"You already know about the women's quarters, so I'll show you what else we have around the base, girlie." Magna grins at Astara over his shoulder. "But don't expect it to be in the same places. I don't know if you've noticed, but the base moves around."
"House-senpai really likes to play jokes! I almost ran into a pillar this morning," Astara states brightly with her hands clasped behind her back.
"'House-senpai?' Heh, you don't have a lot of braincells in that head of yours, do ya?" Magna teases with a rough head pat. He chokes on air and face vaults right into the ground as Astara turns around.
"I have a lot! Just because I'm a bit clumsy and I don't really know a lot that goes on, doesn't mean I don't understand enough!" Astara blinks at the twitching form of her senior and tilts her head. "Eh? Magna-senpai, why are you laying on the ground? Did you trip?"
"Of course I didn't, you moron! It was your freaky power of yours! Why'd you take my magic?!" Magna stands back up with a scowl.
Astara blinks again before she laughs with a wave of her hand. "Don't be silly! I don't take your mana that quickly! If you touch my skin–or my hair–my Anti Magic simply starts to siphon it! Of course, everyone, except for Yuno, isn't used to the feeling... so their mana goes haywire and avoids my Anti Magic!"
"Mah, that doesn't make any sense..." Magna scratches the back of his head before he shrugs and starts walking once more. "Whatever. Let's get going. You have a lot to do after the tour, Shrimpsta!"
"Yes, Sunglasses-senpai!"
"Moron! You mean the Great Magna!"
"Moron! The Great Magna!"
"You don't need the 'moron' part!"
Magna growls under his breath before they reach a large archway. Astara gasps in delight at the huge hall they enter, making Magna grin smugly.
"This is the cafeteria!" Magna declares loudly at Astara exclamations of awe.
"This is even bigger than the church!" Astara exclaims.
"What do you think? It's stupidly huge!" Magna questions, making Astara nod rapidly in affirmation.
"It really issh–mmfht?" Astara looks down and notices some food being shoved in her mouth. It was sweeter than that cookie Charmy had given her earlier.
"Chmrmy-shffn?!" Astara steps back and takes out the food that had been shoved in her mouth. She quickly swallows whatever was left in her mouth before looking down at the determined and frowning Charmy.
"How is it?! Do you like it?! Is it your favorite?! La? La?!" Charmy rattles off quickly before holding up another food item. It looked quite delicious, decorated in some kind of white frosting with strawberries on top.
"Eat this next! Eat! Eat!"
"E-eh, Charmy-san... what are these? Why are yoush–Chmrmy-shffn!" Astara struggles futilely to push away Charmy from shoving the delicious looking food into her mouth.
"Cake! The first one is vanilla and this one is strawberry! Now, eat it!" Charmy doesn't stop her force feeding, even as the teenager starts to turn red from the lack of air.
"Oi, oi, Charmy! Didn't you hear Yami-san last night? Don't choke the girlie to death! And I've still got to show her around the base–which you should be doing!" Magna manages to separate Charmy from Astara, allowing the teenager to take out the cake shoved in her mouth.
"Asta's never had the food of the Gods before! She has to try everything or I'll be a disgrace to all of the foodies in the world!" Astara yelps loudly when Charmy pounces on top of her with another cake in her hands.
"W-wai–mmffh!"
"These are the baths! You enjoying it over there?" Magna calls out loudly as he flicks away some cake still stuck in his hair.
Astara sits up from the almost boiling hot water and blows her bangs out of her eyes. "Y-yes!"
Astara blinks when a strand of her bangs falls in her eyes again. Her eyes go cross-eyed when she spots some icing still in her hair.
"Man, I thought I washed all of it out!" Astara pulls the icing off and flicks it to the side. "Is cake really that important?"
"Only to Miz Charmy–e-eh, but don't tell her I said that!" Magna shouts back, making the teenager giggle quietly.
"Yes sir, Magna-senpai!"
"I told you to call me the Great Magna, moron!"
"Great Magna Moron!"
"Leave out the moron part!"
"And this is... the toilet!"
"Wait–knock before opening the do–EEEEEEEK!" Astara slaps her own face in her attempt to cover her eyes. Her face turns bright red as she trips over her own feet to turn around.
"I'll kill you," Captain Yami growls with one of his most murderous glares yet.
"I'm so sorry!" Astara cries out in her embarrassment as the door is slammed closed.
Magna grabs Astara by the back of her shirt and sprints down the hall. "Sorry!"
"WOAH!" Astara stares up at the bulging bars of the metal cage with wide eyes. The large and ferocious beasts behind the bars growl and hiss and snarl, trying to escape.
"This is the beasts' room!"
"Wh-why?!" Astara asks loudly as she whips her head towards her senior.
Magna simply smirks in his smugness with his hands placed on his hips. "This is Yami-san's hobby. Asta..."
"Y-yes? What is it?" I have a bad feeling about this!
Magna's smirk disappears before he places his hands on Astara's shoulders. It quickly comes back as he leans closer.
"I'll let you have the duty of taking care of all the animals." Astara feels her face pale. "It's a very honorable role. I really don't want to let you have it, but I will."
Astara doesn't even realize Magna had moved back to lean against the wall until she notices the long tongs in her hands holding a slab of meat. She swallows her fear and looks back up at the feral beasts. Oh boy...
"Feed 'em twice a day, in the morning and at night. Now, go on! Give it a try!" Astara yelps when she feels hands push her closer towards the cage. She quickly balances herself and looks back up at the beasts.
"You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. You've dealt with all kinds of animals before!" Astara hypes herself up with a shaky breath. Her feet inch closer as her hands hold up the tongs.
"I've brought breakfast!" Astara cheers brightly with a nervous grin. She snaps her body back when one of the beasts easily pokes its head out from between the bars.
"Oh no you don't!" Astara releases the tongs to hold up her hands, one pulled back into a fist. She punches it forward as the beast unhinges its jaw, slamming her fist into the beast's snout.
"Bad boy!" Astara scolds loudly as the beast scrambles back with a loud whine. She places her hands on her hips and glares into the cage with the fury of an upset big sister.
"No eating people! That's rude!" Astara points her finger towards the cage. "I'm going to be the one to feed you now, but I won't if you try to eat me again! Do you understand?!"
The beasts are completely silent, making Astara growl. She scowls and holds the tongs like she's holding a sword pointed threateningly towards them.
"Excuse me?! I said, do you three understand?"
The beasts rapidly nod their heads, huddling closer to each other. Astara huffs with a slight smirk before she uses the tongs to grab the meat once more.
"Good! Now, here's breakfast," Astara states while holding the meat through the bars of the cage. She smiles brightly as the beasts start to eat.
"How–how the hell'd you get them to behave?!" Magna grabs Astara by the collar of her blouse and lifts her up. She squeaks and kicks her feet around before she grabs Magna's wrist.
"Well, they're Captain Yami's... sort of pets, right? They must know some manners... right?" Astara points out nervously. Magna's arm shakes before he drops the teenager, making her yelp loudly. Her feet slip from underneath her and she falls back onto her butt.
"The amount of times they tried to eat me... why didn't I think of that?!" Magna cries out in anguish while gripping his own hair. Astara squeals in surprise when one of the beasts pokes its head out to snap its jaws over Magna.
"Bad, bad boy! Don't eat my senpai!" Astara scrambles over and assists the young man from being eaten by the beast.
"This is the library," Magna slams open the door to reveal an incredibly dusty and completely disused room.
Astara claps her hands with an excited gasp. "Now I have a way to bribe Yuno to do what I want!"
"You shouldn't sound so happy when you say that."
"Right, Magna-senpai!"
"This is the playroom. You can have plenty of fun here."
Astara smiles sheepishly as she stares at the wheel covered in spikes. Oh, she hopes this is just a joke. She really, really does.
"A-alright!" Astara pumps her fist in the air as she tries to force cheer into her voice.
Magna laughs loudly before running out of the playroom, quickly followed by the teenager. "Come on! Try to keep up!"
"Wait up!" Astara laughs brightly while she begins to truly run. She paces herself to be somewhat behind the fire mage.
"I won't lose!" She continues as she begins to run right next to Magna.
"Oh no you–" Magna makes a noise before suddenly stopping. Astara slides to a stop, almost toppling over herself. She scrambles to balance herself before looking over at the young man.
"Magna-senpai? Is something–" Shameshameshameshameshame. Reserved and stern and powerful. A squall over a deadly ocean. A regal dragon of the sea–a goddess. Gentle–broken–and kind–hurt–and beautiful–stubborn.
Astara's voice gets caught in her throat. A young woman–near or possibly exactly her age, actually–elegantly walked into the Black Bulls Base. Her long silver hair shone like woven gold underneath the morning sunlight and her pink eyes were closed off and dark with shame and determination.
"That's a..." Astara blinks when she finally notices the Black Bulls robe pulled over the other girl's clothes.
She turns to face Magna, not noticing the other girl's sudden pause and reddening cheeks. "Magna-senpai, who's that?"
"That's your colleague. She's the other new recruit this year!" Magna answers with a grin.
"Really?! That sounds so fun!" Astara gasps brightly in her excitement before she holds out her hand with a grin. "Hello! I'm Astara from Hage Village! You can call me Asta, if you'd like! Let's do our best together! Oh, it's nice to meet you!"
Astara doesn't even feel the sting across her hand from the girl's harsh slap. Her smile disappears as she blinks.
"I didn't give you permission to speak to me. I don't even sense any mana from you, you lowly insect," The silver haired teenager insults coldly with not-quite disgust in her eyes.
"I-insect?" Wow. Astara hasn't been called that before.
"Lowly?!" Magna repeats while tilting his head.
"My name is Noelle Silva," The teenager continues as if nothing was said. "I belong to the royal family of this kingdom."
"W-what?! The–the royal family?!" Astara exclaims loudly in her shock. She's meeting a royal family member?!
Ohmygodsohmygodsohmygodsohmygods–
"Wait! Just because you're royalty doesn't mean you have the right to call anyone an insect!" Astara breaks out of her shock at the realization. "We're supposed to be colleagues as Magic Knights! We're starting at the same place!"
"That's right, Asta! You tell her! Status means nothing!" Magna backs up Astara with his loud cheers.
"Of course it does," Noelle states like she didn't know any better.
"How do you figure?!" Astara and Magna shout at the same time.
Noelle sighs and steps back with her eyes closed. "Are foolish peasants unable to understand this with words alone? I guess I'll have to show you with the difference between our magical powers."
Astara steps back with a slight stumble when Noelle forms magic around her own hand. A massive ball of water starts to form and the mana surrounding her suddenly spikes.
"Know your place!"
"Shit! I can't use Severing Carve with her in the way!" Astara holds up both of her arms in front of her face as the ball of water shoots towards her. She clenches her eyes shut and prepares for the hit, only to hear the ball hit something else.
She opens her eyes and gasps loudly at the sight of a drenched Magna laying on the ground. Astara scowls towards the royal as she turns to face away.
"You little bitch!" Magna stands up and puts his glasses back on. "You've got some nerve! What do you think you're doing to your senior?!"
"You were just standing in the wrong spot. Who gave you permission to stand there?" Noelle states, looking down on the two. Astara breathes in deeply and clenches her fists next to her sides.
Calm breaths. Calm breaths. Calm breaths. This is something silly to get angry at. Don't lose it.
"Why, you little... I'm your senior!" Magna shouts angrily.
"And I'm royalty!" Noelle shoots back like it meant something.
Astara sighs quietly and relaxes her fists. It always means something. So stupid...
"What?! I don't care if you're royalty or the Silver Eagles' captain's little sister!" Magna starts loudly, making Astara blink.
"Little... sister? She's the little sister of a captain?" Astara looks at Noelle in a slightly different light. "Is that why he was..."
"–person who'd accept a spoiled brat like you is Yami-san! Be more thankful, you moron! I held back because you're a girl, but now I'm gonna have to initiate you too, damn it!" Astara focuses back onto the conversation and blinks once more.
"Eh? But I'm a girl... too?" Why did you baptize me, then?!
Noelle grabs her robe and rips it off, throwing it at Magna's feet. "Like I want to be in this pathetic squad."
Noelle turns around with a harrumph and walks back outside. Astara takes a few steps with her hand reached out.
"What in a devil's name do you think you're doing?!" Astara demands while grabbing Noelle by her elbow. Noelle whirls around with her other hand outstretched. Astara releases Noelle's elbow to grab her own stinging cheek, stumbling to the side. She doesn't see Noelle buckling from the sudden loss of her magic.
"Get your hand off of me, you devil!" Noelle glares hatefully down at the ash blonde. "I saw what you can do at the entrance exam! Honestly, it doesn't come as a surprise that the Black Bulls have a monster like you! This is the absolute worst Magic Knights Squad! As if royalty like me needs to be in such a filthy squad."
Noelle walks away without another word. Astara lowers her hand and frowns.
"You bastard! How dare you hit a member of your own squad?! Come back and–" Astara lightly grabs Magna's wrist before he could chase after the royal. She watches Noelle walk into the forest before she closes her eyes with a sigh.
"It's okay, Magna-senpai. I'm used to it... besides you still have to show me around, right?" Astara states quietly before giving Magna a bright smile. She ignores how it made her cheek ache.
"Asta..."
Astara laughs quietly and shakes her head. "I'm fine. I expected there to be more than a few people who would hate me because of my ability once I became a Magic Knight. Now then, where to next?"
"I wonder why..." Astara glances back at the tree line before following Magna back inside "...her mana felt so scared when she wasn't scared of me..."
"Why would Captain Vangeance let in a peasant?"
"Well, the peasant has a four-leaf grimoire..."
"How can a four-leaf choose a dog? Do you think fate made a mistake?"
"Maybe the peasant uses an illusion spell."
"How can we check?"
Stupid. This was all so...
"...stupid..." Yuno murmurs below his breath after he walks past another group glaring and whispering behind his back. Does no one have anything better to do than insult him behind his back?
At least Klaus is upfront with his distaste for him and his social class. Not that Yuno will ever admit to anyone that he prefers Klaus's awful company over the whispers.
"What did you call us?" Yuno blinks and turns around, finally noticing the group who had been talking behind his back standing behind him.
Hm. It'll be hard to keep all of his thoughts to himself until he learns to speak even quieter. Astara isn't here to shout back her own insults so he could whisper his.
"I called this situation stupid," Yuno states bluntly before turning his head to look at the impeccable courtyard. It was so artificially beautiful it almost made him sick.
"It's stupid to insult someone behind their back when they can clearly hear it," Yuno continues. "If you want to insult me, do it to my face. I'm going to ignore you all either way, so might as well go the easier route."
Yuno almost starts to walk off before he recalls one of the whispers. He faces the–incredibly angry–nobles and takes out his grimoire.
He ignores how they take out theirs, all of them ready to shoot spells at him. "Here."
Silence fills the courtyard as Yuno holds out his grimoire towards the nobles. Yuno sighs quietly and resists the urge to roll his eyes.
"You want to check to see if I'm lying about the four-leaf, right? Go ahead. It probably was a mistake for fate to give a filthy dog like me a four-leaf, but I have it and it can't be changed. So, check."
Huh. It hasn't even been a day and he's already speaking more when talking to strangers. Astara will be so proud of him.
"You... you..." The noble in the middle struggles to find any words, insulting or otherwise. Yuno continues to hold out his grimoire, patiently waiting for one of them to check.
"You can put your grimoire up, peasant," A young woman fixes her glasses before closing her eyes. "My name is Letoile of House Becquerel. I do hope you'll be more respectful towards your betters."
"I treat people the same as they treat me, Letoile. And I have a name and it's Yuno," Yuno speaks bluntly as he puts up his grimoire and turns around.
He walks away from the nobles without another word. The kitchens should be this way; he's getting hungry.
"Crap... even with House-senpai's help, I still managed to end up outside while searching for the toilet..." Astara sighs in defeat even though she continues to wander through the forest surrounding the Black Bulls Base.
Magna had to end the tour early, for some reason, and went to go talk with Yami. He left Astara in the common room with only one instruction to not cry for help if she gets lost. And now, she's lost. Somewhat.
Astara hears a large explosion and looks up when she senses mana quickly coming closer. She yelps loudly and leaps away when a large ball of water almost squishes her into the ground.
She spits out the water that forced itself into her mouth before she shakes her head to try and lose some of the water soaking her hair.
"What the hell?! I could have died!" Astara scrambles back from the large hole in the ground. She tilts her head when she hears a loud cry.
Astara stands up and quietly treks further into the forest. She crouches down when she spots gleaming silver through a tall bush.
"Wow..." Astara stares at the craters surrounding a giant oak tree and an exhausted Noelle.
FAILUREFAILUREFAILUREFAILUREFAILUREFAILURE.
"Noelle..." Astara winces at the immense mana fluctuating from Noelle's self-deprecation. She presses her hand against the ground to keep herself upright.
Noelle holds out her hands and forms another water ball, shooting it towards the tree. Astara pales when it misses the tree and heads straight for her. She screams as it throws her back, soaking her even more.
"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Astara sits up and rubs her head. "She has so much power! So cool!"
"Why?" Noelle's soft voice, full of loathing and defeat, echoes through the small clearing. Astara looks up and peeks through the bush she had crash landed through.
"Why won't it go the way..." Noelle shoots off more and more water balls, ignorant of her exhaustion, "I want it to?!"
"Why can't I have something that won't hurt you?! Why can't I control it?! I just want to control it!" Astara clenches her fists at the memory.
Noelle looks down at the ground with tears in her eyes and her hands pressed against her buckling knees. "I guess I'm just... I'm–I'm not a failure! I'll make them acknowledge me!"
"I'm not worthless! Fate may hate me, but I hate it back! I'm not a failure! I'll control my Anti Magic and–and... and I'll prove my worth to live!"
Astara sighs quietly and feels her heart reach out to the royal. "She's got it rough too..."
Waitingwaitingwaitingwaitingwaiting. Patient. An ever-changing seal. Blunt and loyal and old. Waitingwaitingwaiting.
Astara looks to her left and barely catches a glimpse of a dark bird flying off before she hears Noelle make a noise. She glances back towards the silver haired teenager and momentarily freezes at the pink eyes staring at her.
"E-eh... Hi!" Astara holds up a hand and a nervous smile as she stands up.
"Insect? H-how long have you..." Noelle trails off, completely terrified.
"I–"
"N..."
"N?" Astara tilts her head at the letter being spoken.
"No!" Noelle holds out her hands and shoots a water ball towards Astara. Astara leans back with a gasp as the water goes haywire, suddenly expanding and completely trapping Noelle inside.
"Noelle!" Astara shouts loudly as she steps forward when the ever-expanding water ball starts to float up into the air. She tugs off one of her gloves before she is suddenly thrown back by a vortex of water shooting out of the ball.
Her breath is forced out of her lungs when she is slammed back into a tree. Astara wheezes loudly before she scrambles back; the vortex completely destroys the tree she had been thrown against.
"Sh-shit!" Astara trips over her own feet while trying to run away from the vortex. She glances back at Noelle still stuck inside her own magic before cursing under her breath.
"I can't use Severing Carve... Not with Noelle inside. I can't bind her magic without getting closer or if I can't get a read on her magic... Crap!" Astara yelps when she realizes the vortex of water is chasing after her and begins to sprint faster. Her foot catches onto an upturned root, making her fall.
"Oh shit!" Astara screams loudly as the vortex vaults her up into the air. She keeps her eyes clenched shut as she flails around in the air.
Crap, crap, crap, crap, cra–something suddenly grabs the back of her shirt and robe, making Astara snap her eyes open.
"You came flying by at the perfect time," Captain Yami states as Astara looks up at him with wide eyes.
"Huh?"
Yami points up at the chaotic magic. "Could you go take care of that?"
"I have to get close. I don't know if I can bind that much magic right now... but I can try," Astara states with furrowed eyebrows. She has her sword... but then they'll be free falling.
"Stop blabbering about trying!" Astara squeaks when her captain easily lifts her above his head. "Just go out and surpass your limits!"
"W-wait! C-Captain Y-Ya–AAAAAAAAHHHMMMMIIIIII!" Astara screeches as she's thrown through the air like a javelin. She flips in the air to face the water magic upside down and holds out her hand towards her grimoire.
Astara grabs the hilt of her great sword and easily slashes through the water magic like it was paper. She rips off one of her gloves with her teeth and reaches her hand into the cleared area.
"Anti Magic: Carving Ribbon Dulled!" A single ribbon shoots out of her palm and aims right for Noelle. Astara grasps the ribbon as it tightly wraps around the other teenager's waist before she pulls.
Noelle opens her eyes as she's quickly pulled towards Astara. Astara wraps her gloved hand around Noelle's wrist when she gets close enough and flips them both around so her back is facing the rapidly approaching ground.
Astara feels Finral's mana suddenly appear below her before she's flying through a portal. She yelps loudly when she suddenly slides against the ground, releasing Noelle's wrist from the shock. She chokes on her own spit when her shoulder suddenly pops as she rolls to a stop.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Astara shakily stands up, stumbling to balance herself through the sudden inertia. She grabs her shoulder and moves it, wincing slightly at the sharp pain. Just a sprain. Thank Gods.
Astara fist pumps the air with her injured shoulder. "Yeah! I'm ali–ow! Ow ow ow ow! Hurts, hurts, hurts!"
Astara hisses through her teeth while rubbing her shoulder. Yuno will kill her if she tears a tendon in her shoulder. Again.
"That was so much fun, wasn't it?" Luck states cheerfully over Yami's laughter.
"Jeez. Now I'm all wet," Vanessa says with a pout.
Astara runs over to Finral with a bright smile and a hand still grabbing her shoulder. "Thanks for the spatial magic, Finral-senpai!"
"You're welcome, Asta-chan!" Finral states with a wink.
"Well done, brat."
"Right!" Astara exclaims brightly with a bounce before she hisses in pain at the sudden movement of her shoulder. She slowly rolls it forward as she turns around.
"Hey, you!" Astara walks over to the suddenly shaking form of Noelle.
"She's really scared..." Astara smiles brightly and crouches in front of the royal.
"You have so much magic! That's so cool!" Astara states cheerfully. "Man, I'm so jealous! I'll have to work extra hard to reach your level once you learn how to control your power! You'll be invincible!"
Noelle states up at the beaming teenager with wide eyes. She swallows before slowly sitting up.
"Insec–" Noelle bites her lip "...Astara..."
"Hey! Hey! Can you show me your magic?! It looks so powerful!" Astara jumps from foot to foot as she clasps her hands beneath her chin.
"Really? You just couldn't control your magical powers?" Noelle stares down at the ground with a flushed face. "You should've told us earlier, you royal failure. We're the Black Bulls. We're a whole group of failures! No one cares if you have a flaw or two, you idiot."
Noelle looks down at the robe that is floated over her head and pulled on. She looks back up, staring at Astara before looking at everyone standing behind her.
"Anyway, thank goodness you're safe. By the way, I know a great pasta place. Want to go sometime?" Finral asks with a wink.
"Before that, you should try this. 'kay?" Charmy states while holding out what looks like a miniature version of a cake.
"That was amazing. If anything, the one thing I'm great at is controlling magical powers, so I'll help you out. I'll show you some womanly techniques too," Vanessa says brightly.
"I'll tell you how much of an angel my little sister Marie is."
"I can help too! Anti Magic is so hard to control! Especially when no one else has it. Let's do our best together! Okay?" Astara exclaims as she stands up. She holds out her hand towards Noelle before she quickly retracts it and holds out her gloved hand instead.
Noelle bites her lip again as she tries to hold back her tears. She nods her head while grabbing Astara's hand to stand up.
"It's a pleasure to work with you... and..." Noelle stares at Astara's cheek. Astara instinctively presses her hand against it, feeling the slight ache. Ah. It probably swelled up.
"I-I shouldn't have–I... it was horrible of me to... slap you. I..." Noelle bites her lip before she gives a bow. "I know not to expect to be forgiven... A-Astara."
Astara blinks before she giggles behind her hand. "Man, you suck at apologizing!"
Astara continues laughing as she glances up at the sky. She hums thoughtfully before shrugging her uninjured shoulder.
"You don't need to seek forgiveness when there's nothing to forgive you for, Noelle. I could tell you didn't mean anything, so it's fine!" Astara looks back at Noelle and grins. "Besides, it's not like it hurt or anything. You're kinda weak, you know!"
"Well, at least I'm not as short as you! Hmph! I'm royalty! I don't need physical strength!" Noelle shoots back immediately before crossing her arms.
Astara laughs again before hissing at the movement of her shoulder. It'll definitely need some ice.
Sister Lily spreads out the wet blanket across the clothesline. She hums quietly under her breath, smiling at the laughter of Aruru and Hollo behind her. She's glad that they aren't too upset by Astara and Yuno not being here anymore.
The sound of something whooshing makes Sister Lily look up. She blinks when she sees an owl flap towards her. She holds up her hands when it drops two letters before it flies into another portal.
"These are..."
Astara
Yuno
"Asta and Yuno sent letters!" Sister Lily exclaims, turning around with a bright smile.
"Really?!" Hollo runs up to Sister Lily and hugs her while standing on her toes.
"Father! Father!" Aruru runs around the corner of the church and inside the open doors. "Father! Yuno-nī and Asta-nē sent letters!"
"Really?! Come in! Come in and let's read them!" Father Orsi exclaims as Sister Lily walks in with the rest of the kids. The kids surround their two foster parents while the Sister hands Father Orsi Yuno's letter.
He tears it open and immediately begins reading out loud for the children. Sister Lily opens Astara's letter to begin reading quietly.
Sister Lily and my younger siblings,
The Noble Realm is so cool! You'll love it hear! It's so bright and crowded and colorful! And the Entrance Exam was awesome! The tests were super hard, but... guess what?
I passed! Yuno and I passed! We're Magic Knights now! Yuno got the best squad, Golden Dawn, the handsome jerk! I got the Black Bulls! They are... good people. A bit of a mess though... but I don't regret my decision!
Though, they did this weird baptism to see what I can do, but I impressed them! And then I almost got burned and electrocuted by being stuck in an argument, but I'm fine! My captain stopped it before anything could happen!
Oh! So, how you join a Magic Knights' Squad is you have to get one of the captains to raise their hands at the end of the exam! That's how you pass! Yuno got all hands raised, of course, but I got five! Five hands! It was amazing!
And the captains' mana... they were all so beautiful! Except... well, anyways I'm going to miss you all! I really, really will! And I don't know when I'll be able to come visit, but I'll send gifts! And money! Oh and letters of course!
I don't know what Yuno's letter will say, but I know it'll be too short. He's such an idiot!
Love you all,
Asta
Sister Lily smiles softly down at the letter. As energetic as ever, even in her letters.
"Man, her handwriting still sucks!" Recca complains as she reads Astara's letter. "Oh! Asta-nē passed too!"
"Really? Yay!" Aruru cheers loudly, jumping up into the air.
"Yay! Yay!" Hollo follows after her.
"Astara! Yuno! They are the pride of our church!" Father Orsi cries dramatically. "I've got to go tell the rest of the village! This is the best news Hage has gotten since it was founded!"
Sister Lily looks up through the window and smiles. "Congratulations, Asta, Yuno. You'll do great!"
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! Sorry for not updating last week, I was so incredibly busy. And stressed. But! Here you are!
I definitely picture Yuno being someone who insults people or speaks their thoughts under their breath so no one (except those right next to them) would hear them.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini