Adrift on a Sea of Clouds

I'll be here...

Elvira Arcade

Elvira looked at the clouds through the lithe and delicate fingers of her hand. She was on her back, overalls unbuttoned, her loose striped shirt gently crawled up and down her tummy, propelled by the gentle breeze that washed over the roof of Rin's house. She'd painted her nails for the first time in ages; she was happy with the face that she could still do it without covering her cuticles in polish. They sparkled in the midday sun as she opened and closed her fist; using forced perspective to catch each cloud as it passed.

"They'll be moving in together soon Baroness." Virgo said.

The pink haired beauty in the black and white bikini was lying beside her, hands folded over her sculpted stomach in the usual stiff way she carried herself.

"It would be best to start looking for a new domicile."

Elvira had formed her fingers into the shape of a dog now; a monstrous beast intent on devouring the sheep-shaped cloud that was drifting by.

"Foolish Ovid, you have wandered from your flock and shall now suffer!" The wolf snarled.

"Oh nuuuuu heeelp!" The sheep screamed in a surprisingly monotone female voice with a Minstrel accent.

Elvira, of course, could see all the signs. The increasing amount of times Theo spent the night, the amount Rin was away to go spend time with the aloof treasure hunter. The increasing conflicts the blue-eyed boy had with her when they zombie-walked into each other going to the fridge at 4am...change was probably inevitable. She'd forced herself in after all, in a way; the first day she arrived on the ship Rin had offered to put her up for the night...that had to be a year ago now.

I'll be here...

Elvira Arcade

The truth was Elvira was scared. The last day she saw her parents they were putting her on a ship to Fiore; she watched as the ship departed, leaving her mother and father standing before a tidal wave of angry villagers --the mob rushed over the Musketeer's barricade and straight for them before the ship rounded Attican Point and they disappeared from her sight forever. Something had broken in her that day; she'd tried to sleep alone in the ship's cramped hold that night --huddled quietly in a corner, it didn't work. Sleeping alone hadn't worked since. She'd been awake on the ship for days before wandering into the private quarters of the ship's first officer and passing out in her bed. The kind and seasoned woman let her sleep in her room for the rest of the journey.

Babs Lockser was waiting for her at Hargeon port; a handsome, eccentric woman who constantly wore brightly colored clothes with garish accents. The "old lady's" apartment had been cramped; no one put much stock in fortune telling anymore, despite the fact that the old lady was genuinely capable of predicting the future; the stubborn woman refused to ever use her talents for excessive wealth, instead relying on tips and small gifts from those few Hosenkan citizens who returned again and again to seek advice as their lives steadily improved. Elvira slept on a pullout futon for a short time before simply crawling into bed beside her mentor one night and never using the futon again.

Elvira was a fighter, a warrior even. Her adventures with Crystal Swan had left her body sculpted and scarred; she'd stood down ghosts, held back an army of goblins, and negotiated with demons. Yet...the one thing she couldn't be...was alone.

The wizard closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath of the rich air that filled the skies around her before suddenly kipping to her feet and stretching.

"Alright, fine...we'll start packing and...I don't know...move in with Vincent." She said with a shrug as she hopped down to the ground below gracefully. Virgo landed besides her and the pair walked through the garden and into the back door.

"Baroness, it would be quite scandalous to move in with a boy close to your age." The maiden said while spinning in a circle to transform into her casual attire.

"Do you know how many boys I've...you know what, nevermind. Anyways, I like girls too, what's it matter? No one is safe!" She proclaimed with a smirk while making groping gestures towards Virgo with her hands. In the back of her mind it occurred to her she said no idea how old Vincent actually was --they both seemed to have different levels of maturity in different situations so she couldn't even say which one acted older really.

"Of course Baroness, forgive my thoughtlessness. Punishment time?" She asked, wiggling her perky bottom at Elvira, who just tilted her head up and let out an exasperated sigh as she tugged a duffel bag out from under the stuffed animal pile she used as a mattress.

"Oh my lord Virgo, how many times do we have to go through this?" Elvira said as she walked over and snapped the elastic band she'd given the Spirit as a gift, causing the pink haired girl to shiver excitedly for a moment as her eyes glazed over.

Soon enough though, Virgo was back to her normal rigid self. She neatly sorted and folded clothes while Elvira began simply stuffing them into her bags.

I'll be here...

Elvira Arcade

Once Elvira's bags were stuffed with her casual clothes she turned her attention to the coat rack she'd co-opted from it's place by the door and began removing her dresses from it, preparing to stuff them in one of her suitcases.

"BARONESS!" Virgo said sternly. "I do not intend to press your formal wear a second time because you can't take one minute to fold them neatly."

"I told you not to iron them in the first place...I'll do it when I need one for a photoshoot or a dinner, after all it's not as though I go to many formal occasions these days." Elvira replied dejectedly.

"It is better to be prepared. What if you are asked to play a concert, or perhaps that young gentleman with the white hair will ask you on a date." Virgo said matter-of-factly as she snatched the handful of dresses from her keeper and brushed them off.

"Which one?" She sighed as she wandered over to the small vanity piled high with her makeup.

"You know which one."

Elvira just shook her head and picked up her cherry blossom lip gloss, shaking the tube and clicking her tongue before tossing the empty tube into the garbage.

"Alright, change the subject. Who else do we know?"

"What about Sayuri Katsuya?" Virgo said, holding up her index finger and nodding.

Elvira pondered the idea quietly as she continued to organize her makeup. She didn't know the girl well. She'd always been very nice though, if not a little awkward in groups. Elvira was fairly confident she lived alone but..."Well it can't hurt to ask I suppose. I'm certainly not sleeping in the dormitory; I like my furniture to be able to leave my room if I need it to." She thought.

"Does she have an iLac?" Elvira asked, pulling out her own communication device.

...

A short time later Sayuri had agreed to let her fellow wizard move in, despite the fact that she only had a one bedroom apartment. Elvira smiled to herself as she and Virgo returned to Rin's place to finish packing. It wasn't bad, all things considered. She'd gotten on well enough with the girl's cat and the size of the apartment meant she'd always be sleeping close to someone else. They'd probably end up sharing the bedroom.

Virgo began marching around the house, carefully cleaning and arranging the small army of fury creatures Rin kept scatter about. It was actually a little strange to see her acting like a maid...despite her outfit of choice. The Spirit quickly had the place cleaner than when she'd moved in --it was strange in a way, almost like she'd never been there at all.

"Do you think she'll miss me?" The wizard asked in a hushed tone.

Virgo blinked several times and shook her head, setting down the comically large pile of luggage she'd been ferrying out the door. The pink haired girl grabbed Elvira with her superhuman strength and smushed her face into the Celestial's cleavage. Elvira wasn't about to complain, but it was a bizarre reaction coming from Virgo, who was beginning to pat her head in a perfect, stiff, rhythm; like a robot trying to comfort a human child by mimicking something it had seen humans do. Elvira closed her eyes and let herself be held, content.

"There there Baroness. You are being very silly. You're not moving more than a few blocks away. You'll likely see her just as often as you do now."

I'll be here...

Elvira Arcade

The wizard remained in Virgo's embrace for what seemed like forever, listening to the soft and rhythmic pound of the Celestial's heart through her chest. Did Celestial Spirits even have bodily functions? Or was this simply some part of the same magic that allowed her to manifest as a beautiful woman in the first place. Her mind was in danger of wandering off on a very long and winding tangent when Virgo gently brought her back.

"It's going to be fine Baroness, let's finish bringing everything outside." The Spirit said in a surprisingly warm tone. Elvira nodded and slipped from her grasp, walking over to the kitchen table and pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, tapping the pen's tip to her lip for a moment before beginning to write in long, flowing cursive.

"Dear Rin and Theo,

Thank you both so much for welcoming me into the guild. I never thought I would find a place such as this inviting or comfortable and yet, you have made it so. Theo, I apologize once more from trying to kill you last month, I think we both understand the perils of sleep deprivation all too well. Rin; thank you for welcoming me into your home and making me feel comfortable, without you I don't think I could have stayed for as long as I have --groups never really were my style. I recall that when you invited me to stay for the night so long ago, I wondered how long it would take for you two to move in together. I hope my continued presence has not delayed the process of you both finding true happiness with each other. I haven't met many people in my travels like either one of you; the pair of you have a genuineness about you that I'd like to think had rubbed off on my to a certain degree and I will always keep that with me. Should you need me, I will always be ready to come to your aid; if not as a guild member then as a dear friend.

With those things in mind, along with my food constantly disappearing from the fridge, I'm going to let you two have some extra peace and quiet. I'll be just down the street at Sayuri Katsuya's and I hope we can continue to spend as much time together as possible.

affectueusement,
Elvira Arcade."

She finished and looked over the letter before immediately crumpling it up and tossing it over her shoulder. The crumpled note bounced off the side of the trash bin and landed in the corner of the kitchen. She hastily began writing another letter.

"Rin and Theo,

I'm going to move down the street and stay with Sayuri, The weird noises you two make in Rin's bedroom are keeping me up. You're both my best friends and if you ever need a job partner you know who to look out for. Invite me to the wedding.

Love you both,
Elvie"

As she finished the second note she looked down at the arm holding the pen. Her forearm looked...muscular and tiny scars from the many battles she'd seen were just barely visible amongst her freckles.

"Guild of artists huh? I'm taking the wrong jobs." She giggled to herself and rejoined Virgo, who had long ago finished piling the luggage on the carriage, which was now waiting outside. The Spirit turned on her heel and followed Elvira out the door.

The golden-eyed witch stuck her head back inside and took a look around, smiling, before tossing the spare key on a nearby table, turning the lock, and closing the door behind her.