ask-mistreil

[ask-mistreil]

Continued from [x]

(( Text below the cut and casually reused markers from summerfest. ))

She didn't really think about how he got so injured-- honestly, it didn't surprise her very much. After all, one of her first times near him involved him being stabbed... A lot. She also couldn't really tell if he was being sarcastic or not with his comments-- playful, maybe?

"... Did you get into a fight again...?" Pausing for a moment, she made an attempt at humour, "I-I don't know, I think you look better than before..."

“Oh…. maybe~ I picked a good fight. A little too good, but we didn’t get to play all the way through.” He pouted. It was interesting that she made an attempt to play back with him. “Ohh I wouldn’t be able to believe that unless someone was willing to give me a sweet kiss on the cheek~”

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Not-so-carefully lifting up the incubus, she propped him against the wall. She was far from the best at taking care of people's injuries, unless they were stuffed animals.

Still, what could possibly go wrong, being in Nekyu's house when he's injured and probably hungry?

[ask-mistreil]

-- asknekyu (following events of [x])

(( tl;dr mistreil's going to be at nekyu's house for a really long time to sacrifice herself so he doesnt eat people and yeaH ill be trying to do asks regularly again between classes so feel free to send asks o/ ))

After packing what she deemed necessary, the milletian, against the wishes of her maid and butler, dropped the fabric given to her by the incubus onto the altar of Coill Dungeon. There, she entered a very fantastical looking world.

"Is this what an 'Abyss' dungeon looks like...?" She muttered to herself, walking through the forest. All she had to do was make sure not to disturb the wildlife and she'd be okay-- or so Nekyu said. There wasn't a reason for him to lie, was there?

Deciding to place her trust in the incubus' words, she carefully travelled through the dungeon, taking in the sights as she went. Aside from the possible hints of death and some frightening looking flora, it was relatively aesthetically pleasing-- as if it was out of a fairy tale.

Navigating through the forest of thorns and spikes, the girl found her way to an opening wherein an open pasture lay, flowers decorating it, and a house planted in its midst. She hadn't expected something like that of Nekyu's house, if it even was his. Then again, he himself seemed full of unexpected things. Considering the scenery, maybe he liked flowers? If that were the case, maybe they could get along just fine.

That'd be nice.

Approaching the door, she collected her nerves and, with the back of her hand, she lightly knocked.

[ask-mistreil]

With the night ending there was still one more person to visit... A sweet scent attracting him helplessly. It was hard to resist having some fun. His feet took him past the flames, to the edge of the beach. Silhouettes coming to view, but all too easy to recognize.

Within view of each other, he wondered if they would notice his approach. Pausing at a reasonable distance, he lifted his arm softly to wave at the pair.

(( joint post between nekyu and i under the cut -- tl;dr mistreil agrees to have a long slumber party at nekyu's house and heads home to pack. laima sort of gets ditched. poor laima. ))

Both girls noticed a figure waving at them, to which Laima's face contorted into a grimace. 'Oh hell no,' the maid thought to herself. As Mistreil was about to wave back, her hand was grabbed by the older woman who began to leave the area.

"We don't have time for this-- Guede and Arcelle are probably waiting for us." A pretty decent attempt at reasoning, though she was unaware that the other half of their group had long ditched them.

Well then.

Seems like no one wants to take a friendly greeting today. No. He had something he needed to give her. He ran over to them quickly and cut them off. Reaching into his shirt he pulled out an envelope and held it out to Mistreil.

"Um... Hi Nekyu," the milletian smiled, picking the envelope up. Her eyes drifted from the letter to Nekyu's face as she spoke, "Should I read it here-- Y-you're injured...? Are you-- What happened?"

Meanwhile, Laima just glared at the incubus, disgusted and irritated. While she loved the part of the girl that would worry about others, was worrying about this piece of crap even necessary?

“You can read it whenever. Alil wanted me to give it to you.” Avoiding the question, he looked away, annoyed with the attitude the woman was giving him. He didn’t need to answer her needless questions. It was unnecessary to talk about his injuries. Things would be a lot nicer without the women, so hopefully soon he could speak to her alone.

... Nekyu and Laima definitely didn't seem to like each other. Understandable... But... This was awkward. Well, more awkward than conversations usually were, anyway. Leaving the two of them here would probably just make things a lot more difficult than they had to be.

"Laima? I'll catch up with you later, so... U-um..."

"... No matter what I do or say, it's not going to change anything, huh?" Pausing for a moment, the maid sighed, "Fine. But you better come back in one piece."

"O-Okay." Mistreil nodded and waved goodbye to the maid, opening up the letter, "B-By the way, was Alil okay? After the prom, I mean..."

A nice smile of satisfaction rose on Nekyu’s face as they moved away from Laima. As they walked he swung his arm around onto Mistreil’s shoulders. “Ah him, he’s fine now, but I really need to talk to whoever spent the night with them.” He looked away with an annoyed expression. Whatever fucking incubus touched his kid was in for it later.

... Come to think of it, who did Alil go to the promenade with? Did they do something?

"I-I'm glad he's okay now." She stared at the letter, reading it while walking. Alil suggested she spent time with Nekyu and himself, but... Laima and Guede definitely wouldn't be happy with that. Anyways, she hadn't the slightest idea where they lived.

“Can’t quite say the same for myself.” Pulling her closer to him he sighed a bit. I at least need my arm back. “What did he say in the letter anyways?”

"U-uh... That I should spend time with... you and Alil.. And that you 'enjoy my company and miss me a lot'." Summarizing the contents, she glanced at Nekyu. She considered helping him recover, but she already told Laima that she'd go back in one piece. If she helped him, he could always use his regenerated strength to hurt people. If she didn't he could try to eat people to heal.

... There was no winning, was there? So she kept quiet and kept walking, not really sure what to do.

“Ah.... hum..... Yes you should come spend more time with us~ I want to spend lots of time with you. It’s so lonely you know. No friends to spend the day with, while I mostly lay around trying to tend to my wounds. It’s hard to do things with just one arm! ...Like get food....”

Yes, please come to our home. Let me play, let me eat, your sweet sweet meat. Just keep going... walking...

She took what he said with a grain of doubt, as her friends so often told her to do. Was he being sarcastic, or was he lonely? If he was being honest, she didn't want to assume he was lying. That'd be bad. Still, one thing he said stuck out to her.

"... You can't fight with one arm?" Mistreil stared at him a bit. She always figured Nekyu was pretty strong, from what little she had seen. Maybe it was just the impression he gave, though.

'... Huh? Where are we even going?' She thought to herself. It didn't really make a difference whether she knew or not though, probably.

They were quite far now weren’t they? Looking back to see if anyone around he considered what he could do now. “Well.... it’s not that I can’t fight.” As soon as he finished his sentence he shoved her roughly onto the ground.

He knelt down to her level. “It’s just a bit harder, much more inconvenient. There’s always a good amount of pain from the wounds too.” There wasn’t a smile or frown on his face, he just stared her down. It wouldn’t be super great right now to hurt her much. He could feel that it wouldn’t be too long into the future that he would have his fun.

Startled, the girl stared for a while. '... Well that was a little uncalled for,' the sass that her friends apparently held resounded in her head, 'I... guess... that's a show of strength?'

"... Oh," she muttered simply, "um... S-so it's more difficult... for you to... uh... hunt...? ... Have... you been eating?"

... She'd probably regret asking. But... Maybe, just maybe, she could do something.

“I still eat, a lot. It’s just not enough. I need ~a lot~ more. It’s a bit difficult, but I have Alil to give me a hand.” He loomed over her. “Would you help me get food? Just come around a little, then I won’t have to get so much of the bad food...”

... Could... she really believe those words? She wanted to save people... To postpone their deaths... But the voice of her friends who had lectured her rang through her head, 'Even if you don't want to distrust people, you shouldn't blindly believe everything. Honestly, you're going to be lied to and manipulated and thing will just get worse and worse! Start thinking a little more before you act!'

She stared at the letter in her hands, fiddling with it a bit. "... Hey, Nekyu? Where do you live?"

He smiled as the girl asked the question. Perfect. My good good girl. Moving closer to her face, his hand went into his shirt to grab a small piece of fabric. With the tips of his fingers he separated her fingers and set the fabric in her hands. He grabbed her hands into his one hand, and set his forehead onto hers. “You know Coill yes..? Set this at the entrance, and as long as you don’t disturb the wildlife, they won’t disturb you. I’m sure you’ll be able to find your way to my home.”

Staring at the cloth, she nodded a bit. "... Okay."

Taking a deep breath, she patted Nekyu's head before slowly retracting her hand as her mind wandered. It was okay. She'd protect people like this, if even only for a little while. How long would a little while be, though? If she was going to go there, staying for just a day was out of the question. Nekyu would just kill more people after she left.

"... I-If... I... said... I would stay there for a while..." She mumbled quietly, not sure how to word things, "How long... would... I be allowed to...?"

... Maybe she shouldn't have asked. If he expected a short stay, then this would be weird. Still, it's not like he had much to lose from the offer, right?

Ohhh my Mistreil. You don’t fail my expectations at all. Sweet and naive, or well... at least too kind for her own good. His smile grew and his eyes locked onto her with an excited and almost delighted look. “Well.. you’re welcome to stay however long you want... a few days... a few weeks.. a few months.... years.... however long you want.” Fall smoothly into my arms. Or well, arm. You’re mine now.

Again, she simply replied with a nod. Her gaze drifted from the ground to the incubus, who seemed to look at her intently.

"... I'll... go home... and get stuff then. So..." Picking herself off the ground, she began walking back.

It was such a delightful end to his night. Rising to his feet he watched her walk off. “Then... I’ll see you soon... Mistreil.” It was almost sad, but still overwhelmingly satisfying. He too took his leave to grab Oonthe and return home.

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Laima walked over, placing her hand on Mistreil's shoulder. Backing off, the milletian girl watched as the two spoke to each other. She couldn't really make out the words, since they spoke quietly. Soon, Veinth moved his hand as if to pat the maid's head, and a glow of magic emanated around the two. Entranced by the light show, heard a raspy voice come from... below her?

"Oooh!!! Veinth magic!!" It came from a very familiar imp. Oh! Arcelle's prom date!

"U-Um... Hello! Waru, right?" Mistreil smiled, lifting him up. Waru stared at her, posing proudly (as he so often did).

"Ya!! Siren knows of great Waru? Keke!!" Laughing, he patted (or maybe lightly slapped) Mistreil's face.

"Y-Yes! I'm Mistreil, Arcelle's sister--"

Excitedly, the imp interjected, "Oh!!! Arcelle!! Big stinky Arcelle! I know her!!"

"Waru. If you're done, we're heading back." Incubus wings spread out from Veinth, who had finished his business with the maid. Quickly, Waru scampered onto the man, who simply bowed at the two girls and left.

'So he was an incubus...? I wonder what that magic was.' Waving goodbye to the flying duo, Mistreil watched as they ascended and exite the area.

"I just gave him some energy, that's all. He's an incubus, but not very incubus-like. Don't worry about it." Laima smiled, patting the girl on the head.

Nodding in response, the milletian continued to stare at the stars for a while. As much as she enjoyed the bustling events of the day, the peace and quiet was nice too.

Laima watched as well, before taking a seat and lightly tugging on Mistreil's yukata for her to sit too. While they would wait for the other half of their group to finish and meet up so they could head home, stargazing was pretty nice.

[ask-mistreil]

"Oh, are you done?" The maid watched as Mistreil walked away from her friend, smiling a bit as she noticed the joy emanating from the red haired girl. The peace of their day seemingly took a turn as, in the corner of the pair's range of vision, Pide and Paytel were walking near the bonfire.

"Oh, that's--" As Mistreil began to speak, Laima grabbed her hand and quickly paced away.

'No way am I letting them meet, and if she finds out I dunked Pide... Oh boy.' Eventually Laima stopped near the western side of the beach, opposite where their sandcastle was built.

(( rest under cut because really long -- tl;dr fireworks interrupt confession like classic shoujo, laima gets rejected ))

"Laima? I-Is everything okay?" Peering quietly at the older woman, Mistreil was relatively confused at what just happened. Did Laima not like Pide and Paytel? Did she know them? Or... was it something else?

"... S-Sorry. Y-Yeah. Everything's okay... I..." Laima's voice trailed off as she thought to herself, 'God, with that amount of stuttering and pausing, you'd think I'm Mistreil or something. I'm... not cute like her, though.' Picking her sentence back up, her speech returned to its usual firm self, "You were happy today, right?"

"Y-Yeah...! Today was fun... Was it fun for you too?"

"Yeah. Unlike your other outings, you're okay right now and happy, aren't you?" The maid had a set course in mind for the conversation and drove its path.

"...? Yeah..." Mistreil had no idea what Laima was getting at, but realized it was something serious.

"I'll be blunt: Nekyu, Cyniel, Pide... You told me that you couldn't understand how they thought, right? They're what I'd call 'chaotic'. You didn't see any of those types of people today, did you?"

Mistreil slowly nodded in agreement, '... Oh. That's what this was getting at.'

"So why don't you just... stop? Stop getting involved with those types. You yourself know that nothing's going to change, so... Can't you just stop getting involved with them and be happy? Like today." Concern was written on Laima's face as she spoke these words, but Mistreil just shook her head slightly.

"N-No... I mean, I could... But... I would be happy I guess, but..." A weak smile crossed her face, "T-That's not me then, is it? I-I mean, I could live peacefully... Ignorant... Safe and happy... But I won't understand anything. Are those... 'chaotic' people happy? Are the people they come in contact with happy? Are they safe? Can... Can I help anyone? I... have a lot of time to live, so..."

Laima grew impatient. She already knew these things, and decided to press on, "What will you do when you understand them, though? I mean, that's all it gives you: insight on how they think. You won't be able to change them to some norm-- you know that! So why?"

"... If... I can't do anything, even knowing how they think, then that's that... If I can protect others from being hurt-- people that can't live forever like me-- then that's more important, isn't it...? Even if it's only one day, maybe that day would be important... I-I want to help people. I want to protect people... I... want to learn what people are like: bad and good." Mistreil's stance was clear on the matter, and the maid sighed in response. It was sound logic, sure, but... She wasn't pleased.

"What if you never find the time to be happy? You were miserable for a few months! What if months turn to years, years into millenia?" More concern came from the older woman, and in return the red head just smiled a bit.

"I... I'll take the small amounts of happiness as they come. Like today! I think... I think it was worth it. I'm not going to stop... I-I'm sorry, Laima. Thank you, but I--"

"I know," interjecting, she sighed and smiled a bit, "you're happiest when you get to help people. You're happy sacrificing yourself and your own happiness if it means someone else gets to be happy. As long as people are safe. I know that. And you wouldn't drop your 'friends'-- Pide, Nekyu, Cyniel, if that person you saw before really was Cyniel anyways-- you'd never do that to anyone. I know. You're kind and naive, but it's not really naivete. It's just reckless hope in others and in the world. I know, I know... But...!"

"Laima..." Mistreil reached to pat her, but the maid just held her hands and stared at her. A soft smile appeared on the frustrated woman.

"I guess that's why I..."

Fireworks obscured her next words, as the dolls they carried combusted. Startled, Mistreil looked at where the dolls used to be in despair. Laima's face was also full of despair, but for another reason.

'Are you kidding me? This actually happens? Damn you, Lymilark!' Laima swore internally, frustrated. All that build up, all that effort-- just to be ruined by a crappy scene straight out of a trashy romance novel. Paper rained on the duo, all but one of which read "Better luck next time...", 'SON OF A-- BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME? NEXT TIME WHAT? THE NEXT TIME I TRY TO CONFESS?'

"T-This one's different..." Mistreil picked up a slip nearby the maid, "O-oh. Congratulations, Laima! Y-You won the raffle!"

"... Great. Did... Did you hear what I said?" Laima stared, sighing. She couldn't even hear her own words. As expected, Mistreil shook her head. Laima had no idea what to do now. Things weren't following her intended idea, and she couldn't pick back up. As she paused to think, the small girl spoke up.

"I think... I know what you were going to say, though."

The maid froze. This was unexpected.

"A-A confession... right? That... you like me...? I-I mean, if I'm wrong that's okay, but--" Laima stared, mouth agape. She shook her head a bit, though maybe she was supposed to nod?

"No. No, you're right."

Mistreil went quiet, before kissing Laima on the cheek, "I'm sorry," her voice was clear and resolute, but also apologetic, "you're important to me, but... I don't think my love is the same as yours. I don't really know what romantic love is supposed to feel like. I'm sorry. Would you still want to work with me, though...? If you don't I--"

"Don't say that," the maid sighed, placing her hand on the girls' head, "I know. Or, well, I guessed as much. I... just wanted to try. That's all. I mean, if I can live alongside you, then that's... that's okay too."

"... Thank you."

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Taking the paper, Mistreil stared at it in awe. A large smile crossed her face as she nodded, "O-okay! Thank you, Yuujin! M-Mine too, then...!"

Producing a piece of paper from god knows where, she scribbled hers down as well, passing it to the green haired elf. "I-It's at the base of Osna Sail-- sort of near Emain!"

"I should probably get going," she giggled a bit, glancing to Laima who had been loitering nearby, "Again... Thanks, Yuujin! Take care!"

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Relief swept over the girl, followed by excitement. Thank goodness everything was okay... And... Married! Yuujin got married!

"Congratulations!" She beamed, elated at the news. Amidst all the people she knew, Yuujin's relationship was probably the most normal and happiest-- and probably the only existent one. It was nice to talk about happy things! Small, simple, normal conversations. Peaceful. No sign of blood. Nothing depressing. Nothing complicated. It was weird how normal this was, but nice.

"As far as Pide and Paytel go... I think we're still friends? Nothing else really happened, I guess. So... Y-Yeah, I think we're still friends," though she was smiling, she had absolutely no idea how those two considered her. Paytel has asked to be friends, but she wasn't really able to watch after Pide very well. "I-In any case... I'm glad everything ended up okay."

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ] 

Taking a seat beside Yuujin, Mistreil felt relieved. She seemed okay, at the very least. Then again, the only person that would probably mope around for such a long time would be... herself.

"I-I've been good! Today's been especially nice-- there was a surfing contest and... Well, I didn't win, but I got to ride a dolphin! And then there were sandcastles and-- U-uhh... Today's been good. How about you? How've you been?" The girl quieted down a bit, thinking herself a little inconsiderate for rambling about her day. "A-About prom... Did everything turn out okay...?"

Wait. Crap. If things didn't end up okay at the promenade, what if she was dampening the elf's mood by bringing it up? Oh god. I mean, Goo seemed to care about her, so maybe it ended up okay, but... She really hoped she didn't mess up just now.

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Finishing their vast amounts of cotton candy, Mistreil made her way to the bonfire with Laima. Lots of people seemed to be gathering there, and the young milletian wondered if she would see any familiar faces there-- and she did! Lying on a beach chair was Yuujin, stargazing.

... Would it be okay to say hi? She wanted to know if Yuujin was okay, considering what happened at the promenade. Goo didn't seem like he was around, so maybe she was here alone?

"Hey," Laima nudged the girl a little, "If you want to talk to someone, go for it. It never hurts to say 'hi', right?"

... Oops. Her staring was obvious. But her friend was right-- she had nothing to lose! Her optimism returning, Mistreil walked over and smiled, "Y-Yuujin? Hello!"

[ask-mistreil]

Returning to the red-haired girl, Laima marvelled at the sandcastle she had made. On her way back, the maid had retrieved their night attires (more accurately, she called on the crow to get it), and with them in hand, she looked at Mistreil.

"Sorry I'm so late. The castle looks... amazing." She smiled, patting the girl on the head.

"It's okay... And thanks! You sent me really nice materials to work with-- although... I don't know what to do with them now." Mistreil was still in a relatively good mood, and she was happy to see Laima was okay too.

"... Well... I'm... sure we could eat the cotton candy." Damn. Happy Mistreil was cute, and sort of rare. It was nice though. Relieved at the milletian's mood, her composure went to hell, "O-oh yeah, I got our yukatas-- Well, Labentis got them and dropped them off. I sort of just... brought..."

"Laima," Mistreil walked over, looking up at the slightly tanned girl, "Your hair's curling a little... U-um. Can you sit down for a moment?"

'... Embarrassing. This stupid hair... This stupid body... This--' The maid's thoughts and self-deprecation stopped as Mistreil began fixing her hair. Laima's mood shot back up, and tried desperately to maintain control over her facial muscles and actions, 'This... This is okay. Good, even. I can... live... with this. Thank you, hair.'

"Okay! Done!" Mistreil sparkled, proud of her work, and Laima took a piece of cotton candy and put it in her mouth as a reward.

"Mistreil! I uh... Thank... you." Not the words she wanted to say, but that's all she could utter. The smaller girl smiled in return, picking up her yukata.

"Thank you too! And Labentis!" She was positively radiant at this point, "I guess we should get changed."

With that, the two girls slid their yukatas over top their swimsuits, with Laima holding onto her hoodie. As Mistreil collected the remaining dolls and food, the duo began to walk around, wondering what to do next. The morning was eventful, and the night more tranquil.

"I think we should leave Guede and Arcelle alone for a while." The freckled girl chuckled, to which the other nodded in agreement.

"Probably. Did Labentis go home already?"

"No, he's hanging around the area... Somewhere. Taking in the sights, maybe."

Their conversation continued as they walked through the festival, slowly going through the cotton candy.

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Laima stared at the elf. She had no doubt about it-- that was Pide.

-- "Little boy."

She didn’t give a damn if paying for the dunk tank was helping him in any way. Hell, she would pay him loads if he was willing to swim in a tank of crabs and get pinched into oblivion.

“His name’s Pide, right?” She looked at the less bratty elf, keeping her temper in check. Removing some of the money from her pouch, she handed it to Paytel: What remained in it was 30,200 gold. Enough for 3 crabs and 6 attempts. If she hit him early, then they could just keep the extra hundred.

“Yes, that is my brother, Pide,” Paytel said as he was given the gold pouch. In the background, Pide was beginning to throw out insults at her. “Have you met him before…” He trailed off as he opened the bag. At first sight, he could tell it was already more than double of what they had made earlier today. Paytel shut his mouth in astonishment and simply turned around to put it away.

“...How much was in there?” Frankly, he was a bit too lazy to count it all.

Confirmation was all she needed. Ignoring whatever other insults Pide slung, she looked at the other man.

“Thirty-thousand, two hundred. And no, we haven’t met before.” Laima paused. How would she exactly explain her distaste for him? Well, whatever. “I was going to bring Mistreil to the promenade, but he apparently beat me to the punch by a few hours.”

Oh. Prom. The reminder had thrown back so many mixed feelings at him. “Sorry to hear that,” Paytel simply said. It really was a shame that Pide had to go instead of this girl, but he felt like he wasn’t really in a position to apologize for it any more than he just did.

Paytel picked up the bucket of crabs dropped three of them into the tank, one by one. “You fucking dyke,” Pide yelled out, “You’re wasting your money!” Paytel then handed the girl six sandbags and positioned her on the mat placed in front of him, as the set distance the player had to throw the bags at. said, “If you hit the target in your first three tries, you win the prize, okay? Good luck.” He stepped out of her way.

You hit the target right in the center, and Pide falls to his doom. He gets bitten by the crabs in the tank. Wrecked.

Paytel congratulates you and hands you a raffle doll as a prize. It is an Ishiki doll. Behind him, you see Pide struggling to get back onto his seat. He slips a little, and you can see the crabs still attached to him, but once he’s back on the chair, he picks them off and curses you quite excessively.

You decide that you are ten times cooler than this fucker and he doesn’t deserve any more of your attention. You take your leave. Swag.

“You don’t seem so damn straight either!” She retorted, throwing the bag. Her aim had never been very good, but surprisingly, she hit the target. Satisfaction quelled her emotions as she received a doll from Paytel. She simply left afterwards, refusing to be provoked any further-- she was in far too good of a mood. Perhaps this calm would let her brain function properly around Mistreil.

[ask-mistreil]

[ With mention of [x] ]

"Labentis?" Mistreil watched as the crow dropped some materials, as well as a letter from Laima. Something about "meeting someone she didn't expect to see" and "hopefully she'd be back soon, but here are some materials for the sandcastle in case she wasn't".

Well, at least it wasn't her fault. Probably.

The girl stared at the sand for a while and the materials. Lots of popsicles, cotton candy and... other food. Cotton candy was sort of like clouds, so... A castle in the clouds? Suddenly, inspiration hit her: Jack and the Beanstalk!

And thus she began building, using a bit of magic to help her keep the land stable. As she worked, she devoured the popsicles-- for Jack's house, of course. Grabbing a few leaves from nearby palm trees, she created the beanstalk and it's castle-- but she didn't really want to put the cotton candy on the sand. What a waste... She'd need something to block it.

As she thought about it, she made the 'goose that laid golden eggs' and placed it on a lemon, also building Jack's house and the fence. After a while, she noticed the lettuce and placed that to protect the cotton candy, which she aptly blended to make a cloud.

Ta-da! Placing the raffle dolls she received, her creation was finished: Oonthe was the giant, Ishiki was Jack and Milreaf was Jack's mom! Hooray! All she had to do was wait for judging and for Laima... Wherever she was.

--- Laima's Side

Eavesdropping, she overheard some singing. He wasn't bad, but she didn't want to admit it. After a while, she noticed his twin return to the booth-- so one of them really was "Pide".

10,000 gold for a crab. 100 gold to try and dunk him. She had 33,200 gold left.

It would be well worth it. She moved a bit closer, but figured she should probably wait for the blue-haired man in front of her to finish whatever he was doing.

[ask-mistreil]

Mistreil returned to her friends in time for the sandcastle building contest, Ishiki doll in hand. As soon as she reached them however, Laima pulled her away, much to the girl’s confusion.

“Laima?”

“We’re splitting into teams-- Those two against us! Let’s go.” The maid explained, dragging her away. Turning to face Guede, she stuck her tongue out-- a very unusual gesture coming from her.

“O-okay… Good luck, Arcelle! Guede!” Mistreil cheered them on, though sort of confused.

Laima was about to retort, telling the red haired girl not to wish them luck, but decided to ignore it. Hopefully this would earn both herself points with Mistreil and Guede points with Arcelle.

After a few minutes of walking, the red haired milletian looked at her friend. "Laima? We're at the other end of the beach..."

"R-Right." A little embarrassed, Laima released her hand. "I-I guess we should start."

"...? Laima, are you oka--"

"--! Ah. We need shovels and buckets and stuff. I-I'll be back. Don't worry. Just start thinking of ideas or something!" Shoving the raffle dolls into her arms, Laima quickly got up and walked away. Her brain was quickly becoming a mess. 'Damn. Mistreil looked cute holding that doll near the setting sun. Too cute. I'm way too nervous. This is bad.'

As Mistreil was left to contemplate whether she did something wrong, Laima headed to the booths. Shovels, buckets, some cute gimmicks they might use... She bought quite a few things until a certain stand caught her eye. A dunk tank. Inside it was an elf. Light purple hair, looked and sounded like a complete jerk. Sort of hot. He more or less matched Guede's description, although he was supposed to have a twin or something. It... wouldn't hurt to hang around and listen for a while though. If he really was 'Pide', then...

Well, she had around 30,000 gold left. It would be well worth it. It'd be bad to make Mistreil wait more, so she quickly wrote a letter and sent Labentis, their crow, to deliver it and their materials.

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Flustered at his gratitude, the girl laughed nervously. "I-It's okay! I don't really need anything... Oh! If it's okay, then let's be friends! I'm Mistreil! Nice to meet you, Tsubasa!"

She really didn't need anything, but it was always nice making friends and meeting people. The dolphins had set her in a good mood, and her new friend (if he accepted) was okay. Just as she finished speaking, the host of the surfing contest approached her and passed her the raffle doll. It was of Ishiki. The last doll her group of friends needed. Today was a great day.

"U-Um! Thank you!" She looked at Oonthe, sparkling with joy. He seemed to stare at her for a while, baffling the girl slightly. Did she do something wrong? Was something-- oh! The sandcastle contest was starting! Grabbing Tsubasa's hands, she shook them quickly before running off to meet up with Laima, Guede and Arcelle.

"Sorry! I should probably start the sandcastle making... thing... It was really nice meeting you! I hope I'll see you around!"

[ask-mistreil]

[ In response to [x] ]

Still riding the dolphin, Mistreil watched the other competitors. One in particular seemed like he might be in trouble, landing on some rocks and crashing into the waters. Motioning the dolphin towards him, she grabbed his hand from under the water and decided to bring him to shore.

Of course, she could've been wrong and he could've been perfectly fine and not in need of her help, but... Well, she was heading to the shore anyways, and as a competitor in the surfing contest without a board... It seemed like the best option.

Landing back on the beach, Mistreil waved the dolphin off and looked at the man, concerned.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the medic's tent...?"

[ask-mistreil]

Heading out to the water, Mistreil got on the surfboard provided to her by the staff and began paddling. It was simple enough, and she found herself out at sea. She tried to stand on the board, but realized it was absolutely terrifying, so she chose to stay on her knees for a while longer.

'Oh god, this was a terrible idea. I mean, I still get a doll as a participation prize, but...' Looking around, she noticed a few people that were as confused as she was. This was slightly reassuring, but it also meant she had no lead to follow.

As a small wave approached, she stood and tried her best to balance and ride it out. Success! Looking around, she noticed some fish swimming nearby to her amusement. Things were starting to look up, and her confidence began growing. As a few more waves came, she noticed a few dolphin nearby that, upon noticing her, began swimming alongside her.

'Dolphins...' A smile spread on her face as she looked at them. The water was at a calm for now, and one of them rose to the surface beside her. 'I... I could try to win this surfing contest, but... I mean... I get the participation prize anyways, right? And besides! Dolphins!'

She slowly climbed onto the dolphin, lightly holding onto its dorsal fin. Careful not to cover the blowhole on its head, she sailed along the surface for a while before the mammal decided to take a plunge into the water. Quickly taking a breath of air, she closed her eyes as she felt the water rush against her. Opening her eyes slightly, she felt them sting a small bit at the water, but soon adjusted. The water was calming and the view was beautiful.

Glad that she came to the festival, she decided to ride on the dolphin until the surfing contest ended, unless something else happened.