Wait, This Isn't the Beach

The two Exceed were in their room just as the crisp morning sun broke across the horizon of the sky. While the two had separate beds from one another, sometimes one would have trouble with falling asleep. A nightmare rousing them from a peaceful slumber or ill thoughts of whether or not they could become the greatest wizards ever. It was enough to keep their eyes staring at the ceiling enough to warrant a refusal of sleep. One would carefully tip toe into the bed of the other and found themselves curled up together when the morning came. Such an event had occurred just as Grappa awoke to find Jellisha in her bed. The two were snuggled up to one another in the loosest term of the word. Her feet were hanging over the bed where the distance between the wall and the bed was wide enough to allow a limb sneak through. Jellisha was busy in dreamland while Grappa's ears would catch the faint summoning of themselves to the foyer. "Ngggh..." She stretched and made several noises before rousing herself from their bed. In doing so, her sibling's head fell against the soft pillow as she herself would be (begrudgingly) awakened. "Wuh...Gruhpuh..." The crankier twin mumbled under her breath and rolled on her side to go back to sleep.

"Get up, Jellisha! We're gunna be late!"
"Fuh whaaa?"
"The mission! The mission with Seri?"

Jellisha remained still for a moment or so. Grappa was certain that she had fallen back asleep but the outburst of her twin flailing to free herself from the covers was too much to really take seriously. "The mission?! That's today?!" She looked at Grappa and was answered by a single nod before cursing loudly. "Dammit, dammit, damn, shit! We're gunna be late!" The two of them raced into the hallway carrying their uniforms while Grappa leaned over the railing to Serilda. "We're coming! We, uh...have to go to the bathroom!" After which she raced along with her sister and closed the door. Each twin would spread their uniforms and such across the floor while fighting one another for their tooth brushes, eager to get to the foyer with Seri first.

"You're using too much! I need to brush my teeth too!"
"Wait your turn and let me get some!"

They each fought one another but eventually settled on lengths of toothpaste and furiously brushed their teeth. During this battle of the kids, they each would begin to slide their uniforms on, piece by piece, and help one another with all the different accessories and things that had been given to them since ranking up to C rank. It was a start but their future lied elsewhere above the rest of the world. That's why Serilda took the liberty of signing them for another job, after all! Zippers were pulled, knots were tied and just about every other word for latching their uniforms on was completed. The next job was styling each other's hair into their usual fashion. Jellisha used the brush to comb her sister's hair into the long shape while Grappa would start putting hers into the twin buns at the side of their heads. When not bickering at one another, the two were fairly competent at their use of teamwork to do things like this. Unfortunately such cases were rare and they normally did what most siblings did when together: bicker. When everything was prim and proper it was time for the two of them to quickly change into their uniforms, made with care from the many tailors who worked hard to manage uniforms that not only adjust to their size but also were enchanted with magic to prevent them from tearing due to their shape-shifting.

"COMING!"
"COMING!" Both twins yelled down to Serilda in unison.

They slid down the staircase like many other times and ran full speed to the woman in waiting before coming to a stop just before her. "Rune Knight Private Grappa, reporting for duty, Marshal Sinclair!" The peppier of the twins stood at full attention and even offered their caretaker a miniature salute while her sister fell in beside her, doing the same. "Rune Knight Private Jellisha, reporting ma'am!" Of course the display was rather improper but they were hoping on Seri finding their display adorable enough to overlook that matter. After her reaction, the group was off to see to the mission that had been selected for them.

"So we're going to a beach of some kind, right?"
"Yeah! Another chance for some fun in the sun before summer ends."
"I wonder if they'll have smoked fish stalls again! Maybe this time not on fire."

Everyone's feet walked to a different beat. Grappa would looked down at her feet and begin to quietly adjust both her posture and footsteps to match Serilda's, doing her best to not get caught doing so. It took all but 5 minutes before somebody took notice. "How come you're walking weird?" Jellisha asked her sibling while almost falling to try and help her from falling over herself. "N-No reason.I just, uh, thought that walking different would be good!"

The two kept the salute going while Serilda would continue to gazethem down, as if accusing them of something they hadn't done. In this case, they might have actually slept in on such an important date but it wasn't their fault! All that school work was hard stuff! And they were too busy in the Engineering division to really sleep. You only needed like 6 hours anyway, right? Grappa puffed her cheeks out as Jellisha looked up every now and again to check on their status. For one thing, they both weren't being chewed out so that was a good sign. It was the difference between being scolded before and after the mission had started; a minor but vital difference in how the twins would likely view their superior. Not like they could stay mad at Serilda though. They were practically family, after all. After what felt like an eternity and looking over them, their guardian gave them the go ahead to be dismissed and moved along with the woman. the weather was nice for a change and even had a nice chill to the wind to help cool down the ever heating rays of the sun. Had the twins been in their Exceed forms, it would be the perfect day for an outside nap after drills.

Xiuhcoatl was with them which elated Grappa. She found the hounds of Serilda and Mythal so interesting though Jellisha was a bit impartial to their addition. Call it that feline in her, something always had made her weary of trusting such canines. Serilda opened up...something in front of them. The scenery in front of the group was bending like ripples in the water except this was in the air, so it was only safe to assume that it was an arcane portal leading towards what the twins guessed would be the place in which they were to head out towards to get situated on the mission. The girls' eyes would stare in amazement at the mysterious spell cast without so much as a sweat broken. Serilda sure was a powerful wizard! Grappa would bat at the air without reason. "You seriously have to teach us that." Jellisha commented while stepping inside of first. Grappa followed behind shortly after her sister went inside. What would be there to greet them on the other side of the portal?

Freezing cold winds! Upon stepping foot in this frozen hellscape, both twins would hunker close to each other for warmth. They had never been in such a cold environment before, and this cold temperature wasn't cutting them any kind of slack. Nature was kind of a prick that way. As the two were struggling to keep warm, they each looked over at their mentor, who was looking normal. Why wasn't she shivering as bad as they were? Jellisha huffed. must have been one of those spells of hers again. There was no way any human could live in a place like this. It was like some kind of weird assault on a ice god or something. They followed close by while Grappa was doing some thinking. Jellisha looked over after a few minutes or so down the frozen(?) road and she knew what was coming. She was gunna say it, she just knew it. The Exceed groaned and mentally prepared herself as her sister opening her mouth.

"I-I guh-guess that's what S-Suh-Suh-Serilda meant when sh-she said not luh-like the f-festival, huh?"
"Go figure..."

They all entered a frozen town. Literally. The entire place had buildings carved out of ice which acting as the foundation. It was like stepping into those weird pictures where things were made out of things they shouldn't be. They had spotted one in the hallways of the armory but never stopped anybody to ask why. mostly because they were normally being chased for not doing their chores. By some sort of amazement the temperature here was considerably less cold than it was outside of the town though still chilly. It gave both Grappa and Jellisha a chance to finally feel warm for a change though nobody was going to separate any time soon.

"Wow, this place is beautiful. Have you ever been here, Serilda? You look like you know your way around this place. Also how come everything's made out of ice? Did they run out of building materials or something?"

Jellisha had to admit, it was probably the first question that her sister asked that she was curious about herself. The answer was likely straightforward, more than expected but it couldn't hurt to be indulged now, could it? Faint whispers were heard by the twins' ears. Around them, the townspeople were starting to appear before them and each looked on in amazement or awe at their guide for the venture. Grappa would find the idea of Serilda being a hero here all the more prevalent in her mind. That or this was a place where they had done something wrong and were about to be taken on by an army of guards or something.

"Let 'em talk, Grappa. We can figure out why later." Jellisha could read Grappa like a book, snuffing out that look in her eyes of wanting to start going from person to person to learn why they appeared to hold Serilda to such high or low praise. Unless this was the welcome wagon for every new arrival in town. They followed the woman inside of a frozen ice building where a man would greet them, followed by exclaiming that he obvious recognized Serilda from someplace. "That explains the crowd of people at least." Jellisha thought to herself while transportation was secured to the frozen isles. Silent Glaciers was the name of the land where their claim was said to be held. The two children would be busy scouting the many things around the office to really pay attention. Grappa found herself studying the ice and Jellisha, the interior of the building. If it wasn't for the aid of her sister, Seri might have noticed Grappa getting her tongue stuck on part of the walls. Unless she could sense through ice as well, in which case she totally knew. The keepers words seemed to indicate there was a past history here with Seri and presumably Mythal as well.

"It feels good getting the VIP treatment here. I wished I could have seen their faces when you crushed them into the snow, Seri."
"Jellisha!"

A smack came to the back of the crimson eyed Exceed's head. She grumbled in response and waited with Serilda as the man would venture off into the unknown to get their transportation for the day. When he pulled up in the sled, the girls' eyes would scan all over in amazement. It was some type of vehicle that was obviously a sled, though it was made entirely out of metal as opposed to more natural materials. "What's this? What does it do?" "Where'd you get it? Did it cost a lot? Can we buy one when we're S-Ranked?" It was only by Seri that they managed to snap out of their obsessive gaze that they got inside of the sled. The trip to the beach was long. Or it felt long to the younger passengers. They asked questions for ten minutes or so before falling back asleep. Grappa leaned against the seat while her sister, the second to nod off, would wrap her arms around her sibling and then ride quietly for the rest of the ride.

When it came time for them to depart, the twins would let out murmurs and take a moment to stretch before stepping off and bidding the man farewell. the wake up call had alerted them that they had reached the frozen shores successfully. "Wow. It's like some kind of painting. The sand's like mud." Her fingers knelt down to feel the grainy dust through her fingers but became very sorely disappointed but a clump of earth came up in its place. The trio continued along the beach for a while as the sights were taken in. Not a lot of landmarks to go off of specifically though it would be hard to scrub this from their memory. Footsteps showed their progress from the beginning all the way towards the cavern entrance. "Hey. There it is!" Jellisha pointed out. Grappa leaned above to catch sight of the place as both would become eager as ever. They left the safety of Serilda's side while running over towards the mouth of the cave and waiting patiently for her to catch up.

Mission time! Serilda explained what she expected out of this with this outing. They were ultimately in charge of where to navigate and what went down when exploring the caverns. Rumors around the town had said not only were the halls haunted, but there was treasure to be found! Who knows what kind of cool stuff was down there? Money? Ancient spells? A brand new lacrimabike? It could be anything!

"Gotcha! Think of the job first and then go and find the treasure. Simple stuff!"
"Don't worry. We'll take care of this quick and be back for ice cream before we know it."

Both twins would grin at one another. "Ready, sis?" A single nod came from Grappa. "Ready~" On that note, the twins were off, stepping into the entrance of the caverns. What greeted them was the hollow sound of arctic winds hitting the empty walls. A series of entryways into the surrounding systems drew closer. The twins would chose the leftmost opening and begin their journey through...

When Serilda's voice turned as ice cold as the entire town itself, both twins would have stood up on their end, the crimson eyed girl looked quite afraid at the turn of their superior's voice. Grappa felt a little bad though the circumstances leading up to it were far from being aware of what had apparently transpired here. A slaughter, from the sounds of it. Serilda and Mythal had been here before, if the looks of the towns people weren't too obvious to go on. That time was filled with death, both girls listening to Seri speak about how children lost their parents and such. It was honestly a hollowing recollection. Jellisha's natural scowl was completely gone, replaced by a look of concern. "Oh..." was all that came from her furry lips. Grappa shot her a rather dirty look while the two remained quiet for a little while. After Serilda got clearance to seek passage on a vehicle, Jellisha would chew on the inside of her cheek in (begrudgingly) silence. "I, uh, didn't really mean it." She said, finally speaking up after a few minutes worth of silence. Apologizing was not her strongest suit to play, and if this was anything to go by it, there was likely a reason why. "So, uh..." Her eyes peered over at her sister, who was looking at her expectantly like she was being held against her will to do something. She gave another pout before looking away and mumnbling out a, "S-Sorry." Grappa would appear pleased with her apology, though it was truly up to Serilda to decide whether or not to forgive her little outburst of taunting the locals crushing defeat against Serilda and Mythal likely fighting here. But why would they even fight here? Weren't they supposed to be the good guys?

Now back in the caves, the girls would traverse the caverns alongside their superior officer, who seemed to be in a much better mood ever since the little slip up one of them had made an hour or so ago. No pointing fingers or anything! The cavern's path taken twisted and turned and just about did what every verb in the dictionary did when walking through a tunnel. The further they went, the colder the air seemed to go. A flicker of doubt made them question if they would even be able to get out of here once the job was done. Jellisha was walking all along, her eyes going towards Grappa to check on her, which she was clearly not in the greatest of moods. "Everything okay, Grappa?" The softer of the two looked at her and would nod silently, her hands together with a look of worry painted on her face. She clearly wasn't.

"Mhm..."
"Are you sure?"
"Mm..."

Jellisha's eyes lingered while the group trudged forward, never ending. She would eventually scoot closer and closer to her sister, her hand sliding into Grappa's. "We'll get outta here. Promise. Just stay close to me." Grappa would physically appear better and nod again, taking a moment to recoup herself before they continued on. The corridor would continue on. Light followed them through the first few steps and all was well, but the further in their feet took them, it would dwindled until the party was just about a few steps from being in the complete dark. "It's getting darker here..." Grappa commented, going alongside her sister who was pulling her forward by this point. Thankfully the trusty companion of Serilda would shed some light on the situation. Literally! Xiuh would begin to glow bright, her fur coat turning a brilliant gold color which would give them all the light they needed. Grappa was relieved at the presence of light again, treating the dog to some affection by rubbing its head with her hands. Even Jellisha was a bit thankful for the canine's assistance. Only just a little though.

"Thank you, Xiuh! You're always super cool!~"
"Yeah. Er, thanks..."

The girls turned another twisty turn and would soon find themselves in a much larger chamber now. Not just any chamber, but one with a ton of treasure, just lying around! Jellisha's eyes lit up at the discovery, rubbing her hands together now that her sister's were busy with Xiuh. "Bingo! Who said this was gunna be so hard?" Just at that moment, wisps would appear from inside the piles of treasure. Both girls would jump in surprise, standing with one another as they each would check back with Serilda, just as some wisps would begin to float around them surrounding the group. "Alright, no biggie. Just like we did at the beach to the weird goat guy. Ready?" Grappa would nod in agreement at Jellisha. "Right behind you!" The two would explode as a small plume of white smoke covered them for a brief moment, the girls recalling the illusion spell and forming back in their Exceed forms. Their paws, outstretched, magic would flow towards their paws, claws outstretched and gaining a thin, winding build up of Aero magic around their claws. The room was a bit cramped but they certainly had enough room to perform their currently cool tag team attack! Grappa would speed across towards the other side of the room while Jellisha would hover behind the wisps, facing her sister. As the circle ghost things drew closer and closer, the girls' wings would flap away while the two would begin to circle around the area. Just when they moved a hair closer, they began their strike! Both girls would rocket across the circle, using their speed and handling to expertly cut, slash, and dig their claws into all of the wisps that would dare to come out. One by one, the two would rake their sharpened claws against the spectral masses, dispersing of them with relative ease Al things considered. Who knew that busting ghosts would be such hard work?

After a few passes at the wisps, Grappa and Jellisha would return to the human forms, positioned in from of Serilda while looking proud as they always have. "The room's clear and we're ready to start hauling back all this treasure back home, Seri!" Grappa even got on board with the showboating, holding her hands to her hips. "That was pretty easy! I was worried that there would be tons of more things coming to get us!" The girls spun on their heels and then quickly hurried to start inspecting the various piles of gold located all around the chamber. Grappa would be at the farthest one while Jellisha went for the pile closest to Serilda and Xiuh.