'Forging armor, forging friendships—both sometimes come with lingering wounds.'

Chapter Twelve: Friends and Soldiers

"You're lost, aren't you?"

Skuld stared hard at the directions in her hand and very pointedly ignored Brain's smug question. "We're taking a detour."

"Hmm. Think we've passed the same store three times."

"We haven't—" She broke off, looking up to see that yes, they were, in fact, in front of the same general store, somewhere in the Moon Quarter. She released a frustrated breath, resting the directions against her forehead. "Are people staring?"

"Probably."

She groaned. "It shouldn't be that hard to find the blacksmith." Meili had written out the directions carefully after handing her a stack of papers. "Orders for armor—any new Keyblade wielders need it. Including you. Figure it's easier to send you if already need a set." They'd gone over the directions several times to make sure that she got it, and she'd thought she'd be fine, but Scala was a bit more difficult to navigate than she thought, and she…hadn't done nearly as much exploring as she probably should have.

That didn't mean she was going to admit that to Brain, who'd ostensibly tagged along to get more materials for the Heartless detecting device the council had him working on, but seemed to be taking a little too much joy in teasing her.

"If you keep walking in circles, I'm sure you'll run into eventually."

"You probably don't know where it is, either."

He smirked and headed past her.

Skuld narrowed her eyes at his back, but decided following him was better than wandering around the block again and hurried to catch up. At least we might get lost in a new way. "Wasn't your shop back there?"

"I can swing back later." He waved off her question, but he still looked amused. "Tired of me?"

"Tired of you teasing me."

"You do it all the time." He poked her, and she batted his hand away, but couldn't quite fight her grin.

They lapsed into silence after a moment, and Skuld could admit that even if she was frustrated that she maybe couldn't find the blacksmith's on her own, she did appreciate that it gave her the opportunity to look at Scala a little more. It was still strange, if she thought too long about this being Daybreak Town, and so she tried not to. It's like—exploring a new world. That's all. It made it easier to actually look at things—the towering buildings, some rising high above street-level, others smaller and tucked away behind corners. There weren't many stores in the Moon Quarter—mostly places selling supplies or small fronts where people would take commissions for unique magical items or research requests—but there were plenty of decorations, colored string lights hanging in the side-streets, flowers that had been planted in stubborn gardens and flowerpots, advertisements for—

Keyblade wielders?

She stalled briefly, frowning at the flier on a bulletin board. It highlighted a painted image of a wielder, waving around one of the training blades she'd seen the students wielding. Text underneath it read, "Become a Hero!" Absently she tugged the flier free, something a little uncomfortable twisting in her stomach twisting at the image. She didn't let herself dwell on it yet; she still had to get the armor made, after all, and Brain hadn't slowed down, so she folded the flier and stuffed it in her pouch.

Brain glanced back at her when she caught up. "Everything alright?"

"Why didn't you stop if you noticed?"

"Figured you'd catch up."

She gave him an exasperated look, but said, "It's fine. Just…something I'll ask you about later, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't pry.

Add it to the list, Skuld thought, and tried not to sigh. She hadn't talked to him about Frigga's offer yet; a logical part of her knew she should, but she still…wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. A part of her didn't want to take the older wielder up on it; the idea of spending unnecessary time with Frigga made her skin crawl, and she wasn't even entirely sure if she was telling the truth or if it was more manipulation. But it might help them get closer to Master's Defender, and they needed that, and Brain—

Well. She didn't actually know for sure what he'd say. (She thought that was probably part of the problem.)

Skuld shook her head, trying to push the thought out of her head. Instead, she decided to ask something that'd been bouncing around in her head since she'd been given the order request this morning: "How come you don't have armor?"

Brain shrugged. "Probably because I'm not supposed to go off-world, technically."

"Technically."

He gave her a faintly exasperated look. "Alright. Doubt you'd listen, either."

"You know, you could've avoided the issue if you'd decided to help with Exploration in the first place—"

"I see you're getting back at me for earlier." He looked more amused than anything, though. "Besides, Meili doesn't like me much."

"Most of the council doesn't like you." She couldn't quite stop her wince, though; she could see how Meili and Brain could rub each other wrong, and even if not…well, Meili had justifiable reasons for not wanting to have someone else encroaching on their space. "So it's just for wielders that go off-world?"

"Far as I can tell. A lot of wielders do, though. It's either that or be assigned as a sort of 'guard' for Scala." He nodded to a couple of people walking past, and it took Skuld a moment to realize that he was indicating other Keyblade wielders, walking through the streets. "Think most of them are supposed to be on specific outposts."

It was strange to think about; in Daybreak Town, every wielder had gone off-world.

…Then again, in Daybreak Town, they hadn't had much training or protection at all.

"Is it just wielders with the Exploration Department that go off-world?" Skuld asked, tearing her eyes away.

Brain was already shaking his head. "Some wielders join Trade or Travel to protect people. Research sometimes goes out to gather materials. But there are a lot of wielders who don't join the council at all and just head out on their own." His voice turned quieter. "The point's to protect the worlds from outside threats, after all, and that's harder with wielders who are stuck here."

"That sounds…a little bit easier than working with the council."

"Mm."

It made her wish that was what they had done—but then again, they were Union Leaders. The council was probably going to try and give them some sort of oversight, no matter what they did.

"We're here, by the way."

She started, snapping around and coming to an abrupt halt when she nearly ran into Brain. He'd stopped in front of a large building, a stylized Keyblade hanging over the door; Skuld couldn't see a name anywhere, but she could see what looked like a forge through the windows.

Brain gave her a smug look.

Skuld sighed and shoved him lightly. "Fine. You win." At the very least, she guessed it meant that she didn't have to wander around Scala anymore. "How'd you know where it was, anyways?"

"Been here longer than you."

She supposed that was a fair point, but still.

The inside of the blacksmith's was warm and bright. Tools lined a table at the back, half-formed, cooled hunks of metal settled beside them. A larger workstation sat near the forge; what looked like a helmet, mostly finished, sat beside it. Materials filled jars along the windows, along with what looked like completed projects—not Keyblade armor, but silverware and hardware and a couple of small steel poles. Armor was hung up near the walls, a couple of ornate sets settled on mannequins. Behind them was a large picture—not of them, to her vague relief, but of a wielder she didn't recognize, fighting against a curling, shadowy serpent.

"Just a minute!" Shuffling came from a room towards the back—and office, she guessed, from the sound of paper rustling. A woman hurried out of it, an armful of materials in her arms. "Sorry, sorry—I'll be with you in a moment." She set the materials on the back table, running her hands over them and muttering something.

Skuld exchanged glances with Brain. He shrugged, and Skuld couldn't quite help her small smile. It was…weirdly nice not to be recognized—or, at the very least, for it not to affect anything if they were.

The two of them wandered a bit while they waited, Brain trailing away to examine some of the materials, Skuld edging towards the sets of armor. It wasn't that different than the few sets she remembered seeing back in Daybreak Town—a little more decoration, maybe, but nothing major. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch it—she'd have her own to look at soon enough, and she didn't want to cause any problems. Instead her eyes slipped to the picture behind the armor; up close, she could see the details a little better, even if the colors seemed worn with age. The shadows seemed to seep up out of the ground, coalescing into a single, solid form. The wielder, now that she was looking at them better, reminded her a little of one of the statues near the training grounds—though there were enough of them that she wasn't entirely sure which one. Streams of golden, stylized light haloed the figure, their Keyblade raised like they were casting a spell.

"It's a nice picture, isn't it?"

Skuld started, nearly knocking over a set of armor when she jumped.

The blacksmith didn't seem to mind; she was staring at the picture with a nostalgic sort of fondness. "I was lucky to get my hands on it. It was an heirloom from one of the branch families—they had to sell some stuff off at one point. I always liked that legend, even if it's not quite to everyone's taste nowadays."

"What's it about?"

The blacksmith blinked, seeming to come back to herself and finally looking fully at Skuld. She blanched, eyes widening as she, apparently, realized who she was talking to.

Skuld winced, ready to wave her off if she needed to.

The blacksmith's expression shifted, seeming to go through several emotions before settling on something awkward. "Er, well. It's a story about the first leader of Scala ad Caelum after Master Ephemer. His daughter, I think—but the legends aren't clear about it, sometimes. It talks about a great Darkness that was buried in the ruins of Daybreak Town, and how she fought to lock it away." The blacksmith sighed and shook her head. "Sad how far they've fallen from what they used to be."

"They…?"

"The…bluebloods, I guess most people call them." The blacksmith's face scrunched, like she didn't particularly like the word, but her expression smoothed out into something more apologetic. "Anyway, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize I had Union Leaders in my shop—"

"It's fine," Skuld hurried to assure her. She glanced at Brain—still looking at the materials—and added a little louder, "Only one of us was supposed to be here."

"You say that like you haven't decided to bother me when I'm working before," Brain answered, not looking up.

"Because you don't rest!"

"Don't think that's the point."

Skuld sighed, but turned back to the blacksmith. "Meili sent me. The Exploration Department has some requests for new Keyblade armor."

The blacksmith's eyes brightened, and she happily took the papers from Skuld's hands, sorting through them and muttering to herself. "Let's see—six sets, oof, that's a lot at once, but we can work with that. Good, good, most of the measurements are already here—oh, I can tell some of these are recent graduates, I am not adding wings to these, that won't stay stable at all." She hurried away, nearly pushing Brain out of the way to grab some materials.

Skuld stifled a snort of laughter.

Brain, for his part, looked vaguely surprised. "Not made with normal metal, huh?"

"Well, it is, kind of, but it needs reinforcement. Have to make sure there's enough of an anchor point that the spell to retract it works properly. You can give it other properties, too—best if it can repair itself, but sometimes you can imbue unique charms in it, like—oh, this one wanted fire in it. Of course they did."

Brain's eyes brightened a little, and Skuld snorted as he started prying the blacksmith for more details. The blacksmith, for her part, seemed to get over her surprise relatively quickly, eager to talk with someone who was interested in what she did.

It did mean Skuld didn't have much to do, for the moment, so she trailed through the shop until the blacksmith yelled for her: "The orders say we need something for you, too!" The blacksmith waved a paper at her.

"It should have measurements already."

"You forgot a section," Brain said dryly.

"Yes, yes—you didn't say anything about what you wanted it to look like." The blacksmith hurried closer to her, gesturing at the mostly-blank section, save from some scribbled out words. In her defense, she'd tried to think of something, but she'd had so little time to think about things this morning that she'd decided it didn't really matter. And—

(The armor hadn't protected people in the Keyblade War.)

"It's not a big deal," she said. "Just—as long as it works."

Brain was giving her a narrow-eyed look.

The blacksmith made a skeptical-sounding noise, but she didn't press. "I…suppose I can come up with something. It probably won't be as grand as you used to have, I'm sure, but I do take pride in my craft."

Does she…think we used to have armor? Skuld decided not to correct her, filing it away with the rest of the misinformation that seemed to have spread about them.

They talked for only a little longer—just long enough to confirm that everything seemed right—and then Skuld and Brain headed back into the street. They walked back the way they'd come—quietly, for now, but Skuld could feel Brain's eyes on her, and she tried not to fidget.

It didn't take long for him to press. "No ideas for armor, huh."

She sighed. "Brain."

"If you're going to prod me about things, I'm going to ask you, too."

Skuld groaned, running her hands over her face. "I just…didn't have time."

"Mm-hm."

Skuld worried her lip, then relented finally, "And it feels weird." Brain stayed silent, and it gave her the space to consider her words. It was hard to vocalize, exactly, and she turned the ideas over in her head, picking them apart to try and figure out how she wanted to approach them. "It feels like—we were all just kids. None of us had armor, and it just—it makes me feel. More important." She sighed. "I don't know if I'm making sense."

Brain's eyebrows furrowed, but he hummed thoughtfully. He glanced out at the streets, eyes narrowed in thought. "It's like the legends," he ventured finally.

Her shoulders sagged with relief. "Yeah. Kind of. Except…more."

"…You never thought about this sort of thing before?"

Skuld gave him a curious look.

"Armor did exist in Daybreak Town. But I think a lot of kids had some ideas of what they'd like to look like if they became Keyblade wielders, too."

Skuld's face heated, because she had been that kid, back before she'd become a wielder—she hadn't had armor, exactly, but she'd designed her own Keyblade, and made an outfit to go with it, with all the enthusiasm a twelve-year-old could.

Brain apparently noticed, because he snorted and said, "See?"

"I can't use any of those ideas! They're so—"

"Embarrassing?"

She nodded, hiding her face.

Brain fell silent for a moment, and she thought that was the end of the conversation—but then he sighed, and said, slowly, "When I first became a wielder, I had…designs for a mage outfit."

Skuld blinked, turning to stare.

Brain's face had turned red, and he'd tilted his head up like he was trying not to look at anyone, but he hadn't tried to hide his expression behind his hat, so she thought that was a good thing. "I was twelve," he said, just on the edge of defensive, but the edge fell away into something a little more embarrassed as he added, "It wasn't very practical."

"…What'd it look like?" Skuld asked, not quite able to fight her growing grin.

Brain sighed again and closed his eyes. "It had a long coat with a cape attached. Lots of…decorations." He gestured broadly across his chest and arms.

"Did it have a fancier hat?"

"I'm trying to make you feel less awkward, here." He poked her lightly, then rubbed his neck. "Just saying it's probably not anymore embarrassing than anything everyone else thought of." Quieter, he added, "Besides—not a bad thing to remember a time when things were less…heavy."

She…hadn't really thought of it like that. She lifted a hand and rubbed her earrings absently, admitting sheepishly, "It had…a lot of stars."

Brain snorted.

"I was going for a theme!"

"Kept part of it, at least."

She gave him a sheepish smile, and even if her embarrassment wasn't entirely gone, some of it was starting to fade. "It had sun and moon designs, too. I kind of thought that maybe it'd be cool to have space magic. I don't think most of them are spells that exist, though." She was pretty sure there weren't any spells out there that could create new stars, anyway.

"Would probably make cool armor. If you wanted to go back and talk to the blacksmith about it."

The idea still made her insides squirm a little, even if it wasn't quite as bad as it'd been before. "I don't know. It's…probably not a big deal."

Brain gave her a lidded look, and she thought he might protest, but then he shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

"…Hey." She nudged him, and he gave her a curious look. "Thanks."

His expression softened a little, and he turned away with an embarrassed smile. "Well."

"'Well'?" she repeated with a faint laugh.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"You came with me."

"Right. Forgot that was a mistake." But there wasn't any real heat in his words. "Well. If we're both out here, you want to help me find materials?"

"Is that the reason you came with me?"

"Well, easier to carry things back with a little help."

Skuld laughed, but she asked, "What do we need to find?"

-It was, admittedly, a little funny when Kvasir actually showed up with Mimir. "Hello, Master Skuld! Master Brain! I heard we're having lunch together!"

Brain's expression sank into something wearily resigned. "Suppose I know what you two were talking about yesterday."

Skuld laughed, then smiled and waved back. "Hey, guys."

Mimir gave her a sheepish smile and a tiny wave.

"I was a bit surprised when Mimir mentioned—well, Master Brain, specifically." Kvasir looked awkward for half a heartbeat, but it disappeared quickly. "But I suppose it'll give us a chance to actually talk more."

Mimir signed, "I just mentioned it. He invited himself, technically."

Skuld stifled a laugh and signed back, "We don't have to tell Brain that."

Brain, if anything, looked more exhausted. "Great." With a cautious glance around them, he added, "You mind being a little quieter, at least?" People were already starting to stare, drawn by the commotion. Skuld guessed she wasn't particularly surprised; she and Mimir had agreed to meet at the fountain this morning, and that wasn't exactly an out of the way place. (Realistically, she knew it probably would've been better if they'd found a different spot, but—well, the fountain reminded her a little too much of home. And besides, she didn't want to have to hide away every time she went out—they should be able to walk through Scala without worrying about who was going to be watching them.)

"Ah, yes, of course." Kvasir seemed to barely remember to lower his voice. "Well, good to see you, anyways."

The group fell into awkward silence after a moment, and Skuld had the belated realization that she hadn't really thought about what they'd talk about when they met up; for as much as she'd like to be friends with Mimir, she had no idea how to really start a conversation with them.

Kvasir cleared his throat after a moment. "So! Did anyone have plans on where they wanted to get food?"

Skuld shrugged, but gave him a grateful smile. "I haven't been exploring that much."

Mimir just shook their head.

Brain gave them both a skeptical look, but sighed and said reluctantly. "Looks like you're in charge of that."

"Perfect! I know a place that I think you guys would love…"

Kvasir started off without waiting to see if any of them would follow; Brain sighed, but trailed reluctantly behind him.

Skuld hesitated, just a moment. She glanced back at the fountain, throat tight.

Someone touched her shoulder; she jumped, spinning around.

Mimir gave her a tiny smile, but there was something understanding in their expression. They tossed her a coin, tilting their head towards the fountain.

Skuld felt her expression soften a little. She rolled the coin through her fingers, then tossed the coin into the fountain. I don't know if you can see us Ephemer, but—I wouldn't mind being pointed in the right direction.

She didn't get an answer—but then again, she didn't really expect one. She sucked in a breath, then turned and headed after the others, Mimir close behind her.

Brain cast her a backward glance, eyebrow raised.

She shook her head minutely.

He narrowed his eyes, but didn't press.

"…it's not too big, but it has a lot of options, all things considered—Master Brain, did you have anything like it in Daybreak Town?"

Brain flashed him a deadpan look. "Haven't seen it yet," he said dryly, "so I don't know."

"You'll have to let me know—"

Skuld snorted quietly, then glanced towards Mimir. They were listening to the conversation with a vaguely amused sort of expression, something almost nostalgic in their expression. She wondered if Kvasir reminded them at all of their missing friends; they had said that they thought one of them was related to Ephemer, after all. She was tempted to ask, but she…didn't really want most of their conversations to be about their missing friends. (Didn't really want to think of her missing friends at all right now—not when it made her acutely aware of the missing spaces beside her.) "What do you like to do?"

Mimir snapped towards her, blinking owlishly.

She suddenly felt vaguely sheepish, but she pressed, "Outside of your independent study, I mean."

They were still looking at her like she had a second head. After a hesitant moment they signed, "I don't really have time for much else."

Skuld blinked, caught off-guard. "Nothing?"

"Nothing?"

Both of them turned at the scandalized exclamation—Kvasir, staring at them in some sort of horror.

Brain just gave Kvasir an exasperated look. "Their probably busy," he pointed out. "It happens."

"You can't just work all the time."

You don't know who you're talking to, Skuld thought as Brain's face went through a complicated set of expressions.

"After lunch," Kvasir declared, "we should do something."

"'Something'," Brain repeated skeptically.

"Work?" Mimir asked, giving vaguely baffled glances between the three of them.

"Meili can get along without us for a while, I'm sure." Kvasir turned to Brain with a grin. "And I've heard you do your own thing, anyways."

Brain frowned. "Hang on. This includes all of us?"

Despite herself, Skuld hesitated. "Maybe after work?" she suggested. "I don't want to make Meili deal with everything on their own." Not if she was going to intrude, however unintentionally.

Brain still looked a little uncertain about the idea.

Kvasir, on the other hand, didn't seem deterred. "Perfect! I'll make sure to have something exciting planned."

Brain groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Great."

Mimir just looked slightly overwhelmed. "I don't—" They broke off, looking between Kvasir and Skuld, like they couldn't decide who to focus on first.

Kvasir deflated slightly. "You don't want to?"

"Understand."

Skuld blinked, staring at them.

They lifted their hands, like they wanted to sign something, then shoved them under their armpits in a facsimile of a self-hug, shoulders hunched.

"Well—" Skuld broke off, uncertain how she wanted to approach answering.

"We want to," Kvasir said, and his voice was gentler than she was used to.

Brain had a complicated expression on his face; he tugged his hat lower, hiding it carefully, but Skuld had still seen it, and she nudged him lightly.

Mimir still looked hesitant, but they nodded after a moment, something almost hopeful in their expression. After a moment they signed, "Thank you."

Skuld was about to protest that they didn't need to thank them—they were doing this just because they wanted to know Mimir better—but she caught Brain's thoughtful look as he stared at the sign, and realized there was another thing she'd wanted to do. "Mimir, can I ask for your help with something?"

They looked confused, but let her drag them closer to Brain, who was looking equally lost.

"Help me teach Brain sign," she explained with a smile. "I know some, but I've never really…had to teach anyone before."

To her relief, Mimir's expression brightened a little, tension bleeding out of their shoulders. "I thought the Union Leaders knew everything," they signed, and it took her a moment to realize it was a joke.

"Only most things," she signed back with a grin.

"Well," Brain said dryly, "it would be nice to know what you two are gossiping about."

"Oh!" Kvasir leaned closer, slinging an arm over Brain's shoulders; Skuld wasn't sure he was even consciously aware of how close he was (which Brain seemed to realize, based on his resigned expression). "Teach me, as well? It'd make talking easier."

Mimir gave them all a tentative smile, then glanced at Skuld and signed, "Can you help translate?"

She nodded, and launched into their first lesson while walking, Kvasir asking eager questions—and Brain, too, even if about half his comments were an attempt to reign in some of Kvasir's enthusiasm. It made something strangely bittersweet fill Skuld's chest; she wasn't quite friends with Kvasir and Mimir yet, but…it felt like they could become friends, maybe. And maybe one day, they can meet the others, too. The thought made her feel guilty, in a strange way—but she tried not to dwell on it.

(Their lesson ended abruptly when they realized Kvasir had led them to a very expensive restaurant. He seemed vaguely confused about Mimir's horrified expression, and Brain's increasingly exasperated explanation didn't seem to clear much up. He was, summarily, banned from picking lunch spots, but Skuld couldn't stop laughing about it all the way back.)

-Skuld had no idea what Kvasir planned to show them; he'd been very cagey about his plans, but seemingly excited about them nonetheless, to the point where Meili had threatened to send him home for the day more than once. Now he led them confidently through the streets of Scala, the three of them trailing behind with varying levels of skepticism. "It's a game some students like to play," Kvasir was saying with a grin. "Upperclassmen, underclassmen—even graduates sometimes get in on it, for fun. It's a great way to practice magic, too."

Skuld wasn't sure who exactly he was trying to appeal to with that—Mimir, maybe, though she guessed they already had plenty of experience.

They slipped between a set of buildings, and Kvasir took off at a run, like he couldn't keep waiting.

Brain made a vague noise of protest; Mimir jumped, then ran after him like it was an instinct; Skuld's eyebrows furrowed, but she picked up her pace, just a little.

They came out to what looked a little like the training field, albeit with fewer statues and barriers. Obstacles had been set up around it; Skuld almost thought it was an obstacle course of some sort, but she didn't know why wielders would be running around it with their Keyblades out unless they were training. Her confusion deepened; training couldn't be what Kvasir had been so excited to show them, but she wasn't—

A wielder shot of a spell, and Skuld tensed, heartrate rising, Keyblade sparking involuntarily at her fingertips.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she almost elbowed the person behind her. "Easy." Brain.

She took a steadying breath, trying to get her terrified heartbeat to slow.

"It's a game!" Kvasir gestured broadly, grinning. "There's a spell you can use to shoot a concentrated burst of colored dust at your opponents. Theoretically, once you get hit, you're supposed to be out of the game, but—well, not everyone plays like that." He grinned, pointed towards a wielder who looked like they'd been completely covered.

Mimir looked like they weren't sure what to make of it; their expression flickered through several emotions, panic and confusion and skepticism, like they couldn't quite decide what they wanted to feel.

Skuld's eyes tracked the wielders; even knowing it was a game, something twisted in her stomach, heavy as she watched the students (her age, they were her age) racing through a dusty field with Keyblades.

But…they were laughing. They were relaxed. They got startled sometimes, maybe, but they were never hurt. They were…okay.

"It's harmless," Kvasir said, gesturing towards where a wielder had already gotten up and started running after their friend. "See?" Quieter, he added, "I thought it might be a way to…ease you into things."

Skuld's throat tightened. It was…a well-meaning gesture, she supposed, even if she wasn't entirely sure it was a well thought-out one. "They're kids," she murmured, and her voice shouldn't have come out as disbelieving as it did.

"So are you?" Kvasir gave them a funny look, then extended a hand. "Mimir, come on. I think you'd be great at this!"

Mimir shook their head rapidly, hands waving in front of them. Kvasir wasn't deterred, grabbing their arm and dragging them into the field, ignoring their half-panicked look back towards Brain and Skuld.

Skuld gave them a tiny smile and a wave, but didn't move to help them.

Their eyes narrowed a bit, and she thought they mouthed, "Traitor."

Kvasir shouted something to the other wielders, and they shouted something back. He let Mimir go, pausing to talk to them about something—explaining the rules a little better, maybe—and then he summoned his Keyblade, forcing Mimir to run away with a startled yelp, avoiding a sudden explosion of color.

"It's…interesting," Brain allowed finally.

"Yeah. Ven would've liked it, probably."

"And Ephemer."

Skuld snorted. "Right."

Mimir dodged around a group of wielders, trying to duck behind some sort of cover; after several moments of a Kvasir-led team barraging their spot, they finally summoned their Keyblade and stood up, shooting off a spell with a shout, looking half-surprised that they'd done anything. Kvasir whooped, going to throw an arm around their shoulder and nearly getting hit with a burst of green-colored magic for his troubles.

Something ached inside Skuld's chest as she watched it—something she couldn't quite name, but that she understood intimately. It felt like summer nights and warm campfires; like chasing fireflies at dusk; like quiet stories and the press of familiar bodies around her. It felt fragile—a little like stained glass warmed by sunlight, but covered with cracks and dust, delicate beneath her fingertips. If she touched it wrong, it would shatter—but it was beautiful to look at, when she could maintain the illusion.

She caught the quite shink! of a Keyblade being summoned, and she glanced towards Brain; he held Starlight awkwardly in one hand, thumb rubbing along the handle. He caught her staring and gestured vaguely, an expression on his face like he wasn't quite sure what he should be doing.

Skuld's eyebrows furrowed, but she summoned her Keyblade in kind, holding it out delicately.

Brain snorted, then twisted the blade and, after a beat, shot a burst of magic at her feet.

She skittered away from it, blue nearly spraying across her legs. "Hey," she said with a laugh, "I wasn't ready."

"I gave you plenty of time," Brain said, vaguely incredulous. "How—"

Skuld swung her Keyblade around, flinging a purple-hued spell towards her friend.

Brain jumped back, a barrier going up on reflex more than anything, and Skuld tensed, something like nerves crawling up her spine. Careful, careful, after what happened with Mimir last time—

Brain apparently caught sight of her expression, because he asked gently, "Slow?"

It made her feel embarrassed, a little; she shouldn't need to be coddled, she didn't think, not when she'd faced so much worse. But she swallowed the protest down, even if it tasted bitter, and nodded. "Slow."

Brain lifted his Keyblade slowly, shooting another spell. It was so slow that Skuld almost felt embarrassed for tensing—but she could dodge. She didn't reflexively jerk to protect herself. It was…okay.

They went back and forth like that for a while—slowly, carefully, always making sure the other could tell what they were trying to do—and gradually, Skuld found herself relaxing enough to laugh, to try moves that were a little trickier. (She did manage to sneak in an actual hit to Brain's side—which felt like a miracle, considering he was cheating.

"There's nothing in the rules that says we can't use barrier magic."

"It's implied!")

It was easy to forget that other people were here—easy to forget where they were and what had happened, just for a moment. It was easy to just…be.

"Are those…the Union Leaders?"

If only for a moment.

Brain tensed, amused expression shuttering at the comment, and Skuld felt something herself go tense and still.

The other wielders had stopped their game; they were staring at her and Brain, expressions ranging from confused to surprised to almost nervous. Mimir—covered in multi-colored dust, now—looked a little uncertain and almost embarrassed, like they weren't sure what they should do. Kvasir looked between them, smile faltering in the awkward silence.

Brain shifted, head turning away sharply.

Skuld's grip around her Keyblade, not entirely sure what she should say.

"Uh—yes, they are!" Kvasir seemed to break out of his surprise first, hurrying over to stand by them. "I thought it'd be fun to bring them." He glanced back at her and Brain. "They just might need to do things a little differently…?"

Brain shot him a surprised look.

Skuld's throat tightened, and she found she couldn't speak for entirely different reasons.

The other wielders exchanged glances, looking like they weren't quite sure what to make of things. But, tentatively, someone asked, "Did you…want to join us?"

It…looked fun. Skuld would be lying if she said that she didn't want to. But she couldn't help looking at Mimir, who was almost too still, gentle expression too forced. "I don't…think we should." I don't think I should.

"Might hang around, though," Brain added, giving her a pointed look. "If you don't mind."

Kvasir looked a little disappointed.

"We can…try something on a different day," she suggested. "Besides, Mimir still needs to learn."

He brightened. "I suppose that's true." He hurried off, trying to herd the rest of the wielders back towards their game with enthusiastic shouts.

Skuld snorted, watching them in amusement.

Brain nudged her lightly. "You going to be okay?"

The game started again, and Skuld watched it and worried her lip. "I think so," she said finally.

Brain hummed an acknowledgement; he tapped her foot lightly, and it took her a moment to realize he'd set off another small spell, pink flickering across the bottom of her leg.

She laughed, shoving him. "That's definitely cheating."

"Well. Not my fault if you weren't paying attention."

Mimir came over to join them, sheepishly trying to wipe the colored dust off their clothes.

A smile tugged Skuld's lips. "Having fun?"

"It's alright," they signed, but they shot another glance at the field.

Skuld's smile broadened just a little, and she shoved them lightly back towards the field.

They gave her a vaguely betrayed look, but it turned into a yelp as Kvasir immediately descended on them.

Skuld laughed; the nerves were still there, but they were…quieter. Even if she might not be able to join in the same way—well, it was still nice to watch the others have fun.

But just watching—it gave her time to think, too. (She wasn't a student. She was a Union Leader—and, she supposed, technically a council member of Scala ad Caelum, now. Which meant she had…a lot bigger things she had to pay attention to.)

"…Hey, Brain?"

"Hmm?"

"There's something I need to talk to you about."

-"So Frigga wants to talk to you, huh?"

Skuld braced her chin on her palm; they'd retreated to a small rooftop garden, hidden in the shadow of a taller building. It was hard for people to see them up here—but that didn't mean that they couldn't see others. Currently, a small performance was going on below—a story she recognized, however much she might not want to.

"This cannot be the end for us. If we expect light to live on—then we need to save who we can from the war. We can flee, carried like dandelions on the wind, to the furthest corners of the World—far enough that even the Darkness cannot find us."

It was strangely engrossing, in a way she didn't entirely know how to explain. She tore her eyes away briefly, tracking the other people in the streets. Not everyone had stopped to watch the performance, after all; she got the impression it was a bit subpar compared to what Scala citizens were used to, with only a small handful stopping to watch. Other people walked about chatting with each other, stopping by small stalls or pausing to relax at a tiny café. A couple of children ran through the crowd, waving pinwheels and forcing people to scatter out of their way. The whole thing was colored by the warm hues of sunset, and it made her chest ache with a wave of homesickness.

"Skuld."

Oh—Brain had asked her a question. "I don't know if I'm going to," she murmured, trying to draw herself out of half-remembered musings. "I wanted to know what you thought."

He didn't answer right away; he shifted a little, leaning over the edge, and Skuld had a worried moment where she thought he might fall. He seemed unconcerned about it, his eyes ghosting over the performers like they weren't there. "It could help," he allowed, but he sounded reluctant.

"So I should do it."

"I don't know." His face screwed up in a complicated expression. "You think you can trust her?"

She laughed, the sound giddy and nervous. "I don't know."

"Well. We're doing great, then."

Skuld snorted, but the brief bought of laughter was fading into something a little more melancholy. The noise from the street reached her, filled with friendly chatter; it almost felt like Daybreak Town before the War, with people talking excitedly after missions or making plans for the next day. "I think—I think we need to figure out how to get into that room somehow. And I'm not sure how we do that unless Frigga's on our side."

Brain fell into a thoughtful sort of silence. "Well," he said with forced calm, "she was relatively honest with you after you yelled at her. Maybe it'll work out."

Skuld stifled a laugh, despite herself. "That's the secret, huh?"

"I'm sure yelling at her again would work wonders."

They lapsed into silence, just watching the world below them as the sun slowly set. Skuld's eyes were drawn back to the performance, that homesick ache growing more present with the fading sunlight. "Hey, Brain—" she started, and then broke off.

He tilted his head towards her.

"It's—nothing. Never mind."

He raised an eyebrow.

She sighed at the expectant look. She couldn't quite meet his eyes, and so she focused on the world below; a couple of kids who'd been watching the performance broke into a fit of giggles, breaking off and reenacting their own version of events, to their parents' dismay and the performers' amusement. "I just—" Her words failed her again, and she pulled her knees to her chest, folding her arms across them and resting her chin there.

Brain had a pensive expression on his face—a little worried, a little thoughtful, something she couldn't quite place buried beneath it. He sighed, tilting his head skyward, like he couldn't look at the performance anymore. "We'll find them."

She wasn't sure that's what she wanted to say—but then, she still didn't have the words for what she did want to talk about, so she kept it trapped behind her teeth, watching in silence until the streets had cleared and the sky had fallen dark, her legs stiff from sitting so long. She couldn't see the stars here—too much light, even at night—but if she closed her eyes, she thought she could imagine them.

"You ready to head back?"

She heard Brain stumble over the word a little, and she gave him a tiny smile and accepted the offered hand. "Yeah. Let's—" She almost, almost said 'head home,' but the words caught in something in the back of her throat. "Let's go."

The alternate title for this chapter is, "Cori gets emotional over remembering that the Union Leaders were child soldiers." This was mostly meant to be a little bit more of a "breather" chapter to let the characters interact more, but uh…a little bit of that slipped in there, aha.

That aside, just a couple of small notes:

Skuld's armor was partially inspired by the whole "Celestial Trio" thing! I still love the "Skuld is Subject X" theory, so I had to make a reference to that somehow, haha.

For some reason, the first thing that came to mind when Kvasir mentioned doing something was paintball. I'm…going to blame the fact that some friends and I were talking about it the other day, haha. But I guess this would be the Keyblade wielder-equivalent!