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Chapter 29: Winter is Coming (1)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

"I've found something, Sister Ifera."

Finally, the Coyote Narakhan hummed while moving to check on Ayah. The Chaos Spellcaster had just gone through another round of checking through the new seals placed around to determine if the independent cell acting to try and retrieve the Child of Light was already moving around or not, her task bringing forth a fruitful result which confirmed their expectation regarding this infiltration. Much to her chagrin, the young woman grimaced over this confirmation as she knew their priority had just changed and… that this wouldn't be an easy objective. Two strong patterns, plus four minor ones… and technically they were much weaker than their strength combined, but there was no way to determine if these strong chaotic beings were holding back or not. Regardless, there was no doubt that they were going to have to face these nuisances at once, especially since they weren't going to be the kind of annoyances that can be ignored due to the importance of their current ambition.

It was clear that some of the more radical elements, those that didn't care much about not setting up new reasons for Knights to bring more resources to defend their objectives, were already on the move and causing a couple of issues with their mere presence. The elders had already been alerted of this matter and had given permission for them to engage this new group. While the goal they shared was the same, the methods of reaching it were severely different and it clashed with the main way that was adopted by most villages. Caution was a must, and trying to rush to victory only meant getting killed or captured, with the latter being a much worse fate considering the humiliation and the tactical defeat a capture warranted to any of the Narakhans working to restore the Emperor. It was imperative that the upstarts were removed from the big picture at once, the new priority attaining a greater role considering the implications it had towards their main goal. Humming the leader of the small cell contemplated why they would decide to strike now and not earlier?

It felt confusing that this unknown cell would strike now and yet… something made her suspicious of the entire matter. Something had to have given them the confidence to move now into Prism. Something that wasn't tied to Chaos due to a lack of general changes from that standpoint which would make an attack now fortuitous. Ifera might have not been that open towards the 'mindsets' allowed by other minor tribes, but this… this worried her. Something just felt wrong about this development and she knew this predicament would become more complicated than it was currently looking with the proof they had on themselves. This was a dangerous circumstance that was going to take a while to solve, but hopefully… It was solvable. What were the chances that the infiltrators were actually stronger than her? The idea was worrying and definitely presented a grim light she wasn't that pleased about.

After checking with Drake regarding his findings by 'interviewing' and faking himself a Knight, the young assassin returned with some glimpses. One was confirmed to be a Fox Narakhan with dark fur and gray hair- he was the oldest, clearly a rogue elder or an old exile. The second one, the youngest, was seen hiding his appearance behind a black mask with white polka dots and two 'tears' coming out from the holes meant to provide him sight. Both were spotted wearing similar clothes, with the Fox Narakhan favoring to cover any aspects of what was underneath the cloak he was donning, while the masked figure allowed for a glimpse of armor to be spotted to anyone close enough, or with sharp eyes, to spot it. These weren't mere troublemakers, Ifera knew that pieces of armor wasn't exactly available to all minor tribes and so it narrowed her range of research to a fair bit. It was still going to be difficult to understand who she was currently facing and what was going to be the best way to face those.

Their newest headquarter allowed them to study the case more thoroughly, which made the entire process of identifying these individuals with a greater speed and accuracy due to the fact they could now shift their full attention on the case as the place they had picked, a small building near the docks that had been left to rot for decades now. It was unusable for the role it previously had, which was storage of rare seafood, but it was still perfect to house a group of Narakhans trying to seek a refuge within the capital of the Queendom. Resources were recovered and stored away, and the address was provided to the tribe in case they needed to send more money, supplies or even more troops in case there was a serious need to expand the men and women Ifera currently had under her control. She might hope to never get to the point to ask a higher amount, but the situation was developing in quite the unexpected and quite worrisome way.

"We can definitely take them out on our own," Ayah lamented, the Spellcaster was way too confident of her skills… and yet, she wasn't wrong. Her current grade of skill when it came to summoning Chaos Monster would technically overwhelm anything short of a Dragon Knight or a Crest. But the problem wasn't just tied in having the 'power' advantage over their newest trouble. It was controlling said power to not warrant more attention from the local Knight cells.

"There's no doubt in that, Sister Ayah, but we are trying to keep away from getting the Knights to investigate our presence too thoroughly and-"

"This allows us to lessen their defense if we play our cards adequately," Drake interrupted quietly, quickly grabbing the attention of the two women. "The Knights don't exactly have a registry that divides us into tribes as there are no identifying elements that divide us from the rest. So, if they end up destroying our current problem… well, they would believe they had dealt with 'us' for a while and lessen the amount of security they currently had in that school."

...That made sense. It was no secret that due to the lack of a proper understanding from the Knights over the true organization of the tribes, there were no clues of identifying a tribe from another. So, if the frustrating infiltrators were dealt with by the Knights, it could theoretically provide them with the reason of lessening their presence within the capital due to the fact the 'threat had been dealt with'. It was a stretch considering there was a chance they would just linger a long time, but the timing allowed for something interesting to come by.

"This idea has… potential. I suppose you have a distinct plan on how we can 'hasten' the demise of this current hassle."

The assassin nodded. "Sister Ayah is incredibly precise in knowing where the patterns generally pass through, so we could sign down the major spots with the precise time when these patrols happen."

"And you wish to perhaps send a letter to… the knights?" Ayah inquired with a disgusted look.

"It has merit, but I believe sending an anonymous letter wouldn't favor our current endeavor," Ifera argued, taking a moment to think about it and… coming to an interesting idea. "I might have a solution in that regard, but first it would be best to prepare the maps. I'm sure you will do an excellent job, Sister Ayah."

The younger woman wasn't really happy about this plan, and yet she knew that there wasn't much to say about it. They needed to make some 'concessions' to their position for the sake of achieving their grand victory and… Ifera could hardly wait to go through with this plan as this gave her the chance to check on the very individual that she had avoided for so long. It was thrilling and yet worrying in some aspects.

Her heart was beating crazily, a wild grin on her face that unconsciously drew confidence out of Ayah at the thought that what her boss was thinking was tied to absolute chaos. And… she wasn't really that wrong in that regard.

A lovely stroll in the park was always a pleasant experience after a tough session of training.

Sure, there had been times where he would end up facing threats, but those were minor predicaments that never happened more than a few times in a while. Professor Aken was intense with the sparring, mentioning how practicing what I learned was better than just focusing on the theoretical aspect of it. After three hours of unending fighting, I was incredibly drained and really was planning to just go back to bed and get some sleep as I prepared for the upcoming date I planned with Vixy. I still remembered the face Tiggs showed me when I mentioned what happened just before Hope came by and interrupted the intimacy I was so close to achieving with the Fox Prime. The big girl was surprised, a bit sheepish that she hadn't expected this circumstance and… particularly calm about it. I wasn't still sure how I was supposed to grasp the fact she was just 'fine' with it. I could tell she was cringing inside by just showing me that smile and patting my back at that news, yet she seemed to show a bit of genuine hurt when I pulled her in a hug.

I managed to hold her tightly close, with the Tiger Prime confessing that she was a bit annoyed by this discovery but that she knew I had to do things for the sake of not hurting Vixy. It wasn't even like refusing her advances would fare well for us, especially if it hurt the girl in the long run. I couldn't offer her much as a genuine way to show her how much I really was keeping by our agreement, but she seemed genuinely happy when I proposed to hang out an hour before our work shift. It's been a while since we went out on our own to just blow up some steam and chit-chat away from any worries. A little hangout to discuss this further and perhaps plan out how to finally get something in motion to push Vixy towards her. Keeping too neutral was already 'damaging' the efforts we had in mind to express, and I knew she was holding up from offering ideas due to the chance of someone mentioning this to the Fox Prime. Despite not being as popular as Davin, Vixy still had enough reputation to hear rumors pretty early on when they started to spread, so she would quickly be suspicious of something happening regarding our relationship if someone at school heard us talking about that kind of planning.

With that in mind, I also had to balance my own thoughts about what I learned from Angel. The Bunny Prime was clearly interested in me, but not in the more 'sexual' manner that she was more acknowledged about. In fact, her approach was calmer and centered more in the fondness born from our usual meetings. She appreciated the talk, she loved the opinions I provided her, but it was clear she loved being around me the most. I could be wrong with this thought, yet I had grown suspicious of the fact the young woman loved History and that only recently she decided to give it a serious thought about it when it comes to passing tests. Professor Aken asked me about this, having noticed how the improvement in her grades matched with the new custom of me checking on her from time to time and… it really left me clueless in how I was supposed to handle this. Davin was tied to her… and Tiare. I would have to ask Toby about it considering he is more open about this and would provide me with some insight the moment I asked him about this.

Sighing a moment as I decided to sit down by one of the benches to think about it, I looked around to check if there was anyone else beyond me. It was late afternoon, and I was really close to Prism Uni's main building… but I really didn't need to be around the school for the time being. I had so much to think about and I really didn't know where to begin. I had so little time to get meaningful stuff out of the way first since December Break would put a hold to mostly everything. I took a moment to look at the cloudy sky and ask a single question to myself. Why is life so incredibly difficult to understand?

Just as I wondered about this, my body tensed up as… I felt something bad was about to happen soon. No, it wasn't a warning sent by my brain. My body recognized that, through instincts, there was something- no, someone watching me. From behind me. I didn't need to gaze behind to know that there were trees and that someone was lurking by one of the available branches. My feet started to prepare so I could propel myself forward the moment the possible enemy pounced forward. I was barely prepared for a fight, but maybe I didn't need to win that kind of battle if I managed to escape. I was already aware that I didn't have the capacity to win against a strong and more experienced opponent, so I didn't falsely assume I could do much in that kind of combat but…

I jumped forward just as I heard the rustling behind ending with a snap, the tree branch broken by the peeping figure's own jump.

But as I prepared to roll on the ground and turn to glance at my attacker, I failed to grasp the chances of the 'attacker' predicting my jump and jumping faster and further than me. Before I could do anything after the rush forward, I was slammed on the ground by the full weight of-

"Gotcha~!"

Groaning, I glanced behind and I was swiftly met with a tongue taking a swift lick over my cheek. I blinked and then huffed as I realized who it was.

"Geecku?"

"Frankie!" The Life Crest eagerly returned before nuzzling her face onto the back of my head. "You surprised?"

"I sure am..." I admitted flatly before realizing that she was alone with no one else around. "It's just you? Ambar-"

"I make promise to be nice and behave," She muttered quietly, humming a little about that recollection. "Hamster Lady didn't believe, but I said I was going to play with you."

"I suppose… I can spare an hour or two. But I would have to be back by early evening, because I might be left outside."

"Oh, okay!" The Lizard Prime was a bit saddened by this development, but nonetheless elated to have some time to spend with me. I really wasn't completely into this circumstance but I figured that Geecku wasn't really going to do much beyond playing around like we did back at Ambar's manor. She had been wearing a simple white shirt and some mini-jeans that… were quick to be ditched as soon as she pulled me deep in the foliage and away from the main roads of the park. With nobody around, she didn't have to worry about having to conform to that standard. I wasn't really that 'happy' with that decision, but I didn't have the willpower to really start a debate with Geecku regarding the need of putting on clothes.

It was her decision to stay like that despite how weird it sounded, but at least she wasn't behaving overtly-expressive in that state of undress. A minor relief that didn't put me through more messes to face than the ones I currently had to face soon. The tag game was as intense as I remembered it, with the girl almost getting faster to match up the fact my reaction time when it comes to moving around at a higher pace made me nimbler and more difficult for her to catch me. I was putting my best effort without further straining myself and, after a while, we ended up taking a break to relax. I sat down by one of the trees, pressing my back onto its bark while I offered Geecku my lap as a pillow. The girl was grinning eye to eye at the pleasant position she was in and… she gave me a curious look.

"Something on your mind?"

"Are you… annoyed? By Geecku?"

I frowned. "What? No."

"Yet you look sad and you looked sad even when we were playing."

...I could tell she was extremely perceptive despite how innocent her personality was in most cases. I knew she had a mature aspect from what Professor Aken told me about her, yet Geecku never exactly showed any interest in being too forward about it. The fact she sounded so worried really made a difference compared to what I expected her to behave most of the time. Still, I wasn't exactly sure how to reply to that. I knew that she wasn't going to let go of that so it was either lying, and I hope she wasn't going to catch on to the fact my reply is false, or being honest and see what her response was about it. Knowing that the best choice was the latter, I decided to go for it and hope this wasn't going to end up weird for me.

"It's just that… I've been having a bit of trouble when it comes to girls."

She frowned. "What trouble?"

"I'm currently dating a girl because I want her to notice that another girl loves her," I started to list out. "I'm a friend of this other girl and she asked me to not hurt her."

"Oh. So you trying to help but… messy?"

"A lot messy," I confirmed and she nuzzled onto my leg.

"Other problems?"

"There is also another girl that I talk a lot with. Like we do but… she likes to paint on me."

"Oh? How good?"

"Really good, in fact I always enjoy the quality of what she draws on me," I replied happily before turning my attention back as to why this is complicated. "But she kissed me and told me she wanted to know why she liked me a lot."

"That's… confusing."

"Me and you both, Geecku."

She giggled. "But Frankie is smart and kind, so he wins."

I remained silent about it and I didn't know if it would have been smart to reply to that or not.

Instead, Geecku pressed for more. "More problems?"

"Just one left, I think," I admitted, still unsure about the Naerie situation since it wasn't really as messy as the rest of those I was busy dealing with. "There is… this girl. I think you know her mother, Grace."

"Gracie?" The Lizard Prime perked up, her smile widening. "You… You and her daughter- older or younger?"

"The older one," I answered curtly, getting a nod from the girl before continuing. "Well, I've known her ever since I started studying at Prism Uni. She is… amazing. She can be thoughtful, she also can be awkward, she tends to overreact at some silly things at times and..."

"You love her?" Geecku inquired mirthfully. "You know, Geecku remembers when Gracie's Kayin described her to Geecku. He was… like that. 'Poetic'? No, Geecku thinks it is… passionate. Yes, passionate!"

"Well, he looked really close to her," I admitted, and soon I was interrupted by the Life Crest again.

"But why not love her… well, more?"

"What?"

"Why you not date her? Why not love her more?"

"That's because she loves someone else and… I don't want to hurt them both."

As I said this, Geecku lifted herself up and swiftly settled herself on her lap, eyes narrowing at me as she eyed me closely and gave me a glare. It was sudden and I felt quite frightened.

"W-What?"

"Geecku thinks Frankie is being silly," The girl rebuked fiercely. "Friends are friends, but no burden. So why turn them into burden?"

"I don't-"

"You say you don't do anything because you hurt friends, but you accept hurting yourself even when friends sad you hurt. Why?"

"...I guess I'm just… worried for them-"

"But they worried too. So why not be freer? Why restrain yourself?"

My lips twitched at that rebuttal, but before I could say anything about it, she decided to take action in her hands and press her lips onto mine. It was an intense kiss, one that lasted a full minute and… then she pulled out with a curious look.

"Did that change anything?"

"Uh-"

"Did it?" She forced me to answer and… I shook my head.

"It was just a kiss-"

"Nuh-huh, it was something important for you. Else why would you think you're in a mess if it's just kiss or hug with other girls?"

…

"Frankie is smart and kind, but also dumb- but he's Geecku's dumb friend. And smart Geecku helps you with it."

I briefly sported a smile at that comment, but Life Crest was far from done with this discussion.

"Do you care for friends and girls?"

"Y-Yes-"

"Then be there for them," The woman sharply ordered. "You kind, so be kind. You smart, so be smart."

"What about 'Dumb'?" I sarcastically asked and Geecku giggled before planting a quick peck on my lips.

"You dumb, but be dumb with those you love. And Geecku too."

I stared at her for a while... feeling baffled. I had expected her to snap one way or another, but the way she replied to my comments left me impressed and embarrassed. I took a rather restrained approach despite what my 'strange' relationship with Tiggs had been in the past and… this actually gave me an idea on how to solve that mess. Angel was going to take a while since I wanted to ask a couple of questions to Toby, but I knew I could do something about it.

And Hope… I had to try. I would have to check if Shin was genuinely interested in her or not, but I could tell that I had to at least make an attempt. Not only for myself but also for her. What kind of good person and friend for her would I be if I didn't admit that I have this attraction for her? What kind of… possible future lover would I be if I didn't give a damn into at least trying to see if she returned it or not?

As this realization settled in and a small smile finally consolidated on my face, I decided to pull Geecku close as I gave her a strong hug. She giggled and returned my strength with hers and… I actually felt my back groans at how strong she was.

"Thank you for… helping this dumb friend of yours, Geecku."

She giggled once again, nuzzling onto my shoulder. "Silly Frankie, why would Geecku say no to help a friend?"

The hugging and cuddling lasted a few more minutes before I had to leave. Geecku was a bit saddened, but I promised her that we could have enjoyed more time together if she managed to come to this exact spot by the morning of the next Saturday. She was elated by the promise and, after another tight hug, I waved at her as she left to return back to Ambar's manor.

With many of my thoughts now finding resolution in a form of social courage, I decided that the first thing to do was to solve the Tiggs and Vixy situation.

Naerie stared at her personal data with a neutral mindset. She had remained 'quiet' up until this point as she decided against trying to take any direct action until she understood the full scope of what was going on when it came to romantic ties among the friends of hers and Shin. It was essential for her to know why certain individuals acted the way they did before making her next move.

She studied the situation she learned about those girls interested or that were tied with Frankie. From Traci and Vixy being tied to him by the curious pseudo love triangle they ended up into, to the fact Hope, the one that should be her rival for Shin's affection, had started to feel strong emotions toward the human himself. There was no shame, at least in her opinion, to feel a stronger attraction mid-'chase'. Frankie was, from what she could determine, someone many girls in a college environment would find appealing, mostly because of two common denominators that made him stand out from others. Not only was he kind and approachable, thus fitting the idea of the lovable individual that was genuine in his ways that also had that little factor that made him so fascinating: he was moderate when it comes to fun.

He didn't shy away from talking about some mature themes with friends he trusted, and yet he knew when to not say or do anything that could hurt any of them. He was aware of the limits a situation imposed on the way he behaved in general, so he knew what to not do to make things unpleasant for others. If someone said they were tired, he would nod at them and help them back to their room- if someone wanted to be left alone, he would comply albeit reluctantly due to his kind nature. It was the kind of man many women wanted to have for themselves since it was not only boyfriend material, but also husband material. One needs to look at his demeanor when it comes to children, especially when young Hikari was visiting, and his propensity to be playful but careful enough to not overwhelm someone that young, cemented him as a potential good father.

All these qualities weren't there without flaws that made him also… normal in the eyes of many. He wasn't a student that was the best at all subjects, he was rusty to play some sports, and he actually had a form of shyness that wasn't easy for many to spot. And it stemmed from the fact of when he felt like he could end up hurting someone by being too pushy. Restraining himself like that was surprising considering his overall jovial personality, but not a surprise for someone like the Bear Prime after meeting him and having spent enough time to understand what kind of person he was.

The reluctance came right from a childhood that saw him quite active as many children would, but suddenly he seemed to 'sober' up, as if something had happened to have him switch his personality to something more subdued. Not exactly a trauma, as even a change in the routine which forced him to personally curb his own hyperactive self. Many children changed 'pace' when they were taught at school by generally stern teachers, making them more submissive, but still able to call forth any of that energy when needed. The 'switch' remained and, due to a lack of major activity that would require him to be 'active' this frequently with sports taking a priority and becoming an outlet for this, he never took the initiative of being more brazen about his attitude. Not enough to be unpleasant, but just to the point where his own interest was made clear.

Naerie had thought about trying her luck to delve more into his mind or, at least, trying to get to understand his point of view in his own words but… she didn't feel really prepared for it. What happened between them left her baffled by that kind of reaction, and the fact he was now aware of her own trauma, the one element that forced her neutral mask to be created, made her quite nervous of trying to do the same to him. It didn't feel right, especially since he kept quiet about it to others. She didn't ask for him to do that, but she was grateful for him keeping quiet. She wondered if she should do something to return the favor and… maybe he would be helpful in solving some of her doubts when it comes to human-prime relationships.

Nothing too intense, but perhaps an interview or two about 'private human things'. She nodded, accepting the idea for something to do just before the December Break. There was so much to plan out and she had a couple of ideas she wanted to expand on before Christmas. She had a few questions, some that could potentially make things awkward but… she had the best of intentions and she could tell the human had faced 'crazier' things considering his friendly bond with the Life Crest herself. Nodding at this circumstance, the redhead finally shifted on the real issue that she had yet to solve. How to capitalize the upcoming school break if Shin's family was going to be invited by the Ravenhurst family?

That entire mess was going to be quite difficult to exploit for her own gains considering her mother was going to be unwilling to ask to be taken in as guests by others since… Dad was going to stay for a few days with them. As much her logic wanted to oppose this, her heart refused since she really missed her dad. It's been months now and it felt right to just allow this to happen. But maybe something could be worked through what she knew about Hope and prevent her from making any bold move during this Christmas. Adding a new plan to her personal folder, Naerie knew that her mother would actually think about this possibility since the guests she wanted to invite were those she recently reached a pleasant bond with in recent times and… it gave her the chance to study 'a missed potential for a new handsome student' without annoying Sem. It was a stretch, but the Bear Prime knew she could give it a try and see if it worked.

But… Now she had to find a way to make Frankie's brief stay at the manor 'entertaining' and not 'boring' to not ruin her plans.

AN

Next time is… an unexpected reunion and a potential lemon!

Yay! I want to be in it!

No-

I wanna~!

You're going to get that omake you asked me for. Nothing more for the time being.

Awww...