º..Snipet..º
"Signora, how do you see all this...?"
"I turn around.."
"That must be exhausting…"
"Knave, don't tell me you came up with that joke all by yourself…"
"Nah, the best jokes can only come up when in great company…like yourself"
"Uhmf…..you are lucky I do not take your nonsense to heart.."
"Of course, of course my Tsundere dominatrix…"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
ºº
Speech = "…"
Thought = [….]
ºº
º
When someone told her about mood swings a few years ago she had attributed it to something like cramps or shit like it. Simple stuff, right..? Nothing too crazy like other people tried to make it sound like in cartoons
Yeah, that was what it was suppose to be...but oh boy she now knew what they were talking about
After the revelation of her newfound powers her bad mood had gone out in a puff of smoke, the trauma of having to listen to the Doctors bad poetry never to be seem again, leaving behind a rather childish enthusiasm to try new things alongside a particular shot of adrenaline coursing through her heart.
Oh dear, the amount of pranks and jokes she would be able to pull off now…
R.O.B really made a blunder of putting her here if he had the smallest grasp of what kind of gremlin she could become with all of this power at her disposal.
In fact, it was such her enthusiasm that she could not help but giggle like an anime schoolgirl at the future prospects and things she would do with it, sometimes even going as far as to sing a tune or two much to the astonishing surprise of the servants wandering on and about in the House if the strange looks they sent her had anything to say about it.
Not like she had notice in the first place with her mind in the clouds.
Were they jumping the gun a little too early? Sure, but it was not rocket science the fact that she had started making loud noises by practising by shooting hydro blast after hydro blast all over the place in her childish enthusiasm and then she left her room so cheerfully and happy could make the servants put two and two together in the opposite direction of what had actually happened.
Which it didn't….
And with luck it will never do.
Still, who could blame them for having such thoughts? Not her though, because she is totally not picking on those social clues….right? Right?
Anyway, where was she thinking about, ah, right..Magic!
She could shoot fucking magic beams of water like a damn Pokémon through the edge of her fingertips like it would get out of fashion. Wasn't that the coolest thing ever...!?
Without the shadow of doubt, it really was a great uplifting moment in her life.
How she had forgotten she could do magic in the first place given her Isekai status was a bit embarrassing if she thought about it for more than five minutes, but hey, cut her some slack, the average Joe does not wake up one day and come to terms they are the average Joe any-more!
It kinda put things into a new perspective if she was honest with herself. It also spoke quite a lot that she was a lot further away from her old normal self than she had first suspected, but hey, no biggie.
Everyone loved magic powers anyway.
Flashy
Cool..
Destructive..
You know, the usual when you could twist reality with the flick of your fingers without the need to be a purple giant with a glove complex. Good thing that big uncle Hoyo had decided to bring such devises in a more portable variety.
"Speaking of which…"
Her voice dropped for a moment as she muttered those words her gaze lowered down at two certain two hand sized pendants hanging from her hip that she had not been wearing before.
Small, round yet with a definite touch of elegance. Tapping at her side with each step she took, glowing gently like gemstones yet their beauty was one more ethereal in nature than just a mineral carved and placed in a stylish holder.
After waking up in a body not her own.
Walking out through Fontaine and became captivated by its marvels when they had been not that long nothing but fantasy,
Even the facts of coming across fictitious characters now very much real like Neuvillete or Petronila.
It was these two things that felt otherworldly, alien even…
It was a feeling that she could not quite place, but she could not help but feel both reverence...and intrigue of their nature.
One cold and silent, glimmering with a light that reminded one of a thousand winters, both of their beauty and their ruthlessness, a faint touch of frost slipping through its core into the air. The device was encompassed around a metallic holder in the shape of a heart, diamonds carved around its shaped form, glimmering with an intense light.
At its very centre….the unmistakable shape of a snowflake that glowed with pure white light in a misty blue-greeish hue...yet one that felt insidious to watch.
Tainted….by something.
Enclosed by a frame of gold and ruby's the other object felt more like gazing at a deep ocean of blues and blacks that were mixed together into a pond that had no end to its depths and the secrets it held within.
The energy within...did not feel like it was cracking into the air like the other, but swirling endlessly, wanting to be let out like a tide-wave that could not be stopped, its form shaped into a tear...or a droplet of blood.
Ominous...yet not as creepy as the other.
If she had not been so engrossed by the breathtaking experience of, she would have thought that the owner had paid more money into decorating the two bloody things than their entire wardrobe. Knowing the luxury of Crucabena's own living quarters, she probably was right on the money on that line of thought
Still, jokes aside...there was no doubt about it any-more, what she was holding now could only be what it appeared to be. A Cryo delusion and a Hydro vision.
Cool
Shiny
Amazing
The list could go on and on about what kind of thoughts circulated her mind about having these two beauties in her possession, things that she had found by accident...or was it? She almost recalled been drawn to their location in her office after….yeah, you get the gist. Still, not only they looked fashionable enough to make royalty blush...but she felt more safe by having them with her.
It was hard not to know why, if lore was correct, she was holding the equivalent of a nuke or two in this case in the palm of her hands when compared what vision-less people could do in Tevat.
[Sorry Teipe….you were a cool, but this is way cooler..] She made sure to clasp her hands in prayer as if trying to apologize for some sort of non existent sin for a second or two before she returned to her usual self
"Still….why does she have a Hydro vision?"
It was a question that had nagged her for a while. Were not Hydro users meant to be about Justice and stuff?
Perhaps she was wrong and that was a different vision….but if she was not wrong, then her head would continue to spin endlessly because she could not wrap herself around the idea that Crucabena was "just" or something like it.
"Unless is a sick joke thrown out for the metaverse by big uncle Hoyo…." She mused out loud.
It felt stupid to hear herself say that out loud, but as of now nothing could be discard as way too outlandish.
After all, who said gods couldn't have a sense of humour?
Also, had she said already that magic could make one's body tingle? No? Ah, well….yeah, that was now a thing. How had she found that out? Well...by touching directly and a little too hard with her skin the artefacts..?
It seemed that as a native of this world and a Harbinger her body was used to that kind of power, hell it had been using it for years by now for sure. Her virgin mind however was not...
Now, normally…, when one comes into contact with a dangerous power source of any kind, like electricity when you stuck a fork through a socket or when you stick your hand in magic mumbo jumbo style vortex of energy anathema to the order of the universe…. the usual reaction to it is the clasic "pain-hurty-please don't touch kind of thing"
Its expected.
Its like the norm of things that makes sense.
Kind of stupid to even consider why someone would do those things in the first place...but sometimes we are curious creatures.
So, colour her surprise when instead of having her hands writhing in more than expected pain a literal magic battery, her brain and body had a glitch mid way, thanks to dissonance between her soul and her already tuned body and instead of pushing the pain receptors like any human would, they instead pressed the PLEASURE one's instead.
..
..
Yeah..
That's right boys…
That thing that you all perverts are thinking happened
She was lucky no one entered the room right then and there or they would have found her bent down against her desk, with her face sweating and panting like a college girl from one those cheap mature 18 netorare mangas from those shady webs on line.
Staring at the two objects she could not help but bit her lip with both shame and annoyance as one of her hands involuntary started looming closer to the lower ends of her hips, nearing where the warmth had taken her by surprise in that moment in time with a faint blush crept on her cheeks as she did.
If she closed her eyes she could still feel the sting-...she clenched her jaw, raising both her hands to her head.
"God dammit, why does these kind of weird up shitty things always happens to me...?"
It wasn't funny,!
As far as she knew the best thing she could do was to make use of gloves until she got used….to the touch of magic coming inside of her body given how she had no problems in the reverse scenario.
Which meant...a lot more…weird up shit and embarrassment to go through
Not the worst outcome..but not one she was really thrilled about either. It was already a bitch to deal with her skull ache or to try to at least pretend to be a villain...but now she had to worry about magic molesting her..?
[Who the fuck designed that..!? In fact, how an I to face that with a straight face..!?]
Urgh, this was a mess
A regrettable one.
It surely was all R.O.B fault...
[That little shit, when I get my hand on him I am going t-!]
"Madam..?"
Soft and polite as it was, the sound of a voice not her own and so close to her startled her. Thank the Lord that the weakness in her legs kept her from doing jumping of fright, but it was just that.
With her heart still throbbing loudly in her throat she barely found the strength to tilt her head to the side, her gaze landing on of a meek looking girl in servants clothing that was waiting silently to her side. Small brown eyes glaring back at her, expectantly of a reply, yet with a hint of nervousness behind their depths.
A trickle of sweat started to slid down her forehead as she slowly started to try to get a grasp of the situation she had stumbled herself into.
How someone could sneak on her like that in a straight corridor?
For how long had she been there?
Had she just come across this corridor just now or she had been there since the beginning?
So on and so on, the questions did not seem to abate, for each one she answered two more came to replace it. The only thing she knew is that she had no idea whatsoever.
Still, she did feel familiar for some reason…...though she could not guess why just yet.
"AI-eh-?…..Yes?"
Crucabena almost physically cringed at how...lacklustre her own reply was. There were poor performances, and then there was that. Perhaps she was still shaken of been literally brought down from cloud nine.
With an inward sigh she prayed the girl would not question her and just...go away. Not that she had anything against her, hell no….she surely was a sweetheart working for the devil, who was sadly…. just….wanted some space to look more "Knave" like than goofy like.
"Madam Knave? Is there something wrong?" The girl replied again, a little more emotion in her voice, taking a step forward as she did, but not too close yet.
[Shit!] She cursed inwardly. Why nothing went her way, was that too much to ask?
"Wrong? I-What do you mean by that...? There is totally nothing suspicious happening here.." Crucabena's words came out in a faint, erratic chuckle, gently raising a hand to her lips in order to muffled the nervousness from dripping into her voice.
º
º
º….Council of Crubabenas….º
º
Serious C: "Ok, can you tell me you bunch of vagrants why you decided to add suspicious to us denying been suspicious?"
Funny C: "Rude..."
Tired C: "Because that was what she asked us….was that not...the right answer?"
Serious C: "NO! For gods sake, have you no idea how to read the mood? We are now totally suspicious!"
Flirty C: "And Why is that..?"
Serious C: "Because only a suspicious person would say that they are not suspicious like this!"
Tired C: "But…aren't we like master liars..? Surely it would not be suspicious for us to make a lie about something which...makes it normal behavior?"
..
..
..
Flirty C: "That's.."
Funny C: "Actually..."
Serious C: Genius..!"
º
º
As the seconds passed terribly slow after her reply, she had the nagging feeling that her words may not at the very least had not been believed to a T. How did she got that idea you ask..? Well, perhaps it had to be do with the way the young..mature? It was hard to know with how everyone looked rather young to her eyes.
Anyway, what troubled her was mostly the way the black haired maid with a hime style haircut stared at her for a few too many seconds of awkward silence. Sharp pretty eyes that reminded her of a doll blinking once, twice, thrice…
If she was honest at any other time she would have joked about it, comparing her to a computer trying to ran through a glitch. Luckily or not for her.., it was in that very instant that the maid straightened herself as if standing at attention before bowing her head ever so slightly at her.
"I see...I will see to it to make the necessary preparations to clean up your office from any blood left behind madam..."
[Wait, what..?]
If there was a moment to actually take a double take on what someone had said that had totally nothing to do with the vibe you were going with...then this one won them all. She could not help but stare at the maid as if she had grown a second head when presented with the absurdity of the situation.
Did she
Did she just said…
Yeah, she really did….., didn't she?
Of all the things that the girl could have come up with...she came with that?
[What the hell!? When did I said someone died! What kind of leap is THAT..!?] Crucabena had to fight the urge to just voice out both her confusion to the poor girl and the desire to fall on her back like in a cartoon.
This line of dialogue just made no sense.
And yet, for some reason she had the nagging thought that it was her fault somehow….or to be more precise it had to do with her "previous" self shenanigans.
Sighing inwardly, she bit her lip before she deigned herself to speak.
"I...I don't know where you came up with that, but I think there is a misunderstanding here.."
The black haired maid rose her head, a strange look in her eyes...as if not expecting to even hear those words.
"Madam?"
"Look….what I want to say is that no one has died.., ok?"
The maid's expression seemed to falter for a brief moment, a barely perceptible change in her demeanour, but one that she managed to pick on. The young girl's eyes squinting in deep thought before some sort of realization dawned inside of her as she rose back from her bowing position.
[Well, at least she seems to understand what I mean..]
"Ah, I see...then I will make sure to stabilize the prisoner so that you can question him further, madam.."
[The fuck..?]
A droplet of sweat started to slid behind the back of her head. This was starting to become ridiculous.
Had she not explained herself well enough..? No, no that could not be the case...there should no be room for doubt or error, so why she had come to that conclusion?
[Ok, third times the charm...]
"Look..that's not what I meant…, not at all. I just came out of my office to get some air, nothing more.." She muttered again, her voice growing a little more tired as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
The maid recoiled back as if slapped by her words. A stiffness taking hold of the maids body, the poor girl losing a few shades of colour of her skin while a shadow of fear started to crept past those brown eyes like a child who had been caught saying something wrong in front of their mother
Not like she could ask her about it when she started nodding her head vehemently.
"Ah, how could I forget...my apologies madam, then I should bring salt to pour it on their wounds. I will deal with them as protocol demands..."
She almost flinched about the implication of the girls words.
[Salt? Protocol? Crucabena, what kind of maids you have working at your state...!? Don't tell me that everyone here is a sadist!?]
She could not help but despair at the thought, especially given that the girl looked too cute to be that evil.
It was that famous law of gaming: "if hot why evil?"
Also, now that she thought about it, wasn't she the same Inazuma girl that she had helped from falling down that portable set of stairs a few days ago? Where did that timid girl that could barely mutter a word went and left her with….this?
..
She closed her eyes.
The migraine was starting to get stronger.
"Look, no one has gotten hurt. No. One..."
"No..?"
[No girl, no...is it that hard to belief?]
Crucabena started waving her arms to the sides in sheer exasperation.
"No, truly nothing wrong has happened. I have not kill anyone, I have not beaten anyone to an inch of their lief, nothing, nada, rien, nitcht…! Why cant you understand that..!?" She snapped at the very end, though mostly out of confusion than actual annoyance.
That….was a bad idea.
Panic started to arise in the girls body, starting with a shiver before a total tremble started to take hold of her body, her legs starting to shake as fear took root.
"Oh-I, but I thought...the noises-"
"The noises?" She questioned sharply yet puzzled, her eyes closing to a half lid...yet the only thing she managed to get out of the maid as another half drowned terrified gasp.
Wasn't she been a bit...over dramatic? It wasn't like she would kill her or somethin-ok, she got the point.
[Dammit Crucabena, why do I have to clean after your messes?]
This had to be another of R.O.B ways to screw with her, or she was just that unlucky, which kinda sucked. Anyway, what did she mean by noises? She started scratching her chin as she pondered about what the girl had muttered.
As far as she knew the only thing that came to mind that was….
It was...
..
[Oh shit..]
Had she been that loud? Her cheeks started to redden with embarrassment as she pictured herself back at the her office and her joyful water blasting…. and the people outside mistakenly thinking something far more fishy and dark was going on.
Too bad that her embarrassment was mistaken by the maid for anger.
"I-its...nothing, please ignore a-anything that I said. I a-am so sorry to have bother you, p-please h-a-ave mercy on me mad-dam.."
Tears were starting to slid down the girls eyes, her voice breaking between sobs. Her legs that had been quivering in fright until that moment, now no longer able to held her weight, making her plummet to the floor.
It was a pitiful scene…one that only had herself to blame for it. If failure was her constant, then disappointment in herself was her emblem.
..
..
..
[God dammit….why does this happen always to me?]
º
º
Noriko had lived all her life in the House of the Hearth.
From her very first memory to this very moment, she had known nothing but the rules of the House with only her blood and ancestry to tie her somehow to Inazuma. Though she had never touched the soil of those foreign islands.
Fontaine was her home now….and as far as she had heard, she was lucky to not be stranded in a nation where the technology and the frivolities she had grown to enjoy was nothing a pipe dream.
The House offered her a place to belong.
A place to grow and nurture..
To be of service.
However, it was true that things had changed a few years ago.
The House had felt colder, emptier, some of the adults that she had seem had vanished, but she had been too young to even take a proper notice when the throne was passed to another. Not that it had mattered much if she had when her purpose remained the same.
To serve the master of the House.
Even when the coldness in the walls softened under the next king's touch and turned her home in something pretty in the outside, the ugliness within continued to fester ever more.
Even when blood started to ran and be spilled on the floors and the mocking laughter echoed afterwards under the pleasant words of "training"
Even when punishments were given thoroughly and without mercy on her flesh. She had served dutifully.
As far as she knew, this was her life now. It was what it was always meant to be.
..
..
And then...that day happened.
She could still remember as if it happened just a few moments ago the strength of the Knaves grip on her body, keeping her from falling and hurting herself to the floor. When fear turned into something strange in her heart even though her common sense told her to be wary.
The only thing that she could remember been the warmth in the madam's eyes as she gently lowered her back to the floor.
It had been the first time she had felt something like that been wasted on her, a mere servant, a nameless pawn...
And yet, she wanted more.
It was selfish desire, she knew it all too well, but the only thing she wanted was to be useful to the madam...if only to feel that sensation again.
So why...
Why did this happened to her..!?
She had tried to stick around the madam's more often than ever before if only for her greatness to shed on her small form when she walked out that door or if she wanted something to be done asap she would be there to be of use.
So how things had ended up with her master looking at her with disappointment? How could she have conjure her ire upon her in such a disastrous way..?
The shame broke her...
And so she babbled for forgiveness even though she knew that was unlikely to happen. And when she saw the Knave raise a hand, she closed her eyes shut, raising her arms to protect herself.
It was unbecoming of a servant to show such fear in front of their liege, but right now she had nothing else but her despair to cling to as she waited for the strike to come.
It never did.
Instead, she felt something tug at her, gently pressing her forward against something warm and soft, the aroma of fresh roses reaching her senses, mixing strangely with the unchecked throb of her heart inside her chest.
Confusion dawned on the young girl. There was no pain, no sting from a whip….just a gentle touch that caressed her back and held her head against the crook of someone else's neck while a smooth mane brushed against her face.
When Noriko opened her eyes….she could not believe what it was.
She was been embraced.
The very hands that should have brought her harm, that should have struck true like many other times before were now holding her as if she would break at any moment. Strong as she remembered them, yet with a sense of love stronger than before, filling her heart with more than dreams and fear, but hope.
Wasn't this what she had wanted..?
"I cant forgive you.."
The words whispered weakly at her made her freeze. The dread that had vanish once again rearing its ugly head behind her back, she wanted to say something...but it was the following words that gave pause to such thoughts.
"Because there is nothing to forgive..."
She then felt the hands that held her loose their grip as her madam leaned a little back, allowing Noriko to see the fair features of her mistress. The hardness from before having softened out, her eyes not glaring at her with pity...but something else.
"W-why?" She croaked, wanting to know even if her voice had turn pitiful...but her mistress did not seem to mind.
"Because you did nothing wrong.."
"What?"
"I am sorry….you were just trying to help me, and I just kept on making things harder for you. I am really a bad master, aren't I" The words were filled with pained resignation as the Knaves gaze darkened.
A pang of pain erupted in Norikos chest.
No
It should not be like this…
The mistress should not be feeling bad because of her servants foolish mistakes.., of her own foolish thoughts that had deluded her to what the madam wanted of her. But what could she do about it when a part of her felt happy she was not going to be punished? That she felt yearning for this motherly touch the children in the House had...but she had been starved all her life of?
Yes, it was indeed foolish to think like that for one should know better to know that there was always another foot to drop when concerned about the Knave.
But this time she felt it was different.
She was different.
And so she allowed herself to believe.
"M-madam..."
"I am sorry...I have not even asked your name and here I am trying to make things better. How thoughtless of me.."
"Noriko.."
The words slip through her lips before she realizes.
"Eh?"
"My name...is Noriko..." She parrots, finding a small shred of pride at the fact that her voice was no longer quivering like before.
Her mistress stared at her for a brief moment, those dark green-blue eyes glinting with curiosity, those red lips perking into a thin, yet graceful smile.
"I must admit that's a pretty name….like of an anime protagonist."
The last part flew over her head as her attention sorely rested on the first half.
"P-pretty?"
Her mistress thought her to be…..pretty? She...she really did not know what to say. She surely was just been nice to her, compared with her mistress she was surely nothing but an ugly thing.
Still...it did feel nice.
"Yeah, with that Hime haircut you do look like a princess…. has no one ever said that to you?"
"No.." She muttered with a bit of dejection, though mostly about the fact that she could not gi.
"Well, that is a bit depressing…." Mumbled the dark pink haired woman to herself before she shook her head "For what it is worth it... then all the better I was the first one to do so.."
With that said, Lady Crucabena rose from her semi kneeling position, a soft sigh slipping through the dark pink haired woman for a brief moment before she extended her hand towards her, lifting Noriko up from the ground.
"I know its not much...but take care Noriko, you can take the day free if you want...god knows you deserve it"
Noriko could only frown in confusion. Day free? What was that..?
However as she pondered about such strange terms that were surely far beyond her understanding... she noticed that the madam Knave had already started to walking away down the corridor. She almost went after her, but though it bothered her to part like this...she knew that she would be testing her luck to do so.
That did not mean that she could not do one little thing.
"Madam?"
She calls out, and though her mistress does not fully turn to meet her gaze, only giving her a side-glance, she does indeed stop.
"Yes..?"
.
.
.
"I-I hope you have a good day madam..."
A small smile warped around the edges of her mistress lips. "Oh, that's so nice of you….have a good day you too"
º
….A few minutes later….
º
Of all the things that could have happened after leaving her office, none of this had been on her mind.
Not in her wildest dreams
After making sure no one was looking she had to lean against the closest wall she could find. The encounter an utter clusterfuck that was meeting and talking with Noriko out from whatever mess she had stumbled her ass on had left her emotionally drained.
It had started as some simple
Offer an apology.
Try to clear things out..
But before she realized it had turned into something more deeper, more complex….
She should have tried to keep in character, to not be so overly friendly...but she could not bare to be so cruel for her own sake. Leaving in a good note instead of leaving the poor girl to suffer from whatever ideas she had conceived of Crucabena did feel good though.
Would that change the world? She doubted that.
But perhaps….she could start something here, one step at a time..
..
She shook her head, almost scoffing at her own idea. Pushing herself against the wall and back into the empty corridors.
"Yeah, it feels a bit ridiculous to think about it...I mean...why would the world change just been nicer?"
She had never been a saint back home, never tried to pretend to…but she had never tried to be an obstacle to other people. She had always thought that if you didn't bothered someone, then they should pay you in kind.
A simple math...but one that she was content with. That had not stopped the world from going one year at a time closer to hell though.
The look in Noriko's face reminded her of some of the homeless people that lived nearby her flat.
Beaten.
Broken..
Lost...
It had been a bitter reminder, and the fact that she had a hand on her anxiety attack, on purpose or not did not help matters. How many more like her there were in this world..? In this House..?
After a few more seconds on thinking too hard on that regard she came to the only logical course of action that she really did not want to find out.
"Ok, no….enough about depressive thoughts, I need sugar, and by that I mean cute little girls.."
..
Ok, that felt weird…, but you lot get the idea...ok? No need to call for Tevat social services on her….if they even exist…... do they? She would hate if they do and Dottore is the head poncho of the thing.
She felt a cold shudder ran up her spine at the mere thought.
It would be too cruel to be true.
Yeah, better not think too much on that. Anyway, what better way to cure herself of any of this blue feelings than go and find the best Cute Moe Moe battery that was at her disposal? And by that she meant go out for a long and enthusiastic walk to to search for Clervie.
She held her hands together in a fake prayer. "Pardon me for labelling you like that Clerv, but you are just too cute to not do so…." And besides, wherever Clervie went...Peruere would always follow. A two for one pack if you thought about it….
And she was all for it.
However as she tried to do just that, she had come to find herself in a pickle.
"Now, where would my dear cute loli darlings may be hiding..?" She wondered out loud, a thoughtful expression on her face. The Hearth was quite the big place and it wasn't like she could ask the servants to tell her where the children where. Not if she tried to avoid making another scene like with Noriko.
Her hands clenched a little more tightly in the face of that reminder, the leather creaking as it was forced to fold under the pressure. Like god dammit, were they really walking on eggshells around her or was that poor girl the only one? Yeah, she was the bad guy, but that did not mean that she was bad one now.
Was it so hard to ask be looked with a better light..?
..
That was a dumb question, wasn't it..?
With a sigh she just shook her head and brushed a stray lock of her hair away from obscuring her sight. She really had her work set out for her, didn't she? She thought with a slight pang of apprehension as she continued to stroll through the state.
At least the scenery she was surrounded 24 / 7 was nothing to scoff at with the Hearth's great walls and ceilings for her to bask on, with the solemn yet fashionably carved emblems on each and every surface that her eyes could pry on,
The colours of marble and other rocks that decorated both halls and corridors while the sun shone gently through massive vertical windows that brought a sense of clarity that was hard to see even in the most stylish of Gothic churches while outside the lush green fields remained in peace when the children were not making a ruckus...
It was like a huge castle turned fantasy mansion if she was honest with herself. Or a cage….if one were to take the carved inward perimeter walls for what they truly were.
However just as she was about to turn on a knob of a door to her right... a sound stopped her in her tracks.
"P-….. lo...k! … l..…s li…. a fly..g..b...d ."
"Hmm..?" She tilted her head to the side, trying to catch if someone was coming down the hallway...only to realize that it was been muffled down by the thickness of the door frame.
"A b….d ….h n... wi...s...?"
The sound echoed again, lower than the previous one...but one that clearly belonged to a voice oddly familiar though why she did not know. Curious and with nothing better to do she slowly but barely pushed the door open, taking a look at who was inside. The act making easier to hear the conversation that was taking place.
"It does not need wings because its magical.."
"Then why call it a bird...?"
"Because its a bird Perry, duh?"
"….and the horns…?"
"So that it can cast magic of course.."
"Right….a wingless bird with..horns.."
Even though she did not know what they were talking about or the context of things, Crucabena could not help herself but grin with amusement at the sight of a certain duo were playfully bickering with one another as a certain pink haired girl held a sheet of coloured paper between her hands while the more pale looking child stared calmly at her friends antics.
Especially when Clervie pulled the supreme weapon right of the bat against Peruere. The forbidden puppy eyes Jutsu.
And gods she was good at it….
"Perrie? You…. don't like my drawing...?"
Peruere tried to stare into Clervie's green eyes...yet it did not took more than five seconds before she had to look away, a flare of emotion in those red crossed eyes as she crossed her arms against her chest.
A barely perceptible shade of red at the tip of her ears.
"….yes…"
[Oh. My. God…...Tsundere detected!]
Like mother like daughter, Clervie smile continued to grow wider, a small mischievous glint behind that childish joy that she carried with her everywhere.
"But you don't sound happy at all.., why is that?"
"But... I am happy.."
"Nuh huh.."
"Nuh...huh?"
"Nuh huh…"
"What...is that?"
"It means that you must smile if you are to be happy..."
"Oh…..is that so?" The deadpan tone in Peruere's voice spoke volumes how much that idea did not stick.
Clervie did not seem to mind though.
"Come on, let me show you a trick mother taught me.."
"Show?….What are y-C-clervie….!?"
She could hear Peruere's vice with that tinge of confusion, only for her words to trail off target when the pink haired menace leaned just a little bit closer and started to use her hands to pry off a smile on Perueres otherwise emotionless face.
"Long and wide…..see? Now you are much happier..."
She did not know what was better, the fact that Clervie was such a sweet little thing...or that Peruere was allowing her friend to do that to her.
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º….Council of Crubabenas….º
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Tired C: "Cute..."
Serious C: Very cute..."
Flirty C: "Gosh…..lolis are the best.."
Funny C: "There are so many wrong things with that sentence...but I don't care..."
Serious C: "So we agreed they are the cutest thing in this world and we will kill anyone who harms them?"
Funny C: "Do you even need to ask..?"
Flirty C: "Cuteness overlooooooooooooading…."
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A manly tear started to slid down her cheek as she watched Clervie follow in her footsteps like any good loli enjoyer should. She could do nothing but raise her hand in military fashion to show her respect from where she stood.
She already was…., but she would say it again if needed be.
She was proud to be her mother alright.
More so when it had allowed her the rare chance to make something out of it as she rose a certain camera that had found its way into her skilled hands and-.
"Bang.."
She muttered happily to herself as she took the shot, immortalizing that moment in time while also making another embarrassing memory for her to hang back at her office tomorrow first hour in the morning. A grin warped around her lips, she could not wait to see the baffled looks of the girls when they saw their expressions when they did.
Oh dear, it was gonna be glorious.
Or terribly bad.
It wasn't like anyone had ever tried to tease Peruere in her life.
[Huh….so this is how those explorers of old felt when going into the unknown? Neat]
The only bad thing was that she forgot to turn the flash down, because just as she finished the shot….the two girls turned at her general direction. Four pair of eyes taking less than a second or two to find her hiding behind the door leading to the room.
Each of them reacting with various levels of surprise in their expressions when they did as red and green met her own gaze like two startled deers. Clervie was the first to recover from the surprise though...or at the very least she was the most vocal about it.
It was always a bit hard to get a read on Peruere.
[That girl really has a good poker-face.., when she gets older I need her to play cards in a casino, I am sure we would-make some money out of it-Bad! BAD girl! Don't you have shame scheming into making your emo daughter play for money!?]
Though….when she got a little older that was a different story all together.
If she lived long enough to see it that is...
"Mother? Mother..!"
The enthusiastic voice of her daughter brought her attention back to the matter at hand as her little sunshine made her way towards her, her small legs carrying her rather swiftly as she took into a sprint and then jumped into her embrace without any worry whatsoever.
Small chibi arms wrapping around her hips as she felt the warmth of Clervie's body pressed against her. Days of practise of having children throwing themselves at her having prepared her to swivel her body at the right moment in order to not lose her balance.
"How are you doing mother? You came here to play? There are so so many things I want to ask you about your travel outside.."
At the prospect of such endless wave of questions the real Crucabena would have chastised Clervie for been so noisy at the best of times. She however could only chuckled a little at the sheer enthusiasm and those eyes filled with life and wonder. Happy to see her.
The sight tugged a cord inside of her heart.
Clervie really was precious.
It was hard to imagine her been afraid of her the very first day she awoke in this body. She also looked a lot better, there were fewer bandages wrapped around her arms.
..
Well of course there were fewer..! She was not beating the living shit out of her own Isekai daughter! With that thought in mind she started patting Clervie's pink haired mane with gusto, ruffling her head like one would to a cat. In fact she did not stop there with just here as she leaned a little bit forward and with her other arm pulled Peruere closer to her as-well.
The girl flinching at the touch of her hands messing with her hair without warning, but not fighting against it too much, though perhaps it was because Clervie was there too. It was hard to imagine Peruere was a girl who love head-pats in the first place.
Also….had she ever said that the texture of Arle's hair was strangely smooth..?
No..?
Never..?
Ok, but please…. don't think too bad on her for such thoughts. The way the whites and blacks mingled between each rub of her fingers against her scalp was cool though.
"There, there…I am not going anywhere now. What have you two been up to, Clervie, Peruere?"
"Oh? We were drawing some cute animals mother with the notebooks you gave me..."
"Things…" The detached voice of Perure drew her attention for a moment at the way she seemed to try to correct Clervies statement who in return looked at her friend with a faint roll of her eyes.
[My...is she been cheeky right now? She is...she really is, a tsundere through and through...]
"But we were having so much fun.., you should have seen it"
[Oh, I saw enough already my dear, still...drawing…? Hmm...that bring memory's, doesn't it..?]
"Then its a pity I could not arrive any time sooner….what can I say I am not as young as I used to" She said almost with a bit of melodrama, earning a soft chuckle from her little girl, it was nice to see that "Though... perhaps you would be kind to show me your drawings now that I am here...?"
That made Clervie look at her a bit confused, though as she kept on patting her she did not pay it much mind.
"You want to see them..?"
"Of course….though only if you want to.." She said with a small smile.
"But you...-of course! Let me show you! Come on Per..lets show mother!" Whatever Clervie had started to say had abruptly come to an end when a wave of enthusiasm washed over her. Rapidly moving back towards her more stoic friend and pulling the girl by the arm to retrieve the drawings they had made.
The white haired girl tried to put some objection to it, but it was not like she could stop her friend when an idea got in her thick head. A rather amusing sight to say the least.
"Ah, what one would do to be young again..." She of course followed behind grinning like a fool, she was curious of how much use her little sunshine had given it for her own entertainment.
Little did she knew that Clervi sucked at drawing.
It was…a rather strange experience to say the least as she racket her to understand what she was even looking at in the first place while she tried to keep her confusion from been noticeable by the bundle of joy that was her daughter.
Was that a head?
Where were the legs?
And why did it look like it had been stabbed to death with crayons..?
She was very well aware of artistic freedoms and styles….but she had the feeling nothing of the sort was at play, it was like that avatar episode when Sokka could not draw the flying bloody Bison.
[Ah, those really were good old days, without meddling politics and no need to pay rent…..] Still, that did not distract her from matter at hand for long, kneeling to be at both Clervie and Peruere's level she put her hand over that pink haired head.
"Clervie…?"
"Yes mother...?" Clervie's cheerful voice answered back, her little green eyes watching at her a bit curious.
"Can I ask….what is that?" Crucabena asked at the end as she pointed at the drawing.
"A flying bird.."
Was the simple answer she received as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"With no wings..?" She asked.
"And a horn.." Added Peruere from the side. The girl really was traumatized by that horn, eh?
"Yeap, do you like it mother..?"
Like it? That was a tough question, was it not? For someone like her who had wasted a year or two in arts the trace of the crayons felt like a stab in her heart. Even her worst anime drafts looked better than this..!
And yet..she could not bare herself to say that. She would really need to teach Clervie a few pointers on how to upgrade her A game though, that was a must for she refused to see the poor girl draw like this by the time she was up for marriage!
"It really looks cool, it shoots magic with the horn right...?" She inquired as she pointed with one finger at the small botched triangle slammed on the poor thing
Clervie rose her hands over her head with joy, pleased to see someone that could see what she meant.
"Yes..! It allows it to fly and have adventures with his friends.."
At that she rose a thin eyebrow, as far as she knew she had not seem any "creatures" in the drawing.
"Friends? And who may they be...?"
"Mr Tottles and Ms Poddless" Clervie said as she pulled another sheet of paper to show her...that made her immediately squint her eyes.
[Are those a turtle with wheels for legs and dog with books for a head?]
A driblet of sweat started to slid behind her back, this was not the next coming of Transformers in Tevat, was it? Not that it was bad…there were more original names in the world of imaginary literacy than poddless and tottles though.
"You really seem to have a knack for this, eh? Though...does it have a name..?"
"A name?"
"I mean if our horned bird does have a name, surely it does when he plays with his friends…..right?"
"Oh...I….I did not thought of one.."
"Hmm? Why...?"
"I...don't know, I was just happy making them that I did not think of it much hehe..." Answered Clervie softly, almost as if embarrassed while she started scratching the back of her head. Peruere seemed to roll her eyes at that, clearly a normal occurrence when dealing with Clervie long enough.
It was rather cute.
"Then your mother will help you name it..." She said with boasting pride, however, just as she said that the two girls stared at her with wide eyes.
[Ok….? That's new, I did not say something weird again, didn't I...?]
The sensation of something tugging from her made her realize that Clervie had grabbed her hand, a strange pleading look in her eyes.
"R-really? You would...?"
"Of course sweety, anything for you. Pinky promise.."
"Pinky?"
"Promise..?"
She waved a hand in a dismissal notion. "Don't think too much on that. Now, why don't we call it Perry-2..?"
"M-Mother...!" Peruere gasped out loud, for the first time in her life hearing an ounce of embarrassment in her tiny little voice, probably at realizing what she had just proposed.
"Oh? I can do that..?"
"C-Clervie….!
The embarrassment led to terror as Peruere took notice in the mischievous glint in her friends eyes who watched the drawing with a new different light.
She, like any dotting mother would merely nodded her head.
"Yeap.., you can do that sweet heart.."
"Wow..., now I have two Perry's…? Hey Perry, look at Perry-2! Isn't she cute..?"
"I-I am not cute!"
Like mother like daughter the two could not help but laugh while a red faced Peruere tried to protest in vain her displeasure.
The birth of Perry-2 would be remembered for decades to come, becoming a legend that only a certain few would remember.
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A/N
And here I wrap up the chapter, with a small hidden amount of Lore to it as-well. I hope you like it and comment on it what you liked the most or your theories. I thought it would be shorter, but here we are with almost 10 k worth of a chapter.
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I may edit the chapter if I don't feel satisfy with it though.
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From what I see the decision to choose Lumine as the Traveller in the story is the majority, and so it shall be done. The yuri fountain will be pleased.
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DDDXXX: I have really had a lot of fun in this small arc-prologue of sorts. However like all good things they tend to end, next chapter will be the last of the Hearth section.
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Villiam McDiavel: Oh, thank you. I am glad you are having fun with the chapters. I hope you have a good day and see you next time, :)
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grifman275: Sometimes one can forget even the most obvious of things when you are thinking about them on that moment in time. The misunderstandings are like the bread of this fic, the way people are gonna get the wrong way of things and the exchange between them are gonna be fun. And about Clervie, I cant tell you without making spoilers, sorry, the only thing I can say its just to gauge her reactions and make the theory whether she already knows and does not want to break the magic or she is slowly finding out one clue at a time. After all, she is a lot more perceptive than most kids her age.
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Now, quick question to the readers: Among the Fontaine npc's who do you think is most evil?
1- Vasher
2- Morris
3- Wriothesley adoptive parents
4- Someone else...