Oh Comely • A-Rank Exam

And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

All was quiet in Oahu this morning, where if birds did roam the underwater city they would have been all you could hear as they sung their sweet morning chorus. It was too early for anyone to be awake. Well, anyone but Wolfgang… And possibly Astrid. Though the exceed had yet to hear his music teacher shuffle around in her room upstairs, so there was a good chance the girl was still asleep.
She had told him to be up early the night before, saying something about how he was going to have to get use to it now that he was her apprentice. She was expecting him to be up for early morning practices almost every day, and she would not accept lateness. So the small cat complied with her expectations, and woke up at approximately two in the morning. Yes, two in the morning. To be cheeky? No, not really. After all how was that going to effect Astrid at all? It wasn’t. By staying up all night he was not trying to prove something, nor be a smartass. She had not given him a time to be up, so just to be sure he had stayed up all night to wait until she would awaken. Simple as that. Was he tired? No. The excited tingle that ran through and shook his body had been enough to allow him to stay awake the entire night, not bobbing his head or closing an eyelid once. This was his first lesson with her after all, his first step at being able to prove himself to all the other exceeds from his small village that had told him throughout all these years to just give up and leave music to the humans. He was determined to show them even a small kitten like himself could produce a big sound.
As it got closer to dawn however, Wolfgang was no longer content with just sitting around in the still slightly damaged and scorched living room, staring at the grandfather clock that ticked away the seconds. The large, polished grand piano from across the room was staring at him. Into him. Into his soul. It called for his paws to play it, to press upon the smooth keys and produce a beautiful melody. The longer his blue orbs stared at it, the louder its cry rung in his ears. He was getting restless. From where he laid lazily on the cushioned couch, sinking in slightly to the quilted abyss, all he could do was turn his attention to the piano and stare into his own reflection which shone upon its black surface, the urge to get up and play it growing with every tick of the clock beside him.
“Shuwey she wouldn’t get upshet if i jush touch it…” the lispy feline assured himself aloud, pushing himself up slowly to sit up straight. He was getting tired of waiting. And while it would have been easy to get up and wake up the ace himself it probably wouldn’t be the best idea. It’d be rude and not a good way to start his partnership with her. It wouldn’t hurt to just… Touch it, would it? There was no harm in it. The dragon slayer had not said anything about not being allowed to.
Wolfgang shuffled to the edge of the couch and jumped off to land on the cold floor, his paws creating a soft pat. The pitter patter continued as he hurried across the gap that separated the couch and piano, stopping just before the long, wooden stool suited for the instrument. Jumping up he easily climbed on top, arms catching the edge of the seat and wiggling his legs to shuffle more onto it. Once able he swung his legs over to pull himself up the rest of the way. The white fluffy feline let out a huff of air, whiskers twitching as he looked up at the beautiful piano. It was even more shiny up close. He could practically smell the fresh wood and polish even from here, as if it was just made and purchased recently. He stared at its overwhelming magnificence a little while longer before taking two steps forward, keeping his footing on the cushioned seat. Hesitantly, he raised his paws to reveal the keys kept protected by the solid covering, wincing back as when it made contact with the back it created an echoing thunk. He quickly turned his head back to the hallway, checking to make sure Astrid had not heard him. After a few moments of silence, he concluded everything was okay.
He turned back up to the keys, his eyes staring. Human pianos were so… Big… How in Fiore was he going to be able to reach?
He reached a paw upward, trying to reach up to any key he could grab. But it did not work, he was missing it by a couple of inches. Determined he strained his body a little more, standing on the tips of his paws, gritting his fangs together, able to feel he was close.
G. And a scream. As soon as he hit the note at the same exact time an ear piercing scream sounded from the front door. Wolfgang jumped up into the air, his fur standing on end. The combination of the scream and the note broke the fragile silence like glass. Loud and shattering. The cat landed back on the seat on all fours, back arched and eyes wide from the fright that shot into his body. The scream, it was familiar. It was Astrid. There was no mistaking her unique voice. In no time at all a small ball of uneasiness formed in his stomach, clenching at his insides. “Astwid!”
Fearing the worst the small cat scooted to the edge of the bench and slid off, landing upon the floor, his legs going as fast at they could to reach the entrance. His small paws raised above his head, waving frantically.
“Da demons! Da demons awe hewa! Wun! Da sacwafice must be made!” What demons? There were none, but Wolfgang was too frantic to make much sense. In his own mind maybe, but really he was just spouting nonsense as his imagination ran wild.
Once to the entrance he stopped in his tracks, still frightened blue eyes landing upon Astrid. The ace was unmoving, staring at a letter she held before her. The fancy envelope was laid out on the floor before her, torn open without much care.
Still caught in a fearful haze Wolfgang unleashed his sharp claws, looking around wildly.
“Da day of weckoning had awwived! We’wre all doomed!” he shouted upwards to the heavens, falling to his knees dramatically.
At his shout Astrid snapped out of her staring, gazing down upon the frightened cat, furrowing white eyebrows at him questioningly.

“Reckoning?” she repeated, unsure of what he was trying to get at. A happy smile quickly overtook her confused expression, grinning as she bent down and pushed the letter in front of him. Instantly Wolfgang looked upon the clean paper, catching the scent of expensive perfume that tingled his nose. He blinked, trying to read the fancy handwriting, but it was a little too fancy for him to really read. It looked like chicken scratch more than chicken scratch did.
“It’s an invitation!” her words were glazed with cheer and voice on the verge of shouting, but not quite as she knew it was morning and that her already loud scream had been a little too much. But she couldn’t hold in her excitement. After all…
“I’m going to be playing for the royal family!”

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And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Capital Crocus. The home of the royal family and the annual Grand Magic Games. The paved streets were filled with people chatting amongst themselves or going about their daily business with a few stray guards littered here and there on their patrols. A few shops and stands stood to the side adding to the overall noise of the busy city as the keepers yelled out the day’s bests sales. But they were all drowned out from the musician's hearing. All her attention was focused on the big stone castle located in the center of the town, the one so big that even from the edges of the city she could still see it clearly. The royal palace. The place she was destined to perform. Even now, a couple hours later after receiving the letter from them she could still feel the excitement rushing through her, her muscles tensing and untensing. Gods, she felt like a newbie all over again getting nervous about their first performance. But it was not because she was new that she was getting like this. No. She had performed dozens if not hundreds of times before now, in front of crowds large and small. There was no way she could be dubbed as a simple newbie. She has been playing for years now. But what separated this performance from all the rest were rather who she was playing for. The royal family of Fiore. The king, the queen, the princess, and prince, and all the other fancy royal titles. They were all going to be her audience members, and definitely her toughest performance yet. They were sure to be expecting a performance worthy of the title Rising Star Number One. One slip up and would probably throw her in a dungeon!
Well, not really, but getting a disapproval from one of the most influential families in all of Fiore if not the world would be devastating to her career nonetheless. So she had to be sure this was perfect. For both her and their sake.
Why were they asking for a performance? It was rather simple. They were having a banquet and inviting some very special guests from other nations. And what better way to have a banquet than with some sweet violin music, while also showing off one of the most promising mages the nation had? Rather, instead of wanting music for the sake of music they wanted more to show their nation off… But still, any excuse to perform for some very important people was as good as any. Really they could have all been broke street rats and Astrid still would have agreed, the status did not matter. She would play for anyone, anywhere. Although she would admit, the fact they were royal was definitely one of the reasons she wanted to be perfect. With their influence her name could be spread all across the world. This was her big chance.
So on top of Fiore’s royal family, there were also going to be some royals from other nations too. And now it was understandable why Astrid was so nervous. She had such big and important eyes depending and staring at her, judging her at what she loved to do most. Anyone would be nervous and excited at the same time, mixing into a big weird feeling inside her.
Of course, this meant she had to let Wolfgang down with his lesson. She could see the disappointment in his eyes when she told him they would have to do it tomorrow instead to make sure she would make it to Crocus on time. But despite what he might think she was aware of what he tried to do while he thought she was asleep, and told him while she was gone he was allowed to play on the various instruments strewn throughout the house all he wanted as long as he stopped by the time it got dark, for the sake of the rest of the guild members. She already got complaints sometimes for going on too long towards night time. Not that it was many or frequent. Many of the people at Golden Phoenix often mentioned how they loved waking up to the slayer’s music in the morning… But she supposed there were certain times when loud music may not be appreciated.
A light breeze swept up through the open street near the edge of the city, allowing the enticing smell of cooking meat and fresh vegetables to waft from the stalls to the slayer’s nose, enhanced by her superior senses. Pink orbs stared at the destination in front of her, studying the structured walls of the grey palace. The violinist gulped nervously, holding onto the violin strap wrapped around her chest tightly. This wasn’t the time to be caught off guard by food. This was serious. Her entire career depended on this moment.
But another breeze passed, giving another waft of fresh food. Unable to control it her unfilled stomach growled, causing the slayer to wrap her arms around it with a defeated sigh. She had not eaten breakfast this morning. She had been too nervous to, afraid if she got even more nervous she would end up throwing up on the royal’s floor… And how devastating would that be? Her career would end as quickly as it began.
“Be quiet. I’ll feed you when we’re done.” She whispered down to it, as if it was a sentient being. Food was now seen as a reward. If… No, when she was done and had perfected her performance she would treat herself to a large lunch to celebrate. But right now, she had to concentrate on the task at hand. She didn’t have time to feed herself.
Putting one step forward the ace began the long, long journey to the center of the city, biting her tongue lightly to stop herself from drooling over the cart foods.

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And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

Applause. It was the one thing all musicians lived for. A whole room of nothing but clapping was the sign they had done their job correctly. Though the few seconds from the end of their piece to the applause were some of the most painful seconds in the lives. The silence would either be ended by booing and hurtful shouts or cheers and clapping. But for those few seconds, you had no idea which one it would be. You had no idea if you were supposed to be happy or sad. It was a state of limbo, feeling nothing but the pain in your limbs and the beating of your heart. Normally, the musician would be positioned in a bow until either one was received, so you couldn’t even tell which one it would be by their faces. You just had to wait, and listen for that fateful moment.
The slayer exhaled and inhaled quietly as she held her bow gracefully, sweat dripping down from her forehead to the end of her nose. Despite that her entire body was covered in ice from her god slayer magic she still managed to work up a sweat from the powerful piece she had picked special for this occasion. It was hard, the hardest piece she had learned yet. Simply to impress the royals even more. Why not go all the way, after all?
She could feel her entire body heat up and muscles ache, clashing with the ice upon her skin. It hurt, Gods it hurt. The clash of warmth and cold stung at her skin painfully like needles being pressed into it all at one. But Astrid would not show her pain. She would not falter. Not here. Not now. She had just finished the most important performance of her life so far.
She sucked in her breath, holding it within her chest, pink eyes closing tight. She would not allow herself to even take a breath until she knew if they were satisfied.
…
A single clap broke the painful silence, loud and sharp, echoing within the grand ballroom. The sound was enough to make the slayer snap her eyes open, staring at the red carpet beneath her. It was then followed by more clapping, and a few seconds after that, an entire chorus.
Success.
Astrid rose from her bent position, staring at the clapping royals gathered across from her, all seated behind a fancy-looking feast fit for a king. She held her trusted violin and bow close to her chest, a bright smile turning from her lips. They were impressed. She had done it. The musician let out a well deserved breath, almost having forgotten what breathing was for a second, allowing the satisfying sounds of the claps fill her ears, closing her eyes to concentrate as if she was trying to ingrain the sound into her mind..
But it was easy to spot one noise that did not match with the others. It started with one scream, and then grew into many. The violinist was confused at first, having closed her eyes to allow her hearing to focus solely on the sounds of claps. Why were there screams? She would expect peasants on the street to yell after her performances. In fact many usually did after in cheering. But royals? That wasn’t very… Well, royal. And this was not the usual chipper scream either. It was filled with… Fear… Despair…
Astrid reopened her eyes before they widened once opened all the way, black pupils dilating at the scene before her. Blood. If she hadn’t seen it right then and there there was no doubt she would have smelled it given a couple more seconds. It was a substance so familiar to the girl by now it might as well be water. It spilled freely from a stab wound one of the royals had received through their chest, swelling up around the metal knife that had caused it. The crimson liquid dribbled down from his mouth and wound, eyes wide as he coughed, causing more blood to fall onto the table, staining the nice white cloth red. A few seconds passed in what felt like slow motion until finally, the man fell onto the table head first, no longer coughing, or breathing. The shrills and shrieks continued. But all Astrid could do was stare at the dead body.
What… Had just happened? She was just performing… And how a royal was bleeding out?… What... ? She could not process the sudden drastic change in emotions and atmosphere. Guards began filling the room at the sound of the cries, but did not get too far as they were quickly stopped in their tracks by a sudden wall of purple light rising up from the floor. Soon enough, the world around the musician was covered by the same purple light. Everything from the ceiling to the floor beneath her, and even the walls. She was closed in a small square… And yet she could still do nothing but stare. It was all too sudden and confusing. She could no longer hear the screams… It was silent.
She finally moved when the final wall covered all the way, frantically looking around until she heard a sudden poof from in front of her.
“Ohime-Sama, Konbanwa…”

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And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

“Ohime… Sama…?” The foreign words upon the musician's tongue confused her. Pink orbs looked into dull purple ones, staring at the small child-like creature before her. Short purple hair with a slight orange tint at the ends bobbed with the movement of long, pointed ears. A matching fluffy tail swished slightly behind her before folding behind her back to settle comfortably. This was not a normal human, quite obvious by the animal features. So then, what was she doing? And why were they in a weird box thing?
The child blinked, and Astrid blinked back, getting nervous from how much the child was intently staring at her without answering. “Erm… Who-” the slayer was about to ask a question, but was quickly cut off when the child threw a bloodied knife at her feet. She recognized it easily, as if the smell of the blood didn’t already give it away. It was the same knife used to stab the royal. It even smelled of his blood.
Wide pink eyes lifted from the knife to the child, who was still just staring blankly at her. So… She was the one who had stabbed him? A child? The violinist almost couldn’t believe it.
“You were the one who did it?” the white haired mage asked in shock. “But why-”

“You ask too many questions.” The fox girl cut the ace off again, causing her to bite her tongue back. Asking too many questions? Well what else was she supposed to do in this situation? She was trapped in a weird box with a small child. Of course she was going to ask questions. But with the dull tone of the child, it unnerved Astrid. A child’s voice should not be so cold and emotionless like that. One would think with her colorful appearance she would have a personality to match it, but she didn’t. At all. Even her aura was a bit dark and cold.
The young girl twitched an ear, head tilting to the side. “And do you know what happens to people who ask too many questions?”
As if on cue the fox girl disappeared into a cloud of smoke, only to reappear only inches away from Astrid’s face. “They die.”
Unable to move away fast enough a clawed hand found its way into the dragon slayer’s stomach and ripped cleanly straight out the back, stained solely in the ace’s blood. At least, that’s what she saw happen. But as she looked down to her stomach, she felt fine, like nothing was currently protruding from her body. She couldn’t even feel any sort of pressure. The hand was just… There. Freaked out Astrid grabbed onto the fox’s hand to try and force her out, but when she did, the arm was no longer inside her body. In fact, it was still by the fox girl’s side. All she was doing was grabbing onto a hand that had not moved.
She was in the same position from when she stabbed her, but there was no sign the action just occurred. Not a single drop of blood anywhere, not even a hole in her stomach.
“Rather they would die if i was told to kill them… But She won’t allow me to hurt a member of her own family. At least not right now.”
She didn’t get this. She didn’t get this at all. But yet again there wasn’t much in her life that was making sense right now. After all she was some supposed angry soul whose only true emotion is rage, so really she was starting to realize the less she thought about stuff the less confusing it would be.
“The royal is fine by the way, the stabbing was just an illusion. Just like what i did right there so there’s no need to worry-”

“Then what do you want?” all of a sudden the dragon slayer was the one who interrupted the fox with a irritated and demanding tone. It was obvious the girl was a bit taken back by the agitated outburst as her dull eyes widened for a split moment before lowering back down lazily. A small fist clenched. Her surprise was starting to boil down to rage by this point. She had just completed the most spectacular performance of her life, and then right after this child comes in and starts casting her illusions around the place. She was frankly getting quite sick of all this stuff happening to her.

“My apologies then, for not explaining myself sooner. The task is very simple. I won’t fight back. I won’t run. All i ask…” a puff of white smoke formed above the ace, and out of it, came a silver dagger. Astrid, with her speedy reflexes, caught it easily.
“Is that you kill me.”

… What?
White eyebrows furrowed, looking back to the dull fox girl, expecting some kind of punchline… Oh, right. There was none. It was almost like she forgot who she was talking to. Kill her? As in, stab her? Right here and now? Astrid had so many questions, and was ready to ask what this would bring, but then remembered what happened to those who asked too many questions…
Though unsure, it was not like she hadn’t killed before, and Erika’s words rung in her ears.

"Peace is a lie there is only Passion.
Through passion, you gain strength.
Through strength, you gain power.
Through power, you gain victory.
Through victory, your chains are broken."

This was simply another trial to overcome. That’s what this was, right? Some woman’s trial? Did she want Astrid to prove herself? Perhaps this was another one of Erika’s trials. That would explain the ‘she’ the child spoke of.
The slayer clenched the dagger tightly in her grasp, smiling darkly.
If it was was proof she wanted, she was going to get it. She was no longer afraid of killing to protect her loved ones. Including herself and her reputation. She’d show Erika just how serious she was.

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And while you are sitting indoors
waiting for the storm to pass
I will be outside dancing in the rain

❧

It was almost sick how easy this was. At least with her old body it had fought back and showed some sort of resistance of will to live. But the child? The dagger slid so easily through her chest it was like cutting through a steamed piece of lamb. As the fox child had said, she did not fight back at all, nor did she flee. All it had taken was a couple steps and a simple thrust of her arm. The dagger ran neatly through the chest of the child, and soon enough, the body was lying motionless on the floor. Granted, even in death she was motionless, just like she was in life so it was hard to tell if she was actually dead… But when the small body fell limply to the floor and dark blood started to pool around her, Astrid knew it was done. The slayer had left the knife in the center of the chest, unwilling to pull it out as she would have to look at her victim once again, watching as the light left their eyes. Especially since this time it was a child. And that was still something she could not do. But still, she had done it.
So instead she left it, and simply hoped it would be enough to fill the fox quickly. But apparently… Not quickly enough as she at had one more thing to say before she passed on…
“Arashi-Sama will be proud…” Leaving the light mage to to ponder the meaning of her works weak eyes lost what little shine they held, and eyelids closed once and for all.
She had proved herself… But what more was the thread mage going to want from her? She already killed herself, and her old body, what more could be possibly want? And why was this trial even a thing? It’s not like the woman even knew she was performing today.
Some things did not make sense, and she had no doubt it was going to gnaw on her mind until she found out what exactly everything meant. But right now was not the time for thinking. The light that surrounded her was fading, and quickly at that, pulsating in and out of existence, mostly likely because its wielder was dead. It fell all as one, as if it were a waterfall, all crashing down around her and seeping back into the floor from once it came from. The musician was once again greeted with the familiar location of the castle, and the sound of clapping hands to match. Without hesitation to make sure everything was indeed alright and she was truly back to where she was supposed to be pink eyes instantly searched for the royal that had been stabbed, who thankfully, looked to be alive as he too applauded her, a small smile on his face. She sighed quietly to herself, glad the child kept her word…
… Child…
Looking from her front to the side the white haired mage tried to see if the bleeding body was still there. After all, how would she explain what had just happened to them? Or even herself? But when she looked there was nothing there… Not even a blood stain. The floor was as white as ever.
… Did any of that even just happen anyway? Everything was so clean with no signs of anything that just happened, not even the royals were reacting, no longer screaming and shrieking or in despair… But everything that happened felt so real…
She shook her head lightly, only now realizing the royals were clapping… Clapping? For what?
It also took the girl this long to realize she once again her her violin and bow in hands, and was once again overheated and sweating, just like right after she finished the performance.
So… Did that mean everything's okay? Did everything with the fox girl really happen? Or perhaps that was just her nerves playing tricks on her…?
“Madame Foss” one of the butlers from the side called her name, rising an eyebrow and looking towards her direction questionably.
Oh, right. After the applause you were supposed to keep bowing. She was so caught up in her strange visions that she forgot her manners.
Though locked in a state of unsureness the ace dipped down in a formal bow once, and then again, making sure each individual royal was graced with a bow.

Once shooed away by the chiefs bringing out the wine for the dinner she found herself leaning against the wall of the doorway just outside of the ballroom, a hefty breath escaping her nose. It had been a successful performance nonetheless, hallucination or not. She was no stranger to hallucinations after all, thanks to her lack of sleep she had distracting visions like that all the time
… Maybe she should go to bed a little earlier than she was right now… She wouldn’t want open happening in the middle of her songs now would she?
Perking up the slayer looked down to her stomach as it growled once again, causing pink orbs to roll.
“Yeah yeah, okay. I hear you.”
But first, food.

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