“There you are!”

As Amai and I walk back into the kitchen, we hear Nova’s voice. The blue-haired girl is standing at the stove, cooking while Saisho and Ikimono stand around the room. I see both of them give a wave.

“How was your morning?” Saisho asks. “Busy?”

I nod. “Amai and I both learned how to activate our Written Forms.” I answer with a grin. “So I guess you could say it’s busy.”

All three of our friends gasp.

“Wait, you transformed?!” Nova asks. “And we weren’t there to see it?”

Amai gives her a nervous giggle. “Well, you guys were training too! I’m sure you’ll see our forms soon enough.”

“Awwww, no fair! I want to see them now!”

“Relax, Nova. I’m sure we’ll see them.” Ikimono giggles. She rolls her eyes a little. As she leans back on the counter behind her, the girl smirks. “Either of you want to tell them what I taught you?”

Saisho’s eyes light up. “Oh! Yes! You taught us how to communicate with telepathy while in combat!”

Amai raises an eyebrow. “Yeah? That sounds cool!”

“And Saisho discovered a new ability this morning!” Nova says. “It was really cool. Oh! You should show them! Anyone have a glass of water?”

“I do.”

We all look over to the sudden voice. Allisa just entered the room with a few books in one arm, and a glass of water in another. She smiles at us. As she walks over to the table, she sets everything down. The elven woman gestures to the glass.

“All yours, Saisho.” She says.

The blue-haired boy smiles and nods. “Thanks Allisa!”

In an instant, Saisho’s gray eyes begin to glow brightly. He raises his hand towards the glass. All of us watch as the liquid inside the glass shakes gently. Slowly, it rises from the glass. As the water floats into the air, I hear both Nova and Ikimono ‘ooo’ in sync. Amai gasps with excitement, and Allisa gives a nod.

“Water manipulation. Very nice, Saisho.” Allisa says. The water floats around her for a brief moment. “You seem to be learning quickly.”

“It’s really fun to mess with my powers in this way,” Saisho responds. “I’m glad I found out I could do this!”

The water swoops over to Amai. She lets out a giggle as it spins around her. It comes near me, and I let out a laugh. I watch as Saisho moves his arms as the water mirrors him. He eventually leads it back to the glass. It slowly pours back into the cup, then goes back to normal. The others clap.

“That was amazing!” Amai exclaims. “You did awesome!”

Saisho gives her a bow. “Thanks.”

Just then, the door opens. I see Naomi and Snowie come into the kitchen. The small kitsune is looking up at the human, going on a rambling-spree about chicken.

“I really like when people make me chicken. It tastes amazing. You like chicken, right Naomi? Yeah? Oh! Hey! It’s Amai and Sakasu!” The white kitsune looks at us. “And more people??”

Allisa nods to Snowie. “Yep. Their names are Nova Haruwiki, Saisho Tarako, and Ikimono Yoru.”

“We come from the Normal.” Ikimono shrugs.

Nova’s eyes are glued to Snowie. She runs over to the kitsune, abandoning the stove as Ikimono yelps out.

“Nova!”

“Oh my gosh! Look at this little cutie. I could just scoop you up and cuddle you all day.”

The kitsune’s tails wag rapidly as she sits. Her eyes look up at Nova. “You give belly rubs?! Can you give me one now? I’ve been dying for belly rubs all day, but everyone has been so busy!”

“Of course I can give you belly rubs!” Nova responds. Immediately, Snowie rolls over for her, and my friend pets the kitsune’s tummy. I watch as Nova giggles with Snowie.

“Finally! Some good rubs!!”

Naomi chuckles. “You have some strange priorities, little kitsune.” She then looks at me. “How are you two feeling after this morning’s training?”

I grin. I feel my cheeks slowly heating up the longer I watch Naomi. “I’m feeling alright. I’m hungry though.”

“Me too.” Amai says.

“Good thing Nova is making us lunch… right, Nova?” Ikimono pipes up.

Nova stands up. “Ohhhh, yes. That’s right! Sorry Iki!” The girl goes over to the stove. “I’m making taco mac and cheese!”

“Taco… mac and cheese?” Naomi tilts her head. “That’s a normal dish for you guys in your world?”

“Oh, we have it a lot at my house.” Nova says. “My family loves it, especially my younger siblings. We have it every week! Want to try it?”

Allisa nods. “Sure!”

Soon enough, Nova dishes out our lunch into some bowls. She distributes them to us, then smiles. As we each take a bowl, we all sit around the table. The kitsune looks up at Nova.

“Excuse me… do you have any chicken I can eat?” Snowie asks. Her eyes are wide as she sits with perfect posture. Her tails wrap around her front paws. “Please?”

“I don’t have any chicken, but I do have some leftover ground meat. Do you like beef, Snowie?” Nova asks.

“I do!”

Nova makes a small bowl for Snowie, and the kitsune thanks her before eating quietly with us. The others are already eating as Nova comes to sit with us.

“Sooooo, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”

Naomi smiles at Nova. “Well, I believe Soveliss is contacting his parents about something. We’ll do some tracking for Violet this evening, but apparently Soveliss wants to talk to his parents.”

“Why?” Saisho asks. “Is something wrong?”

“He was saying this morning that Amai’s Written Form is similar to one he might have seen in his parents’ archives. I think he was going to ask to speak with them and figure this out.” Naomi answers. “And he told me he might take you with him, Amai.”

“Can the rest of us go?” Ikimono asks.

Allisa makes a face. “Not sure how many of us would be allowed to visit the Taruna Mansion… Soveliss’s father doesn’t really like having a ton of guests, especially if he doesn’t know them well.” She answers. “If any of us are to go with him and Amai, it’d most likely be me and Snowie.”

“Why Snowie?” I ask.

“Mr. Taruna likes me! I dunno why though.” The kitsune answers. “Has liked me since I was a pup.”

I look at Amai as I take a bite of my food. I frown for a moment.

“Do you want to go to the mansion?” I ask.

Amai shrugs. “It could give me some answers. I might go if needed. But I really need him to find Violet.”

“Fair enough on the first part. And the second part… don’t worry. We’ll find her, okay?” I put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not alone.”

Amai smiles at me. “Thanks.”

“Y’know, I do find it strange…” Ikimono pipes up.

We look at the dark-haired girl. She looks at Amai.

“I’ve seen your sister in the halls before at school. I’m actually not really surprised about her reaction to finding out about being Written so suddenly if you were both lied to. But… based on how I saw her at school, I always thought she was upset. Did Violet ever talk to you about the other kids?”

Amai raises an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“There were girls at school that would bully her in the halls. At least from what I would witness.” Ikimono says. “You never saw that?”

“Well, I mean, there were some girls on Amai’s cheerleading squad that were being mean towards her the other day.” I look to my best friend. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if your sister was getting bullied at school too.”

“Wait.” Saisho interrupts. “Amai, you get bullied at school? You’re the head cheerleader. Shouldn’t the other girls respect you?”

Amai shrugs. “You’d think, but apparently they’re convinced that my eye color isn’t real.” She answers. “Maybe they bullied my sister about that too. They did bring my sister into it when they confronted me in the bathroom.”

Nova winces at Amai’s words. “Yikes… I knew some of the girls were rude, but I never thought they’d be rude to their own teammates.”

“People are just rude at times.” Snowie speaks up. “I should know. They’re rude to Naomi when she chooses not to fight, and they’re rude to Allisa when they find out she isn’t Written.”

I look to Allisa. “You’re not?”

The pale-haired elf shakes her head. She gives me a simple smile. “Nope. I’m normal.” She answered.

Huh… Interesting.

Just then, Soveliss walks in the room. He looks at us, nodding.

“I need Amai, Allisa, Sakasu, and Snowie. We’re going to my parents’ place. It’s important.”

Amai’s eyes widen. “But… what about the others?”

“We can handle ourselves here,” Ikimono reassures my friend. “Naomi, wanna train with us?”

Naomi nods. “Sure.”

I stand.

“Come on, Amai.” I put a hand out to her. “Let’s go find out what needs to be said!”

She takes my hand, nodding. I help her stand, and she looks at the two elves. I see her smile.

“Alright. Let’s go then.”