darkness was released. Toru was even more interesting now. Aniko fought with most of her available strength, but Toru hadn't. He was fighting seriously and caused severe damage to her armor without going all-out. That enticed Zareil to fight him more and learn what he was capable of. That made her think of Espio, and at this she simply scowled. If only he would fight more seriously so she could do the same.
Zareil sighed and leaned up against a wall, tapping her foot idly and thinking on other matters. Kaden… while she loved and adored him as her God and more, there was a certain disappointment at the fact that he was showing too much care for Shadow and Sonic. He was being too nice to them for a demon, and that only meant that something was keeping the Light within him alive. That had to mean Analia, at the least. It was likely that Eona's Light had also done something to him, but she wasn't entirely sure on that matter.
It was about time she start really working for what she wanted. "Hey, Kaden!"
Kaden immediately scowled in her direction. "Do not shout," he growled.
She walked over and stood directly in front of him. "Let's talk about a few things."
Still scowling, Kaden pulled fully out of his own thoughts and crossed his arms. "Talk, then."
"First point of business… I want a power that compliments how I fight. I'm not sure what I should get for that, or who I should take it from even if I know what it is. Do you have any ideas?"
Not in the mood to indulge this line of inquiry right this minute, Kaden told her bluntly, "Find something on your own. You are capable."
Though Zareil huffed at him, she didn't press the matter. "Anyway, next chance we get, I want to go and kill Steam, Rose, and Eila. Last time, Steam wasn't immediately there, and I had to ignore Eila and Rose to go after Espio before someone noticed what was going on."
"Kill them then, by all means," Kaden murmured dismissively. "I do not care for their lives any more than you do."
She licked her lips gently and smiled. "Now… about Aniko. I obviously want a good fight with her again with her Darkness out. It won't be fun anymore otherwise, but that Toru…" Zareil made an unusually pleased sound. "He wasn't fighting at his fullest and he was able to destroy my armor. I want to see what he's capable of especially when he's serious."
"He has not yet been motivated to be serious," Kaden pointed out evenly.
"And that's where my next idea comes in," Zareil answered easily. "Why don't we do something to that little Shadow that he cares about so much to get him to be serious? It's a good way to cement you letting go of that little bit of Light holding you back and something that lets us get one of your sons away from being threatened by Nareish unless she comes or does something in your territory."
Kaden's initial reaction was to bare his teeth at her. "I am aware, Zareil." After a moment's pause, he settled back down (not that he had gotten terribly riled up to begin with), and told her, "His Darkness has finally awakened. He was able to effectively utilize it earlier today. Corruption is possible on him now, whereas in the past it could not have been done without substantial effort."
"When we get free… let's go collect your son and corrupt him. Then Toru will come, being that he's going to protect Shadow, and I'll gauge how strong he really is. We might be able to use him later like we plan to with Espio," Zareil murmured, a wide grin on her face.
After a lengthy pause, Kaden frowned. "After that little escapade with Espio when he was here… I learned what I could about their kind's Darkness. Aside from the regenerative abilities it grants them, it appears to allow them to feed on the Darkness of others in order to let the user grow stronger. In the event that you attempt to corrupt him and he resists long enough, he may become powerful enough after to be able to defeat even you as you are now."
"Hm…" Zareil's eyes closed for a moment as she thought before a borderline wicked grin appeared on her face. "It's been a while since anyone has been able to beat me. Not that he could do so like you did once." Kaden huffed at her and turned his head away. "I want to see him grow stronger like Espio. If they both hold the same promise… then they should both be excellent pawns for the future."
"If you are set on fighting them both, then I recommend you focus heavily on training in the coming weeks," Kaden told her calmly. "Espio, at least, will no doubt be doing the same."
Zareil grinned. "I've also been looking at people and demons to feast on for quite some time should I need any extra power to deal with someone. Once we're free… I've got a few targets in mind that just might make it so that I could fight the both of them at once." She leaned in closer, smirking. "And you know I'm always gonna train unless you want a bit of alone time."
"Must you always throw such comments in, no matter the conversation?" Kaden sighed, though he didn't truly object. He was only feigning his disinterest and annoyance over the matter.
"Mm, it's only because I know you like me for that as well as being one of your best fighters. I like it too, so why not try and go for it when I have the free time?" she questioned gently, licking her lips.
Kaden quirked an eyebrow at her, then reclined in his chair as he so often did. "Go train," he huffed. "We can entertain one another later."
Zareil teleported her spear in hand and smiled. "Got any demons you want punished? I can kill two birds with one spear."
"There is a cluster of troublemakers near the eastern volcanic ridges," Kaden answered, closing his eyes. "Deal with them, if you wish."
A growl of excitement escaped Zareil and she nodded. "Dead… or just almost dead?"
"Whichever. I do not care." The demoness teleported away without hesitation, obviously happy to be killing once more.
~保護者~
After dozing off and on for about an hour while Toru watched whatever he had turned on, Shadow woke up enough for it to fully register that he had been falling asleep. That typically would have annoyed him, but it wasn't as though they were doing much else… so he decided to just not care. He did sit up, however, and indulge in a quick stretch (as much as he dared to, anyway, given his injuries). As sometimes happened, being drowsy loosened his tongue and he found himself immediately asking the first random question to enter his mind. "What the hell are you watching?"
"Dunno, I'm just watching it," Toru answered, shrugging. "You finally waking your ass back up?"
Shadow's knee-jerk reaction was to smack Toru lightly in reprimand, so he did that before standing up and wandering off to get a drink of water. "You could have at least chosen something less boring," he muttered as he left.
"Then why didn't you pick something?" Toru asked in return, pushing himself to stand as well.
"You were the one who was bored, initially," Shadow reminded, entering the kitchen. He pulled a glass out of a cabinet and filled it with some water.
Toru huffed and followed the hedgehog. "Well, you weren't exactly helping much then, either."
"Just shut up," was the huffed reply.
"You gonna make me?"
"There is little I can do to achieve that."
Toru smriked. "Then it seems we're in agreement."
After finishing his drink and setting it aside, Shadow tossed him a small glare. "I seem to recall telling you to shut up."
"And how far did that get you?" Toru questioned.
"Repetition sometimes ends with obedience," Shadow shrugged. Though, he wasn't being entirely serious.
Toru snickered. "Don't forget that I'm a chameleon. Gonna be hard to make me do something I don't want to." Shadow shrugged again. "Speaking of being a chameleon, I said I'd tell you more about what courtship entails. I assume you don't mind being the one that's quiet while I talk your ears off, right?"
"No," Shadow agreed easily. He leaned back against one of the counters and motioned for Toru to continue.
"So, one of the first details to get out of the way is that we obviously don't do 'dating'. That's the whole reason we have the courtship thing, which is kind of like extended dating. We do a lot of the things your people might consider relatively normal, such as obviously just generally being with someone, living with them, and sometimes more. We eventually get to something… kinda like marriage, but that's likely a long way away," Toru explained, giving Shadow a moment before adding, "We do it so that we can find our 'mate' for life, since we never get with anyone else." Shadow nodded slowly, processing all of this quietly and content to let Toru continue talking for now.
Toru took a moment to think before deciding on something else to explain. "I'm sure you've noticed this by now, but there's not any specific role that anyone has in chameleon culture when it comes to gender. Men and women can both be leaders, fighters, and so on. Whoever wants to be in charge in a relationship can be, so whatever works for us will be fine."
Shadow nodded slowly again, but only said a quiet, "I understand."
"One other detail I should mention is that while courtship doesn't have to last an extremely long time, it's perfectly normal to take plenty of time before making a decision about being with someone." Toru debated on leaving this part at what was said before adding, "Kind of a thing to avoid going into a relationship completely blind."
After taking a few moments to think about this and the sort of lifespan chameleons possessed, Shadow responded, "Because of what I am… time is irrelevant. Whether this is quick or extends on for years, it will not matter for me any more than it would matter for a member of your race."
Toru nodded. "Glad to hear it, but I doubt it'll take… that long." He winked, earning a huff from Shadow, before continuing on. "So, I'm not exactly like the rest of my kind in this, but a lot of chameleons are pretty quiet about our emotions. Shinobi things and all, kinda dangerous to let emotions rule and blah blah blah," the chameleon sighed. "Anyway, we do a lot of gift giving and such to show our love and appreciation. As long as the gift is meant to be meaningful in some way, it's generally well accepted." Shadow was quiet again and only nodded, just letting these details sink in as Toru talked.
The chameleon then sighed, leaning against a wall and glancing at the ground. "One other thing that's… kinda important but also not is regarding our families, provided they're alive or…" He chose not to finish that sentence, moving back on to the explanation. "It's nice to have approval from the parents of whomever we're with, but it's not necessary. If my mom has a problem with you, she can live with it and leave me alone."
Once again, Shadow was quiet. Eventually, however, he murmured, "My mother… she will wish to be a part of this as well. She prefers to be involved in matters like this."
"Mother… who is that?" Toru asked, clearly a touch confused.
"My father's life-partner," Shadow answered. "She essentially… adopted me when we learned I was a part of his family."
Toru's mouth opened for a minute before he closed it and nodded. "Gotcha. Well, I'm not against meeting her." He suddenly remembered one other detail and decided he should mention it before he forgot. "One more thing. As chameleons, due to our being, uh… not very fertile, it's not unusual to do things that some outsiders would be against."
Shadow frowned vaguely. "You are being needlessly vague," he accused lightly. Not being well-versed in the topic Toru was implying, it took another second or two for it to click just what the chameleon meant.
"You know, we can just deal with that when we get to it. Not really important right now," Toru answered. Shadow only huffed and looked away. The chameleon coughed lightly and pushed himself back off the wall. "Anyway, what do you want to do now? I'm back to being bored since you went and decided what I was watching wasn't good enough for you," he teased lightly.
Shadow crossed his arms. "Considering I am not allowed to do what I want to do, you will have to entertain yourself. I am still forbidden to even leave the house."
"I mean… we're about to leave the house regardless," Toru said with a shrug, though Shadow privately believed that that didn't quite count. Teleporting to meet someone and then going home wasn't the same thing. "Think you could handle a walk outside?"
That earned a mild scowl. "Ask my meddling, worrywart brother."
"Sonic or Tails?" Toru dared to ask. "They both seem to be the worrywart type, and you care for Tails enough to possibly consider him a brother."
"He is a… friend," Shadow eventually replied. "And he does not worry to the same degree that Sonic can. And therefore does."
Toru nodded before shrugging. "What's he gonna do? Tell me it was a bad idea to let you move around a bit?"
"What virtually every older sibling apparently does… nag me until my ears bleed," Shadow responded with a tinge of snark.
The chameleon snickered. "I'd like to see him try to do that to me." Shadow pointedly looked at Toru's head and then quirked an eyebrow at him. "Look, I seriously think a walk right outside your house could do us both good. If he has a problem, he can tell me and I'll tell him it was my idea. That sound like a plan?"
"Fine." Shadow stopped leaning against the counter as he said this, then added, "I recommend bringing at least a small weapon. A small population of yokai live in the area and can be slightly aggressive."
At hearing this, several different blades and other weapons appeared on Toru's body followed by a smirk on his face. "Not a problem."
"You do not need that many," Shadow huffed as he walked off to retrieve one of his handguns from where he'd left them.
Toru laughed a little and took most of his gear off, leaving only his tachi and gifted gun on his body. "Alright, alright." Rolling his eyes slightly, Shadow walked to the front door and disabled all the security systems long enough for them to get outside, then promptly went out himself followed by Toru.
~保護者~
Several miles away from the village, high up a tree, Espio picked some plump fruit that had been spared from being eaten by animals thus far. There weren't many left here, however, so he soon jumped back down to the ground before looking around to see where Armaris had gone. As he did so, he shifted his barely-filled bag so that he could sling it over his shoulder. Armaris moved along the shadows of the trees, carefully controlled funnels of wind collecting anything edible from fruit to varying types of nuts.
Satisfied that she was close by and not in danger, Espio wandered off a short distance to see what else was available in the immediate area. He found some more fruit and immediately gathered them, not at all worried about anything going bad since a certain magic-esque technique shinobi used could preserve food almost indefinitely if need be. Once he'd bagged those, he dug up a few roots and several random vegetables that he happened to spot and placed them into the bag as well.
"So… How do you feel about having two children?" Armaris dared to ask, shifting her gaze to Espio momentarily.
After a lengthy pause, Espio sat back on his heels and admitted, "I don't know."
"Personally… I'm sure they'll both grow up to be lovely kids if you're raising them," Armaris answered, walking closer to him.
Espio immediately frowned. "Me raising them may well be their downfall," he pointed out a touch icily as he stood up. That iciness and anger wasn't at all directed at her, however.
Armaris frowned in return. "Do you really think that you're evil?"
"I never said that," Espio muttered. "But I am not the type of person who can raise children the way they need."
"I wasn't that person either," Armaris answered him. "When I was younger, I took a few kids under my wing. I had to learn what it meant to be a parent, and I know you can do the same because you care about them."
"Caring is not enough on it's own," Espio responded, frowning a touch deeper as he began to walk away. He hadn't meant to admit aloud that he did indeed care, but as it was too late to take the words back he simply opted not to draw further attention to his slip up.
Armaris refused to let him get too far from her, walking after him. "You're not like my father was. You have the capacity to be a good father, as well as the love for those kids to do it. You're right, though. Caring isn't enough. You have to want to take care of them, because when you see it as a chore you're no longer their parent. Do you want to take care of them and protect them from the people that would hurt them?"
Rather than answer the question, he simply muttered, "They would be safest with someone else."
"Does that mean you're going to leave them in the care of someone else?" Armaris questioned. "I think that's a worse idea than keeping them in your care, frankly."
"In my care, they will almost certainly wind up dead," Espio told her, an edge of steely harshness entering his tone.
That same type of harshness entered her own tone. "So you'd rather leave them wondering if their mother and father ever did love them?"
"It is more important that they have a chance to live," he muttered before picking up the pace in an effort to put distance between them.
Armaris simply teleported beside him, a deep frown on her face. "Espio, you are their best chance to live. I know one thing for sure about chameleons, and that's that you'll want to protect your young. If you leave them in the care of someone else, people will see them as easier prey because you're not there. They will go after your children to get to you."
Temper rising, Espio shot back with a retort he had meant to keep in his head and not say aloud. "I cannot be trusted with them. They will die if I remain near them."
She walked in front of him, crossing her arms. "Do you really believe that you will kill them?" Refusing to answer, Espio walked around her and continued moving away. Rather than let him avoid this, Armaris carefully grabbed his hand in her own. "Espio, you won't kill them, no matter what that person showed you. What they want you to be is not what you will be, and I know you're more than that. Your friends know that, and so do your parents."
"You are just about the only person who truly believes that," was the cold response as he tugged his hand free. He didn't say it, but he didn't at all include himself on that tiny list of names.
"How about we test that theory?" Armaris dared. "When we get back, you ask your mother and your father if they think you're evil or a monster. If you really don't believe that they think you're better than that, then you should ask for yourself rather than just try to figure out what they're thinking. You can tell if they're lying, so make them tell you the honest to god truth."
Immediately, Espio tensed at the idea. He hated the idea of asking. At least if he didn't, he could still pretend like Armaris was right… maybe. "I am not asking them," he told her simply.
"You should," came the soft reply. "I know how much your parents care about you. Aniko was hesitant to let me be with you because I'm a half-demon. She knows that you're good and didn't want Kaden using me to force you to be evil. If you let people like Kaden define who you are, then that's what'll happen." There was a short moment of silence before she spoke again. "I know all of this because I've lived it. Everything I said was my life and I don't want anyone to hurt you the way I was. So, please. Give it a shot."
"Just stop talking about it," Espio bit out, desperate for this conversation to end. He had no idea how to handle any of this and just wanted to get away from it all… as irrational as he knew that desire to be.
Armaris once more grabbed his hand, softly. "I'll drop it all right here and now if you talk to your mom and dad sometime after we get back."
A random spike of anxiety hit and he quickly tugged his hand free again. That alleviated a fair bit of the feeling, but not enough to keep him from unintentionally and spontaneously admitting, "I don't know how."
"Espio… I'm not gonna make you do it alone," Armaris answered. "If you need help with it, I'll happily help. I'll get the conversation started and make it so everything is simple for you. I just need you to convince yourself to attempt it."
"I don't want to." Another unintentional admission, but this one was quieter and less audibly full of stress. Still, Espio removed himself physically from the conversation by several backward steps, hoping to ease his anxiety further. He'd learned throughout the years that physical proximity to other people often made this feeling worse.
Armaris stopped where she was, facing him and crossing her arms lightly. "You should know what they think. I know Aniko's opinion of you… means a lot. I've seen bits and pieces of you with her, not to mention when we were kids. If she thinks you're better than you think you are, then wouldn't that say something?"
But what if his parents were starting to see him in the same way seemingly just about everyone else was? Like a threat? Like something wicked? That thought was difficult to bear and Espio found himself admitting, "I don't want to know." He surreptitiously drew a tiny blade into his right hand and squeezed it hard, creating cuts in the hopes that the pain would help him regain focus and control of his emotions as it so often did. It did help a bit, but unfortunately not as much as he'd hoped.
The cat sighed softly. "I've felt that way. Before I met my dad, I always wondered if he'd get rid of me like he did my mother once he found out that I was a half-demon. It was… difficult, and worrisome. But once I found out that he cared despite the fact that I had the capacity to be evil, to be like Osaina… it made everything so easy. I want you to have that same peace of mind, knowing that your parents don't think you're some evil monster."
"And if they do?" he found himself demanding, squeezing the blade tighter without realizing it fully. Suddenly, it was no longer helping as fresh emotions he could barely name rose up within him.
"They don't," Armaris answered softly. "They don't think you are, but you won't accept hearing that from me. You have to hear it from their mouths or it doesn't feel true." Armaris thought long and hard for a moment before adding, "Well… Shei's hands, in his case."
Espio was at a loss as to what to say now and so fell silent, looking away with a small scowl. I don't want to ask them. I don't think I can.
Armaris watched him for a moment. "I believe in you, Espio. You're strong, way stronger than I could ever hope to be. I know you can do this, despite how… daunting it is." He only shrugged, technically neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her. "I won't make you, but I need you to answer me with a yes or no. I want you to either try, or tell me that you won't, because… it's hard to get past doubting yourself and wanting to avoid things. Can you choose one or the other for me, Espio?"
Squeezing the blade ever tighter, Espio shook his head. "I don't know," he mumbled.
"If you really don't want to push yourself, just say no," Armaris answered in a murmur. "I will not force you to do this." He stayed completely silent this time, not responding at all. At least, not outwardly. Armaris watched him for a moment before nodding. "Alright… I'll take that as a no. I'm sorry for getting so pushy." Espio just answered with another vague shrug, really unsure of what to say or do anymore. The cat sighed softly. "Let's finish collecting the food and get back to the village. Those kids… we gotta make sure they eat properly."
Only upon hearing her say that and feeling the blade suddenly dig into bone a bit did Espio finally force himself out of his thoughts enough to reply. He nodded once, just a little, and again started to walk away. Armaris watched him carefully with ice blue eyes examining his body before they widened. "Espio… what are you doing with that blade?"
Stupidly, he hadn't even stopped to consider that she might notice, a fact which he cursed himself for now. He had let himself get too wound up, and now he apparently had to deal with the consequences of his negligence. Which was just lovely. "Nothing," he muttered unhappily.
"Give it to me," she murmured. "You… cutting yourself is a dangerous way to deal with your emotions. Armaris subconsciously felt her wrists and arms tingle, but she ignored that. "Please just give me that blade and… try not to do that."
He absolutely did not want to do that, to give up the only real coping mechanism he'd ever really found that worked, so he shook his head. "Just leave it alone."
"I… I can't," she admitted quietly, eyes tearing up. "I've seen what that can do to people. It's not… a good way to handle your emotions."
Once again, he found himself just talking without meaning to, saying exactly what had just been running through his mind seconds before. "Nothing else has ever helped."
"We can find something else that works," Armaris said, practically pleading now. "I don't want to see this make your life unbearable or any harder to handle than it has been…"
Although he forced himself to slightly loosen his grip, he still bit out a quiet retort of, "This makes it bearable, not the other way around."
This hurt Armaris a bit more than she let on, her body breaking apart into the shadows around them. "Let's get the food and not keep them waiting," she murmured, almost calmly as she began moving again.
Misinterpreting her response to be one like Nyokae often would give him, one of cold anger and disapproval, Espio very subtly winced as a sharp pang (more like stab, really) of fresh anxiety abruptly made itself known in him. Suddenly fearful of rebuke and not knowing why or what else to do about it, he quickly teleported a short distance away to resume searching. At least now he could find other distractions, if nothing else… but in an effort to not make the situation worse, he didn't go too far. The less cause he could give her to remain upset with him, the better.
Despite what Armaris had said, she very quickly collected herself into a tree and hid her presence and aura to conceal the almost unbearable pain in her mind. Memories flooded back while her forearms practically burned. Her hands rubbing at what was now scar tissue with fur covering it only made the sensation disappear for a moment before returning back full force. She couldn't just… break down in front of Espio, not now. I made a mistake by saying anything…
~保護者~
Once in the kitchen, Jet set Lucas on the counter and patiently asked, "What was it you were wanting?"
"My favorite food ever!" Lucas said enthusiastically, positively beaming.
"Right. And which food is that?"
"Um… I dunno."
Jet let out an amused huff as Alana walked into the room, closely followed by Azerel and then Kath and Sein. "What do you know about what it looks like, then?"
"It's got fluffy frosting stuff on it," Lucas answered immediately, still happy as could be. Alana couldn't help but smile at the boy. "You used to let me help put it on, remember?"
Now Jet understood. "That's leita, then. It's similar to a cake, just very small."
Lucas was practically jumping for joy. "Yeah, that!" he exclaimed. "Can I have it, please? I've been good, I promise!"
"He has been," Alana chuckled. "He behaved splendidly."
Unable to resist a bit of teasing, Jet crossed his arms and pretended to hesitate. "I don't know… That's a lot of sugar for one little kid…"
"I won't get too hyper!" Lucas was quick to say. "I'll still be good! I super promise I'll be good!" Turning to Sein in desperation, he begged, "Tell daddy I'll be good! You saw me be good earlier!"
Sein chuckled softly. "Do you promise to be good?"
"Yes!" Lucas exclaimed, exasperated.
Sein seemed to consider this for a moment before looking to Jet with a light shrug. "I believe him."
Amused to no end, Jet rolled his eyes just a little and said, "Alright, Lucas, alright. You win." The child immediately cheered, throwing his small hands up in celebration.
A laugh escaped Sein, smiling brightly. "Good job, Lucas. If he's anywhere near as stubborn as Kath, that's a huge victory."
Hearing this, Kath let out an audible (albeit quiet) scoff and said, "Mind what you say to him, Sein. You have a stubborn streak of your own, as I seem to recall."
"Is that so?" Sein seemed to challenge. "I recall your stubbornness, and Alana's, to be the kind that could make a planet stop moving if you so desired."
"You exaggerate," Alana accused, though she was smiling a little as she said this. Meanwhile, Jet set about pulling out the things he'd need to make Lucas's beloved treat.
Sein grinned. "I don't think so."
"You do," Alana insisted easily. Then she walked over and gave him a small nudge. "You were going to cook, yes?"
It took him a moment before he sheepishly chuckled. "I may or may not have no idea what to attempt to cook."
"Just make what you like," she huffed. "It is not that hard." Sein nodded slowly and began his search. It quickly became plainly obvious that he had no idea where to look for anything in this kitchen, and he would have asked if he knew what he was looking for by name. When he didn't immediately reply to her, Alana huffed a second time. "What are you wanting to find?"
"The uh, big thing you put the water in for boiling and stuff," Sein responded, just as sheepishly (if not more so) as he was when he spoke only moments before.
"...A pot?" Jet suddenly asked, looking over with a vaguely puzzled expression upon hearing this.
Sein chuckled nervously. "Uh… yeah. A pot. Totally knew that."
Shaking his head, Jet opened a cabinet, gestured vaguely to it, and walked back to where he had been. "They're in there."
Knowing that this was extremely embarrassing, Sein simply owned his shame and walked to the cabinet as if nothing had happened. He claimed one of the pots and set to work. "What are you planning to do, Alana?"
Alana shrugged just a little. "I have not yet decided, but I will think of something."
"Well, in the meantime, would you mind helping me find the many other things that I know exist but for the life of me have no idea what they're called?" Sein asked.
She sighed heavily. "Tell me what you need, then."
"I need that bowl with the holes in it that you put stuff like noodles in to drain it," Sein answered immediately. "And the board thing that you cut stuff on."
"A strainer and a cutting board, Sein," Alana murmured, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes, yes, those. I need them," Sein answered as if he had not felt the slightest bit of shame for not knowing basic cooking instruments. Without a word, Jet retrieved them and handed them over, then got back to his own task. The blue hawk then set these items aside and began his search once more for one final thing before yet again realizing he didn't know where to look. "Where are the knives? I need the really big one for vegetables." Just like before, Jet wordlessly retrieved the needed item and passed it over to Sein. Sein coughed lightly, slightly disappointed in himself for absolutely just not knowing where anything was before finally setting to work. Surprisingly, he knew where all of the food items were and what they were. Perhaps it was a miracle, or something attempting to save him from disgracing himself further with shame.
Finally, Lucas piped up again. "How come you don't know what a pot is?" he asked very belatedly.
Sein lifted a hand as if he was going to explain, then simply set it down. "Dunno." His lackluster response seemed to only confuse himself more, somehow.
Lucas's head tilted and he opened his mouth to say something again, but Jet quietly shushed him. "Just leave it be."
"...Okay… I guess."
Shaking her head at the lot of them, Alana turned her attention to Kath. "Have you found anything yet?" He only shrugged, and Azerel sort of woofed before shaking his head. "Sein, have you seen anything Father can eat? Wave said there were some things here and there." This time, Jet didn't volunteer any information. Mostly because he didn't know where most of the food items had been moved to since he'd last been in this room.
Sein frowned for a moment. "Well… I can look again really quick. Wasn't checking at first." With this said, the blue hawk began searching around for something that would be suitable for Kath. Since Jet was busy, Alana set about helping Sein look around. She was hoping to at least find some crackers for now. It wouldn't be much, but at least she knew for a fact her father would actually eat them. Soon enough, Sein did find crackers and handed them to Alana. "This should be fine for now, right?"
"Yes, thank you. Though, we will need to find something more filling eventually." With that said, she walked back over to Kath.
There was a very brief moment of silence, and this time Jet was the one to break it. As he patiently guided Lucas in helping prepare the boy's food, he asked Sein, "What are you going to make?"
Sein shrugged. "Dunno. I'm just putting stuff together based on how it should all taste together and seeing what comes out."
Jet thought about that and the comments he could make, thought better of doing so, and shook his head. "That may not turn out well," he pointed out evenly in lieu of saying anything else.
"Well, if it comes out badly, then at least we'll have other foods to go for, right?" Sein asked. "Give me one chance to try this and we'll see how it goes."
Feeling a touch sarcastic, Jet huffed and replied, "Since you asked nicely, perhaps I will grant you two chances just this one time."
Sein smirked briefly. "I'll make sure I only need the one." I hope.
"I suppose we'll see." With that said, Jet lifted Lucas off the counter and set him down, then moved to cook the leita in an oven-esque appliance to bake it. With just the press of a touch-screen button, it was heated up to the precise temperature the food needed and began to opposed to knowing exactly what to do and how to do it, Sein began chopping up various vegetables and set aside a pot of water to boil. It didn't take him long to set the vegetables in the pot once it began boiling. However, within the next couple of minutes, he poured it all out into the strainer within one of the sinks. Basic knowledge told him that leaving it any longer would be bad. He didn't know how it would be bad, but it would be. So he didn't let it happen. "Where did Cere go? Thought she was planning on doing something with us."
"She must not have followed us," Alana answered. "She will come when she is ready, most likely."
"And I am ready now, I suppose," Cere answered from the entryway. "I needed to speak to Therin about something, but I am here now."
Lucas immediately tugged at Jet's arm. "Who's the lady?" he whispered loudly.
Before Cere could answer, Sein piped up. "Her name's Cere. She's a Goddess." He knew what he'd done and he could feel the mild glare from Cere boring into his head. Payback for the times you messed with me. Have fun with a child's questions.
Cere cleared her throat. "What he said is true. What is your name?" she asked Lucas.
"Lucas," he answered, eyes wide. Then he asked, "You're a Goddess?"
She nodded gently. "Yes, I am."
Again whisper-yelling, Lucas turned back to Jet and asked, "Why's she here?"
Amused anew, Jet patiently answered, "She is a friend, Lucas, so she is welcome here. You don't need to be so suspicious."
Cere nodded once more. "I am a friend of both your father and great-grandfather. Your grandfather and grandmother have also spent some time around me in the past."
Although he absorbed most of this information well enough, Lucas was still confused. "Great-grandfather?" he repeated.
"Kath," Jet explained simply. "He is family."
"But not really, right?" Lucas asked. "We just say that because we love him and stuff, right?"
Sein shrugged. "That's a perfectly reasonable reason to."
"That is what we used to believe, yes," Jet explained, patient as ever. "We know now that he really is our family."
Lucas thought hard about this, face scrunched up in concentration, then eventually grinned. "So we get to love him even more, right? 'Cause family gets extra love!" Sein couldn't help but beam at this.
Unable to resist how purely adorable that statement was, Jet huffed and picked his son up. "Yes, I suppose so," he agreed, giving the child a hug that was tightly returned.
A few seconds later, Lucas squirmed away. "Can I go play while stuff cooks, daddy? I wanna see the horses!"
"Yes. Stay near the stables."
"Okay!" With that, Lucas took off out of the room.
Sein blinked a few times before smiling. "You have yourself a cute kid, Jet."
"When he isn't being a grouch," Jet huffed again. Despite his words, his earlier amusement very much remained.
"Oh?" Sein questioned.
Jet shrugged. "He can be incredibly moody," he said simply. He paused, then added with the barest hint of a smirk, "You've been warned, I suppose."
Sein raised an eyebrow, but didn't immediately question it. "Alright, then."
Cere looked over to Jet from her 'workstation', a faint smile on her face. "How are you feeling, Jet? I know you've been through a bit recently, but your mood seems to have… improved."
That earned another shrug. "I'm fine," was the completely neutral reply.
There was a faint bit of concern that entered Cere's expression, but she said nothing about it. "Do remember that if you have the need to talk to anyone… I am here, as well as your family."
"I know," Jet responded calmly, glancing at the various meals that were cooking in order to make sure nothing was burning.
"Hey, Kath. Mind helping me with something?" Sein called.
"With what?" Kath asked from where he was seated on a stool near one of the far counters.
"I wanted your help figuring out what happened on A'latria." Sein suddenly smirked. "You've been oddly quiet about it."
Kath fixed Sein with an unamused look. "I already told you what happened," he reminded easily as Alana pulled up a different stool to sit on. Jet opted to just lean back against a counter and cross his arms loosely.
"I mean… It just feels like there's more you're not telling me," Sein admitted.
Since he had missed this entire conversation earlier, Jet asked, "Who was there and why?"
"A goddess named Yareis," Kath told him, ignoring Sein entirely. "She thrives in the cold and went there to recover from a battle, nothing more. When I left, she was helping Li in the forge."
Jet nodded slowly. Li is there as well…? I should visit his forge later, I suppose… Perhaps the fires can finally be put out, now that Kaden is contained.
"But didn't you talk to her for a bit? Or was it all 'business only' this time?" Sein questioned.
"We did talk," Kath admitted, "but it was not at length. Most of it pertained to 'business', as you put it."
Sein huffed. "I still don't believe you, but alright."
"Why are you so concerned about it?" Alana asked him, her eyes roving over the kitchen purely out of curiosity about the various devices within the room.
"I just found out that Kath has ice powers, and he goes on to meet the Goddess of those kinds of powers. I would've thought he would talk to her about more than just 'business'," Sein answered, shrugging.
"This is Father you are talking about," Alana pointed out carefully. Then she smiled a little and quietly added, "Though I mean no disrespect, Father." He only shrugged, unconcerned and unbothered, and took another bite of cracker.
Sein huffed again. "What was she like?" he asked Kath.
"She embodies ice and all things cold," Kath stated. "That should explain enough."
Cere chuckled. "She's cold herself, then. Perhaps a bit hard to get through to unless there's something to make a crack, so to speak?" She earned another shrug from Kath, but not in a manner that suggested disagreement. "Was there something to make that crack, Kath?" she questioned lightly. "Something that might've gotten her interest piqued enough to not ignore you?"
After a very short pause, Kath answered, "She had a passing interest in my sword, and the fact that I stood in a blizzard just as she did. That was all."
"I suppose I should meet her myself. It would be… nice to interact with the ancient Gods and Goddesses that came before my existence," Cere answered.
Alana's eyebrows raised. "Have others returned, then?" she asked.
"For someone such as Yareis… it is reasonable to assume that others may have appeared as well, such as Pyrun," Cere answered.
"And who is that?"
"Wielder of the Searing Heat. Fire, heat, all things hot," Cere explained easily. "From what little I know, he and Yareis didn't… exactly get along for some obvious reasons."
"All things considered, I do not blame her," Kath muttered before eating the last cracker from the small pack they had found.
Cere raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?"
When Kath didn't immediately answer, Alana volunteered slowly, "As Sein stated… we learned that Father has an affinity for ice. So I suppose he would find the idea of this 'Searing Heat' to be… a bit much."
The Hexan nodded. "Makes enough sense."
While they all talked, Jet closed his eyes. Things were calm, quiet, peaceful, and maybe even pleasant. So why was it, then... and yet it was thoughts of death that came to him. Words echoed into his mind. "The love of all things is death. What you love will die by your hand... when it is time. And when they are gone, we will turn our wrath on all that you hate."
Very subtly, Jet's jaw clenched.
The voice whispered one last sentence.
"Rest now, O great Opener of Vacancies. When the time comes, let us see just how many existential roles will need refilling once you are through tearing your way through them..."
~保護者~
Once at Tails's house, Sonic leapt up onto the roof and settled down onto his back in a sunny spot. How long had it been since he had had a chance to just lay back and rest like this? Too long, that's for damn sure. ...Speaking of resting, that reminds me, I've gotta go visit Locke again soon. Gotta make sure he's okay. He closed his eyes and listened as Marthal made his way up into a tree to doze as well while Steam took a seat on the roof nearby. Things were quiet for a time and Sonic started to doze off, but he stopped himself when it twigged that there was something he still needed to do right this minute. "Hey… Steam?" he called quietly.
Steam glanced over, blinking once. "What's up, Sonic?"
Sonic sighed heavily. "About earlier… the argument… I'm sorry about that."
It took Steam a second to really respond before he sighed. "If anything, most of it's on me. I show up, acting like I know a lot of what's gonna happen, but I don't explain anything. I keep getting worried that saying too much is gonna fuck with the future, and I really don't want to put you guys through more than you'll have to deal with already."
"Yeah… I know. I just do a shit job of reminding myself that there are things you straight up can't tell us sometimes," Sonic said. "It isn't your fault. You're doing all that you can to help, and we're all grateful for it. I shouldn't have started to lose my cool at you like I did."
Steam sighed and leaned back, arms behind his head. "It's fine. I've had my fair share of arguments with you in my timeline. I'm kinda used to it, but I keep forgetting sometimes that… you aren't the Sonic I know. There's a different dynamic and I can't separate myself from it like I can with the others."
Finally opening his eyes, Sonic turned his head to look at the other hedgehog. "Why not?" he found himself asking.
The green hedgehog took a moment, thinking before answering, "Well… unlike the others, I find it easy to be friends with you. Nothing against anyone else, I just sometimes have… issues making friends without pushing them away. You, and the Sonic from my timeline, just never really let me do that."
At that point, Sonic sat up. "Surely you have some other friends though, right?"
"Well, yeah. In my timeline, there's you, Tails, Shadow… sometimes Armaris depending on her mood, Rose, and a few others you don't know that I guess I could consider my friends," Steam answered. "My circle is always pretty small, though. People weren't able to deal with me much when I was younger, and I stopped… trying to make friends once I got older. Old habits die hard, I guess."
There was a lengthy pause. Eventually, Sonic asked a new and seemingly random question. "How long are you planning on staying here, Steam?"
"...Until this war is over," Steam answered slowly. "I promised myself I would see this through."
Sonic nodded once. "So that means you'll be here for the duration of this 'peace', then. Which means you'll have plenty of time to work with Tails and I on developing some method for you to be able to contact the people you actually know. I think that would do you some good - just being able to talk to them, even if you can't physically interact with them right now."
It took Steam a moment to decide that mentioning the Faein had allowed him to contact home once was not a detail that should be shared. After this moment was over, he nodded. "That… would be really nice. Maybe Tara won't beat me over the head for not contacting her."
"So it's settled, then." Sonic laid back down, arms behind his head, and closed his eyes. "...You have a Tara in your timeline, too, huh? We had one here, but not anymore, I guess. She was part of Locke's family."
This grabbed Steam's attention quickly. "What do you mean 'anymore'?" he demanded.
"The Tara we knew lived a long time ago," Sonic shrugged. "She lived a long time, but it's been such a long time that there's no way she could still be around these days." The idea of just how many years had passed still shook him to his core and he could hardly wrap his brain around it, so he tried not to think too hard on it all.
Steam settled down and turned his attention away. "Right… somehow forgot that she's a mortal." The thought of Tara dying, whether it was the one in his timeline or not… it settled on his mind in a way he didn't like.
Sensing that this topic had upset Steam in some manner, Sonic opted to bring up something potentially more lighthearted. "So dare I even ask how in the hell you and that brother of mine have managed to become friends and not just kill each other?"
"Not as lighthearted as you want it to be," Steam teased lightly. "I was taken by Gerald at a really young age and experimented on. Because I could regenerate, I had a lot of uses as a guinea pig for him, but the whole escape happened and me and Shadow ended up on Mobius. Once he was awake, we traveled around for a bit and I guess from there we bonded and learned how to put up with one another."
"I'm amazed he managed to make an honest-to-god friend," Sonic snorted. "I mean, it took years and years for him to be even a bit friendly with Tails. And Tails is… Tails. Not exactly difficult to get along with."
Steam shrugged. "I doubt we were friends for a long time, but the shared history and traveling together worked in my favor, I guess."
Sonic thought this over. "Is that why you insisted on checking up on him while he was resting at Espio's place? When he was first getting sick, that is."
"Yeah," Steam admitted. "Hard to separate myself from emotions."
"I get it," Sonic answered quietly. "I think a lot of us would have the same struggle, in your situation."
Steam sighed faintly. "It's weird, seeing all these faces you know and knowing they don't know you."
"Yeah… I can imagine." Sonic pursed his lips together in thought, frowning deeply, then suddenly sat up. "You know, I think my normally useless brain just had an idea for how to accomplish what we talked about earlier. We should go run this by Tails and see what he thinks." Tossing Steam a slight smile, he hopped off the roof and went to the outdoor entrance leading into the workshop. Steam twisted and vaulted off the roof before jogging after Sonic. The distraction was definitely welcome.
~保護者~
Locke stood up after a time, once he was sure his head wouldn't pound with too much severity as a result. "Before you get on my ass for getting up, I'm not going off to do anything stupid," he was quick to tell Sona. "I'm just going to go get the kids."
Sona raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure you're feeling okay to do that?"
"Well enough t'go home," Locke answered with a shrug. "I get the feeling the villagers would prefer it if we all leave for now, anyway."
Considering this for a moment, Sona eventually stood up and huffed. "Suppose so. Let's get going then."
"Not gonna chew me out, then?" Locke questioned, eyebrows vaguely upraised.
Sona shrugged. "I can do that later, if you want. I have a preference for space, however, and would like to get off this planet already."
"I'd rather you didn't." With that, Locke vanished in a blazing flash of heat and sunlight. Sona disappeared after him in a similar manner, leaving starlight in her wake instead of sunlight. Before long, they both arrived on the planet of Gardenia, the world Cosmo and her people called home. Locke lead the way to the world's largest tree, one the Gardenians knew of as the "Mother Tree"... for it provided all other life on this world. It was this tree that was Cosmo's true form now, though the body she'd once had (that of a person) could still be projected by Cosmo herself whenever she wished to speak with people. Locke liked to think of it as sort of a hologram. It just so happened that that so-called "hologram" was there to greet them when they arrived. "Hey, Cosmo," he greeted quietly.
Looking up from the children's drawing she had been viewing, Cosmo smiled. "Oh, hello. I see you're feeling better."
"More or less," Locke shrugged.
Cosmo turned her attention to Sona. "You did well to find him as quickly as you did, then, if he has managed to heal so quickly and so fully."
"Had nothing to do with me," Sona admitted quietly. "He was on Mobius in the chameleon territory and rested there for a long while as far as I know."
"Seems so," Locke agreed. "That woman, Calypso, was watching over me for a while, from what I've heard. Her magic is somethin' to be reckoned with, so it stands to reason that I might've healed this fast due to her intervention."
"I see." Cosmo stood and gently dusted her legs off, then asked, "Do either of you know where Jet is? He has had Cadora with me for quite some time now. Cadora has been asking to go home."
Sona blinked a few times before frowning. "He wasn't on Mobius, from what I know. I didn't see him at all."
"Must be on Babylon, then," Locke said. "I heard he was put through the wringer recently - emotionally speaking, that is. He might still be resting, but you can probably try to contact him. Things are… gonna be quiet for a while."
"So I heard," Cosmo nodded. She thought for a moment before nodding again. "I'll reach out to him, then. In the meantime, I assume you have come for Anthea and Anya. They are playing within the flowers on the other side of my tree." With a smile, she bent down and gathered multiple papers, then passed them over. "I created quite the assortment of artwork for you both while you were away."
Locke looked over all the drawings and smiled. There were normal, basic things like plants, a house, the sun, and even a pet cat, but one drawing in particular really made Locke's heart melt. "Sona, look at this… Anya tried her hand at drawing all of us at the table with her birthday cake from last year. Remember that? She loved that birthday."
Sona huffed softly before breaking out into a soft smile. "Yeah, I remember that."
"She even made your grumpy self look happy here," Locke chuckled. "She must've remembered your presence pretty fondly, too. Fancy that. It's almost as though she likes you or somethin' nuts like that."
Sona flicked his shoulder. "Asshole." There were no actual traces of anger in her words, merely some fondness and minor annoyance.
While Locke let out another chuckle, Cosmo smiled and said, "Given the time, they have had dinner already. If you are ready to take them home, they may go right to sleep."
"Played hard, have they?" Locke tucked the papers under his arm, precious treasures he intended to keep as long as they would last. "That's good. They're cooped up way too much, back home." With that said, he started the trek around the tree to retrieve the girls.
A faint smile broke out onto Sona's face once more as she walked after him, arms crossed. "So, what are you planning on doing during these two months?"
"Mostly, I've got to get my crap in order," Locke sighed. "All those Sun weapons I had to hide away from demons… however long ago that was - I need to gather them back up. And I've got to finish up any minor tasks I still have left to deal with so I can focus better and more fully on the larger issues at hand. Beyond that… it's just resting, I suppose, and taking care of the kids. I'll train enough to keep myself sharp, but I'm capped out at this point. No reason to push myself to excess anymore." He glanced over. "What about you?"
Sona frowned briefly. "I'm not sure. Been having some doubts recently about a lot of things, but now's not really a time to be considering most of them," she said softly. "Other than that, I don't have much to do."
"Well, you're welcome to visit us whenever you want, like always," Locke reminded her. "The girls kind of like you, so it's not like it'd cause any issues."
"You act like I wouldn't visit," Sona huffed. "It's that or sleep for days on end."
This earned another laugh from him. "Yeah, I know." At about that time, they reached the side of the tree where the two sisters were playing and Locke stopped walking. "Hey, you two. Ready to head home?"
Anthea immediately jumped up and ran at him. "Daddy!" she exclaimed happily, tackling him in a hug. Anya was more reserved, as usual, but her small smile was bright coming from her. For Locke, seeing that was more than enough. "Oh, and Miss Sona! You both came!"
Sona smiled gently at the sight, chuckling. "Yeah, I came with him. You two doing okay?"
The first response they got was a surprisingly excited reply from Anya. Lots of signs for "good" and "happy" and "flowers" were what they first received, then she more coherently signed, "We made pictures."
"We saw," Locke replied, smiling wider than before. "They turned out really well, all of them."
The cat amongst them gave a gentle nod. "Absolutely. I loved them."
"Anya did most of them, but I drew the kitty!" Anthea explained proudly. Then she said to Locke, "I still want a kitty, daddy."
"Not now, Anthea," Locke gently refused. "We don't live in a place that's good for little kitties. It's too hot for them."
The child sighed sadly. "I know…"
Anya signed again. "Home? Going home?"
Sona nodded gently. "Yep." Ignoring his lingering aches and pains, Locke hoisted Anthea up into his arms, prompting Anya to hurry over to Sona. The younger girl held her hands up high, opening and closing them repeatedly, silently begging to also be held. Sona chuckled faintly and met this request by lifting Anya up with one arm and holding her close. Anya immediately snuggled up, resting her head on the woman's shoulder.
Smiling as wide as ever, Locke teleported off toward home with Sona in tow.
~保護者~
Eila appeared back where she and her sister had been staying recently, a small shack of sorts that had been hastily thrown together at some point and was only standing as a result of Rose's magic. She frowned for a moment and waved her hand, carefully pulling the building together in a more proper fashion and giving it better support before her attention was broken by a voice from behind her. "Oh, hey, it's you again!"
The cat spun around and held her hands out with her hands glowing white, obviously prepared to defend herself. It took a moment, but she saw Cyril simply standing there and posing no actual threat. What the… "What do you want?"
"Just wanted to talk," Cyril answered, idly shuffling a deck of playing cards in his hand. "You seemed really out of it recently, and I was worried. Wanted to see how you're doing, learn who you are… that kind of stuff."
Eila blinked several times, confused. "You… don't know who I am? Who I was?"
"Oh, I know exactly who you were," Cyril admitted. "I can just tell that's not who you are now."
"And… you don't hate me?" she questioned further, eyebrows furrowing.
Cyril shook his head. "Nope. I don't really have a reason to, and I don't exactly enjoy not liking people."
Eila's mouth hung open for a moment in utter confusion, unsure what to make of this. A quick assessment of his mind told her that he wasn't lying, but he just had to be. This made no sense. "What do you want to know? I am busy."
"Well… I wanted to know about you, more so than anything. Also how you're feeling since you got here, considering you were out cold when you arrived," Cyril answered. "Lots of stuff, if you'll give me the time."
The cat huffed. "I'm fine. Been going through a lot recently. Favorite color is orange. I want a pet snake. My sister matters to me more than anything." She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. "That enough for you?"
Cyril blinked a few times. "I didn't even ask you a question."
"Dear fuck," Eila groaned, heading into the newly restructured shack. "Go ahead, ask questions."
A few seconds of hesitation kept Cyril from following, but he soon made it past this and walked after her. "Well, for starters, your favorite color is orange? Why's that?"
Eila blinked for a moment. Orange wasn't always her favorite color, but she didn't really ever stop to think about why she liked it at all in the first place. "I suppose I find it to be a warm and inviting color, something I didn't really feel a lot of when I was a kid."
Cyril leaned against a wall, watching as Eila paced back and forth quietly. "Was your childhood bad?"
"You could say that," Eila answered. "If you count 'being corrupted, attacking your family, and leaving without a trace' a bad childhood, then yes."
"Oh." Cyril was left speechless for a moment before seemingly recovering. "Well, you seem to have become a decent person despite that."
Eila's right eye twitched faintly and she stopped pacing for a moment. "Huh?"
Cyril briefly worried that he might have upset her, chuckling nervously. "I just think you seem to be a decent person, if someone like your sister cares so much." Nice recovery, you dolt. That's definitely gonna convince her that you didn't mean something else.
"I…" Eila sighed and turned away more fully. "She shouldn't care so much. I did nothing but hurt her."
"Maybe she just sees you for who you are, not what you've done," Cyril answered, shrugging. "Some people are good judges of character."
"Oh, like you?" Eila remarked sarcastically.
Cyril laughed sheepishly. "Absolutely not. I don't always get people in the right way, so it's sometimes really hard to get close to them. Never really made many friends throughout my life."
This time, Eila's left eye twitched in a wince and she clicked her tongue. "You're better than I am. That much I can tell," she answered, crossing her arms.
"Well, thanks," Cyril said awkwardly, unsure of how to continue. Silence pervaded for a moment before he suddenly asked, "You ever done a tarot card reading?"
Eila seemed bewildered, turning to him with a deep frown. "The hell are you on about?"
Cyril smiled and pulled his tarot cards from their case on his belt. "Tarot cards. Gives you a reading about your life based on a few things. I won't bore you with the details, but I thought maybe I could do one for you since you seem kind of uneasy."
The cat scoffed before huffing. "Fine. Do whatever it is you've gotta do."
Cyril grinned briefly and knocked against the top of the deck a few times, drawing a very confused look from Eila before he suddenly held it out to her. "You do that. Just tap your knuckles against it until it feels right to stop."
Eila absolutely had no idea what he was going on about or why this mattered. Nonetheless, she felt unusually compelled to do so and began knocking on the top of the cards. "Why does it matter to do this?"
"It's a whole energy thing. These things are usually attuned to me, but by doing this it let's me do a reading for you instead of for me," Cyril answered easily.
How this came to Cyril to be normal was lost on Eila, and she simply shook her head and eventually pulled her hand away. "There." She then watched as he shuffled the cards, split them into three piles, then put them all back into one again. "So, hold on. Why the hell are you doing all of this again?"
"It's important to the process. It keeps the cards from being in the same order so that there's no draw to a certain card because of outer knowledge," Cyril said. "It's weird how psychology works into this stuff."
"Uh-huh." She didn't buy it. Eila then watched as he spread the cards out onto the floor individually.
"Alright. So, I want you to pick up the cards that you feel drawn to the most. I'd recommend not grabbing more than four, but if it feels like you should, then do it." Cyril smiled to her and gestured to the cards, leaving Eila to begin choosing. For whatever reason, it felt most right to Eila to only pick up three, setting them off to the side and watching as Cyril placed the rest back into a single pile away from the selected cards. "So, what I do now is flip them over and make a reading based on what I saw. You ready?"
Eila blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow. "Sure. Go for it."
Cyril flipped the cards over and examined them for some time, leaving Eila in an uncomfortable silence and some sort of… anxiousness? She wasn't sure, but it faded when Cyril's attention suddenly shifted up to her. "You feel a lot of turmoil now. Something deep within you is troubling you more than anything could ever hope to. However… you're determined to make a name for yourself and prove your worth. This will lead to people accepting you and eventually finding someone who truly cares about you."
The cat blinked several times before frowning deeply. How did he know about that second part? He absolutely has no way to see what happened on Nier's planet. Regardless, the cat seemed to shrug it off. "Doubt that people will ever really accept me. I made a lot of enemies and some of them within the group of people I'm bound to be around."
The Babylonian only shrugged. "Cards said it. Not me."
"Yeah… that's… yeah, no. I'm not gonna even pretend that's normal," Eila huffed, crossing her arms.
Cyril shrugged. "Believe whatever you want to. These things are normally right. Maybe it has something to do with my magic."
This immediately grabbed Eila's attention. "Magic?"
There was a moment before Cyril beamed. "Well, I've dubbed it 'Card Magic' for a lack of better words and need to make a good name for it. It's just what it says. My cards all have different effects attached to them that I can use by drawing them from a deck normally. I'm normally the only one who can use them, but someone else with magic has been able to uh… catch one of my cards and throw it back." He laughed briefly before sighing. "That wasn't a fun fight."
Eila blinked several times before huffing. "Of course you have something so outlandishly interesting."
Cyril was bad with people at times, but he knew words and immediately caught onto the fact that there was some second meaning there. "Oh? What do you mean by that?"
She couldn't even catch herself before saying, "You're outlandishly interesting, like your magic." Eila cursed whatever god might have existed to give her such shit luck in her life, a dark frown on her face. Oh, fucking hell.
The bird simply smiled faintly and pulled Eila into a one-armed hug, making her continue to internally curse the aforementioned god with all of her being while also being thankful that she had fur to hide her intense blush. "You're pretty interesting yourself, Eila."
Whether she actually minded the hug or not wasn't even known to her, even as she scrambled to her feet and dusted herself off. "I have somewhere to be," she said suddenly, teleporting away.
Cyril looked at his hand briefly, blinking a few times before frowning. "Was it something I said?"
~保護者~
Marthal stretched languidly, claws scratching lightly at wood for a moment or two before being retracted. Deciding that he was hungry, he moved to jump out of the tree he'd been napping in. However, a now familiar scent (he never forgot a scent, so the fact that he'd smelled this once before was more than enough for him to recognize it) gave him pause. Sitting up, he sighed and put back in the prototype hearing aids Tails had left him with. He said he'd have a proper pair ready by tonight… that'd be nice. These really don't fit right. Sitting up, he drew in a deep breath. Yeah, it's definitely her. Rose, I think she said. Wonder what she's here for. Maybe she and Sonic have some business or something. Sure enough, Rose began walk in his direction the moment she'd spotted him, a gentle smile on her face. "Need something?" he called down to her. He was wearing a small frown, but only out of curiosity over her arrival.
Rose blinked once before her smile grew momentarily. "Are you able to hear now?"
"Hearing aids," Marthal explained with a slight shrug. "They bypass the damaged parts of my ears so that I can hear things."
"Oh, I am pleased to hear that," Rose said gently. "Though, I must ask you something. You were well known for your abilities in psychology, correct?"
"Um… I mean, I was probably about a bajillion years ago." In a manner very much like a normal house cat, Marthal laid down on his stomach on the branch with his head in his hands, still looking down at her all the while. "Why, what's up?"
Rose teleported into the tree, sitting herself on a branch nearby. "I wished to inquire help from you for something regarding one of your allies, Espio. I worry that he may have gone all this time without a proper diagnosis for an issue that should be identified as soon as possible."
"You've noticed things, too, huh?" Marthal exhaled through his nose, almost like a sigh, then said, "I never knew the guy well, but I tend to watch people. I can't treat disabilities and the like, but I know how to tell what's going on with people. I definitely suspected things with him, but since we never really interacted I didn't see it as my place to do anything. 'Specially since he seemed fine back then." He blinked slowly. "Guessing the fact that your worried means he's not so fine now."
She shook her head softly, frowning. "I have noticed several issues just in the time that I have been here and observing him from a distance. One of the most concerning is how he reacts to touch adversely even from his family."
"It's not that abnormal, unfortunately, with autism. Is that what you think he has?" Marthal absently licked a bit of fur down on one of his wrists, then said, "It's what I used to suspect, honestly. He reminded me of Jet and Kaden in various ways."
Rose nodded gently. "It is what I believe he has," she confirmed quietly. "If this is the case… the issues he's facing with his Darkness will make it far worse as people will be attempting to converse with him. Not to mention various other issues."
Marthal nodded slowly. "Might be a good idea to bring it up to his folks, in that case. They're around now, aren't they?"
"They are, yes," she answered. "I believe I can handle that on my own, unless you wish to join me in doing it."
The orange-furred cat gave this some thoughts. "Chameleons don't seem to take to strangers too well. Might be best if it's just you. But to take some of the burden off, what we could do is write down what we know and have them read it, instead of you having to memorize and recite all the information. It's what I ended up doing when I brought Jet's symptoms to Sonic's attention."
Rose nodded softly. "I have already brought many of his symptoms up to them recently, but having a detailed list could do well to help it make more sense as well as make it easier, as you said."
"And it makes it easier for them to keep track of what they're learning," Marthal added. "Plus… the more detailed we can make the information, the better they'll be able to help him down the road. Packing details in is better in writing, as opposed to making them sit through someone's word-vomit."
"Absolutely," she answered, teleporting a notebook in hand. "I suppose that getting started now would be a good idea?"
"May as well." Marthal stretched and sat up again. Apparently they had work to do.
~保護者~
13,192 words this time. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:25 p.m.) 07-12-20.