But then when push came to shove, well, there really wasn't a whole lot else to do around here. At least during the day. It's probably not the best idea to go snooping around someone else's house during the day again.

At least she isn't the only one here!

"Everyone else seems to be pretty happy. I know I'd like totally appreciate it if someone noticed that I wasn't feeling great. Let's go say hi!"

The two girls look to be around the age of 10-12. In sharp contrast to the jubilant air of all their classmates (which actually isn't that huge, the class doesn't seem to break past 12), they radiate an air of worry.

"Calvin's missing?" the older looking one of the duo asks.

"Mmhm," the girl with light green pigtails replies. "When I woke up to go to school today, he wasn't in his bed. I went downstairs and asked our butler, but he didn't know where he was either. I wanted to wait longer, but I got told I needed to go to lessons..."

"Do you have any idea--" At this point, the older girl takes note of Hilda's and Tina's approach, turning to them. "Oh! You two aren't staying with me and Daddy, are you?"

"Wait...Calvin?" Tina doesn't consider for a second that maybe just jumping in on their conversation might be considered rude. She recognizes that name and she's excited to contribute. "So like that must mean you're uhhh...Calvina? No... CALLIOPE! Happy birthday!"

Oh but wait. They're very clearly not happy. And she even said something about Calvin being missing.

"It's your birthday? Aww! Happy birthday!" She felt the need to express the sentiment, even though the girl's day clearly wasn't off to a great start.

"No, I'm not staying with you. I've been placed... elsewhere." She almost gave the name of her host, but something stopped her at the last second. She doubted a girl from a place like this would have spent much time in the area that she was staying, anyhow.

Though Calliope's eyes widen at the birthday wish, she does at least smile a little for it. "Thanks. I wish my brother were here to hear you say it too." She nods at Tina's sympathies. She speaks somewhat soft-spokenly. "I'm really worried. We've never been apart for long..." The older girl thinks in the background before some realization seems to strike her. "What if he went to the northern forest? One of Daddy's guests spoke a lot about checking the Tree of the Goddess. I bet he took his new sword there thinking he could face anything that hit him and save the tree. But he doesn't know there's been reports of the wildlife going crazy in the forest. Daddy told me so this morning."

"The Tree of the Goddess?" Hilda repeated, audibly confused. "Wildlife going crazy? What do you mean by that?" Well, presumably the girl was just repeating what she'd been told. "Did your Daddy give an example, I mean?"

Tina frowns. It's a terrible idea for a kid to go off into a forest all on there own she thinks as if she was never a kid who went off on her own into a forest. But like! Maybe that makes her even more of an expert on why it's a bad idea! Still, it worries her. Calvin is even younger than she had been.

Having spotted a few faces that she recognised from the academy in the distance, she approached to find herself at what looked to be a school. Immediately, she spied two girls exchanging worried, hushed words while their peers bounced around excitedly.

"What's going on?" she asked one of her fellow Deer. "I just got here." She nodded towards the duo. "Should we check that they're okay...?"

But then when push came to shove, well, there really wasn't a whole lot else to do around here. At least during the day. It's probably not the best idea to go snooping around someone else's house during the day again.

At least she isn't the only one here!

"Everyone else seems to be pretty happy. I know I'd like totally appreciate it if someone noticed that I wasn't feeling great. Let's go say hi!"

The two girls look to be around the age of 10-12. In sharp contrast to the jubilant air of all their classmates (which actually isn't that huge, the class doesn't seem to break past 12), they radiate an air of worry.

"Calvin's missing?" the older looking one of the duo asks.

"Mmhm," the girl with light green pigtails replies. "When I woke up to go to school today, he wasn't in his bed. I went downstairs and asked our butler, but he didn't know where he was either. I wanted to wait longer, but I got told I needed to go to lessons..."

"Do you have any idea--" At this point, the older girl takes note of Hilda's and Tina's approach, turning to them. "Oh! You two aren't staying with me and Daddy, are you?"

"Wait...Calvin?" Tina doesn't consider for a second that maybe just jumping in on their conversation might be considered rude. She recognizes that name and she's excited to contribute. "So like that must mean you're uhhh...Calvina? No... CALLIOPE! Happy birthday!"

Oh but wait. They're very clearly not happy. And she even said something about Calvin being missing.

nos mutamur in illis // district 10 mini: Sue & Tina

A party though? Could it be the one for Calvin and Calliope…? 

And ‘press-on nails’…? What are those—

Sue was pulled out of her thoughts as Tina showed off her very vivid nails. Some of her nails had clouds and rainbows on them, another had a very simple, yet cute yellow face on it, two of them had what Sue could only assume to be some kind of print on it, and the last two— were those tigers on her nails? 

They were quite cute, Sue quite liked the tigers on them, but they were just… not her style. Sue preferred deep reds and greens rather than vivid or pastel colors, but they looked adorable on Tina. 

What was the word she used to describe them..? ‘Fire’? By the way Tina’s eyes were sparkling as she said the word, she had to have meant it as if it had a positive connotation to it… 

Though to Sue, fire was anything but that… but she would humor her. 

“Yes… they are quite ‘fire’—“ Sue agreed, her words slowing on the word ‘fire’ as she had never used it in this context before, “—and look great on you.” 

Does Finn even get paid?

"I'll totally check it out! Twins with C names. That's gotta be easy to remember, right?"

The girls watch Berkut miss another shot. Yikes. Tina supposes she can't speak too much about missing but she's at least gotten better! And it's way easier to cast a spell the way you want to here in Fódlan. She's never even seen a single person miss a healing spell once here.

She's also fairly confident that she'd miss just as terribly as he did but like she's also never even touched a bow before.

“I guess that could be nice… but if I had someone do everything for me, then what would I have left for myself? What drive would I have to do anything?” Sue asked almost rhetorically, she wasn’t really expecting an answer back, “Going back to the twins, their names are Calvin and Calliope… they both start with C, so their names shouldn’t be too hard to remember.” 

Noticing Berkut drawing his arrow, Sue winced at his form, “He’s using too much strength to draw that arrow! The shot is going to go way off course—“ 

There’s a brief moment where Sue thought to ask Father Sky for his help to fix this pitiful display, but she ultimately ruled against it. 

After all, it would not be right to ask Father Sky to use his little bit of energy on this island to try to fix something that cannot be repaired. 

He fires. And misses horribly. 

Apparently not!

"Nah, don't apologize he's pretty cringe right now. Maybe if we just look at his face instead..."

Tina does just that while she listens to Sue talk about some kind of forest. And a special tree? But hang on. Sue drops a name that Tina does recognize and she bounces excitedly when she realizes she can give a clue to her new oomf just like her new oomf was able to give to her.

That, to Sue, was blasphemy. Disrupting the cycle of life, ripping a soul out of Mother Earth’s warm embrace to bring it back to this cold reality unwillingly— 

It was cruel. 

And he offered to teach Tina how to do it. But… that didn’t make sense. From what Sue had gathered, only the clergy could use magic. Also, you needed ‘resources’ to use the magic here… did Tina have these resources? 

Sue could not trust this man. 

“From what you're telling me and my own information, I would not trust that man,” Sue advised, her tone flat but she was concerned for her new acquaintance, “I was asking because when I attended that class, I heard a very interesting rumor...” 

Watching as Kana’s friend lined up his shot, Sue couldn’t help but be surprised by his form. He seemed a bit nervous, but he didn’t seem to be fighting the bowstring. This shot would be better than his last. 

Sue let out a small hum as she was proven correct, the boy hit a great shot for being a novice. He didn’t overdraw, his feet were square, it might have been a stroke of luck, but it was commendable. 

“Apparently, Ketil is rumored to be this island’s ’disciple’. The disciple can hear the voice of the goddess the islanders worship,” The plainswoman explained, turning her attention back to Tina and meeting her gaze. 

Tina groans loudly and slides her hands down the sides of her cheeks. "Don't call me a nun. Nuns are soooooo boringgggg. My sister's a nun and she's the most boring woman alive! Oh let me heal you, oh let me fix your broken weapons! UG! Where's the fun in that!?" She's almost offended that this Ketil guy would meet her one time and get nun vibes if Sue is right about this. Maybe it's the staves? She hopes it's the staves.

"You really think he's sus though? He seemed like he was doing the right thing when I met him with that Ashe guy. We offered to help him hand out the rations we brought with us. At least he's sharing food, right?"

But… ‘sus’…? Does she mean ‘suspicious’?

What an odd way of saying that. Sue didn’t think it was bad by any means— it had a charm to it. First ‘fire’ being used as an adjective and it meaning something positive, now ‘sus’ as a shortened version of ‘suspicious’… it’s kind of cute. It suits Tina. 

“I think he should warrant some suspicion at least. Yes, he may have given out rations with you and your friend, but he is also a stranger,” Sue explained, “Just because he seems nice doesn’t mean he isn’t hiding a darker side to him...” 

A grim thought, yes, but this is an unfamiliar land. If caution meant survival, then so be it. 

Tina’s question brought Sue out of her thoughts. Blinking a few times before turning her attention to the pair of children in the group with Berkut, she clarified, “No, that’s not them… but they certainly look like twins, don’t they?” 

Watching as Kana took her stance to shoot, Sue took notice of the girl’s eyes. They looked identical to the boy’s when he focused his shot. Were they twins…?

As she questions the two’s relations, Kana fired and hit the target. Sue smiled as the girl started to dance in celebration. She didn’t score as well as her brother, but it wasn’t by much— it was a good shot. 

She would have to congratulate her later. 

She grows quiet though and gives a serious nod. "That Ketil guy has got to be worth keeping an eye on at least. I've got some experience with guys that everyone else thinks are so great but are really total creeps so I'll definitely be careful or whatever. You should too if you're looking into that tree, okay?"

It's nice swapping info with Sue, especially since they're both able to help out a little in what the other was trying to investigate. And Sue seems super cool, too! Tina's been thinking about friendship bracelets a lot since she found some in Holly's bedroom. She'll have to set out and find some string eventually and make a set for her and Sue.

"I dunno anything about them. I was um..." Green eyes glance around making sure that no one else is in earshot. She seems cool enough to let some truths out to but she doesn't want to be overheard. "You know...exploring...in the mayor's house. There was one girl named Holly and another named Aislinn but I think she's dead."

Talking like this was foreign to Sue. She didn’t have friends around age and never really sought out that friendship either. Talking with Tina really made her realize she was missing out the whole time. This… was nice. 

“Thank you, Tina. I will be careful when investigating the tree.” The plainswoman said with a smile, grateful for her concern for her despite just meeting today. 

When Tina started glancing around, Sue immediately took notice as well, wondering what she could say that would warrant such caution— 

Oh. 

Oh no… 

Father Sky… Mother Earth… 

Sue’s eyes went wide as Tina told her what she had found in the mayor’s house. Deliberately glossing over the fact she explored the mayor’s place, she focused on the part about a dead girl named Aislinn. Apparently she was Holly’s sister? Sue could only assume that fact, but Tina did say ‘girl’ and ‘another one’. 

Just what is going on here—

“That’s awful…” The plainswoman replied, her voice shaky, “I’ll try to see if I can find out anything else about her. Thank you for trusting me with this…” 

Sue was very grateful for the amount of trust that had been placed in her. Exchanging information and watching the archery contest had been… fun. Even if the news was sometimes grim or the shots were horrible, Sue found herself enjoying her time with Tina. 

…Would it be presumptuous to ask if she’d like to chat like this again?— 

Sue was quickly snapped back to reality by Tina’s loud cheering. Berkut actually landed a shot this time, still the lowest scoring of the group and his form could use some work, but he finally did it. 

Sue let out a small laugh as Tina started patting her arm, “I did see that!”

But… ‘ate’…? What did that mean…? It had to mean something positive by the way she used it… 

“He definitely… ‘ate’…” Sue added a bit nervously, unsure if she was using the terminology Tina used correctly, “Honestly, I’m… kind of proud? Of his comeback, I mean.” 

Eyes focusing back on Berkut, it seemed to her like he was chatting with the women that were mentoring the group. By the way Tina was cheering for him, the plainswoman had an inkling she would want to talk to him— best not to keep her any longer. 

Even if all odds this time is just a couple of maybe twins and some girls shooting arrows. It's fine. It doesn't have to be extravagant.

"Heehee don't worry too much about me! I'm like totally a professional!" Tina gives a grin that is hopefully reassuring. "You be careful too, alright? I hope you're able to find something out about this tree you're looking for. And you better tell me all the hot gossip later, ok? Like we're totally hanging out later! I'll tell you everything I find out too!"

Maybe things are kinda weird and freaky but it's nice knowing she's got a new friend.

Yeah, that's definitely something Henry's never seen before! He's not sure if it's more of a disrespect to the monkey or to the bird to, er, merge 'em like this, but it certainly isn't right. Really! And yeah, as they crunch dead grass with frantic steps, the monster's eyes are staring them down for sure, too — but Henry finds them hard to meet when the sharpened stick on the ground beckons instead.

"Oh, I see it! Kinda hard to miss, don't ya think?"

Henry laughs. It is easy to do so, even if he finds it hard to let go of Pierce's hand. They are just kids, after all; another glance down catches the small slingshot in the kid's pocket, and he takes this time to swallow the tightness in the back of his throat.

A tug drags Pierce past his companions — Tina, Professor Byleth, and... is that someone else behind them? Not their biggest problem right now! — behind a tree, and Henry kneels down to meet him face-to-face, eye-to-eye. "You remember what we said, don't ya?" His eyes crinkle further as his grin grows. "If that gets allllllll up in your face," he presses his palm gently against his forehead, "then you turn and run as fast as you can. Right?"

( And Henry remembers what he said — if anything happened, find them again; instructions that Pierce had followed exactly. Why? Because with them around, they would make this creature egret it. )

Another bout of laughter, as he stands and answers the question himself — "Right!" Back to his fellow more-grown kids he goes, patting them both on the shoulder with a giggle. "Is this what every Spring Festival is like here? We should keep coming back!"

( Henry hopes knows he can keep his word. )

He darts ahead, dried leaves crackling with each stomp of his boot — loud, intentionally so. As adrenaline kicks its way in, as he takes his distance away from that tree, he whistles. Magic collects between his palms. The silhouette of the creature weaves between dying bark — but somehow, Henry knows he has its attention as he casts, light cutting through the dark woods to take first strike.

Oh.

Oh that is. A creature.

Whatever this thing is it's not what Tina had expected at all but it's what's here now, right? And omb Berkut is here too! They were supposed to figure this out together but he wasn't there but maybe he already saw The Creature and rushed off to the rescue. Yeah that's gotta be it. And he's totally on their side this time! Right? She gives him a smile.

Right...?

Whatever it's time to focus. That kid. Mikey. He doesn't look like he's in great shape. Tina has never been able to rescue anyone before but she's been the rescued so she probably knows how to do it, right? And that kid looks pretty small so maybe she can do it?

To find not only some strange monstrosity, similar to some grotesque terror, but to see it carrying a bleeding child almost made him stop in shock. Yet still a gleam entered his eye, at the challenge before him. Whistling he had mounted his horse and pursued the beast through the tree's. It had come as a shock when he saw the others. The smirk on his face only widens, as he lets out a small laugh upon seeing them. Giving a quick nod.

"Understood. You focus on saving the brats. I'll take care of hunting the beast down!" Berkut's smile turns harsh, even as he stares at the creature. Watching as Henry's spell hits it, Berkut drives his heels into his horses flanks. Charging forward, his arm pulls back as he aims for the perfect moment... there!

The spear flies from his grip, and Berkut lets out another mocking laugh as it tears right through the creatures side, even stripping some feathers from it's wings. At the same time the blow is enough that it even drops the kid from it's arms. Racing on the horse, Berkut is quick to retrieve the spear, turning around and pointing at the beast, even as he draws it back to throw again.

He follows after the students, brave in their haste and sound in their judgment. Byleth is hardly envious, but teamwork in such a manner does make him hopeful to join in, to assist.

It's his first time properly using this sword, the heft in his hands is odd and as he extends it out to strike, he hesitates. It arcs too wide, the reason being the same force that saw the captured kid retrieved. He suppose he must close in then. That same spear adept man speaks of 'kind of terror' and Byleth wonders what he knows that the rest - or at least he - does not.

HOLY SHIT!

Now that is impressive. Tina really wishes Sue was here. She's totally going to have to tell her all about Berkut's heroism later with definitely no exaggerated embellishments. None at all. But like that was incredible!

She really wishes she had time to gas him up a little but Mikey is out of that thing's clutches and there is no telling how long there will be until the poor kid gets snatched up again. Tina moves like she's never moved before and quickly makes it to his side. She'd never consider herself particularly wrong but she's able to scoop him up and get him out of the way.

"Holy shit guys! I got him!"

The other kid, Pierson, musters up his strength to fire off his little slingshot at the creature. The shot doesn't make it but it's still impressive enough that he's this willing and brave enough to fight for his friend.

With a horrible screech the Creature begins to seek revenge. It rolls out toward that professor guy, barreling into Tina on its way. It's way harder to run when you're carrying a whole guy even if that guy is just a kid.

And then it goes after Tina directly. Whether it's because it realizes she's weighed down or it wants to get Mikey back, she doesn't really care. All she knows is that that's Rude. "Bro-uh! Leave me alone-uh!" This time, she's able to duck behind a tree and the birdmonkeywhateveritis passes right past her.

She had just been joking when she mentioned something to Berkut about using her beautiful baddielicious nails as claws in an attack but like. That thing is right there. Maybe it would work? She reaches out, tries to scratch it, and there is a terrible faint pop as one of her incredibly neon nails pops off and falls to the floor.

"Oh I am lit going to crash out if I can't find that!"

Yeah, that's definitely something Henry's never seen before! He's not sure if it's more of a disrespect to the monkey or to the bird to, er, merge 'em like this, but it certainly isn't right. Really! And yeah, as they crunch dead grass with frantic steps, the monster's eyes are staring them down for sure, too — but Henry finds them hard to meet when the sharpened stick on the ground beckons instead.

"Oh, I see it! Kinda hard to miss, don't ya think?"

Henry laughs. It is easy to do so, even if he finds it hard to let go of Pierce's hand. They are just kids, after all; another glance down catches the small slingshot in the kid's pocket, and he takes this time to swallow the tightness in the back of his throat.

A tug drags Pierce past his companions — Tina, Professor Byleth, and... is that someone else behind them? Not their biggest problem right now! — behind a tree, and Henry kneels down to meet him face-to-face, eye-to-eye. "You remember what we said, don't ya?" His eyes crinkle further as his grin grows. "If that gets allllllll up in your face," he presses his palm gently against his forehead, "then you turn and run as fast as you can. Right?"

( And Henry remembers what he said — if anything happened, find them again; instructions that Pierce had followed exactly. Why? Because with them around, they would make this creature egret it. )

Another bout of laughter, as he stands and answers the question himself — "Right!" Back to his fellow more-grown kids he goes, patting them both on the shoulder with a giggle. "Is this what every Spring Festival is like here? We should keep coming back!"

( Henry hopes knows he can keep his word. )

He darts ahead, dried leaves crackling with each stomp of his boot — loud, intentionally so. As adrenaline kicks its way in, as he takes his distance away from that tree, he whistles. Magic collects between his palms. The silhouette of the creature weaves between dying bark — but somehow, Henry knows he has its attention as he casts, light cutting through the dark woods to take first strike.

Oh.

Oh that is. A creature.

Whatever this thing is it's not what Tina had expected at all but it's what's here now, right? And omb Berkut is here too! They were supposed to figure this out together but he wasn't there but maybe he already saw The Creature and rushed off to the rescue. Yeah that's gotta be it. And he's totally on their side this time! Right? She gives him a smile.

Right...?

Whatever it's time to focus. That kid. Mikey. He doesn't look like he's in great shape. Tina has never been able to rescue anyone before but she's been the rescued so she probably knows how to do it, right? And that kid looks pretty small so maybe she can do it?

"But yeah. Come on. It doesn't feel great being in this room." She closes the door behind them and moves to unlock the last. Now that she's looking at the big, sturdy, double doors she probably could have made a guess that this one was the mayor's room. But there's something about curiosity that would have led her to open the dusty office door eventually anyway. At this point it would seem silly to leave just one of them shut tight.

As she pushes the doors open, she knows she's right. Master bedroom for sure. A tiny little voice in the back of her head thinks about how fun it would be to flop on a big four poster bed like that. But another voice stops her. It's too perfectly made. Flopping on it would muss up the sheets in a way that would make it obvious that someone was here. And it's too perfect sheets kind of make it look like it wouldn't even be comfy.

"Well this has totally gotta be it. I don't think he's around here all that much though."

Innes is not well-versed in magic, but he does know a trap when he sees one.

"I think we may have made a grave mistake," Innes says. He gestures to the door with his free hand. "I believe that may be a seal. We cannot unbreak a seal." They had been reckless, meandering from room to room without the expectation that they would be walking into such an obvious trap.

It's probably better to avoid a jail trip. Tina rolls her eyes before giving the room a quick glance around. If there was anything just sitting around, she could just quickly pocket it. Unfortunately this guy is waaaay too much of a neat freak for there to be anything easily accessible.

There's nothing here. Nothing without ransacking, which Tina also seems unwilling to do. He doesn't hear anyone rushing towards them, but that doesn't mean anything.

"Ransacking implies we made a mess about it, don't you think? But we were definitely super careful even if you were like totally loud..." Word choice totally matters! Especially if they end up getting caught about it!

"But I think I'm gonna get as far away from here as I can. Maybe even to another district! So you better not narc me out, got it? I'll know if you do."

"But yeah. Come on. It doesn't feel great being in this room." She closes the door behind them and moves to unlock the last. Now that she's looking at the big, sturdy, double doors she probably could have made a guess that this one was the mayor's room. But there's something about curiosity that would have led her to open the dusty office door eventually anyway. At this point it would seem silly to leave just one of them shut tight.

As she pushes the doors open, she knows she's right. Master bedroom for sure. A tiny little voice in the back of her head thinks about how fun it would be to flop on a big four poster bed like that. But another voice stops her. It's too perfectly made. Flopping on it would muss up the sheets in a way that would make it obvious that someone was here. And it's too perfect sheets kind of make it look like it wouldn't even be comfy.

"Well this has totally gotta be it. I don't think he's around here all that much though."

Innes is not well-versed in magic, but he does know a trap when he sees one.

"I think we may have made a grave mistake," Innes says. He gestures to the door with his free hand. "I believe that may be a seal. We cannot unbreak a seal." They had been reckless, meandering from room to room without the expectation that they would be walking into such an obvious trap.

It's probably better to avoid a jail trip. Tina rolls her eyes before giving the room a quick glance around. If there was anything just sitting around, she could just quickly pocket it. Unfortunately this guy is waaaay too much of a neat freak for there to be anything easily accessible.

nos mutamur in illis // district 10 mini: Sue & Tina

A party though? Could it be the one for Calvin and Calliope…? 

And ‘press-on nails’…? What are those—

Sue was pulled out of her thoughts as Tina showed off her very vivid nails. Some of her nails had clouds and rainbows on them, another had a very simple, yet cute yellow face on it, two of them had what Sue could only assume to be some kind of print on it, and the last two— were those tigers on her nails? 

They were quite cute, Sue quite liked the tigers on them, but they were just… not her style. Sue preferred deep reds and greens rather than vivid or pastel colors, but they looked adorable on Tina. 

What was the word she used to describe them..? ‘Fire’? By the way Tina’s eyes were sparkling as she said the word, she had to have meant it as if it had a positive connotation to it… 

Though to Sue, fire was anything but that… but she would humor her. 

“Yes… they are quite ‘fire’—“ Sue agreed, her words slowing on the word ‘fire’ as she had never used it in this context before, “—and look great on you.” 

Does Finn even get paid?

"I'll totally check it out! Twins with C names. That's gotta be easy to remember, right?"

The girls watch Berkut miss another shot. Yikes. Tina supposes she can't speak too much about missing but she's at least gotten better! And it's way easier to cast a spell the way you want to here in Fódlan. She's never even seen a single person miss a healing spell once here.

She's also fairly confident that she'd miss just as terribly as he did but like she's also never even touched a bow before.

“I guess that could be nice… but if I had someone do everything for me, then what would I have left for myself? What drive would I have to do anything?” Sue asked almost rhetorically, she wasn’t really expecting an answer back, “Going back to the twins, their names are Calvin and Calliope… they both start with C, so their names shouldn’t be too hard to remember.” 

Noticing Berkut drawing his arrow, Sue winced at his form, “He’s using too much strength to draw that arrow! The shot is going to go way off course—“ 

There’s a brief moment where Sue thought to ask Father Sky for his help to fix this pitiful display, but she ultimately ruled against it. 

After all, it would not be right to ask Father Sky to use his little bit of energy on this island to try to fix something that cannot be repaired. 

He fires. And misses horribly. 

Apparently not!

"Nah, don't apologize he's pretty cringe right now. Maybe if we just look at his face instead..."

Tina does just that while she listens to Sue talk about some kind of forest. And a special tree? But hang on. Sue drops a name that Tina does recognize and she bounces excitedly when she realizes she can give a clue to her new oomf just like her new oomf was able to give to her.

That, to Sue, was blasphemy. Disrupting the cycle of life, ripping a soul out of Mother Earth’s warm embrace to bring it back to this cold reality unwillingly— 

It was cruel. 

And he offered to teach Tina how to do it. But… that didn’t make sense. From what Sue had gathered, only the clergy could use magic. Also, you needed ‘resources’ to use the magic here… did Tina have these resources? 

Sue could not trust this man. 

“From what you're telling me and my own information, I would not trust that man,” Sue advised, her tone flat but she was concerned for her new acquaintance, “I was asking because when I attended that class, I heard a very interesting rumor...” 

Watching as Kana’s friend lined up his shot, Sue couldn’t help but be surprised by his form. He seemed a bit nervous, but he didn’t seem to be fighting the bowstring. This shot would be better than his last. 

Sue let out a small hum as she was proven correct, the boy hit a great shot for being a novice. He didn’t overdraw, his feet were square, it might have been a stroke of luck, but it was commendable. 

“Apparently, Ketil is rumored to be this island’s ’disciple’. The disciple can hear the voice of the goddess the islanders worship,” The plainswoman explained, turning her attention back to Tina and meeting her gaze. 

Tina groans loudly and slides her hands down the sides of her cheeks. "Don't call me a nun. Nuns are soooooo boringgggg. My sister's a nun and she's the most boring woman alive! Oh let me heal you, oh let me fix your broken weapons! UG! Where's the fun in that!?" She's almost offended that this Ketil guy would meet her one time and get nun vibes if Sue is right about this. Maybe it's the staves? She hopes it's the staves.

"You really think he's sus though? He seemed like he was doing the right thing when I met him with that Ashe guy. We offered to help him hand out the rations we brought with us. At least he's sharing food, right?"

But… ‘sus’…? Does she mean ‘suspicious’?

What an odd way of saying that. Sue didn’t think it was bad by any means— it had a charm to it. First ‘fire’ being used as an adjective and it meaning something positive, now ‘sus’ as a shortened version of ‘suspicious’… it’s kind of cute. It suits Tina. 

“I think he should warrant some suspicion at least. Yes, he may have given out rations with you and your friend, but he is also a stranger,” Sue explained, “Just because he seems nice doesn’t mean he isn’t hiding a darker side to him...” 

A grim thought, yes, but this is an unfamiliar land. If caution meant survival, then so be it. 

Tina’s question brought Sue out of her thoughts. Blinking a few times before turning her attention to the pair of children in the group with Berkut, she clarified, “No, that’s not them… but they certainly look like twins, don’t they?” 

Watching as Kana took her stance to shoot, Sue took notice of the girl’s eyes. They looked identical to the boy’s when he focused his shot. Were they twins…?

As she questions the two’s relations, Kana fired and hit the target. Sue smiled as the girl started to dance in celebration. She didn’t score as well as her brother, but it wasn’t by much— it was a good shot. 

She would have to congratulate her later. 

She grows quiet though and gives a serious nod. "That Ketil guy has got to be worth keeping an eye on at least. I've got some experience with guys that everyone else thinks are so great but are really total creeps so I'll definitely be careful or whatever. You should too if you're looking into that tree, okay?"

It's nice swapping info with Sue, especially since they're both able to help out a little in what the other was trying to investigate. And Sue seems super cool, too! Tina's been thinking about friendship bracelets a lot since she found some in Holly's bedroom. She'll have to set out and find some string eventually and make a set for her and Sue.

"I dunno anything about them. I was um..." Green eyes glance around making sure that no one else is in earshot. She seems cool enough to let some truths out to but she doesn't want to be overheard. "You know...exploring...in the mayor's house. There was one girl named Holly and another named Aislinn but I think she's dead."

"Why's everybody always calling it breaking in? That makes it sound so...bad. Is it so wrong to want to explore a little? Especially when stuff is all like weird?" It's hard to take too much offense. Whatever the words are that are used to describe it, that is what she's talking about doing.

A tease that he's gotta at least be better at stealth than he is at shooting arrows sits on the tip of her tongue but she catches herself. Instead she pivots to ripping on Innes a little. "Betcha you'd be way stealthier than that guy who was poking around the mayor's house with me," she grins with a wink. "Some things should just be left to a professional!"

And then it happens. IT HAPPENS. All the work she put into having her nails be admired pays off. Tina holds them out and wiggles her fingers just a little bit so the light can perfectly reflect off of the bright colors. "Aren't they amazing! They just gave them to me after the Ethereal Ball like a prize! They totally haven't gotten in my way yet. Do you think I could claw somebody if I got into a tight spot?"

As she presents her nails, he takes a moment to watch them, nodding his head. They looked... good. That was about it, though the designs at least looked well done. At her words he let out a small laugh. "Now that is something I'd like to see, you clawing at someone with those. I have no doubt you'd easily be able to handle anyone who dares to try anything."

Though in the end he shakes his head, letting out a sigh. "Unfortunately not. The people I was talking to hadn't got a good look at them, besides mentioning that well... they didn't look well off. As for where to find them, apparently they arrive here to harass the locales in an almost daily occurrence. It's late not, but I was told if I waited until tomorrow they would definitely show up again."

Oh well she's on her own now. But it's fine. It's FINE. He wants to hang here and work together! They've made a pretty good team before and this time it's going to be even better.

"OMB no I'll totally go with you! I'm like totally curious about what these kids are up to aaaaaand you'll be there, too! They sound kinda cool, don't you think?"

As much as she'd love to jump right into the next thing that interests her, he does unfortunately make a good point about how late it's getting. Maybe by that time they'll have learned even more information about where they might even find these kids.

"The mayor's room, huh? It's gotta be worth a look, right? We're already here. Don't forget though," she waggles a finger at him before making her way down the hall to the next closest door. "You're not allowed to touch anything anymore!"

The lock opens easily with the help of her lockpick. Heh. She's getting totally good at this. She'll totally have to show Lara next time she heads back to Thracia. The dancer will totally be impressed!

Another cloud of dust hits her. Well. This isn't the mayor's room. It isn't anyone's room, really. This time, it's a dusty old office. It was well lived in, once. An unfinished rug on a loom, various supplies for different fiber arts, large bookshelves packed with books and various trinkets. Someone used to spend a lot of time in here. Now it's just dust. Tina stands in the doorway and frowns. It just feels, well, sad.

Her eyes fixate on the two oil paintings, clearly capturing two different moments in time. This has to be them, right? The family that lives here?

Tina opens the door as if it's nothing. Once again, it's another room filled with dust. Innes pulls his capelet over his mouth and nose to cover the dust this time. This room isn't a bedroom; it seems to be more of a crafts room. Not that Innes engages in crafts himself, so he can't be certain.

There are two portraits. One includes Aislinn, and the other does not. A cold chill runs up Innes' spine. Could he keep a painting of a lost relative? He can't possibly hope to take a step in those shoes.

"But yeah. Come on. It doesn't feel great being in this room." She closes the door behind them and moves to unlock the last. Now that she's looking at the big, sturdy, double doors she probably could have made a guess that this one was the mayor's room. But there's something about curiosity that would have led her to open the dusty office door eventually anyway. At this point it would seem silly to leave just one of them shut tight.

As she pushes the doors open, she knows she's right. Master bedroom for sure. A tiny little voice in the back of her head thinks about how fun it would be to flop on a big four poster bed like that. But another voice stops her. It's too perfectly made. Flopping on it would muss up the sheets in a way that would make it obvious that someone was here. And it's too perfect sheets kind of make it look like it wouldn't even be comfy.

"Well this has totally gotta be it. I don't think he's around here all that much though."

She wonders what the favor was that Berkut was offered. These kids have gotta be pretty infamous if so many people are talking about them. She wonders, too, if anyone ever talked about her like that. Maybe kind of if she counted The Dandelion Gang, right? Like she could probably brag about that and it would be true enough?

"I kinda wanna meet them. I was thinking about doing some uhhhhhhh exploring or whatever myself. People keep saying ohh Tina if you're going to commit crimes it's going to be too guarded to do in a bougie neighborhood but like it was totally fine before and that was in the friggen mayor's house, you know? I'm not gonna go break into somebody's house who has nothing. I have morals. You could, um, come. You know, if you wanted or whatever."

Yeah that was totally smooth.

The idea of meeting them was definitely useful. It seems they were on the same page at least in this regard. Though if it meant ingratiating himself to the locals of this district, he personally would have no qualms with turning them in the moment they proved to be of little use. "I would be interested in exploring more of this area-"

Cut off as she suddenly yelled... something that sounded like names, he gives a small huff of laughter. "Those are the twins names I presume? Good to know, though I don't have time to go to a party at the moment. As for perhaps breaking into some of the houses around here... that is definitely an interesting idea. Who knows what they may be hiding after all. Even if I'm not exactly the stealthiest person around."

"Why's everybody always calling it breaking in? That makes it sound so...bad. Is it so wrong to want to explore a little? Especially when stuff is all like weird?" It's hard to take too much offense. Whatever the words are that are used to describe it, that is what she's talking about doing.

A tease that he's gotta at least be better at stealth than he is at shooting arrows sits on the tip of her tongue but she catches herself. Instead she pivots to ripping on Innes a little. "Betcha you'd be way stealthier than that guy who was poking around the mayor's house with me," she grins with a wink. "Some things should just be left to a professional!"

And then it happens. IT HAPPENS. All the work she put into having her nails be admired pays off. Tina holds them out and wiggles her fingers just a little bit so the light can perfectly reflect off of the bright colors. "Aren't they amazing! They just gave them to me after the Ethereal Ball like a prize! They totally haven't gotten in my way yet. Do you think I could claw somebody if I got into a tight spot?"

nos mutamur in illis // district 10 mini: Sue & Tina

A party though? Could it be the one for Calvin and Calliope…? 

And ‘press-on nails’…? What are those—

Sue was pulled out of her thoughts as Tina showed off her very vivid nails. Some of her nails had clouds and rainbows on them, another had a very simple, yet cute yellow face on it, two of them had what Sue could only assume to be some kind of print on it, and the last two— were those tigers on her nails? 

They were quite cute, Sue quite liked the tigers on them, but they were just… not her style. Sue preferred deep reds and greens rather than vivid or pastel colors, but they looked adorable on Tina. 

What was the word she used to describe them..? ‘Fire’? By the way Tina’s eyes were sparkling as she said the word, she had to have meant it as if it had a positive connotation to it… 

Though to Sue, fire was anything but that… but she would humor her. 

“Yes… they are quite ‘fire’—“ Sue agreed, her words slowing on the word ‘fire’ as she had never used it in this context before, “—and look great on you.” 

Does Finn even get paid?

"I'll totally check it out! Twins with C names. That's gotta be easy to remember, right?"

The girls watch Berkut miss another shot. Yikes. Tina supposes she can't speak too much about missing but she's at least gotten better! And it's way easier to cast a spell the way you want to here in Fódlan. She's never even seen a single person miss a healing spell once here.

She's also fairly confident that she'd miss just as terribly as he did but like she's also never even touched a bow before.

“I guess that could be nice… but if I had someone do everything for me, then what would I have left for myself? What drive would I have to do anything?” Sue asked almost rhetorically, she wasn’t really expecting an answer back, “Going back to the twins, their names are Calvin and Calliope… they both start with C, so their names shouldn’t be too hard to remember.” 

Noticing Berkut drawing his arrow, Sue winced at his form, “He’s using too much strength to draw that arrow! The shot is going to go way off course—“ 

There’s a brief moment where Sue thought to ask Father Sky for his help to fix this pitiful display, but she ultimately ruled against it. 

After all, it would not be right to ask Father Sky to use his little bit of energy on this island to try to fix something that cannot be repaired. 

He fires. And misses horribly. 

Apparently not!

"Nah, don't apologize he's pretty cringe right now. Maybe if we just look at his face instead..."

Tina does just that while she listens to Sue talk about some kind of forest. And a special tree? But hang on. Sue drops a name that Tina does recognize and she bounces excitedly when she realizes she can give a clue to her new oomf just like her new oomf was able to give to her.

That, to Sue, was blasphemy. Disrupting the cycle of life, ripping a soul out of Mother Earth’s warm embrace to bring it back to this cold reality unwillingly— 

It was cruel. 

And he offered to teach Tina how to do it. But… that didn’t make sense. From what Sue had gathered, only the clergy could use magic. Also, you needed ‘resources’ to use the magic here… did Tina have these resources? 

Sue could not trust this man. 

“From what you're telling me and my own information, I would not trust that man,” Sue advised, her tone flat but she was concerned for her new acquaintance, “I was asking because when I attended that class, I heard a very interesting rumor...” 

Watching as Kana’s friend lined up his shot, Sue couldn’t help but be surprised by his form. He seemed a bit nervous, but he didn’t seem to be fighting the bowstring. This shot would be better than his last. 

Sue let out a small hum as she was proven correct, the boy hit a great shot for being a novice. He didn’t overdraw, his feet were square, it might have been a stroke of luck, but it was commendable. 

“Apparently, Ketil is rumored to be this island’s ’disciple’. The disciple can hear the voice of the goddess the islanders worship,” The plainswoman explained, turning her attention back to Tina and meeting her gaze. 

Tina groans loudly and slides her hands down the sides of her cheeks. "Don't call me a nun. Nuns are soooooo boringgggg. My sister's a nun and she's the most boring woman alive! Oh let me heal you, oh let me fix your broken weapons! UG! Where's the fun in that!?" She's almost offended that this Ketil guy would meet her one time and get nun vibes if Sue is right about this. Maybe it's the staves? She hopes it's the staves.

"You really think he's sus though? He seemed like he was doing the right thing when I met him with that Ashe guy. We offered to help him hand out the rations we brought with us. At least he's sharing food, right?"

"It definitely feels easier to sneak around in a place like this than in that creepy old factory. Heh."

The sun's out too. Like they can see outside. She doesn't feel trapped. Even if the vibes are weird sometimes it's fine.

"That I can believe. I'm sure there's also plenty more targets as well." Letting out a small chuckle, he blinks as she speaks about the delinquents. Ah, so it was news even in other places then. Now that was interesting. He had said he would attempt to drive them off, perhaps Tina could be of assistance in doing so. Or at the least, help him track them down.

"Ah, I've heard similar from the people here. Something about them always trespassing and breaking things, just for a kick." Berkut gives a small shrug. "They offered some favour if I was to help driving them off, or chasing them down. Though I didn't commit to anything, after all it is curious if they have a reason for doing so."

She wonders what the favor was that Berkut was offered. These kids have gotta be pretty infamous if so many people are talking about them. She wonders, too, if anyone ever talked about her like that. Maybe kind of if she counted The Dandelion Gang, right? Like she could probably brag about that and it would be true enough?

"I kinda wanna meet them. I was thinking about doing some uhhhhhhh exploring or whatever myself. People keep saying ohh Tina if you're going to commit crimes it's going to be too guarded to do in a bougie neighborhood but like it was totally fine before and that was in the friggen mayor's house, you know? I'm not gonna go break into somebody's house who has nothing. I have morals. You could, um, come. You know, if you wanted or whatever."

Yeah that was totally smooth.

Right. Okay. The archery competition has concluded. Berkut landed a totally lit shot at the last minute. Tina knows this is her chance to do something. She takes a few breaths but gathers up the courage to approach him.

"OMB! You like totally nailed that!" She doesn't mention the misses. She wouldn't want someone to point out her own failures.

Talking to him is easier than she thought it would be but the real trouble is trying to show off her totally adorable nail set! She doesn't want to just straight up ask him if he likes them. It was one thing when she showed them off to Sue but if she did the same thing with Berkut well...what if he thought she was aura farming! She's gotta make it look cool and natural.

Hearing the praise for his last shot, he gives a small laugh, the smile turning into a smirk. "Yes well... I thought it best to leave a more positive impression on the people here. The better to figure out what is going on. Considering what commonly happens on these trips, I'd rather not be caught off guard."

Still, he thinks about her last words and nods his head. "Yes. Honestly it is good to see a more familiar face. Feels fitting in a way to be dealing with such circumstances with you. Plus now we don't have supervisors to bother us, so it is already better than before."

"It definitely feels easier to sneak around in a place like this than in that creepy old factory. Heh."

The sun's out too. Like they can see outside. She doesn't feel trapped. Even if the vibes are weird sometimes it's fine.

"I don't need to open another door. Look. I think maybe this is the sister's room. And if I know anything about teen girls and of course I do, I think maybe we can find something here."

She has a little diary of her own that she usually forgets to write in but sometimes she remembers to write a few things in it. It was mostly just an excuse to get a cute little book. If this girl is anything like Tina is, she probably keeps it by her bed, right?

Tina starts by checking under the pillows, under the mattress. She's very careful to put everything back exactly the way she found it. She's had some practice with that being a little sister and all. Of course she's gone snooping through Safy's things before and after enough times doing it, she rarely gets caught anymore.

But there's no diary in either of those places. Creaky floor board maybe? Wait no! Right there in the nightstand! Dang this girl needs to be smarter about hiding her stuff. Right there in the open? Come on. Anyone could find it. There's a moment where Tina considers writing a little note suggesting a better spot but she refrains. That would be a dead giveaway that she was here.

He's never spied on Tana's diary. Yes, other aspects of her life for her safety, but not her diary. A person's thoughts ought to be private. Well, after he'd tried to break apart a dead girl's room, Innes has no room to moral grandstand.

He takes the book. Already it's more cutesy than he'd like, but it's a good thing it's not his diary. He is smart enough to hide such a thing in a place where no prying eyes would ever find it. He flicks it open.

Basil. Basil. More Basil. Gods, it's worse than a tomato soup recipe. "Whoever this Basil is, they must be important to... Whose diary is this? Holly's?" He probably ought to have asked before he joined Tina in her ransacking. "I have no interest in reading about a young girl's pining, either way."

Before he can close it, he does note a couple of more interesting diary entries. "Baile is running low on food?" Innes presses his lips together. "No wonder we're offering our aid to this place." He closes the diary. "She mentions a Katerina, as well as a Basil - the latter more times than I can count." He offers the book to Tina, either to look herself or put it away.

"I don't know whose it is! It's not like there was a big sign on the door that said Welcome to Holly's Room or whatever! But like. I guess so?"

Innes might not have any interest in a girl's pining but it certainly catches Tina's attention. She's a girl pining too, after all. Friendship bracelets, a diary gushing about a certain someone. There is a kinship here with this girl she's never met and she really wants to know more. Or even meet her. Maybe they could be friends or something.

She's maybe a little jealous, too. There were never any interesting boys in Tarrah. But, really. There was never any interesting anything in Tarrah.

"She didn't write at all about her sister?" That seems kind of weird. Tina takes the diary and slips it right back to where it belongs.

"These are totally clues. They're like clues to a girl's heart! This Basil better be good to her."

There's a pause. And then.

Clues to a girl's heart. Innes tries not to sigh, but it comes out anyway, more of a throaty sound than a regular sigh. "I suppose. I can't say I have much of an interest in what girls generally like." At least Tina seems to be having fun with it.

He frowns. "Holly is likely a teenage girl. She writes like one, at least. I am a grown adult: I have no space to comment." Besides, Innes knows his idea of cute, and it doesn't mesh well with what most would consider cute. His mind wanders briefly to previous 'incidents', and hums unhappily.

(Dangerous, scary, ruffians - yes, Innes has no space to comment on what is considered cute.)

"The mayor's room, huh? It's gotta be worth a look, right? We're already here. Don't forget though," she waggles a finger at him before making her way down the hall to the next closest door. "You're not allowed to touch anything anymore!"

The lock opens easily with the help of her lockpick. Heh. She's getting totally good at this. She'll totally have to show Lara next time she heads back to Thracia. The dancer will totally be impressed!

Another cloud of dust hits her. Well. This isn't the mayor's room. It isn't anyone's room, really. This time, it's a dusty old office. It was well lived in, once. An unfinished rug on a loom, various supplies for different fiber arts, large bookshelves packed with books and various trinkets. Someone used to spend a lot of time in here. Now it's just dust. Tina stands in the doorway and frowns. It just feels, well, sad.

Her eyes fixate on the two oil paintings, clearly capturing two different moments in time. This has to be them, right? The family that lives here?

Right. Okay. The archery competition has concluded. Berkut landed a totally lit shot at the last minute. Tina knows this is her chance to do something. She takes a few breaths but gathers up the courage to approach him.

"OMB! You like totally nailed that!" She doesn't mention the misses. She wouldn't want someone to point out her own failures.

Talking to him is easier than she thought it would be but the real trouble is trying to show off her totally adorable nail set! She doesn't want to just straight up ask him if he likes them. It was one thing when she showed them off to Sue but if she did the same thing with Berkut well...what if he thought she was aura farming! She's gotta make it look cool and natural.