-•-

The two crossed the street and passed some food stalls on their way and saw the Gun Shijo, Maxiane Mikazuh together with Yato, both holding an ice-cream while happily talking.

"Wait, is it just me or did they somehow looked alike..."Linthea mentioned abruptly and the two stopped to peer over the two from a distance, Shigemi squinting her eyes after seeing her partner with a somewhat big smile on her face.

"She never smiles with me!" came a high pitched whisper, almost angry. Linthea chuckled.

"It's as if they're mother and son no?" Shigemi nods her head and walks away with her apprentice following her.

"But Maxiane never married, its pretty impossible....that woman is very strict and sharp tongued all the time but I've never seen her so happy with him"Shigemi straightened the sleeves of her dress, drawing out a sealed letter from it.

"Mmm, well... we'll just have to see for ourselves" Shigemi nods before reading the letter. Linthea tilts her head in inquiry.

"Uh.. it's a letter from the Yoshinori court" at that absentminded mention, the brunette made a smug smile.

"Hey! Stop that!" Shigemi's face reddened in embarrassment after realizing what she sowed in Linthea's mind.

"Now, now, don't get so worked up ....it was just a meeting-"

"With the prince?"

"Ye- no! Not just him!" At this point Shigemi should just give up, Linthea eyed her with an incredulous expression but snuffed her flames out.

"Alright~alright~ You should go now master...the sooner you leave the earlier you get to spend time with 'them'" She emphasized the last word with a knowing smile and Shigemi being a kind mother figure turned a blind eye to her embarrassment and just let her be.

"You're lucky you're my apprentice" came an inside joke. Linthea chuckled and pushed her master back to their original route.

"Don't get complacent with me young lady, you just want me to get out of your sight so you can practice right?" Bingo. The blonde smirked, "Predictable, try harder sweetie" Linthea huffed and followed her forward.

"Nevermind about them, I'm sure Maxiane has her reasons to take Yato with her. They look rather like an odd pair"Shigemi stated, "Now Linthea, no more fuss, I need you to rest to regain your strength, anything from Tiolas spells danger"

"Duly noted master....but I'm improving well aren't I?"Linthea asked her in clarification to which she nodded.

"You have no idea how proud I am of your progress"The older woman gave her a light pat on the back given she can't reach her head.

"Now.. isn't it time for you to head your merry way to Jadetown?" Shigemi scowled before a whimsical smile replaced it. She just can't argue with her daughter's gleeful countenance.

"Fine, fine! I'll be out of your hair- Hey, Mr. Von Vyrien!" Hair swished to the side as Linthea turned to the direction her master was calling with an abrupt negative change of her expression.

Upon hearing his name, Calyx turned his attention towards Linthea to find the woman calling to be her master. Approaching them close finally got him a glimpse of Linthea's subtle frown which the young man smiled about. His capelet swung against the semi-cold air dancing around the country.

He opened the closed umbrella he was carrying when the clouds obscuring the bright sun slowly moved away and held it over the two women after he greeted them with a courtly bow.

Shigemi smiles soundly and pats her apprentice's arm, "Can I place my sweet Thea in your care, young duke?" Linthea scoffed at their honorifics. Calyx hid a light laugh behind his fist, "Such a small matter Lady Nobutaka, fret not..not even a fly can touch a lock of her hair" He replied like a swain to his lover's father..mother rather.

Satisfied with their half lie-half truth exchange, Shigemi walked away to her journey to the west. Calyx shifted the umbrella to fit the both of them underneath it.

"You are a Duke??" Linthea asked in bewilderment. Calyx blinked twice before he stifled a laugh, he didn't hide it behind his fist that Linthea gave a quizzical look at his antic.

"....er no, unfortunately" He rasped, still catching his breath from her sudden naivety.

The fact that she was convinced of their inside joke was rather...a new side of her, "Shall we?" He motioned Linthea to move amidst her muddled stare.

"Where to?"

"You'll understand" Calyx closed his eyes and smiled, escorting her deeper towards the food alley of the city.

"The cafe?" Bingo! She looked at him with radiance in her eyes that the amyrethis flower pales in comparison. Calyx cheeks reddened at the sight, he slowly gave a nod as if recovering from a short-circuit conundrum.

"Niceeee!" The woman in front of him gave a thumbs up before turning to her heels.

The alley was in its usual loud and busy atmosphere. Bustling with hungry citizens and food connoisseurs, waiters and workers alike ran to and fro to deliver their orders. Scent of freshly baked pastries and roasting meat filled the air the moment they stepped in. Linthea engrossed herself in the ambience of the national food central of the land while Calyx turned his head to the incoming noise.

"Look out!" The sound of a deranged yell prompt him to immediately grab the woman's right hand, pulling her close to him while his other hand held her back as he spun them around a second before the animal swiftly passed inches away from them swinging a wooden cart close to wreckage side by side like a gust of wind blades. He held her close with his back as a shield from the accumulated dust and powerful slipstream. Citizens scrambled out of their seats, some called the authorities while others peeked to where the animal was heading.

"Thea?"

Linthea blinked twice and turned to look the the commotion before her cheeks reddened from their close contact while the man who saved her silently thanked the Goddess for this kind of bravery, "I-I'm glad you're alright" He cleared his throat to compensate on that small stutter, letting go of his hold over her. Linthea shook the confusion off herself and gave him a light punch.

"I owe you one" She smiled back at him.

"Calyx! Thank the Goddess!" A voice screamed in relief as if their problems bursted like a bubble. One finally happy to avoid the awkwardness while the other lamenting the loss of contact, both turned to acknowledge their colleague Gabriel Tal Mino, who ran to them in panic with fear etched across his face.

"My, my, what happened to you?" Linthea chuckled at his dilapidated state while Calyx glared at him, unamused for ruining the moment. Gabriel stopped to catch his breath before shaking his friend's shoulders, "Why the hell are you two chased by girls!?" He asked in an almost deranged tone, "Lady Haina save me! Cressida 's chasing me at lance point!"

"What did you do to make her mad?!"Calyx densely asked him that cause the man slap his face so hard it resounded with a loud 'plak'.

"Fucking dammit Calyx! I can't explain! She'll have my head any minute! You know she liked Soren and no one else so I openly joked about turning into a girl and flirt with him so she got mad...." Gabriel explained in a hurry with his hands flailing in the air.

"I only wanted to take her out! Why is it so hard unlike you two!" He confessed as he forcefully slammed his hands down, catching his breath in between.

"There you are!" The three looked behind to see Cressida  holding her spear ready with its point gleaming from the sun's light.

"Gih! Gotta go!" Gabriel waved goodbye before dashing off like an antelope from a lion whilst laughing or was it a cry? I'd never know with Cressida  hot on his trail not even stopping to say hi to her best friend, "Soren is mine fool!" Her saccharine voice gone as she yelled those words with malice.

"Cressida just couldn't let it go"Calyx looked at the woman who sighed and shook her head.

"And Gabriel can't let go of her" He replied with a serious expression causing Linthea to look at him, "People does fall in love in mysterious ways..."She spoke absentmindedly.

"So who's the lucky one?" The question caught him off guard. Even with multiple practices, he'd still look like an idiot answering that. Her azure orbs stared at his teal ones with profound curiosity and adorableness he couldn't resist.

"No one" Calyx inched his face away and walked off.

Linthea followed with her hands around her back. She got in front of her friend and bent a little, putting a finger to her lips. "Come on, it'll be our secret" She whispered with a smile. The proud Von Vyrien was taken back, the umbrella over them trembled in his hold as he turned away from the hazel haired woman as they continued walking.

"Awww come on, you can tell me the lucky girl.. I'm your best friend!"

Linthea uttered those words not knowing how much they would haunt Calyx Von Vyrien for a long time.

-•-

Jadetown

Deep in the night where little children are supposed to be tucked in bed already frolicking in their dreams, Princess Sayaka was not one of those. Beneath the stingy pungent smell of earthly organic, behind the countertop where heaps and bundles of various plants lay dormant, and before the shelf of well preserved flowers and seed bearing shells stood Princess Sayaka of Jadetown brewing a sort of tonic reassembling that in her book. The young princess, a different one than her siblings, immerse herself in the study of botany and pharmaceuticals. A study which includes most of her time in the laboratory built just for her utilisation and experimentations of her own brew she conducts on herself that puts an amount of stress on her retainer and family. Amidst their horror-stricken faces, the princess herself was never afraid. Long ago, she'd sometimes sneak out of the estate to forage for poisonous fauna and intake them gradually to improve her immunity.

"Theo, hand me the datura plant." She stuck her hand out without turning to her retainer as she pounds the first batch of constituents for her potion.

"Theorin?" The pestle stopped as the redhead turned to see her retainer asleep on the floor surrounded by leaves discarded recently.

"Later your majesty, I'll.... cultivate the poisonous honey you wanted" The boy murmured in his sleep. Sayaka hid a light chortle behind her kimono as her sleep-deprived face showed a weary smile.

"I'm sorry Theo..I should look out for you more" Sayaka drawled and yawned as she picked the fallen leaves off his face and picked him up through his right hand she swung over her shoulder before she carried him to the patient bed across her tables.

"I'm getting drowsy myself... it's just past eleven" She muttered as she laid him to rest, bee-lining her way back to work as the liquid in her distillation flask began to boil and drop the needed substance.

...

...

...

...

"Huh"

In a domain filled with stars, galaxies and an infinite bottom, Sayaka looked around as she floats in suspension; Theorin is nowhere to be found and so is her laboratory that left her confused for answers. Among the three siblings, she was never interested in the discussion of the Gods and Goddesses in this plane.

The domain was breathtaking, indescribable by art, and unimaginable by the human mind. The young princess absorbed the beauty of the vast astral body that she feared the image would embed itself in her mind when she returns to reality. Spirals of astral dust decorated the place with star bearing trees. Constellations she has studied that were distances away from her warped to their physical forms of opulent stars and cosmic composition prancing around her, trailing specs of glittery dust as they jump platform to platform invisible to her. Wisps of violet and pink hues swirled to form a translucent path towards an abode of opalescent white.

"I've been waiting for you" An airy voice sounded behind her. Sayaka spun and she could not simply believe her eyes. A woman of great stature with curves on the right places stood before her. Her hair composed of glittering stars and moving cosmos that follows their motion in the absence of wind presents an inhuman mien. The woman of pristine white skin bore a crescent moon on Her forehead and a beauty mark of the same under Her right eye of silver irises. Her arms (?) hidden under Her long attached sleeves designed with light pink cosmic wisps with dozens of stars Princess Sayaka wonders if there's another galaxy inside Her dress. Her skirt long and flowy with similar motif with a slit extending from her thigh obscuring Her toes.

"Moon Goddess Rosalind" Princess Sayaka has heard about Her before: The Warden of Strandethorn and the Lady of Mystery. True to Her godship, Rosalind wore a crescent moon headdress over a lotus flower with a hairpin similar to those worn in Jadetown. The Goddess has a warm smile plastered, carrying with Her a soothing aura as She glides towards the roseate haired princess from the entrance of Her abode.

If she remembered correctly, the Moon Goddess was a passive  aggressive aeon out of the Nocturnal Ones. Her son, Somnus, the God of Sleep may grant dreamers of their gift of prophecy but She was the Omniscia who resides to watch as humans run about Her dominion. Many temples in Her honor was built and female priestesses to carry Her will where some people would flock to ask about their fates but the Goddess would only favour those who catches Her interest, so far none has succeeded after the infamous Ivanov clan 50 years ago; "one" she quotes, "daresay, they have picked a rabbit's foot if the apathetic Goddess graced them with her divine presence"

Her nose scrunched at the statement. The Aeon looked nothing like what they have described of her. She looked peaceful and radiantly comforting. Rosalind gave a cryptic smile as if She read her thoughts and slowly hovered towards the young princess and that was when Sayaka felt a dominating force that led her to fall on her knees over the infinite cosmic darkness, the surrounding space was colder than what she was accustomed to. She felt small under the deity's presence but maintained her composure lest she wants to gain the goddess's hostility. 

Her cold hands held the girl's cheek as she spoke such words Sayaka would soon fear.

"Time to pay your debt Yoshinori"

—

Archive Log: Suspiration of the Damned

Bone-chilling weather phenomenon that can either be the result of witch activities or the souls of the damned spiralling around the dense forest of Tiolas. Active during rainfall which creates an effect on the traveller or its inhabitants where someone is supposedly speaking outside together with the heavy pouring. Incoherent whispers that can make one go crazy or murmurs that can lead to injury or death that even the witches of this nefarious forest exercise caution in the storm.