The Spaces Between

It was only barely half past nine and although the girl promised herself to limit her listless walking to an hour or so, Magnolia's natural architecture didn't seem permit that otherwise. The streets would curl around various interesting corners that made each step so intricate and vivid, it was as if you were never to find a boring hour while you were within its walls. And as she walked, her eyes were all but wide and bright, two lush blue irises holding an innocent sparkle that befitted a starling like her.

She'd had only ever traveled into the city to run a particular errand for the Grand Seamstress,  the timely fact that her cottage was situated within the depths of East Forest making it easier for maritime trades and the likes. Endora was granted peace there in her humble abode regardless if the neighboring town was a bustling avenue for most of the area's populace, due to a number of reasons, but that was an entirely different story.

Merrilee bundled her arms together behind her, adorning a smile as her steps were light and almost aimless having opted to navigate Magnolia with as little guide as possible. Many centuries ago, the humans observed the skies in hopes of mapping the stars, and even then, it was as if her time with the Rodea gave birth to an uncanny sense of direction in her, giving the starling just a bit more edge when it came to finding herself in the most interesting places. More so when the girl stopped to realize the grandeur of Magnolia's local library just as she passed the large structure, large marble pillars towering above her as she excitedly clambered over the steps.

Having followed the route she took opened up a number of experiences that considerably quelled her curious thirst (where the edible pink cottony stuff down the lane was the most delightful thing she'd ever tasted in a long while), but as soon as she spotted the ensemble of shelves that were housed within that large structure, an entirely different need suddenly urged her on -deeper and further into the weave of books as they branched out into different categories and labels.

With little time to waste, the girl adopted a hasty pace as she pulled out several hard-bound books from their places, feeling their delicate spines roll softly against her fingertips. It would then come to her that the pile she slowly gathered was too heavy to carry back to where the tables waited, so in a fit of excitement, she simply settled for the floor, bringing her knees close as she stacked the books beside her in an organized manner.

"The basics of human biology...and how it changes due to ethernano..." she whispered as she opened her first label, entranced by the little words and the various pictures that were drawn in with great detail. The scene around her seemed to melt into a blur, nothing but images out of context even as the glass window to her right shone with the rays of a slowly setting sun.

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

And he enters! Flashing that sort of smile that made girls seem to melt, Itsuki swept easily through the town square, passing through slight squeals and gossiping comments from gaggles around him. His step was confident, head held up. He evidently knew how he was viewed as well. However, the squeals slowly turned to hushed and jealous whispers as two females would pass through behind him. A holographic lady, who's feet never quite brushed the ground as well as a young girl looking around ten in age quickly hustled along.

Lush violet hair sweeping down her back, the AI frowned disapprovingly, the spoke directly into Itsuki's mind. "Honestly, Granon-san! How much attention are you trying to attract? It's getting quite tiresome, having to bear all this chattering whenever we walk around!" Dressed in a white suit, Kioku had the appearance of a secretary or something, but acted similarly to how a mother would as she scolded her master and creator. "Wouldn't you agree, Ayano-chan?"

This was a question directed at the young girl who was currently struggling to keep up and spent her time looking about with a sullen, bored expression upon her face. Clad in a cute red jacket, she had quite the plain appearance. A complete opposite of her "brother" Itsuki. "Mmph," came the response, only causing Kioku to appear even more ticked.

Sweeping into the library in brisk steps, Itsuki led his little harem of sorts inside, flashing a sample at the librarians st the front desk. Finding himself a small table, Immediately, his demeanor took a complete change. Expression hardening and growing serious, a screen would suddenly come to life before him and following it, an entire myriad of screens to cover the whole wall before him. Pulling a cord out of one, he connected it to a library lacrima, booting it up. soon, he would begin searches on his sister's magics.

After several minutes, Itsuki would stand to pick up a book, bumping into a youthful-looking girl as he did so. "'Scuse me," he said distractedly, grabbing at a book on the shelf.

The book that she had on her lap had quite a number of interesting pages to begin with, mostly a detailing of some basic concepts that involved human anatomy that she'd have already tackled in her younger days with the Grand Seamstress. So the initial breeze through was a breather for a gifted-reader such as herself, despite some terms appearing to be somewhat missing from her initial memory. The little starling squinted at those particular letters, highlighting them in her mind as if to ask Endora about them later on.

A silence that seemed all but endearing wrapped the area around her indefinitely for a good duration, despite the noises of shuffling footsteps from the other guests who've housed themselves in that specific area of the library. It increased her mood ever so, her legs bundling up even further as she buried her senses into the pages. There was a fair amount of curious people surrounding her at that time, but her little venture into the scientific aspect of magic opted her entire attention that it provided nothing left for her surroundings.

Until something abrupt came crashing against her form that allowed her mental state to travel back into reality after being so high up in her own makeshift world, the feeling akin to falling. She puffed a cheek up in mild frustration, spotting the figure of a boy from where she stood, most likely responsible for the collision that broke her focus for a bit.

In an attempt to distance herself from the prospect of being hit for a second time, the little starling would gather the books she stacked in her arms, flailing slightly as the weight was too much for her tiny arms. Her steps were a little slow and careful, but they were manageable, somehow, her eyes being the only visible part of her face as the books took up most of her torso and face.

'Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear....' she silently thought, over and over as she concentrated most of her willpower into delivering the books to a suitable corner at the next book shelf.

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

An absent-minded look was carelessly tossed at the small girl who was practically toppling over from the load in her hands before a book was retrieved and a hip swiveled. "Ah, would you need any help with that?" A kind smile that matched his looks was painted onto Itsuki's face as he bent to offer a hand. "My, you certainly are reading very difficult books for your age, aren't you now?" Itsuki asked kindly, eyes widening in a fake gesture of surprise and an impressed air. Inside, he was really rather distracted. Had he the time to do this? No. Had he the drive to do it? No. However, he liked maintaining a good appearance, and to do that, one had to be consistent. So, with an annoyed inner air, the youth would smile on kindly, hand extended.

Oh, he knew how he looked. He had seen people bend down to him with this exact same expression so many times before. The slavers. Hitomi, the person Kioku had been based off of. Countless people who wanted to do bad things to him, horrible people. His own parents. Those traitorous, lying rats that they were... Heh! This was simply another skill they had taught him with such meticulous, hands-on training that he had never signed up for. And they had all looked the same. To his youthful eyes, they had appeared to be beautiful people. Icons of hope in the world to poor him. His heroes.

So, why was he putting on this appearance for this young girl? What had he to gain from this? Well, to be utterly honest, next to nothing. But it has been open bedded into his very nature, something as natural as breathing to him. Such an education he had received after all. He wouldn't wish it on anyone else. At least, anyone else besides a certain Fairy Tail mage...

When the boy motioned to lend her a bit of his aid, the girl would only puff her cheek, keeping her tongue in place lest she blurt out something untimely, like the actual reason why she was opting to do such a feat in the first place. Her eyes dart back briefly to the side, taking a short staggering breath as she closed her eyes to contemplate a bit on her options. Her grip on the stack would only tighten.

Her initial take on the boy's attempt at common courtesy seemed to be a bit flawed, because something akin to a blade twisted persistently in her gut with the way he'd say those words regardless if they appeared pleasant on the surface. It was a strange, yet familiar sensation of a set of nerves buzzing in an electrifying jolt, prickles creeping up her spine. Her bright blue eyes seemed to harbor a different light to them as a series of thoughts invaded her brain waves in a hazy formation, though they seemed to be connected to the boy who offered her his hand as they oddly resembled his tone of voice. There were feelings of disinterest, an implausible knack for lies, and a frustration that she was honestly appalled by. Merrilee involuntarily made a move to accommodate the pain that began to throb with it, however, causing the books to drop to the floor.

"H-h-heeeeee...." she mumbled, trying her best to process a response for the boy whose real intentions were reserved for simply putting up a good front.

Spoiler:

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

Huh? What was with this weird response from the kid? A really odd blank-eyed stare was cast in his direction, bright blue eyes staring forward in an eerily fixed way. Bending down, Itsuki would wave his hand slowly in front of her face, a touch of interest and slight amusement mixing in to his very negative aura. Making a weird breathy noise, Itsuki would freeze, wondering if she was having a fit of some sort. Quickly putting his hand under the books in case she accidentally dropped them on her foot or something, he would ask, "Hey, uh, are you okay?" A worried expression replaced the self-confident smile, a touch of real worry mixed in. However, a quick whirl of inner programs he was connected to in the Archive showed him that the girl only seemed to be shocked into uncertainty or something.

"Erm, perhaps we should get you to a hospital, yeah? You don't look so great..." Picking up her pile of books, Itsuki would cautiously hold out his hand to take her over to the librarian or something. Really, why were kids this young even let outside without an adult? Things like this were often the result of such happenings that interrupted his time. Naturally, there was no way he could've known that he was the very cause of all this, and so he was a bit interested in what had happened.

It took her a good second to get a hang of her bearings after being visibly shaken by the influx of thoughts, the source undoubtedly being the human boy who looked at her with a bothered expression, though with what she'd come to see, it was hard not to wonder whether or not his concern was genuine or not. Merrilee inhaled sharply, processing the information that flooded her tiny head and making some sort of sense out of the broken pieces, fragile like glass against her conscience.

"I-I'm fine..." she croaked, somehow managing a portion of her voice, raspy as it was, but it would only dwindle into a faint whisper as she took to his offer with a clipped expression. "I d-doubt human hospitals...can be much help to something like me..."

Shaking her head, she decidedly tore her attention from the numbing pain and it threw it back unto the human, her eyes searching his for some sort of answer to this kind of behavior, as she refused to believe there were such individuals capable of sporting lies as if they were merely garments to hang or masks to don.

"Do you...usually fake a smile like that...mister?" she asked, her eyes a steady and persistent shade of blue, "Did 'they' do that to you too? Did they like lying to you?"

Merrilee gripped at the fabric of her sleeves, unable to stop her lips from uttering the eclipses of what she had just seen. "...And...who's the girl...with the long black hair?" she said, part of her screaming internally as her inner conscience opposed her meddling with a great deal of regret. But there had to be a reason for the sudden rush of a foreign power that just occurred. Did her sisters orchestrate its growth at her fall from the Rodea? She wouldn't know, and nevertheless, all that mattered then were other things entirely, and she'd have placed her entire cosmic being into the thrust of the grand scheme of things.

"W-hy do you w-w-wish ill-intent on her...m-mister?" she whispered, surprised that her tone of voice stuttered into instability.

Endora would tell her that fate and destiny were things that humans had long abandoned due to the flow of the natural universe that favored both misfortune and the opposite for their species, but for a starling like her, it meant her everything and her everyone, including that boy, whoever he was, and whatever he'll be.

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

A sharp breath was inhaled, and Itsuki's gaze focused on the small figure again. A switch of the lens, and it appeared that her rates were returning to normal now. Good. He could stop wasting his time here now, come up with some excuse, and get back to work. When she slowly croaked out a verbal reassurance, Itsuki would gently place the books on a table, start to flash that big bro smile again, then stopped. "Something like me?" What was that supposed to mean? Little Miss Oddity was something inhuman? Huh. A sharp and wary look was flashed up at him, which was even weirder. Returning with a slightly wounded expression, Itsuki would then deem that little comment of no particular use to him and start turning about once more.

"Do you...usually fake a smile like that...mister?"

Zzzt.

A snap of electricity was suddenly heard from the teen, who would freeze, and slowly tilt his head backwards, eyes the wide, quivering ones of someone who wasn't sure whether they were prey or predator. The blue gaze utterly penetrated him, seeming to flip him inside out, revealing the rotting away core. "Did 'they' do that to you too?" The expression was now one of prey, but of cornered prey. Someone who would do absolutely anything, no matter how insane and irrational to get out. Wild eyes had suddenly switched lens with an almost audible click, a light suddenly glowing from within. Screens had begun popping up around him, for Eirlys was delving into territory she probably shouldn't have entered around this youth.

And then her next words shivered and quivered their way off the tip of her tongue, dripping like poison into the depths of Itsuki's consciousness.

Splash.

Here it was. The very core, his very being. His identity. The one thing he would never waver in opinion about. Unknowingly, Merrilee had just sunk her teeth right into it. And here he was, unsure of whether to attack or run, here he was, in the same position the girl before him had been in only mere seconds ago.

"Wh... Who the heck are you?" It was a terribly embarrassing moment for him, one he would berate himself on over and over again afterwards. But here he was, clutching his head, a quivering mass of a disgrace to humanity. "H-how... Get out! Get out already! JUST FREAKING GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" The anguished yell resonated through the room, turning heads bringing everything to an utter silence.

Though her silence had been a fickle response to the boy's outburst, her gaze would not falter, regardless if it contained a fear for the possible outcome of his strange change in behavior. She'd watch his expression break, his movements creak like rusty hinges as if something entirely different started crawling out of the fallacy that he forged for himself. And all the while, as the boy's voice only rose to a deafening scream, she'd focus her sterling blue stare at his crumpled form, her figure evenly stilled as she sat on the cold library floor.  

Funny how his back had been a strong outline against the sunset colors just a few moments prior. Now, all that remained of that were the left over pieces of a collapsed persona, trembling before Merrilee as if she triggered something she shouldn't have, muddled through a  taboo that was purposely hidden because of how dire the effects were upon its exposure.

The starling would open her mouth to speak, but her lips would not allow it, because her throat was dry and her words would only settle into her stomach, unable to reach the surface of her palette. Perhaps her speechlessness was the product of discovering a unique human with a particularly displeasing persona and history, the process of unearthing his secrets all but rendering her unable to express any other sentiment. But whatever the cause, the girl would admit to herself that she sported a conviction strong enough to offer pity for the brunette. Shallow as it was to call herself empathetic towards the human, Merrilee liked to consider the sudden rush of power as a string of faint light that set the stage for the both of them, and she was in no position to deny the work of the Fates as they came and went.

Merrilee gingerly crawled from her position on the floor and approached the boy's figure, hesitantly so as there were other eyes that watched their exchange with peaked interests. She'd extend an arm towards him, unsure of what she really intended to do until she heard the gritty voice of her master as it cycled through her conscience -a communicating lacrima, perhaps, since Endora had quite a few of them.

'Eirlys, you must return immediately!' the voice muttured, causing the girl's arm to lower mid-way into the process, 'I have a feeling that the boy will not be pleased with your intentions, so please, drop everything and turn around. Run!'

The starling would stare blankly at the shelves that surrounded them, at the people who dispersed as their attentions shifted unto more important matters, at the sunlight that wafted through the window, and finally, at the boy whose reactions lead her to believe that she committed a mistake that she'd have to fix, despite not knowing what she was supposed to do. Merrilee would bite at her lip in reluctance to Endora's proposal, refusing to lift her legs as she approached the human even more.

'No...' she thought, bundling her fingers into shaking fists. Her master was clearly more than displeased with that, a tangible sense of desperation lacing her words as her voice traveled from miles away.

'....Eirlys. You don't understand. Not all humans need fixing.' she urged, 'This one is broken beyond belief, leave him be and come back to the cottage this instant.'

In a world of broken spirits and unresolved conflicts, the starling would stand in defiance to her Seamstress, without any sort of reason or intention or motive to showcase in front of Endora's watchful eye. It was unbecoming of her regular character, but the girl opted to think that there was more to the boy than just a shifting stare and a smile that held many meanings, and if she had the ability to do so, she'd willingly look through the spaces between, hopefully to find a semblance of meaning for things she's seen-

'No...Endora, I do understand.'

-and the first flight of stairs of a future unseen.

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

Ah... crap... I did something stupid, didnt I...

Slowly and cautiously, tendrils of rational thought began to wriggle free again, and he could feel the presences of Kioku and Aya pressing at the edges of his consciousness. Feebly, he would return the code with a feeble reassurance. Immediately, Kioku would retreat, running a scan through his unnaturally twisted body in an attempt to re-adjust the wires and cables that had bent out of proportion with his breakdown. The indifferent face of Aya peered around a bookcase, frowning at the disgraceful sight of her "Onii-chan" crumpled on the ground. However, having received no command from Itsuki and having received a reassurance code, she made no move to help.

Squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the stares from people around him, Itsuki now felt the biggest difference between Fiore and Bellum. Magic. That was it. Bellum had been straightforward and easy. As long as you understood code and could work technology well, you could live a decent life. That is, unless you were a slave. In Fiore... Fiore had everything. There was no sure escape. Magic...even if he toted about the title of mage, he was a mere baby chick in this new world compared to everyone else. The fact that there were beings who could penetrate his stronghold like that... it had shattered his concept of the world. And like most oldest siblings, change was a big no-no.

Slowly opening his eyes again to reveal eyes that had been muted back down to their original brown, Itsuki retracted the screens around him quickly, awkwardly pulling his twisted body into something like a sitting position. Already beginning to reorganize his mind, he was about to smooth his face back out into the same reassuring expression when he found himself practically face to face with the odd little girl again. For a second, everything almost broke down again at the sight of those deep eyes again, but Itsuki forced himself to stare back with as relaxed an expression as he could. But in the end, it didn't really matter, did it? She knew everything. She had the upper hand here.

"Uh, mm, okay, kid, how 'b-bout uh, just we, erm, we just p-part ways here and ah, forg-get abu-bout this?" Yes. He was a mess, and it was obvious he knew it by the slight grimace that could be seen on his face. He didn't know what this girl wanted by reaching a hand out to him, and as he squeezed his eyes shut in something like fear, it was quite apparent he didn't want to know either.

Her Seamstress would dedicate the next few seconds into tailoring a string of words for her starling that discussed the importance of obedience, and the danger that some humans posed despite not looking the part. But fortune did not favor her the slightest, and hence, the intrigued little Merrilee all but ceased to heed Endora's words, blurring them against her psyche as if they were simply blotched ink across dull paper. Oddly enough, she'd find a better importance in the boy who trembled and yet still resolved to push through as if everything was back to its state of normality. Whether or not his history was tainted, or his actions undefined or his words but lacing delusions did not matter to the starling in the very least. The truth was strong in the things she's seen, and Merrilee would regard his resilience with significant praise, despite his manner of reacting to it, with his taste for a level of revenge, being both bothering, yet curious at the same time.

The barrier-like objects that previously pulsed with the intention of separating her presence from the boy would soon start to vanish, bit by bit, until the pseudo-wall completely crumbled in on itself and what remained was the facets of the human, as he was before, but the distress in his essence seemed to still persist to some degree, and it was enough to notice when her action of offering her hand to him was negatively received.

Merrilee felt her shoulders fall dejectedly, unable to regard his reaction with a pleasant thought. Was it meaningless? Was it all for naught? Had these miracles been a curse set by providence to ensure her downfall? She wouldn't know. There were many things she didn't know, and perhaps the only fact that she could depend on for credibility was her relentless tenacity that drove her forward, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, until her fingers landed atop his ravaged mop of brown hair in a gesture that even she wasn't completely sure what outcome it would lead to. But the Seamstress regularly resulted to this action in the starling's moments of great sadness, and perhaps some part of her simplistic thinking sought to bring comfort to the boy in the same manner as Endora would have done. Her small hand would mimic the gentle patting sensation, thrice to count, before she'd lower her arm to her knees, bundling it up in a neat position.

"...I can't simply forget things like this." she mumbled, just enough for the boy to hear, but low enough for the strangers around them to lose interest, where hushed conversations were better off unheard of. "I'm sure you can't seem to forget things like that, either."

The starling would render him a knowing smile, where she hoped to convey a sense of understanding that he probably hadn't seen in a very long time. "Perhaps sympathy isn't what you seek...but I'm sorry the Fates were unforgiving to you." she said, her fingers bundling together in a nervous ensemble of pale knuckles, "There's balance in the system, however, and foolish as you may think it is, I...believe that every amount of suffering equates to a greater amount of fortune."

Her gaze would lower, slightly, tilted one way so that she'd face the scars on her hands that told stories of swords slicing through her soft skin in the arduous months she'd train with Endora, and much before that, too, where the lashes of whips from scheming men dug deep scars unto her arms -faint white stitches, no doubt, that served as a painful reminder of her first descent into Ishval.

And yet, her's was the expression of relief, one idle finger tracing the dips in the pale scars that scattered lightly over her hands. "....I'm sure that, despite your intentions, you're really a very brave person, and it's something you should be proud of. And I admire humans who are capable of keeping their spirits lit."

With a stretch of her hand, she'd offer him a simple proposal, one that involved a mutuality and balance that she so formally upheld in all her transactions. She'd have met many curious individuals in her recent routes around Fiore, but she had yet to find someone of his standards. If she were poetic enough, then perhaps she could've likened him to the stellar eclipses, fleetingly dark, but a treasure of gold underneath.

"My name is Eirlys Reverie." she began, urging him to return the handshake, "Since I know parts of you, I'd like to show you parts of me."

She could her the trill of Endora's reasoning beaming negatively in her conscience, but she'd ignore it all the same, keeping one arm a steady curve for him to reach out to. "I mean you no harm. I only wish to pay you a fair trade."

The starling had nothing to gain for associating herself with a human of his kind. But there was certainly something that she desperately wanted to quell....what it was, however, was something beyond her.

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

For a long moment nothing happened, and then, just when Itsuki though the would have to suffer more of that prying and seeing from before, a queer thing would occur. Slowly, startling with just a tickling of his hair, a small hand would plant itself gently on his head. Absurd notions about this kid being an alien come to suck out his brain flickered through the brain of the youth, and suddenly, the pressure was gone again. Cracking his eyelids open to just a slit, he could see the blue-haired enigma beginning to lower her hand again. Two pats. Three. And, as if she were programmed to do so, the hand returned to the side of its body, wrapping around the legs of the girl. Wait. Waaaaait up a moment. What? Did he— Had he just been patted on the head?!? Hold up the world! What sort of person did something so random?

Befuddled dark eyes blinked in confusion up at the cerulean ones, and he nearly jumped when the odd one spoke again. When she finished, Itsuki stared blankly for a few seconds, having almost forgotten what he had said only moments before. But... what would she do now? As his brain began to work again, he began to run through the possible reasons for her soon this. Malicious intent was most likely, but he'd heard of goody two-shoes in Fiore that wanted to help everyone, and so who knew? Then came that strangely knowing look, which he did not know what to make of. He certainly had no intention of trusting it, for sure.

Then, the next words the girl spoke... wait. Was she trying to comfort him? What was all that about the Fates and fortune and whatnot? Growing ever more puzzled by the second, Itsuki wasn't quite sure what to think. She sure acted like one of those goody goody mages, but then, she could have a darker reason as well. Following her gaze as it angled down to her fingers, Itsuki wouldn't notice the scars. Still being too uncertain in thought, he was missing quite a few of those usual details he could usually catch.

Her next words of what seemed to be compliment didn't help at all. With her strange talk, as if she hadn't just completely broken him down, Itsuki found it impossible to read her. With something like dramatic flair, the small hand was raised again, this time in proposal. "My name is Eirlys Reverie." These simple words seemed to feel final, in a way, to the teen. The oddly worded proposal left Itsuki's brain whirling off to Pluto with no intention of coming back. Huh? What? Fair trade? Nothing made sense right now, and Itsuki didn't know if he wanted to make sense of it.

Breaking the radiant atmosphere that seemed to shimmer around her, he would shake his head in confusion at the strangeness of this all, then blurt out a very reasonable question to most humans. "What?" The fear had lessened, for the confusion in his mind was more than enough to drive most of it away. "Parts of huh? Um... sorry, I don't really understand what you're trying t-to, um, get at..."

Confusion was the brightest star that lined the human's ecliptic personality in that one little moment in time, a preciously lit scene had it been stilled by sentimentality. However, it wasn't that kind of story, not at all, what with her cryptic manner of speech being anything but comforting. The human boy's inability to comprehend what she offered to mean was clearer than any sort of divination, and hence, the situation suddenly appeared a little too awkward for the starling's tastes. Underneath the slowly creeping moonlight, her expression would all but tighten, fingers lacing into nervous bundles of skin and nails clawing at the surface of her exposed knees. How would she convince this strange, yet enticingly charming human if her words didn't seem to express her generosity in full?

It wasn't a strange fact to distress particular humans with her choice of words -having seen it time and time again with her short encounters with their kind proved that it was more than a varying event, but rather a common standpoint that had her opt for a more relaxed state of speaking. However, when you're exposed to a lady like Endora and her flowery twists of a tongue (as she liked to call it), it's incredibly hard to even adapt to a more realistic speech pattern, if not being out of pure habit alone.

Hesitantly, her spirit flickered, wondering idly if her objective was all in vain. But as if her instinct ran on will alone, a fleetingly graceful thought raced through her thoughts, fueling her actions with a stretch to her arm. Softly yet gently, the starling's hand would circle the human's wrist, grasping with a conviction unmatched lingering behind the light in her blue irises, which, if one would observe quietly, was melting away to reveal a starry golden sheen.

"...Humans believe in the notion of actions speaking better than words, right?" Eirlys asked, her phrases rising vividly against the book shelves like the star lit words of an open page. "Then I'll just have to show you what I mean, then."

Up on her face, a thin crack lined its way up her cheek, as if her face was carved out of porcelain glass, breaking to unveil the secrets underneath.

"Saltare meus." She'd whisper, the timbre to her voice now a completely different octave, "Ego elegi vos."

The string of words that she'd pronounce under a twinkled lisp was hazy and foreign to the unpracticed ear, but they were delicate words regardless, floating atop her soft smile. Beneath them, a circle of light earthed itself into the floorboards of the library, stirring up a good number of unwarranted attention from those who were fortunate enough to round the bend to witness it. Gravity knew of it's mistress then, silenced by her command and ultimately causing her body to be rendered afloat. Merrilee would keep her grip on the human boy ever so tight, unwilling to let him go, and unshaken by whatever expression he'd revere later on.

Her magic was truly a curious one. Though it was something that she was blessed by Endora's handiwork, the ebony-haired Seamstress spoke of it as if it was tailored accordingly to what her personality implied initially. Was she always the type to want company, longingly enough to have been given something that provided her to share her world with humans? It was a darling little mystery, but not as dire as the human at her hand.

"Hold on tight, alright?" she'd say, several more cracks slithering up her arms and legs, shard-like pieces slipping off and melting as if they were nothing but pieces of imbued magic. "It's going to be a little bumpy."

Stretching her legs, the starling managed a jumping motion, making a bee-line for the open window to their left, which was graciously left unbarred by the architects. Her socius would drift along with her, breezing through the open space as her magic seethed into his own existence. At their departure, they'd be greeted with the light of a setting day, where the sky showed signs of dimming, just over the horizon.

She'd turn to face him, but not without her body being completely devoured by thin, glassy cracks. The starling would only cast the human boy an awkward grin, raising an arm to showcase the peeling material of her hoodie, breaking off like a broken mirror. It was only until she snapped her fingers with a crisp sound to them that her disguise would disappear completely, her childish figure melting with a purple starlight.

In its place were to be her real physique, the material of her Celestial Gown flapping with the winds, and bundles of her long, silvery hair weaving like waves across her head. Realistically, her move to unveil was risky, but with no other secrets left to bare, the notion of fair trade would've been all for naught.

She wondered, briefly, if this was even something that he'd appreciate. Perhaps it wasn't, or perhaps it was something that would trigger a completely different aspect to him. Either way, it had been done, and there was no turning back.

"...Magnolia is a beautiful place, right?" the starling said, in a feeble attempt to strike a better start to their conversation.

Notes::

JUST FOCUS ON THAT GOAL

Not that it helped in any way. In a flash, he felt the tickling of follicles upon his skin again, and glanced up in surprise at the hand that now rested upon his own pale wrist. Wincing almost imperceptibly as the very much alive body part applied pressure, Itsuki found it felt strangely discomforting as small fingers slid along the ridge of a prosthetic part beneath his own synthetic epidermis. What was it with this girl - er, Eirlys about dramatic movements? Glancing up in wary puzzlement, his own wine-colored eyes, dark and red found themselves gazing into irises of sudden gold. Blinks of surprise were the reaction Kioku let into his mind through her filter, and thus he did as instructed. What seemed to be a recitation of books from the sky exited her lungs, and Itsuki found himself nodding, his cerebrum having sent the signal without command from his consciousness.

"W-what? Are you okay? What's um... h-hey! What the - ?" a hairline crack spread along the face of milky crystal, splitting apart the moonstone surface. Words of what Kioku identified to be Latin were uttered, and brief snatches were translated. Jump, need... random verbs that clashed against each other within the now much-diminished galaxies. A voice that uttered words from the chest, yet seemed to float in the head at the same time felt surreal, unnatural to ears that had spent much time under headphone.

And light. O nata lux! Words filled his mind, plucked like candy from a basket within the Archive. The radiance filled the library, turning heads, yet causing no disturbance somehow. Without conscious realization, gravity held no holdover his limbs and he floated. Hypnotized by the magic about him, suspended within this place Eirlys had molded of stars and radiance.

And they flew. Out the window, through the shimmer of sky. As cracks spread over the crystalline form, Itsuki's mouth formed a small O while slender fingers flexed roughly against each other. A pure sound reverberating among the clouds, she was someone else now. An awkward smile placed upon her face, the semi-cyborg leaned forward, awaiting more words of this magic, the hypnotism that released the light. Well... let's just say he didn't exactly get that.

"...Magnolia is a beautiful place, right?" came Eirlys' conversation starter.

"Uh, come again?" he raised an eyebrow. Letting the full meaning take form in his mind, he came to the correct conclusion at last and nodded hurriedly. "Um... it's my first time here, but yeah, I guess..." How else was he to speak in such a situation?