Weeping. It was the first thing she heard, and the only thing she remembers, after that, it was complete darkness, it was similar to being submerged in water. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, yet she felt no discomfort at all. "It's so… dark." She thought to herself, she cannot tell how long she's been swimming in that abyss, her body completely motionless. She tried her best to move, even if it was just moving her pinky finger, but nothing happened.
"Liv."
A voice echoes in the abyss, a voice so familiar, yet unknown at the same time. "Liv, you must wake up" the voice calls out again, to which the girl eventually gains some semblance of focus. A single glimmer of light appears in front of her eyes, like the only star in a cloudy night sky. "Who is… speaking?" She calls out, eventually gaining enough strength to hold out her hand towards the light. "You can consider me your guardian angel, that should make it easier. It is time for you to awaken. Whatever you do, remember these words."
"A flower wilting is no bad omen, spring eventually comes again."
"W-wait, awaken from what…?" She remained confused, soon a bright light would illuminate the darkness. Faced with the blinding light, she tried to protect herself from it, arms in front of her face to shield her, until eventually, it all became white.
And as she opened her eyes, the bright light persisted, blinding her vision as she closed her eyes partially. Her vision eventually began to adjust, eyelids opening and closing multiple times so she could focus. Once her vision was restored, her eyes moved around, observing the environment around her. A golden chandelier with imitation candles, and a ceiling decorated with intricate patterns. Soon enough came her hearing, a faint, yet consistent chime, which could only be associated with crickets. Soon she looks outside, not much can be seen, other than the small shapes of light in the distance. It is a warm, summer night.
The girl shifts around slightly, her body is weak, as she barely mustered enough strength to sit up and take a better look at the room in which she was sleeping. She cannot stop thinking about the words she heard in that abyss. "A flower wilting is no bad omen… What does it mean…?" She tried to step out of bed, holding on to the bed frame for support. Her legs didn't seem to respond to her commands, it was like they weren't even there. "Come on… I need to start moving…!" She says as she uses her right hand to shake her right leg, but alas, both of them remain limp. As she slowly came to the realization that there was nothing she could do at the moment, she just decided to lay back down on the bed. Her back sinking into the soft mattress as she returned to staring at the ceiling. "Flowers…" Just then, she noticed something by her bedside table, a flower vase. It completely slipped her mind before. Inside there was an assortment of violets and daisies.
"So… pretty…" Her hand reaches for the vase to grab a daisy, as some water droplets fall onto the bed sheets. But as she stared at the flower, at the intricacies of its petals, she began to feel a small surge of pain in her head. This kept going for a while, growing strong enough to the point where she was writhing in pain, her voice audible enough to be heard from another room. "It hurts…!" She cries out, holding her head with both her hands to hopefully make the pain stop, all to no avail. "I think I heard a voice…" Suddenly Liv can hear a voice coming from outside the door, a calm, almost motherly voice, it sounds so soothing, and even though she has never heard this voice before, she can immediately feel an attachment.
Eventually, the door opened. The Leanbox Goddess was dressed in her usual babydoll, which for how simple, looked ever so elegant. And as she turned on the lights in the room, she sees something that will change her life. "Oh… Sister! You have awoken!" She can barely contain her excitement, immediately rushing inside and kneeling by the side of the bed. It took some time for Liv to adjust her eyesight, it was initially very blurry, but eventually she did focus, as she cast her eyes over the older woman. "Who… who are you?" She says in a weak voice, as the Leanbox goddess eventually climbs onto the bed, getting a little bit closer as she cups the girl's cheek in her left hand, she has tears in her eyes, nothing could describe the amount of joy she was feeling right now, as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, rolling down and drenching her pinkish cheeks. "I am your sister, of course…!"
The statement threw the young girl off guard, this explained the attachment she initially felt when she heard her voice. Her sister? Was she the one who brought her to the other side? Everything started to sound muffled, she tried so hard to make sense of it all that anything her new sister said was just white noise. As she rested in her arms, pressed against that soft bosom, she could start to hear her sister call out to her. "...nam…" "...name?" "Huh?" She snapped back, straightening her back as she attempted to focus her vision on her.
"Dear sister, what is your name?" The Leanbox Goddess asks, hand resting upon the younger one's cheek. "I…" She collected her thoughts, taking a deep breath and eventually speaking out. "Liv, my name… is Liv." She would conclude still staring into Vert's eyes, she seemed absolutely overjoyed, tears in her eyes as she smiled. "Liv, is it? I love it! Such a beautiful name, and it fits you perfectly!" "I am… glad. But… why are you crying?" She would point out, tilting her head sideways with a puzzled expression. "Oh? My apologies, I am simply so happy to finally have a sister…!" She is quick to dry off her tears, composing herself as she sits on the edge of the bed. "My name is Vert, but please, feel free to call me "Big Sis", is that alright with you?" "Oh, of course, Big Sis." Liv nods her head in agreement, eventually going to sit on the edge as well as she continues to look at her sister, she was learning so many new things at once, so much so that her head was starting to hurt a little, just not an overwhelming amount.
"We have things a plenty to discuss, let us move to the commons room, shall we?" The Goddess soon stands up, holding out her hand to Liv. The candidate eventually goes to stand up, and take her hand, but as soon as she was no longer on the bed, she could feel the problems arise. "W-woah…" she gasped as she bent her knees ever so slightly, raising her left arm to balance herself. "Ah, right… you have just arrived. Don't worry, this will be as easy as making tea. Simply place one foot in front of the other, like this." The goddess demonstrated, still holding her sister's hand quite tightly, and watching her to make sure she didn't fall. "One… in front of the other." She takes a deep breath, eventually taking the first step. Then another, and another again. Before she knew it, she was walking, even if she had to balance herself with every single step.
"Ah, yes. Let me turn on the lights, that should make it easier on your eyes." And as the two blondes walked past the door frame, the light was turned on in the hallway. Paintings over paintings covered the walls, what little wall that wasn't covered was adorned with a rhombus patterned wallpaper. But for hor well decorated the hallway was, Liv could only make out a few details as she walked. Things did look clear enough before, but as she stared more at the finer details, only then did she realize that things weren't going to get much clearer, it was all still ever so blurry. She didn't want her sister to worry about her, so she continued to walk with her. As they walked past the hallway and into the commons room, the secret would eventually come out.
"Ow!" Liv exclamated in pain, she had stubbed her toe on the leg of a coffee table, soon falling to her knees as she held her foot. "O-Oh dear! You must be careful, dear sister. If you don't look where you're going, you might stub your toes. And that is something you want to avoid." Vert suddenly appeared more stern, as she kneeled down to help her sister out. "S-sorry, I didn't really see it, it's very blurry, I mean, things up close… are blurry." The candidate remarks, eventually getting back up on her feet. "Huh? Blurry?" This confused the Goddess. Her kind isn't supposed to suffer from conditions any normal human is supposed to suffer from. Vert could feel Liv's energy signature, she was certain that she was a goddess. So it was pretty far-fetched to think that she was far-sighted. "I'll have some glasses made for you in due time. But before that, we must have a talk about some serious matters." The Goddess would reassure her sister, eventually smiling again. "Ah, these should help for the time being." Vert says as she begins to take off her slippers, lifting up one leg and tilting her foot down so the footwear would simply slide off, then doing the same with her other foot. "Should I… put these on?" Liv asks, she had to squint her eyes a bit to make out the shape. "Don't worry, I have another pair lying around, but you can use these for the time being." The goddess encourages, eventually assisting Liv with putting the slippers on. She got behind her as she carefully guided her in wearing the footwear. "They're very… warm, soft." A smile formed over Liv's face, as she gently moved her feet up and down to test out the slippers. The smile proved to be highly contagious, soon enough her older sister would be smiling as well.
In due time, the two blonde goddesses made their way to the commons room, which was originally decorated with the sheer abundance of Vert's BL merchandise. All of which was now completely gone, probably a precaution on Vert's behalf. The older goddess would guide the younger one over to the couch, her expression still filled with joy. "Wait here just a second, I will brew some tea so we can talk more appropriately." The goddess would say, leaning against the armrest. "Tea…? What is that?" The candidate asked, hands resting over her own legs as she turned her gaze to Vert. "You could think of tea as a beverage, but most people consider it a lifestyle, like yours truly. You make dried up leaves steep in hot water, and they release all their flavors and aromas." "That sounds… nice." The description alone intrigued her. "I know you will love it, my darling little sister." As she said this, Vert walked to the kitchen, just briefly stopping by the door frame to turn back and look at Liv. The candidate gave her a confused head tilt, but eventually she smiled. The goddess could feel her heart warming up, smiling back as she turned around, walking inside the kitchen.
Vert grabbed the kettle from one of the shelves, walking over to the sink and watching as she started to fill it with water. Soon she placed it over the stove, putting the cap on as she waited for it to boil. "She really doesn't know anything, just like a child." She thinks to herself as she stares at the kettle, slightly spaced out. "I need to make this right. She is my sister, and I will raise her to be a proper, capable goddess." Vert clenched her firsts. To actually have a real sister… This was completely different from her shenanigans with the other candidates. This was her own sister, and she was responsible for her upbringing, she just couldn't mess this up. "I have to be better, better than before." She had completely forgotten that Liv was just in the other room, so she said that out loud. "Sis, did you say something?" "Oh! Nothing, don't worry about it!" She laughed it off awkwardly, eventually going back to making the tea. In the time she spent spaced out, the water inside the kettle had already gone up to a boil. Eventually she finishes the preparations, placing the tea leaves inside the teapot and pouring the hot water inside it, neatly organizing a nice tea set, with some cookies as well. Grabbing hold of the tray, she goes back to the commons room.
There she found Liv, she was holding her knees close to her chest, looking around out of curiosity. "There we go, just some simple green tea, I added some dried up strawberries as well to make it sweeter, doesn't that sound nice?" Vert asks, sitting down besides Liv, a motherly expression on her face. "Yes, that sounds very sweet…" The candidate replied, seemingly fascinated by the way steam was escaping the teapot's spout. "It is still infusing, that means we have a good five minutes to talk about important matters." The goddess continues, crossing her legs and turning her head towards Liv. "Important? Okay, I am listening…!" Liv replies, staring deeply into Vert's eyes. Possibly to further emphasize that she was taking this seriously. "Very well, let's begin. Do you know what we are, Liv?" Vert questions, her expression slightly more serious. "I… don't think I could know that, sorry." The candidate replied, shaking her head. "We are Goddesses. This land, Leanbox. The land of green pastures, I have ruled over this nation alone for Celestia knows how long. And as my sister, you are the nation's Goddess candidate." The goddess continues, speaking with utmost confidence to give meaning to her words.
"Goddess candidate… that means we have people to protect, right?" Liv questions, she seemed to be a fast learner. "Correct, Leanbox's citizens are our highest priority. Their faith in us crystallizes into Shares, the source of our powers and of our very existence as Goddesses. Should our shares suffer a significant decrease, our powers would begin to weaken. And in an absence of shares, we could only harness the ones that are naturally inside us, if that share reserve runs out, we wouldn't be any stronger than a regular human." As Liv listened to her sister's words, she simply nodded her head, taking all the information in. "So as Goddesses, we must help out wherever we can. Be it fighting monsters, solving trivial problems, filling out paperwork, hosting conventions, or anything in-between, we are Leanbox's guardians. Do you have any questions, my dear sister?" She questions, at which point, Liv points towards the kettle. "I got it, but I think it's been more than five minutes." She replies nonchalantly, at which point Vert gasps. "Oh dear! I completely lost track of time! It's probably way too over-infused…" She said as she opened up the teapot, taking out the leaves with a small mesh sifter. Sighing in embarrassment, she pours out some tea for her and her sister. Liv was giggling to herself, covering her mouth with her hand so Vert wouldn't notice. "Come on now, you are just rubbing salt in the wound!" Vert was certainly not expecting this outcome on her first meeting with Liv. "I-I'm sorry, it's just, I didn't expect you to overreact so much!" After having a good laugh, Liv calms down, grabbing the tea cup. "I think I get it though. We may be goddesses, but we are imperfect as well. It makes us that little bit more like humans." Vert was astonished at Liv's remark, smiling as her hand reached up to pat her head. "I couldn't have said it better myself, I know you will be a great Goddess." A chuckle escapes Liv's mouth, enjoying the praise as she still looks at Vert. "Then trust me, I will."
The two enjoy the over-infused tea for a while, chatting and trying to pass time. By the time they finished the tea, over an hour had passed. Vert introduced Liv to many other concepts, Such as the other nations, the many threats plaguing Gamindustri, as well as some trivial stuff. And miraculously, she hasn't even mentioned BL yet. "Otaku culture… that's what it's called, right?" In order to properly take notes, Liv was writing them on a laptop. She was a bit slow, but she was eventually picking up the pace. "Precisely. Videogames, anime, manga. They are the foundation of what people call "Otaku culture", something that we often use to boost shares, revenue, and make our nation run better!" Vert had somehow procured herself a whiteboard, sketching up some pictures to aid in Liv's learning process. "And that includes… pillows with pictures of us?" Some of the things the candidate heard left her feeling rather surprised. "I know it sounds weird, but as idols and guardians, we must approve of any support that our beloved citizens show towards us. And that does include body pillows." Vert remarks, to which Liv just nods her head with a forced smile. "That is a lot to take in… but I got this!" "That's the spirit, dear sister! Now then, I think this was enough learning for today, I say the two of us take a shower and head to sleep, does that sound good to you?" Liv nodded in response, eventually standing up from the sofa, but tripping on the coffee table, again. It seemed like she was going to hit her face on the floor, but at the very last moment…
A gust of wind forms all of a sudden, cushioning Liv and slowing down her fall. Both goddesses were equally as surprised. But then Liv looked at her own hands. She saw floating lines wrapping around her forearms, upon closer inspection, one might say they looked like turbines. "Am I… doing this?" The wind suddenly disappeared, and Liv was now on the floor. "Liv! Are you hurt anywhere? I told you to be more careful…" Vert looked exasperated, she knew this wasn't going to be the last time this happens. "I'm okay, don't worry, but… what was that…?" The candidate eventually stood up, looking at her own hands to see that the small currents had disappeared. "I am pretty sure that was magic, wind magic, to be precise. I didn't think you'd be able to harness it so soon… you must be really talented!" Vert was overjoyed, to think that her sister was already learning so much, it made her oh so proud. "Magic…? Does that mean there is more to it? Like, say… um…" "Of course there is. And I know you will master your own powers in no time flat. I eagerly await the day when you transform for the first time." She placed her hands on her sister's shoulders, smiling with confidence. Liv was filled with determination. "I can make this, I know I can. That being said, we were going to take a shower, right?" The nightgown clad Liv was already taking off her garments, but she was soon stopped by Vert. "H-hold on a second! What do you think you're doing!?" "Getting undressed? For the shower?" Liv was completely oblivious. "Yes, but, it's not something you just do out of the blue! " "But it's the middle of the night, and it's just the two of us here." Vert didn't have a counterargument ready, Liv's logic did hold up, under a certain point of view. "Fair enough, but don't just strip naked out of the blue, please. You never know when someone could walk in without knocking." Vert remarks firmly, to which Liv nods her head, soon the two of them walk over to the bathroom.
Now in their birthday suits and in the water, the both of them take a moment to relax themselves, with their hair neatly wrapped up into hair buns so as to not get it wet. "Say, Sis… do you like flowers?" "Flowers, you say?" "Yes… when I woke up, I saw the flowers by my window, they were very pretty." Vert chuckles, moving in closer. "Those were daisies, Liv. When you came into existence, it was the middle of the spring. Daisies are always the first flower to bloom in the spring. White and yellow, they cover the green fields and announce the end of the winter." "Are there more flowers like that? I… I think I want to know more!" "Very well, dear sister. I'll be sure to drop by a flower shop tomorrow." "As soon as I get my glasses… I want to keep notes about all the new flowers I discover!" At that point, Vert opens her eyes again, moving even closer to her sister. "Picking up new hobbies, already? Promise me that won't distract you from your studies, hmm?" "Oh! Uh… not at all! I have much to learn, but… isn't this also important?" "Naughty girl, already finding workarounds. Take this!" And out of nowhere, Vert's hands reach for Liv's sides, her fingers brushing against them repeatedly to tickle her. "A-ah! No wait! That feels weird- ehehe…" Liv wasn't quick enough to react, and soon she found out that she was very ticklish. "So, are you finding workarounds~?" "N-no ma'am! Not at all!" Liv was barely able to hold in her laughter, squirming about and splashing water everywhere. But soon enough Vert stopped. "I'm just joking, don't stress about it too much~. Do focus on your studies, but don't become a workaholic. A healthy work-life balance is the foundation of a good lifestyle." Liv simply nods her head at this. "Just… don't tickle me out of the blue, okay?" "Oh, but I will. The moment I catch you staying up late to finish some superficial assignments, be prepared for trouble." Vert crosses her arms under her bust, making it appear just slightly larger. "I-I understand! I will work hard, but not too hard!" Liv replies, still a bit nervous. "Now that's a good girl. Oh, we did make a bit of a mess, and our hair is all wet… sorry about that." Vert chuckles to herself, to which Liv just sighs. In due time, they somehow manage to dry themselves off, and after saying good night to her little sister, Vert would head outside by the balcony.
Vert spent a good 10 minutes leaning by the railing, overlooking the city lights below. Despite all the fun she's had meeting her sister, her expression looked ever so slightly melancholic. Was it fear of her not knowing how to face this new chapter of her life? Or was it something else? But as she looked down, a tear would roll down her cheek. She seemed to be holding something in one of her hands. She would turn back briefly to make sure her sister was sleeping, and as she faced forward again, these words escaped her mouth. "I can't tell her."
End of chapter 1
