Mistress Cyclonis and the strange girl had stared at each other for a couple of seconds before the girl spoke to her. The girl wore short, blonde pigtails on her head. Her clothing consisted of a navy blue undershirt, slim fit maroon trousers, fur boots, and a short sleeved, pink patchwork top; complete with a white fur collar. 'You took quite a bump there, didn't ya?' The girl said.
The Mistress' mood soured as she climbed from her hands and knees. 'If you've come to embarass me, I wouldn't waste the effort' She grumbled through her teeth, patting down her dress to shake off any loose dirt. The Mistress felt a pang of dread as she discovered stains on her usually flawless clothing.
The blonde haired girl giggled before holding her hand out. 'The name's Lark'
Mistress Cyclonis met Lark's hand with her own and shook it. 'Okay' She replied, still with annoyance dripping under her words.
Lark, after breaking the handshake took a moment to look at the Mistress confusedly before asking 'What's your name?'
'Oh, my apologies. I'm Mistr-' The young Mistress froze for a second, remembering what her grandmother had warned her. They still sneer and curse our name, the Empress insisted. Lark, meanwhile, unaware of the Mistress' true identity, tried to piece together her name.
'Mist? Oh! Misty, right?' She guessed.
'Misty?' The Mistress asked herself under her breath, before immediately deciding upon adopting the nickname. 'Y-yes. I'm Misty' she said with a nervous smile, desperate to not be rumbled.
Lark's face changed a little whilst still pulling a confused look. 'You're really not from 'round here, are ya? Well. No matter, welcome to my home Terra, Terra Tundress' Lark held one of her arms out to draw Misty's attention to the scenery. White hills and mountains in the middle of the Terra, with brown and black streaks. A large brownish ridge circled the outside. This was the surface the two stood on, towards the centre of the Terra, the ridge dropped into a large bowl shape, where said mountains, and the Terra's settlement laid.
Misty looked around at the Terra curiously, yet quietly. She snapped her eyes back at Lark to see if Lark had anything else to say.
That's when the young Mistress saw the crystal around Lark's neck.
It glowed, strong in power. Mistress Cyclonis stared intently on the magenta stone, perfectly cut into a Plumb bob shape, with pointed, metallic covers on the upper, and lower tips, with the upper tip tied to a string around Lark's neck. The young Mistress' gaze looked almost perverted as she leant forward to get a closer look, gormlessly staring at Lark's chest by extension. Lark slowly became uncomfortable from the staring before looking at the stone herself, and realising that the dazzling reddish pink glow was catching her eyes. Lark grabbed it and held it at eye level. 'Nice, isn't it? It's a shielding crystal. It can protect you from danger. Or... if you wanted to be a little sneaky?' Lark squeezed the crystal slightly. Her body briefly flashed with light before her form changed. Now, Lark donned a black summer's dress, with purple detailing. Her hair even changed from blonde pigtails to black, untied hair, length matching that of the Mistress', too.
Mistress Cyclonis recoiled in shock. The resemblance was realistic, scarily so. Lark played into this, mirroring the movements that the Mistress made as she tried to understand the nature of the illusion. Fear slowly crept into the young girl's eyes, which, out of sympathy, caused Lark to giggle whilst still assuming Misty's form. Lark's laughter made her cover her mouth. She reappeared as her original self quickly after that, seeing she had caused a spook. 'I have never seen one of those before' Misty said, tripping over her words as she spoke.
'Oh, there's tons of them lying around if you know where to look' Lark assured. She grabbed Misty by the wrist. 'Why don't you come to town? I can show you around' She offered.
Misty's panic re-emerged. She never dealt with being around her peers. She eyed the sky behind her. 'I-I think I should be going, actually' Lark face started to show a slightly sad expression. 'Sorry, I just, I have to be home by a certain time' Misty was technically telling the truth, but still felt a little bad for using it against someone who treated her like a friend.
'Oh. That's... that's okay' Lark slowly loosened her grip. 'You planning on coming back?' Lark asked, with mild desperation in her voice. Misty felt a little pity on the girl, so smiled in a slightly reassuring way.
'I'll be back. Make sure you show me the town next time' She joked, causing Lark to light up with a small smile.
The Mistress recentred and stood her heli-bike up, and mounted it. She started to pedal a small circle around Lark before deploying her heli-blades. 'See you later, Lark!' She said as she took off.
'Bye... Misty...' Lark quietly replied, giving a weak wave.
The Mistress pedaled hard and fast to climb to the cruising altitude of the Cyclonian fleet ominously approaching in the far distance. The fleet's sized grew larger and larger, until she was able to fly through the gaps of the ships. Careful to not get too close and get caught in their wakes.
Reaching the centre of the fleet, the Mistress reached the hangar of the purple and golden carrier. From the front window of the bridge, the Mistress could see the pilot and her grandmother, although her grandmother appeared to pay no mind at all to her landing on the runway and pedaling to the far end of the hangar.
The lone walk back to the bridge proved to be long in the Mistress' mind. The looming and suffocating responsibility of being heir of the Cyclonian throne proved a mantle she could handle, but certainly one she could feel weigh her down.
Entering the bridge, the Mistress quietly and briskly walked in a way she hoped would be unnoticeable, yet, she was met by the sharp gaze of the Empress who had stood in the centre of the room. 'Stop' She harshly commanded. The young girl immediately stood still. She pulled her body stiff, and tall, for inspection.
The Empress silently walked over to the young Mistress with a long, cold glare. She would soon stop, standing uncomfortably close to the girl. 'You carry the stench of common folk' The Empress started. 'Your hair is wind-swept, which would be acceptable were it not for your undignified psyche leaving it so, when it is no longer required' The Empress continued, holding her arms close, bending her forearms behind her back, and holding her elbows in her hands. Slowly circling around the Mistress, the Empress added more to her verbal beratement. 'Your treatment of your attire is abyssmal. Embarrassing, even. Have you no shame? Nor respect for your tailors, whom toil tirelessly for your impeccable fittings and perfect colouration?'
'I-I...' The young girl attempted to speak.
'Go. And redress yourself. I daren't remind you to show yourself as disciplined and befitting of the Cyclonis surname from this point forward. Understood?'
'...Yes. Grandmother.'
Mistress Cyclonis, defeated and acosted, entered the private chambers at the bridge's rear. The Empress watching over her with controlled rage still festering in her eyes.