RULER OF ICE

     Perhaps  she’s  too  hard  on  herself  :  too  strict  on  her  training  ,  too  reluctant  to  take  any  time  to  relax  &  form  bonds  closer  than  simply  …  professional  level  .  Now  that  she  considers  it  ,  she  almost  wonders  if  that’s  part  of  why  Rita  sent  her  out  alone  .  

     The  polite  smile  on  her  face  shifts  into  something  more  genuine  ,  a  moment  lost  in  her  own  amusement  .  

     Shopping  ?  A  rush  of  excitement  the  moment  word  is  uttered  .  Sure  ,  maybe  she  has  a  little  shopping  addiction  …  one  she  feels  somewhat  guilty  of  ,  but  it  can’t  hurt  when  spending  time  with  a  friend  too  ,  right  ?  

     ❛   It’d  be  a  pleasure  .  ❜  The  reply  is  so  quick  ,  it  may  be  a  surprise  ,  but  the  nod  of  her  head  further  conveys  her  agreement  .  ❛  I’m  sure  Rita  would  scold  me  if  I  just  went  back  home  to  work  out  again  …  and  play  with  Stan  .  ❜  The  laughter  that  escapes  again  is  far  more  natural  ,  though  a  hand  raises  to  cover  her  mouth  ;  embarrassed  .  ❛  Is  there  anything  you  were  looking  for  in  particular  ?  ❜

「 ❆ 」——— there we go. not as stiff as before. could still be better but enough for the time being. hopefully schariac could receive a brighter smile from the blonde ( girls their age shouldn’t be pulled down by a weight and age not for them ). maybe one day.

hands gleefully clapped in front of her, at the notion that her offer had been accepted, before giving a near nervous smile. ah.  “miss rita... it would be best not to do anything that would result in a scolding...”  not that she’s ever been under the ire of the maid! ana could confidently say that she was on rita’s good side!  “ah... you really are a workaholic, huh? a vacation really would be good for you.”

𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴.

continuing from this list i made earlier!

“ i miss you. ”

“ i don’t think i can do this anymore. ”

“ were you really about to leave without saying goodbye? ”

“ please don’t make me say it. ”

“ i need you. ”

“ please don’t go… ”

“ you know i’m never going to let anything happen to you. don’t you? ”

“ are you… are you afraid of me? ”

“ you’re a good person. ”

“ don’t worry. i’ll stay. i’m not going anywhere. ”

“ …is what they’re saying true? ”

“ i don’t care about any of that. i only care about you! ”

“ i’m here. ”

“ you have no idea how glad i am to see you. ”

“ just… tell me how to fix this. ”

“ please. now is not the time for lies. please, just… tell me the truth. ”

“ you know you can tell me anything… right? ”

“ hey… there is nothing in this world that you can tell me, that’ll ever make me hate, fear, or leave you. please, rest easy in that knowledge. ”

“ i never thought i’d see you again. ”

“ please… you have to understand why i did what i did… ”

“ why didn’t you tell me? ”

“ everyone has secrets, don’t they? i’m sure you’ll tell me yours when you’re ready. ”

“ you’re not alone. ”

“ you can trust me. ”

“ i can’t believe i ever trusted you… ”

“ it’s okay… everything’s going to be alright. ”

“ i…  i  don’t know how to fix this. ”

“ there’s no other way, is there? ”

“ no. absolutely not. no way. i’m not letting you do this. ”

“ you don’t know what it was like. ”

“ for gods sake, don’t do this! don’t you dare make me lose anyone else! not today! ”

“ i can’t lose you… ”

“ haven’t we suffered enough? can’t we have this one good thing? ”

“ you know, i think this might be the first time i’ve ever seen you frightened… ”

“ goodbye, my love/old friend. ”

“ you didn’t honestly expect me to let you do this alone, did you? ”

“ you lied to me. ”

“ you abandoned me. ”

“ promise me. ”

“ you promised! ”

“ please don’t do this… ”

“ we were one hell of a pair, weren’t we? ”

“ perhaps i am a little frightened… ”

“ we’re a team. remember? so let’s face this one together. ”

“ sorry. you’re stuck with me, i’m afraid. it’s part of the whole friendship/relationship thing. wherever you go, i go. ”

“ you… you must know, before anything else happens tonight… you must know that you were the greatest thing that ever happened to me. ”

    ❛ – Er  …  Orders  .  I’m here to find others - like you  .  Well  ,  like me  . ❜    You size up the woman  ,  a Herrscher  .  One that may not have ‘ activated ‘ yet  .  Such as you have  ,  anyway  .  Your face reign sorrow  ,  extending a hand out as a sign of peace  ,  truce  .  Wanting to let the other know that everything were really alright  .  Even offering up a soft smile  ,  she’s a good person  .  You know it  .  You may be able to help with this issue - another doesn’t have to die  .  Maybe I can help her  .

    After all  ,  you do not enjoy harming others  .  Even if it is for your own selfish reasons  .

    ❛ – Raiden Mei  .  That’s my name  .  And you are  …  Ana  ?  I’ve read your file  .  You possess it  ,  don’t you  ? ❜    Of course you refer to the core within Schariac  .  They’re dangerous  ,  most who possess it lose their will one way or another  ,  be it from a traumatic situation or intense emotional distress  .  You’d now  ,  wouldn’t you  ?

「 ❆ 」———  orders? to find her?  [  collect her like a toy, a tool to use  ]  no, not like that. okay, stop. she was over thinking things. nothing has been properly confirmed yet, schariac was just being paranoid. right? pale pink hues glanced down at the open hand; empty. a sign of a truce. no weapons.  [  but herrschers didn’t need physical weapons to fight, did they?  ]  ana took the hand out of spite for that side of her, the one that kept worrying about her safety. she was good at judging people. raiden mei seemed like a kind person. she was actually taking to ana.

that had to be good.

“ana schariac, yes. my... file?”  about the snow lotus’? the original one? about manila? lips pursed, unsure of what to feel about someone knowing about her past. but then again, it was knowledge a valkyrie could find and... raiden mei was once a valkyrie. or was she still? anyhow, the world serpent would have this information at their grasp... especially since schicksal and the world serpent joined hands.  “... i do. i have it, yes. i... yes.”  she was repeating herself at this rate but what else was she suppose to say about the core?

“ Huh? Oh, Ana! It’s great to see you! ” Theresa would be surprised to see the young woman here, blinking before she soon smiled. “ I’ve been well, of course things have been a bit busy over at St. Freya, but otherwise? Things have been good. ” Honestly, as years passed, things at St. Freya only really got busier. Perhaps it was a bit difficult to deal with, but at the same time, Theresa didn’t mind. She knew what she was getting into when she founded St. Freya. “ How about you, Ana? How have you been? How’s being a Valkyrie been? ”

                                       [  … !  ]

    You’re pondering whereabouts  ,  it’s so very cold  .  Luckily your body suit can withstand lower temperatures like this  .  On a mission to find other Herrschers somewhat alike to you - though it seems like it found you  .  The bump from another caused you to go wide eyed  ,  a bit confused  .  Certainly nothing you’d expected given the intel  …  &&  though you suppose the weather being as calm as it were  …

    Everything should be fine  ?

    Perhaps you can make a friend -

    To deal with this along side another  …

    Rather than alone  ?

    …  …  …  …

    ❛ – N - No  ,  it’s alright  …  !  I  ,  too  ,  sometimes am a bit of a …  ditz when it comes to going on lonely strolls  . ❜    You reply with words of comfort - the energy radiating off this woman isn’t so intense  .  Though still noticeable  .

    ❛ – O- Oh  ,  but please don’t be frightened of me  ,  either  .  I’m  …  friendly  . ❜

「 ❆ 」———  the third herrscher, of thunder was here. she was here... did she know? she was sure she was holding herself back, keeping a tight lid on the herrscher of ice. pink hues briefly glanced around her, searching for a single change on her person, that showed her control slipping. of course, the sudden snow was suspicious, but as long as she wasn’t considered the source, things should be fine, right?

[ but what if her mind slipped, her focus waning when she wasn’t paying attention. what if, so many what ifs... ]

 ❛   Hm  ?  ❜  

     The  smile  she  gives  is  gentle  as  it  can  be  ,  and  yet  ,  there’s  something  off  about  it         an  uncertainty  in  approach  she  still  had  not  quite  tightened  the  reigns  on  .  It  is  easy  to  hide  worries  from  those  kept  at  a  distance  .  

     But  ,  to  hide  them  from  a  friend  …  

     Can’t  always  be  the  ‘ perfect  valkyrie  , ‘  can  you  ?

     ❛   Ah  ,  Ana  .  ❜  Bianka  relaxes  ( as  best  as  she  can )  ,  shuffling  to  face  her  friend  .  More  welcoming  ,  she  hopes  ,  easier  to  communicate  &  show  her  respect  …

     Overthinking  again  .  

      ❛  Just  grabbing  a  quick  lunch  .  Today’s  been  peaceful  enough  ,  so  Rita  insisted  I  spend  the  day  enjoying  myself  .  ❜  A  quiet  chuckle  before  she  continues  .  ❛   I  haven’t  quite  decided  how  yet  .  What  about  you  ,  Ana  ?  ❜

「 ❆ 」———  something... was off? while she wasn’t the closest friend of bianka  ( that title belonged to miss rita and only miss rita )  , ana wasn’t bad at noticing facial cues. she had noticed... the s-rank valkyrie rarely interacted with anyone outside of her comfort zone; which was very small, now that she thought about it. should she push on this? maybe a little nudge...  “i’m just doing a little shopping. my team asked for a day off so... here we are.”

「 ❆ 」———  that woman, a jackal mask... where had she seen that before? a file, perhaps, from lord otto. but she had received many since her team was moved to coral island. think, ana, think... a file... she would remember someone with a... jackal. oh. jackal.  “a member of the world serpent correct?”  why was she here? stopping her... did she...

[  no. breathe ana. jackal wouldn’t know, ana has a tight lid on the herrscher. her bloodline as a schariac allowed her of this. nobody knew about her status  ]

ana... was unsure of what to do, when pinks met those sky blues. say something ana schariac! don’t just stare at her!  “... hi?”

「 ❆ 」———  oh gosh! clumsy ana, she, having turned her gaze to stare at the sky, had bumped into another. immediate apologies were on her lips, schariac giving a full 90 degree bow.  “i-i’m sorry, i wasn’t watching where i was going, i -!”  lifting her head, she was about to continue  ( to speak about how this was normal of her, how she really should have been paying attention rather then the cloud that looked strangely like birds and cats )  when she stopped.