A book with entrancing characters; a case of mistaken identity at the gym; an oddly familiar item in a store window…
They all start to question what's really going on—just a bit.
Youth
Noah, sitting in the park, flipped to the next page of his book, 'Burning Sheathe'.
The story recounted the life of a young, kind hearted sailor and his magical talking sword, Homura; normally, the sword was sheathed in his chest—the blade's fiery energies preserving his life after he was almost killed—but he could pull her out for a short time to fight, though the heat would burn his hands!
Spread throughout the book, for the most striking moments, was a wide array of wonderful illustrations—like when the main character first drew Homura, to face off against a white-haired woman named 'Jena', wielding her own talking blade covered in ice.
The story sometimes changed perspective to another character; this time it was his favorite, Nerys: a beautiful, cat-eared woman from a kingdom of wide, open green plains and forests, who rode a mighty, snow-white feris called Byakko. Something about her just felt so… real; so enchanting, desirable, and familiar…
"Hey, whatcha reading?!"
"Ahh!" Noah yelped, almost falling over when he turned, and then saw Eunie had been peering over his shoulder like a rhogul. He dropped the book, only for Eunie to snatch it up like… Like a rhogul, again.
"Oooh, it's always the ones with the ears with you, innit?" she teased, brandishing the illustration of Nerys on the cover of the book. "First that one sidekick girl from 'Vangman', now this!"
"Everyone likes Catgirl!" he protested, though he couldn't help but chuckle a bit; honestly, he knew she was right—it was sort of funny that in everything he ever watched or read, if there was a cat-eared woman, he'd have a thing for her. But it was also true that plenty of others were fans of the half-feline hero; even Eunie herself once admitted 'I'd hit that'.
She cackled, flapping her wings maniacally. "I've seen your room, bud—this ain't just a 'like', you're down bad. Posters everywhere. And don't think I didn't find your 'secret' stash of—"
"Isn't this one based on a true story?" Joran interrupted, gesturing at the book. "About the queen of that other world, Alrest? Nerys is supposed to be her, I heard."
"Really, a queen?" Eunie whistled. "You sure like to aim high, don't ya Noah?"
No way, he was no fool. He knew a queen was completely out of his league, in multiple ways; she literally wasn't even in the same universe. "Of course not," he laughed. "I do know my limits, Eunie."
She nodded. "Fair 'nuff… Maybe you'd have better luck with one of the princesses then, eh?" she said, cracking a grin. "Then the two of you could live happily ever after in a flyin' castle or something."
Joran casually reached into his bag. "Hey, speaking of 'happily ever after', Eunie…"
Both his and Noah's cheeks hurt with laughter when Joran produced lovingly carved wooden keychain figurines of Eunie and Layla. Seeing Eunie squeak and blush like a tomato whenever her blatant crush on the Machina girl was brought up—especially if they hinted at it in front of Layla—was well worth the usual smack on the shoulder and 'I hate you guys'.
"Oi! I told you I don't… Well, maybe a bit… But… I dunno if she even likes girls!" she whined, angrily flicking her wings. She was clearly one short step away from pouting and stomping her foot. "And Lanz won't fuckin' tell me! He's bein' all 'stay away from my sister'. What's he think I'm gonna do, get her pregnant?"
"Why don't you just ask her on a date and see if she says yes?" Joran asked. "What's the worst that could happen? Has to be better than us teasing you about it, eh?"
Eunie's face turned red with furious embarrassment. "Nnng! You muppet! How 'bout you try askin' Garvel out then, if it's so snuffin' easy?!"
She was met with silence, and confused stares. Joran furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. "If it's so whatting easy?"
Lanz's heart thumped in his chest, as his feet thumped against the treadmill. He'd warmed up with push-ups, sit-ups and squats—a couple dozen of each—and then moved onto cardio.
Sweat dripped down his back, and arms. His breathing kept steady and strong.
He had to build up his stamina, and his strength, and his everything. Why? Who knows; everyone had their weird compulsions, right? It's not like he was hurting himself or nothing either—he did take breaks like people said he should—he just liked to go that extra mile in everything he did. Literally, when it came to running.
The treadmill let out a shrill beep, and slowed down, giving him time to come to a stop. He couldn't help but pant a little; if he didn't get to the point of panting and aching, it just meant he hadn't pushed himself far enough.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and grabbed his water bottle, popping the lid off and taking a nice, long, hearty gulp or three…
When he pulled the bottle away, he sighed deeply; part of it was that he was still a bit out of breath; part of it was the feeling of water being pulled down his throat and cooling him deep in his chest—that kind of refreshment just couldn't be beat.
He took a look at his watch: only 11:30; that left time for a spot of strength training, and could still hit the showers afterwards.
On his way over to the weights, he spotted a small, familiar figure with dark blue hair facing away from him. Was that…?
A smile tugged at his lips, turning into a full-on grin. "Hey, how's it going!" he said, walking up to greet her with a raised hand. "Long time no s—"
The figure turned around, and the realization that Lanz didn't recognize this guy hit like a hammer.
"Do I know you?" the man grunted, squinting as he lowered his dumbbell.
Fuck. "Ah, s-sorry, mate," he blustered, "I thought you were…"
… Who did he think he saw? He didn't know anyone who looked like this guy, 'specially not someone he'd see in the gym… "N-never mind," he said, sheepishly wandering away.
That was embarrassing. Not 'called the teacher 'Mum' in front of everyone' embarrassing, but still super awkward. How did a screw-up like this even happen? He knew he'd been drinking enough; the levels on his bottle were marked.
Or… Maybe it wasn't that he thought he saw someone he knew. Maybe he was just feeling lonely, and reached out hoping for a gym buddy; Bionis knows he could do with one. Noah came in once in a while, but did most of his exercise at home, and Eunie… Lanz wasn't even gonna try asking her—he could imagine the tongue-lashing: 'Arsehole! You callin' me fat?!'
Joran's carpentry apprenticeship took way too much out of him to have anything left for the gym. Lanz's big sister went once in a while, but never at the same time, and he wanted to keep it that way; he knew from experience that sharing the gym with her 'admirers' was bad for his blood pressure…
He shook his head and made his way over to the punching bags, slipping on a pair of gloves. All this worrying was driving him loony; time to clear his head.
Tap. Tap. Click. Pop. Pop. Tap. Click…
Eunie didn't have any plans for the day and she was bored out of her mind. Lanz was ill, Joran was at his apprenticeship thing, and Noah was off on a visit to his grandparents, leaving her all alone. Loneliness chewed away at her, making her feathers tingle.
Nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and lie down, popping her lips, or clacking her tongue, or tapping the wall.
Click. Pop. Pop. Pop. Taptaptaptap…
…
Maybe she could go out… But do what? Walk in the park? Meh, sounded nice enough—she could at least look at the pretty flowers, maybe go fourtune clover hunting—but she didn't have the drive for it all by herself today.
Pop. Tap. Click. Clack. Tap. Click, clock. Click-clock-click-clock…
…
"Oi, Eunes!" her mother called out, "One of your friends is here!"
Eunie shot up from her bed. Really? Who? Everyone she could think of was busy…
She made her way to the living room, and—
"Hello, Eunie!" Layla waved with a chipper smile.
Her heart pounded at the sight of the cute Machina girl. Layla was one of her best buds, but she'd never come to Eunie's house before…
"H-hi, Layla," she said, willing herself to keep a cool head and face. "What are you doin' here? I thought you'd be helpin' look after Lanz, or you'd caught whatever he has…"
Layla dismissively waved. "Lanz is a big boy now, he can look after himself, and I've already had it before, so I'll be fine!"
Eunie chuckled. "Oh, that's good." She picked at her feathers, trying to look casual…
Oh no. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mum leaning against the wall, with a familiar looking, knowing grin on her face—the same grin she had after meeting Noah… This was exactly why Eunie never invited Layla over before!
With a glance, Eunie threw a pleading look for Mum to not say anything embarrassing, before continuing, "So did you wanna hang out or…?"
Fingers crossed that she didn't sound too hopeful…
"Yes! I was about to go out to the city centre, and thought you might want to tag along!"
Prayers to be saved from boredom answered! If Layla invited her out—even if it's not being 'invited out'—she wasn't gonna say no, was she?
"Sure, sounds like fun!" she said, before looking at her mum. "You don't mind, right?"
"'Course not, why would I? You two have fun, just be back by midnight, got it? I was your age too once, I know how it is," her mum said with a wink.
Aghh! Why did her mum have to be like this?! Eunie stared in disbelief and fear, eyes flickering between the two emotions and people alike.
Fortune smiled upon Eunie, because as usual, Layla was completely oblivious, and replied all casually, "Of course, Syrenne! And thank you again for inviting me in!"
After they left the house, Layla remarked, "Odd… Why would we possibly take that long to get back? The shops close early today anyway…"
"Queen's curvy hips…" Eunie muttered under her breath.
The pair of them had tried on a bunch of things things in the shops; for Eunie, a couple of cardigans; a blue and yellow swimsuit; a pair of sweet, bright green, multi-inch heels—those brought a smile to her face, thinking about kicking Lanz's sister-hoarding arse with 'em…
She definitely preferred Layla's pickings though; a cute frilly white summer dress, sandals and a straw hat; a pale grey shirt with short jeans; a black one-piece swimsuit with a slightly see-through midsection; sunglasses, and swishy dark blue dress that reached the floor, paired with gloves that went past her elbow. And now this…
Eunie was torn between loving every second, and feeling like a filthy volff that deserved to be dipped in a cold bath. She didn't know they made skirts that tiny, or tight…
"Well?" Layla asked, snapping Eunie out of her daze, "What do you think?"
Eunie grinned and gave a very encouraging thumbs-up. "You look sparkin' gorgeous, love!"
Shit, sparking—there was that word again. A few words like that kept slipping out of her mouth lately, even though if she thought about it, they made no sense; 'spark', 'snuff', 'mudder' and the like; if she didn't think though, it just felt natural, like she said them all the time.
"But…" Eunie continued, "You know your mum's gonna kill you if she ever sees you wearin' that, right?"
Layla giggled. "Probably. But she doesn't need to find out. It can be our little secret, don't you agree?"
Even Eunie's feathers shivered, from the goosebumps that idea gave her. Oh Bionis give me strength…
"Honestly, Eunie, you didn't even buy anything!"
Eunie chomped into her McGogol's wrap. "Ah bough thifh!" she mumbled, having to move her other hand to catch a bit of sauce-coated cabbage that dropped out of her mouth; these wraps got seriously messy, but they were worth every stain!
She swallowed her mouthful down. "Besides, just didn't see anythin' I fancied, that's all."
Layla sipped on her Juicy Blueberry Smoothie. "Sure you didn't…" she whispered, just loud enough for Eunie to barely pick up.
"Wha?"
"Nothing!"
After they'd polished off their lunches—right down to sucking every bit of ketchup and mayonnaise off their fingers—their next destination would be the park—Layla's regular jogging destination, and Eunie's second favorite place to just experience nature, like flowers and junk.
As they made their way to the shopping centre's exit, Eunie paused. Something caught her eye in one of the windows; a glimmer of orange on white…
"Hey, Layla, could we pop in there real quick?" she said, not taking her eyes off the window. "I'll be out in a jiffy, I just wanna see somethin'…"
One agreement later, and Eunie had wandered into the shop, and stood staring at a mannequin. It wore a white jacket, and wrapped in a bright orange scarf; a familiar look, but she couldn't remember where from… Did someone she know wear one of these?
She blinked, eyes wet and stingy. What the snu— fuck was up with her? Getting teary-eared over a—deeply uncool—scarf. Wasn't even her style anyway…
"It does suit you," Layla said in a skeptical tone, "but it's the middle of summer!"
Eunie clutched the scarf tighter to her face, rubbing the fabric against her cheek and inhaling deeply. Smelled like tea, and fresh paper.
"Well I dunno 'bout you, but I'm feelin' chilly," she muttered, even as they wandered into the blazing mid-afternoon sun.
Screw it, Noah was just going to ask. They were just having lunch, and nobody was talking about anything else. He couldn't keep quiet about this forever.
"Guys, have you ever felt like…something was missing?" he asked. "Something, or someone important."
Looking up from his sketchbook of doll designs, Joran hummed, "Hmmm… Can't say I have, really. You guys are all I could ever want as friends!"
The other two friends didn't look so content though; Eunie seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable, as did Lanz. Noah had apparently struck something; were they feeling the same?
Eunie somberly stared down at her mug of tea. She fidgeted with her wing, tugging it like she always did when she was anxious. "Like, somethin' feels familiar, but you can't remember what?"
Noah nodded. "So you've felt it too, huh?"
"Same here, to be honest…" Lanz muttered, scratching at that one spot on his lower right arm. "Ever since the night of that Intersection thing. Can't imagine what it is though."
So the time was the same then. Something happened at that moment—that's when he started hearing the flute; that beautiful, familiar melody that he'd wandered off to try and find the source of, more than once. That was also when Eunie started taking tea, and Lanz began working out daily, but those seemed more 'sane' than hearing imaginary music.
Eunie took a quiet sip from her cup. "Yeah. I'd give anythin' to figure out what's up with that. Fuckin' drives me crazy sometimes. Always makes me think of tea as well, I can practically taste it…"
Joran chuckled. "Well that's no surprise—you're drinking it right now!"
Without looking, she lifted her hand up, raising one finger in particular.
"Well, whatever it is"—Lanz waved his hand dismissively—"I'm sure we'll figure it out someday. We've got a whole lifetime ahead of us, yeah?"