#celeste would be like I GUESS I FINALLY SCARED THEM OFF/THEY LEARNED NOT TO MESS WITH ME!!!

[choccy-milky]

finally drew clora and seb's kids!!🙌🙌

Celeste Sallow: OK THIS IS THE NAME IM SUPER PROUD OF BAHAHA because not only does the name celeste relate to the stars (in typical ravenclaw fashion...clora picked the name) but celeste sallow is also an alliteration. BUT, its an alliteration that begins with a C, which means clora gets to match with celeste in the form of both of their names starting with a C, whereas sebastian gets to match with celeste because both of their names are an alliteration/they're alliteration allies🥹ITS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!🥳

Lewis Sallow: as for lewis, if you've read my fic then you know that seb has a vendetta against names that start with an L bahaha, but 'lewis' was actually HIS idea. when celeste was born, seb wanted to find a muggle story to read to her, since clora's favourite story is ALSO a muggle one (sherlock), and he wanted to stick with tradition. so he ended up finding alice in wonderland, which he loved because of how adventurous and clever alice was and of how much she reminded him of clora and celeste (both personality and looks wise). it became his favourite for those reasons, to the point that when they had lewis, sebastian overcame his L-name hatred by naming their son after lewis carroll.

Houses: celeste could have been sorted into either gryffindor or slytherin, but ultimately ends up in slytherin because she wants to be like seb. kinda like how clora also probably could have been in gryffindor, tbh. as for lewis.....him being 10000% in ravenclaw doesnt need any explanation BAHA, just look at him.

Appearance: since clora has a tiny bit of veela blood in her, thats obvs passed down to their kids, too, and so they mostly take after her as a result of it. but there's still little bits of seb that shine through in each of the kids: for lewis its his brown curly hair, and for celeste its her complexion/freckles. and the fact that celeste looks so similar to clora only doubles up sebastian's stress/protective instincts when he watches her BAHAH. he's ofc still proud that she takes after him so closely, but seb also cant deny that he wishes it had been their SON that had taken after him instead, to keep her out of danger.

Celeste & Lewis: for celeste and lewis’ relationship, celeste is a super proud big sister, and treats lewis kinda like how seb treats clora. if there's anything that needs to be done, she offers to do it for him. and although she doesn’t have the patience to read stories herself, she loves playing outside and having lewis read to her in the background, and loves to act out/use his stories to fuel her imagination. and lewis makes sure to pick stories that he KNOWS she’ll like (which mostly involve heroic and daring feats of adventurers or pirates. he's tried to read more classic fairytales and romances to her a few times, but celeste always gets bored). she loves to draw though, so sometimes when lewis reads books that have no pictures, she'll draw them herself.

Celeste & Seb/Clora: celeste is a daddy's girl LOL and always tries to impress seb with the stuff she does, especially after hearing how HE was at her age, and so its half to impress and half because shes competitive that she wants to do the same/be just as good. and seb always gets a kick out of hearing her feats in the crossed wands club, or in defense against the dark arts class, and he also goads her on, telling her she'll have to do better than that if she wants to be as good as HE was. and whenever celeste gets detention, clora always stresses and asks why, whereas seb just tries to keep the smirk off his face. as for celeste and clora, clora also reads to celeste, and bakes and cooks with her, which is something celeste actually likes doing. not only because it keeps her busy and she likes to help and get messy in general, but also because she likes the fact that it results in good food afterwards LOL, and constantly asks when things can be taken out of the oven. also, for as tomboy-y as celeste is, she honestly doesn't mind/likes the clothing that clora puts her in and likes when clora dresses her up, bc it makes her look like one of the princesses from the storybooks, and it just amuses her more than anything else. once she enters hogwarts, though, its mostly trousers. but she still DOES like the occasional girly clothing.

Lewis & Seb/Clora: lewis is a momma's boy LOL and unlike celeste, doesnt care about duelling or of proving himself or anything like that, and is only concerned with stories and his future studies. so ofc clora had to show him sherlock, which he naturally loved. it even inspired lewis to want to write his own stories, so that he could challenge his own skill and see if he could, but also because he wants his mom to read them, and likes the idea of writing his own sherlock-esque story with equations and mysteries to be solved that he can offer her. lewis also wants to write a book for celeste as well, bc although he wont admit it, he basically wants to write a story tailor-made for her and her interests. one that he thinks will have everything she’d love in it. and part of it is genuinely because he WANTS to do it for her, but the other part of it is also for his ego, and to see if he CAN write a compelling story, and write something that would actually get THE hyperactive celeste to sit down and read it in its entirety (not to mention of her own volition). as for with seb, lewis looks up to him more than anyone else, due to how well-rounded he is and how hes so good at practical stuff AND studying, and he kinda sees seb as a main character/protagonist from one of his books, and uses sebastian as inspiration for his own stories. if hes stuck on what he thinks the dashing main character should do next, he'll ask his dad what HE would do, which results in seb getting very weird questions that he nonetheless is always happy to answer. also, when lewis is older and finally learns the full story of what happened with clora and seb and ranrok and rookwood, he writes their story in novel form, except he just changes their names/some of the details, and it becomes a best seller LOL. and i didnt know where to put this, but the four of them all read a story before bed every night, with lewis in the middle and seb and clora on either side of him. though celeste stands at the foot of the bed, basically doing a charade/mime show of what theyre reading, and putting on a little play to go along with it BAHHA.

OK thats all i can think of for now ive yapped enough😩 if youve read all of this ur a real one.... ive also considered giving them a 3rd (and last) child, which would be a boy that looks exactly like seb, and seb would just be praying like please.....let this son take after me🧎‍♂️🙏 BAHHA

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 47

Previous / Next:

-

"So what do you think angel?".

Sky motioned to the platters of food that were nearly finished, having prepped the chefs and even helped out with, lexi adding final touches wherever she wanted, much to the chef's dismay. Angel of course seemed super tired and still stressed, as if thinking any small thing could ruin the whole entire night and mess things up with the king of spider monsters.

His dad wasn't cruel, he was no toffee or shastacan.

But the disappointment was enough to scare him.

He never used to care about this before, but now...it was always on his mind, taking over it. He nervously looked over what they had prepared, his father was coming in a few minutes, he wasn't dressed because they had been occupied with getting the dining hall ready and checking and changing the dinner options...5 times, they had wasted so much time and angel still wasn't sure they got things right.

"I...I'm not sure...maybe-".

"Angel...we don't have much time left, we spent hours getting stuff ready...we gotta get you changed...we're going to have to go with this...", she wasn't saying it to be mean, but angel didn't have time to be picky right now, especially if he wanted to have anything ready at all for his father. She patted his back to reassure him and ask if there was anything else he wanted to add to the meal his father would like.

But he only shook his head, disappointed but knowing she was right and they had to get moving.

"Let's go get changed...", his voice sounded defeated as he waved to marco before heading his way out, followed by sky who also waved to the demon queen, "Just don't be long, we'll be calling everyone to dinner very soon, remember he's not the only new guest we have here tonight". They gave her a knowing look and sky felt a fit in her stomach at remembering her grandma was finally coming over.

"I'm surprised you're so calm", he mumbled to the butterfly princess.

"Hmm?".

Angel turned to face her, "Your grandma is coming over and you're acting like it's not a big deal at all, you're not panicking over food, what you're going to wear...you're the complete opposite of me...". Sky was actually nervous even if he didn't think she looked it, but at the same time this event wasn't exactly about impressing her or proving anything to her so she had little reason to freak...as much.

There were other reasons to worry about her grandma that involved stuff outside of sky herself.

Whatever was really happening was more between her grandma...and her mom, less so about sky, her own mom had way more of a reason to be packing just as bad as angel was at the moment. Her grandma could be soft and sweet but also strict and scary if she wanted to be, not to mention pretty overbearing, she seemed to think at times she knew better then others.

Which of course, did not work for the current queen at all.

She had been trying to keep her mom out of her work for as long as she could, and now she was coming and there was nothing more she could do to convince the former queen to turn back to her retirement. She was coming and it would take more then usual to get her to turn back and away from the mess she had come to help try and fix where her daughter had failed.

Moon had gotten involved with sky being queen...a little, but her main focus was usually on her own daughter, after all...her daughter was meant to be the one teaching sky in the first place. So if she had to butt in and do star's job for her that wasn't good on star herself, though sky would argue this made moon look just as bad when it came to teaching star in the first place.

Anyways, she hated to even be involved during their bickering with stuff like this, she was lucky so far her life involved a lot less of it then she could've had. Being involved in the drama of two adults is a lot like being involved in the drama of two annoying teenagers, and sky had the urge to ask landon to borrow some of his headphones just to be safe.

"Well...guess i don't stress as much about making a good impression...most of the time, even when people were treating me like garbage i never really put on a fake persona and look to impress them so i guess it's just something i don't do", sky shrugged and tugged the prince along further, "But i mean, you got it way worse then me right now so that also probably makes a difference...".

"This feels like something a child would do after breaking one of their parent's things...doesn't it?".

"I guess you can say that yeah".

He hid his face within his hands, red, "You must think i seem like a real fool right now, you keep trying to reassure me and i keep freaking out about it and i just can't help it..." and that's when sky held out her hand, him taking it...still embarrassed. "It's fine, i'm not making fun of you for it...i get it, this whole thing is kinda important to you...you're going to be ok".

"I need to breathe more often...".

"It's still a learning process, you'll get used to it...hopefully, c'mon let's just get you dressed before you melt into the floor", she tugged him along as they made it to her room, which of course, was very much guarded still, angel awkwardly sat on the bed as sky headed inside her own wardrobe. "I'm assuming you're personally not into dresses so we'll rule that out for now, besides, i don't think any of my dresses will work with your back legs anyway".

Angel touched one of them in response.

"Good call".

"Now what i DO have is some stuff i was going to give to judas for his coronation, i started working on clothes ideas and these are mostly scrapped...i haven't had a ton of time to work on them exactly...but i nearly forgot i had been working on a few things for him...so maybe you can wear one...if you want to that is...if not i got other stuff in here...".

"Such as?".

She walked out holding a leather jacket and jeans.

"I mean, look, i dunno what exactly is your style outside of fancy stuff...but you could try...?", angel stared at the clothing with uncertainty, he still clearly didn't know what he wanted to do with his appearance and he had little time to think about it. Sky placed the clothes on the bed, "Hey...look...you can do whatever you wanna do...just make sure it's something you want to do...".

He took a minute to really think about it, nodding his head as he softly spoke.

"Well...leather might not really be me...but...you...have any sweaters in there? That might be more my speed...but...i'll wear a shirt under it and um...I'm ok wearing one of jude's jackets...", something about how he said it made sky smile, he seemed actually happy with his own choice. A choice made by him for him and not to please his father or anyone in particular.

"Sounds good, i can find that for you, you can shower real quick and we'll be good to go".

"What about you?".

She turned to face him, "I'll be fine as is...promise, you just need to worry about yourself and what you wanna say when your dad finally arrives, that's WAY more of a concern. You can think about it more in the shower and everything...". Angel glanced at the clothes and drawings sky and sunny had been working on earlier, clearly being reminded of the upcoming plans.

But he didn't say anything, instead sky fetched what he needed and he was quickly shoved into the closest nearby royal bathroom. What emerged soon later as a fresher smelling prince of the Arachmen, wearing a collared shift with a sweater and jacket overtop, he still had some nice shows and pants on but he seemed quite comfortable, his hair tired back behind him but a lot looser then it used to.

"How do i look?", he held out his arms and spun around to show the princess all of his angels, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

"Like a goober".

"What?".

"You look great, trust me, but tell me how you feel about it?".

He looked down at himself, adjusting his sweater, "Well...i feel...warm...and...comfortable".

"Perfect".

"You really seem to care about...me liking this stuff...don't you?", she shrugged as she brushed his sweater to make sure there weren't any loose hairs on him, "Well i mean, as someone who got annoyed at my parents telling me not to wear my hat for fun events, i'm not the person that's gonna force you one way or another...i just want you to like...be comfortable being yourself...and being that way to other people".

He softened at that as they made their way to the dining hall, to meet up with everyone. Most of everyone did seem to be there, though the most notable absent ones were judas, landon, celeste, her other mom, and...mason? She saw Queen Lucitor dressed up nearby in a rather radiant looking dress before approaching, still tugging angel along, guess angel wasn't the only one who decided to dress up real quick before dinner.

"Hey...where's-?".

"Judas? Off taking some time for himself still...hopefully he'll rejoin us soon, he's being kept company by katrina right now actually, she called in a bit ago. As for mason, he's still with fae and janna, they'll be a little late to eat, and well...landon and celeste are apparently visiting luna right now...so i'm not sure how long they'll be there but sadly we don't have time to retrieve them all...we'll just have to check in on them at dinner".

"Wait...visiting luna? Why in the heck would either of those grumps even want to be in the same room as her right now?", but she didn't have the time to question it, as here came her mom, in a rather nice golden dress and fixing her crown as she ran past her own daughter and into the dining room, the heavily armed guards quick to get out of her way.

"Guess Grandma's here...".

And sure enough, as sky turned around, followed by a few more guards came a new flowing figure with silvery hair tied back in a braid, wearing a blue gown with a cape, and with diamond marks that matched her heavy makeup. Angel was stuck in place, unable to move, and sky followed, stiff as a board upon her arrival, now wishing she had changed her clothing.

"Hello Skyler".

And before sky could say more she noticed another figure approaching and if the situation didn't make it obvious enough, the spider legs did. King Amir ArachFord striding his way next to the former queen, standing in place, looking rather nice all things considered, guards nearby holding gifts for most likely his wife as he looked at the group who had been waiting for their arrival.

Angel looked like he might actually have fainted.

"Hello Angelus.".

"Hello...fath...dad".

This was going to one hell of an awkward evening.

-

"We outta do this with fae more often...", janna smirked, way too pleased with herself as the mole man trembled in his seat just looking at fae. Ever since the girl had come into the room everything had gone from bad to worse, the lights broke, his chair broke, a rock fell from the ceiling and hit him on the head, he fell over a dozen times, it was eerie to say the least.

Something about the little girl was off, and yet somehow, the other small demon in the room seemed so unfazed, sitting and cheering her on.

In fact everyone was unfazed but him.

The downside to working with her was well, she was a wild card, there was a high chance something bad to could happen to any of them, though the difference was he was alone, they were not. Fae didn't want to accidentally hurt mason but she wanted his companionship in this situation, she would've felt way more uncomfortable without a face she was used to helping her out.

She had never considered her cruse to be much more then an annoyance at least, burden at worst, being asked to put it to use had been an...interesting idea she never considered before. Though she did feel a little uneasy interrogating anyone, she wasn't exactly sure about this guy much and even with her abilities and protection...who knows what her powers might do.

Might make things worse.

But janna seemed confident, jackie writing in her notepad as janna lured around their prisoner.

"You really voluntarily decided to work for a criminal? I mean i get the appeal and everything but you made a bad choice in working with the one who nearly hurt my kid", nearby jackie sighed and shook her head, janna never changed did she? "I mean, sure she's super scary and everything, but you didn't even think to turn her into us? Woulda saved us a lot of work".

"Look, i had no idea she was a criminal, i told you, our kingdom barely knew about all of this...ok? She showed up, needed a place to stay, i had that old chamber and she stayed...that was it".

"You knew she was doing bad stuff though", Jackie added, "Otherwise you wouldn't have reacted the way you did in the bar when the queens and king confronted you, you keep denying you knew the full extent but you clearly knew something more you haven't told us about...there's no way you didn't know something, she had a child locked up down there for hours...and you ran from us when we tried to arrest you...".

"Well i-".

"If you are as innocent as you claim you're certainly not making yourself out to look that way to any extent, you're better off confessing the truth then risk us going any further to scare it out of you...there's no point in defending this person so much". She sent him a cold glare that challenged those of even moon's as the man shook a little as a result.

" You have no idea how scared i was...how much she made me fear for my life, that she would never leave me be and would destroy me if i said or did anything, i meant no harm to anyone, but i had to worry for my own safety lest it have happened to anyone else i had known in my home". Jackie kept writing in her pad, "Sir, we are not trying to pretend you weren't afraid...but you could leave, you should've told someone".

"And what? Risk being killed? Even now if i say anything more i risk them bursting in here and destroying me, you lot can't protect me, you couldn't even protect your own castle. I'm better off shutting my trap and keeping quiet about what's going on then risking my own life. Even if...you have dangerous children around to scare info out of me...at least dying to her might be...less painful then whatever that magical horror might do", she didn't seem as sure on that last part but he shut his mouth tight.

Janna didn't seem to enjoy that, she didn't felt they were getting rather close on the whole matter, they'd been in here for hours at this point and had only gotten just a little of what they were looking for, and they needed so much more. They could already feel themselves getting hungry and they couldn't stay much longer, but they didn't want to leave like this, without what she had been looking for since the moment she entered this room.

He had to know something more that he wasn't sharing, he couldn't be this out of the dark like angel was.

Janna stood in front of him now, face in his face, she was good at scaring people in her kingdom but he wasn't from her kingdom...so it was unlikely he knew who he was messing with. She couldn't exactly hurt him, jackie was in the room after all and so were two kids, but she had a thing for mindgames and of course...hypnotism. So maybe she needed to try something else to get it out of him.

"Janna?".

"Hmm?".

"I don't like that look on your face, i know what it means", and indeed jackie had remembered it since they were really young kids, it was the kinda face that told her to be very mindful of janna's next few actions, otherwise she might get into a mess herself. It was also the face she tended to make before marco got themselves in a whole heck of trouble from her.

"What does it mean?", the man asked, a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice.

This of course, immediately made janna very happy, she might of finally had something.

"Oh well, you won't have to worry about that, not unless you talk to us", she drummed her fingernails on the table between them, "I mean, you don't wanna ask questions you don't want the answers to after all". He didn't want to show he was worried, but janna could sense it on him, so distracted he didn't notice fae's bad luck triggering a glass of water nearby to shatter, scaring jackie and the kids.

"You're bluffing".

"I'm one of the queens of mewni, if i want to make a threat, don't assume it always means i'm just bluffing, you'd be surprised the kinda people i've been able to crack...much tougher then you".

He appeared as if he wanted to say something in response to that but chose to keep his mouth shut instead. Janna seemed pleased at that response, though maybe she would've liked for him to challenge her, would be a perfect way to start scaring him. Jackie tugged on janna's shoulder, pulling her back, "Trust me when i say, she doesn't really tend to bluff...but she is also right...you might be better off admitting what you have on you...".

"I...I stated my reasons...i can't".

"Sir, this is to help protect tons of people, if you tell us what you know many people can rest well at night, we understand you are fearful, so are we...but this is important and you need to be brave for them", he paused a moment, thinking on her words, but he still shook his head. "Sorry, no can do...if i have to live in this prison for the rest of my life, i'll take that over meeting a gruesome fate".

He just wasn't going to budge, and they were just going to have to change tactics.

Janna looked to Jackie, still grinning and clearly asking permission for her to go wild on the man before them, and jackie...as reluctant as she was...knew she just wasn't going to be winning this one.

"Look, i'm not ok with you doing stuff like that, but as long as not actual physical harm comes to him, then it's worth a shot i guess...but i am taking the kids outside, they really should eat something and i don't think they should be apart of this if we're about to make things get a whole lot worse, and i definitely don't want whatever you do affecting them...so...fine". Her reply seemed to make janna even more excited, and the man more confused, clearly expecting violence to have been what janna was talking about.

"We're leaving?", mason asked, stretching his wings.

"Yeah, we're not going to stick around for this mess, trust me, you don't want to...", she left her notepad out for janna, her look stern. "Write anything of importance, don't lose it, and don't go too far...i mean, i know you won't make any promises for sure but i still at the very least want to make sure i say that.". She moved fae away from the scene, and gathered her sword nearby.

"So did i do a good job with this or-?".

"Fae, you did well, but you're still a kid, you need a break...time to let janna take over for a bit ok?", she headed them out of the heavily guarded and locked door as janna rubbed her hands together, mason spotted the man sweating as the door shut behind them. "Is janna gonna do what the crazy mask person did to Loki? take over his mind and make him speak?", it was odd for him to come out with it like that but he wasn't stupid.

"Kinda...yeah, but not exactly, she's not using magic".

"It's a lot like magic though, magic for the mind".

"I guess if you really think about it, it is a little like magic for the mind, but just remember not to mess with the minds of others for bad purposes, janna is doing it to help us out, and no damage should come to the man...but never use it to harm anyone ok?", sheesh, jackie didn't have any kids and yet she was so...mom-like, patting the two on the shoulder as they nodded.

"Miss Jackie?".

"Hmm?"

"Are you upset about...miss luna?".

This seemed to make her stop in her tracks, blinking at mason curiously, "Well um...i can't say i'm not, i mean she was my top student and imagining her as being an enemy this entire time is well...not quite...what i wanted to happen. Putting your trust in someone only for them to be arrested rarely leaves you with any sort of good feeling, but why are you asking?".

"Cause everyone seems to be really upset about luna, including both my brothers...", his wings feel to the floor, "Judas was pretty close to her and landon...well actually landon kinda doesn't like her but having her here still makes him upset...and you were one of the people who hadn't said much about her since she got here...so...i wanted to know".

"I guess considering she was my student...i probably should've had more to say about all of this...truth be told, i just decided maybe i should stay out of it. It seems like whatever is happening, it's something that more involves the queen and you kids then me, so i just do my job and keep to that, i don't add my own thoughts unless i'm usually asked when it comes to this".

"Why not?".

"Because usually it's not my place, some things you gotta stay out of, i'll be here to help you all whenever you need me, but i won't intrude on your personal feelings and drama like that...not unless you want me too, you guys are going through enough to also include me within all of that. You don't have to worry about me with all of this, ok? Worry about you".

"But i want to, besides, i don't want you to feel upset and left out too~".

She affectionately pet his head, fixing up his hat, "Thanks mason, it's nice of you to care about me, it is genuinely sweet of you." She fixed herself up and took fae's hand, "Hopefully whatever is going on with luna gets sorted out, i'm sure i'll be updated on her as time goes on...since her parents seem to be...unavailable, I'll kinda have to be in charge of her throughout this".

"So...you're kinda gonna be treated like her mom?".

"Basically".

If only she knew.

"Anyways, we'll come back for janna, after you both eat and get whatever else you need, you're been in there long enough anyways".

"Oh yeah, it's dinner time isn't it?", he'd been in there so long he hadn't been keeping track of the time at all, no wonder he was getting so hungry, his family had to have been already eating by this point. "Yeah, though just be careful when we get there, we have guests tonight, we don't want to be impolite or anything...after we eat i'll personally drop fae back to her home...honestly i'm surprised your parents are so...lenient".

"if it makes money, they don't care if i have to do out for a bit", she shrugged and said nothing more.

"You know, you might be unlucky, but people should treat you a little better...being unlucky isn't your fault", she didn't respond again to what she said but jackie swore she at least saw her eye move to look at her a bit, "You're more then just your luck, you're a very charming girl from what i can tell, you're honest, you're helpful, and you clearly care about your family to be trying to help them".

"It's fine, i don't mind being alone and everything, more time to...think and everything", mason stuck his head out to look at her but she still didn't look at either of them, "Mason's my only real friend, everyone is always turned away. Bad Luck, either i lose to them to it or they decided they no longer want to deal with it, it's something i'm just used to".

"Well that doesn't seem fair, friends should stick by through all the trouble you go through, you clearly mean no harm to any of them".

"But i can't blame them either, even now i have to warn people when i first meet them to stay away from me, just in case they might get hurt, mason only hangs with me because he's...not scared of me, he doesn't care...but other people do...i mean, i told him to stay away the first time i met him because i didn't want to be in trouble if he got hurt hanging around me".

"You really feel like this all the time?", now the woman looked extremely concerned, more like a mom then she had expected to be over this small child. "That sounds really awful fae, i'm so sorry you have to go through that at your age...you shouldn't have to be scared about hurting your friends at your age, you should be making friends and spending time with them whenever you can".

"Easier said then done", she mumbled.

"Well, now that i'm here in mewni, i'll see if i can help you make some friends, i train all kinds of knights of many different ages here, they're unafraid of any danger and maybe they're a good fit for you! They probably won't mind your bad luck at all". She seemed rather doubtful of any of that but it was the nicest thing anyone had said to her in a good while that didn't come from mason.

"If you say so".

It probably wasn't the exact answer jackie wanted to hear, but not the worst kind either, at least fae seemed midely interested. "Hey, if anything, back there was a pretty good audition for you, you know how to be intimidating and you're already good with horses, i'd say it might be a match made for you, but don't pressure yourself, it's ok if you don't want to".

Fae nodded.

"You don't have to invite me to all your royal meals or whatever, i'm not exactly royalty...", but she quickly felt mason's wing pull her into a side hug, "Doesn't mean we can't invite you, you're friends of royalty, so that's just as cool and just as much of a reason for you to eat with us". She let out a smile, not a big smile, but a genuine smile that only made mason more happy.

"Just make sure to be on your best behavior, with moon there and king arachford, we're in for one heck of a night", she informed as they made their way to the door, being let in by guards to see everyone else already seated. Mason already noticing his missing brothers right away, but not saying anything in case that might of been out of line, though star was quick to notice her wife's absense.

"Is janna still working?".

"Yeah, she had a few other methods she wanted to try out, she should be here soon, i took the kids though", mason and fae heading to open seats for them, the woman looking between everyone. "I really hope i didn't walk in on anything, i know we're rather late but things took a lot longer then we were expecting and he was rather hard to break somehow".

"Even with fae AND Janna?".

"Well considering we just now got here, what else do you think happened? If it had been that easy we would've been done hours ago, but while fae did scare him, he apparently is way more scared of...Her, threats against his life it seems, and as far as i can tell he's never seen their face, so janna's going to try a new tactic and you'll have to meet up with her after dinner depending how it goes".

Star wasn't used to Janna not being able to scare the living daylights out of anyone before, she just hoped her mom nearby wasn't taking it as another sign of imcompintence on her or janna's part. Jackie took her seat after saying hello to the former queen and helped herself as more food was being set out, mason looking over to sky as if asking why his brothers weren't here.

She mouthed to him from across the table that it was a long story.

She really wanted to go find judas, he had to be hungry as well at this point, but she knew he needed his space right now either, it just was on her mind right now. She was worried in what state she might find him in the next time she saw him, sure he'd dealt with a lot before but this whole thing broke down most of his world, there was no coming back from that easily.

She just didn't want him to be alone through it either.

But she had to just wait it out, through dinner, and well...there was plenty to distract her if she wanted to be distracted. Her grandmother had wasted no time in getting into her reasons for being here, as anyone would expect of her. Star of course being incredibly nervous the entire time, worried just what her mother might point out and fuss over and make things worse.

Star loved her mom, she was helpful and not always such a pain.

But she could feel the disappointment in her voice. She had never had so much trouble with anything in a long time, she could usually handle threats like this and yet this one seemed to doop her at every level, it didn't look good on any queen but especially not her. Moon couldn't complain too badly, she herself had been involved with scary threats and hadn't always known what to do.

But that didn't mean she didn't need help.

It became very clear she needed to get involved, whether star liked it or not, maybe having her there might ponder different results. She was already talking about their plan and discussing what she did and didn't like, clearly the idea of using a royal celebration as a trap was not exactly her favorite idea in the world, even if it had a decent chance of actually working.

But that didn't surprise Star, at all.

Of course Star wasn't the only one at the table with parental issues that were on the rise, Angel and his father had been silent all dinner so far, most of the conversation being had by the two butterflies. They both had mostly just sat and ate, though Sky swore the king had been eyeing her a few times, probably wondering exactly how their friendship had been progressing considering sky was indeed sitting next to angel.

Nora however, was trying to be as cheery as possible, even though she also seemed worried for judas. She clearly sensed the tension in the room and was trying to be as cheery as sunny was, but even sunny was talking more to galexia and was staying out of the argument. Marco and Tom were keeping to themsleves as well, it seemed moon brought a new atmosphere then it was before now.

One that kept everyone quiet.

Sky wanted angel to just talk to his dad but that wasn't something she could just make him do, it was one of those things that had to naturally happen and right now was far from natural, as sad as it was. She did feel they wanted to talk though, but maybe more in private, where there weren't so many people around to listen in or make things more uncomfortable then they already were.

They just kept...looking at each other.

She could only imagine what was going through their heads, the king had barely left his kingdom in what must've felt like forever for him and now he was dropped in the middle of his wife being revived, his son dealing with his issues, and moon overall. This could've been a happier meeting if things were just a little less tense right now for him and everyone else.

"It's good to see you sir".

That's when the king turned to Sunny, who was waving to him, he waved back smally.

Remembering the small girl who had spent time with his wife in what felt like so long ago, he didn't seem to know what he wanted to say though, but he coughed into his hand to not be impolite. "Well, i appreciate being invited, having globgor take over the kingdom for a little...it's nice, i was really happy to come over and...not have to deal with too much at the moment".

Angel sunk more into his seat.

"Well we're happy to see you too ! It's nice having new people come over for dinner! You look good!",

Leave it to sunny to know how to talk to people and make them feel super welcome, even in the most awkward of circumstances. He looked over his old suit and nodded, "Thank you, it belonged to my father, i wanted to look my best...for Arana, i didn't want her to wake and see me look like such a mess, though...i'm sure i will when she wakes up...i ugly cry".

"She's going to be so happy to see you and angel!".

"Yes...", he glanced over to his son, who wasn't making eye contact with him still, "I'm sure she will. though she has so much to catch up on, being in this state for so long...and she might not even completely be herself after she wakes...her mind...damaged, there's going to be so much work to do...but we'll try and manage the best we can...hopefully".

"I semi met her...in her mind", sky mumbled, "I mean i wasn't intended to do that, mom just wasn't good at making a barrier around her to warn me before i got sucked in, she seems...well...she seems like she's still really lovely, i know i never was close with her throughout everything, but...i hope when she gets up to get to know her a bit better".

He was smiling, feeling more comfortable among everyone in the room, even if the queens weren't paying attention, even tom and marco looked pretty happy.

Angel was still quiet though.

He was having a hard time breaking his silence to just talk and speak up, even though he had to, he needed to. But sky put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, if you want to talk to him after dinner...it's ok, like don't force it or anything...or you might say something you might regret. No one is judging if you don't want to get into it at the table with a bunch of weirdos...".

He nodded, appreciative.

"You cooked a wonderful meal for my arrival, i really do appreciate the effort, though you didn't have to make any of my favorite dishes", and that resulted in sunny glancing to angel himself, smiling, "Hey, if it wasn't for your son, we might of had a harder time preparing for you, he knows what you like and what would mean a lot to you, he really valued making this dinner".

Angel blushed deeply at the comment, he shouldn't be so embarrassed about that, it just felt weird still to be...complimented...and to his father too.

His father seemed really touched at the thought, and that only made angel more flustered, this whole thing was going better then he expected.

"I'm sad to see young prince lucitor isn't here, i would've liked to see him again after the last time at the trial, but i assume with everything going on he probably has other responsibilities at hand", tom and marco looked at each other and sky readjusted herself in her seat, "Well uh...something like that, you're not completely wrong, you might see him later though".

"I also have no idea if i've said this before, but i want to thank you too princess", sky froze in her seat, the man folding his arms on the table. "You put yourself on the line for my son and you did help him get free of all of this...that was not something you had to do for him or my family, especially considering everything you had been put through, i really can't thank you enough".

"I mean, i mostly just winged it, i barely knew what i was doing but...thank you, you're super welcome", He then turned to angel, and nodded, "I must admit...i missed having you home, it's been a lot lonelier then before, you look...good. It's really nice to see you with good friends and having a good time, i wouldn't want you to be dealing with...our kingdom".

"How bad is it?", nora meekly asked.

"Let's just say going out right now is not a great option, not to say our people had no reason to be mad, but i feel they have gone too far. I think they really feared four our livelihoods after that trail, not just with the butterfly family, but if the person angel had betrayed would come back and kill us all as some form of retribution. I think you can say for sure angel isn't...popular there".

Angel was about to sink even further in his seat as his father talked more.

"However, they seem to have a soft spot for what sky, nora, and judas did...they've never seen our kingdom be so...defended before like that, the spiderbites especially. So perhaps something about your friendships do regress some of the anger." Nora blushed red as she instinctively grabbed her hair, "It's no problem at all, i just wanted to help...her and...".

He smiled gently at her, "Not once in our kingdom have we gotten so close with the others like that, i think while the people are mad they can't deny they really are impressed angel somehow managed to get the spiderbites to be on decent terms with us". Angel felt an ease of tension and anxiety, sitting a bit more up back in his seat, did he actually do something...right? And people liked it?

Sensing angel feeling a little better at the words sky interjected.

"Yeah, angel's been doing pretty great recently, i mean, don't get me wrong, he's pushed my buttons quite a few times and everything, but he's been pretty helpful and making a lot of progress. Like i really appreciated his help when i went through the castle to save one of my friends, he had my back the entire time...even though he didn't have to".

Angel was definitely less anxious, but now he and nora both were blushing at being praised so much.

"Angel was really involved during the underworld castle incident?", guess the man wasn't aware of his son being involved in it at all, and sky patted the spider next to her on the back. "Oh yeah he was, i mean at first i came in to save him, but then he stuck with me the entire time even though he was scared, it was honestly pretty cool of him to do".

Angel's father actually seemed to be rather impressed, not expecting these kinds of actions from his son before this point, angel had done very irrational things before this point but nothing noble and brave like this. Though the man did seem still upset about what happened before he did seem impressed about what he was seeing now, and angel felt he could breathe again.

"I-".

"It's ok angelus, we'll talk more about everything later...we have a lot of catching up to do".

Angel nodded in agreement, and the table felt slightly more at ease, not that the argument up front had stopped anytime soon. The women hadn't been paying any attention to the nice moment at all, star was still debating her mom on all her ideas and moon was very much still telling star off for not getting her involved sooner to clean up this mess.

This was the kinda thing that made sky hate family reunions, did all famlies have to fight like a bunch of idiots when eating dinner together?, Cause even judas's family did that at times and he got annoyed about it.

The sooner they got out of here the better.

Even the Lucitors were getting tired of it, Marco quickly standing up, actually starling the butterflies from their talk. They looked over to their husband and sighed, "I'm going to look for landon and celeste, maybe judas...if they don't want dinner we can bring it to them later. But we'll be having dessert soon and they still haven't shown up, so i'm going to check on them".

In the back of sky's mind though, she was sure it was half actually that, and half not wanting to be here and hear the adults argue.

But Tom stood up to, "Actually i'd like to join you, we might be able to save time by spreading out, they're my kids too.". Tom taking their partner's hand and kissing their cheek as they headed out with a wave to the kids in the room. They were smart on finding a way out of this situation, that was for sure, even angel and his father were looking for an excuse out but that wouldn't do.

They needed some permission, especially since this wasn't their castle and they were here as star's guests basically.

"-I'm just saying star, you should've taken these precautions after what happened with toffee, i know you're struggling hard here but this is all too much and it's gone on for too long and has gone too far. It's time you let someone else take the reigns, i have more military experience, so i should be able to help with some of my ideas, then we might be able to work further on this".

"Mom, we have a plan!".

"Star, plans aren't 100% You know that. There's so much you might have not even considered, and even if it did work, things can go wrong, what if they escape?", of course moon probably didn't know it but her words were beating sky down just a little. It had been her plan for the most part and she knew it wasn't even a great plan but gee, thanks grandma.

But she had a point, this was a serious situation, they couldn't afford to have a plan with possible holes or cracks in it either. Ddi they want to capture the criminal or lose another time? Sky felt herself mindlessly start playing with her food, her mind wandering during their argument. Angel mumbling under his breath, "i mean, i thought it was a pretty smart idea".

If judas couldn't be here, she was glad angel and nora were.

"Well then we'll make it work! It's a good idea mom, we need to lure them, that's the only way we're going to get anywhere!", star was determined on this one, she had to fight her mom on it, otherwise they might not get another chance. Not to say her mom's plans couldn't work, but the sooner they did this the better and who knew if they'd get as good an opportunity later.

"Star, i understand, but it's dangerous, imagine how many people will be there, in the line of fire too! Safety is important here, and if things go poorly we have a high chance someone won't make it", even though his name hadn't been mentioned at all, angel knew she was talking specifically about him. His heard his father grunt across from him, before finally getting the ladies's attention.

"I do have to agree about safety, this is a young prince's coronation after all, you are inviting an enemy onto troubled grounds. Luring them is a smart move but perhaps moon needs to modify the plan however she can", the thing was, they all agreed the plan would need to be worked on anyway, they knew it, but obviously star didn't want moon to be the person in charge of it either.

"Look, i know you don't want me here but i promise star, this won't be as bad as you think, the more minds the better to work on this. Soon enough we'll be able to breathe again and i can go back to resting, we're just going to have to work together and no amount of yelling at me is going to be making me go back into retirement", the queen sat back in her chair and star let out a huff of defeat.

"Fine".

"Since meteora is back i'll be talking to her later, i want to catch up on anything i've missed recently, because judging by all the faces at this table, i have missed quite a few details it seems", she glanced at sunny and galeixa, then to fae. Guess when it came down to it, they probably would be minor details to any average mewman hearing about all the crazy stuff going on with the criminal.

She smiled at the spider king, fixing her dress, "Sorry, i know we were talking awhile over there, nearly forgot we had a guest over your highness, as soon as we finish eating we'll take you to visit your darling arana, she should still be resting right star?". Star still looked rather mad as she leaned against her seat, but she complied to her mom's question, "Well yeah...but like...no promises what'll happen when she wakes...the spiderbites are sure she'll have memory issues no matter what".

"She will", nora mumbled, "Memories can be healed but...having us heal all of them...was unlikely with how quickly we figured out what was happening...but...maybe over time, things might work...at the very least...she's not near death now...", it was a plus, they could give her that. She wouldn't be the same as she was but she wouldn't be too gone either.

"You...think...she'll remember me?", the king muttered softly, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I'm sure she will, her family seems to mean everything for her", she didn't honestly know at the end of the day, but she had to hope at least, she had been in her mind,

The door opened, and three figures entered, tom and marco back surprisingly quickly, but with a guest at hand. Judas was standing behind them, he didn't look great but he didn't look awful either. He must've been hungry though, as he didn't even look at anyone as he sat down to eat in silence. Even the spider king didn't get a look, the man shocked at the teen's demeanor.

He had never seen prince judas so...rough before.

Judas was usually a happy individual, making jokes and helping everyone around him. Now he looked to be too inside his mind to really focus on anyone in particular, he just wanted to get something in his stomach and head out to be back in isolation as soon as possible. Angel and Nora also looked deeply troubled, both wanting to reach out to the boy who was ignoring them.

Tom and Marco whispered to sky as they passed by, "We found him in a hallway nearby, he just wants to eat, give him his space...landon and celeste are still with luna". That didn't make sky feel any better though, judas seemed to have silenced everyone, even queen moon seemed a little stunned. She wasn't around that much but she knew enough to know this didn't sit right with her.

This was the prince who was supposed to be king soon, and not only that, but whose coronation was the center of their plan.

And here he was, looking like a depressed mess.

How were they supposed to casually have a conversation with judas like this?

Well to put it lightly, they didn't, the room was silent until judas finished eating and excused himself to go and sleep. His parents didn't even protest it at all, letting him leave the room before standing up a few moments later to drag landon and celeste over here. Both of them clearly having waited till they knew judas was a little whiles away before heading out as to not bother him.

It felt like without judas some soul had been ripped from everyone.

Even Sunny.

It said a lot when even she said nothing to him.

Judas came over to get some food and left without so much as a word, not to his friends, his family, anyone, it was the worst anyone had even seen him in a good while and it left everyone with a sense of dread and sadness.

It took a minute for anyone to even talk at dessert, and the one to actually break wasn't the person anyone had been expecting to speak first at all. A small cough coming from next to mason, Fae shoving chocolate cake into her mouth as she spoke. "Y'know, mason is super happy and everything and everyone talks about how cute he is, but honestly judging by how you all are, it seems judas is the one that usually makes everyone super happy when he enters the room...no offense mase".

"It's ok, i'm not mad".

No one argued against that, judas was pretty much a friend to anyone.

He really knew how to make everyone feel better about themselves, and be someone's shoulder to lean on, and stand up for everyone if he could. In some ways he was the life of the group, he kept everyone going even when they were breaking down. Sky bit at her lip, "I know we got stuff to do but...next chance we get...after he has some time...we should all be there for him...do something nice".

"I agree", they all looked to King Amir, who eyes his son, "He's a good kid, and he's done a lot for us as well, i would be happy to contribute if you wish to have my help. I would love to pay you all back as much as i can after everything you've done". Even though neither of them were in the room, tom and marco would be extremely grateful for the kindness once they heard about this.

Everyone cleaned up quick, most of them heading out to their room to sleep protected, though the spider monsters parted off to speak, moon and star were off to deal with their issues with janna included, and sky almost was out herself when marco quickly came running back. They seemed relieved to see her, panting, they looked a little panicked and that immediately didn't sit well with sky.

"Landon and celeste...they're not with luna?".

"They aren't?".

"And luna isn't in her room either!".

-

"Dad...there's a lot i want to say".

"I know, it's been on my mind since the trial, a lot has been on my mind, it's...really had me thinking", they closed the door behind them, angel taking a seat in the vacant room as guards blocked the door for them. "Don't assume i'm not mad, i am...even if i understand why, but i also could tell you were terrified...and...i can't be mad at you for something like that either", he paused for a moment, his ears twitching.

"I...haven't...been a great dad...have i?".

Angel didn't answer, but that was all he needed.

"Angelus, you disobeyed me horribly and put everyone at risk...but it's not just your fault...it's mine, i'm your father...i should've been keeping a better eye on you, should've been helping you deal with these issues and feelings and stopped comparing you to judas and sky and...it's clear i did hurt you. If i had done something sooner maybe i could've prevented something bad from happening, prevented you or anyone from getting hurt...i never really thought as hard as i should about the things you were going through...i expected you to just...be this or that, and all that seemed to do was turn you against me".

"But i didn't listen to you...you know that, i constantly skipped lessons and went out when you didn't want me too and even got myself hurt multiple times as a result...i would've protested anyway", he still felt guilty, if he had listened none of this would've happened in the first place. But his father went on, "Maybe, but that didn't mean i shouldn't have tried harder...i've been so overcome with grief...i've neglected you a bit...no...a lot. Ever since you stayed here i've had so much time to think to myself and...i screwed up, i know i did.".

Angel wanted to protest but he actually couldn't deny any of the words his father had been saying, his throat tightening. "Arana never would've wanted me to neglect you that way, not even for her...this entire situation was just as hard for you and...i didn't handle it in the ways i should have. No way that a dad should have, and i feel i should apologize to you directly, for any hurt i may of caused, we should've been dealing with this situation together...not apart...and i'm sorry".

Angel felt tears starting to wallop, as much ashe tried to hold them back, he then laughed a little in pain.

"I...Is it bad if i say i didn't expect you to come here and tell me you're sorry?", his voice felt cracky and he quickly cleared his throat, "I expected you to be upset with me...not want me to come back home, i was preparing to hear bad news even if sky was sure things might be different". His father didn't seem surprised by his words, he had probably been just as prepared for angel to lash out at him for leaving him.

And he wouldn't have been mad at him at all.

"I...reconsidered a lot, while we were separated...i'm not shocked at all you feel that way...you probably felt...i didn't care about you...thought of you as just an heir...and not my son, and...that was wrong of me to do...".

"And the people?".

"I want you back home angel, whether they do or not, you're still my only son, and you should still be allowed to come home and make a name for yourself, have a fresh start".

He stretched out his legs, all of them, his mind still processing his father's words. "How can i be sure things will be different? I don't want to go back there and have everything be the same, go back to being hated or alone...i'm worried things won't change for sure...i know i have changed, but that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way".

"I know. i won't force it if you want to stay, i know you like it here".

Those words made angel feel more comforted, his father really was hearing him out, it was baffling. "Yeah, well, here is where my friends are and everything, i mean the citizens don't like me either but...at least i have friends". He tapped his fingers, his eyes closing, "But that doesn't mean i don't want to go back, if i could...i want both...i do want to be home...but i think this is also my home...".

"I understand, and i won't keep you from it...but if you want to go home, i think we can manage something...eventually", he paused, taking a seat next to his son and wrapping his cape around them both. "I think for now you will have to stay here, if even just to keep an eye on your mother, and until things are fully good back home...but I'll make sure to send you anything you want from home to make you more comfortable here...".

"I hope when i go back home, things will be a lot easier...i want to make things easier...to help, the kingdom, it deserves so much that i haven't given it", the king nodding, "I think you'll do great things...someday, we both have some learning to do...as kings and leaders. We...made a lot of mistakes...and it's going to take time to heal from them, but...i think we can".

"I...was willing to accept you didn't believe in me but...i like hearing it anyway", and angel shifted as his father hugged him, patting his bad and it seemed the man was even crying into his son's shoulder. "I...missed you...so much, more then i ever thought i could...it was alone without either of you...i want both of you back. I want something with you...i just...".

Angel's arms wrapping around him, enjoying the hug back.

"Thanks dad".

BOOM

The noise made angel's stomach drop.

Their nice moment interrupted by more noise coming from outside, angel getting up to check out the windows right away. The room they were in had a nice view of the courtyard of the castle and there he finally got view of what made the noise that drove him to panic. It seems somehow luna had gotten herself out of her room, and she was just...standing there...she wasn't trying to escape or fight or anything, but celeste was screaming at her, storm clouds starting to appear close by.

The booming of their thunder so loud it was impossible to miss.

Angel seemed really puzzled, what had been going on that he wasn't aware of this time?

But on closer inspection he could see sky down there, with judas's parents, trying to resolve the scene at hand before things go so much worse. Amir stood up to see what his son was looking at and then angel remembered his father didn't know about the uh...multiverse situation and seeing celeste accidentally perform magic was bound to be a bad idea, the boy quickly pushing his father away much top his confusion, "Incident in the courtyard...we outta get going".

Amir seemed skeptical that his son wasn't hiding something from him but followed angel regardless, just in case it was too dangerous for him to look.

And by the time they headed lower they found tom taking luna away back to her room and celeste and landon in marco's grasp, a tired sky nearby and nodding to angel, a sign they needed to talk later so she could explain further. "Sorry sir, seems we had a situation, er...the prisoner broke out and these two were um...handling it, you might of heard my son landon using magic a bit...i promise no one is hurt".

"Your fire powers can be that loud?", the king turned to the demon, who didn't respond, his face embarrassed and mad, but at least the king seemed to be buying the excuse.

"You'd be surprised", marco said with a cheeky smile, "We're one scary dimension for a reason after all".

"Well in that case, i'm glad you handled it, i got worried for a moment, the noise startled me and i thought something bad had happened".

"No no sir, it's alright, promise, landon will just be more careful next time".

It was a smart cover up, even if the idea of fire sounding a lot like thunder was a bit odd. The king just shrugged, and noticed the young prince and princess looking at each other, coughing to excuse himself. "Well angelus, i'm going to see your mother...you can come and join me later...alright?". Angel smiled back, "Thanks, i'll see you later", before his father left with guards right behind him.

Marco nodding their head to head to the nearby closet, the kids still in his clutches.

"What happeend?".

Sky snorted, "Celeste tried to challenge luna to a duel, that's what, not that it worked, luna didn't even fight, she just...stood there". Celeste grumbling under her breath, "I wanted her to face me for betraying us how she did...that's it...she said yes, we were only supposed to be out for a few minutes, but then she didn't...do anything, she stood there...she made me feel like a fool".

"She stood there?".

Landon shrugged, "I guess she changed her mind about the duel...", though it seemed there was more to it and under his mom's watchful eye he confessed. "I'm sorry i was hoping they'd reconcile or something, i wasn't trying to get anyone to start a fight or anything, i couldn't even convince her not to, she and luna pushed me back from it all...ok?".

At first marco wasn't sure whether to believe that but celeste added on.

"He's right...he...wanted me to go and get along and i just...look...i'm just angry ok? I just want her to apologize or something or just feel bad...i hate her stupid smug looking face and how she is to everyone...i'm so sick of it". She looked like she might break into tears, "I didn't mean to worry anyone or anything i just...i'm so tired of being walked over...".

"Celeste...hey...it's ok", Marco sighed, "Look, i know i'm not really your parent here but...maybe you need to talk to some adults about...your anger...like tom...if it's really taking over your life like this you need to seek some help". She sniffled and they pet her hair, "You should not have done any of that, ok? But it's ok, we'll deal with it from there...and get this sorted out".

"Did luna say much about what went on down there?".

Marco shook their head, "We'll talk about it later, i'll take landon and celeste with me...you both are expected to go see arana so you should head there, guarded of course, perhaps you can sort some stuff out on the way in terms of our next steps...but for now i'll see you both later...and take good care of each other. Oh, and make it back to sleep soon, ok?".

They both nodded, heading on their way to see arana, watching celeste and landon be wandered off like naughty children.

"Those two...every time"., sky shook her head, "Celeste needs help, i just hope she can get some...this all hasn't been much better on her". Angel's ears twitching, "We're losing people...aren't we? Judas, luna, celeste...we're falling apart a little...and right before we're supposed to react a plan too, what happens if we can't get everything ready or fall apart before this?".

"I don't know.".

That was the honest truth, she didn't know, it was all out of her control, but if things didn't get better there was no way they'd get this plan to even work. They'd be doomed before the plan even started. How much longer before she and angel cracked? Nora? Even sunny or lexi? She felt a bit of unease, she was now the leader or this group and said group was now falling apart.

"I'm going to keep up together...we have some healing to do...but i think we can do it...but...first...we should go see your mother, we can deal with it later...when it's a good time to do so", angel nodded to her, "Judas...helped me, a lot, and i want to return the favor to him. I...I don't know how exactly i can do that for what's going on but...i'm willing to try".

"You don't have to y'know?".

"He's my friend, and so are you".

She appreciated that, "It's not going to be simple sadly, the arm thing has been apart of his life for years, he's not going to be over it so quickly. It's kinda a lot to process...i mean, he had so many nightmares as a kid because of it, it ruined his life...he might feel like...it's all his fault for what happened and not...y'know, that it isn't his fault that no one knew".

"Yeah...i'm sure it will be".

They were contemplating what they could do and what might help as they made to what was now arana's own private room near the wing, upon special request by her husband to keep any onlookers from bothering her. Honestly, sky was happy not to have to keep going into that wing, some privacy was nice, the door opened for them and the guards standing outside.

"You're here!", the king was delighted to see them, still holding his wife's hand, "I wasn't sure how long it might take for you to join me, but i'm happy you're here, come, sit with me...she's moving...". He nodded to seats nearby, the teens making themselves comfortable. "When i see the Spiderbites i'm going to owe them so much for this, i never thought i'd even see her so...lively again".

"Well they're stuck here with us. so you'll get a chance i'm sure".

He was still occupied with his wife though, "I...have so much i want to tell her, but...i can't, not right away anyways...she's going to need time when she wakes up, her mind was so...damaged...but i promise once i can i'll make sure she knows everything she can and i'll make sure we celebrate her recovery. I could not have asked for a more...wonderful gift".

"In all fairness...it was partially dumb luck".

"You call it dumb luck, i call it fate", he pet the queen's hair gently, "You will always be welcome in my kingdom, princess".

"Well right now i can't even go within a few feet of your kingdom but thanks a lot, maybe we'll get to hang out...after everything rests." Her attention drawn to angel, "Besides, he still owes me a hangout to make up for the mess he put me through, so we'll try and get that done first before we make too many promises right now". she bumped angel next to her, who coughed.

"Oh yeah, right...thanks for reminding me again, all of this distracted me a bit".

"Whatever, as long as it's nothing crazy...the party is gonna be crazy as is...", she grumbled, her voice filled with dread.

"Perhaps you can accompany my son for jude's coronation...", the king piped up, looking between the two, "i assume you were planning to do that anyway, but I think he could use the company...he hasn't been allowed to really go to a party like this in years, and it might help to have someone around to well...watch over him and get him back into the swing of things".

Sky never considered this was angel's first party in a long time, maybe that's another reason he was nervous.

"Yeah sure...of course...as long as he doesn't go wild", she was joking of course but who could say for sure angel wasn't secretly a party animal now for all she knew. Angel laughed and in the moment things seemed easygoing and rather nice for all the stress of earlier, it had been such a long time since the entire arachford family had even been in the same room together.

Much less happy together.

Angel felt finally as if the butterflies had left his stomach fully, his stress about his dad gone.

But then a noise caught the attention of the group, interrupting the moment for them. Their first instinct was to turn to look at the queen, and sure enough, the noises were coming from her directly, she was stirring and it no one has seen her making noises like this in a while, especially with how silent these days she had been. It was a small breathe, then a whimper, then it almost sounded as if she was trying to speak some words, not that they could tell what the words actually were.

Then movement, the queen was stirring even more, startling everyone in the room further, the grip on the king's hand tightening. His mood was shifted, as if worried something was wrong for a moment, only for her legs to start moving as well. Her eyes started shifting around the room, her ears wiggling before she turned her head to face the group.

This was the most movement she had done in awhile and it had caught them entirely off guard.

"A-arana?".

She jolted again, her face shifting a bit more as she looked over the faces of her guests with a softness they hadn't seen in a long time.

"Angel?".

[ofieugogyshz]

Fic;; Memories: Riolu IV

Word Count: 8900 officially over 9000 now

Summary: Sarah accepts Cynthia’s invitation to visit her in Celestic Town. On her second day there, she finds herself visiting Cynthia in her grandmother’s home, and, once again, facing an internal struggle that her Riolu, Lance, and Cynthia, were set on helping her with.

Warnings: Lots of bad mental health, self-depreciation spirals, abusive thoughts to self. Also some awkwardness. (But it gets better!)

Notes: This is the thing that’s just been. taunting and harassing me for weeks, and i am so done with it. i am so sorry that it’s like, 2x as long as the others. I really hope it’s worth it to you guys, because I am just so done with it. Edit: Fixed up some spots, and re-pasting it added paragraph indents, so ????

(Series Masterpost)

---------------------

After helping me with my Riolu, Cynthia invited me to visit her in Celestic Town.

“I'll be there for a while, researching more myths.”

I told her yes, but when she offered to take me with her, I declined. I said that I wanted to walk the rest of the route to fulfill my Pokedex.

“Oh, you're working on a Pokedex? That sure takes me back...” She had a wistful look on her face. “I went on a big adventure with a Pokedex when I was younger.” I told her to share with me some of those stories when I met up with her in Celestic Town. She gave me her number, and we parted ways for the time being.

I spent the rest of that day and the next playing with my Riolu named Lance to make up for the issues we had ran into. Totally not connected to the Lance of fame. Yep. Definitely not. But it wasn't like I had that much of a choice. My friend, his father's trainer, had named him that for me as a cute little joke. I suppose I could have picked a name and told my friend to name it that. But I wanted to know what a Pokemon was like before I named it; and without the Pokemon in front of me, it was so hard to find an appropriate name. But watching Riolu-- little Lance fight our way up Route 210, I couldn't help but think that maybe my friend Blaze had the right idea in naming him after him. He was definitely strong and determined like his namesake, and showed plenty of care towards other Pokemon.

<<Can we call my namesake today? I wanna tell him how strong I got!!>>

I laughed. Now that I had accepted it, it was cute whenever he asked to talk to Lance. Lance—the human-- thankfully couldn't understand what the little Riolu was saying, but watching him entertain the notion was cute. Endearing. Enjoyable.

I looked at the time. Lance might be available now...? I had tried calling him earlier, but it went straight to voicemail. Probably working, I thought to myself.

“Let's try again after we get to the Pokemon Center in Celestic, so you guys can see each other with the videophones.”

And so we went through the rest of the route. It was a rather annoying route; there were many obstacles in our way, not including the fog that limited visibility. It took a few days to traverse the rest of the route by foot. I was able to train up my Pokemon a lot more than I expected. But even with the great training it provided, I was so relieved when I finally saw the rustic buildings nestled away in the mountain range. Even if it hadn't been Celestic, I would have been grateful just to stay a few nights away from the mess that was the foggy mountainside.

It was daytime when we arrived. I immediately looked for the Pokemon Center and checked in. When my Pokemon were returned, I let Lance out of his Pokeball.

“You know what, I think I'mma call you 'Little Lance', if that's alright with you? It's a little confusing talking to my friends about the both of you...” That was only partially a lie. I thought it might help distinguish them, yes, but I also still felt a little embarrassed calling him by that name... I was hoping a working towards a middle-ground might help.

Lance considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

<<Nope.>>

“Aw, but c'mon! It's super cute, calling you 'Little Lance'. Ooh! I could even call you 'Lil Lance'”

But he wouldn't budge.

“Ugh, fine then.”

<<Can we try calling Lance now?>> he asked, pointing to the videophones. I thought about it for a moment.

“I suppose so... It's almost time for our weekly call anyways.”

<<Yes!>> Lance curled up his fist and pulled it back in excitement. It was so cute to see him emulating a human gesture; he must've picked that up from me in the last week.

I picked up one of the receivers and dialed Lance's number. My heart was pounding, as it always did whenever I called him. Often I worried that I was being a bother. Things like, “Maybe I should call back later,” would plague my mind. But for some reason, I felt less nervous about it now. Maybe because Lance the Riolu was there, just as happy as I was to talk to him, that it made me feel less scared.

No answer still.

“Hmm... Weird.” The landline recording asked if I wanted to leave a message; I hung up. It wasn't that important to me to miss once. I had to let it not be important.

<<What's wrong?>>

“He isn't answering. Hope everything's alright. He's probably busy with other stuff right now.” I wonder if they officially made him Champion yet, or if they're still filling out the paperwork on that, I thought. He had mentioned that a few weeks ago; though that had little to do with him not answering. My thoughts were wandering far away on the topic, musing on what that conversation would be like when he told me that it was officialized. Lance tugged at my pants.

<<Can we visit Miss Cynthia then?>>

“Yeah, let me just see if she's available.” I pulled out the number she gave me, slowly typing it in. It rang once before being answered. There was no visual, so I found myself staring at a screen that just said “No Visual”, accompanied by the image of a Chatot.

“Hang—Hang on a moment.” Cynthia's voice sounded far away and strained, like she was just out of reach of her phone. The distant sound made me curious on how she had answered it, but I didn't have time to think about that, because she suddenly came in much louder and clearer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Cynthia? It's Sarah.”

“It is! I'm glad to hear from you! Are you nearby? I can go out and meet you if you want.” She sounded eager, excited. Had she been looking forward to this? I didn't think so. I was just a trainer she had met twice; and younger than her, I would later discover. Maybe the sound of her happy voice was because she just had a breakthrough with her research, and she couldn't wait to tell someone. I highly doubted she was excited to hear from me, after all. Not after the impression I gave last time.

Lance looked at me, his ears drooping a little as he examined me. Ah. Right. I shouldn't be thinking a thought like that. I guess that was something both Lances wanted me to work on.

“I'm already at the Pokemon center,” I told her. I scritched behind Lance's ears, making him feel better. It helped me, too. “I just got in.”

“Oh! That's perfect! I'll come get you.”

We hung up. She arrived in about fifteen minutes, brushing dust and dirt off of her coat as she arrived. Based on what I had seen of her in pictures and in person, I never would have imagined that she could look so disheveled.

“Where were you?” I asked. Lance and Pika both ran over to greet her.

“Oh, excavation. Have you learned about the Celestic Ruins yet? It's why I love coming back here so much! I can show you later, if you'd like.”

“N-no, that's fine for right now...”

We hadn't made any plans for the visit, so Cynthia gave me a short tour of the small town. In its center was a crater, and in the center of that crater was a small shrine. She told me that it dates back to ancient times; many of the town's residents still prayed to the deities and Pokemon they believed were tied to it. Behind the shrine was a cave; on each side of the cave's entrance were two large drawings, of what I presumed were ancient or mythological Pokemon. Beyond that, there was little of interest to passing trainers. The town was so small that it lacked a proper Pokemart. Instead, an old couple sold things from their home for any passing trainers that needed to restock between Mt. Coronet and their next destination. I wasn't sure if it was surprising or just interesting that the Champion considered this town her favorite.

For lunch, she took me to one of the few places to eat in the small town. While there wasn't much to catch Cynthia up on, I found myself excitedly telling her how Lance and I got along better since we last saw each other. She listened intently, speaking thoughtfully and giving me advice. I found myself asking her for a casual battle-- not one with her title on the line, but as between new friends.

“Very well then,” she said. “I should let you know-- I plan on going all out!”

“Couldn't ask for a better match myself!”

I sent out a Luxio and a Roselia, both Pokemon that I had caught here in Sinnoh. They were doing great at Gym Battles, and I figured the experience with a Champion might help them grow even stronger. Cynthia quirked an eyebrow, interested in the unspoken challenge of a doubles battle. She sent out a Garchomp and a Gastrodon. The double Earthquake duo had a huge advantage over Luxio; Roselia could handle Gastrodon, but that still left her Garchomp. As we battled, I did my best to keep my two Pokemon from fainting, but there was only so much they could do at their current strength. We both called back our Pokemon when the battle was over.

“That was a great match! The confidence in which you issued your commands allowed your Pokemon to trust you, and they responded well! I can't wait to have another battle with you when they've gotten stronger.”

“Tch...” Though she gave me high praise, the defeat still stung. “We should have another match with my aces.”

“Hmm. Perhaps another day... Don't forget that the key to growing as a trainer is to challenge yourself! Playing it safe is going to deprive yourself of new possibilities.”

She was right on both counts. One battle was enough for now. I had gotten a glimpse of what waited for me when I would challenge the Sinnoh Elite Four and its Champion, and I felt myself eager to train with my Pokemon for when that day would come. Beside me, Lance had looked on in awe, little tail wagging during the battle.

<<I want to battle too!>> he said to me. I knelt down to pat his head.

<<Maybe next time.>>

The next day, I headed over to where Cynthia was staying. We realized that we had a shared interest in mythology, so she invited me over to look at some of the texts that her and her grandmother kept. Pika followed behind me with Lance. I could hear the both of them talking happily amongst themselves, and I smiled. It was nice to hear him feeling like a member of the team again.

When I got to the address Cynthia gave me, an older woman answered the door. She adjusted her glasses, looking me up and down.

“Um, hi. I'm here because Cynthia invited me. This... is the right address, yes?” I looked at the address she had hastily scrawled down for me, and showed it to the woman. She didn't bother looking at it.

“That's correct. My granddaughter told me that she would be having a friend come over. Didn't think it'd be someone so young.” I winced. She motioned for me to come in, closing the door behind her. I took a look around. Stacks and stacks of paper were all over the living room, or what I thought was supposed to be one. Cynthia's grandmother followed my line of sight and sighed. “Pardon the mess. When we both really get into our research, it shows.”

“Ahaha, it's okay. Kind of reminds me of my room,” I said without thinking. Woops. Probably shouldn't've mentioned that. That wasn't a good impression, but hopefully it wouldn't mean something bad to them, if it came back up.

“In here.” Cynthia's grandmother had led me down the hall and stopped in front of one of the doors. “Cynthia's already in the library. She said she wanted to pull out some texts for you to read before you got here. Knowing her, she's probably already got a huge stack prepared for you. I'll be going out for a walk, so if you need anything, let Cynthia know.”

I was alone in the hall with my Pokemon. Lance and Pika stood on either side of me, looking up at me. I was a little nervous, and her grandmother's comment on my age left me feeling a little unsettled. Was she expecting someone older? How much older? I just realized that I don't even know how old Cynthia is! Is it really okay to call ourselves friends if she's much older than me? But I found the nerves paling in comparison to my excitement. I was excited to have someone else to call a friend; excited that the local Champion had called me a friend to her grandmother. But more importantly, I was excited to see the library that she had. All the books, all the texts, the myths and years of research that people had put into studying these things-- even if I was only interested in reading only the myths, being surrounded by so many books would be so exciting! Old books had that especially exciting aesthetic appeal to them, just thinking about it...

<<Are you okay?>> asked Lance. He tugged at my clothes, pulling me out of my reverie.

“Ah, yes. Thank you. Sorry, I got a little excited...”

<<You must really like books.>>

The comment made me smile. I took a deep breath and knocked loudly on the door.

“Come in!” I could hear Cynthia's faint response through the door. I turned the doorknob and pushed.

The sight of so many books greeted me. They were on the walls, stacked against shelving on the walls. Some stacks were so high that some of the desks and chairs were buried and hidden from view. Everywhere I turned was littered with books, folders, and handwritten notes.

“Sarah! I'm so glad to see you!” I could see Cynthia in the center of the room, holding a cup of tea. I could barely make out the sight of some fancy-looking seats centered around a coffee table in the middle of the room. I smiled, and closed the door behind me.

“Thanks for inviting me!” I said. I started walking towards her, my Pokemon carefully hopping from low bookstack to bookstack like the floor was lava. I began to talk excitedly, sentences running into each other as I couldn't wait to share what I had to say. “I'm so glad you asked me to come over, this is so amazing, and---L-Lance!!! W-w-what're y-you doing h-here?”

I stopped dead in my tracks, face flushing, unaware that there was going to be company. Much less company that I liked.

<<I'm sorry, was I not supposed to jump on the books?>> asked my Riolu. The sudden change in my reaction, the strange query mentioning his name, had left him confused. It took him a moment to realize what was going on with me. He looked to where I was stuck staring, as though I were stricken with a Glare attack and could not look away. I heard a happy yip from him, and he ran towards the red-headed trainer that was seated on the couch.

<<It's him!!! It's him!! My namesake!! We get to meet my namesake!!!>

“You must be the little Riolu that I've been talking to over the phone!” I heard Lance say. He caught the little Riolu, ruffling the top of his head. My Riolu looked up at him, starry-eyed, before turning back to me. I was still stricken to the spot. Cynthia came over to me, gently pushing me behind the back to lead me to a chair that was seated on the side, between both of theirs.

“Come on in! Don't be afraid to sit down with us!”

“I-I'm not!” I said quickly, the words out of my mouth before I realized what they were. I shut my mouth right then, glancing at Lance, before looking back at Cynthia. She gave no indication that this was intentional, but I had the underlying sense that it was... I was suddenly hyperaware of how I presented myself. I quickly placed my hands in my lap. I kept my legs together, though one foot would begin bouncing in place before I knew it.

Pika had heard the excited commotion and came over to me, peeking her head over a pile of books to look. When she saw who it was, she ran over and happily nuzzled Lance on the cheek.

I felt simultaneous embarrassment and envy of her at that moment. I could have cried. I wanted to cry.

Sensing the conflicting emotions, Lance-- the Riolu-- came over to me and climbed into my lap. He was emanating so much happiness from meeting Lance –the human-- that it started to put me at ease. I wrapped my arms around my Riolu, gently resting my chin on his head, wishing I could have fiddled with something instead.

I watched as Lance picked up my Pikachu and set her down on the couch, gently scritching her under the chin.

“And hello to you too, Pika! It's been awhile since we've seen each other, hasn't it friend?”

“Chu! Pika pikachu!!”

<<My namesake! My namesake!!!>>

This was going to give me a headache, if I didn't die from embarrassment first. I tried to suppress a groan, and looked to Cynthia once more, trying to get help from her. Any kind of help. But her attention was already towards Lance, ignoring my distress.

“I'm glad to see that you're such good friends with Sarah's Pokemon already.”

“I've met her Pikachu several times, both in and out of battle. The Riolu is new.” He turned towards me. “I hope he hasn't been giving you too much trouble?”

I sat up straight when he addressed me. “Hm?! Oh! Um, n-no, not recently,” I said, lying a little. But I could feel Riolu become a little angry with me for the lie. He didn't like me being dishonest, it seemed. “A-actually, Cynthia helped us with a, uh, misunderstanding about a week ago, so things are actually better than before!” I gave him a nervous smile.

“I see.”

“It was moving to see. Sarah really is passionate about her Pokemon.”

“Y-yeah, I am.” I turned towards Lance, asking him the same question that I asked earlier when I came in.

“W-what are you doing here, Lance? I thought you were busy, with, um. League stuff?”

“Cynthia invited me to come out. She said that she's found an ancient connection between Sinnoh and Johto, and asked if I was interested.”

“But aren't you supposed to be at the league right now?”

“Since we're still in the process of obtaining a new Elite Four member to replace me, the League's been closed. I normally have time off from the Pokemon G-Men when the League is open, so I haven't had as much to do for the time being.” He looked at me, a curious expression on his face. “Why, did you want me to be there?”

“W-what?! Uh, no, I guess? I think?” I didn't know if that was the right answer or not. This was making me so nervous, so on edge. I didn't know which way I should play into this. “I just thought that you wouldn't be able to come this far north, is all.” I looked away, cheeks flushing a little. “You never mentioned it in any of our e-mails or calls.”

“It was last minute,” Cynthia interrupted. I looked over at her; she had been watching the conversation. Her legs were crossed, one elbow propped up on a knee as she rested her chin on the back of her hand. She had an inscrutable smile on her face, but the body language told me all I needed to know. She definitely planned this. I felt my face grow hotter as I realized it, and all the implications that could mean. Riolu squeaked as my arms tightened around him.

Cynthia continued. “I had the breakthrough a few days ago, and I thought he'd be interested. I found some text that suggests that Sinnohans may have moved over to Johto, but the connecting thread mentions a cave that no one's been able to find in Johto. Not yet, anyways.”

“She thought that I might like to try and find it.”

“Ah.... I see...”

“Oh! Before I forget, these are some of the books I wanted to show you, Sarah.” Cynthia got up to grab a small handful of books. She placed a few of them on the table in front of me; I was so apprehensive of the situation now that I couldn't even glance at their titles. My Riolu looked at the books curiously. “You might enjoy familiarizing yourself with Sinnoh's myths and traditions. It's a region that's full of beauty and history!”

She handed Lance the other books she held. I watched as she spoke so passionately to him about the ruins that she had found mentioned in her texts. I found myself a little jealous. Cynthia was a beautiful, confident, and an amazing trainer. She had no problems talking to Lance and keeping him invested in a conversation. And I could barely talk to him without becoming extremely flustered, stuttering and stumbling over my words, uncertain of which ones to say at all. I wanted to say all of them, in all the ways and combinations, until I could find the best ones to say to him. But with that desire to talk to him came the same conflict of being noticed, of being watched, of being paid attention to. As much as I wanted it, I didn't want it; because if he saw me, then he was watching me. And if he was watching me, then that meant that I could be judged one way or the other over something I did. Something I said. The way I looked, the look I gave off. I didn't want him to think less of me because of that. Cynthia, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about the mess that her library was in. She knew who she was and confident that it was more than enough to be liked, to be respected. I yearned to have that kind of confidence, that fearlessness. But I had to be liked. I had to be well-liked. I couldn't stand letting someone think worse of me for an accident or lack of attention or knowledge.

So I sat there, quietly watching the two of them as they became more invested in their conversation, until I thought myself forgotten about. The things they spoke about were beyond my current knowledge, and I, for once, could not interrupt. The two of them got up to look at something else in the library, ancient maps I think. I sunk into my seat, letting out a long sigh. Riolu looked up at me from where he sat in my lap, confused and concerned.

<<What are you feeling right now? I know the confusion.>>

Jealousy, I thought back. I was jealous of her. Not to a bitter extent, but... She probably could have-- I couldn't finish the thought, the mere idea of it making me hurt. I wanted to cry. Riolu turned around to press his forehead against mine.

<<I don't understand your feelings, but I do know that you're in pain right now. I hope you can feel better.>>

“Thanks.”

I watched as Cynthia helped Lance find reference materials for the Sinjoh ruins that she talked about. He hadn't heard of it before, and Cynthia speculated it was somewhere far north of his hometown. Lance placed a hand on his chin as he thought, looking carefully at the maps she had on the wall and the documents she showed him. It looked natural, seeing them together. Perhaps if I was in a better place emotionally, I could have enjoyed watching him in a different element.

The two of them seemed to flow well together, I found myself thinking as I observed them. I didn't want to, but it came unbidden. They looked good together. People probably think... nicer things about the two of them together than if it were me with him. I was not pretty. Today, I didn't feel smart enough to even join in their conversation, though I obviously could have picked up the information. I couldn't deny that, and so, the argument inside my head began.

My thoughts struggled between telling me I was worthless as a trainer and proving all of it wrong. I was good at Pokemon battles, and I had defeated the Champions from Kanto and Hoenn, but I didn't choose to take that role of responsibility that came with being Champion. It wasn't something I could do. It required a lot of work, and I wouldn't have been free to continue on my own journey. On the other hand, it wasn't impressive to not take up the position. That was the only thing I was confident about. All those achievements didn't mean that I'd be interesting to someone. Someone that I struggled to initiate a conversation with, and sometimes procrastinated replying to text or email messages to, and thought for hours on a reply, just because I didn't want to worry about him thinking awful of me. But...

My eyes roved over to where the two of them talked. I felt something awful in the pit of my stomach. A pang of jealously.

I wish I could be like her.

Anyone but myself.

Ugh. I hated these thoughts. But once they started, they wouldn't stop coming.

If he got with me, it would be such a joke. The media would have a field day. And why would he even get with me? Because I have a one-sided crush? That's bullshit. Plus, she can talk to him about things, and hold a conversation, and, damn, even get him to travel to another region for just a myth that she thought he might be interested in? I can't even do that. I mean, I never asked him, but why would I? I know he won't show, even if he didn't have all those responsibilities. And I'm strong as a trainer, but I'm not as experienced as her. I can't even accept that my own selfish feelings might be hurting my Pokemon. I thought I knew a lot, but it's just as much hot air as Eusine. And then there's just... UGH. Expecting someone to get with me, looking like this? A Milktank, no a Snorlax-- wait what was that cat they have here? Purugly. I'm so ugly, so awful--

<<Sarah?>>

It was a sound like a cold drop of water. The burning, burdening chaotic swirl of thoughts stopped, for just a moment. Riolu's thought was like a cool, soothing balm. I opened my eyes. I hadn't even realized that I had them shut, tears welling up in the corner. He touched his forehead to mine. After a few moments, I felt a calming wave of energy sweep through my body, relaxing all the muscles that had tensed.

<<Better?>> he asked, thoughts full of concern.

Yeah, I thought back. I hugged him tight, closing my eyes again. That helped a bit. Thanks.

<<Good. Because you got Miss Cynthia's attention.>>

That made me jump. I opened my eyes again to see her standing nearby, a gentle smile on her face.

"Are you doing okay, Sarah?" she asked me quietly.

"Uhm.. Mm… y-yeah. I-I'm okay now."

"That's good. I'd hate for you to feel awful while we're all here." She gently ran her hand along the back of my head, and rested it on my shoulder. "Please, have some tea. Or, if you'd like, there are more beverages in the kitchen. I could get you something to drink.”

I looked at her, then looked over to where Lance was, still invested in the scrolls.

"Uh, um. No, I'm okay. I have water in my bag. Thank you."

It was strange. She had such a caring aura about her that I wanted to break down and cry to her. To let her know about everything that was upsetting me, including how I was both jealous of her, and that I admired her. That I hated my conflicting feelings. That I lacked the courage I would otherwise have, when it came to Lance. I wanted to ask her for advice, but I hated the idea of needing to seek it. Knowing that she showed so much care to me, a trainer she had only met a few times, was enough to make me want to break down.

But my Riolu, Lance, continued to emanate calm energy, keeping me from reacting in a way that I would have hated. He didn't understand it, but he understood enough to know that keeping me calm was what I needed most at the moment. Crying was one of the last things that I had wanted to do.

<<Thank you, Lance.>> I thought to my Riolu. I'd have to remember to give him a good treat later on.

"Do you want to step outside for a bit?" Cynthia asked me suddenly.

I blinked. I looked up at her, confused. Was she… Trying to get me to leave the room? But… did that maybe mean….

As though reading my thoughts, she quickly added, "I could give you a tour of the house. Though, I suppose we should avoid my room, it is a bit messy from all the paperwork…."

"I, uh…"

"Great!” She turned her head, calling out over her should, “Lance, we'll be back in a bit. If you're interested, there's some books I found on the Johto region, pre-dating the Tin and Brass Towers in that corner over there."

She got me to take off my bag and come with her. Riolu followed, though he didn't have much choice as my emotional support Pokemon at the moment. Pika stayed behind; she was enjoying the small snacks that Cynthia had left out. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her.

Cynthia gently guided me towards the back of the house. And by gently, I meant that she gently pushed me towards the back, ignoring all confused protests with cheerful replies. She led me outside, to where there was a wide, empty dirt yard. She let out her Lucario, much to the joy of my own Riolu, who now squirmed in my arms so he could say hello to his newfound hero.

"Gahhh… I'm sorry about all this. I should have thought more carefully about it or let you know that he was coming over."

"Wait, so it was planned?" I said, turning around on her. I didn't know if I should have been more angry or shocked that she knew all along about my feelings towards that Lance, and still let this happened. “Or at least the him coming over part…?"

Cynthia leaned against the banister of the porch. She didn't say anything for a moment, as though she was trying to carefully word her thoughts. I waited, trying not to be angry, trying not to be embarrassed.

"I thought it might help," she finally said.

My emotions decided: I was angry, mad at her, though I couldn't put into words why. But…. I believed her. She really was trying to help me. I could feel it. And as I stared angrily at her, I felt my conviction weaken. Her Lucario stood nearby, palms out; he was using his aura powers to connect our spirits so we could better understand one another.

"...You're really scared about this," she said with a mixture of pity and understanding. “And you're right to feel angry; I should have asked or talked to you about this beforehand.” She slapped her forehead, muttering a simple idiot to herself.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I really am. Both angry and scared. Because I already did this once, like an idiot, and erroneously assumed that that's what you do to like people. That you just... Decide to. And then you tell them that you want to date them and then you become boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever and it all goes uphill from there. But it didn't. And I'm lucky at all that he still let me get to know him after that. But I guess not enough, if I didn't know that he was coming here..."

Cynthia paused, giving a thoughtful hum. Then, she said in a hopeful tone, "Well, what if he wanted to surprise you? When was the last time you guys got to see each other in person?"

Her questions gave me pause to think. I never considered that, but I also didn't think I was important enough for something like that. Like he'd come all the way out here just to surprise me, when my Pokemon journey meant that I could be anywhere between a city and a route, even stuck somewhere. Sure, I normally tell him where I was heading or planning to go; but there wasn't a guarantee that I would have been here. Or anywhere. Planning a visit was one thing, but a surprise one....?

"C-c'mon now…" I looked away from her, eyes searching ground for things to say. Burnt orange dirt greeted me as an answer. A single rock, a couple of weeds, more dirt. Nothing useful that could be said. “There's no way that he'd... wanna... I mean, I'm not someone important. I'm just a stupid, annoying teen, annoying some guy that I kn--” I stopped, horrified. “Oh Arceus, I should be leaving him alone, shouldn't I?! I bet I seem like some crazy stalker fangirl and-- ugh. Damnit, Sarah, how could you be so stupid!? You're bugging him so much--"

I was cut off as an unlikely hand-chop came down on my head, causing me more surprise than pain. Doink.

"Owwwowowowowow." I clutched at my head, tears curling up in the corners of my eyes from the pain. I looked up at Cynthia, whose hand was still vertical and poised to chop me on the head again. “What'd'you do that for!?”

“What about all those calls?” Her voice was stern.

"Courtesy. He's just doing them out of courtesy, or to be nice, or because I seem crazy enough that if he doesn't he's worried I might--"

Doink.

Another hand-chop to the head.

I rubbed the top of my head, tears welling up in frustration now.

“You need to stop the negative thinking! He wouldn't take the time out of his busy schedule to do all that just because you annoyed him, Sarah. Trust me; I've had my fair share of crazy fans, and I wouldn't let any of them near me like I've let you. I'm not saying this to get your hopes up, but it's clear that he think you're someone worth keeping near. For people like us, where we're constantly being hounded by media and trainers looking for personal gain and not much else, that's a lot. We have our own lives; but it's hard to let people in them. And with the frequency of those calls that you guys have--”

“E-EH?! W-w-wait, y-you know... a-ab-about.... th-those!?” The way she had so casually said it this time had caught me off guard. I don't know why I hadn't froze up at the first mention of the calls mere minute ago.

“Lance told me.” At the sudden deep blush that set across my face, she clarified. “Your Riolu, I mean. ...I see now why the name might have been difficult for you.”

“Oh.” I still felt alarmed, but I relaxed a little. That meant he wasn't sharing stuff like that with other people. Not that I wanted him to. I didn't want to think about what it meant if he was sharing that to someone else, especially not with Cynthia.

“I apologize, for not telling you that he was coming over. You were so afraid and scared to say Lance's name,” she said, nodding towards my Riolu, “that I thought having you come over while he was here might have helped. I didn't let you know because I thought that you might run away... And I thought that you might appreciate the surprise of getting to see him again, in person.”

“I--” I stopped to think about it. She was right; I would have thought about running away. But I realized that, despite all the fluster and frustration and everything else that just happened, it was nice to see him again, in person. I hadn't gotten to see him in person very often the last few years; part of that happily avoiding the awkwardness awarded to me by my thirteen-year-old self, while also us having our own, vastly different paths in life at the time. But, even with the information that Cynthia had now shared with me, I thought that maybe I should keep my distance from him. To leave him alone, and not bug him like I usually did. To not repeat the mistakes of the past. To make sure that I didn't do that.

I really wished I could have been better about that.

“You do like getting to see him again, right?” Cynthia asked me, noticing that my thoughts had started to spiral again. I felt myself flush right up, stammering out a reply.

"I-I… I'mma… Y-you're n-n-not… wr-wrong about… about that…." I crossed my arms, looking away for a moment so I wouldn't have to face the consequences of admitting it.

Cynthia laughed. "Who knows. Maybe this might help you get closer to him, so you're not always stuttering!"

"I'M NOT STUTTERING!!!" I shouted at her, face red. “I just…. Fumble… and stumble… over my, uh, words………."

"Can you even refer to him by name?" she asked, sounding concerned for a moment.

"Err, um… that is to say…. Uh…." I hung my head. "N-no… n-not r-really."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Um…." I paused to think. Why do I have trouble using his name? ...ah. That's why. I looked down, and I picked at the sleeve of my shirt. I didn't want to say the words.

"Because I don't think I'm worthy of saying it."

There was a solemn moment between the two of us. Putting it into words made it feel so surreal. It made no sense to think that way, or feel that way. After all, I was a human. I was a damn Champion; I've beaten his ass at Pokemon battles more times than it was worth, when I was much younger. So then, why did that not mean something? Why was I venerating a name that anyone could have? Even my own Pokemon had suffered because of those feelings.

Then, as I was contemplating the absurdity of it, Cynthia started laughing, wiping tears from her eyes as she approached me.

"Wh-WHAT?!" I shouted, embarrassed and confused. "I REALLY DO THINK- er, feel… That way… I guess."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for laughing. But just… The way you said it--"

"Ugh! Why did I even come out here with you?! I should have just gone off and trained!" I turned away, crossing my arms angrily. She came up and gave me a consoling hug.

"You really shouldn't feel that way about yourself," she said quietly. "Regardless of whether or not you're in love. It's not good to hate yourself like that. You are worth so much, and I see so much potential in you, both as a trainer and as a person. Don't give up on your dreams, because someone told you to feel this way once."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will myself not to cry.

“W-what if...” It was a struggle to get the words out. “Wh-what.. i-if.... it w-was... m-m-more... se...several... people?”

“Not even then. Their lies are not what's true about you.”

Her words and compassion had finally gotten me to cry. Feelings that I kept pushed down inside myself burst forth. I turned around and pressed my face against her, trying to hide it, but so painfully aware in some part of my brain that it would result in some snot on her coat. It was embarrassing. But she didn't show anything other than kindness as I broke down. She soothed me with comforting words and hushes, gently rubbing my back. When I had finally stopped, spent of the emotions that I had kept bottled up, she recalled her Lucario and guided me back inside. We stopped in the kitchen for a moment; Cynthia suggested that I get something to drink before returning to the library.

Riolu had followed behind us, watching everything with quiet awe. I could feel that he had a query for me, but he couldn't quite formulate it clearly. And even if he had, I wasn't sure that I could answer him.

“Lance,” Cynthia called out sweetly to my Riolu. “Do you understand what just happened here?”

He shook his head, mouth slightly open.

“Ri.”

“Sometimes, when things hurt for us, we try to hide it. But if we keep doing that, then it gets to be too much to hold back. Sometimes you have to let yourself cry. Or scream. Or whatever it is that your emotions are making you feel. Sarah seems to be especially fond of holding them back. I can't say she's particularly good at hiding them, though.”

“Thanks, Cynthia,” I said wryly, face heating up as I took another drink. It was embarrassing having her explain things to my Pokemon, because it also felt like she was trying to wink-wink-nudge-nudge me about how to solve my own emotional issues. I should have been more than capable of doing that myself, without the explanation from someone else. She continued.

“So if you feel like she's ever in need of letting out her feelings, you might need to pull her aside and get her to open up to you. It might not be as easy as it was today. Sometimes, in order to protect herself from her feelings, she might fight you on it. But you'll have to be patient and wait her out, letting her know that you're there for her.”

“Ri...”

Riolu jumped up to hug me, startling me for a moment.

<<I promise to help take care of you!>> His feeling was sincere. The energy behind it, the strength of his feelings, almost made me cry again. I shook my head, trying to focus elsewhere.

When I calmed down, we walked back to the room. I was staring at the door again, mentally preparing myself once more to enter. The calm that I had gained was slowly giving way once more to nervousness. I found myself worrying that it would show all over my face that I had an emotional meltdown. (Cynthia told me it didn't look like I had been crying, but I wasn't convinced.) I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down while it felt like every fiber of my being was racing. My skin felt like ants were crawling all over it. I rubbed one of my arms and took a final deep breath.

Cynthia smiled at me.

“You ready?”

“Y-yeah. I'll be fine.” I picked up my Riolu, hugging him tightly. “I've got this Lance with me to help keep me calm.”

“Ri!” His tail wagged.

“We're back!” Cynthia called out when we entered. I could see Lance's tuft of red hair over by the table that we had been seated at earlier.

“Welcome back!” he replied. We walked over to him, and I could see Pika curled up beside his lap, taking a nap. I instantly felt envious of her. To just so casually....! Lance noticed that I was looking at her, and gave a small laugh.

“I came over to read some of the books, when I noticed that Pika had been left behind. I thought it was odd, but she didn't seem to be bothered by being separated from you. In fact, she curled right up next to me and fell asleep.”

I blushed. My Riolu looked up at me.

<<She felt confident that I could help,>> he said. <<I'm not sure why that is. Miss Cynthia was the one to help you the most! I think she just wanted to eat the cookies without sharing...>>

I frowned when he told me that. I put him down and picked up Pika, sitting down on the couch as I did so. I held her up, away from me, waiting for her to wake up.

Pika gave a sleepy little yawn. She squeaked when she saw me staring at her with an unamused expression. She squirmed, giggling as she tried to get out of my grip. I let go of her with a short sigh, and she fell into my lap. With a carefree attitude, she climbed back up the couch to sit on my shoulder, nuzzling me. She was definitely trying to be trouble.

“Honestly...”

“Is everything okay? It's not often that I don't see her without you.”

I jumped up for a second, forgetting that he was there. I tensed up, and feigned ignorance. “Hm? Oh, uh, Riolu said that she wanted to eat all the cookies and not share.” I gave him a nervous smile. “Some days, y'know?” I had no idea what I was trying to get at, honestly. But I hoped it was enough of an answer to avoid any future questions.

Now that I was no longer giving my Pokemon a condescending stare, knowing what her real motive was, I realized that I had sat next to him. On the same couch. I felt my face heat up and I slowly started to scoot away. Ah, but that's too obvious. Ah, quick! I patted the space next to me, motioning for Riolu to come sit there. He tilted his head at me, but obliged, climbing onto the couch. I scooted over more so he could sit between us; Lance raised an eyebrow at me.

“Ah, I forgot to mention it earlier, but Riolu's really excited to meet you!” I gave him a nervous laugh, and fumbled around for a further explanation. “Though I guess that much was obvious earlier... Ahaha... I thought, um. Well, uh... I don't really know how else to explain it, so just! Accept that he wanted to sit next to you!!”

Smooth.

As if picking up on the cue, Riolu turned towards Lance and wagged his tail. It wasn't disingenuous, as he really was excited to meet his namesake.

<<Hi, I'm Lance! I was named after you!!>> He stood up on the couch and held out his paw to Lance.

Panic coursed through me. My face instantly turned red and I grabbed Riolu. I pulled him away, hand over his mouth while trying to resist the urge to grumble something into his ear.

“What... did he say?” Lance sounded concerned, but I could hear muffled laughter from Cynthia, seated across from us. I had forgotten about her, but now wasn't the time to deal with her.

“O-Oh! Uhhh...ummm... y-y'know... how some.. Pokemon, just... say.... silly....things? To, um, their heroes?” I winced, feeling like the lie wasn't much better. My Pokemon wasn't satisfied with it either, and frowned. I could feel the dissatisfaction, right there, in my arms.

“I can't say that I know... Seeing as I haven't had any Pokemon talk to me in the same way that Riolu seems to with you.”

“Oh!” I let him go, and Riolu crossed his arms, pouting. “That's, um...” That's great! I wanted to say, but I knew that it was a very enviable thing to be able to understand Pokemon clearly. In specific words.

“That's, err, too bad, I think?” I relaxed, relieved that my Riolu hadn't somehow instantly been able to connect to and bond with Lance like he had with me. “I mean, it sucks, when they um, just have a lot of cool things they want to say to you! He thinks you're really cool!”

“And what else does Riolu think,” Cynthia said from the sidelines. I gave her a sharp look, and she stifled her laughter.

“Okay, I don't know what Cynthia thinks is so funny, but he really does look up to you!” I said, finally giving a genuine statement. “He's wanted to meet you for awhile now. And, it's, uh, it is nice to see you outside the league, for once. And not because of work!” I added, remembering that one time I had run into him. He was on a mission with the Pokemon G-Men, and somehow the events of that created this... issue. “I was just, um, surprised earlier to see you anywhere but Kanto or Johto, really. So I'm sorry if it seemed like I was being rude.”

Lance seemed to be confused by what I was saying, and I rolled my eyes and shook my head, frustrated at myself.

“Nevermind. Sorry if that didn't make any sense.”

He gave me a strange look, perhaps because my own words were strange enough without all the context on my end.

“I accept your apology, though I'm not really sure what it's for.”

“Um, 'cuz I thought maybe it seemed like I didn't want you here?”

“It didn't seem that way to me.”

I paused, trying not to overthink on what he just said. “I—oh, um. Good.” I nodded, trying to sound certain of myself.

An awkward silence followed, but it was shortly interrupted by Cynthia.

“Sarah,” she turned to me. “Where is your next badge located?”

Bless her for changing the subject to something less nerve-wracking. Riolu perked up at the mention of the Gym Challenge, and uncrossed his arms. I looked up at nothing in particular, trying to recall where I was told to go next. It was on the west side of Sinnoh, somewhere closer to Twinleaf Town than this side of Mt. Coronet.

“Umm... I think the city's called Canalave?”

“Then you should definitely make sure to train up your Riolu!” Cynthia looked excited, eyes brimming with energy and the teasing forgotten. “The Gym Leader is Byron; he's a steel-type user. Would you like to stay for awhile and train with me?”

I blinked. The offer was extremely honoring, and I couldn't figure out a reason to say no. “Sure, I'd love to! Thank you very much Cynthia.” I looked down towards the little Pokemon beside me. My Riolu jumped up, looking starry-eyed at Cynthia, tail wagging excitedly. “I'm sure Riolu would love it too, if he got to train with your Lucario!”

“Of course. I'd be more than happy for them to train together!”

“Would it be okay if I joined the two of you for your training?” Lance asked suddenly.

I felt myself freeze. I was not expecting that. I looked at him, scrutinizing him. Was there a joke in this? A prank? I was suddenly suspicious, wondering if somehow he and Cynthia were in on something. But if they were planning something like this all along, I couldn't tell; not from him. I quickly looked towards Cynthia, who clasped her hands together, smiling.

“That would be great! Incidentally, how long are you planning to stay in Sinnoh?”

“I've got a few days before I need to head to Blackthorn City.”

“Excellent! Then it's settled. We'll all train together!”

So maybe it wasn't planned. That didn't stop Cynthia from flashing me a devious smile right after. I couldn't help but feel apprehensive that she had something else up her long, black sleeves.

“That reminds me!” She pulled out a poster from under one of the books, and showed it to us. It had a drawing of a starry night sky, with what looked like shooting stars falling across it. Under that was the shrine, and the area around it was decorated.

“We're having a festival in a few days. Because we're away from any of the larger cities, the night sky is really clear. It makes it easy for us to see a meteor shower that happens once a year. It's one of the few things that draws visitors to Celestic Town, giving them revenue. The both of you should go! I'll be busy helping the town run it, so I won't be able to show you guys around, but I think you'll have plenty of fun exploring it without me!”

I felt my insides go hollow, instantly recognizing what Cynthia was doing. She was setting up an opportunity... for... a... I couldn't finish the thought, too frazzled to think it. I could only hope that, between the blanched feeling I was having and the inevitable blush that was to follow, my complexion looked relatively normal. Because I wanted to scream. And run away. And never come back.

Cynthia just gave me that, sweet, innocent, inscrutable smile, now decipherable, as a little nudge forward. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I hated that I wanted to thank her for it, too.

[codeadleaves]

Lazy day

Warning: None Relationship:A tiny amount of soymilk if you squint Characters: Rose, Dezel, Edna, Lailah, Sorey, Mikleo, Ayn Talfryn, Ayn Felice Additional Tags: friendship, humor  Summary: “Today was a lazy day, their little group taking a well-deserved break after their trek in the Gaferis ruins and a rather short night spent fighting a big hellionized cat.”

Read on AO3 or under the cut.

A big thanks to @amarietie for betareading <3

“Here you go Boss,” said Talfryn, handing Rose a bag full of mabo curry buns.

The sun was shining high on Pendrago today. The market street was filled with people shopping and chatting, the Sparrowfeathers booth attracting a huge part of it. It was no wonder; the Sparrowfeathers were well known across the continent for their guaranteed quality, and the delicious smell coming from their booth right now would make anyone salivate. Mabo curry buns were a real success, Rose’s greatest decision if you’d asked her.

She looked down at the bag, warm against her chest, the buns still steaming.

“Don’t forget to share with the Shepherd!”

Rose shot a look toward the twins.

“As if I could eat everything by myself!”

“You would.”

“You did,” added Felice.

“Then you’d ask what’s for dessert.”

“And complain about your tummy hurting afterward.”

Rose wanted to object. It had happened once, a long time ago, and she had learned her limits. Why did they have to bring it back in front of her new travel companion like she was some kind of incurable glutton?

Felice shook her head, and Talfryn and Dezel nodded in confirmation.

Wait.

“Why are you nodding!?” she shouted at the seraph.

Dezel tensed and looked away,  while the twins laughed at Rose’s indignation, taking the shout as their cue to retreat.

“See you later Boss!”

And off they went. Rose pouted. Maybe she should comfort herself with one bun.

“You shouldn’t eat between meals,” Dezel said.

Rose pouted harder, tempted to shove the whole thing and glare at the seraph. She opted to walk back to the inn instead. Lunch time was close anyway.

Today was a lazy day, their little group taking a well-deserved break after their trek in the Gaferis ruins and a rather short night spent fighting a big hellionized cat. Sorey and Mikleo were still sleeping when she had left her own room a couple of hours ago.

Leaving the market street behind her, Rose looked around the plaza. Citizens were still fixing the damages a year of rain had caused, soldiers patrolling and helping the best they could (maybe they could give Sergei a little visit later - the captain would love to know the howling season was over). The capital still had a lot to worry about but the mood was slowly improving, the sun seemingly burning brighter compared to yesterday, all thanks to Morgrim taking residence in the Shrine.

How did that change feel to normal people, she wondered. They could sense the difference, she had heard a few talk about it, but how did it feel to them? They couldn’t see malevolence, couldn’t feel it the way she and her comrades could. It was an odd thing to get used to, that constant weight on her chest. Then again, she had had to get used to lot of weird things lately, like creepy ghost people talking in her head. Yeah, that was definitely weirder than any uncomfortable sensation in her chest, and harder to adjust to, she thought, eyes drifting toward the seraph next to her.

Though maybe the weirdest thing was Dezel. Always following her, always looking over her. Telling her what she was supposed to do or not, like he was some kind of mother hen. It was weird, a bit annoying sometimes, but oddly, she could never think it was completely out of place.

“What?” he grunted when she kept staring.

Her lips stretched in wicked smile.

“You know, maybe we should hold hands or something if you’re that worried I’ll wander off.”

The effect was immediate.

“How stupid!” Dezel sputtered, storming ahead.

What a weird grumpy guy, Rose laughed to herself, pushing the inn’s door open.

The main room was relatively calm. A man drinking at the bar, a couple and their children waiting at the front desk. One bored earth Seraph chilling on a armchair.

“Where are the others?” Rose asked, voice lower than usual.

Edna made a dismissive gesture with her hand, the other holding her closed umbrella on her lap, eyes locked on the family.

“Lailah is waiting in your room and the boys haven’t left theirs yet.”

Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Are they still asleep?”

Edna shrugged. “Who knows what two teenage boys can do in locked bedroom.”

“Nerd-out,” respond Rose flatly.

“That’s what they are best at,” said Edna, smirking ever so slightly.

Edna finally turned her attention to Rose, gaze drifting to the bag.

“What are you doing here anyway?” asked Rose.

“Avoiding Lailah.”

“Why? Wait, didn’t you say something about her waiting in the room?”

The seraph sighed.

“I could tell you, but I don’t like giving information for free,” she said, feigning disinterest.

Rose stared. That was Edna’s way to politely ask for a bun, she supposed. It was mildly tempting to walk away without giving her what she wanted - messing with Enda was kind of fun when her umbrella wasn’t involved - but then again, learning what Lailah was up to might be a good thing to learn for her immediate future.

“Fair enough,” said Rose putting a bun in Edna’s hand.

The seraph stood, walking toward the front door.

“It’s laundry day,” she informed her.

“What’s wrong with that?” asked Rose, confused.

The door closed in her face. Maybe two buns would have loosened her tongue better, Rose thought. She turned to the stairs, about to walk out of the room when she noticed one of the children looking at her from behind his mother’s skirts. The little boy looked at the door, then back at her. Right, that child had just seen her talking to herself, then a bun had flown to the door, the door that had seemingly opened by itself. She would have been scared too. In fact she probably would have screamed and punched at anyone coming near. She had. Poor Sorey… Though it was his own fault for not understanding how creepy it had been.

The boy held on his mother’s clothes tighter. Rose laughed awkwardly before fleeing to the stairs. She certainly wouldn’t be the one to explain that kid there were invisible people walking around. She had her own problems to deal with anyway, like waking nerds and checking on Lailah. Maybe she was waiting for someone to help with the laundry. That would be reason enough to make lady Edna hide, she guessed, opening her room’s door.

Lailah was sitting on the bed, a dozen paper flowers lying next to her. Lailah jumped to her feet the very moment Rose entered the room.

“Clothes off!” she ordered with a smile, taking a hold on Rose’s jacket.

“What!?”

Rose barely had the time to put the bun bag on the desk before her jacket and bolero were taken in one motion and thrown into the laundry basket on the floor, Lailah’s hands already on the next piece of clothing.

“Wait, wait! You can’t just take all my clothes like that!” shouted Rose, yanking back her shirt.

Lailah stepped back, smile dropping, hands clasped tight against her chest, lip wobbling slightly. Rose gulped. That wasn’t fair.

“I just wanted to wash everyone’s clothes, why does nobody seem to appreciate my efforts?”

No wonder Edna fled, thought Rose, It was either that or let Lailah strip you to your underwear (dear lords, she hoped Lailah wouldn’t try to take anything more!). Or worse, you could try to defend yourself and deal with the crushing guilt Lailah’s sad face instilled in you.

“Even Mikleo yelled at me to stop,” she whined.

Of course he would. Rose could clearly picture his reaction, all flushed, while Sorey would laugh awkwardly and stay out of Lailah’s reach.

“It’s such a nice day, who knows when we’ll have a chance to wash everything again.” Lailah sobbed in her hand.

She clearly was exaggerating, Rose knew that, and she wouldn’t fall for it. Come on she was stronger than that!

Or not.

“At least let me put on my sleeping shirt?” she asked, resigned.

Lailah snapped her head back to her, positively beaming. Yep, all an act. Rose wondered how long it’d taken the boys to give in.

One minute later Rose finished buttoning her sleeping shirt, her pants and bra resting with the rest of the laundry. Lailah hauled the full basket in her arms, determined to accomplish her task. She paused, looking at the desk, and seized the bag still full of mabo curry buns.

“No food between meals,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“But!”

“No but.”

Rose sighed in defeat. Again.  

“Can I give one to the boys? I suppose they didn’t eat any breakfast this morning.”

And they wouldn’t leave their room anytime soon if Lailah had stolen all their clothes too.

Lailah stopped in the doorway, seemingly considering the request, and then held out a bun.

“Just one then!”

And then she was off, humming a happy tune to herself. Rose sure hoped the kid from earlier wouldn’t see the flying basket moving across the inn. She didn’t linger on the thought (it certainly would be better to go with Lailah, if only she wasn’t half-naked).

She knocked at the boys’ door, not bothering to wait for an answer. Inside, the window was open and a chair situated next to it, on which Sorey was sitting. Mikleo stood in front of him, scissors in hand. The shepherd turned to her, greeting her with a smile.

“Morning Rose!”

“Morning you two!” she answered, glad to see they had managed to keep their pajamas too. Or at least she supposed they had, Sorey’s body currently being covered by a sheet.

Mikleo didn’t spare her a glance, too focused on his task. He barely responded to the greeting, turning Sorey’s head back to him before resuming his cutting.

Rose tugged at a strand of her own hair. She hadn’t cut it in a while, she should ask Eguille for a hair cut next time she saw him.

“Did Lailah go crazy on you too?” asked Sorey with a laugh.

“She sure did! Only Edna and Dezel managed to escape her.” Rose said, sitting on the nearest bed, next to the Celestial Record (Mikleo probably had forbidden Sorey to read it while he cut his hair).

“Where are they?”

“Edna went out a few minutes ago. And Dezel is-” she looked behind her, not seeing anyone. “-somewhere near I’m guessing.”

Sorey turned to the window, probably trying to spot one of the wandering seraphim. A pale hand took hold of his chin, firmly repositioning his head. Cutting Sorey’s hair didn’t look like an easy task.

“How did it go with the Sparrowfeathers?”

Rose distantly wondered if Sorey would ever refer to them as the Scattered Bones.

“Wonderful! Mabo curry buns are a huge hit in Pendrago too, and I brought a full bag with me!”

“Really!?” Sorey turned to her, eyes sparkling.

Mikleo audibly clicked his tongue. Sorey went still.

“Next time I’ll cut everything,” the seraph warned, face scolding.

“Please forgive me,” begged the shepherd.

Rose pressed her lips tight, trying not to laugh. Maybe it would be wiser to not talk until they were done.

Mikleo carded a hand in Sorey’s hair, concentration never leaving his face.  One snip. Two snips. Bending Sorey’s head a little. Another snip. Mikleo leaned back, arm crossed against his chest, a hand to his chin. Sorey held his breath.

Finally, Mikleo nodded to himself, satisfied.  

“Alright, you’re free.” he said, removing the sheet from Sorey.

Sorey sighed in relief and stood, stretching for a few second before relaxing. Rose chose that moment to hand him the lukewarm bun.

“Here’s for your hard work!”

Sorey smiled bright, extending a hand toward the bun… only for it to be snatched by Mikleo who quickly took a bite, not giving Sorey the time to object.

“Thank you Rose,” said the seraph, pointedly ignoring Sorey’s little shout.

Sorey pouted. Hard. The shepherd was so cute it was ridiculous.

“Don’t worry,” reassured Rose “There’s more with Lailah.”

If she hadn’t eat them all. Somehow that wouldn’t surprise her.

“Right! The laundry!” Sorey suddenly exclaimed.

He rushed out, certainly intending to go help Lailah, and Rose wondered if he had somehow forgotten he wasn’t wearing any pants. He didn’t even notice Mikleo carefully tearing the bun in two. The seraph looked at the doorway a bit surprised, then shrugged, swallowing the last bite of his half and licking his thumb.

It was just the two of them now, alone in a room, only wearing their pajamas. Rose smirked, placing herself in front of the seraph, barely a few inches away. Mikleo took a step back.

“I’ll hold unto this,” Rose said, taking the half-bun from his hand.

She then sat on the chair, removing her hair beads and beamed at him.

“My turn!”

The seraph sighed, grabbing the sheet Sorey was previously wearing and adjusting it around her. He had barely taken the scissors in hand when Dezel’s presence fell heavy on the room; poor Mikleo tensed. Oh, Rose could already hear the lecture going on Dezel’s head. A teenage girl only wearing a sleeping shirt in the boys room, letting one of these boys touch her hair? How scandalous!

Pfff, like there was anything to fear from Mikleo on that matter.

Rose bit into the half-bun.

“Hey!” Mikleo protested.

Rose smiled. Lazy days were the best.