Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“I must admit that finding myself enjoying the winter rains is a bit of a novel experience.” Vista said, looking up at the gray clouds and standing still as the light, cold spray from above covered him. Beneath him, the soft green of the grass and underbrush were taking on a slight purple coloration as the accumulated dust of the astral space was being washed from the adventurers and their captive.

“Yeah, it feels niiiice…” Rachel agreed, before looking to the dour cultist they kept in tow. “I do think that it was well done of you to grab this guy, Kite, but I still feel a bit bad at leaving a few of them behind to escape.” she continued, referring to some of the scattered forces still left behind in the astral space. While Vista and her had been thorough with those they could reach, their priority had been to come to the assistance of Kite and Phiona once the young master had properly hit his stride.

“It is regrettable, but we can’t risk lingering in case our enemies would have fled and locked the aperture behind them. Or summoned reinforcements.” Phiona said. “Much the same as when we decided upon our plan and splitting our forces; Sometimes necessity needs to be the deciding factor before thoroughness.

“I for one never complained about the plan. It fit my path splendidly well, as we had to keep any reinforcements properly occupied to avoid them flooding the camp and making our eventual escape that much harder.” Vista said, shrugging without much care.

“An easy sentiment to have when you already know you survived. Have you already forgotten that I brought you back from the brink of death at least twice? Keeping you alive sure is stressful. Should you seek marriage, I strongly recommend a potent healer.” Rachel jibed.

“I thought a rumor was already spreading that you and I are about to marry.” Vista shot back.

“Oh we don’t know that yet, it was just you speculating.” The red-haired Geller retorted with a roll of her eyes before, pausing and giving him a theatrically thorough inspection. “And besides, I could definitely imagine worse.” she finished, voice full of overplayed appreciation.

This was apparently a bit beyond what the young noble had been expecting, as he stammered slightly, even blushing a little, all of it to Rachel’s great delight. Both Kite and Phiona shared the sentiment and the elation which gave rise to this conversation, only their captive’s mood remaining sour.

“I only agreed to get us out of there, not to put up with your childish antics.” he muttered, loudly enough for all to hear.

“Oh I believe you forget the part where you would also cooperate with the adventure society, being most accommodating.” Phiona said, turning to the man. “Do not pretend like dying inside that astral space was in your interests as well. With our reports of your cooperation in the end, I believe that you have a chance of at least keeping your life. A slim one, but a chance nonetheless.”

She only got a defiant look in way of response before the man averted his eyes. Kite could empathize a bit with the man, as it had basically been a choice between two unpleasant outcomes, but his sympathies ended at the theoretical. From what little he knew of the path this man followed, similar if not the same to the blood cultists of the war, the man would have to make a good case indeed for execution not to become his fate. As he had probably killed and, to Kite’s revulsion, eaten people, mercy was not a feeling that came as readily as it might have in other cases.

Still, Kite was thankful that the man had at least been cooperative enough to get them out of there, after a bit of coercion. He had initially tried to broker for his freedom, but seeing it was an unacceptable route for the adventurers had curtailed his ambition. But Kite had to admit that the man was a skilled ritualist, and had tried memorizing as much as he could from seeing the man complete the ritual to unseal the aperture, noting to himself to have Braid teach it to him if the masked man possessed the knowledge.

While their prisoner was a useful potential source of information, his presence did complicate things. With the loss of Missus and Rachel not having brought the materials to resummon the snake familiar, they were one person too many as neither Whimmy nor Glint could carry a third rider.

“-and that is why the only reasonable solution is for me to stay behind.” Phiona continually argued. “There aren’t many of them left, and I might even be able to follow one or two of them when they exit.”

“And I still think it sounds stupid, Nona!” Rachel retorted. “What if they suddenly get reinforcements? What if a silver-ranker shows up? Or someone else from the bastards who sent these ones after us in the first place?”

“That is incredibly unlikely. And besides, with your mounted speed, you’ll be back in the city in but two days if you ride hard and take minimal stops to sleep. With an incident such as this, the society will probably even portal an investigation team here.”

Rachel seemed to be ready to protest again, when Vista broke in. “I do not like it either, Rachel, but Phiona is right. And I promise to leverage everything I can to make aid come to her swifter than the first ray of dawn crests the horizon.”

“I’m sorry Rachel, but I believe that teacher is right. And of us all, she is the swiftest and most able to make her escape should trouble find her. If our enemies are foolish enough to try and catch the sun in order to prevent the passing of dusk, then all the better.”

The red-haired Geller looked at them both with thinned eyes. “Damn you pretty men and your poetics…” she muttered, before turning to her cousin. “Fine! But you better be careful, Phiona Alfrieda Agnes Geller, or I’ll get on the nearest waterlink for your parents to come and get you out of whatever trouble you may be in.”

“In that case, I better be very cautious indeed, cousin.” Phiona smiled, not phased by the outburst. “Having my parents come here would defeat a lot of the purpose of me running off, now wouldn’t it?”

“Then I believe it is settled.” Kite said. “But I echo her sentiment, teacher. Please be careful.”

“I will, Kite. Trust me in this.” Phiona said, looking at the predawn sky. “Then you should get going after we shuffle some supplies around. The sooner you leave, the sooner we can have this particular trip over and done with.”

As they began taking stock of their inventory, transferring the most concealable tent and other necessary supplies to Phiona for her stay, Kite took Vista aside for a private conversation, Whimmy and Glint providing some distractory noise by playing around to keep their conversation away from bronze-rank hearing.

“What is it, Kite?” Vista asked, clearly curious. The two were definitely more relaxed around one another after working closely together for a while now, the stay in the astral space further spurring that process, but Kite taking such an initiative with the young master was still rare.

“I have a request to ask of you, a boon.” Kite said.

“Oh?” Vista asked with an arched eyebrow.

“I have been thinking about this astral space, and my mind still lingers on what we found in its depths. And I would ask that you not reveal or share anything about that once we return.”

Vista looked at him, now more thoughtful. “You mean the thing that you thought to be a seed?”

“Yes.”

“You want it for yourself?”

“Well, maybe? I am unsure if it is even something someone can claim. But Sage could interact with it, and it felt vast. It would take years, maybe even decades, for something to happen. And I would like the possibility to bring about that change without outside interference.”

“The astral space and surrounding lands is generally considered useless, but such a curiosity in its depths… That might change things.” Vista said, voice serious. “And you are asking me to leave it to you, rather than claim it for my family?”

“I am.” Kite said resolutely.

Looking at him for a while longer, Vista smiled. “Then, if you don’t mind, I will even strive to trump your request. I will keep silent about it and, should you wish for it, I will even assist you in acquiring the land around the astral space if you would ever find yourself with the means to procure it from the city. In return, I want to at least be invited to be here if you succeed. And the karma between us will be considered severed.”

Kite looked at the noble, a relieved smile on his face. “Vista, that sounds like more than any debt between us would warrant.”

“You were crucial to saving Whimmy. And it’s not like my family could do too much with the information other than use it as leverage for some affluent magic society member. I will admit that I would rather see this through with you than bring my family something that is, in the end, just one piece of information to bargain with among multitudes.”

“Then I, Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune, thank you and accept your most satisfactory offer.” Kite said, bowing slightly.

“And I, Relentless Storms hiding Beautiful Vistas, echo the sentiment. It will be quite interesting to see what comes of it.”

“If anything at all.” Kite said, shrugging. “Hopefully, Fortune will remain favorable to my endeavors.”

“And just imagine if it brings about some great beast for us to fight.” Vista said, a bit too eagerly.

Kite laughed. “Then that will be something for you to look forward to. As I said, it will be a process over years.”

“That may be, but in this I will practice the art of patience Phiona is always pestering me about.” Vista said, shrugging. “But now I believe it is time for us to be off. Because I also look forward to coming back home.”

“Now that is a story beyond what I expected, even from this little conspiracy you have found yourself in, young master Relentless.” Carmella Dobrazza, branch director of the Bastion adventure society said, leaning forwards with obvious interest. “And to think that you even managed to wrangle one of the assailants all the way back here with surprising discretion…” she paused, giving them a meaningful smile. “I like it. Most definitely.”

“The idea of waiting until dark and entering as anonymous as possible was Kite’s idea.” Vista said, nodding to where Kite sat at his side in the director’s office. “While we are no stealth-specialists, it should at least delay the news of our return.”

“A delay we will do our best to capitalize on.” Dobrazza said. “I believe that this little incident, while unfortunate, has the possibility to bring many things to light. Or at least narrow our search significantly. Especially as it proves that someone is after you, young master, and on a more substantial scale than expected. Braid and the other investigators might even kiss you out of sheer appreciation, although with all that cloth I would imagine it to be a rather lackluster experience.” she finished with a disappointed sigh.

“But you will send help to Nona- my cousin? Soon?” Rachel asked in the silence that followed.

“Of course! My dear deputy is already arranging things as we speak. In but a few hours, the area around the astral space will see quite the upswing in activity.”

Rachel looked relieved at the director’s response, leaning back in her chair once more.

“Then what do you wish for us to do now, director?” Kite asked. “We wouldn’t want to compromise the advantage that you might yet seize in the search for answers.”

“Such an intelligent and far-sighted young man.” Dobrazza almost purred, delight playing in her glowing eyes. “It would indeed be best if you could remain here at the society campus for at least a day, since I doubt that we could curtail the information even for that long. As our guests of course. But I have not the authority to keep you, but I will stress that I will view your cooperation most favorably.”

Both Kite and Rachel looked to Vista, who they both expected to be the most opposed to such a proposition. But the noble just shrugged. “I believe that returning home, even if I had the means to do so covertly, would only risk the information spreading. The hints of informants and conspirators within the family, staff and retainers were the very beginning of this whole contract, was it not?”

“A youth showing some foresight and a sensible young master in my office at the same time.” Dobrazza said, laughing as Rachel started at her use of the word ‘sensible’. “I will indeed claim to live in interesting times! But thank you. The adventure society will of course let you recover in comfort, as I assume that the journey back was quite the forced march.

Please rest easy, knowing that you have done something quite remarkable here, and that should hopefully make a substantial difference for us in the days to come.”

When staying at the adventure society before during his career, Kite had used the communal accommodations available; basically a dormitory of bunk beds able to house dozens of adventurers, but only filled to capacity during monster surges.

It turned out that staying as invited guests was a different kind of experience. Bastion’s campus apparently had a few suites for visiting people of importance. While the standard was not equal to that of the city lord’s palace back in Gilded or the Relentless family’s main estates, it was still clearly above the decently priced inn where Kite and the Gellers were staying. Having been served food and been allowed to rest for a few hours, Kite was awoken from his nap on one of the soft couches by Rachel crying out.

“Nona!”

The door had not yet opened, but as he awoke, Kite could feel the familiar aura getting closer to the door. His teacher had apparently felt her cousin’s approach, deftly receiving the charging hug from the other Geller barely a second after opening the door.

Vista had also started awake from where he lay sleeping against Whimmy’s side on a plush bed in one of the adjacent rooms, coming out to join the reunion.

“Welcome back, teacher. I see that things progressed as well as we could have hoped for.” Kite said, walking over to the embracing pair.

“It did. Fortunately, the wait was mostly uneventful. A small group of the other cultists excited the astral space about a day after you had left. I followed them until they chose to scatter, noting their directions but otherwise returned to watching the aperture cave until the reinforcements from the adventure society arrived. It did not feel like the wisest move to initiate more lengthy tracking operations, as it is far from my specialty.” Phiona explained, eventually untangling herself from her cousin to join them at the seating area. “Any news here? Or from the trip back?”

“It was exhausting, but uneventful.” Kite said. “Our captive was rather silent but only made a few token attempts at escape. It felt more like his pride demanded it rather than him actually expecting success.

The adventure society has him in custody now, although we have heard little else so far. But I imagine that the investigators will be very interested in what he has to say and what trails might be revealed as a result.”

“Then I believe some waiting might be in order, even preferred. If you haven’t you all should really take time to meditate properly now that you aren’t rushing between battles or back to the city.” Phiona said, looking at them all. “It is rare with this kind of target-rich environment outside the surges, so we should all hopefully see some progress.” And with that, she found a comfortable spot on one of the couches and assumed a meditative position.

As he sat down, following his teacher’s advice along with the rest, Kite had to admit that he had indeed missed falling deep into meditation. There had been some time in the caves of the astral space between their little strikes, but it hadn’t been easy to allow his mind to relax enough to really delve into the depths of all the impressions and experiences that he had been through recently.

And as expected, there was indeed progress. Bronze-light welled out of him, as well as the others, bathing the room in flickering shadows from the multiple sources of light. But one light broke the pattern, its bronze light having distinctive brighter spots of shining silver.

“Congratulations, Nona! Your second power to reach silver!” Rachel exclaimed happily. “Which one was it?”

“Bends of the river.” Phiona said. Kite didn’t think that he had ever seen her truly beaming as she did at that moment.

“Not surprising. You use that all the time.” Rachel commented.

“Which one is that?” Vista asked, curious.

“The one where her staff goes all…” Rachel explained, omitting the last word to instead make wiggling motions with her arms and fingers.

“Congratulations, teacher.” Kite said, echoing Rachel’s smile. “Having a power reach silver… It does seem quite far off.” While he had felt continual progress, it was continually slowing down. Kite had been warned that this would be the case, but that didn’t entirely remove the frustration.

“Patience, dear student. I have no doubt that your path will take you to silver and beyond.” Phiona said with her teacher’s voice. “And I believe that there has been enough celebrating. We should get back to it. Our actions here might cause quite the ripple in this little mystery, and we better be as ready as possible, should we prove to be caught up in it even more.”

Mistress Withers was walking at a brisk pace through her family’s compound in the city, her taking little care with her silver-rank speed as her passing caught rich drapes to flutter and a pair of expensive paper fans adorning one wall to be torn from their fittings.

“Have One-winged Heron attend to me immediately.” was all she snapped to one of the family’s manservants who had to dive out of the way of her advance, the doors to her study slamming shut shortly thereafter. Withers threw the scroll she had been carrying down on the table before she raised one hand, crackling with lightning, and was just about to discharge the destructive magic when she stopped herself at the sight of her favorite painting which would have been the casualty of such an act, along with the wall behind it.

“Damn that brat. And damn the chairwoman. I told them. I told them all along.” she muttered as she began pacing. She could even remember the glint in the chairwoman’s eyes at the last meeting, filled with that frustrating superiority, as if daring Wither to do something other than her wishes. And still, her informant had just brought her words; Vista had reappeared back in the city earlier that day, apparently through more covert means, as had his entourage.

“I’ll show her results. Actual results.” was all she had time to promise herself as an aura announced itself outside the doors. A pulse of Wither’s own aura invited her retainer to enter, the human woman gliding in before swiftly closing the doors after her. Her steps were soft and her bronze-rank aura tightly controlled, not showing the traces of cores like mistress Wither’s own.

“Mistress called.” her retainer said, bowing. As always, One-winged Heron wore the veil assigned to her and her companions, her face obscured yet her aura familiar.

“Retainer, there have been some unfortunate and unpleasant developments which I wish to correct. As such, I have deemed it to be the time to properly unsheathe the blade that you and your brothers have been forged into.”

“Mistress? Who will be the target?” the woman asked, eyes remaining locked on the floor, but Wither could still sense her eagerness shuddering through her aura.

“There has been a rather troublesome young man who has been one of the impediments to our interests for a while. Should he rise to be the city’s chosen for the grand proving, this will only further cement the old blood’s authority in future decades. As my colleagues' so-called measured approach has failed, it is now time for more decisive action.

In just over a week there will be a celebration at the Relentless’ household in honor of the birthday of the mistress of the house. You will infiltrate the house before then and set up the death of young master Relentless. I will give you the passphrases to what remains of our people on the insides. Make your deed send a message as well as ensure either extraction or annihilation for yourselves.

As you have the means for both, I will assume that your success is already assured. Or am I mistaken?”

“Of course not, mistress. As your blades, we will carry out our purpose or succumb to glorious annihilation in the attempt.” the bowing woman said, her excitement only growing.

“Excellent. You have your orders. Carry them out.” mistress Withers finished, dismissing the retainer with but a gesture. The birthday celebration was well before the next board meeting, giving her ample time to make further preparations after the young master was finally dead. And through the little collaboration with some of her contracts, all reports indicated Heron and her fellows to have become the perfect deniable assets in both success and failure.

“Our rise will indeed be on top of the relics of the past.” she thought, having calmed down as she looked out over Bastion, giving the scroll with the party invitation a glance. “And mine will be the fastest rise of them all.”

“K-Kite! You are back!” Brook exclaimed, starting slightly as she had looked up the piles of scrolls she had been cleaning and categorizing, a small trail of dust constructs shaped like ants helping her carry the different volumes to their designated places.

“Greetings, fair Sage.” Kite said, looking at the small spectacle of conjured helpers. “I see that you have continued to practice.”

“Oh, yes. They are very helpful.” Brook said, looking at the small constructs. “Thank you. It was a most marvelous gift.”

Kite thought she seemed a bit subdued during the last statement, but refrained from looking further into her aura. “Thank Sage. It was most adamant about the gift. I have had to purchase a calligraphy book for it to enjoy while waiting, else it grows a bit restless.”

Brook couldn’t help but smile at remembering the familiar’s antics, even if her gaze drifted off into the distance as she seemed to be thinking of something.

“Do you need to return to work? I can always come back la-” Kite began, but she quickly interrupted him.

“No!” she burst out, before blushing and shrinking down a bit. “But maybe we can go somewhere else? A walk?”

“Then lead on, fair Sage.” Kite said, falling into step beside her.

The trip out from the magic society campus was spent with Kite giving a very cryptic explanation of their trip, the common areas being crowded as usual.

“-so while I have been back for two days, there were certain things that needed clearing up. With the adventure society, that is. So I came here to see you as soon as I was able.” he finished, the rather vague explanation feeling quite unsatisfactory. Brook didn’t seem to mind, gaze once more lost in the distance as she listened, nodding along to his words.

“At least I am glad you are back safely. You implied trouble, but as all three of you are here I assume it went well?” she eventually asked, smiling down at Glint who had come out of her bottle to receive some affection.

“We are, but I will admit that some parts were certainly… challenging. And that these surroundings are a much welcome change of surroundings.” Kite finished, gesturing over the small park they had found themselves in. Located not far from the magic society, its location up at the First step provided it with plenty of scenic spots looking out over the city and harbor, now gleaming in the afternoon sun.

As the silence stretched on, Kite once more resisted the urge to take a peek at the aura of his companion, instead turning to her where she stood near the railing, close to the drop down to the Second step.

“Brook? Is something the matter?” he ventured, choosing to put words to what he was picking up.

The silence stretched on, before she sighed and nodded. “It is. Or- I don’t know. Is it really a matter. Every time I try, I find it hard to speak of, words failing me.”

“I see.” Kite said, trying to read her troubled expression. “Then is it alright if I ask you questions instead?” He asked, choosing to go the route that he had often chosen when they were younger and she had trouble expressing herself.

As she nodded, still not meeting his eyes, he continued. “Has someone hurt you? Or threatened you?” Brook shook her head in response.

“I see. I, for one, am glad to hear that.” he said, continuing. “Then has something else happened? To you or your family?”

“No. They are fine. We are fine.”

“Then are you well? Physically?”

“Yes.”

“Then is it me? Or something I have done?”

“I- No- or-” she began, flustered before turning to him. “Don’t you already know? Can’t essence users read the auras of others?”

Kite was a bit taken aback by the tone of her voice. It wasn’t accusatory as he might have expected, but rather a bit pleading.

“Well, it takes practice and isn’t akin to mind reading, but I can usually catch a general mood. And if I look further I can often glean more, especially from someone unprotected like you. But I rarely do, as it is quite rude to intrude like that.”

Brook nodded along, took a breath to visibly steel herself and spoke: “Then please, look at mine. And tell me what you see.”

“Are- are you sure?”

“I am.” she said, voice faltering slightly. But even in her surface aura, he could see a bit of determination.

Kite looked at his childhood friend and former lover, their present bond still in turmoil. Then he nodded. “Then I will. But tell me if you would like me to stop. You won’t feel anything per se, but it might still make you feel vulnerable if I start sharing what I see.”

As she only gave him an urging nod in response, Kite took a breath and then stopped restraining his aura, instead reaching out to start gently sifting through Brooks' weak and uncontrolled one. It had been a long time since he practiced this, but Serene had been an excellent teacher.

“You seem to be nervous. A tiny bit afraid even, but I don’t think it is of me. But there is turbulence… There, a current of fear again. Did you just think about something in particular? Oh, sorry, moving on… But it would help if you reflected some more on what you wanted to tell me, or for me to see.

Good, I can see that you are calming down. Now, I will go a bit deeper. There is a bit of happiness and joy, I think. And a fair bit of attraction. Oh, sorry, but you don’t have to blush. It is only natural. I have a friend, Serene, who I have told you about? She is terrifyingly perceptive of these things, and according to her, such passing feelings are very common no matter your intentions. But something else resides here along with it…”

Focusing, Kite closed his eyes to give his spiritual senses his full attention. “I think… it is hard to interpret. But I think it is resolution and…” he trailed off, opening his eyes to look at Brook. “Regret.” he finished, having felt the two concepts thoroughly intertwined. Accompanied by fear and a bit of lust, but these had been peripheral and surface level. “I see.” he said with a sigh.

By now, big tears had welled up in Brook’s eyes and had begun trailing down her freckled cheeks. “I’m… I’m sorry, Kite…” she managed to choke out between sobs.

Kite nodded to a nearby bench, guiding her over as they sat down next to one another. “It would seem that you have made up your mind.” he said gently. “But why didn’t you just tell me?”

She sniffed a few times, barely able to look at him. “You- you know how I get. With these things. And it wasn’t easy. To find out. In another life, or if I had just been stronger, or braver… Things might have been different.”

“But the way things are, and the life I live…”

“Kite, I just can’t see myself being together with someone who is so often away, and almost always in danger. I don’t think I could have that role in your life, and I would not want to put myself in it either. But you are such a wonderful person, in so many ways the boy I fell in love with. And it hurts that I can’t just embrace that.” The words had come tumbling out, as they were prone to do with just the right amount of guidance and space.

Kite sighed again, looking out over the city, the afternoon sun peeking through the cloud cover to cast the water in the harbor aglow. Spring was on its way, even as something else had just shed its last leaf.

Silence reigned for a while, before he turned back to her. “Thank you, Brook. For at least showing me when words failed. I… I don’t really know what I feel. Both before and after, there is still turmoil. Which in itself should have told me enough, I think. If we had not figured things out by now, if I didn’t feel more clearly even after our time spent together… I think I understand you, Brook. And what you feel. Even if it hurts a bit to admit. It…” he sighed. “It would seem like the sage and the vagabond were not meant to have such roles in this story.”

“Which makes the tale a sad one.” Brook said, sniffing. “And what happened to the warrior-sage that you always called yourself?”

“Well, you are clearly the sage here. As for me, I sure am a warrior, but I must admit that I have not kept up my studies as well as auntie Crow would have wished. And I think that there will be quite a lot of traveling ahead of me on this path of mine. So vagabond feels fitting. ”

“It does have a certain poetic flair. The tale of the sage and the vagabond.” Brook said, a sad smile showing on her tear-streaked face.

“And while it took a sad turn, it was at least our choice this time.”

“It was…” Brook said, looking out over the city. “I wonder if our teenage selves didn’t have it easier, having the choice made for them.”

“So far, growing up seems to indeed complicate things.” Kite agreed, sitting in silence at her side and taking in the view. A few minutes later, he turned back to her again. “But, how do you want to do things from here? Because I will admit that I have really enjoyed your company. Hearing of your work, talking, reminiscing… It has been nice.”

“It has. That was part of what made it so hard to realize my feelings on the matter.” Brook said. “But I agree. Does- does that mean that you will come back? And visit me at work? Or go out to eat? Or visit the family again?”

Kite looked at her for a while, finding that the answer came easy. “If the fair sage would have me, then I would indeed want to be graced with her presence again.”

“Kite, be serious.” she chided, eyes thinning further as he chuckled at her response.

“Sorry, sorry.” he said, making a placating gesture. “Yes, Brook. I would really like that. If you truly do not mind. And as long as you relay our talk here to your mother to prevent any… misunderstandings.” he finished, emphasizing the last word with a wink.

“She already knows. Was actually surprisingly helpful in talking about it.” Brook said. Kite could not help himself to take another look into her aura. Not to pry too much, but to reassure himself that this was something that she actually wanted. Finding no obvious doubts or falsehood, he once more retracted his aura senses.

“Well, then I hope that they will welcome me back once more.” Kite said, both of them rising to their feet. There was an awkward pause, none of them really knowing what to do.

“I… I suppose I will see you later then, Kite.” Brook said, breaking the silence.

“That you will. And you know where to find me.” he said. “See you soon, Still Brook in Blooming.”

“Kite? What are you doing up here~?”

Kite started slightly as a squeaking voice surprised him. He turned from where he had been sitting staring out over the ocean from the rooftop veranda of their inn. It was little more than a platform with a railing and a bench, the tall building providing a great view over the harbor and the sunset.

“Oh, Wander.” he said, wiping away a stray tear. “I did not hear you. But I assume that is the point of that form. How goes the search?”

“Well, thanks to a certain someone getting into trouble, Braid and Azure are working me absolutely ragged~.” the brown rat said, making her way up onto his lap before plopping down on its rear to look up at him, whiskers wiggling. “But we have several juicy leads, so I guess I should not complain. But what about you? Did the date not go well~?”

“I thought you looked in on all of our meetings so far?” Kite asked her, with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, no. I stopped after you asked me to. But I saw the two of you from afar just a few hours ago, and being a paragon of respect for the integrity of others, I made sure to keep my distance~.”

“I see.” Kite responded, an eyebrow raised.

“And as for now, tears are usually bit of an hint to the result. No need to spy to figure that out. Did she break your heart? Want me to bite her? I am very good at biting just the right amount to get the point across~.”

Kite chuckled at her words. “No, that will not be necessary. Things have ended, but I am not sure that there even were too many things there which could end. More like threads from the past left hanging, now resolved.”

“Then why the tears? That sounds like wayyyy more mature an ending than I have ever been involved in~.”

“Maybe because of the biting?” Kite asked, receiving only a withering glare in response. He was quite impressed that the little rat had managed it. “But as to your question… I was just sitting here and trying to figure that out.

I think I am in mourning, but not of us right here and now. But I mourn what was forced to end back when we were younger. And what could have been now, had our paths been different. It feels… right to give those threads of fate these feelings. Deserving.”

Wander looked up at him for a long moment.

“Kite~?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you are not some ancient, earnest sage just playing pretend as a bronze ranker~?”

“Oh, I am quite sure.”

“Because that does not sound like how most in their early twenties would have dealt with emotions like these. Especially not any of my former… entanglements.”

“Then maybe you should get to know wiser people?” Kite retorted, earning a squeaking giggle from the rat.

“I suppose that is so~.” she said, seeming wistful for a while before looking back up at him. “But, for what it’s worth-” she began, the rat waddling up to his stomach and hugging it with tiny arms. “- I’m sorry, Kite. For how things ended~.”

Kite looked down at her, and couldn’t help but smile at the sight, even as some new tears blurred the image and the sunset in the distance. “Thank you, Wander. I am too.”