'Being in Scala wasn't easy. Brain knew that well enough; he'd had to figure out how to adjust, after all.'
Chapter Five: Reminiscence
"Master Brain—"
"I'm alright."
Sigurd put a gentle hand on his shaking arm, lowering it. He glanced at Brain's haphazard notes—he'd been trying to figure out how to recreate the Chirithy, but he couldn't quite seem to get the formula right. "Perhaps you should speak with the council in the morning. Let them give you direction."
"They don't need me. Got the city under control already, right?"
"They would really appreciate your input as a Union Leader."
Brain barked a laugh, harsher than he intended. "They seemed thrilled about my last contribution." His hands ran across the star chart; he wondered what ones his friends had landed on. Would land on. "I should be doing more important things, anyways."
"Helping the city your friend built is important, isn't it?"
Brain's hands curled into fists, nails scraping the desk.
"Consider it. Please." Sigurd sat a mug gently beside him.
Brain's throat tightened, but he took it, the ghost of different conversations in a different Clock Tower flitting over his head.
Sigurd didn't stay, but Brain didn't leave, hands wrapped around the mug, staring out at the laboratory with little energy to do anything else. It was bigger than the one in his Clock Tower. It had more equipment and supplies—he didn't have to send anyone out to collect things if he wanted to make something. Somehow, it felt emptier.
His chair scraped roughly against the ground, and he slipped out of the lab.
-"Hey."
The stall owner startled; they snapped around, mouth still half-open from a conversation they'd finished with a customer. Their eyes widened a little, jaw clicking shut, when they saw him.
Brain stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried to ignore the stares people kept giving him, even if some of them tried to hide them. The Marker Place was too crowded at this time of day, but he'd slept longer than usual, so he supposed he had no one to blame for this but himself. "Looking for someone. Seen a girl with long black hair and star earrings?"
"The girl who appeared here a few days ago," the stall owner managed, still looking a little thrown.
"Yeah."
Their surprise slowly changed to confusion, then to something almost understanding. "Are you…in charge of showing her around?"
"Something like that. Wasn't here this morning, so just wondering if she was around." (He hadn't been that worried when he'd first woken up—she was an early riser, and he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd decided to go out and spend time alone. But the day had worn on, and she hadn't shown up again, and his anxiety had finally gotten the better of him.)
An amused, exasperated expression twisted the stall owner's face. A small part of Brain begged them to act on it—to say something, to make him a feel a little less like a legend and more like a person—but it smoothed over in an instant. "I haven't seen her."
Brain tried to swallow his disappointment. "Right. Thanks anyways."
"…Hey."
He paused, halfway past the stall, already lost in thought.
The stall owner looked after him, a conflicted, confused expression on their face.
"Something on your mind?"
After a beat they shook their head. "Never mind. It's not my place. Sorry."
Brain couldn't quite keep himself from rolling his eyes. "Look," he said, exasperation leaking into his voice, "I'm not any better than you because I'm a Union Leader. Just say it."
The stall owner still didn't look entirely convinced, but they asked, hesitant and stilted, "Who is she?"
Brain stiffened.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"
"You didn't do anything," Brain interrupted, voice clipped. "Just can't tell you yet."
Disappointment flashed across the stall owner's voice, but Brain thought he might've seen the beginnings of a realization there. He turned away before he had the chance to confirm it, heading off through the Market Place.
He couldn't quite relax, but he still tried, releasing a long, slow breath and rolling his shoulders. They're going to find out eventually. It's not like I can ask her to create an entirely new identity.
(We don't have to stay here, some part of him whispered, but he dismissed the thought before he could pursue it too far.)
He tilted his head back, hand on his hat, to squint at the midday sun. Not at the Market Place. Not the gardens. Not the library. Not the Clock Tower. Not the fountain. She could be…anywhere, really. He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. She'll show up when she wants to show up, I guess.
His stomach rumbled, and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Right.
His preferred café, he hoped, would still be empty enough at this time of the day that he wouldn't have to worry about being stared at. He could at least sequester himself in the corner and rest for a while. So he headed down the street, ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth and way anxiety made his arms jitter.
The bell rang when he pushed the door open. The barista looked up, halfway finished with washing a table. "Oh! Good afternoon, Master Brain. Your usual?"
"Yeah." The familiar interaction made his shoulders relax, just a little.
The barista scurried back towards the counter. "You might have to find somewhere else to sit today, though. Someone took your usual spot."
He grimaced. He supposed that was fair, considering how late he was getting here. He cast a glance towards the corner, hoping that at the very least they were also there to avoid attention—
And saw Skuld staring back at him with a wry smile.
He blinked, then almost groaned. Right. Showed her this yesterday, too.
"It's okay," Skuld said, lifting her voice. "He can sit here."
The barista gave her an almost hesitant look. "Usually—"
"It's alright." Brain waved them off. "We're friends."
The barista's eyes brightened a little. "Oh! I didn't realize you were the person she was waiting for."
Brain cast her a baffled glance.
Her grin broadened, and she lifted a second cup.
He sighed, then waved the barista off. "Guess I don't need that anymore." He headed across the café—still mostly empty, save for a couple of scattered patrons—and slid across from Skuld, trying very hard to ignore the way his shoulders slumped in relief. He took the offered coffee from her and grimaced when he took a sip.
She laughed. "You took too long. It got cold."
"Better than nothing." He took another sip. "You weren't waiting here the whole time, were you?"
Skuld shook her head, smile softening a little. "Not the whole time. Just—I was still out, and I remembered you mentioned this place, so I thought—"
"You could probably catch me here."
"You took longer than I thought you would," Skuld said, sounding vaguely amused.
"Wasn't thinking."
"You?"
"Alright." He rolled his eyes, then leaned across the table to poke her forehead. His attention went to the dark circles under her eyes, prominent as she flinched back with a noise of protest. "You don't look like you slept."
"You're one to talk." But she didn't deny it, worrying her lip and clutching her empty cup. "I just…needed to think."
Silence settled over them for a few moments, and Brain let it sit there for a while before prompting gently, "About?"
Skuld's thumb ran a ring around the top of her cup. "A lot of things." She took a breath and blinked. "Technically—technically we don't have the same responsibilities here as we did back in Daybreak Town. The council wants us to help with Scala, but they don't need us to."
It was a painfully familiar sentiment, and Brain's cup crinkled a little under his grip.
"You're going to get coffee all over yourself if you crush that."
"Feel worse for the barista. This isn't exactly warm enough to do anything."
Skuld hummed, but she didn't look like she was entirely there. "I was just thinking…Ven and Lauriam could still be out there. If both of us ended up here, then maybe we could find them, too. And if Scala's already taken care of…"
She trailed off, but something strangely hopeful had started filling Brain's chest. (We could leave, that voice repeated again, and he didn't try to ignore it this time. Find the others, maybe. Actually be a family again.)
"Brain," Skuld continued, quiet, careful, "why did you decide to stay?"
The question felt loaded, and Brain tried hard to ignore the way it filled his chest with guilt. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."
It was a more painfully honest answer than he'd wanted to give—and Skuld knew that, apparently, giving him a conflicted look.
He shrugged, not quite meeting her eyes. "Working with the council kept my mind occupied. Besides, it was a good enough excuse to start exploring other worlds."
"…You got a lot done while you were here on your own, huh?"
"It was only a couple of weeks."
Skuld didn't look like she felt much better about that.
"What do you want to do?" Brain asked, because he realized he wasn't actually sure if anyone had asked her. (He wished someone had asked him, back when he'd first gotten here. Everyone had just seemed to take it for granted that he'd want to help—even himself, to an extent.)
"…I want to find them." Her fingers curled tightly around her own empty cup. "I want to see what other worlds are out there. I don't want to—" She broke off, sucking in a shuddering breath.
"It's hard, huh? Being here."
She nodded, eyes screwed shut.
Brain reached across the table to nudge her hand. "If you want to go find them, I'm in. Not like I have much keeping me here."
(He thought of Ephemer's statue, and Master's Defender, and the ache of trailing across almost-familiar streets, and roughly pushed the images aside.)
Skuld didn't say anything for several long, long moments. "We'd need…an idea. To figure out where to start looking."
"And to know if it's possible," Brain mused. "But considering Sigurd—" He broke off.
"Brain?"
"The Book of Prophecies."
Skuld straightened.
"The council has it somewhere. If it's supposed to predict the future, then theoretically it should tell us when and where Ven and Lauriam end up."
"It didn't predict me," Skuld murmured, but her eyes had brightened a little bit.
"Maybe not, but it at least might give us a start. Better than sitting around wondering." Or checking other worlds at random.
Skuld planted her chin on her hand, looking thoughtful. "Frigga…tried to show me something. Before I came to find you. A room that only Master's Defender could unlock."
The statement sent a pang through Brain's chest that he pointedly tried to ignore. "Sounds like a good hiding spot."
"And even if the Book's not there, there has to be something interesting inside." Skuld breathed out a long breath, pushing herself back in her chair. "So we either need to get Frigga to open it for us, or we need to get Master's Defender back."
Brain managed not to wince, but he still felt pinned under Skuld's expectant look. (He hadn't stopped the end of the world, he hadn't saved the Dandelions, it wasn't supposed to be his in the first place—) "You could wield it."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Used to belong to Ephemer, right? Feels fitting."
Skuld narrowed her eyes in a way that told him this conversation wasn't over, but she let it go for now. "Maybe. But we'll still need to figure out how to get it." She groaned, slumping slightly across the table, hand running across her face and through her hair. "Which probably means trying to get her to like us."
Brain did grimace at that. "Think I'd rather try my chances with Darkness again."
Skuld flinched, and Brain cursed himself quietly. It's still fresh for her. Stop that. "It'll probably have to be me," Skuld murmured, slow, reluctant. "It'd be too weird if you started playing nice."
Brain huffed a quiet laugh. "What, you think she'd suspect something if I suddenly started telling her that her plans were foolproof?"
"I don't think you could say that."
"Might take that as a challenge."
"That you'll fail." But her lips had quirked slightly towards a smile.
"So not including me in your grand plans, huh?"
"I didn't say that! You're just…a distraction?"
He laughed a little louder at that. "Annoyance," he corrected, but his mind was turning. "Could still poke around, see what I can find. Might give us some more ideas if the Book's not there."
Skuld nodded, looking thoughtful. "We're going to have to catch Lauriam and Ven up on a lot. When we find them."
Brain hummed an acknowledgement. He tapped the edge of his cup, thinking. Leaving Scala. It'd only ever been half a thought, in the back of his; he'd thrown himself into his work, alternating between his own projects and trying to hunt down his friends. It was probably the first time he'd slowed down to really consider the possibility. Wouldn't have the council looking over our shoulders. Wouldn't feel like I'm being followed by ghosts, either. And it's not like the world's going to end again. If we wanted to just leave and find the others—it'd be alright.
He blinked out of his thoughts when he noticed Skuld's shoulders hunching near her ears. He frowned, about to ask what was bothering her, when he heard:
"Isn't she…?"
"I don't know, but she's with Master Brain, so I think so."
"You don't think it's…?"
"I think we should go somewhere else." Skuld said, standing abruptly.
Brain couldn't help but agree. Probably should've been more careful about where we were discussing things, anyways. He stood, and his stomach growled, and he remembered there was an actual reason he'd come here.
Skuld paused to give him an exasperated look.
He rolled his eyes. "I got distracted."
She sighed. "Do you have anything back at your apartment?"
He…had no idea, honestly. He was barely in it.
Skuld's expression dropped slowly at whatever was on his face.
He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well. Do you want to brave grocery shopping, or find somewhere to grab food?"
-"Welcome, Master Brain. We've been expecting you."
The woman had introduced herself as Frigga. Brain's eyes flicked across her face; he thought maybe he could see familiar features, if he cared to look. The rest of the council murmured excitedly.
He didn't share their energy. Something heavy weighed down his chest and shoulders, sinking below his feet and dragging him down to whatever ruins this city had been built on. (He should be there, he thought. He should be there with the Dandelions.) "You have the Book of Prophecies," he said, because that was the only way he could imagine they'd know he would be here.
"We do," Frigga said, smiling warmly. "But Master Ephemer's actually the one that let us know you'd be arriving."
"He did?" Brain asked, and tried to ignore both the lump in his throat and the way his heart filled with a sudden surge of hope.
"He left instructions," Frigga answered, and the hope shattered underneath the weight of her words. "Detailed the timeframe you'd arrive, and what to do to prepare for it. He told us specifically what your role would be."
"And that is?" Brain asked, voice quiet to keep it steady.
"A leader."
It felt suddenly like too much. He shoved his hands into his pockets, curled into fists, nails biting into his palms. He should say something, probably, but the words stuck in his throat. He bowed his head, hat low enough that he hoped no one could see his expression.
"Scala ad Caelum has been expecting you," Frigga continued. "We're happy you've finally arrived."
-Skuld was, in his opinion, unreasonably smug about her plan.
"Most people haven't realized who I am yet," she pointed out. "If you're not with me, I can get in and out quicker."
He hadn't been entirely convinced, but she'd returned to the apartment with a couple bags and a smug grin on her face, and he'd had to accept defeat.
"How does it feel being popular?" she asked, dropping the bags on the table.
"Horrible. Don't know how Ephemer managed it."
Skuld laughed. "I'm not sure he noticed. He just liked talking to people."
"I'm aware."
Skuld rolled her eyes and poked him. "I heard you talking to him about Spirits before. You enjoyed it and you know it."
He shoved her lightly, and she laughed and shoved him back, and he could concede that maybe getting groceries to make food was better than trying to stay out in Scala. "Suppose this should be at least somewhat edible without him here."
Something flickered over Skuld's expression, but she smoothed it over with a small, bittersweet smile. "Yeah," she murmured, "but we don't have Lauriam to help us, either."
"Which means I hope you got something easy."
"I'm not bad at cooking! You wouldn't be, either, if you tried more."
"I'm not bad at it."
"See?"
Brain huffed in amusement and began sorting through the bags.
Skuld had gotten the basics, mostly—bread, eggs, and the like. He did raise an eyebrow at the fish, lifting it and giving Skuld a baffled look.
She looked only slightly embarrassed. "You said there were only fish and Keyblade wielders here…"
"A vendor got you, didn't they."
Skuld groaned, and Brain snorted with laughter. "Guess we'll have to figure that out. At some point."
"I got stuff for soup?" Skuld pulled out a couple of vegetables, rolling an onion towards Brain. "It's probably the easiest."
Brain would argue that the easiest was probably toast, but he supposed soup would work; they'd at least made that before.
It was…strange. The idea of doing much of anything in here. The apartment almost looked abandoned most of the time, with few items and a fine layer of dust settling over the countertops. Making stuff in here felt almost like stepping into a stranger's place and taking over their kitchen.
It wasn't bad, he guessed. Just…strange.
"So," Skuld said, surveying the kitchen, "where do you keep your cooking stuff?"
…He realized there was another reason why making something here might be hard to imagine.
"…Do you have stuff to cook with?"
"It's a work in progress."
"Brain."
-I have an apartment. The thought felt faintly baffling, even though it wasn't all that dissimilar from when he'd first arrived in Daybreak Town. Back then, he'd stepped past a couple rowdy Keyblade wielders—right around his own age—and found himself in a small room with a bed and little more. It wasn't much, but it was his—to personalize and grow in and learn.
The Clock Tower had been…a little different. He'd been so focused on his mission that he hadn't thought much about the room he'd taken—but he had taken note of the remnants that said it had belonged to someone else, once. The books, some mystery novels and some textbooks. The little collection of shells, shoved into a desk drawer hastily. The remains of craft supplies, buried in the closet. It felt like he was carefully treading over someone else's footsteps, trying to carve out a space for himself.
This place was different. This place was made for him—designed by a friend long gone, but made by people who didn't know him at all. There was a bed, and a couch, and books, and materials stuck in the cupboards, and—
And it felt like a place he'd lived, once, except stripped of any memories.
Without thinking, he shoved the supplies away—into the cupboards, the closet, pushing them out of sight with a shaking sort of desperation. A sheet went over the bookshelf. He locked the closet door and stood in the middle of the apartment and couldn't help but catch fragments of himself that shouldn't be there—little reminders written in foreign handwriting, a couple boxes that could make material storage easier, a charm resting on a desk.
The walls pressed in around him. The room shook—or maybe that was him, staring at something that was familiar and yet distinctly not. Everything felt too warm, too close. His eyes burned and—
And he couldn't be here anymore.
It wasn't until long after he'd left the apartment that he felt like he could breathe again.
-"Your water's boiling over."
"Is it glowing?"
"…Huh."
Skuld made a noise of distress, hands hovering uncertainly near the pot. (They'd managed to find something, finally, stashed in the back of his cupboards. Neither had been sure how well it'd work, but they'd decided to try it and hope for the best.) "Why is it glowing?"
"Probably used to make potions or something of the like." He turned back to cutting vegetables.
Something hit the back of his head lightly, and it took him a moment to realize that Skuld had tossed some of her own vegetables at him. "Hey."
"We can't eat glowing soup!"
"We can try cleaning—stop that." He tried catching one of the pieces and missed.
Skuld looked like she was fighting a smile when she threw another piece at him.
"And how are we supposed to make anything when it's all on the floor, hmm?"
"It's already glowing."
Exasperated, he finally picked out a piece from his pile and lobbed it back at her.
"You're doing it, too!"
"It's self-defense."
Skuld rolled her eyes and threw another piece at him.
"Your water's still boiling over."
She whipped around, then yelped as he tossed something at her retreating back. "That's cheating!"
"Is it?" He threw another piece, and despite himself, found his lips twitching into a small smile.
He probably should've expected Skuld lunging at him. It didn't save them both from tumbling to the floor, and despite Skuld's attempts to keep them from landing too hard, he still had the breath driven out of him.
"Are you—?"
"Fine."
"Good." She swiped a piece off the floor and tossed it at him.
"Why."
"Because the only pot you had made the water glow."
"…Which is now partially on the floor."
Both of them were up and away in an instant, eyeing the glowing puddle skeptically. "Could we use magic to clean it?" Skuld asked tentatively.
"Probably." Brain summoned Starlight and hesitantly edged it towards the puddle. "It's probably just from magic. Of some sort."
"Right."
He waved his Keyblade over the spot and froze it, then glanced back at Skuld.
"…Sandwiches?"
"Seems safer."
Skuld sighed, but there was a nostalgic sort of smile on her face as she grabbed the bread. "Lauriam would be so mad."
Brain winced; he could imagine Lauriam's horror when (if) they found him. "Lauriam doesn't have to know." He paused, then added, "Ven would probably think it was cool." He cast a small Zero Gravity spell, cautiously dragging the frozen water off the floor.
Skuld snorted. "That would drive Lauriam crazy. And Ephemer—"
Brain nudged the small block of ice into the garbage, frowning at the sudden silence.
When he turned, he found Skuld sitting at the table, something a little more broken flickering across her expression. She sucked in a breath, like she was trying to steady herself. "Ephemer would—"
Whatever was holding her together seemed to break. Her breath hitched, eyes watering, hands curling against the table.
Brain was there in an instant, Starlight disappearing. "Hey—"
"I'm alright." Her voice came out reedy, eyes still wet, and she rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes. "We're going to find them. We're—we're going to find Ven and Lauriam, and it's going to be okay. But Ephemer a-and—" She choked out a breath, her head sinking against the table.
Brain sat beside her, pushing his chair close enough to knock his knees against hers. She leaned into him, shaking, and after a hesitant moment he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a half hug. "We'll find them," he agreed, and tried to ignore the hollow part of him that acknowledged, But not all of them. He swallowed tightly and glanced down at her. They…hadn't really talked much. About what happened. The first day, Skuld had been too exhausted. The second had been a whirlwind, between showing Skuld Scala and the meeting with Frigga and exploring a new world. And today…
"Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered. "The end?"
He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about it—the memories were painful and strange, and most of the time he threw himself into his work hoping to forget about them. A part of him hoped that she'd say no.
But she was his friend, and she was struggling. He wanted to help her in any way he could.
"I—" Skuld released a slow, shaky breath. Her voice still wobbled, but he could still make out the words. "There were more of them. Darkness."
Brain stiffened.
"They showed up. After the rest of you left. And our friend—" Skuld laughed, but it was a bitter, broken thing. "I guess Ven didn't trap the first one after all."
"It got them," Brain realized, putting the pieces together with a slow, dawning sort of horror. "How did you…?"
"Ephemer." She shrugged, and there was something bitter and sad in her voice. "We had to fight our friend, and Ephemer—Ephemer killed them. He…opened a portal. Through them. And it took the others with it."
Brain sucked in his breath through his teeth. "Shit."
"…I'm glad you guys got out. Before things started falling apart." She shifted a little, tilting her head up towards him. "But I guess you waited a little longer to send the lifeboats back."
It was an invitation to talk about his own experiences—and not one he particularly wanted. "Got as close as I could," he said, hoping that she didn't notice what he was dodging around.
"Did you…see outside?"
"Outside?" he repeated, vaguely incredulous.
Skuld nodded. "We…had to see. Ephemer and I. I don't know, we didn't talk much about it, but—" She broke off, blinking slowly. Her tears had dried now, her voice going from broken and shaky to somewhat numb. "I wish we hadn't. It was so…broken." She paused. "The fountain was gone."
Brain hugged her a little tighter.
"The Moogle Shop, the Market Place, everything was just—" She broke off. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize. I asked."
"…The Clock Tower was falling down. When we left. I wasn't sure if either of us were going to make it out in time." She sucked in another breath, but this time it came with a bittersweet smile. "But we did. That's…something, at least."
Guilt bubbled in Brain's chest, stronger than he expected. "I should've waited longer."
"You stayed as long as you could. Besides, everyone got out."
Brain rested his chin on her head, trying to ignore the way his own eyes had started stinging. "Sorry about your friend."
She didn't say anything for several moments. "I'm…tired."
"You stayed up all night," he reminded her, but he knew what she meant. Quieter, he added, "You don't have to go back to the council right away."
"I have to."
"Skuld—"
"No. The others could be out there." The numb exhaustion was slowly being replaced with something a little more stubborn. "Besides, you haven't rested."
"Don't think I'm the best role model."
"Brain. Tell me you'll rest if I do."
He wanted to. He didn't want to watch his friend struggle—he wanted her to have time to grieve, to recover, to find some sort of balance and maybe start feeling better—but when he looked at her, his jaw locked, the words stuck like barbs in his throat.
(You can't stop you can't you can't don't think about it just keep searching—)
Skuld's expression fell, exhaustion weighing it down. "I didn't think so."
"Don't worry about me," he tried, but he knew he'd spoke too late, the words failing against a decision already made.
Skuld just breathed out slowly, resting her head against his shoulder. "We'll…have to talk to the council tomorrow."
"Skuld—"
"You can't talk me out of this, Brain."
He swallowed tightly. "We'll find them," he promised, but the words sounded hollow.
Skuld nodded.
Something hit his cheek lightly. It took him a moment to realize Skuld had lifted a piece of bread and tapped him with it. He huffed a quiet, exasperated laugh and caught her wrist. "You're ridiculous."
She laughed quietly, but it still sounded shaky. "I have to practice. For when the others get back."
Brain's eyes stung. "I'm sure they'll appreciate it."
-Brain stared at the ceiling in his dark apartment and tried to ignore the way it felt like something was clamping tight around his chest.
Skuld slept fitfully; he wouldn't be surprised if she woke up and slipped out again, but for now she was curled up beside him, blankets tugged over her shoulders. (They never had sorted out the bed argument; neither of them had the energy.) Brain cast a glance towards her, and it made that thing around his chest tighten.
After a restless moment he finally gave up. He stood, blankets falling away, fingers itching for some sort of project.
His eyes caught on a flicker of light—one of Skuld's earrings, resting on the floor beside her, worn but still catching the reflection of a streetlight. He stared at it a moment, thoughtful. Alright. I think I can work with that.
-Brain had been out in Scala ad Caelum before, but he always felt a little like he was a ghost. People paid attention to him occasionally, but most didn't spare him more than a glance. Their eyes slipped over him like he was part of the scenery, and he allowed himself to blend in seamlessly, searching for the fragments of things that seemed familiar. Now he was standing in front of a crowd, and he felt seen in a way he hadn't since he'd become a Union Leader. He smiled, sharp and brittle, and ignored the empty, broken space in his chest. "All this is really necessary, huh?"
"It is," Frigga assured him, but there was something wary in her voice and expression. Sharp. Curious. "You're a Union Leader. You should be introduced with the respect that position deserves."
"Hmm." He shrugged, turning to stare back out at the crowd. Their stares still slipped off him. Maybe it wasn't so different to when he'd become a Union Leader; the same weight of responsibility felt like it was settling over his shoulders, heavy enough to make them sag. (Except last time, there had been a purpose. He'd had a goal—to try and protect the remnants of the Unions. Now he just felt…lost.) "Suppose we should get this over with then, yeah?"
(The crowd saw him, now, but that ghost-like feeling didn't fade.)
-"Haven't seen your friend this morning. Sorry." The café owner gave him an apologetic smile.
Brain tried not to groan. "It's fine. I'm sure she's around."
He slipped out of the café; Scala was still waking up, but already he could feel it buzzing with energy, people murmuring amongst each other curiously.
"Heard the council has some sort of big announcement today."
"It's probably just another class of wielders. That's coming up soon, isn't it?"
"Not quite time. Has to be something else."
It is, Brain thought, shoulders sinking. But I have to actually find her.
Personally, he had no problems with waiting, if that's what she wanted. But Skuld had been so determined about this—she'd gone to Frigga herself a couple days ago, and Frigga had been more than happy to arrange a time to officially introduce her to the rest of Scala's citizens.
And now, of course, she was missing.
Not that he could blame her, really. He was nervous, and he wasn't the one who was being made a spectacle. Still, the actually announcement was approaching fast, and Skuld really needed to actually be there for it.
Brain's hand slipped into his pocket, fingering the edges of a small, star-shaped charm. Be nice to give her this beforehand, too. It'd been his project over the last couple of days—which he'd managed to somehow keep secret, despite Skuld's prodding. He almost wished he'd finished a little quicker, if at least to make sure she actually got it. Alright. Think. She's not at the café. She's not at the apartment. She probably wouldn't want to be somewhere there's a lot of people right now. Where else would she go?
…The Clock Tower.
It was worth checking, at least; it shouldn't have too many people at this time of day, and he knew better than anyone how sometimes even just the illusion of home was better than nothing. So he picked up his pace, racing towards the Clock Tower and hoping to catch sight of his friend.
When he first got there, he thought that maybe he'd been mistaken; maybe she hadn't come here at all, too uncomfortable in a place that was only home in the wrong ways. But then he caught sight of a familiar figure, and breathed a sigh of relief.
She'd found different clothes, he realized—something she must've bought on one of her solitary outings, a long jacket and shall, new pants and tall boots, a pouch belted to her waist, a hat almost shadowing her expression. It made her look like she belonged here.
Brain slowed when he reached her. Despite his relief, he found himself uncertain about what exactly he wanted to say, staring at the conflicted expression on her face.
She reacted slowly, drawing in a breath like she was breaking out of a trance, and turned to face him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
They stood in awkward silence for a few moments. Brain cleared his throat and gestured. "Nice outfit."
"If they're going to introduce me as a Union Leader, I have to look the part. I probably…shouldn't wear what I was when…you know." She took a breath and tugged on the hat a little. "We match now."
Brain snorted. "I'm flattered."
Skuld chewed her lip, peering out between the pillars.
"You alright?"
"It's not any different than when we became Union Leaders."
"Suppose you're not wrong." Quieter, he added, "You sure you want to do this?"
Skuld nodded, even if her expression said she wasn't. "What was it like? When they introduced you."
"Well." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just a speech, mostly. Nothing too out of the ordinary."
(The crowd had cheered. Brain had stared out at them, wearing a tight-lipped smile, and tried to ignore the way it poured through that hollow thing in his chest.)
"Right."
Brain studied her—the pinched expression, the tight shoulders—and nudged her lightly. "Hey."
She started.
"You'll do fine. Like you said—Union Leaders, right?" He fiddled with the charm in his pocket, then finally pulled it out, pressing it into her un-expectant hands. "But in case you need luck."
Skuld examined the star-shaped charm with an expression that looked like it couldn't settle on a single emotion, startled and touched and sad. "What's—?"
"Just something I read about. Supposed to guide people home if they get lost." He shrugged, suddenly feeling awkward. "Figured it might be helpful if you end up—oof!"
Skuld's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing. She shook, head buried in his shoulder, and after a moment Brain found himself relaxing, hugging her back. "We'll figure this out together. I promise."
-"Several days ago, a stranger appeared in the middle of our streets. Visitors aren't unusual for Scala ad Caelum, but it is rare for someone to appear out of the blue."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves, humming with a palpable sort of excitement. Brain watched, off to the side, as hidden as he could be, as much for his sake as for Skuld's.
Skuld herself stood tall, expression steely, back straight despite the curious looks. She'd been forced in front of the Founder's Fountain with Frigga—for the theatrics, Brain guessed. Frigga seemed pleased, smiling as she continued her speech.
"Myself—and the rest of the council—have been helping to get her settled, but you might have seen her around the city already." Her eyes found Brain's, and he tried not to narrow his in response. "Master Brain has been showing her around—though not entirely because he decided to help with the newcomers."
Brain did narrow his eyes at that, trying not to bristle at the posturing. The curious eyes turned from him back to Skuld, the crowd strung along by the story.
"Master Brain and our visitor are old friends." Frigga laid a hand on Skuld's shoulder; she seemed to make an effort to react, softening enough to give her a half-hearted smile. Frigga's smile softened, and she turned back towards the crowd with bright eyes. "The stories tell us that, after the end, the Union Leaders were scattered across time and space. We were blessed enough to have one Union Leader arrive in our time—but as fate would have it, he wasn't the only Union Leader destined to join us."
The murmuring grew more excited, and Brain was thankful nobody was paying close enough attention to him to see his reaction. She's lying. Either that or Sigurd is—but I don't think he'd lie about something like that. His lips twisted into a dry smirk. Trying to keep the crowd under your control, huh?
"Citizens of Scala ad Caelum—not one, but two legends walk among us. May I formally present: Master Skuld, former Union Leader of Daybreak Town, current co-Head of Exploration for Scala ad Caelum."
The crowd erupted into surprised, excited cheering, and Brain found himself smiling, proud despite everything. It felt a little like it had when he'd first seen Ephemer's statue and realized what his friend had created. You've got this.
Skuld looked startled, eyes widening just a little, but her expression softened into something a little more genuinely touched. She looked towards Brain, and he grinned, pushing his hat up a little higher. She smiled back, then tentatively waved to the crowd.
Brain breathed out slowly, then huffed a quiet laugh, leaning against the wall. Show them what you've got, Skuld.
Skuld's design was made by Starlight_Wayfinder on Ao3 (starlightwayfinder on Tumblr)! She sent me a picture immediately after the first chapter, and it was so perfect that I asked if I could use it as the official design, haha. (Also, go check out their fics and art! Both are very good.)