Another day passed by. I wasn't aloud to leave the house until my fever had gone down enough. Marina would check on me every hour or so, keeping my temperature on tabs. She would also come in to talk to me about her progress with attempting to find my "family".

I wasn't sure how I could lie my way out of this. I had decided to tell her that my memory was foggy.

But that prompted her to take me to the hospital. They did a bunch of tests on me to see if I had any brain injuries, but they found nothing.

The people at Marina's work told her to keep me with them until more had been found or my family came looking for me. I had lucked out to say the least.

But when my fever had finally gone down a considerable amount, Astoria was practically bouncing off the walls.

She was serious about taking me out to see the city.

The morning of the fourth day, Marina came back into the room to wake me up and give me some breakfast. After waiting for about thirty minutes, she had the thermometer under my tongue. Astoria was hopping behind her, biting her lip to contain her excitement.

When the thermometer beeped, Marina took the tool back and looked down at the results. She smiled.

"Good news. You still a wee bit of a temp, but it's not as bad. I think it's okay for you to be out and about now, as long as you take it easy," she smiled, placing the thermometer in her bag.

Astoria let out a whoop of victory, jumping around her room happily until she crashed into her mother's side.

"Ma! Can I take Velvet out to go see the city! Please, please, please, pleeeeeease!?" She begged, shaking Marina's arm. I raised a brow at the child-like behavior, but Marina only laughed.

"I don't see a problem, but just make sure you two don't go overboard with anything. Velvet still has a little fever, and we don't want it coming back," she explained, looking over to me.

"Are you okay with going out today, or do you want to stay in bed today?" Marina asked, leaning on the bed.

I glanced over at Astoria who was hopping in place, looking like she was borderline going to explode.

I sighed, not wanting to kill that happy smile. I nodded.

"Yeah… sure. I've been getting, bored anyway…"

Astoria squealed happily, letting go of her mother's arm. Before I could react, she dove herself down and trapped me in a bone crushing hug.

"AHH! This is gonna be so fun!" She squealed, shaking me a bit. I didn't know how to react to the sudden, and rather aggressive show of affection. I ended up just awkwardly patting her shoulder, unsure of where to put my hands.

She held onto me for a few moments before releasing me from her death grip and bounced off, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"I'm gonna call Sound! I'll be right back!"

Sound? Who was that?

Marina shook her head, turning back to me once Astoria had left the room.

"Sorry if she's overwhelming you, she's always been an excitable girl," she smiled, raising a brow. I shook my head, looking off at the doorway.

"Don't apologize. I don't mind much. It's a… good change for me…"

Marina nodded, standing up slowly.

"Well, take it easy today okay? And stay with Astoria. I don't want you getting lost."

I frowned, the hairs on the back of my neck bristling, "I can take care of myself you know. I don't need a babysitter."

Marina looked down at me sternly, her brows furrowing, "Says the girl who stumbled into our yard lost and confused. I don't know where you came from or what you can do. So please, stay with Astoria."

I wanted to argue further, but when Marina's eyes narrowed, I kept my mouth shut. It wasn't smart to anger the women who was graciously letting me live here. I nodded.

"Fine…"

Her brows relaxed and she smiled, nodding her head.

"Good! Now, I'll be in the office doing some paperwork. If you need me before you two skedaddle, just come and get me. If nothing, then I'll see you when you get home."

And with that, she walked out.

Home…

She called this place my home. Even if I had only been here for four days…

It made me think about the Star Clan.

But I didn't think about it for too long. Astoria barged back in, waving her phone around.

"Come on Velvet! Sound said he'll meet us at the cafe! Let's go!"

And with that, she took off again.

I smiled, removing the blanket from my legs and stepping onto the ground. When I stood up, my legs shook a bit. I hadn't done much in the way of moving around, so I was a bit off my game.

I walked out of the room and down the hall, going to meet Astoria by the door.

My first peek into the real world...

The real world was noisy. Even in the quiet city of Beginning was noisy in it's own way.

I only had enough time to put my shoes on before Astoria dragged me out of the house and off the property. She talked and talked and talked as we skipped down the street, explaining everything we would be doing today.

"First we'll meet Sound at the cafe, he's really nice you'll like him! Then we'll be going to the shopping district, we'll take the train there! I'll show you my favorite mall, my favorite restaurant, then we'll come back to Beginning and we'll go to the library and I'll show you my school and where I work-"

"Um… Astoria-?"

"And maybe we can hit up the art museum, or maybe the park!"

"Astoria."

"And then we can go out for dinner to my favorite steak house-"

"Astoria!"

"OH! Yes Velvet?"

I sighed, finally getting her attention.

"Can we… take it slow today? I'd love to see everything, but I still feel a bit under the weather," I asked, thankful when she bobbed her head up and down.

"Of course, of course! Sorry if I overwhelmed you at all," she replied, her gaze falling a bit sadly. I shook my head, waving my hands in understanding.

"It's okay. So… who's Sound if you don't mind me asking?" I decided to change the subject, not wanting her to feel down for too long. I don't know what it was about her that made me so hellbent on keeping that beautiful smile on her face.

"Oh, Sound? He's my boyfriend!"

…

Oh…

She was in a… relationship.

I don't know why, but that thought made something burn in my chest. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck bristle in agitation. What the hell is wrong with me? I wasn't angry, I was… something else.

"Your… boyfriend?" I asked, trying not to hiss. She nodded.

"Yep! He's a Water Fae! He's smart, and kind, and a really big dork! He wants to be an elementary school teacher when he grows up, which I think is the sweetest thing! I think you'll love him, he's wonderful."

A dreamy smile fell on her lips as she stared up wistfully, a blush dusting her cheeks.

I pursed my lips, forcing myself to nod. Why was this ticking me off so much!?

We walked in silence for the rest of the way. When we reached the cafe, I kept my eyes peeled for this boyfriend of hers.

"Sound!"

I looked at Astoria when she called out his name, waving her arms in the air. I looked at where she was looking, trying to find him.

A Water Fae.

He stuck out like a sore thumb.

Fae's are known for their ridiculous height, that I knew. So when I saw the only super tall person there, I knew it was him.

He was that Fae I saw in the house when I first arrived here. Tall with tanned skin, pointy ears, and sharp teeth. His hair was stark black and he had bright, blue eyes covered by a pair of glasses. When he heard his name, he looked up from the book he was reading. I saw a blush run over his nose and cheeks as Astoria rushed over to him, arms outstretched.

He closed his book and bent down, allowing her to leap into his arms. The two shared a few nose rubs and cheek kisses, blushes on full power.

"Good morning honey! How's your day been so far?" Astoria cooed, kissing his cheek.

Sound blushed back, smiling weakly, "F-Fine. You?"

He was the shy type? For such a large boy, I was sure he'd be… tougher? But I guess that was stereotypical for me to assume. The two shared more sickeningly sweet words and nuzzles before Astoria turned to me.

"This is Velvet! The girl I told you about?" She bounded over to me, grabbing my wrist and dragging me forward.

For a reason I couldn't explain, I was not eager to meet this boy, but I kept my smile on for her sake.

Sound bowed his head, smiling gently at me.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Sound Ni-Murphy! Sound Murphy. It's wonderful to meet you Miss Velvet!"

Weird. He corrected himself when he said his last name. He momentarily looked nervous when he made the correction, but stuck out his hand for me to take. I narrowed my eyes, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Velvet. Pleasure." I replied, squeezing his hand firmly. Maybe a bit too firmly, for he winced at my grip.

"Woah! Man, she's strong!" He exclaimed when we released our grips, shaking his hand a bit. Astoria giggled, linking arms with him before turning to me.

"Welp! Now that we all know each other, let's go get some breakfast! I'm starving!" She chirped, bouncing up and down. The couple turned away and walked into the cafe, holding the door open for me to follow.

I kept my gaze to the floor as we walked in, biting my lip.

Why did feel such… dislike for this guy? He'd done nothing to me. Well, his name slip was suspicious, but that was the only thing that set me off.

Whenever he and Astoria looked at each other and blushed, this feeling throbbed inside of me. Was this… it couldn't be…

Jealousy?

"So! There I was on the other side of counter, trying to tell this stupid customer that I couldn't keep the ice on the bottom of her drink, because you know, physics!"

The waitress brought us our food as Astoria waved her arms around, telling us about how she discovered she was weapon. I took my plate of eggs and bacon, not tearing my eyes off of her as she went on.

"But she kept insisting I keep the ice at the bottom. 'No it won't float up you're just making excuses!' I was so mad, it was ridiculous. Even my manager was ticked off! We tried to tell this lady she needed to leave, but she REFUSED! Then, you won't believe, but she tried to punch me from across the counter!"

My brows shot up, "I thought everyone here was… nice?"

Astoria shrugged, making a face, "Eh, nine times outta ten. No place is free from the occasional asshole. But anyway, so she tried to hit me! Before my boss could stop her, or before anyone else could intervene, I threw my arms up to cover my face. The next thing I heard was a scream and a series of gasps. When I opened my eyes, the lady was throwing her arm around in pain, and I had a blade in place of my own arm!"

I smiled, taking a sip of my drink.

"So you attacked her?" I asked, raising a brow when her expression turned panic.

"N-Not intentionally! She just scared me! She had this big gash on her arm from where I sliced her, it was real scary looking! My boss then got scared and tried to pull me away from the counter, which since I was on a fear high, caused another blade to pop out of me, this time from my back. It got my boss in the shoulder, and I got fired for reckless endangerment. My mom tried to fight for me, but honestly, I don't care to much. I got a new job soon after!" She explained, mixing her drink with it's straw.

I furrowed my brows, eating some of the food I had, "That sounds outrageous. You got scared and it caused a reaction from a power you didn't even know you had. It's not like you tried to hurt them."

Astoria nodded, leaning on her arms, "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I can't change the past, no matter how much it bugs me. But soon I'll be going to get this whole weapon thing fixed!"

I raised a brow, "Fixed? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't have good control over my powers. My mother isn't a weapon, my grandparents aren't but I don't care about them. My great-grandparents were apparently famous weapons who once worked for the DWMA. So, in order to gain better control of my abilities, I'll going to the DWMA soon! Next year actually!" She explained, clapping her hands together.

I hummed in understanding.

"DWMA, huh? I've heard… interesting things about them," I mumbled, frowning while staring down at my drink.

The DWMA was a rather, interesting topic at the Star Clan. I had often wondered why our organizations weren't paired, since I had thought we did the same thing. Hunted the evil to protect the world. However, the DWMA was hellbent on killing any Star Clan member they found, which confused beyond all measure.

Now I guess I understand why…

We were the villians…

"What kind of interesting things?"

I looked up to hear Sound asking me a question, his head tilted quizzingly. I pursed my lips, looking back down at my plate.

"Just that… they're pretty passionate about what they do…" I lied, biting my lip.

Sound looked like he was going to press on, but I saw Astoria reach over and place a hand on his arm, a gentle look on her face. I looked up at her gratefully, nodding my head.

Sound looked over at me, threading his hands together.

"So, Miss Velvet… what are your hobbies?" He asked, clearly trying to change the subject knowing he asked a hard question for me.

I rose a brow, looking up at him quizzingly.

"Hobbies?" I asked, confused at the odd inquiry. Sound nodded, smiling brightly at me.

"Yeah! H-Hobbies! Like, I like embroidery! Cross stitching, knitting, sewing, crocheting, that kind of stuff. I love making stuffed animals for the younger kids in my room," he smiled, reaching down to his feet. He pulled up a bag and pulled out a small doll. It looked like a small green frog with a huge bulb on its back.

"What is that?" I asked, watching as he placed it on the table.

"It's a Bulbasaur doll. The kids in my room love all things Pokemon, so I make them Pokemon dolls when I get my allowance," he explained. I still didn't understand what it was, but the usage of the words 'my room' got me thinking.

"Sound, if you don't mind me asking, you keep saying your 'room'. Do you mean your house?" I asked, folding my arms.

Sound's face suddenly fell, his big blue eyes wandering down to the table. He bit his lip, rubbing his arm nervously at my question. I felt a rush of panic, wondering if what I asked wasn't okay. Why did he suddenly look so upset?

I saw Astoria reach over and grab his hand, rubbing it gently as Sound heaved a sigh, and shook his head.

"No, I don't mean house. I mean room. I… I live in the… the…" He tensed up.

I waited in anticipation.

"I live in the city orphanage…"

I felt a wave of sadness and guilt wash over my body, staring at him sadly when he admitted his situation. The orphanage? Like, the place where parentless children live?

"The orphanage? Isn't that where…" I began.

Sound nodded, "Where kids with no families live? Yes. My parents were killed when I was three… by… well…" His gaze lowered.

I shook my head, not wanting him to continue.

"Please, it's okay. I can tell it pains you to recall it. It's none of my business to hear of your travesties. If you don't wish for me to know, then that's alright. Do not dig up painful memories for someone you barely know," I interrupted him, placing my hand over his.

I don't know why I felt these dumb feelings of what I think was jealousy for him, but I didn't want him to hurt because of me.

Astoria smiled, leaning into his arm lovingly.

"Sound is such a sweet guy, making dolls for the kids he lives with! And Velvet, thank you for understanding," she said, smiling brightly at me.

I felt my cheeks get warm, and I nodded.

"It's no problem, I don't wish to impose on your personal life."

We talked about other topics as we ate breakfast, enjoying the morning before we left the cafe to explore the city.

Astoria drug me to her favorite mall the second we left the cafe, skipping down the street as we went.

"This mall has everything! Clothes, electronics, makeup, jewelry, stationary, so much stuff! I think you're gonna love it!" She cheered, swinging my arm around happily. She pointed in a bunch of different directions, showing me store after store.

I wasn't too interested in any of these things, but I allowed her to drag me around anyway. Sound followed us quietly, staring at Astoria lovingly as she expressed her excitement. As I tried to take in everything she was saying, she jumped and pointed at another store.

"OH! That one's my favorite! Let me show you why!"

Suddenly, she yanked me forward, making me grunt in pain. She pulled me into the store she was talking about, and the smell of coffee filled my nose. When I was able to take in my surroundings, I saw that we were in a rustic looking shop with wooden shelves lined with coffee packs.

When I looked up, I read the name of the shop.

The World's Bean

…

Well then…

"This is my FAVORITE store here! Bean here imports coffee beans from all over the world! As a coffee connoisseur, I love coming here to buy my weeks worth of coffee. The owner is also super duper nice, here lemme introduce you!" She explained, pulling me through the store and to the checkout counter. A long bar was connected to it with stools and a coffee machine behind it, a few people sitting down with coffee mugs.

"ROSITA!"

I winced at Astoria's shout, which made other people in the store jump and glare in her direction. Sound stepped up and grabbed her other hand, patting it gently.

"Astoria, hun, please don't shout. People don't appreciate that…" He whispered, bowing gently to the people around us in apology.

I chuckled as Astoria rolled her eyes, pursing her lips with annoyance.

"I'm just expressing myself, is that not okay?"

I looked down at the floor, then back at her, "Expressing yourself is… okay. But, don't do it so… loudly."

Astoria's head whirled around to face me, shock written all over her face.

"...W-Wow! That completely contradicts the answers you gave me earlier!" She cheered, letting Sound and I's hands go and clapping them excitedly.

Before I could reply to her, another person entered my vision.

"Did I hear an Astoria calling?"

I turned my head to see a plump woman walking into the store's front from behind the bar. She had curly brown hair, big blue eyes, dark skin, and rosy cheeks. She was smiling lovingly at us from behind the counter, opening up her arms as if beckoning someone. Astoria rushed behind the counter and dove into the woman's arms, hugging her tightly.

"Hi Rosita! How's everything been?" She asked, snuggling into her side.

The woman smiled down at her, rubbing the top of her head lovingly, "I've been just fine my dear. You look wonderful my dear! Oh, I see you made a new friend! Who is she?"

The woman let go of Astoria and walked over to me, placing her hands on either side of my cheeks. I tensed up a bit, but I clenched my fists to restrain myself from lashing out at this stranger touching me. I felt Astoria touch my back reassuringly, her smile coming into the corner of my vision.

"Oh, what a darling! Such stunning blue hair and such vibrant green eyes, where did she come from?" she cooed, smushing my cheeks together.

I did my damndest to restrain myself as this woman cooed over me like I was some kind of puppy.

I looked over at Astoria from the corner of my eye, seeing her snickering face.

Thankfully, the woman seemed to take notice of my discomfort and let me go, turning to Astoria happily.

"So my dear, what brings you to the shop today? Need your weekly bag of coffee beans?" She asked, moving back behind the counter. Astoria jogged over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools, turning to face her.

"I just wanted to introduce one of my new friends! This is Velvet!" She gestured to me, patting the stool next to her. I watched Sound sit down on Astoria's opposite side, fixing his glasses on his nose.

I sighed, uncomfortably walking over and sitting down on the bar. I did my best to smile.

"...Hi…" I mumbled, lacing my fingers together.

Rosita seemed to see my discomfort, and turned around to the other side of the counter.

"Not a talky type huh? Not a problem, I'll brew her a cup of coffee. So Astoria my dear, how did you meet your friend?" She asked, moving to brew coffee.

Astoria looked over at me, smiling brightly when I moved to answer her.

"I met her a few days ago. She's a bit lost right now, not much I can say then that," she explained briefly, reaching over to pat my hand. Rosita turned her head to look at me, a soft look in her eyes.

"Aw, poor thing. Well, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or a coffee to perk you up," she placed a cup in front of me, "You can always come here."

I stared up at the woman hardly, confused at the kindness she was showing me. Astoria received her own cup and immediately began to gulp it down, not even waiting for it to cool.

I picked up my own cup, wincing a bit at the intense heat emitting from the glass. I stared down at the brown liquid sloshing around, glancing back at Rosita occasionally. This woman… she hasn't known me for five minutes and she was already offering her ear.

Is this how normal people acted? Or at least the Melodians…

This is what I was trying to destroy.

I took a sip of the coffee.

"Come on Velvet!"

"No."

"Pleeeaaaase?"

"No."

"You'd look so cute in it!"

"AND GIVE HORNY MEN A WINDOW TO MY NETHERS!? NO!"

Astoria, Sound, and I were walking home after the day had drawn to a close. After the brief stop at the coffee shop, Astoria drug Sound and I around the mall to do shopping. We went to clothing store after clothing store and she bought dozens of outfits for herself, Sound, and even me. Not that I could wear any of it, at least back at home.

But one thing about the real world that I discovered was that women often wore dresses for fun. Which makes absolutely no sense to me. Why would you wear something with no bottom to it? The wind could flip it or some pervert could lift it up! Astoria tried to coax me into wearing one at the last shop we went to, and I simply walked out of the shop.

The whole way home, she was trying to convince to go back and at least try it on, or to try one of her own on back at the house.

"Velvet, it's okay to be girly if you want," she reassured, skipping up to my side.

I scrunch my nose in disgust, shaking my head.

"I don't want to be girly Astoria! I don't see the point in wearing something that could easily give others a chance to violate me-"

"But don't to that here!"

"I just don't wanna okay!"

I looked over at Sound, who gave me a small smile in reassurance.

I groaned deliberately, pulling on my face in exasperation as we continued to the house. Thankfully, she dropped the subject about the dress, and moved on to the next topic.

"So, how did you like it?" she asked, moving closer to my side. I felt my face grow hot as her arm brushed up against mine, and I coughed into my hand.

"It was… interesting to say the least. This world, outside my clan is so strange. The people were nice. The scenery is colorful… everything is so… peaceful."

I pursed my lips, looking up at the clouds rolling through the sky above me. I sighed heavily, feeling the wind caress my face. Astoria hummed next to me.

"Well, I'm glad you liked everything. Tomorrow we can go to the library or the museum, or maybe even the police station! See where my mom works and everything! What do you think honey?" Astoria asked, reaching her hand back to slip her fingers into Sound's hand.

The Fae blushed feverishly, nodding his head.

"That sounds nice. What do you think Miss Velvet? Do you want to see more of the city?"

I looked down at my feet, my mind racing with thoughts after thought. If I didn't return home soon, they would start sending assassins after me. And with me being the Shadow, it was only a matter of time…

I smiled.

"You know what? I'd love to."

*crawls out of hole filled with anxiety and the pressures of adulthood*

Holy fucking shit, being an adult SUCKS!

Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry for the long silence, life kinda turned on its head with me. I'm currently house sitting and living on my own for the first time, and its thrown me for a fucking loop. It's terrifying and exciting and thrilling and bone-chilling and everything!

Also, I had my boyfriend come visit me, and we actually plan on moving in with each other here in Japan in about seven or eight months. Hopefully at least. And I've had some troubles with the fam, but its nothing serious. Its the whole moving out thing.

But, I missed this series. I missed Soul Eater. I missed The Deities of Being. And with the Perfect Edition of Soul Eater releasing (I have Volumes 1 & 2 they look soooooo good), I remembered what this meant to me, and the inspiration hit me like a truck. Also, I no longer have to worry about college, fuck that shit. Robbed me of thousands of dollars and for what? For a degree I can use in like, two places?

So, we're gonna be returning to the story of Velvet!

I'm not gonna talk about this chapter much, only saying that Velvet gets to see how the world works within Melody, and how it carries itself. Also this poor girl is so in love with Astoria its not even funny. I hope that was clear XD

So, a change in updates.

Since I'll be working towards moving out and settling down with my boyfriend and everything, I'm not going to have every second to write. I don't want to promise a consistent schedule for now, because I might not be able to deliver. I will promise one thing, that there will be a the least, two chapter per month. They may be far apart or right after another, I can't be sure. But I care about you guys, so I'm gonna do my best!

Stay tuned for the next chapter of A Star's Revelation!

NEXT TIME:

Velvet decides to stay in Melody to experience more of the world, despite her own logic arguing against it. Sadly, her own warnings prove true, and the White Star comes looking for her. What will she do, and how is she going to tell Astoria?

STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 11: YOU MUST RETURN!

~HUGS ALL AROUND~