Bloom in Gloom

They nodded. “That, I can do. I haven’t seen it while wandering through this forest, I think it realised I could see through it a bit too quickly. However,” he turned in the direction Huohuo pointed and began walking, looking over their shoulder to check if the two were following, “I’ve had many encounters with the bakedanuki over the years.”

Too many, some may say but, well, it left him well equipped in scenarios like these. 

“I think you’ll find them quite cute. Typically, they are quite small and similar in appearance to a raccoon with white markings on their faces. They wear these purple bags around their necks and almost always have a leaf on their head. I’m not too sure why, maybe it’s a uniform?”

Maybe he’d get the chance to ask that this time. He smiled as Huohuo enjoyed the scenery, noticing the distinct lack of sound emitted by the fireflies. However, he’d let her enjoy the moment, even if it was only an illusion. 

The foxian lets out a hum, but before she could speak, Tail interjects to answer instead. Ignoring the glare he receives, but basks in the animosity. "Yes actually. When we had only just entered into this forest, a small creature, that looked to fit that description, was at the entrance, but-" Spitting that last word out to show he was annoyed. "I wasn't able to get a good enough look before miss scaredy-cat here got terrified when the supposed bakedanuki 'ran at her' as she claims. Then we got lost, found you, and now we are here." Lazily spouting out that last bit before turning to Huohuo with an eyebrow raise.

“Did I miss anything?”

Both shame and anger flood through the Foxian, but resigns saying anything when she couldn’t think of anything clever or to add. “No. I believe that is correct.” Letting out a frustrated sigh at the Heliobus’ jab, but deciding not to rise to his bait. Keeping her eyes directly on the path forward, only hearing the faint rustling of the trees that sounded eerie on its lonesome. Finding that a bit odd that the beating of firefly wings was no more than whisper of what it once was. Having no explanation for that, but mainly chalking it up to the strange dream-like illusion they found themselves currently in…

Or could it be one of the Bakedanuki’s tricks? From what she has learned, they like to pull pranks on its victims. Could this be one of them? Or an indicator that it was close by, or not even close?

Ugh… Huohuo’s head was hurting.

As the green-haired Foxian was just about to rub at her eyes, there was fast movement that was caught in her periphery. The thing trying to be sneak by, but failing, as it seemed to have gotten too close to cause a disturbance within the bushes, seeing a flash of a purple, before it darted away. Her hand shoots out to point in the direction she last saw it.

“Wait! I think I just saw something small in the bushes just now! I saw a flash of purple on it! It must be the bakedanuki!”

And this instance was no different.

"Thank you." Huohuo nods to the Spiritfarer after their recount of their most recent search that had, unfortunately, turned cold once again when the heliobus detected them closing in. Most likely using the kid's CloudHymn magic to avoid recapture. Feeling her heart squeeze in her chest at the realization that they were no closer than they were before in saving this kid's life, not even able to imagine how terrified they must be during all this.

"Well, this is just great!" Mr. Tail spits, clear venom in his words as he glares at the spot that was once occupied. "Not only do we have another heliobus on the loose once more, but they also managed to possess a kid while they were at it! Have none of you people learned anything from the last time this has happened?!" The heliobus loudly proclaims throughout the open space, that had many heads turning to him with a mixture of both anger and shame. The cyan flame, not backing down from their stares whilst Huohuo shrinks under it.

"He didn't mean that! Sorry everyone, we'll be on our way now!" Huohuo throwing the onlookers an awkward smile trying to remedy the situation while quickly trying to usher her companion towards the exit, and once they were out of ear shot, the Foxian lets out an exasperated sigh.

Mr. Tail scoffs in return. "You cannot seriously be on their side about this. We barely managed to recapture Cirrus, almost at the cost of our lives, and now the stakes are much higher than before! Useless, the lot of them." Mr. Tail grumbles that last part, flames flaring a bunch to show his agitated mood. Glaring as he floats ahead of his green-haired companion but stops once he notices an unfamiliar person just up ahead, a blonde-haired girl with an eyepatch and a purple raven by her side.

He turns to Huohuo with an upturned eyebrow, which she ignores to approach them with a smile. Remembering how they requested aid from anyone willing to aid in their search, and, if this was the case, who was she to refuse?

"Hello Miss! My name is Huohuo and this," The Foxian points to the floating specter beside her, "is Mr. Tail! Are you both here to help in the investigation's as well?"

A harsh bang rings out across the little office space with an accompaniment of a defeated noise that borders on the edge of a frustrated sob. The Ten-Lord's Judge laying there defeated as she can physically feel the clock ticking down until the dreaded knock that would soon reverberate throughout the small space that would be the final nail in the coffin to her doom.

...Okay, maybe it's not going to be as bad as she was thinking, but she was absolutely expecting the earful, and mountains of paperwork, she was going to deal with because of this incident. Already she was feeling the headache beginning to build behind her eyes which intensifies once Mr. Tail begins his jabbing remarks with an arrogant smile.

"I'm just sayin' that, isn't this what you have always wanted? To finally have a chance to leave this so-called line-of-work that you dread so much? I mean, regarding with what happened with Cirrus, I didn't expect another successful escape." A mocking laugh escapes as he continues. "Seems, like always, your people are always a step behind, huh?"

The heliobus turns to continue his pestering, but stops when he sees Huohuo, looking down at the desk she had her head propped up on the desk. A deep frown noticeable on her face that had him turning away when the girl lets out a small, "yeah..." that was followed by an uncomfortable silence. Tail and Huohuo don't utter a single word or even look at each other for the duration, both lost in their own thoughts as they both remember the events that transpired in Fyxestroll Garden all those day and night cycles ago.

The awkwardness spanned for a while until Tail had enough and severs it with clear irritation in his words. "So, where is this 'help,' I heard you mention before, anyway? Do they even know how to deal with Heliobus? Seems like it might be out of their purview if you ask me."

Huohuo raises from her chair at the address to start fixing up her messy desk. "And how would you know? You haven't even met them yet, and you're already making assumptions. He is widely recognized for his great track record of completing jobs, so he seemed like a perfect candidate to aid us."

Huohuo could hear the scoff he lets out, familiar with his tells when he disagrees with something, and just as he was about to voice those grievances, there was a soft rapt at the door.

Oh, thank Aeons.

The Foxian walks over to the door and opens it. "Hello and welcome to the Fyestroll Garden! I'm Huohuo, the one who hired you. Please, come in! We have much to discuss!" Stepping aside to invite the gentleman in.

The cyan flame grumbled looked as if he would refuse the offer, favouring caution over risk. An understandable decision, especially within unknown grounds. Yet, he seemed to change his mind for one reason or another. Crimson eyes met yellowish green ones. Perhaps the company she was with wasn’t so dubious. 

It wasn’t difficult to hazard a guess why the flame agreed. 

Something akin to amusement flickered in Kazuha’s eyes as the little girl stopped the flame’s threat short. Such heroic deeds should be written down, if he had the chance to. Their gaze went to the flame then to the young girl. Perhaps she was braver than she let on. 

“No need to apologise, such caution is warranted in situations like these. Though, I do promise to keep the two of you safe.” He turned so that they were facing both Mr Tail and Huohuo. They smiled as they bowed to the both of them. “It is nice to meet you both, my name is Kazuha Kaedehara.”

The young girl’s adaption to the bakedanuki was interesting, seemed like she gained her composure in the time he had been talking with Mr Tail. They nodded at her first question. 

The Foxian looks about at the once spooky forest that surrounds all three of them. Before, the trees looked menacing, terrifying even, but now, that overwhelming fear that had fogged the Foxian's mind when they first entered has completely dissipated. Calmed by both having someone who was knowledgeable about the situation they were dealing with, as well as their overall presence. Mr. Kaedehara, while only having just met them, was ready to help two strangers when they revealed to accidentally stepping into this illusion. Labeling them as a kind individual in her books, unlike someone she knew.

Then it hits her, that strange creature that ran at her... Was that the bakedanuki they now were searching for? Huohuo wasn't able to detect its colors, only a brief silhouetted shape before she was running away scared... Ugh, why did she have to be such a scaredy-cat! At least knowing what it looked like could be proven somewhat helpful in their search.

"Alright. While we search for it, could you explain what it looks like? I... didn't really get a glimpse when we got lost-"

"You mean, running for your life?" Mr. Tail snickers at the retelling of the events.

Huohuo lets out a defeated sigh, before turning the way that Kazuha came from. "From what I remember it ran that way." Pointing vaguely in the direction where the dozens of fireflies, of various sizes, still gently float in the air. More seemed to have joined the fray as the path that the bugs had created before burned brighter. The sight beautiful with the mixture of the soft blue emanating from the flowers nearby. Excitedly, the green-haired girl hops towards the bugs, wanting a better look as a smile grew on her face.

There'd been the gleam of wide, glassy eyes from a dark side street he'd passed, but beyond that, not a soul had crossed his path. Life lurked just out of sight instead, in the rumble of strange round contraptions down lonely streets, the static-tinged notes of some distant, unrecognizable melody, and the metallic echo of pipes thrown or dropped or kicked. He reached the rusted chainlink that cordoned off the end of this street just as another siren went squealing by, lights on the top of the spheroid alternating between a blinding red and blue.

"... suspect is... bzzt... at large... bzzt..."

A walking television staggered past the other end of the alleyway from which Flins had just come. Those strange creatures, with their bright, fuzzy screens, reminded him of some of Aino's inventions, but that was where the familiarity ended. This one stumbled around on its strangely bent legs almost like a human drunk.

"... sus-suspect is... bzzt..."

It passed out of sight on the cross-street, but its tinny voice still echoed off the cement walls.

"... is... bzzt... blue lamp... bzzt... tall male... bzzt... extremely dangerous."

Another siren went screaming by on the other side of the chainlink fence, stopping somewhere nearby. Instinctively, Flins reached for the lamp hooked to his belt to ensure that he hadn't lost it somewhere, knowing that there was no way he could. It was still there, but whether that was a good thing was yet to be determined. Erring on the side of caution, he kept to the shadows near the wall closest to the singed yellow light that partially lit the cross-street, but by now the walking television had either gone too far to hear, or stopped its disjointed chattering altogether.

Then came soft, quick footfalls from the other direction. A shadow stretched long across the stained asphalt. Taking no chances, Flins disappeared in a swirl of blue fire, leaving only a lightless lantern floating inconspicuously behind a pair of trash bins.

A sudden spark of electricity ignited out from a crumbled, broken-down television robot that caused the Foxian to jump backwards. Ready to run back the way she came from, but stopped when the sound of mechanical whirls, and heavy metal meeting asphalt was heard, making Huohuo immediately reconsider her change of direction, and continue the direction she was heading to before. Sticking close to the shadows as best as she could.

Genuinely, Huohuo was confused, frightened beyond measure, yes, but confused. She didn't know how both her and Mr. Tail had ended up in this run-down place. One minute, they both were wandering the Golden Hour, looking at the many shops and sights, next they were surrounded by darkness, and bombarded by these television robots that repeated a certain description over and over again.

Suspect. Blue lamp. Tall Male. Dangerous.

Hearing that put both of them on edge, and immediately they began to brainstorm ways to get out here. Hopelessly, they had tried to will themselves out of the dream and back to reality, but nothing seemed to happen. Both remembering the instructions given regarding the use of the Dreampool, but still nothing. Something seems to be stopping them from leaving all together. Meaning, they were stuck...

To be on the safe side, as they didn't want to be harassed by the televisions, or found by this dangerous individual, Mr. Tail, and her split up. The cyan colored light the heliobus gave off like a glowing beacon to their location, moved to up to the sky, to give himself visual, promising to keep close, but far enough away where the light won't be a problem. Huohuo, trusting Tail on his word, released him from the talisman. Watching him go with a conflicted look before moving again.

Now, Huohuo found herself at a cross-street. Moving as fast as she could to get out sight. Head darting everywhere, trying to keep a look out as she faintly hears the sound of metal. Too busy in her own panic, she runs into a pair of trash bins that were on the side of the road. Causing a huge ruckus that startles her so much, she trips and falls to the ground. She doesn't try to get up for a couple of seconds. Feeling tears begin to coalesce in her eyes.

She just wanted to go home...

As she moves to stand, but through her tears, she notices a peculiar sight. A floating lantern. A fancy one at that... Why was it floating? And why was it in the trash? Many questions swirled in her head, but she was snapped out of it when the rapid sound of metallic footsteps draw ever closer. Panicking, she grabs the lightless lantern, hoping it proves to be useful later, and runs away from the cross-street to more alleyways, hoping to lose the television that was in pursuit.

Since she was little, the heavens were always a calming presence, finding solace in it every time. Even now, she seeks it out when the need to clear her head gets too great, or when she just wants to be left to her own devices. And that's exactly what the Foxian was doing this very moment by visiting Aurum Alley. Sitting down on one of the many benches that line the cobblestone walkways, looking up at the dark blue hue.

Lately, Huohuo has been getting too lost in her own memories. All sorts of moments dancing at the forefront of her brain, It's hard not to get lost. Meeting Mr. Tail, joining the Ten-Lord's Commission, defeating Cirrus, numerous things. A great majority of experiences were witnessed beneath this very sky dome, but it also made her wonder.

What other things has it seen?

Suddenly, there is a shifting of a bright light that Huohuo catches in her periphery. Curious, she turns her head to see Tail. The heliobi, now out of his tail form, now floats beside her on the bench. The sudden appearance totally catching her off guard because, usually, when she is 'in one of her little moods,' as he so eloquently puts it, he tries to make himself scarce, so to see him out was surprise in its self. Before she could ask the flame-like being anything, he pipes in first.

"There's no way that's-" Not taking his eyes off a certain point in the distance.

Huh?

The Foxian turns as well, following his eyeline, and froze. That's-that's the mysterious Swordsman's from that terrifying dream a while ago. What was he doing here on the Loufu?!

Huohuo pushes herself off the bench as she gives chase, hearing Mr. Tail calling after her to stop, but ignoring him to duck into the side-street that she saw the man enter into. Terrified. Not of him, for him. Knowing that if the Cloud Knights catch wind of him, it could spell disaster.

She runs up to the man, frantically keeping her eyes peeled while addressing the man. "What are you doing here?! If the Cloud Knights catch wind of you, you could get into some serious trouble!"