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It wasn't like what she had was any sort of deep hidden mystery. She'd certainly not intended to hide it. The two twenty-somethings she was traveling with made her wish she had, however.

It was the heat of summer, and she'd chosen to go without her jacket, simply because the heat was too much to wear it. On the road, out to save the world, no one would begrudge her the touch of gravity on her upper arms, or comment on a few more visible veins than usual. When she'd bent to pick a few things out of her pack, however, she realized her mistake, with the gasps of the others behind her.

"Madame?!" Mirabelle's voice was scandalized. "You never can tell." Isabeau's response was more amused than anything.

What they were gawking at was obvious. Curlicues of mid-shade, what had once been bold and dark, met their eyes against her lower back. They curled into flourishes that blossomed into flowers at the end, and came together at the middle to form a heart-shape, drawing the eye inexorably towards itself. Not only the shade was faded, but many of the lines were pulled down by the gravity of decades, but the artistry was as clear as the intent in it.

She had to decide quickly, and she decided that amusement was the best play. She straightened, ignoring the popping sounds from her body as she did, and turned to them.

"Yes, is something wrong?"

"It's so…permanent." Mirabelle's worry was surprising! She knew Change was built into the roots of the country, but out of everything a twenty-something could say about her, that's not where she expected it to go.

"It was, yes. It's nice to have a memory." She returned, and meant it.

"You have memories with that, Madame?"

"Well, of course I do. It'd be more worrisome if I didn't, wouldn't it? But, I don't think any of you kids want to hear about the stories that led to that."

"Ew…" "No, thank you, Madame!"

She smirked at them, and went about her business, but her mind drifted to ages past. Ka Buan parties. Lovely men, and women. Declarations of Change and love that felt like it would be eternal. A stupid bet, honestly, and a stupid idea, that she should really lean into her desirability. She had looked good back then - Hot, she dared tell herself - and it was perfectly in character with the woman she'd been.

For all that Change wasn't her religion, it meant a lot to her to be able to look at her body, and remember how time had Changed her. She wasn't sure she was flexible enough to even try half the things she'd done back then. Not that she wanted a repeat of that time.

" 'Oop, you can't go out like that! It's weird!" [Bonnie seemed to disagree.]

"I…Don't mind you expressing yourself, but maybe something less obvious?" [And Mirabelle.]

"I could probably find a way to make that work…Give me a couple weeks, though." [Isabeau was trying to find the bright side?]

"Loop, you look absurd." [And Odile. That made it almost a full sweep…You glanced over at the newest member of your (Still present) party.]

"I get it? And…Sure?" [At least Ramos was on your side.]

[The outfit in contention seemed to be a full-body wrap. You'd had the design, at first, to help handle the cold, but after that situation had been handled you thought about what other ways you might be able to use it. This was, if you dared say so yourself, a rather brilliant solution to a very sticky problem.]

"See? Ramos understands. As much as I adore fashion, sometimes we must compromise our art for our life. With this ensemble on, I don't think even that Historian could land a single finger on me."

[Not that it was comfortable. First, it was mixing no less than three different fabrics - linen for most of the wrap, cotton for the face-mask and the tall socks, and silk for the scarf and gloves. Secondly, it was a mismash of what spare clothes your entire system had brought to express themselves - hastily improvised into something that was useful for a barrier. Finally, you couldn't imagine the way you looked, with everyone's shades clashing against each other - all of you preferred lightless, but it was a rare enough shade, and traveled poorly enough, that all of them wound up slightly darkened, and that led to a clashing cavalcade of shades.]

<But it worked, more importantly.>

[Shut up, Null. It'll work.]

=This sucks! Get rid of it! Clothes are annoying enough already!=

[Shut UP, Socks, it'll work.]

+Wasn't Siffrin's usual outfit pretty concealing anyway? All you really needed was the facemask.+

[Shut UP, Rosmo-okay, they may have actually had a point there. You let your shoulders slump, and gave a sigh.]

"Fine. Fine, I'll go change." [You allowed, stalking off to the other room. It's like you were the only one who gave a damn about the mind controlling duo who were threatening to attack you! Or…whatever that guy who came for Merlon was about!]

[You closed your eyes, let out your breath, and shook your head again. This time, you didn't open them right away.]

"Okay, group huddle."

---

[The mental space was big enough for all of them, even though it still felt like a tiny island with only a single tree on it. You decided to not worry about it.]

["You nixed my plans. What's yours? We can't just sit here and wait for them to make the next move."]

<"Easy. Find them. Kill them. If anyone protests, remind them what they did." You were direct as ever.>

{"No. Dangerous. Can't win a straight fight. They beat us once already." You understood, and you spoke Null's language.}

+"We could just…look into it? Like Odile was, already! If they're that strong, someone's got to have noticed them already, right?"+

["If only their power wasn't to make people forget them~" You intoned in a sing-song, dryly amused. "So nobody could write about them, after all!"]

+"You could just say it wouldn't work…"+

= "Hey!" Socks, of all creatures, piping up in the meeting! That was unusual enough that everyone paid attention - the little kitty cat usually found a catbed and curled up in it while everyone else thought it through.=

="We don't need to worry about it. In fact, we shouldn't! If you all learn to relax like me, it'll go better!"=

{"Hm." You started to see some virtue in the kitty's idea. "Explain."}

="Eaaaaasy." Socks gave the sort of stretch only a feline can, all spine and shifting and working down nyan's body a motion that made you more than a little jealous. "If they think they've already got you, they're not gonna try again! So if you all learn to relax, it'll make them think you're me!"=

["I don't think Socks is the right one for that, but nya has a point…" You didn't want to concede it. You definitely didn't want to get mentally one-upped by a cat. But. If you could pretend to be each other, or pretend to be under some sort of control, that might give you the opening you need. You looked around, and saw that everyone else seemed to be on the same page, with one little problem.]

["So, who are we going to pretend to be?"]

---

Isabeau recognized Null in an instant. The bland, almost empty look was distinct from Mal du Pays' flat stare, and he did admit, he had a decent amount of practice. Which is why the words he heard next, in a tone that almost sounded cheerful, were terrifying.

"Hello, Fighter."

---

Odile had been hoping to talk to Rosmarinius for a while now, and finally had her chance. Pinning down the memory-holder was difficult, but always rewarding, and the distinctly un-faked, un-feline smile showed that now was one of the rare chances.

"What can I do for you today, Researcher~?"

…She was wrong, then. Well, another day, maybe.

---

Bonnie didn't mind when 'terry was in the kitchen with them. He knew a lot of different stuff, even if he spent way too long washing his hands. You only needed to do it at the start, when you got them dirty, or when you were swapping between dishes! The rest was just putting the ingredients back on the food! It was alright, though, as long as he didn't cry into the soup. "Hey, could you pass me the olive oil?"

"Sure thing, bonbon~!"

" 'oop, get out of my kitchen!"

"But-!"

---

Mirabelle and Ramos were studying, as they often did together. Both of them had a lot of work to do to keep up with the others, but having a buddy made it fun! More importantly, a third had joined their little group, and both of them were willing to skritch nya ears and play with nyan hair while they worked. It was surprising when nya rolled over and looked up at them, and even more when nyan used nya words.

"Little lower, please~"

Watching them both jump was funny!

---

["Okay, this isn't working." You had to admit it. As fun as the idea was, and as useful as it would've been, none of the others were good enough actors. Or maybe they were too good of actors?]

Big Ball head, Calamite, in specific, but it hardly mattered. They stood there, if standing was the right word, and simply let the feelings overwhelm them. Sadness truly was the right word for it, as they felt any other idea they may have had get tinged, tainted, and obliterated by the feeling. The idea that it all would be destroyed, but they could destroy first.

It took everything they had to not attack, but that's what they'd promised - even as Odile and Isabeau poked at their body.

Mirabelle - and more aptly, Change - stood closeby, shining like a beacon to Fantasia's strange new senses. They didn't think about that too long. They were asked not to.

It was hard to remember it, with their mother right there. They weren't sure why Mirabelle was their mother. They couldn't think about it. They were asked not to. By her.

They wanted to return to their mother, and help her.

It wanted.

It WANTED at levels that Fantasia never knew they could reach.

Odile was channeling battlecraft, and it struck wildly, before realizing what they were doing. Strike. Defend. Absorb. Share. Express. BE.

The Sadness brain was winning.

Mother spoke.

There weren't words for what was said, not to Calamite, but it understood. It stopped attacking. Mother asked it to.

Odile said something that was ripples on its skin, and then Isabeau responded, a deeper feeling against it. If it thought, it could almost tell the words.

They could almost tell the words.

Fantasia remembered they existed, and pushed the Sadness back down. Their entire job was to be safe for them! And they'd failed! They felt the Sadness latching onto that thought, and cut it from themself, not letting it go any further. They'd be more powerful. They already had been, once.

The world was shades of emotions, through whatever passed for their eyes. They felt the battlecraft that had hit them, and innately flashed to a different type - not even thinking about it, as the change started from their big ball head and coursed through the whole of their being. Immunity to a Craft Type. Immunity to TWO Craft Types. If they could learn how to channel this…

Odile struck again, but this time, there was no pain. The Sadness surged with proof that the world was Calamite, but Fantasia clamped down with power they didn't know they had. This was part of the point. Odile was supposed to attack them. They TRUSTED Odile.

Calamite still reigned, and fought.

Fantasia felt it bucking, like a wild horse in their own mind, but they were stronger. But, just being stronger wasn't the point, was it? It was to understand. The world is Calamite, this creature is Calamite…

They could work with that.

They reminded themself that Odile was a walking Calamite. That the whole of what they were doing was because of Calamite. That they knew it was Calamite, and to fight Calamite, this had to happen.

The Sadness.

stopped.

It wasn't used to being acknowledged. it didn't realize it was heard. To be heard, and known! To know that your thrashing, that your despair, was something the world understood! It was all it had ever wanted! The relief alone shot through Fantasia on the Sadness's behalf, and they almost stopped looking even when Odile hit them with another piece of battlecraft. They mourned, and the world mourned with them!

Change cringed. Mirabelle cringed. They saw it.

Something they'd done had hurt Mother! The Sadness immediately became active again, flailing itself, pushing against Fantasia's firm mental grip. They felt it changing its type again, this time not showing what it was. They felt themself in a panic. They felt the desperation. It was different than it had been.

This time, instead of them commanding it through a song, it WAS them. It was like denying their very soul. It hurt. It burned. It was…familiar?

Something for later, when this Sadness wasn't trying to overwhelm them.

Mother was speaking, was calm, was understanding, and the despair slowly leeched out of it. Them. Fantasia reminded themself, them, never it. They could tell that Isabeau and Odile were talking, and Bonnie was diligently taking notes. Whatever was happening, they could handle it.

WRONG! WRONG! Burning! Impossible burning! Something lit up its entire being, in a way it could never believe! It should NEVER be allowed to feel what it's feeling right now! It screamed!

Fantasia fought and clawed their way back into control. That was Healing Craft! That was supposed to happen! They pushed to the fore, and reminded themself that they could change. That this was change. And slowly, they shrank back into themself, pulling the consciousness of Calamite back into its heart with a reassurance that it was fine, even if he was sweating and panting by the end of it.

✦ "Well. Huh."

Fantasia allowed that, and gave a weak smile to everyone else.

✦ "That worked?"

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Odile

That worked. Sort of.

The idea had been simple: Let Fantasia demonstrate a Sadness that had immunities to conventional battlecraft, so they could all learn how to copy it. Isabeau had agreed with the idea, and Mirabelle was even on board with it!

Change hadn't been. You shudder to think what sort of discussion must have been had, between Mirabelle's delicate personality and The God of Change, but the fact that she'd won was nothing short of miraculous.

The problem now was her part, and she was, quite frankly, baffled.

▲ "I could trace the methods it used to change its craft type, and how that hardened it to the other two, but frankly, without becoming that Sadness again I can't imagine us using that technique. It would fundamentally change whoever used it on such a deep level that I'm unsure we'd even be ourselves anymore."

Isabeau backed her up, thankfully, arms crossed and hair glowing the bright red you've come to associate with Kinghood.

▲ "That's true, but we wouldn't have to do it ourselves, would we, M'dame?"

◆ "I'm not certain what you're getting at."

▲ "Remember Fantasia's cloak? There are techniques for putting Craft channels into clothes, and it would give us a chance to update our outfits. It would do us some good to not wander around looking like the Saviors of Vaugarde for a little bit."

How did you ever fall for this man's act? When he's this serious, you can't ever imagine him as anything else. You nodded in agreement.

◆ "And when we have these clothes on, nobody would suspect that it wasn't just a trick of ours. Clever. How long do you think it would take to make these outfits? I assume you have designs in mind for each of us."

▲ "Ah…A year? Each? At least?"

You stayed as still as you could, but your expression must have shown your opinion of that. He doused the glow of his hair as he raised his hands up defensively, shaking his head.

▲ "This is incredibly complicated craft, m'dame! It takes months just to make an outfit with a shop and helpers, and we'd want to keep quiet so we couldn't have anyone helping, and we'd need to imbue the material with the craft as we made it and make sure the sigils were just right and-!"

◆ "Pity's sake, Isabeau, stop rambling. I'm not upset with you, I'm just disappointed this isn't the fix I wanted."

You look up, to where Fantasia had been calming Change down after that. They seemed to be playing…two-person poker? Mirabelle had three hands in front of her, but as you watched she put down her cards and adjusted her scarf. Ah, the Dragon, Change, and Mirabelle? Clever.

◆ "It seems like I'll have to figure this out myself. If you can start making whatever plans you need for the outfits, it wouldn't go amiss to just have ideas written down."

You glance to your own notebook, and smirk slightly.

"It never does. In the meantime, did you notice the other thing about that situation?"

▲ "I don't know what you mean, m'dame."

◆ "It doesn't work when I know you're not an idiot, Isabeau." You remind him with some amusement, watching him slump in response to that.

▲ "Fa could barely control it. And…It wasn't even that strong of a Sadness, in the scheme of things. I think if they're not controlling it from outside, it's a lot worse."

◆ "Precisely what I was thinking. I don't think we'll get a second attempt at this, as much as I'd like it. I almost wish Boniface could have seen it…If we get one part of this wrong…"

▲ "I know. But we need to try something, M'dame. Ignoring whoever grafted impossible craft onto Fa, I still haven't forgotten that someone sent assassins after you."

That immediately took you from the cloud-9 feeling of being with Siffrin to the focus of something unusual. They were scripting…They had a plan. You didn't know what was about to happen, but you had a feeling deep in your gut that it was going to be significant.

"Well! Good evening! I, uh, I'm not in the way, am I?" You stumbled over your words, for all you tried to keep them focused. But it was Sif! With THAT look in his eye! Who wouldn't?!

"No, no, you're fine, hahaha!"

That was.

An answer.

"SIF?!?! Are you…Did you…I mean, it's fine if you didn't, but…Are you, can you stop scripting now?! When you want to?!"

The words spilled out of you, fully of hope, as you stared at him with a wide eyed expression. He'd! Answered you! Even though he was!!! Your heart soared, and then sank at the slight shake of their head. Then how-?

"…No, you didn't step in it." Were you that obvious? Or…no, no. Use your smart boy brain, Isabeau. And pay attention, they're talking again.

"I'm ready now." Ready? To talk? You stared, then realized you were staring and looked away, your face burning. Okay. You can do this. You can totally do this. Sif needs you. You can't be a blushing maiden about this. You took a deep breath in, and out, and let the pieces fall into place.

"You're…You've remembered more lines. You want to…try to use them? To…have a full conversation?" You guessed.

"You can be a smart jock." WHEN?! DID THEY SAY THAT?!?! DURING THE LOOPS?!?!?! You stared, trying to find the words, your jaw working uselessly for a moment as Siffrin once again changes the whole mood with just a few words. They said it with such finality, too, like it was just a fact. You tried to focus, but when?!

"Isabeau." The word brought you back to reality, as Siffrin drew your attention back. Right. Scripting. Even if they can answer a few things, you still have to lead, since he can only follow.

"Aheheh…Sorry about that, Sif! You just…caught me off guard, there. So you're exploring what you can say, huh? Pretty brave of you, Sif. But I'd expect nothing less from my Sifarooni!"

"Oh my!" The words sounded fake, but from the blush staining his pale cheeks, the sentiment wasn't. A hand went to his chest, and he managed a laugh.

"I mean it! If I'd wound up in something like that, I'd be lucky if all I got was a couple scars and a speech thing. Every day, even like this, you remind me you're still the same Sif I knew, deep down."

"I didn't say anything." It was a declaration, but they went into turtle mode again. Trying to hide their face, ducking down to peek up with the most adorable eyes. You could get lost in that look, if you weren't focusing for their sake.

"I mean…before, I guess you didn't? Or you didn't talk too much. But, well, that's alright! Sometimes it's nice to have somebody you can talk to, you get it? Someone you know won't judge you. So you can just…Be yourself, without worrying." You knew what was coming next. You weren't going to lose it. You WEREN'T.

"I've never been ashamed of knowing you, Isa."

You lost it. You blushed, you hid your face, and you found your mouth leaking nonsense sounds. No matter how many times they said that, you knew it was true, and you lost it every time. They'd even said it then! You didn't know when, but…during the loops, during the time-shaped pressure cooker, they'd said it, and they'd meant it!

"Let's have a look, then." You heard, barely over the sound of your own nonsense, and you felt his hand on yours. It was pulling! He was seeing your face! Like this! You felt the old you spurring you to run, and that alone told you to stand your ground. You managed a soft smile at him, even as you took a deep breath.

"He looks nice?"

You're gone again. Sif - Sif! Master of Hiding Emotions! - wasn't letting you hide your face, and the verbal garbage you were spilling refused to form itself into coherent words even as you closed your eyes and tried to find it in you to think. Big boy brain, you tried telling yourself, but the rest of your head was way too full of those three words to say anything.

"I have time now!" Okay, okay. You think that meant he was giving you as much time as you needed. Which! Was good! You needed time to! Recover! It was several quiet moments before you managed to get your thoughts back in order from the unexpected Siffrin Charm Assault. Well, that proves he can communicate, if he tries!

"Sorry 'bout that, Sif. You know I have a delicate heart."

"The heart of a delicate maiden." Sif is doing the deeper voice, for a line you'd said before in the past. Oh no, that was in his arsenal and he was getting clever. You were doomed.

"Absolutely!" You agree, for lack of a better option. "So…Want to just, uh, sit together for a while?" You offer, smiling down at him. "I think you've proved your point."

"I do!" they say, and lean into your side, just a little bit. You decide tonight? It's going to be a good night to just relax. You grab for your book again, to have something to enjoy as you rest together, only to feel Siffrin over at it, the slight body shifting against yours.

"…The book, is it related to your research?" Okay, that one you can guess. That was definitely something they asked Odile. But, well…When you let yourself be, you felt almost as smart as Odile, so that wasn't a surprise.

"Oh, I guess…I'm not really a researcher, you know?" You laugh, and feel the way it jostles them, and the way they cling tighter to feel more. Adorable. "I just sorta…read stuff, when the Houses let me borrow them. Which they do! As long as I drop it off at the next House, they're usually fine. Changing who has what information, you know?"

"So this is why…" They look up at you, not finishing the sentence, not seeming to have it in them to finish the sentence. You allow yourself to nod in return. "Why I've been the Smart Jock even more? Well, if I want to keep helping you, I've got to learn even more, right?"

You didn't like the expression Siffrin got at that. Like he was a rotting carcass. Like he was a weight making you sink, instead of a joy bringing you smiles. "So what do you need me to do?" They asked, and you could tell they wished they could make it sound more bitter. Oh, Sif…

"I mean! You just have to keep being you! I'm doing this because I want to! And, you…I mean, Sif, if I didn't want to spend time with you, I wouldn't bother doing this. But you make it worth it, every time! You know?"

"I do." Simple, cold, to the point. Not looking at you. Oh, you really stepped in it now. You reach down and turn his head to face you (and such a novelty, your fingers on his chin, without worrying!), staring down into his eyes with what you hope is an expression that matches your own intensity.

"Hey. Sif. Sifarooni. You've said it a lot, but it goes both ways. I've never been ashamed of knowing you, either."

For once, you get a bit of revenge on Siffrin, seeing the way his face flushes almost lightless and he buries himself against your arm. "What was it you said before?" You ask, pulling them away so you can see their face, even as they try to hide. "He looks nice?" You do your best imitation of their voice, and the two of you laugh together as they punch you lightly in the arm.

Siffrin didn't…have much of a past, he'd come to realize. He'd thought that it was just that he'd Changed! People do that, leaving their pasts behind, trying to pretend they don't exist, and Isa was nothing if not considerate. The truth was way more troublesome…There wasn't just a bad past behind Sif, or a past that belonged to someone he wasn't anymore, but nothing at all. Like if he let down his walls, instead of a bustling city, there was dry desert.

Well, the group had decided (but Isabeau especially), if there was nothing there, he'd water the crops and build the city with his own hands. He'd erect a town as great as the bustling Jouvente he left. Bigger even! With a nice number of bakeries full of memories of good food, and maybe a few Houses of Change…This metaphor was getting away from him.

So there Isabeau stood, surrounded by history that meant nothing to him, watching the love of his life go through each thing, turning it over in fascination.

"What're ya looking for, anyway?" Isa finally decided to ask, startling Siffrin from holding a small glass frog. "If I knew, maybe I could help?"

Sif turned to look at him, and the look of uncertainty hit him hard, despite his best efforts. "I…Don't know." Sif admitted, and Isa put the pieces together just a moment before Sif continued. "Something I remember, I guess. Something from back home."

Isabeau nodded, keeping his smile broad and warm, and ruffling Sif's hair. Thankfully, Mira had managed to teach him how to take care of it, so it wasn't as greasy as it once was…The first few times he'd done that, shortly after leaving Dormont, had not been a great feeling! Luckily, Isabeau knew how to keep things like that hidden (never show them let them think you're fine and dumb and-).

"So, stuff with stars? Or…The Universe?" Isabeau tried to think of anything else that could be a clue, that he could home in on. "Or…It was an island, maybe stuff with boats?" He asked it innocently, but the way Sif was looking at him made him pause.

"You…Remember all that? Now?" Siffrin had gone from curious to shocked, to almost crying, in seconds. Oh Change, what did that mean?!

"Well of course I do!" Isabeau tried. "They're important to you, aren't they?"

OOF!

A small, Sif-shaped missile impacted his chest, and Sif was hugging him and sniffling, looking up. This was important to the little rogue, huh? He tried reaching a hand around, to rub his back through the smooth cloak Sif always wore.

"Of course I remember. Why wouldn't I? They're things you care about. It'd be like not remembering Odile likes books, or Bon likes pineapple." You give a small laugh, your words quiet in the store whose customers all had their eyes turned to you now.

"I…I just, you never remembered before. Not when I didn't…"

"Do it perfectly?" Isabeau gave a sigh. Not for the first time, he wished he could've explained himself sooner. "Sif, just because that's when you learned that I knew, doesn't mean it's the only time I knew. I've cared about you for…For so very long. And if you can't remember it, I'll do my best to remember it for you."

Isabeau wasn't sure that was the right thing to say. Sif buried his head again, but the squeezing of arms around him made him oof, and he rubbed all the harder in return. "All of us will, Sif. Now…Shouldn't we be looking around?" Change, save him from the stares of random passersby…

Change was listening, or at least Siffrin decided to return to his search. He wiped his eyes, and Isa patted his back as he watched the puffiness of them, the darker shades that were a sure sign he'd been crying. "Right…" Sif managed, his voice wavering. "The Quest."

Isa allowed himself a little laugh at that description. The quest? That's really how they were thinking about this, still? Well…Nothing wrong in helping him. "Yes, we must quest forth for the mighty secrets of old." He allowed a nod, as though it wasn't the most ridiculous thing he'd said in quite some time.

Siffrin felt like an idiot. This was nothing new, but it'd been happening less recently? So it didn't feel great.

Of course Isabeau wouldn't know what to look for out on a secret quest! Of course this would make the whole thing awkward! And of course he'd wound up having to be comforted, again, when everything went wrong, again.

Thankfully, as Doctor Jinn had put it, he's got the same chance as everyone else to make it right. And Isabeau had remembered! He'd actually remembered, even though they hadn't gone stargazing! Or anything!

…Why hadn't they gone stargazing yet? They needed to remember to fix that later.

For now, though, they managed to focus on other things. Like the antiques around them. They had to admit, this had always fascinated them. Every single one of them, every item in the shop, with a history longer than Siffrin could imagine. He picked up a notebook with a hand symbol on it, and took a moment to try to imagine just how many other generations had held the same thing they're holding. Who wrote you? They thought it to themself as they stared, not really taking in the book in front of them. How many people read from you, how many lives did you change? What story were they holding in their hands right now, without knowing any of it?

They put it down with significantly more reverence than they'd picked it up, then jumped at Isabeau's voice. Stars, they'd gotten so lost in their own head again!

"Hey Sif, Stars are a thing from…Your country, right?" A part of them curled up at the way that Isa had to talk around the name of their home, but a much more interested part perked up.

"Yeah, why? What did you find?" They started towards the aisle that Isabeau was down, and then paused dead in their tracks.

"Well, this hat has all kinds of stars on the inside, see?"

It couldn't be.

That hat.

That. Hat.

That hat that saved them. That hat they'd last seen in the House. That hat that blew away on the wind. That hat that was their only upgrade, their only proof of getting somewhere for themself, their only proof of-!

"Woah! Okay, maybe stars aren't so good on hats? What, is it like, it's making a fake sky or something and that's not supposed to happen?" Isa went to put the hat back down, and they all but lunged forward. "NO!"

"No no no, I'm sorry, it's just, it's important, it's a big thing, I'm sorry, please let me have it, I'll pay you back, any amount you want, anything, please!"

They were babbling, but they couldn't seem to stop. That Hat. The memory of an orrery, of a tale they could only remember in their blankest moments, the memory of how they'd fought their way through. Of their darkest hours, too. But…It had been there.

"Woah woah woah! That's…Okay, star hats are good, got it! I'll tell you what…You tell me what's so important about this hat, and I'll pay for it entirely. Otherwise, it's a loan, you get it?"

Isa's voice had a laugh in it that Siffrin clung to as a lifeline. They slowly pulled themself back into place, like a sailor climbing back aboard after falling off their ship. They were here, not there. They didn't have it. They barely had their dagger. They didn't…need something, that armoured them, that saved them like it did. But at the same time…

"Alright, but it's…Loop stuff, not Island stuff. So…After we get out of here, okay?"

"Alright!" A heavy hand deposited it onto Siffrin's head, and they had the decency to blush about it, even if they did press up into the hand (not at all like a cat don't ask questions) and smile. "And if that's a Loop thing, you don't have to even tell me about it. I've never seen loop stuff make you that happy. Or…I guess, make you smile, a little? Either way, it's nice to know they weren't all bad! Even when you weren't trying your hardest."

Siffrin paused at that phrasing, and then gave a nod. The hat was theirs. It reminded them, the way it cut off their vision. It kept their eyes forward, and down. Above was only the same stars they always knew…They wondered if that was how everyone else saw the world all the time? But, Isabeau was turning, and starting to look around.

"Rusted garden shears…" Siffrin's wince was missed, thankfully. "A weird needle-pointed sword, some shades, I wonder what all this is about?" The thought made you step up, and look at what Isabeau had found. That was right…It looked like all the equipment you never found, in that last fateful loop, had somehow wound up here. Minus the fish book…Itchy-ology? Icky-ology? Something like that. The fish book, the earrings, and it looked like Bonbon's 'weapons' weren't there either. But the rest of it, all gathered up in one place, like someone'd put it there on purpose.

The world tilted under you.

It wasn't the first time you'd felt that, and you gripped your hands into fists. You were here. You were now. Gravity still worked. Breathing still worked. Don't get lost, Siffrin! Don't lose it, Siffrin! Bob your knees, feel the way the world feels under your feet. Close your eyes, then open them again, and look at things fresh, without the tilt your brain put on it. The tilt wasn't real.

It felt real.

It felt more real than the world around you. You reached out, and touched the sword's hilt, before jerking your hand back like you were burned. Was it going to vanish, now that you've seen it? Would…could…the universe still reset itself? Did you still have its eye? No. The sword was still there, just like the rest, just like the hat on your head, just like all of it.

Isa said something. You couldn't hear what. The words pulsed in your ears, your head throbbing at the tempo of the sounds, but you didn't understand them. Sorry, Siffrin's not here right now, can I take a message? You laughed, and even in your own throbbing ears it sounded like half a sob.

You were hugged! You were held! Hands were around you!

You jumped at the feeling, but it did ground you. The feeling pushed you back into your body like a puzzle piece slotted into place, and whoever held you turned you away from those…items. Dishware, it turned out, was on the other side. Dishes and cups, ancient and cracked, dusty even here.

"You back, Sif?" Isabeau. Isa. He's here. He's holding you. He's…Holding you. You could feel the way every little shift of your breath made sensation flare over your body, the slightest motion pulling and pushing your skin in ways you aren't anticipating, and you shiver. You can't pull away…You can't. You can't tell him this isn't what you want. You have to stay here. You aren't sure why that's what your mind latched onto, but it was true. You wanted to stay there in his arms, even if the back of your brain was screaming about the way it felt.

Stay there. Breathe. Worry later. Breathe. Respond.

"I'm back. But…I think we need to go." You managed, at your breathiest.

"Okay…Do you want to go alone, or should I stay with you?"

Considerate Isabeau. Always at your side, as long as you'll let him be.

"Stay. I'll follow you…we still need to pay for the hat. And, I'm sorry, Isa. About…"

"Don't worry about it!" He cut you off, which was good because you didn't have the words to continue that thought. "I wasn't sure what we were looking for, but it sure wasn't that! We can finish up our secret quest some other day."

You smiled. You'd have to explain yourself later, but…For now, Isabeau was there. Your rock. Your personal Savior.

You were glad to have him.

+++

"Just a collection of…items?" Odile asked, and all you could do was nod.

"Some shears, a hat, a sword, a bow…Just things you'd find in any store. You're sure you don't know?"

"Not at all. He's never done that before."

Siffrin had vanished off to your shared room when you returned, clutching the hat tight to his chest. You promised you'd give him space, and you'd ask before you came in, but in the meantime you felt like you had to solve this mystery. If it hurt Siffrin, you want to know about it, and stop it! Whether he believed it or not!

But this…

"It hit him hard. Almost as hard as that time Mira woke him up from his nap." You didn't think anything would compare to that day. "And he was alright when he wasn't looking at them, like Jinn said. I'm glad I didn't let him go alone."

"You said he found a hat? That he thought he should wear? A sword, like Mirabelle has…and a bow, like she wears. Glasses like mine…" Odile took a moment to adjust her glasses. "I believe I'll be going shopping, Isabeau. If you think you can help him alone?"

You gave a nod, trying not to think about what Odile was saying. You didn't see any gloves there, and with a clench of your hands you felt your crystal knuckles at the ready. Whatever was happening, you couldn't help but wonder how you were excluded from it. As much as you tried not to.

Instead of dwelling on that, you walked upstairs and knocked on the door to your shared room, waiting for the faint sound of 'come in'. Thank Change, it wasn't too long in coming.

Siffrin was staring at his hat when you came in, curled with his knees up near his chin on the bed and facing towards the door. One finger had been tracing the lines on the inside of it, and rested there as you walked in and gently shut the door.

"Want to talk about it?" You asked, hoping against hope.

"No."

"That's a shame." You walked over to the bed, and sat down, watching them. It was a practiced motion, and you both knew what it meant. You saw Siffrin set the hat down, saw him order his words, and saw him decide to speak - and made sure he saw the thankful smile that came from that decision.

"They were from the House. Each one of them was…a piece of the story that never happened. Something else that I left behind." Left behind was good! You liked left behind! It was a lot better than 'crabbed up' or 'completely blinded' or anything else they'd called it! "When I saw them, I…I just remembered. Everything I'd been forgetting. Everything I didn't get to do. Everything I tried to go back and do." You liked that less, but…the phrasing wasn't bad, at least. "I don't know how they got here, but it was like they were tracking me down, to find me again."

"Would you…like new memories with them?" Another one of the doctor's suggestions. "Or do you want to put those behind you? We don't have to go back, but now that you remember…wouldn't it be nice to prove this time was better than anything you left behind?"

"Yeah…Thanks, Isa." They reached a hand out, and you smiled brightly. Another concession, another suggestion, and you took his hand and used your thumb to slide the glove up the back of it, before planting a gentle kiss on the back of it.

Not! That you did that every time! But, every time he opened up, you wanted to give him something. And showing him how you loved him? You'd do that whenever he let you. This was a good chance.

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"You can eat me."

The words were true. The words were honest. You had just seen the truth in the words. It filled your stomach, to the point where you wanted to throw up.

"Again."

And that was a nail, pounding the coffin closed. You'd eaten Isa. You'd eaten Isa. Even if he asked for it, even if he was standing there now, you'd eaten him. His flesh filled you, and you could feel each chunk of him inside you, your body thrilling at the taste of it. You hated it. You shrank away. You looked for a way to run. But…There was nowhere to go, nowhere but a corner, nowhere but giving Isa the room to be safe, to escape you. You watched his face fall as you winced away, and wondered what HE had to feel sorry for.

He…approached you, then. Even knowing that his body was still fueling you, that your stomach still begged for another taste, he approached you. You shrunk into yourself, becoming as small as your body would allow, and told yourself not to react. Ordered it, with all of the willpower you could manage. All you could see when you looked at him was the meat that made up his body, and you hated yourself for it, and you craved it.

Then, as much as you'd tried to save him from you, he reached his hand into the bear trap, and his fingers touched you.

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Your fingers brushed Fa, and you wondered how you could've ever been scared of them. Somehow even smaller than Siffrin was originally, they huddled in a corner, a tight black mass that looked like it would start sobbing if you said a harsh word. You knew Fa hated the idea of having to eat a person, but this was so much more than you'd ever expected.

Thankfully, as a Defender, you'd learned how to comfort the panicked, and this certainly counted. A gentle string of words, barely thought about but reassuring, first off. A touch, but slow, careful, so they know that it's coming. A reassuring smile. Promises that everything would be fine, because you were there, and you would stay with them as long as you needed.

The touch to Fa's body (Neck? Face? It was hard to tell; their anatomy was starting to come apart at the seams) made them jump, as you expected, but also seemed to stabilize them. It was several moments of rubbing their shoulder before they had managed to form themself back into something that looked human, and you used the time, while your mouth worked on autopilot, to think.

There was no way that Fa was going to get what they needed, stuck in their own head like this.

But what if they weren't?

You kept one hand touching their shoulder, and the other reached up. You prayed, to Change, to the Empress, to Quin, to whoever would listen, that you did this right, and started to rub around the horn, to scratch and soothe.

Thankfully, the change was nearly instant.

Instead of trying to turn into some form of sludge-beast in the corner, Fa relaxed, and let a tentacle press out to rest on your leg. The sigh they let out was one of relief, even as you allowed yourself some amusement at their whisper of 'cheater'", and you watched slowly as they uncurled from themself in a more literal way than most. A few moments later, and Fa's horn was glowing darkless white, a pure, soft colour that soothed you both to see.

You let your hand slowly slide away, and went to stand up, only to be pulled back down to your knees with force. It wasn't cruel, the way that they moved, just thoughtless, wanting to keep you near and acting on that want. Your side is enveloped in black…goo, for lack of a better term, as Fa slinks out from under their cloak to wrap themself around you.

Your arm curls around them in turn, and you allow yourself a smile to see their happiness. The barb-hooked tongue that slips up your side isn't exactly bad either. Your face warms to a dark shade as you feel the touch slip up and down, and you let yourself rub at their horn with one hand, the other curling at their lower back and pulling them to your lap in a moment of boldness.

Well! That got a reaction!

The tongue that had been pulling at your clothes paused, and Fa's face went darker than your own - a shade you're surprised they can reach, in this state. The light of the horn pulled away some of the darkness, but their pausing and whimpering (?!) had caught your attention, before they started to grind down on your erection.

Oh. You didn't even notice that.

Well! You supposed it was too late to stop now, and the squirming beast in your lap certainly agreed, if the vigorous return of its maw-tongue was any indication! You found yourself laying back, keeping them atop you, and you ground up in return, meeting their every motion. Your moans started to slip out as it thrust through the thick pants you wore, and you could feel your far-too-sensitive body craving more, even as you knew the beast atop you would eat you in more ways than one.

You weren't sure you minded that, as the pressure pushed you down, already feeling your shirt shredded as a far softer, more human tongue played over your neck, senseless moans filling your ears. You slid your hands up and over their hips, and back down, pulling down the black pants they wore beneath the cloak and pinning their legs from spreading as wide as they'd wanted to. They whimpered at their legs being closed, a sound of desperation and sadness that made your heart soar, and you swore to make them sound like that without the horn one day. For now, their body was offered to yours, and you soon felt, yours to its.

Your chest was soft, under its hands and tongue. You'd always liked the feeling of a soft body over hard muscle, even if Fa had made you change your minds on a few key aesthetic points. But you could feel the creature that Fa was kneading your body, working back and forth over you, and enjoying it as its tongue pulled sensation after sensation from you. Your own moans escaped senselessly, shared with its, and you remembered thinking 'being loud in bed is hot', your face burning as the consequences of your own actions caught up with you and the sounds refused to be silenced. You felt its hands starting to grow claws as it kneaded, as though wanting to pull parts of you off and into itself, and the thought brought an even louder sound from deep in you.

Not that you were passively letting them do all the work. Your hands had slid their pants down as far as you could, and you finished kicking them off with your own foot, leaving them able to spread thesmelf against you again - a fact they nearly instantly took advantage of. Their body was as eager as yours, and you could barely find room for your hands to reach for your own pants, the way they were pinning you down. For a moment, you flagged at the thought of all of the teeth the Black Beast had shown itself to have, but the whimpering need of the lovely thing above you brought you back nearly instantly.

Your pants slid down, and as soon as you were exposed Fa was taking you in. You weren't sure if they always were that wet and desperate or if the touch of White had changed them, but in that moment, you didn't care. Lines were torn out of your chest, and your blood was licked up by hooks and barbs as your cock pressed deep into them, and their body squeezed and begged in a wordless way. Their desperation was matched by your eagerness in instants, and you bucked them up and down, the motions letting the air hit the exposed lines on your body and bring a hiss to your lips, but it only made your length twitch again. You pushed into them, and in return they pushed into you, taking pieces of yourself into them and begging for more. You offered your arms to it, and realized only a moment later that you were hearing its celestial music - you didn't know what was its call, and what was yours.

It didn't matter, did it? You were theirs, and you'd offered your whole body to it. You felt it reaching past muscle, to organs, but the feeling was almost detached compared to the bliss of its hands on yours and its hips grinding down. The pace only got faster and faster, as you felt sharp fingers pulling ribs apart, to reach the things beneath. For a slow, tender moment, you hoped it could feel the love in you, when it ate your heart.

Your hips jerked, as its hands gripped your heart, and it gripped you below, and everything went black in a haze of bliss.

"I love you too~"

The words echoed across the nothing that you were, and you saw a white pulse through nowhere before you were aware again.

"You can eat me." You felt the words pull themselves from your lips, as though you'd already been in the middle of saying them, and you blinked into awareness. Your body still tingled from the emotions that they'd stirred in you, but their horn wasn't glowing. And from the look in their eyes, they remembered it all, too.

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"You can still turn back time, right?"

Isabeau's words rang in your head like a bell tolling.

"I trust you, Fa."

Every sentence seemed to resonate inside you, impossibly loud.

"You can eat me."

You weren't sure if it was an evening bell, a dinner bell, or a wedding bell that rung in your thoughts. You wanted to believe Isabeau didn't know what he was asking, but you could see it in his face. You knew the set of his jaw, better than you knew your own body. He meant it. There was nothing you could do that would make him stop meaning it.

But…That was Isabeau.

Eating a couple of assassins after they'd cut an arm off Odile was one thing, but to hurt Isabeau? What kind of monster would do that?

Your stomach roiled. That was answer enough, you monster. You horrible, disgusting creature, whose very existence hurt the people around you. You'd already done it once, and you didn't have any regret about them, was the only difference really that you knew who Isabeau was? Horrible, rotting, disgusting thing…But you'd be even worse, if you didn't take him at his word.

You closed your eyes, and when you opened them again, everything was Black.

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Siffrin…No, Fantasia, was having a crisis, and all you could do was watch.

You'd offered the only thing you could to them, providing a body they knew was willing instead of making them hunt. You knew they hated the idea altogether, but you'd hoped that you could take some of the sting off of it. Instead, it seemed like your words had shaken the creature that was your friend to its core.

Then you saw it. The single horn, glowing black. You had heard about this from Odile, but seeing it in person was something entirely different. Something powerful. You stood tall in response, and nodded to Fa. Whatever happened next, you would trust them. You braced for teeth and tongue, wetness and sharpness.

It never came.

Instead, you felt something very like a hand on your temple, a thumb caressing over your forehead, and something slid from it and through your skin. You could feel it inside you, attaching to you…It wasn't unwelcome, the sensation, but you didn't let yourself blush as you felt it attaching to your spine, to your brainstem, to all the parts of you that you subconsciously suppressed the feeling of. You were incredibly aware of them, now, in a way that even body craft and weeks of studying anatomy books had never left you with.

Then, Siffrin started singing, and you felt it twitch. The feeling was foreign, and almost terrifying at first. Your hands rose up, and your attempts to lower them again simply never carried down to them. Your mouth fell open, and you couldn't force your tongue back in your mouth, the face you were making a lewd, panting one. Your hips jerked, as it learned the way to move them and started to tease you with the very idea.

"Is this it, Isa? The experience you expected?" Fantasia's horn was still glowing black, and their voice was mocking as they watched. Their song changed, and you found an arm pulled forward, as though your shoulder was magnetized to something under Fa's cloak, and moments later your arm was in their mouth.

"Oh, how kind of you." The words came around the limb, as you felt pressure starting to push down. The separation was clean, one second your arm in its mouth, the next second no sensation from there at all, simply exposed nerve and cleanly cut bone. It seemed to savor your arm, as for once you were grateful for the thing controlling your voice, stopping you from disgraceful screams. "Offering yourself for me, good boy." You want to say you didn't, but…You could feel the echoes of the action in your brain, the decision you went through to put it into the maw they kept hidden, and a change of tone made you wonder. Were you a Good Boy for them? Was that what you truly were?

The gnashing sounds coming from beneath the cloak were needlessly loud, and you realized quickly that there had to be some deeper reason for it. You looked up, and they were watching you…It seemed they wanted to be a monster to you, to make you hate what they were doing. Part of you wondered if you did, and their song was stopping it? Or if you never could, and their song was forcing it into you?

A note. Your hand turned itself palm-up, and you held it out, feeling blood pumping from the stump at your other arm. You couldn't stop the bleeding. You couldn't stop it. you couldn't stop anything. You didn't want anything to stop.

Their hidden maw again, and you felt the heat of it this time, the wetness of a predator's maw dripping over you, and then your hand was gone, simply and cleanly again. "What would happen," the creature that was Fantasia wondered, "If I left you like this? Would you still love me? Would you start to regret it?" The question was noise that washed over you, as your addled mind tried to make sense of the words. Regret, love, leaving you…They meant something, but the blood pounding in your ears and the tune guiding your body were too loud to think of them properly.

Your nerves sang, and it was the same song Fantasia was sending through you, as you watched the piece of you feeding them. You managed to drag up a single word, from too deep within you to stop, and whatever it meant you felt the power of it with your whole soul. "Always."

The word made the song pause, and for a second you were Isabeau again. You regretted it instantly. Staring at the stump where your hand had been, feeling the blood dripping out of you, the way each beat of your heart left you with a little less of yourself. Able to remember the warmth of the maw, and offering your hands to it, and every micro-instant of the way flesh separated from flesh. You barely had time to realize what you'd said, and the creature that was your beloved began singing again, the note bouncing with a laughter you didn't trust.

"Oh, it seems so, Isa. Even like this, you'll love. I wonder how many layers deep it's hidden? I wonder if I could peel enough off, to find out?" The song danced through you, and you felt dark tendrils sneaking out from under the thing, peeling your body nude. You couldn't have done it if you wanted to, you realized, and your body's reaction was obvious and shameless. If they stopped now, you'd be their thing forever. Relying on them for everything.

Your thoughts were cut off by a tongue, rough and rasping as sandpaper, landing against your stomach. The scraping up your body scratched your skin free, pulling off a layer of it and leaving you whimpering by the end. "One layer…It's not under that one." The tongue connected again, and your body was sensitive as hooked barbs cut through you and peeled off what they caught. "Two…It must be buried deep." You realized you should run, but in a distant, unaware sort of way, like knowing you have to get up when you're comfortably in bed. "Three…" The barbs dug deeper, and you could feel how much more sensitive these lower layers of skin were, every pinprick of peeling sensation sending shudders both up and down your spine that Fa allowed you to feel. "Three…"

The next few moments were a blur, as your world became warmth and wetness, tugging barbs and sharp teeth, acid prickling at your skin and feeling yourself slowly dissolving away. "Three." Fantasia itself declared from above you, and you felt the light of your mind starting to fade, even slower than before. Your thoughts slowly faded, and the last thing you could picture was a single horn, glowing blacker than a night sky.

"Oops, too fast~"

The words echoed across nothing, and you were nowhere, before the black horn pulsed and you were aware again.

"You can eat me." You felt the words pull themselves from your lips, as though you'd already been in the middle of saying them, and you blinked into awareness. A slow mental inventory of yourself showed you were all in one piece, and Fa's horn wasn't glowing…Had you dreamed all that? Then you caught the expression in their eyes, and knew you hadn't.

The words were more bitter than you imagined them to be, and the second they left your lips you knew that they were wrong. A second after, you told yourself otherwise. "Words can't be wrong", the doctor had said, "If you mean them. You're trying to express yourself, not win a game." Well, from the way everyone else's faces fell, that was good, because you'd have just lost hard.

"That doesn't mean you can't Change! There's Houses everywhere that will take you in and help you, too."

"Yes," Odile continued. "I've thought of using them myself, during my time here, but I never had time to stay in one place, what with…everything."

"Really, madame? You're so pretty! What would you even change?"

And the conversation was off again…Odile explaining her heritage yet again, too-thick hair and too-wide eyes for ka bue, too-thin eyes and too-thin hair for Vaugarde. You wondered, sometimes, if Ka Buans had thought she was as pretty as Vaugardians do. You wonder, in the moment, if they'd bother talking to you again.

They hadn't.

You'd caught Isabeau looking over at you, with something more thoughtful than pity, but you could see the pity in it. Whatever he had in his mind, it wasn't enough to make him ask about anywhere else, or change the subject. Quietly, you thought about how much nicer it would've been if you'd just gone for a comfortable lie instead.

▬▬▬

It was a rainy, autumnal day, and Siffrin was bored.

It wasn't anyone's fault, everyone knew that was just what happened in Autumn. You found somewhere to stay until the rains ended, or you trudged through the worst mud that you could imagine. Bored or miserable, and to the family the choice was obvious. Siffrin had been…letting themself think of them that way for a while, even without telling them. Their little secret. Maybe not their family, but they were the family, and nobody could blame him for that, right? Watching Mira read to Bonbon, watching Isa and Nille talking about, of all things, carpentry, and Madame writing in those inscrutable books of hers.

You hated it. You hated listening to it, you hated being part of it, and you hated being trapped in it. It was nothing like the loops, you knew, but it was almost worse in its way. Watching everyone else with a role, with something to do, and you off to the side like some pet. You'd already napped yourself dry, and nobody had begrudged you sleeping through breakfast, even if it meant you were likely to stay up well after the candles were out at night. But the rest of your day…

You sighed. Sitting there wasn't going to make you any happier, and you'd already looked at all of the books Mira had brought with her. You'd read through the horror stories until they started showing up in your dreams, when Mirabelle had banned you from reading any more of them because of how you'd been whimpering in your sleep. Isa had tried to defend your right to read, but the looks Odile had given him had made him blush in a peculiar way and stop trying, and that had been the end of it. The less said about the romances, the better. You understood that Vaugarde was an open place, but the things they dreamt up to keep two people from each other felt so cliched, so unreal, so impossible that you couldn't get into them.

So, you laid there, in a bed, in a wooden room, staring at the ceiling until the morning came.

How familiar.

That thought sent a shudder down your spine that you knew everyone noticed, but you got out of bed before any of them could comment on it. No, you were dealing with this. You weren't being dealt with, not this time. You hopped up, and walked over to Odile, who closed her book as you approached.

"What could you be writing down now?" you found it in you to ask. "Vaugardian rainy-day games? I thought you were a master at those." The joking tone managed to reach your voice, you thought, and you were glad for it.

"Oh, I wasn't writing at all. Believe it or not, I'm designing something."

"Designing?" The surprise in your voice was clear.

"Well yes. You have your woodcarving…Or had it, when we were near forested areas enough to find scrapwood. Mirabelle has her writing. I thought I should perhaps try my hands at something creative."

"Oh, can I see?" This was WAY more interesting than laying in bed!

"If you can guess what it is, then yes. It wasn't fair that I didn't get to see your face when my research was revealed, after all." Her smile was coy and knowing, but she did, ultimately, have a point.

"Oh, is it…" You looked around, trying to think of what could be in the room that she could draw inspiration from.

"Clothesmaking? Like Isa plans to?"

"Nice try, young one. But that's your one try for the day." Odile's eyes turned up as she thought about the idea. "Besides, do you think I'd compete with Isabeau? In something he's planned for that long?"

You had to concede the point.

▬▬▬

"Carpentry?"

"Can you imagine me swinging a hammer, Siffrin? I know my limits, and they stop well before there."

▬▬▬

"Bookbinding!" You thought for sure you had her on that one. Something to do with her precious books, and something she could study from Mira's colleciton and her own?

"Sadly, no. But, now that you mention it, maybe I should."

▬▬▬

So the days had passed, until things were clear again. The world was colder now, and you could feel it around your cloak, but everyone was well prepared for it. You'd all gotten your own instructions on what to purchase, and been sent off to pick up supplies, which had taken the whole day between bartering and transporting. Thakfully, without Mira there you managed to get a Savior of Vaugarde Discount, and used the extra coin to pick up a pain au chocolat. Some things, it seemed, were eternal, and this one you didn't mind.

So it was that you returned to the inn, one hand with a canvas bag full of smaller bags, spices and flour and other things for Bonbon, the other letting you munch away happily, but you found yourself pausing outside the door. Something was wrong, you could feel it. You finished your treat quickly, and opened the door with a hand on your dagger. A pre-feeling, something that you couldn't put words to, told you that there was something going on beyond the door

You were right.

But not how you thought.

Instead, the family had been standing around in a half-circle, seemingly waiting for you to get back! You barely had time to rescue the groceries as a Bonbon-shaped missile impacted your legs and held you, Mira following after on the other side and Nille even stepping in to ruffle your hair, as Odile looked on fondly, and Isa…Hid something.

As lovely as the feeling was, your suspicions were raised far too high.

You managed a laugh, and to pull yourself free of the hug after enough time that it had started to loosen, before staring down Isa. Watching his cheeks darken was almost worth he price of admission, even as the others spoke around you. Again.

"I told you he'd notice!"

"You hardly had a better idea, Mirabelle."

"Uh-uh! We shoulda done it at dinner! Make sure he's comf-ta-bul."

"Comfortable, Boniface."

"That's what I said!"

It all flowed around you, as you stepped closer to Isa, and sighed. "I know what bonding earrings are, Isa." You allowed, holding out a hand, making him stutter even worse - and sending a roil of laughter around the room from everyone else.

That wasn't it? Then what was he hiding?"

"You're half right, I'm afraid. This is actually something we'd all been thinking about for a while…The past week just proved how important it was. It's not bonding earrings, but…"

As Odile spoke, Isabeau brought a black jewelry box around, holding it out to you. His words were trembling and small, in the way he always seemed to do only for you. You wished he wouldn't…his big booming voice was always so nice.

"We noticed you don't have any earrings yourself, Sif! And…I mean, you're as Vaugardian as any of us, if you want to be. Not that you should feel like you have to give anything up for us! But! I thought this might…make it easier to remember?"

What…were they saying?

Isabeau opened the box, and instead of one of his black i-earrings like you'd expected, a pair of star-shaped earrings rested inside. They were a light shade, just dark enough to notice around your hair, and obviously handcrafted. The edges were imprecise, the designs weren't symmetrical, and you could feel the love in every angle.

You stared. You didn't know what else to do.

Isa was saying more things, and it sounded like other people were responding, but you lifted up a hand to the box. A shaking hand, you realized when it was halfway there. Trembling, uncertain, but you didn't dare stop now. Not when they'd put so much effort in.

"-know what I was working on, the past few days. It's something of a rush job and it shows, but it's even more Vaugardian to have it made by your family, isn't it?" Odile was speaking.

Made…by your family.

Made by them.

You cried. You wrapped your arms around the giant body of Isabeau and you cried and you sobbed and you bawled and for once in your life, you weren't ashamed of a single sound you made. There wasn't any room for it in your heart. Not with everything else you were feeling.

Everyone else was holding you in moments. You turned, as best you could in the group hug, to include all of them. You knew you were getting tears and snot all over them and you didn't care. They were there. They were your family. They…You were one of them.

The flush darkening their cheeks was matched only by their urge to snap back, and they managed to find their voice. "Don't laugh too hard, Vale, not until you find out WHAT happened here. Besides, I might make sure it happens to you…"

"We got here…I want to say a few months, after the King? We'd met you, Nille, but there was a lot you didn't know. I hadn't even opened up to everyone yet…I'd say I'm sorry, but you know. Wrong people to apologize to. But you, Odile! You're always too clever, and you'd noticed, by now."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Odile managed, smiling wryly. She recognized an Old Man Ramble by now, but Siffrin's stories were always worth the listen.

"Noticed what, precisely?" Vale's question was colder, but from the look on their face, the queasiness in their expression, they already knew.

"Well…Back then. Before I knew any better. And I want to make it real clear, I know better now! But back then, I would…Punish myself. With my dagger. For things that…hadn't happened, to any of you? And I'd hide it with my Craft, which…I learned way more about the limits of Healing Craft than I should have."

Siffrin didn't bother looking at everyone's faces. He knew what they looked like. He'd seen them before, and they broke his heart the first time, when it was Odile revealing this. Even so much later, thinking about those expressions hurt.

What he wasn't expecting was the sudden enfolding of arms around him. Isabeau's warm body against his, enfolding him, and a moment later Odile's hand on his head, patting it gently. Even Nille joined in on the hug, and a glance up showed Vale nearby, looking in. This was…different? This was nice. Until, on some unspoken signal, everyone stepped away.

"I'm sorry Sif, just…the look on your face. I don't think anybody could see that and NOT want to give you a hug! We know it's alright, but the way you looked…"

"Like a crab just pinched your puppy." Nille confirmed.

"Yeah, or like…I dunno, like someone ate your favorite treat you were saving for later!"

In that moment, he was loved. In all moments, he was loved, but it was nice to see it so clearly, and the smile Siffrin let onto his face was genuine. "Thanks…I don't like thinking about this stuff. But, no bottling myself up, not to my family! That's what I promised."

"Promised who, precisely?" Odile's voice was wry, in the way that came when she was trying to not show affection.

"Well I was getting to that! Before everyone decided it was group hug time! Anyway! Odile noticed, and she…told everyone, when we were here. I'm not ashamed to say, I ran off. I was stupid…I thought none of you would care about me if you knew how much I hated myself."

"You're absolutely right, Stardust." Vale finally decided to add their two cents, and everyone's heads snapped towards them, making them glad that looks couldn't kill - they'd be dead four times over, at least! It was Odile who found her voice first.

"Explain?"

"He WAS stupid!"

Vale's laugh cut the tension that their statement made, and Siffrin was the first to join into it, before everyone else allowed themselves to be part of it.

"Right! Right, where was I…Running away. Right. Well, Odile was too smart again." A glance to her showed a smirk that showed she agreed. "I ran and hid in the House…and her letter had gotten there first. And when people showed up expecting me, and bringing me to an appointment? I wasn't going to tell them they had the wrong person. Whoever's appointment it was, I could hide there until you all forgot! And that's how I met my therapist."

The sharp bark of laughter from Odile showed just what she thought of that, but Isabeau was quick to follow, as Nille shook her head in exasperation. "That actually worked?" She said, around a smile, and Vale nodded with mock seriousness. "It would have worked on me. Smart."

Siffrin decided then to start walking and talking, as he explained the rest of it. "Doctor Jinn was…strange. Even for Vaugarde. It/its pronouns, with lightless hair with darkless spots in it, like the stars. I'd have almost thought it was from home, except that everyone I've seen from there had darkless hair…and Doctor Jinn was a housemaiden. Or…I mean, it was working in the house, and it wore a change symbol on a necklace? And one of them for a bonding earring? Anyway, it had its own office set up, and was ready for me and everything. It wasn't until it addressed me by my name that I realized what happened. But Odile, why did you tell it my name was 'Siffrin Nomiddlename Nolastname'?"

"I couldn't begin to imagine." Odile allowed, walking the crowded streets, Isabeau pushing ahead and the others walking in the wake of the broad man like wakesurfers…Siffrin briefly wondered where he'd heard that term, then remembered they were telling a story.

"Well, that's what it called me. Like that, like 'Nomiddlename' and 'Nolastname' were names themselves. It was a great listener, I'll tell you that…It seemed to accept the Wish Craft stuff pretty easily, and didn't blame me for…" a light cough. "Any of it." Siffrin glanced to the side, and when the others followed their glance, they saw Bonnie at a stall, haggling with a zit-faced teen about the price of tomatoes.

"The interesting thing was…Well, when we got there, we were sort of wandering wherever we felt like, just seeing the world? And it turned out that Jinn was traveling anyway, so we wound up joining it…or it joined us, but we just wound up going where it led. It was convenient, and it meant I couldn't get away from it, either. So…we wound up talking a lot. Almost the whole time we were in Wolworth, and even on the roads." Sif took a turn, but kept up his memories. "About the Loops, about what I could and couldn't remember, about…well, everything, really. How I felt about Isa, how I felt about touch, home, why the Universe granted wishes like it did - it really didn't have much to say there, but it was great to just get it out of my system."

Vale was starting to look uneasy as they walked along, and Siffrin knew it was now or never, time to strike and hope everyone else was on board. "It was so useful, in fact, that I felt like visiting again. I sent a letter ahead myself this time, since…well, you didn't have a reason to, Madame. And don't worry, Vale, I told them all about you!"

Siffrin's grin was shameless, and watching the look on Vale's face was worth the entire time, as they realized how close they were to the opened doors of the House. And how Isabeau was blocking them off to the side…Vale couldn't escape that way, maybe…no, Nille was over there. Maybe through the Madame? With that look on her face, no way. That was the Path of Pain.

Vale's shoulders slumped, as Siffrin stepped aside and gave a sweeping bow. "After you, my friend!" Vale muttered oaths under their breath as they marched to the doors, only to find a Housemaiden waiting for them.

"We did NOT save Vaugarde without that wish. I can tell you that with a straight face. In whatever magic realm of make believe where I don't wish, we're all standing still as statues right now. I knew that as SOON as I knew that I'd made a wish. You don't need that choice in your mind. Especially not when I'm the one who's dying…If I'm the one feeling it, it should be my choice, shouldn't it?"

"Siffrin…"

"You said first thing you could tell us. Implying there were more things." Odile's voice was stern. Cold. Steel. Good, she was the one person who could understand without her heart weeping. Maybe, just maybe, she could convince the others.

"Oh, there were plenty more things to tell you! Like how the end of the King wasn't the end of the loops? How we were trapped here, by whatever this was? Would you want to know that? That every time we won, it was just washed away like a kayak too far at sea?! Or how about everything I'd failed to do, would you want the list of that?"

"Yes."

The word cut through everything else. Her stare was impassive. Almost empty. Somehow, colder than before.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you about it. It was over a dozen loops before I found that out, and can you imagine having…having THIS conversation a dozen times? Two dozen? Watching your heart break every single time? Watching Mirabelle sob, watching Isabeau practically shut down? Just so I could have a scrap of comfort?! Any Siffrin that would do that to you is a Siffrin that wouldn't have wished at all. Any person who would destroy all of you, who would break all of your hearts, just to have two days of understanding, that person's on the path to being the next King."

"Siffrin. This was…" Odile, of all people, having to choose her words carefully. She was close to understanding. She was close to breaking. It was in her pose, her words, her face. "Not a matter of emotions, beyond a certain point. While I believe you, and your kind heart does you credit…You clearly, fundamentally, could only follow one path at a time. If you had shared your knowledge, you could have been done many loops before…We could have helped you."

"No. You couldn't."

"Oh?"

"The books that told the truth? The books that explained how bad I'd blinded myself? Written in a language only I could read! And that was AFTER I killed myself trying to speak it! The wish, to make the Head Housemaiden tell us what happened? None of you could've believed hard enough! Yeah, I could've asked you about staying together…If I'd had any reason, at all, to think that's why I was looping. NOTHING said that! That wasn't the wish I made, I wished to stay with Mirabelle. I could do that even if you all split up. It would've blinding HURT, but I could have! Nothing. Nothing at all you could have done would save me. Not until the end. Not until you DID."

"You have some proof of this?"

A thud. A book, borrowed from the House…stolen, truly, but no one there could read it, and what good was a book no one could read? A book, laying on the ground between them, the sound of it having shocked the other two from their emotional stupors.

"If you can read this…If you can tell me the title of this…I'll admit I was wrong."

Odile's hands were shaking. Odile's hands never shook. Not with the tremors of age, not with exhaustion, but now…With her fingers outstretched to the book, she was trembling. Cautious. Like it would bite her. She picked it up, turned it around, and stared at it.

Her eyes widened. Then narrowed. Flicking across the title. Opening the book, and her eyes darting back and forth. Looking for something, for anything, as even the steel in her soul bent under the weight. Her back hunched, her brow furrowed, and the signs of a headache were obvious.

A flip of the page.

Another.

Then, a scream of rage, as she tossed the book into the campfire, and fell to the ground, clutching her knees. She sobbed. The Madame, the great Odile, unflappable, steel-spined and sharp-eyed, sobbed like a lost child. It felt like the most damning victory imaginable.

"That's why I didn't tell you. How you're feeling right now. I'd do that to you, every time, for NOTHING." They had to understand, by now. Looking around, at the shattered wrecks of the three, hearing sobs and seeing blank-eyed stares, they did.

Now, only now, could the healing actually start. Now that they believed. Now that they knew. Now that they understood what hat happened, and what impossible choices there were to make. Now that it wasn't 'Silly Siffrin got mixed up in emotions, isn't it cute?', now that it wasn't 'We can talk about whatever happened, Feelings Buddy!', now that it wasn't 'Oh, your fee-fees, your ling-lings'.

Loop said to tell them the truth. They knew how much it would hurt when they said it.

"[Everything Rocks!]"

Siffrin's new craft banished those looks, as they knelt down and brought a closed fist towards the snowy ground. It was like the ground absorbed the Craft coming from them, and started to answer. A rhythmic, rocking swaying caught everyone off guard, Odile's fall cushioned by the snow and Isabeau stumbling an extra step in surprise, but everyone's footing lost from the shock.

"[And the curtains open…]" "[…Once More!]"

What?!

Vale had shot their fast-blast of paper energy to catch Siffrin off guard, but an open palm from where they were kneeling matched the strike, the two bursts of Craft mingling into nothing in midair! Fortunately, while Vale was staring in surprise, the rest of the group had been busy. Mirabelle's shields wrapped everyone up in warmth like a blanket, and Isabeau's cheering settled in as a balm to the shock of the craft Siffrin had just released. Odile managed to pull herself out of the snow, as Nille defended her and watched in caution, and Siffrin grinned.

"Alright! You believe me now! Let's get this party started!" He announced, to the worry of the crowd - the ground was still shifting under their feet, and they were just getting started?

"[Pat On The Back!]" Their dagger cut twice, one burst of Scissors craft launching its way towards where Isabeau was settling into a different stance, and the other cutting the air in front of them. There was something…Wrong, and then Siffrin stepped through the hole they'd cut in the air, and out the other one, their dagger darting out for a slice on Isabeau.

All hell broke loose.

Isabeau flinched forward, and the unstable ground left him staggering and falling to his hands and knees, but Odile seemed to already come up with a plan. [Slow IV] launched, and thankfully connected, Mirabelle shouted something about piercing through shields and cheating, as she let a [Super Sparkle Heal] wash over the downed Defender. Vale was looking amazed, but recovered for a single uncertain attack of Papercraft, and Nille followed it up with [Rock The House], which seemed to do all the more.

In that it did anything at all.

The strike flinched Siffrin back a step, but for all he was in slow motion it seemed to bring him from 'too fast to react to' to 'the same speed as everyone else'. They recovered in time to pull out their next attack, and Nille cringed at the three bursts of Scissorcraft that shot at her, each one slicing a little deeper until she was knocked out. "[Buy One, Get One Three!]" seemed to still be part of his moves, at least…

As Nille fell back into the snow, eyes unfocused in unconsciousness, Siffrin had only the snow's crunching to warn them of Isabeau's approach. "[SMASH!]" hit him hard enough to nearly knock him down, and Odile's [Rock III] finished the job - and the combined attack seemed to work! The ground stilled its erratic shaking, allowing for everyone to stand normally again.

Mirabelle took the chance to run over to Nille, producing a tonic from among her frills. The fruity taste filled her stomach, and she slowly came to, grunting and confused. Vale was simply guarding, but their eyes narrowed, seeming to see something the others didn't.

"Oh no, we can't have that! [Spread The Love!]" Siffrin called out, and made an all-encompassing gesture with their arms. At first it simply looked like they were hugging air, and t hen a half-circle of Craft squeezed in around them, papercraft knocking into them all and forcing them closer - and taking huge chunks out of Isabeau, Nille falling back to the snow altogether. Even Vale and Odile, who were supposedly strong to it, seemed to wince at the power of the attack, but Odile grinned as she understood. "Mirabelle, try healing us. I think I've figured out his trick." The resulting Super Sour Tonic didn't taste great, but one drink of it seemed to get them all feeling better…Even Siffrin.

"It's like he's part of our party too!" Vale called out in shock, and Odile gave a stern nod. "That's how he's cutting through the shields. They don't protect from party members." Even as Odile was explaining, Isabeau had moved up and started to simply jab at Siffrin, strike after strike going wide until one finally landed true, leaving them grabbing their gut. "Mirabelle, only use the reflection shield!" "I heard you the first time!" She allows, but then gasps.

"[Simply Stabulous] as always, Odile." Siffrin's puns were almost as bad as the sight of their dagger embedded in Isabeau's shoulder, and the blank look in the Defender's eyes as he fell to the cold snow beneath. "But too late, I think. I've gotta say though, it feels GREAT to cut loose again!" They stretched their arms over their head, as though this was simply relaxing and not a terrifying display of force.

"Housemaiden, you're the [Main Character!]" Vale's voice was trembling, but the craft that wrapped her up seemed to draw Siffrin's eyes…and their blade. They nodded in understanding, and watched cautiously, as Odile slowly worked her way around Siffrin, staying out of stab range - as though that meant anything.

"Stalling now? Well, I guess it's my turn again! [Can't Stop The Rock!]" Siffrin's movement returned to its normal, blinding speed, but even as he turned to punch at Odile the Craft was pulled back towards Mirabelle, like a magnet. "Wh-!"

"[Brilliant Reflection Shield!]"

The reflection came up instantly, and Siffrin's eyes went wide as they realized just what was about to happen. Their own attack…! They tried to dodge, but it had all their own speed and impacted, leaving the attempt at a leaping dive turning into being sent ingloriously tumbling through the snow and landing face-down in it. "Blrfh," he opined, emptying his mouth of the snow that had gotten into it to see Isabeau standing tall, and Vale stepping up next to Mirabelle.

"Main Character! Draws your attacks where I want them to. Come on everyone, just one more push!" Vale wasn't sure where this spring of inspiration was coming from, but they weren't about to turn it down, especially not when it got Isabeau moving. "[SMASH!]" came down in a diving attack, but Siffrin's roll through the snow made it miss him.

Most of him.

His cloak got pinned down underneath Isabeau's fist before he could get it free, and Isabeau called out. "NOW! Everyone!" Pinned as he was, Siffrin could only watch as Nille staggered to her feet, and everyone's Craft merged together as it launched forward in a great ball of power.

Jackpot.

The combined strikes blew Siffrin away with their power, sending him flying anew, and Mirabelle gasped as Vale looked uneasy at the motion, but it was Nille who managed to say it. "Maybe that was a little overboard? For just one guy?"

"Not at all!" Siffrin's voice had to shout to reach them, but he seemed to be…fine? Oh, he was staggering slightly, but he'd been blown nearly to the treeline and seemed to suffer less from it than Isabeau had from a single stab! Odile's eyes narrowed, and she read Siffrin's remaining health…Just above half?!

"I yield." "Yeah, me too." Odile first, and then Vale, leaving the rest staring at them in shock. "Well we can't beat them without you?" "Then yield yourself." Mirabelle's worries were answered even more as Siffrin started to run, closing the gap at speeds they found unlikely at best. "…Fine. I Yield." "Yeah…We all do." Isabeau finally answered, and there was a collective sigh.

"Hey!" Siffrin said as they got back to the group, and threw arms around Isabeau and Nille. "That was the best fight I've had in ages! C'mon, let's get back!"

"Siffaroni, has anyone told you you're terrifying?"

"Prepare for trouble, you're in for a fight!" Eclipse?!

" And make it double, you've entered our sight!" Nille?!

"Yeah, that's right!!" FLARE?!

Your slack-jawed staring breaks whatever they'd had planned into shared laughter, Eclipse and Nille leaning on each other slightly as they took in your expression. "Change…Sorry, Vay, but your FACE!"

"That was worth it! Sorry Vale, Sorry, Bonnie put us up to this." Eclipse managed to gather his bearings first, and you try not to be disappointed when his booming laugh isn't filling the air around you.

"Nuh-uh!" Flare corrected him proudly, hands on their hips and their chin held high. "Za came up with it, and told us not to tell!"

"That means you don't tell, Bug…" Nille sighed, adjusting the gloves to her outfit, before seeming to remember she had a character to play. "YOU! Team Rock-It challenges you for supremacy, Wizard of Paper! On our victory, you'll repay me the cost of that outfit you're wearing!"

"And, you'll sit in on feelings time with me and Siffrin!" Of course that's what your Eclipse would want…

"And you've gotta give me two hundred piggyback rides! No complaining!" Flare seems to realize the soft smile you're giving them is one you'd give a kid, but rallies, the sun glinting off the strange coin on their hat. "AND, you've gotta teach me how to swear in your language! I asked Frin and he said no, so you've gotta!"

Wouldn't that be fun to explain later…There's one thing you have to wonder though. "And when I win~?" The lilt in your voice is practiced, smug to the point of condescending. If you're fighting all three, you need to learn from the Researcher and get in their heads.

The three share a glance. They hadn't even thought about that?!

"If we win…I'll make you whatever you want for a week!" Of course Flare offers you food…You'd call it predictable, but just the thought of it makes your mouth water.

"I'll…I don't know, I'll lay off the teasing?" Nille, trying her best…You've already taken so much from her, you can't ask too much more than that.

"And I'll make an outfit! An Isabeau Special, just for you!" Well, Eclipse had time to think of his, that's for sure. "What do you say?"

You give a shrug, as much to not disappoint as anything, and look down at Flare in their ridiculous…Cat getup? "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hey! I fought the King too, you know!" They have you there…you look up to Nille for help, not wanting to fight a preteen, but…

"Aren't you the one who told me to respect the Saviors of Vaugarde, Vay?" Shut down! You wonder how she can be okay with this, having seen what you can do, but you smile a little.

"Okay. Let's get this show started. [And The Curtains Open-!]"

Your burst of craft aims to stop Nille early - with her gone it's you against Eclipse, and you're sure you win that one. Unfortunately, Eclipse does his job of blocking things out, and the burst of creative craft impacts his guarded arms! Not for the first time, you curse how weak that attack truly is.

Nille starts to circle to one side, and Bonnie to the other…You've just realized, they don't even have their wok!? Nille's picked up her hammer, and Eclipse always has his gloves…Whatever, it's too late to worry about it, not when the Craft starts flowing.

"[Come On!]" "[Rock the House!]"

The attack came at you quickly, and you endured it with all the grace you could…She couldn't think that would stop you, could she? You saw Eclipse's hands pound together, and the layer of defensive craft over them made you smile - there, at least now you might not hurt her.

And then Flare stepped in, and tossed a bottle underhanded to Nille. That little gremlin!

You realized their plan quickly - One would attack, while another maintained their buffs and quickened their returns to the fight, all while little Flare kept them stocked up from their own supplies. Any time you thought you had a clear shot at Nille, Eclipse would jump in to absorb it, and you couldn't take him out, not with how many tonics he was being fed! You needed…There! One of Nille's big attacks!

"[ERUPTION!]" "[Lion Tamer!]"

You sent out your craft as soon as Nille's showy, powerful strike hit, and guided it. Creative Craft, Paper Craft, was about guiding, you'd realized quickly…not your favourite thing to do anymore, but apt. You lead, and the Craft can only follow. In this case, it was following right into Nille, from above!

Eclipse tried to get in the way, but this time, he was too late. Unfortunately, you saw Flare trying the same thing, and only just managed to turn it aside in time! The power of it still clipped them, but thankfully you saw it was a glancing blow, even as the rest impacted Nille…and from her wide eyes, she'd realized the same thing.

"Tag, you're out, Bonnie." The words came from Eclipse, stern, but kind. You realized, looking at him, that they had planned for this, somehow? That they knew? Even by accident, you'd never hurt them?! But still, the closeness made your heart hammer in your chest (How lovely to have a heart to hammer in your chest!) and you stared at him in shock.

"Only way we could get them to keep it a secret." He admitted, his head hung low in shame. You couldn't help a sharp bark of laughter as Nille slapped him upside the head, but your whip fell back into position. "Well. Let's get back to the two-on-one we were supposed to have!" You allow, looking over at Flare where they're sitting in a pout by the treeline and trying not to think about it. "You look ridiculous in those costumes, you know."

"[Keep Going], I'm sure you've got a lot to say." Eclipse managed, the craft washing over them both. You hated to admit it, but between the constant flow of attacks before and trying to aim to not hit little Flare, you were practically spent. This was going to be rough.

Another [Rock The House!] slammed into you, but you took the opening it presented, whip snapping at Nille and forcing her back to the extreme of her hammer's reach, and your speed letting you catch a second attack before she'd fully recovered from the first. Maybe not as rough as you'd thought.

"[SMASH!]" Eclipse's punch knocked you back a step, then another. Right. They could change their tactics too. You tried to reorient yourself, and started up a pattern with your whip - not directly attacking either, but not letting them close while you tried to get your Craft to cool down.

"Oof…This hardly seems fair." You remember how the Researcher had stalled…Get them talking, use what you have.

"What else would be? We know the basic craft types, but we still wanted another shot at you!" Nille accents the word 'shot' with a strike that your whip keeps at bay, and you manage to wrap your whip around the handle of her hammer, before pulling.

Oh.

You're not winning that.

Instead, she pulls you in like a fish on a line, and you can feel your face flushing as you pull close, leaving you with a feeling warming all down your front that would be wonderful in other situations but NOT NOW NOT IN A FIGHT!

…Why is she SMIRKING?!

Ugh. You twirl away with the grace of a dancer - if not the composure of one - and decide enough is enough. Blind Craft Exhaustion, blind this stupid crabbing fight, blind this stupid feeling you get when she looks at you like that, and blind them. You tap deeper into your store of Craft than you properly should, and…

"[GRAND FINALE!]"

The name just sort of comes to you, you'll admit, as does the craft itself. It's spectacular, a four-pointed star, a diamond, opened above the two of them, sparkling Paper attacks down on them and filling the air with shining motes. It was beautiful to watch…And from the looks on their faces, it was doing its job, too. You staggered forward after a moment, and made a final, pulling motion with your hand, ending the attack as you saw the two of them drop unconscious.

You weren't far behind either.

- Later, At An Inn -

"No, no, it's our loss! We fell before you did, Bonnie even says so."

You'd tried to convince them that it was a tied match, for the sake of their dignity if nothing else. Eclipse seemed dedicated to the idea, though, so you'd spent the afternoon trying to argue with the brick wall that was his decision.

"It was three on one! One of your three was still standing!"

"They could not have more clearly yielded."

"I didn't-wait." Your eyes narrow as something finally occurs to you. "Eclipse. Fighter. Defender. Did you already have a design you wanted to give me?"

"Maybe…"

The Housemaiden almost looked ridiculous, standing there in all her frills and jingles, with a rapier for a weapon. If you hadn't seen her fight before, you'd absolutely underestimate her. Instead, your foot scuffs the dirt of the road slightly, and your whip snaps out-

"[And The Curtains Open…]" "[Brilliant Reflection Shield!]"

SERIOUSLY?!

You're laughing by the time you get up from your own attack hitting you. She used it now? On the first attack? "That was petty, Housemaiden!" You call out, refusing to let that pass, only to see a look of concentration and…Joy? On her face?

"We're just warming up, Vale!" With that she kicked off the ground, moving as easily in the frills of her dress as another warrior would in the lightest of armour. You try to snap your whip at her, to keep her at bay, but she twists and turns in place so all your whip catches is where she was a second before.

"[Jolly Round Rondo!]" The call comes, and even so close, you can't get yourself into a guarding position in time. As she twirls each of her hands leaves a line of Craft in the air, and then they come together to launch that line at you! Ergh, that took out more of you than you'd like to admit!

You jump backwards, a twist in midair helping you land on your feet as you bring your hands together for [Give Them A Show…], looking up at Mirabelle to see how close she's gotten, to discover she hasn't?

"[Pretty Buffy Friend!]" The call goes out, and the Universe answers, a feeling of another presence blessing her with strength. So, a war of the buffs, huh.

Fortunately, she seems to have decided to test your evasion, and that's one thing you can rely on! Motion after motion of her rapier pushes you back, forces you to twirl, an elegant dance of sword and body that you fall into almost easily. But…You wonder how long your evasion will last, compared to her strength. Either way, it's time to go on the offensive.

"[Special Performance!]" Your whip strikes out, and leaves an image of itself behind once…twice…three times, before the fourth time completes a diamond that tracks towards the Housemaiden.

"[Holy Care Shield!]" Oh come on, she has MORE of those?!

You sigh as you watch the attack bounce off of the wall of Craft, and purse your lips together. For all Eclipse was a Defender, she was proving more defensive than he ever was. You barely slip aside from a deep lunge that cuts right through where your chest would have been, and stagger for a hop before deciding on something that hasn't failed you yet.

"[That's A Wrap!]"

And your whip slips out, wrapping around the Housemaiden, holding her in place as she recovers from her lunge. You let out a sigh, and step towards her, before you see she's…giggling?

"Oh, c'mon, Vale, let me out!" She laughs it out, and you see the sparkles of a Super Sparkle Heal falling over her. "I can heal way faster than this can hurt me, and you know my Scissors attacks will cut right through it."

You take a moment to savor the puffing giggles from her, before letting your shoulders slump. "You're right, you're right. I yield. Did I even land a hit on you?"

"Not a one! I've been practicing!"

"Well practice less! That was annoying!"