- Carpo:
- Solaris:
"So, are we sure this is all for the best?" Amelia asked towards the elder Nature Fairy Shirain in her human sized form, and Goddess of autumn, Carpo. All three were sitting outside a cave by a campfire in the abandoned region. A loud scream could be heard from inside the cave as various plant life sprouted from the earth and both the new and the preexisting plants seemed to grow and lash around as the vibrations reverberated through the land. A/melia caught a few apples that fell and put them in the near full sack next to her. "Well we're almost through the first sack." Amelia joked but only Carpo shared in amusement as Shirain looked into the cave to see someone walking out, her elder daughter Solaris who was also in her human sized form. Solaris was covered in leaves, moss, vines, twigs stuck in her hair as she didn't look amuse at all. Her body seemed to ignite on fire as all the plant parts on her burnt to dust then nothing as she restored her normal appearance. "Can't believe I missed a party for this, I nearly got stabbed through my liver! My dragon form liver, that's the hardest working liver known! I'm not a fighter meant to take hits I'm not part obsidian dragon."
Solaris whined as she took a seat by the fire again, much to the dismay of her mother who shot a glare at her daughter. "Remember who paid over two million Jewels in bail for you, you from facing imprisonment after you made stupid decisions and still opened her door to you and never asked for anything other then support one time even after you're partly responsible for her being subject to a hard life with abuse?" Shirain said sternly towards her fiery daughter, who gulped, intimidated by her mother. "Oh, um..." She said as she realized she put herself into a trap. "That's what I thought, you owe her enough in empty promises to pay back and build her a damn queen sized yacht with all the fixings, but she refuses to even count any it as she see's you as family and would lie in front of a rampaging dragon for you. Your sister is in great pain and she needs support. Don't you complain about not being able to try ruining your life again when your sister stands to possibly lose hers." Both Amelia and the goddess of autumn and harvest were taken aback. Normally Shirain is more relaxed, but understandably she's tense as she was rarely there for Luna during her trying times in the last six years, only once she was there by coincidence. She took a deep breath as she calmed down. "For the love of Renei, did it have to be her?" She asked solemnly.
Carpo sighed as she looked down the cave. "As I explained before, Luna is the most worthy to receive it." She said as the group reminisced on the three days before this. Carpo had arrived in Ace of Spades with a less then conspicuous entrance with the legendary lacrima in hand and called out Luna as her next prodigy as she was in the midst of a public bath. After a long introduction, the goddess explained to Luna her role in guarding the success of crops and how she picks her successors. However something she glossed over was the direct predecessor in the inheritance of the lacrima's fate. When deciding whether or not to accept the lacrima, something had occurred to the fairy, Sarah, Indra, Mai, the slayers she met all had one thing in common, altered physiology to reflect the magic. Luna had called in her mother as she was worried about whether or not she could safely undergo the integration given her history of undergoing a major alteration suddenly instead of gradually.
A consult between the three led to the mutual understanding that while Luna's heart, wings, and any other Nature Fairy enhanced part might not be majorly affected, the transition would be slow and painful. Knowing full well she was going to be in a vulnerable state. Luna preferred a secluded place where no one would try to harm her She brought this matter before Yggdrasil, however she knew full well that she needed to also evade her own protege. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle Mai while fighting off pain, nausea, disorientation, and whatever else she'll be dealing with. Amelia can't handle Mai on her own, and everyone else would be too busy working round the clock to make sure things are going smoothly. Yggdrasil offered to point Luna towards a secluded world, where she'd be to focus solely on the process. Luna knew she'd need more then the Gynoid for support so she called to her family and a few close friends. However of all the people called, only her mother and half sister were available.
Despite the tree's permission, Luna knew bringing in outsiders to use a portal would require the guildmaster's permission. She went to see Kenna with a written request, who approved of the request. so long as Luna didn't disrupt any local inhabitants, or expose Carpo as a goddess to any locals either but saw little problem considering the main point of the trip was isolation. Anticipating a week, they packed a week's supply and found a small cave perfect for the purposes. It let to a small underground area closed off, light shined through but only a dim amount covered the area, most of the rocks were smooth, and the scents were negligible, essentially a low stimuli environment for her to remain while her senses adjust. While setting up Camp, Luna had a mattress and a bucket taken down with her, while everyone else set up above. Afterwards Carpo bestowed the Lacrima onto Luna who became to convert it into energy and absorbed it into her body. The four beings above took shifts starting with Carpo as Luna braced through the harsh changes and side effects.
At the present time two days have passed and Luna has slept for six hours not consecutively, and hardly ate more then a full meal or two. Solaris grabbed a bowl as she served herself from a pot over the fire. Amelia's gaze was focuserd solely on the cave the entire time during the brief pause of silence. "How's she doing?" Amelia said breaking the silence. Solaris stirred the stew in her bowl as she seemed to turn pale as the question sunk in. "Honestly wish I wasn't alert. Never seen someone more in pain but failing to hide it. She's beyond her threshold and while not directly showing, she has incredible shame about that, probably due to her constantly ending up in a position of power or other states where she can't afford weakness and as a result she holds herself to a higher standard thus the shame of being at a lower stage with someone she hasn't quite developed a familial bond with is even more difficult."
Amelia looked shocked at the fire fairy, she had no idea that Solaris was capable of such analysis. "Where did that come from?" She had to ask as Solaris simply shrugged it off. "I did try going to college for a while, took psych as an elective." Amelia cocked an eyebrow. "What was your major, Art? She asked but Solaris shrugged it off. "Urban planning, I nearly passed but i had a number of brutal injuries preventing me from getting to a few exams. Anyways, Luna seemed to stop her periodic gasping, but her sweating and fever like symptoms seems to have gotten worse. Sensory wise, her hearing is still soft so go easy, touch and sight are doing alright, and smell, not sure." Another pause of silence passed before the unmistakable sound of Luna's scream came out of the cave. Shirain stood up and prepared a bowl before she made her way towards the cave. "Renei, please help that poor girl..." Shirain prayed, she lost a lover, but she knew losing any of her children would break her.
"Hey Carpo, is it weird for you to hear someone pray to a different god when you're within earshot?" Amelia asked as she was deeply curious on the subject. Carpo shrugged off the question. "Not really, everyone has a right to believe in what they want. only weird thing is a nameless goddess, names usually have a significance and power. But who am I to judge."
Shirain slowly walked down the path down the cave into the back area, she could hear the sounds of Luna's irregular breathing. She hastened her approach to leave it less then surprising to the younger fairy. Shirain stopped as she looked over Luna, who was drenched in sweat leaning against the wall, her eyes shut. "So you're next mom..." Luna managed to say. Shirain leaned against a back wall, not wanting to overwhelm Luna immediately "Your life senses are sharp as ever." she said softly. Luna hazily took a breath as she slowly lowered herself down and crawled back towards the mat and pillow, she sat cross-legged, her eyes still closed. "Actually that was just the new sense of smell. I think, the senses have finally set in. Still slightly disorienting to try and see after feeling like I was going to be torn apart from the inside out. That and I can't open my eyes without them being burnt." She said as she tried to focus on her balance. Shirain slowly approached the girl and got onto her knees. Shirain tried to sense the life force within her daughter, she kept track from the small distance and noted how it was like a chaotic storm, but now it seemed to quiet down.
"Luna, seems like you've made it out of the woods." She said however the unmistakable scent of blood was disturbing, she saw the sparkling mixed colored liquids inside the bucket. "Albeit barely. Luna, conversions aren't like transformations, as your soul always remembers your true form. Altering it too much too soon, is risky. Just glad that it seems like only your lungs, stomach, and skin were affected. Honestly Luna, you're strength has limits, especially since for most of your life the Ethernano was suppressed." She slowly led the bowl over to Luna's hands, gently placing them down. Luna gently traced her fingers around the top of the bowl until she found the spoon and started to eat. "Everything feels, odd. Instincts are readjusting, and new abilities will take time. My breathing is more lax, but there seems to be this constant hunger that isn't hunger. Not an itch that needs to be satisfied like normal hunger."
Shirain nodded, listening to her daughter trying to make sense of the situation. "Probably your Slayer instincts. I know this is a bad time to ask, but hasn't Carpo, you know, guided you into this?" She asked concerned as she was finding the goddess to be less then helpful at times after Luna had absorbed the Lacrima. Luna shook her head. "Not what she does, she makes second generation slayers, her guiding me too much or teaching me slayer magic would make me third, that's against the rules, contract, agreement, or whatever codified agreement she mentioned." Shirain groaned under her breath, silence passed as it was hard for the two fairies to be there, but the guilt and pain of the past was forgiven, but neither could forget. When Luna was done with the stew, she handed it back to her mother.
Luna took a deep breath as she grabbed a cloth and started to wipe the sweat off herself. She took a deep breath before raising her left hand, holding it horizontally to cover both her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes as she took in the senses. She blinked a few times as she slowly moved her hand away from her face. She looked around taking in her new senses. She rested both her hands on the ground, her mind adapting to the enhanced senses as she slowly lifted her body off the ground. Her trembling slowed down into nothingness, she fell to the side but clutched onto the wall for support with a grip as she regained her balance. The sound of stone crumbling could be heard loudly as the rocks she touched cracked in her grip. She coughed into the rag in her hand, blood laced with the sparkling dust of her Mediocris Lacrimis came out but Luna dropped the rag as she pushed herself. Letting go of the wall she looked forward much to the nervousness of her mother, seeing the determination in the emerald eyes. "Time to get to work... Let's see what I can do."
Shirain looked nervous as she watched her daughter start to walk out of the cave. "Dear Renei that girl sure has her father's drive. Might just be the death of her."
WC 2165
