The prince's day has been terrible, but I will still post this here. Ugh, my head...
On the hike to Mason's home up in the mountains, Alice was unusually quiet. She would only say one word statements, freaked out at every rustle of the bushes, and was more aggressive towards the monsters they came across than she normally was. Sheila could guess that it was because of what that cloaked spirit lady had said, but she couldn't exactly figure out what it was. Nothing the lady had said seemed out of the ordinary to her, it was just a spirit that had mistaken Alice for somebody else. It probably didn't help that it was raining every single night. It was really grating on Marine's nerves.
And an irritated Marine was not pleasant. For Iris, anyway. Marine would never yell at Sheila, no matter how pissed she was, and Alice was already being quiet and obedient. Iris was very close to throwing all her manners to the wind and just giving into her urge to strangle Marine, but they arrived at Mason's home before she was able to break.
"'Heights of Loneliness', huh?" Marine snorted, mood already improving at the prospect of getting something done, "What a name. It must be filled with flowers and sunshine."
Sheila perked up, looking at a beautifully sculpted swan with its wing spread out, ready to take flight. There were similarly sculpted animals spread out across a vast clearing in front of a modest-sized home. Alice was impressed by the amount of skill and hard work that was put into making them. There was a wolf, a tiger, a whale (Alice thought it looked like the fake Lleviathan), and even a rabbit! What Alice liked the most, though, was the sculpture of a mother bear protecting her twin cubs. The mother bear was covered in scars (from protecting her cubs, Alice assumed), but her cubs were injury-free. Alice thought it was the most beautiful piece of art she had ever seen.
"Alright, we can just knock on his door, and ask him for the fruit. If he will not give it up, Marine can use her persuasive skills." Iris smiled brightly as she approached the door to the only house in sight, and knocked on it politely, but strong. "Hello? Is anyone home...?"
Like in a murder mystery when one discovers the body, the door slowly creaked open. Instead of staying outside because of how suspicious that was, Marine barges on in, thinking of it as a welcoming. Inside is the perfect example of a disorganized artist. The floor is two different styles: tile, and wooden boards. There are a few unfinished sculpture blocks lying around, as well as some paintings. Mason's bed is apparently made of straw, which Alice imagines isn't very comfortable for an old man. A sink(?) was located directly next to what looked like an oven with a bucket on it, and near those was a desk with alcohol and a journal on it.
Iris and Marine both grimaced at the smell of alcohol permeating the room. Iris felt her hands twitch, and the next thing she knew, she was cleaning the entire house of garbage. Alice, on the other hand, got bored with looking at sculptures, and went through the open journal on his desk that was located next to the alcoholic drink. It was already bookmarked for the date; five days ago.
'. . .It was an eternity ago. I told my poor sweetheart I'd be back in five years, and then set off on my travels. All I cared about was learning to work stone. Five years passed in the blink of an eye, but I barely noticed. When I finally made it back home, it was only to find out that she'd gone and married another man.' Ouch. Alice winced, 'Och, that was an eternity ago, though. I'm an old man now. That was back in my younger days. I'm heading north to Zere Rocks. It won't be long now till it's all over. I doubt I'll be back at this hut again.'
"...Ah, guys. This journal says that Mason went up north in the mountains, and he's probably not coming back for quite a while..." Because he's most likely long since dead, Alice mentally added. Nobody said anything as they looked over the journal entry Alice indicated, until they heard a noise coming from outside.
Knock, knock!
"Heeeey, Mason buddy! We're here for that tour of your masterpiece! Y'know, we'd have been here sooner if little grumpy pants wasn't so slow- OW!" Marine stomped towards the door and threw it open with too much force, tearing the wooden door off its hinges, knocking some poor soul to the ground.
Standing a smart distance away from the door was a petite, feminine boy (around 4'8", Marine guessed) with short, black hair and dull, light green eyes that had an amused twinkle to them. He(?) was wearing a green robe, and a brown cloak. He was also carrying a sack full of supplies, a few books and a notepad, and a pencil or two. Hanging off a belt was a knife sheath. Interesting individual.
Marine got a whack on the back of the head from an irritated Iris, "Marine! You just broke Mister Mason's front door! Fix it right now and help that unfortunate lad up."
Marine grumbled and rubbed her head as she lifted the door of the trapped boy underneath. He had spiky dark brown hair, and amber eyes (almost like Iris's eyes). He was wearing brown fingerless gloves, black pants, a tan coat that was opened to reveal the white shirt underneath, and a fluffy black scarf. Once Marine had helped him up, she realized that he was just an inch taller than her, but still two inches shorter than Iris (she seriously wondered what Iris did to grow to be six feet tall). After Marine finished helping him up, she took a hammer and some nails that were handed to her by Alice (where she got them, Marine didn't care to know), and got to work fixing the door.
Iris bowed apologetically to boy Marine knocked over, "I am very sorry about that, sir. Marine is... a bit of a twat at times, and she does not think things through."
He laughed, "No, no! It's fine! It's all grumpy pants' fault for hitting me towards the door~" A glare from his shorter companion made him scoot away a few steps.
The more petite boy held out his hand, "It's fine, this idiot shouldn't be hovering in front of doors anyway. My name is Hisui, and the idiot over there is Sigma."
Iris smiled, and shook Hisui's hand. "Iris. Mister Sigma's assaulter is Marine. Inside are Sheila and Alice."
Sigma let out a low whistle, "An all girls group, huh?"
Marine glared at him, "You gotta problem with that? You're in an all boys group!"
Hisui's face fell as Sigma's got this smug/amused look as he burst into laughter. Iris sighed at the idiocy her friend managed to display. Sheila and Alice peeked out from behind the door frame to see what was going on.
Hisui put her face in her hands, "I'm a girl."
Marine was quiet and sitting in a corner for the rest of the discussion.