“Sara! Did you want anything for breakfast?”
I flinch at the yelling down the hall. Normally, I’d be fine with this, but I barely slept last night. With all of the off and on messages from Atlas and this growing feeling of… something in my chest, the last thing I need is people being loud this early.
“Is Ikimono up yet?” I hear faintly. “Or is she still sulking around after getting called out?”
I don’t know what Kori’s problem is, but I swear she has it out for me or something. She hasn’t given me a chance since I’ve gotten here. Sure, the fight with Sora probably didn’t help my case, but she’s been mean too.
Whatever.
I finally force myself out of bed. Without a second thought, I snap my fingers. A new outfit appears on myself; a white and purple sports top, black leggings, and a combo of white boots and a belt. I stretch for a moment before leaving the area I was sleeping in.
As I walk out to the kitchen and living area, I smell breakfast being made. Maeko is at the stove while Sora reads on the little couch. Kori is standing to the side as Sara moves to be with her.
“Morning…” I yawn.
Maeko glances over at me first. “Morning Iki!” She looks back at the skillet. “Hope you like eggs and bacon!”
Sara waves at me. She then kisses Kori’s cheek, which makes the icy woman smile. It quickly fades when her eyes meet with me. She grabs Sara’s hand before looking at everyone.
“We have visitors coming today.” She addresses us. “Soveliss contacted me via telepathic. I asked him to help us plan how we’re going to figure out where Kaen went. So get some ideas flowing. They’ll be here soon.”
Wait what?
I raise an eyebrow. “Is it just Soveliss coming?”
“No.” Kori answers sharply. “Apparently he’s bringing quite a few people with him. I think they’re your friends?”
“Oh!” Maeko speaks up. “I met a few of them.”
Sora looks up from their book. “D-do you think Allisa and Naomi are coming too?” They ask Sara.
I notice that Sara is biting her lip. She looks around before glancing at Sora. She tries to smile as she reaches out to ruffle their hair.
“Not sure, kiddo! Anyways. I have a little work to do before the guests arrive. I will be back in a little bit. Enjoy breakfast!”
Sara immediately leaves. I notice her face drop as I watch her go down to her bedroom. I look back at Kori.
“What… was that?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kori rolls her eyes. “Wouldn’t want you yelling at Sara too.” She mutters before walking away.
Kori immediately walks after Sara. I know what she’s doing. I let out a sigh before I cross my arms.
“God dammit…”
“Hey, it’s okay!” Maeko pipes up. “It’s probably nothing major… don’t take what Kori says to heart. She just sometimes has an attitude…”
Yeah, but she always has one with me.
After a bit, Sara and Kori come back into the common area. Sora and I finish up our breakfast that Maeko made for us.
“Okay!” Sara says telepathically. “All good! What time are they getting here?”
“Probably any minute now.” She glances at Maeko and Sora. “If needed, I’ll make lunch for everyone. You two relax. Maeko, watch Sora in case they get overwhelmed with how many guests we’ll be having.”
Maeko nods. She reaches over and squeezes Sora’s hand.
“I got them.”
“Thank you, hon.” Sora puts their head on Maeko’s shoulder.
Kori looks at me. Our eyes meet. Her stare becomes colder within seconds.
“...Don’t cause issues.”
I purse my lips before I exhale. “Didn’t plan on it.”
Suddenly, another voice enters our heads.
“And both of you. Behave yourselves. I don’t want you at each other's throats the whole time. Nod if you understand.”
Both Kori and I look at Sara. Kori’s expression is much softer than before. I don’t react emotionally to this one. We both hesitantly nod.
“HEYYYYYY!” A loud voice barks. “I made it here first!”
Sora jumps from where they sit with Maeko. “I-is that the fox?”
Sara’s eyes light up when we hear the barks. She smiles as she goes to get the door. Upon opening it, we see the white three-tailed fox sitting at the door. Sara bends down to pet her.
“Sara! My favorite Blade!” Snowie barks as she nuzzles into Sara’s hand.
Maeko giggles. “Hey! That’s rude.” She jokes.
“But you’re all my favorite Blade!” Snowie says as she wags her tails.
Behind her, an elven man with auburn hair runs up. He pants for a moment as he tries to chuckle.
“Snowie, please don’t run so fast…” He sighs. “You know I can’t keep up.”
Snowie sticks her tongue out at Soveliss. “No.”
Sara chuckles at the interaction. She looks at Soveliss to give him a nod, waving him inside. The elven man smiles and nod back at her.
“Morning, Miss Hanamura.” Soveliss greets her. “Hope you don’t mind… I brought extra assistance for this predicament.”
Soveliss walks into the cottage. A few familiar faces follow him. Allisa and Naomi are quick to follow, with a familiar honey-blonde girl just behind Naomi. Two blue-haired kids and another blonde enter the cottage after a few moments. The majority of the group begins to look around.
All of them are here…
“So this is where the Blades reside?” Sakasu asks. “It’s nice!”
“Hey guys.” I try to greet them.
My four friends from the Normal stop in their tracks. Both Amai and Saisho look to the ground. Sakasu purses her lips as she moves to be closer to Naomi, her eyes trained on me. Nova grins at me as she waves.
“Long time, no see!”
Just then, Kori walks into the room. She crosses her arms and looks at all of us.
“Save the chit chat. Let’s get to planning. Immediately.”
Sora and Maeko both frown at this.
“Is that… necessary?” Sora asks. “We barely know who any of these new people are…”
I look at the four Blades.
“Oh. These are my friends from the Normal.” I say while gesturing to them. “Amai, Sakasu, Saisho, and Nova.”
There's silence in the room. Sara simply smiles at Kori before we all look at Soveliss. He summons his staff as he walks forward.
“Alright….” He whispers. “Finding Kaen. Is there anything we should know before we start looking?”
Kori nods. “Her parents weren’t the greatest. They got kicked out of his home just over a year ago. We have an idea on where Kaen might be, but… we don’t know.”
“We could talk to Soveliss’s parents.” Allisa pipes up. “Or mine. My parents used to know Kaen and their family.”
Amai looks at the elven woman. “What are Kaen’s parents like to others? Could we talk to them?”
A new voice enters our heads.
“From what I remember talking with Kaen, he always eluded them to be cruel, self centered, and judgemental.” Sara speaks to all of us. “I’ve never met them though, so I cannot confirm if they’re that way to others as well.”
Saisho looks down. “That’s concerning. I didn’t think anyone in Destiny would be like that.”
“It’s more likely than you think,” Soveliss mutters, “Several of our families have been in feuds before.”
“Including my family and the Yasei family.” Allisa adds in.
Naomi’s eyes widen. “Oh, I forgot about that…” She whispers.
Wait what…? Who could hate Allisa?! I don’t know what her family is like, but that’s not cool. Allisa could barely hurt anyone willingly. How could that be a thing?!
Okay, I’ve never reacted like that…
Nova interrupts my thoughts.
“So why don’t we try talking to them? It couldn’t hurt!”
Sara looks at Nova. “I understand your reasoning… but I’m a bit hesitant to talk to them. It’s not so much if we can talk to them. It’s if they’ll talk to us.”
“It is a concern,” Kori speaks up. “But maybe she has a point. We could at least try.”
“And if it doesn’t work, we could always talk to my mothers.” Allisa offers.
Maeko raises her hand.
“But do we all need to go to these meetings? A group this large might overwhelm people… or anger the Yasei family.”
I look amongst everyone. What should we do? We need to find answers, but Maeko has a point. And what if the Yasei’s won’t speak with us?
“I can lead a group to the Yasei’s.” I say without hesitation.
Everyone looks at me for a moment. Sara begins to smile, but with a bit of a lip bite. The others look amongst one another.
“I’ll go with you,” Sara speaks up again. “I’ll admit, I’ve always been curious about them.”
Kori nods. “Then I’ll go too. Anyone else?”
Sakasu, Nova, and Naomi look at one another. Snowie joins them. Sakasu then looks at me.
“Can we join? For support?” Sakasu asks.
Naomi grins. “We’d like to help.”
“E-especially since I suggested it.” Nova adds in.
Everyone falls silent again. Sara continues to smile, but a new fire can be seen in her eyes. She seems to nod more over time as she looks at Kori. The Blades Leader gives a sigh.
“I don’t see a problem with it.” She says. She looks at the others. “We’ll prepare for departure soon. Everyone who plans to go with us to the Yasei’s… meet us outside in an hour.”
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