Being a Maker isn't all sunshine, dad. Sure, I have enough money to last my family three generations, but still. Even if we put the 'fighting for my life' part aside, all of us are being flooded in attention from everyone. We can't go anywhere without being recognised, and they keep offering us marketing gigs. I don't mind them so much, it's a nice change of pace to pretty up and shoot some pictures, but at this point I think the Ladies mostly choose people who don't like the attention.
-Fabienne "Tokai" Couture
It had only been a few minutes of combat, but those were more than just a little intense. They destroyed another two larger groups of monsters on the way back, though it was only her and MAGES. doing the work. Marvy kept watch over the napping Broccoli.
Their youngest looking member woke up in the evening and was now playing a game while sitting in Marvy's lap; meanwhile, MAGES. filled out paperwork with IF helping her at the other side of the table.
"Say," the blunette broke the more or less comfortable silence; she cast a quick glance at IF, who waited for her to continue. "Out of curiousity, how was your control before those 'remedial lessons' from your Lady?"
Her question made the younger woman think back to her self-taught control; she could hardly compare that to the progress she made under an experienced tutor, especially when considering that she was already far too old to ingrain the knowledge. IF sighed. "Let's leave it at this: I wasn't willing to risk using anything except my own fire and light, and using more than the tiniest bit hurt me as much as the monsters."
That sounded about right; IF noticed how Marvy's smile turned sympathetic, but paid her colleague no mind. Broccoli had her eyes on the game and definitely paid attention, but thankfully refrained from commenting.
As for MAGES., the blunette merely nodded and gave her an understanding "I see". She did not comment further, but there was no need. They all knew what she wanted to say.
A minute passed in silence as they worked on completing the report, but this time none of them broke it. Instead, the 5pb.-song IF set as her ringtone rang out. MAGES. face turned a little stony while the brunette fumbled for her phone and quickly flipped it open, paying the other woman no mind. She considered to step aside, but then figured it was just as well and took the call. "Yes, Nep?"
"Hey Iffy, what's up? Everything go okay?" Her friend and current boss did not appear concerned at all. IF just rolled her eyes.
"Yes, mom," she returned with emphasis on the second word. "Imagine that, the girl you always told she is good enough was, shockingly, good enough not to get mauled." The response she got was a chortle and little else; Broccoli giggled from her spot while MAGES. gave her an amused smile. Marvy kept up her Compa-impression by just holding her own smile and saying nothing.
"Glad to hear it," Neptune finally told her with cheer. "You're going to make it far at this rate. Oh, but here's news you won't like to hear: no big monster groups near you anymore, so you're going to take tomorrow off and have fun in the snow."
IF paused, her eyes narrowing; Neptune could not see it, but the few seconds of silence probably told her enough to guess. "Nep? Are you just saying this because it's the only way?"
The purplette giggled and told her no: "Hmmm, nah. It's the truth." In that moment, three more phones began to ring; one in a cheery anime opening (Broccoli), one with some kind of choir (MAGES.), and the last being a fast drumbeat (Marvy). All of her fellow Makers took out their phones while Neptune continued. "Blanc should be telling everyone to take a day off, too; we talked about it already. Oh, for the record, that is an order. Take a day off and relax." Her tone of voice did not even change as she delivered that order.
IF sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Fine, I will see what I can do." She was not particularly happy, but orders were orders.
"Great. Enjoy your stay and stay warm!" Her friend's voice was cut off by a click and the call ended. IF just shook her head and flipped her phone shut. Her fellow Makers were exchanging looks, though neither of them appeared unhappy.
She finished up the last page of the report, put her signature and stamp on the bottom, then pushed the sheet over to MAGES., who took it without a word and signed it as well.
"So... did you really just try to argue a paid vacation?" It was Broccoli who asked, curious.
IF shrugged at her in turn. Anything she could say sounded rather pitiful once one thought about it. She still had no hobbies and no idea what she might like to do. Now however, she had little choice and might as well make the best of it. So IF smiled weakly. "Not that it worked. Now I find myself with a few free hours at hand... what do you usually do here in Lowee?"
MAGES. snorted from behind the report she was rereading and Broccoli shook her head; she looked at the time and hopped out of Marvy's lap. "I'll do the last of the cleaning tomorrow, you two spend time with the new girl." She turned back to them all with a childish smile and waved. "Good night!"
And then she was gone. IF looked at the slightly open door, trying to understand what just happened; then Marvy's chuckling brought her attention to the other Maker. "Don't take it the wrong way. She just is like that."
Aside from being a little irked by Broccoli's behaviour though, IF was mostly just curious. "I'm not mad. Nep said you're taking the day off too, though."
"Oh." Marvy considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "Lady Blanc's message did say that, but we know she knows there is still some work to do. Nothing that would need us," she clarified when IF frowned, quickly expanding: "Broccoli just... well..."
The older woman trailed off, unsure how to continue. MAGES. took that decision off of her with bluntness: "Broccoli has fun bossing others around, and thus likes to take the lead in the field to pass time." The blunette chuckled. "Not that there is any ill intent; she simply likes the idea of grown men and women heeding a child's every command."
Things slowly began to make sense again; IF shook her head in turn and cast a wry smile at the mage. "You mean human children." If they actually had let little Nepgear or Uni give orders, that would be rather natural in her opinion. CPUs were meant to lead after all. MAGES. snorted while Marvy squealed at the mental image.
"That would be adorable," the soft-spoken woman told her and IF had to agree. Knowing how those two looked like in their early years, the sight could have been nothing else.
. .
. .
The following afternoon found IF sitting in a carriage of all things. It was an unusual experience, all things considered. Not unpleasant, though; the air was warm and they somehow managed to make the road more or less even despite the cold. However one could work stone in such a way. Or however one could domesticate bears into pulling them around.
MAGES. and MarvelousAQL were seated opposite to her, with the blunette grinning about her comment about the unusual situation. "You get used to it in time. Most people are surprised at first, but most even get used to the bears with enough exposure."
Hearing her fellow Maker talk reminded IF of something she read and had been curious about; seeing that they were still some ways away from their destination, she turned to MAGES. curiously. "I can imagine. You are from Leanbox, right?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she nodded and motioned to go on, so IF asked: "What brought you all the way to Lowee?"
The blunette gave her a searching look and stayed quiet for several seconds; then she slowly shook her head. "Personal matters." She did not elaborate and IF accepted the refusal with a nod.
The silence had no chance to become uncomfortable, seeing that Marvy changed the topic right after: "So I was wondering, what do you do in your free time?" Unkowingly, she had hit one of the topics IF would much rather not have talked about.
The younger woman shrugged weakly in response. "Nothing much aside from exercising and practicing. I haven't really found anything I'd want to have as a hobby." And while going out with Tekken had been nice, dating anyone still felt like something she really did not want at this time. Perhaps a few years down the line, though even that was doubtful.
She received curious looks from both Marvy and MAGES.; the former appeared more thoughtful while the latter mostly exuded amusement. "Not much to do outside of work, on top of everything else... do you have ancestry in Lastation, perchance?" Her question made Marvy chuckle, though IF had heard the joke often enough not to be bothered by it anymore. She just shrugged.
"Not that I know of. What I know of my father's side lived in Planeptune for generations, and my mother came from Lowee." She really did not know all that much about her family's history; Neptune had given her some bits and she looked up a little, but not a lot. If she was honest, IF did not care much for her ancestry in the first place; she was here and now, and any achievements or connections of the past did not matter.
Perhaps she might be thinking differently if her grandparents had not left her to fend for herself, a fact she only learned about a few months ago. As it was, IF had only ever been by herself and saw no need to retrace the past.
"Oh, so you have a mixed household?" Marvy did not share any such thoughts, she simply clapped her hands in delight. "How are your parents like? We've always just been your average loweean family; mother, father, my brothers and me. I'm curious what happens when you have two cultures mix together like that."
She kept chatting at her a little longer, long enough for IF to push back the pang of pain in her chest; there was a little envy mixed in as well, all of which went ignored. When she answered her friendly colleague, it was with a sigh. "My parents died before I turned five."
That killed the mood rather effectively, at least for Marvy; her eyes widened in shock and she quickly covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I had no idea..."
IF waved it off and shook her head. "It's fine." She could not have known and meant nothing bad when she asked. However, IF figured she could at least try to answer some of her questions. "From what I heard, they were both kind people." There was more she could say, but none of it belonged in a conversation with what was basically near-strangers.
MAGES. put a hand on Marvy's shoulder and squeezed softly, her expression more calm. "Most of us Makers come with such and similar stories. Many that achieve greatness are forged in tragedy." Her attention turned back to IF and their eyes met, both holding a certain curiousity. The blunette asked her question first, though: "You don't need to answer if you don't want to... but were you around when it happened?"
It was not exactly what IF had expected, but she gave the matter some thought. Vague images of flame and half-forgotten screams emerged from her mind, but nothing concrete. MAGES. patiently waited for her response, of which the brunette was not even sure she wanted to give it.
After another glance at Marvy, she decided she might as well be a little more open. "The memory is fuzzy at best, but I was there."
Silence enveloped the inside of their carriage for long moments; MAGES. nodded quietly to herself and Marvy appeared distinctly uncomfortable with the subject matter. IF did not blame her.
"I see," MAGES. finally answered. Her eyes closed as she continued: "We lost our father early, and our mother was an abusive monster of a parent ever after." She did not elaborate, but IF understood well enough.
Marvy appeared more shaken by that than her, though. She eyed her friend with a frown. "I had no idea..." Her voice was soft, though the blunette only shrugged.
"This is not something I talk about often. It was simply never relevant for you or Broccoli before." IF could understand the sentiment, though any response she could have given was cut off over what MAGES. said next: "Not even Mina knows any details, and she is the closest friend I have these days."
"Nishizawa Mina?" She could not help but ask and almost forgot to switch first name and last name. When MAGES. nodded at her, IF regarded her with new interest. "That's a bit of a surprise. From what I heard, you are nothing alike."
As a public person, Lowee's current Oracle was well known for her kind smile and friendly behaviour. Like all Nishizawas, she also stood as a powerful mage. MAGES. only held a semblance of similarity due to the last category.
The blunette chuckled and regarded IF with a mirthful smirk. "Two need not be similar to get along. Mina is a most capable researcher just like I am, and we make for a good team with our many differences." Marvy nodded in agreement and IF understood perfectly what her colleague meant. The team she was in could not be more different, either.
Then MAGES. shuddered and gave her a more serious look. "Also, a piece of advice, IF: for as friendly and kind as they may be," with which she motioned for Marvy, "beware of pushing them too far."
The younger woman snorted and waved her off. "No need to tell me. I know a few people like that, too." Considering Compa and Nepgear, she could guess that well enough. Not to mention Mari, whose divine patience had been well known. All had feared the moment her smile dropped.
. .
. .
The day passed quite quickly; the family restaurant her colleagues took her to for lunch was nice, introducing IF to a mixture of meat and several different vegetables, with white rice as a side dish. More spicy than she was used to, but not bad in her opinion.
She also learned a most interesting trick from MAGES.; when the owner insisted not to charge them because of their hard work for the nation, the blunette, instead of arguing, agreed without hesitation. She then offered him a 'tip' that consisted of twice the price they normally would have paid, leaving the man dumbfounded as they left.
She had never thought about doing things like this before, but it appeared like a great idea. She would definitely keep that in mind.
After lunch, the other Makers took her out for karaoke, a pastime IF had never even considered. It was not unknown in Planeptune, but had much more impact in Lowee. She was also not a particularly good singer, but she managed; Marvy was the same but, much to their joint surprise, MAGES. ended up delivering a few great songs. For some reason however, she did not appear too happy when IF complimented her on it.
When Broccoli joined them in the late afternoon, she somehow managed to convince her of replacing dinner with a visit to a cake shop; IF was almost certain she never ate that many pastries, that much sugar, in a single day before. Yet she could not really regret it, or begrudge the not-child her smug expression. Those tiny cakes were delicious.
As night fell however, it was time to leave; the young woman boarded her train with a last wave to her fellow Makers, happy for the experiences and acquaintances she made. She knew she would be back at some point.
Back at the station, the three that remained saw IF off in silence. Only when the train had left their sight did MarvelousAQL speak: "I like her."
MAGES. chuckled and pulled her coat a little tighter. "Certainly an interesting character, though her youth shows."
Broccoli just shrugged and took their hands to pull them away. "We'll see if she makes it, let's go home."