Fantasy A Witch's Familiar (RIP)

[Aron the Aron]

---

Ambition City - The King's Academy
First day of Serpent, 493 NE​

---

The harsh sun of Ballad beated down upon Xeria as she stepped off the manicured stone bridge of the Academy's grand entrance into one of its many halls of learning. The smell of morning dew and wildflowers assaulted her nostrils as a group of wizened Mages strode past on their daily pilgrimage to the hallowed castle, herded by a grandiose Archmage garbed in fanciful robes. Under one shoulder, the once-orphan carried a leather binder which held all manner of hastily-scrawled texts and notes regarding the theories of basic magic. With it sat the key to the rest of her life: a sealed flask of foreign blood, with which she was to commence the summoning of her Familiar.

To say Xeria was nervous was a gross understatement. Not even a year ago was she a mere orphan wallowing within the alleyways and seedier parts of Ambition City, herded like cattle in one of its many dilapidated orphanages; now she was within reach of escaping the underbelly she had spent her whole life in. The life of a Witch was one filled with hope and potential that attracted many young girls to test their affinity with the Arcane, and Xeria was one of the lucky orphans who happened to nurture such a rare gift. Unluckily, she was one of the few who happened to nurture such a rare gift while being nameless orphan, so to say that the past year of studies alongside some of the brightest minds of the Kingdom generated quite the culture shock for her.

A sigh, just one of many to be made that day, escaped her lips. There was little use pondering and fretting over the "what-if's" of that day, not when she had already made every preparation possible beforehand. Besides, she was just stepping inside the grand library.

---

The King's Academy - The Dragon's Archive
First day of Serpent, 493 NE
​

---

The final bits of foreign blood dribbled on Xeria's hands as she drew the last circles onto the Library floor. The only other eyes watching her every move were that of the Academy Professors, silently scrutinizing her actions and reactions as she dusted the dust off her withered gloves. Everything was going right so far; she had aced the oral and practical examinations and had only the summoning left to do. If she succeeded, she would be welcomed as a Fledgling Witch and admitted to continued studies inside the Academy.

"There... The rituals are done." She muttered to herself, stepping back to prepare for the final aspects of her summoning: the chant. Nothing could afford to go wrong in the chanting process, because one small mispronunciation would drastically alter the ritual into something Xeria would have no way of fixing. The Draconic Tongue was fickle like that, but that was probably why it made for the perfect catalyst in enacting ancient rituals...

"Ekess wer ithquenti si etrerzz: Voenllyl sia huven..."

The words felt foreign on Xeria's tongue despite countless hours spent practicing the complex language. The harsh and gutteral tones clashed with the smooth pronunciations, making for an uncomfortable feeling on her throat as she pressed onward.

"Ekess wer ithquenti si ulnot: Fehlim ve totafit..."

The circles she had painstakingly carved and painted with the mystery blood began glowing in hues of bright light. First in hues of iridescent white...

"Ekess wer treskri si relgr: Nymuer sia ivah..."

... before glowing a sinister blood red...




"̵̢̨̨͕̺̟̘̰̙̻̖̳̥͇͎͍͎̜̮̥͓̰̣̔͊̊̐͒̉͌̆͗̑͑͌̍̔̑͒͐̌͑̌̄͝͝ͅȆ̸̘̤̳͂̐̊̈́͊̈́̀̓̽͋͛̈͐͂͗̓̕k̶͚̦̙̠̎̀͛͒̄͐̓̀̐͒̏̀̕è̴͎̓̏̉̊̄̐̈͛̿͆͛̌̽̒̇̕ṣ̵̼̟̻̙̟̪̗̝͎̭̞͓̘̽͝ͅͅͅs̴̨̛͎͕̙̺͕̩͔̮̟̮͈̥͙͇̎͌̇̋̍̌̍̌̊͝͠ ̷̡̎̿͐̐̓͋̅́́͜͝͝͠͝w̴̨̼̰̖̼̻̰͛̍̿́̍̽̐̽̈̅̅̀̑̚͘͝͠ẻ̷̦̲̼͚̩͙͆͋̎̊̆̍̇͛́̓̔̔̐̔̉̀̔̔̍̇̚͝ŕ̶͈̂͗ ̷̩̗̦͕̯̳̠͔̲̣̀͊̑̊̾̈́̇͛̆͌̋̅̔͝d̵͎̟͛̆͂̄̔̍͐̊́̾͂̍̾͛̇̍̿̄̉͝r̴̡̨̤̮̗̜̫̟̤͙̘̝͎̬̽̍͑̐̀̋͆̌́̔͌͗͆̂̔̐͛̌̂̇̂͝ͅę̵̢̝̤̟̫̜̙̰̗̣̠̱̟̹̰͎͕̣̤͈̟̯̍̀́̕k̵̛͉̼̯̦̲̹͎̀̈́͂̀͐͋͂̈́͑͠͝ͅi̵̢̡̢̛̛̙̟͉̩͖̼͙͉͖͖̪̥͉͙͙̤͍̫͎̹͊̏̒͐̀̈͒̈͊̿̿̀̆̿̇͐͘̚̚͘͜͝͝m̴̢̛̹͍̺̗̽͒͊͗̔̽͊̓͐̾̈́̉̉̾̈́͊̅̂̕͘̕ ̵̧̨̻̟̲͈͔̙̜̗͗̚ṗ̶̧̱̫̝̬̫͈͂͠ͅư̷̧̳̻̜͔͒͗̈̏͌̇͊̑͗̿̏̈̀͜͜͜͝͝͠t̷͕̬̝͈̯͕̝̦̪͖̹̫̹̟̜̥̟̗̅̄̉̂͋̐̅̔̀̌̈̂͌͜ͅö̶̯̰̗́͗͑̈́͆͛͊̊͗̓̈́̀͊̆͊̽̕̕̕͘̕͝ḻ̶̝̰̥̤̬̻̒̊̀̽͑̎͐̊͛͠e̶̡̛͇̘̰̫̳͆̉̃̍̑̓͐̔̚̚:̷̡̢͍̩̯̤̺̳̜̤̲̖͇̖͔̘̜̙̞̾͜ ̴̮͇͓̯̹̳͓͆͆͑̂̓̂̀̾̌͐̀̏̆̓̏̔͆͝͠͝C̵̢̟̦̖͙̘̥̟̬̣̦͖̘͖̽͆̈́͒̎͝ͅo̸̜͎̳͉̖͇͍͍̤̥͍̪̹̣͎͓͔͎̝͖̻̭̎̉͆̅͊̌̀͂̎̏͜͜͝ņ̵̬̰͓̮͍͖̱̗̜̩͎͎̗͙͉͈̍̋͋̈́̓́͋͌̈͊́͌̚ͅf̴̨̛̛̘̫̮̤̮̟̺̤̼̫̙͙͉̭̭̪̜͓̮̤͓̀̆̀̉̌̔̋̓͊̉̐̾̅̅̀̓͝͝n̴̢̢̛̙̼͈̝̠͖̳̝͚̗̙̙̩̟̰̓̎̀̓̐̇͐̃̾̅̓̚͜͝ͅ ̸̧̨̪̤̺͖̣̤͈̥̗̜͑̓̐̔͜e̶̡̢̡̝͖̜̳̙̼̬̬͎̜̹̲̭̿̔͛̔̈k̷̜̬̹͙͐̍͌̂̒̄̂̉͒̊̿̊̒̍̈̈́̿̊̚͝͝͠ę̴̧͔̤͎͇̦̳͈̻̈̀͛̀̏̑̃̔̎͂̒̈́͋͑͒ṣ̴̰͍̫̯̰̭͈̦̲̥͖͉͔̥̩̝̫͉̤͈̟͗̅͆̊̉̽͐͊̅̎͐̓̏̕͝s̶̡̡̢̱̦͍͎̙̰̤̺̰̽͗̓̓͗̿̃͛͋̿̈̏̐̆̔̅̀̚̚̚͝ ̶̛̻̘̘́̆̑̎̌͗̊͘͘v̴̱͐̔̍̎̌͐͆̇̈̂͂̒́̄̈́̊̕͠͝ě̴̳̱̗͇̦͋̄͆̒̽̾̽̿̆!̶̪͓̜̻̹̭̙̱́͗͒̿̓̇͂̃̈̅̃͌͝"̵̛̗̞̫̒̈͂̂͛̇́̐͐̈̏̔́́͛͂͝
̵͕̩̜̰̺̣̥̩̲̗̙̠͐́̈͗͐̑̀̆͋̒͘͝
̵̧̰̗̺͖͖̫͕͖͈̹̭͈̭̺̝̙̗̗̠̜̖̐̐̐̃̎̀̏̔͋̂̈́͜



... before suddenly being engulfed in an all-concealing void of black.

Xeria had nearly fallen over when she realized what her ritual had done, left gaping stupidly as the spherical void that had once been her Ritual Circle eerily hummed. All around, the Academy's Professors warily raised their staffs and swords in preparation for the worst, but poor Xeria was left paralyzed to the floor as she gazed on. She didn't know what was scarier: staring into the void she had created... Or seeing a pair of eyes stare back from within that very void...

Almost as quickly as the shadowy ball of null appeared did it disappear, melting away like wax over an open flame. The eyes Xeria had stared at through the shadows unbelievably had an owner.

An owner she had summoned.

 

[That Lass Over There]

- Some Time Ago -​

"------?"

She looked toward the source of the familiar voice, wondering who had called her, but she couldn't recognize the person standing there. They towered over her, a feeling that was nostalgic for some inexplicable reason. The practical giant a little less than twice her size put his palm on her head, brushing hairs out of her face with his palm.

"Are you okay?" His deep, gravelly voice spoke softly to her as he kneeled to be closer to her height, and her heart felt like it would go running from her chest if it could as she stared into eyes her mind couldn't recognize.

"... Mn." A small little nod, and a sweet little voice that couldn't have been her own. "Everyone else seems to not be though... Maybe, would --------- help?"

The man just laughed at her proposition and waved her off to go on her self appointed mission. What did she do then? Somehow, this, she didn't feel like it went well. No, definitely... This day, was probably one of the worst regrets of her life. But she wasn't sure why.

--

She was bigger now. Her hair clung to her forehead as if glued there by the humidity, and the cicadas blared in her ears as if competing with the stench in her nose to see which sense could be overwhelmed first. Putting away the weight in her hand, she picked back up her bag, stumbling along the road alone.

--

"... I think it is beautiful." Staring at what they had been excitedly talking about for weeks, that empty blue vastness, she could only say it with disappointment.

"Mm, yup! Actually - "

--

"-------!" Stretching out her arm, she wasn't able to reach that person, and it was the highest and last regret of her life.

... Of her life.

... Ah.

It had been such a short thing, yet now she could barely remember any of it. Or maybe it had always been like that, but she had never wanted to look back to realize how patchy her memory was. No, maybe it had been a long time, this wasn't the first time she's been pulled through this mess of a life. Maybe the gods had a special plan for her after her death. Maybe this was what it was like to be a vengeful spirit. Would she wake up to find demonic arms of hers tearing someone apart? Would they deserve it? Would she be happy with that?

Regardless, ending it on this sort of failure... Bitter, it's too bitter. She could almost remember so many sweet moments, wisps of people she knew she'd never forget, but all of them were steeped in regrets. Was she just that pathetic of a person?

--

At some point, only vaguely aware of the situation around her as she lived her blurring life over and over, she felt something open in front of her. Dissatisfied, desperate, and well and beyond a sane mind at that point, she thoughtlessly took the opportunity for change, wanting... something.

At least, that's what she remembered, as she stepped into an unknown world.

The first thing that struck her was the feeling of air on her skin, and the weight of clothes bearing her down. Even so, she felt naked, lacking something, but she didn't know what. More pressing than these trivialities, however, was her surroundings; several adults armed with weapons and long staves that looked impractical surrounded her and another girl, who was shaking in fear. Their eyes had connected before, she realized, when she was stepping through the portal. Those blue eyes had called out to her, and she had answered. Without worrying about the strange clothes of everyone around, or what they might think of her rather ornate short-cut kimono, she stepped forward to close the gap between her and the girl who had called out to her before immediately turning on the spot, raising her arms slightly to shield the girl from the rest of the strangers around them. Even if she didn't have a weapon, her cold gaze still passed over each of them in turn, silently analyzing each from head to toe as she tried to gauge the situation. All of this was strange, but she knew that for whatever reason, she couldn't let the girl get hurt, and while not exactly hostile she wasn't seeing any friends among the people around them.

Unknown to herself, her unchanging face, the manner of her arrival, and how she had advanced on Xeria without warning had all been extreme red flags to the people she was tentatively regarding as hostile; only her quick heel turn and motion to shield Xeria from the view of as many of them as possible dispelled doubts that she might be about to rip the poor fledging witch to shreds, or possess her, or inflict any other sort of horrid fate on her. Then again, her cold gaze afterward towards them spoke of how while the fledgling witch was now safe, they were most definitely not in the same category to this black-featured human looking entity.

 

[That Lass Over There]

Aron the Aron

 

[Aron the Aron]

The first thing that struck Xeria was the unusual air that surrounded the woman that emerged from her Ritual Summon. Tall, mature and bleeding with the very essence of regal femininity, her refined features made her foreign qualities feel all that more pronounced. Her milky white skin contrasted deeply with the darkness of her eyes and the rich blackness of her exotic garments; the noble and classy shape of her face and body was betrayed by the blank, almost morose expression etched on. Not once did the mysterious woman express anything beyond stoic emptiness, but the instant her gaze met Xeria's felt like an eternity compressed into a heartbeat. The way she glided into a protective stand in front of her, stony and taut like a Warrior Queen of legend, assured the Aspirant Witch that whoever her Summon was had no ill intent.

It seemed that lack of hostility was also conveyed to the overwatching Witches and Wizards who were supervising the Summoning, and it was after a long and dragged on moment did everyone lower their arms and staves into a more relaxed guard. Xeria...

Xeria was mesmerized and mystified. This woman had emerged from the very circle she had hewn and drawn just minutes ago, but the orphan had not once heard of anything saying that Summoning Rituals had the possibility to summon another living, breathing human being. By then Xeria had completely forgotten that she had been shaking; her fear had melted away into a childlike curiosity that she had to satiate. Like reaching towards a wild animal, she stretched out her hand and gently grasped the woman's own. The warm and smooth skin, the muscles yet to be pulled taut, and the bones she felt under it all confirmed that yes: the woman standing before her really did exist and was living and breathing.

"Ahem."

The polite cough coming from one of the professors suddenly reminded Xeria that she was still seated on the floor rather gracelessly; after a silent word of thanks did Xeria get up and fix herself into a more respectable state.

"The Ritual has concluded." The voice of another Professor revertebrated throughout the otherwise empty Library. "We of the King's Academy verify that ye: Xeria D'al Circe, are of sufficient talent and standing; from henceforth shall you no longer be an Aspirant, but a Fledgling Magus. Go now with your Homunculus to prepare yourself for your continued studies, with the blessings of us, and the Goddess above."

The way Xeria bowed in deep respect was stiff and robotic, a byproduct of mimicking and failing to imitate what little etiquette she had observed from her fellow Aspirants for the past year. Once she raised her head, she didn't immediately move to leave the confines of the Academy Archives though, instead preferring to stare at her Summon again like an idiot.

"What... What are you?" She almost felt the words spill out as she tried to make sense of everything.

 

[That Lass Over There]

She held vigil for a few moments longer after seeing the surrounding people lower their weapons, but waited until it seemed like they wouldn't be lifting them again. It still seemed odd to her that many of them seemed to be wielding oddly shaped canes and staves, but she did not intend to find out why if the conflict was avoidable. She looked back to see the girl she had moved to protect, only to feel a hand tentatively wrapping around her own. The contact made her breath hitch for a moment, though she had no idea why, and seeing the girl still collapsed to her knees reaffirmed in her heart that this was the right thing for her to do. The girl's curiosity was no bother to her, so she simply stood still and allowed her hand to be taken as she returned her gaze to their surroundings, wondering what sort of situation this was.

'Ritual'? And magicians? A fake person, they're referring to me?

Her takeaways from the difficult to understand speech weren't very useful as far as getting an immediate understanding of the situation, but she implicitly got some things here. The authority of the people that had been raising their weapons moments earlier, at least relative to the girl she was protecting - the social status of this girl, though she had a bit of skepticism as she had never seen a magician before, and finally that from the perspective of these people the two were bound together. After all, Xeria, the girl behind her, had been told to go with her... Somewhere. Relating to studies. Maybe they just meant to proceed into the future or something, the speech had been awfully difficult to listen to with odd word choices in odder places.

Out of the corner of her eye she happened to see Xeria bowing, and in reflex performed her own deep bow, resting her hands on her legs as she inclined her whole body in a single smooth movement. Afterwards though, she didn't spare a glance to the representatives of this 'King's Academy', instead looking to the girl, wondering if it was rude that she had gotten her name from another person rather than an introduction, but there was no way to help what had happened.

Fish out of water she was, she could only blankly stand around and wait for something to happen, though it didn't take long as Xeria - who had been staring at her for what was starting to be an uncomfortable amount of time - finally spoke. To her surprise, though, it wasn't anything like an order or letting her know what they need to do, or what this situation is, but rather an odd question. One that she struggled to answer, to her surprise.

'Fake person'

That's what they had called her. Was that why her memories were so faulty? However, the architecture, clothing, customs - everything about this place seemed unfamiliar as though she had sailed the sea to the distant land where those rumored traders had brought... Something. No, her memories were to spotty to even finish her thoughts and metaphors, but rather than feel frustrated she just moved on. The mismatch between what was and what she knew, would that be something that could happen?

Not liking the idea of standing around in this dusty old library that was oppressively large, she just shook her head and gave a safe response that was more a question of her own than anything else.

Blinking as she answered, "They called me a 'fake person'?" She asked this with a monotone voice, feeling like inflection was never something she was very good at. At the very least, she was sure it had caused her issues before, her inability to put emotion into every single word.

Saying that she's a human is easy, but... Being called something else, and not having the confidence to oppose it - she didn't want to lie to Xeria if that weren't the case. And asking about the label she had been given would serve to maybe answer her own questions of whether that was possibly what she was, so it worked.

"And, should we not leave?" She looked over to the assembled - what she assumed was - senior magicians of this school they had mentioned, wondering if there were others that needed to take this apparent exam, or at the very least if they should move to somewhere more private since they likely had much to talk about.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"They called me a 'fake person'?"

The woman's words sent an uneasy jolt through Xeria; the flat tone in the Homunculus sounded so out of place, and yet paradoxically fit her all the same. "Homunculus...?"

Was the woman in front of her a Homunculus like the Professors said? It would make perfect sense if she was one; the many theories of Bioethics said that most homunculi were often a form of Demi-Human and possessed traits that made them different from a true Human, often more monsterlike body parts or a . But this one was so humanlike, bearing no clear tell that could've otherwise marked her clearly as something other than Human. Maybe it was in how emotionless her voice sounded when she spoke up; was she perhaps a sort of Marionette-like being tha-

"And, should we not leave?"

Rather embarrassingly, it was her Homunculus that had shaken Xeria out of her mad internal ramblings and back into the real world. As if it wasn't enough, it took the white-haired Witch just a little too long to realize what she had just been told before awkwardly coughing, sputtering a few hasty apologies to no one in particular before grabbing her Homunculus by the hand and making her way towards the grand double doors of the Library. Rather than opening the doors up by hand however, Xeria instead thrusted a palm out and quietly muttered another set of words in the Draconic Tongue.

"Ekess voga goawy si tuor; Ekess voga goawy si gethrisj citrel!"

The air in front of the Library doors fizzled and popped with wild fervor, and when Xeria drew near with the mystery woman in tow, reality tore itself a new hole for the Witch and Homunculus to travel through. Raw arcane energy ran chaotic rings around the World Gate Xeria had created with a flick of her hand, maintaining a stable wormhole that she wasted no time dragging her new Summon through.

Stepping through a World Gate was a sensation many first timers would find disorientating and perplexing. Like stepping through a wall of water, Xeria and the mystery woman felt their senses mute as they crossed the boundary, putting themselves in the space between reality for the briefest before finding themselves on the other side. Thankfully Xeria didn't need to enact a counterspell to dissipate the World Gate once she and her Summon passed through safely, for it had already disappeared behind them.

---

The King's Academy - Xeria's Room
First day of Serpent, 493 NE​

---

The room itself was quaint and cozy despite being so sparsely furnished, and Xeria found it homely to have so much space in what was her residence for the past year. Being an orphan, she had little to her name that she could bring with her when she first set foot in the King's Academy, but she felt like she had made the place her own regardless. The wrinkled woolen rug kinked further when she unceremoniously kicked her leather loafers off into the far corner of the room; the ink bottle and feather sitting on her slant top desk nearly toppled over when she threw her heavy coat and wriggly long gloves off and onto it, leaving her in naught but a pair of tights, a rather scandalously short sundress (which did little to hide the nightdress underneath), and her signature Witch's Hat... which fell off her head when she plopped right down on her bed. Now that Xeria was back in the privacy of her room with her Summon, she could get right back to what she had been zoning off for: speculating.

"Now then... Just what kind of Homunculus are you?" She said as she took to staring her Summon in the eye, scanning for any trace of inhumanity that could give some sort of sign as to what kind she was exactly. "You look identical to a Human in every way; it's practically impossible to tell you apart from any ol' Human Being."

 

[That Lass Over There]

When her hand was grasped and pulled she obediently followed along, though she was a bit taken aback by the unintelligible syllables that spilled from Xeria's lips. Only once she saw... something open up in front of them, like a little hole in reality, did it occur to her that it might be the language the fledgling magician uses to enact her spells. Whether because of her natural disposition, or how caught up she was in trying to analyze the situation and what all was happening, other than a slight sinking in her stomach she hardly had any reaction. Only once they had already come out into a somewhat barren room did all the sensations finally hit her, and she stumbled a step forward as Xeria let go of her hand to go get relaxed, taking off clothes and throwing them haphazardly around the room. Since Xeria was distracted with that, she quickly made sure to get rid of the dizziness that had come over her, slightly shifting her weight from one foot to the other until the feeling let up. She didn't want to display such an embarrassing sight as stumbling around because of something that seemed to be natural for the girl in front of her.

Following in Xeria's example, she did take off her platform shoes and carefully put them beside the door, though she wondered if it was alright that she didn't have any inside shoes. Looking back to Xeria, sprawled on the bed, she was unsure of whether the girl had poor manners or if there were just different practices here. She did end up keeping her socks on, unsure where she would put them if she were to take them off.

As she walked back to the center of the room to be a bit closer to Xeria, who was sure to want to continue talking, she carefully brushed the rug to smooth it out with one of her feet, straightening it as well to be parallel with the walls of the room. Looking back up towards Xeria, she held back her comments about the girl's clothing both on grounds that they were not yet that close, and that... Her own clothes, by her standards, weren't exactly that decent either. She wasn't wearing the sarashi she normally did to keep her chest from catching gazes, and the black kimono she wore with white, yellow, and blue star-like sparks embroidered into the fabric barely reached her knees. And besides her socks that had been short due to the summer heat, that was about it. She managed to not be embarrassed, though, sure that she would get an opportunity to fix her appearance soon enough.

Xeria finally asked her a question, seemingly proceeding forward with this assumption that she was a Homunculus, whatever that was. She wasn't sure that assuming so was the best idea, but she wasn't sure how much of her situation was good to share, either. It struck her, by the curiosity that Xeria approached with and the wariness of those representatives that this situation was not exactly the normal of whatever had happened. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't her, and that might not mean good things for coming straight out with everything she knows.

"... I'm not sure. To begin with, I don't know what a 'Homunculus' is. Is it some form of youkai?" In the end, she decided that admitting some level of cluelessness would be good for her case. At the very least, the possible sympathy would not hurt. "Am I... Supposed to remember many things? Everything before now is a haze, or completely missing. And some things don't match up, like the clothing and the architecture. Reading your lips, we're speaking different languages, yet I hear it as my own and you seem to understand me fine. All I know for sure is that when I saw you everything seemed to clear up, and you seemed scared." Though she was going for a genuine plea for understanding and explanations, her tone of voice made it sound more cold, like an analysis of the situation thus far, and rather than highlighting the questions and doubts highlighted the surprising perception she displayed in noticing so quickly that the words she was hearing and the words people were speaking did not match up.

She tried taking a peek out the windows in the moment of silence, but she couldn't make out any details beyond a smudge of various colors. At least she could make out that the sky was still blue. She'd been shown a trick to fix her poor eyesight, but since a conversation was ongoing she didn't want to rudely interrupt and derail it.

Aron the Aron

 

[Aron the Aron]

Any thoughts and convictions Xeria had about her Summon being a Demi-Human were muddied as she pondered the details of her response, hampered by the inherent problems behind the language barrier and its rough translation. Just as how 'Homunculus' became lost in translation to the woman, '妖怪' was completely butchered into something else to Xeria's ears. "Huh? I dunno what you mean by 'strange apparition'; are you talking about ghosts? A Homunculus can be any sort of Demi-Human creature, so I don't see how ghosts can count." She mulled as she reevaluated her first conclusion about her Summon.

"Am I... Supposed to remember many things? Everything before now is a haze, or completely missing. And some things don't match up, like the clothing and the architecture. Reading your lips, we're speaking different languages, yet I hear it as my own and you seem to understand me fine. All I know for sure is that when I saw you everything seemed to clear up, and you seemed scared."

Well that was news to Xeria, and when she perked up and started paying closer attention to the woman she began started to notice the anomalies surrounding her. "You... Don't remember much? That might be a problem?" She said, almost as if the Summoner was the one with the memory problems instead. "That doesn't make a lot of sense. The Summoning Ritual has a lot of haze surrounding its properties and behavior, but not once was memory loss a byproduct in any Demi-Human subjects... Wait a minute, are we speaking different languages? If you don't remember much, how'd you come to the conclusion that we're speaking different languages? But you could be a Demi-Human Homunculus for all I know, albeit one from a... very far off land." Xeria's second look really did note the foreign aspects to her summon; the smooth texture of her strange robes (that were far more ornate than anything Xeria had ever worn) and her oddly shaped socks certainly correlated with her not being from the continent since she couldn't put a finger to their origins.

Actually, the robes and socks of her Summon looked... was risqué the appropriate word to put it? The robe were short and showed a generous amount of her milky-white legs, and the area around her bust seemed just a little too emphasized. Besides that and the socks...

"Erm... Are you uh... Are you wearing anything under that?"

Not the most intelligent question that slipped out of Xeria's lips...

 

[That Lass Over There]

Since she had already realized the language and culture barrier between them, she properly explained: "Youkai do include ghosts, but that is just one variety. There's also demons, monsters, objects that have achieved sentience, minor gods, and... Well, just about anything unnatural is encapsulated by the label." She made little gestures as she spoke, trying to visualize each thing as she named it, though the material she had for visual assistance to her lesson was a little lacking in the bare room.

"You... Don't remember much? That might be a problem?" "That doesn't make a lot of sense. The Summoning Ritual has a lot of haze surrounding its properties and behavior, but not once was memory loss a byproduct in any Demi-Human subjects... Wait a minute, are we speaking different languages? If you don't remember much, how'd you come to the conclusion that we're speaking different languages? But you could be a Demi-Human Homunculus for all I know, albeit one from a... very far off land."

When asked how she reached the conclusion that they were speaking different languages, she paused for a moment, and then repeated what she said before. "I read your lips." She didn't really have a different answer to give, so she just did her best to elaborate. "It's not as though all my memories are gone, and most are hazy rather than being lost. I suppose it was just one of my skills that I had. The sounds you're mouthing don't match up with the ones I'm hearing, and I don't need to be particularly intelligent to notice that I sometimes hear you speaking even while you have your mouth closed in the pause between words or sentences and other times speaking but you've already finished the sentence to my ears - I'm assuming because of a difference in the length of the sentence between the two languages."

She had meant to lead into a line of questioning from the earlier mention of youkai, wondering if - by any possibility - ghosts were something that could be summoned in this 'Summoning Ritual'. However, she was about as certain on that line of thought as everyone else seemed to be about this Homunculus thing; it had to be correct, based on what she remembers, but she can interact with the rest of the world normally, no possession or spiritual powers involved, so it also likely wasn't correct.

When she went to open her mouth though, she felt an uncomfortable gaze that elicited the most dramatic reaction from her yet; her unchanging face turned a bit pink and she looked away as her arms reflexively covered her chest in shame, as though she already knew what question was coming.

"Erm... Are you uh... Are you wearing anything under that?"

It could have been a little more tactful, though!

"Yes, I have something on the bottom..." She had been trying to get attention by dressing like this, but not from some stranger! "... I can't help but have noticed that yours seems to be of better make, though." She had caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eyes when Xeria flopped onto her bed, and she was not above this petty little vengeance at the moment. "Ladies should be careful with short skirts, and you shouldn't have your legs spread. Didn't anyone teach you this?" Though the intent had been to strike back, she quickly went from venom to concern as she looked at Xeria, face back to normal stoicism as her embarrassment had been forgotten... Her arms were still covering her chest, though. Xeria wasn't the one meant to see it.

... Who was?

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Ladies should be careful with short skirts, and you shouldn't have your legs spread. Didn't anyone teach you this?"

Let it be known that despite her intelligence, Xeria was capable of incredible feats of stupidity. So it was probably no surprise to anyone who really knew Xeria (read: no one) that it was with a tilted head and a clueless expression did she only partially understand the connotations. "Um... no? I had to figure out a lot of things by myself in the orphanage." She lifted her nightdress and peered down to check without any grace whatsoever, giving quite the show (black side-ties, nice) as she confirmed to herself that no: nothing was wrong down there. "I guess I could get a new nightdress after this, but getting those new shoes cobbled last week cost a lot." Any meaningful discussion quickly eroded away as Xeria pondered her meagre savings and muttered to herself over how she was going to manage herself for the next week.

One polite cough and she was back on-track though. "Huh? Oh right! We were talking about you!" Xeria conveniently chucked aside how she was the pot calling the kettle black over modesty and got back to her original train of thought. "So you talked about these 'strange apparitions', so... Is that what you're supposed to be? I don't think you're an apparition though." One poke of her belly was enough to confirm that she wasn't a ghost or hallucination of some kind. "Yep, definitely not a ghost; you've gotta be some kind of Homunculus though, or some sort of Demi-Human at the least. You have this... uncanny quality to you I can't put my finger on, and that's not beginning with the language-thingy."

Springing up from her bed (and nearly giving another generous helping), the Witch quickly tip-toed her way over to one of the shelves she had on the far wall of her room, quietly reigniting the candles in her room with a few words of that strange Draconic Tongue while simultaneously pulling out a thick leatherbound book. "Maybe there's something in the Kingdom Bestiary that could shed some light on this; the minimum we could gleam is you being from outside the continent." Opening up the book revealed an intensive codex on all manner of creatures, ranging from innocuous and ordinary to grotesque and unique. None of the entries the woman could get a proper look at bore any resemblance to any Youkai however, and some entries with names she recognized even described totally different-looking creatures altogether!

Definite confirmation that if anything, she was far from home.

(I'm on mobile for this post, so watch for jank!)

 

[That Lass Over There]

With the word 'orphan' coming out, she stopped judging Xeria so much, though it did make her think that she would have much to teach this girl. The childlike innocence with which she pulled up her skirt to check her underwear was almost endearing, though on another front it gave her a headache thinking about the fact that this girl didn't seem to have a second thought about doing so. It did give her a little relief, at least, that Xeria seemed to be considering getting a new nightdress after having it brought to her attention.

"Yep, definitely not a ghost; you've gotta be some kind of Homunculus though, or some sort of Demi-Human at the least. You have this... uncanny quality to you I can't put my finger on, and that's not beginning with the language-thingy."

"... I'm not a ghost?" So that was a possibility. At least, enough of one that Xeria came over to check with a touch that she wasn't one. However, if she wasn't, then what is she? She was almost certain that before she had been called to Xeria by this 'Summoning Ritual' she had been dead. Her last memory, while one of the more hazy ones, was definitely... Well, her last. That feeling of heat, the feeling of blood pouring down her chest, the desperation and regret so potent she still had a bitter taste in her mouth. It was difficult to imagine such a situation as anything other than her death.

Unless... She had been taken before she died, while she was experiencing the revolving lantern? But if so, where were her wounds? Taking a deep breath, trying to steady herself before her tumultuous emotions could surface, she looked at Xeria flipping through the bestiary and decided that this was a line of questioning she wanted to pursue even if it meant something terrible. Because, maybe, she could go back - if just for a moment. All she'd need is a moment.

"Undead. You say I'm not a ghost, but... Is there anything else? My last memory before I came here, it was -" Her throat knotted up, so she stopped for a moment, hand subtly fiddling with the sash of her kimono as her face stayed blank as always. Her voice was monotone, but the pacing of her sentences and choice of words did carry some of her feelings if someone were paying attention. "I died. I'm pretty sure I did. It wasn't very happy, either. I was heavily wounded, and I'm not sure I managed to do what I wanted to in my last moments..." That sort of thing, it often resulted in the person becoming an undead in stories, vengeful and bitter. She didn't particularly feel either of those things, but if by any chance she was still alive...

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Undead. You say I'm not a ghost, but... Is there anything else? My last memory before I came here, it was -" Her throat knotted up, so she stopped for a moment, hand subtly fiddling with the sash of her kimono as her face stayed blank as always. Her voice was monotone, but the pacing of her sentences and choice of words did carry some of her feelings if someone were paying attention. "I died. I'm pretty sure I did. It wasn't very happy, either. I was heavily wounded, and I'm not sure I managed to do what I wanted to in my last moments..."

"Dead?"

The word brought a lot of baggage with it, and Xeria was understandably uncomfortable when the concept of death. Her Homunculus had died before being summoned? The idea didn't immediately make sense to the Witch, and just to make sure she wasn't standing in a room with some sort of zombie, she marched right up to the woman and pressed her ear against her chest. If she was an undead of any kind, then surely she wouldn't be able to detect anything.

The steady rise and fall of her chest paralleled the soft breathing that tickled the Witch's white hair, and the gentle pulse of a beating heart proved to Xeria at least that she hadn't summoned an undead creature. "Hm... Nope! You pass every metric I have to constitute as a living being in my book, so you being some sort of Undead is a no." She said as she pulled away, only more curious as she put a hand under her chin. "And if you did die like you said, then you shouldn't be standing here talking with me; Summoning Rituals and Necromancy don't fall under the same categories of magic. Then again, a lot of the properties surrounding the Summoning Ritual are still unclear and undocumented unlike Necromancy."

Now Xeria had begun turning in little circles as she went on a minor ramble. "It still doesn't answer the question of what exactly you're supposed to be. The best I've got is that you're some sort of Demi-Human Homunculus from outside the continent, but you have clothes and a degree of sapience that contradict that conclusion. The Summoning Ritual can only call forth living beings, and you're very much alive so you being some form of Undead is out the window, but if what you said is true then maybe the Ritual..."

"Hey, do you have anything else that you can recall? How about a name?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

Now that she was becoming somewhat familiar with Xeria's antics, she didn't react at all when the girl strode up to her and did something highly questionable, though she did wonder if Xeria wasn't going to use some sort of hearing aid for what was presumably listening for her heart beat. Which, when told that she did seem to be alive, probably skipped enough to kill her as she thought of there still maybe being a chance to go back. She didn't get the opportunity to ask, though, Xeria immediately moving on with her theorizing, and she didn't want to miss any details as the mysterious Summoning Ritual was again brought up.

"Hey, do you have anything else that you can recall? How about a name?"

"Recall clearly? Not much." She shook her head, and then pondered on the specific question of her name. When that was turning up frustratingly unproductive, she immediately switched to looking for memories where people were talking with her and combing through every moment she could remember, hoping to stumble on it or another detail on accident. When specifically combing through for her name, she did notice that the memories that popped into her head seemed to be very specific ones. The sight of the ocean, and the few battles she seemed to remember living through. "... I don't remember my name. But, I think it might have had some relation to the ocean, or battle? In any case, I was a traveler. And apparently, my life wasn't too peaceful." She looked down at her hand that had been subtly fumbling with her sash, and realized that that was also where she felt like she was missing something. One after another, dots connected in her head, and hopefully not for the last time.

"A sword. I always carried one." She realized that some more elaboration might be required, and quickly followed up; "Long, curved, single-edged, and meant to be wielded with both hands. That was the sort of sword I had. Is there any way to get one that might at least be similar? Other than a visit to the ocean or a hike up to the top of a mountain, it might be the easiest way to stir my memories. And, well, I'm not half bad with it either, if that's a talent you need. I could protect you-"

"- Wait, hang on, before anything else! Since I'm probably alive, is it possible? To go back?! I don't care if it's just for a moment. I need to confirm something- I need-" The sudden spurt of emotion caught in her throat again, and she couldn't finish the thought since she didn't even know what she was going to say. She doesn't actually know what that last regret of hers was. She can hazard a guess that it has to do with protecting someone, but what does she want to confirm if that's the case? If she died protecting them, and there was nobody else as she feels there wasn't, then she'll probably just be going to look at a corpse. Why should she want to do that? Even so, she couldn't deal with this unrest in her heart, so she simply averted her eyes and gripped at her heart through her clothes as she waited for an answer. Biting her lips, because she feared a 'no', after she had somehow convinced herself that it might have the slightest chance of being 'yes'.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"... I don't remember my name. But, I think it might have had some relation to the ocean, or battle? In any case, I was a traveler. And apparently, my life wasn't too peaceful."

Quickly fetching a piece of parchment and a quill pen, Xeria began hastily scrawling ... Something down as her Summon began recounting the fragmented remnants of her memory. Immediately she began with a big question of "Name?" with a massive circle around it before noting what she caught.

"A sword. I always carried one... Long, curved, single-edged, and meant to be wielded with both hands. That was the sort of sword I had. Is there any way to get one that might at least be similar? Other than a visit to the ocean or a hike up to the top of a mountain, it might be the easiest way to stir my memories. And, well, I'm not half bad with it either, if that's a talent you need. I could protect you-"

Xeria's little note-taking paused briefly at the mention of a sword. Certainly no Demi-Human was capable of wielding Human-made weaponry, at least, no Demi-Human she knew. The way the sword was described also raised more questions as Xeria struggled to put a mental image to the wording. "That sounds like a Kriegsmesser to me: large two-handed blade with a curved singular edge. But those are mostly found in the far north, near the Tierreich; I don't know if there are any merchants or smithies who would even carry something as rare as that." If nothing, it was about as foreign as the woman herse-

"- Wait, hang on, before anything else! Since I'm probably alive, is it possible? To go back?! I don't care if it's just for a moment. I need to confirm something- I need-"

"Whoa! Whoawhoawhoawhoa! What!?" An outburst was not one of the things Xeria had been expecting while she wrote, so when she looked back down and saw the massive line of ink that she had inadvertently scratched across her parchment, she puffed up her cheeks and pouted for a moment. "Hmph! So much for all that... And how would I know if it's possible to 'go back' like you say? Nobody's tried 'un-summoning' before, so I don't know if that's even been tried, let alone it being possible or not! Besides, I'm only a Fledgling Witch; I haven't learned enough to even think about trying that!"

(So I just found out that RPN has an app. It's pretty jank, but I thought I'd try posting from the app and see how that goes)

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Whoa! Whoawhoawhoawhoa! What!?" An outburst was not one of the things Xeria had been expecting while she wrote, so when she looked back down and saw the massive line of ink that she had inadvertently scratched across her parchment, she puffed up her cheeks and pouted for a moment. "Hmph! So much for all that... And how would I know if it's possible to 'go back' like you say? Nobody's tried 'un-summoning' before, so I don't know if that's even been tried, let alone it being possible or not! Besides, I'm only a Fledgling Witch; I haven't learned enough to even think about trying that!"

Though she couldn't make eye contact, she did put her arms straight to her sides and inclined her body in a bow. "I'm sorry... I let my emotions and hopes get the better of me, I didn't mean to expect so much from you." Her messy bob-cut hair slipped down with the bow, and her bangs hid her eyes for the moment she stayed like that. When she came back up, she was calm again, having collected what she's heard thus far and considered in that short time to think of what to ask about next.

"Maybe trying to dig at my memories is a bad angle since they're so fuzzy." She tried to redirect the little witch, who was obviously very prone to getting caught on things. While the direction of the witch's curiosity, her identity, wasn't a bad thing to answer, there were other things that they needed to cover - specifically, what she was here for. "There's something that concerns me more about my identity. What am I here for? Why did you summon me?" As it turned out, a sapient summon was liable to question the reason for its own existence.

"You said 'un-summoning' isn't a thing, so I'm assuming that I'm meant to stick around, but what do I do now? Am I supposed to be your servant? Do I aid with your magic in some way, and that's why you had to summon me to get approved?" She ended up having rather practical questions, after considering things. "... And where do I sleep?" She added that as a last thought when she caught sight of the bed in the corner of her eye, remembering that if she's stuck here then arrangements will need to be arranged. Food and drink as well, but she wasn't too concerned about either of those at the moment, the confusing nature of this situation still having the better of her.

(I thought they stopped developing that app forever ago, I'm surprised it still works)

 

[Aron the Aron]

Though she couldn't make eye contact, she did put her arms straight to her sides and inclined her body in a bow. "I'm sorry... I let my emotions and hopes get the better of me, I didn't mean to expect so much from you." Her messy bob-cut hair slipped down with the bow, and her bangs hid her eyes for the moment she stayed like that. When she came back up, she was calm again, having collected what she's heard thus far and considered in that short time to think of what to ask about next.

Maybe it was best not to ask if she should've been offended by that statement...

With little else that she could do with her ruined parchment, Xeria folded it up and threw it aside onto the nearby desk, the feather pen following suit in landing perfectly inside its ink bottle. "The first thing you should probably know is that most creatures that come out of the Summoning Ritual are just that: creatures." Pulling out the Bestiary once more, Xeria filed through several pages of all manner of monsters the woman couldn't make heads or tails of. "Most Witches and Wizards summon small animals or monsters to be our aides, but there are a few who summon a Demi-Human. A lot of those turn out to be Homunculi." She flipped several pages over before coming to a stop and turning the book around for her summon to see.

It was certainly understandable why Xeria was mistaking her for a Homunculus; countless pages held detailed entreies of humanlike monsters. Some were merely creatures that just so happened to be humanoid; other creatures were human in appearance save a few anomalous traits like animal-like ears, tails, horns, or wings; other entries had creatures that looked exactly like Humans, only being given away by inhuman behavior and abilities. With the prominence of magic in this world, it probably took some jumping-through-hoops to tell the most Humanlike Demi-Humans apart from actual Humans. "Homunculi are what we call any Demi-Human creature that are visually indistinguishable from real Human beings; they're either sentient like an animal, or sapient like a fully-imprinted golem. Not once have we ever encountered a Demi-Human who was both sentient and sapient, not even close to the same degree Humans have at least... Until you came along."

Xeria was trying her hardest to ignore how the woman's robes had come slightly undone with all that fiddling around with that sash, her bowing only aggravating the awkward feeling rising up in her head as she coughed and went back to her explanation. "Most magic users summon and keep Familiars, and some places like this Kingdom don't even recognize you as one until you have a Familiar. Some keep Familiars as assistants to help focus on a particular Arcane School, and maybe run a few errands if they can. Others have them as companions and guardians, especially Witches like me since we're forbidden by law to own or carry weapons unless you're commissioned in the King's Army, and magic as a weapon can be... finicky." Xeria closed the Bestiary in her hands and carefully placed it back on a high shelf next to her desk. "Now as for you... well... um..." Now she began looking lost as she went back to staring at her Summon. "I haven't thought about it? Truth be told I was expecting something like a small bird or a reptile, so I didn't plan any contingencies for getting a Homunculus as a Familiar Summon." That much was apparent given how Xeria's room wasn't furnished for more than herself and maybe a small creature; the tiny box full of feathers and hay she had thrown together earlier that day now squarely tucked under her bed. "Erm, maybe we can sleep in the bed together? I don't know if I can get anything bigger inside."

(OOC: I'm kinda using Ragnarok Online as a basis for how creatures are classified in this world; Demi-Humans in this instance basically encompass anything that are humanlike in appearance or feature humanlike characteristics.)

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Most magic users summon and keep Familiars, and some places like this Kingdom don't even recognize you as one until you have a Familiar. Some keep Familiars as assistants to help focus on a particular Arcane School, and maybe run a few errands if they can. Others have them as companions and guardians, especially Witches like me since we're forbidden by law to own or carry weapons unless you're commissioned in the King's Army, and magic as a weapon can be... finicky."

Though she listened carefully to everything that Xeria said, this was the part she paid the most attention to since it was a good indication of what would be happening from now on. It didn't give her a complete idea of what would be happening and what she would be doing from now on, but at the very least she understood now that, likely by law, she was tied to Xeria and they would be together for the foreseeable future. She resisted the temptation to immediately go into asking about particulars and what Xeria might need of her, though, since the last answer to her questions made it clear to her that the fledgling witch probably did not have any idea.

"I haven't thought about it? Truth be told I was expecting something like a small bird or a reptile, so I didn't plan any contingencies for getting a Homunculus as a Familiar Summon. Erm, maybe we can sleep in the bed together? I don't know if I can get anything bigger inside."

"Nn, that's fine. I don't mind." She accepted sleeping together rather easily, seeing the point Xeria made about the lack of space and remembering the earlier comment about the price of shoes that implied that the witch didn't have much money at her disposal. With money as an issue, many things become infinitely more difficult to fix. "If it's inconvenient for you, I can make some sort of bedding for me to sleep on until there's a better solution. Where I came from, the beds were made of thin parts that could be folded up and put away during the day, so that might help the space issue." She hadn't slept alone in a long time...? Putting a pin in that thought, she still was fine with the idea of sharing the bed with Xeria. She was just worried the witch might not be comfortable with the arrangement.

She took a moment of silence to think again on what was said, and wondering what else they needed to go over. "So, there's not much of a set standard for what I'm supposed to do? I suppose that's fine, I think I could do most anything except helping with magic. I don't know the first thing about it after all. Is there anything you need me to do?" She sniffed, holding down the urge to sneeze that had been building up this entire time. "Like dusting?" There were multiple things she noticed on entering the room that were a little needing of attention, but the dust in here was really bad. She could see the sunlight filtering in through the windows as beams of light, and that wasn't a good thing pretty as it was. "Actually, do we have anything we need to do now? I only have the clothes I'm wearing, so that'll be an issue. If I'm supposed to be acting as your guard, a weapon would help... And do you need to do anything else now that you successfully did the summoning and you got accepted as a fledgling witch?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Is there anything you need me to do? Like dusting?" There were multiple things she noticed on entering the room that were a little needing of attention, but the dust in here was really bad. She could see the sunlight filtering in through the windows as beams of light, and that wasn't a good thing pretty as it was. "Actually, do we have anything we need to do now? I only have the clothes I'm wearing, so that'll be an issue. If I'm supposed to be acting as your guard, a weapon would help... And do you need to do anything else now that you successfully did the summoning and you got accepted as a fledgling witch?"

Xeria scratched her head as the issue of her Summon's choice in attire was brought up to the forefront of her attention for the umpteenth time that day, and she was beginning to wonder if the eye-catching robes were going to become a recurrent topic. "Well, I was one of the first to be do the Summoning Ritual, and there's a lot of Aspirants in my Court that have to go after me. Not only that, it's the weekend currently so we have the rest of today and tomorrow until I have to figure out my new classes." The tint of pinkish yellow in an otherwise blue sky outside her window was enough to tell Xeria that she maybe had an hour before sunset, and while the King's Academy was only a bridge across a river away from Ambition City it was still quite the trip to the Merchant's Quarter inside and back. That wasn't even taking into account her piddling savings...

Turning around and reaching under her small bed, she took out a small cloth sack that clattered and jingled with the familiar sound of coinage. It didn't take a genius to know that a cloth bag that small couldn't possibly carry anything beyond meagre wealth, but what Xeria said next only confirmed her lack of funds. "Mmmrgh... I only have a touch under two thousand Spina maybe I shouldn't have bothered to fix my shoes. We can go tomorrow to get you new clothes or a sword... I'm sorry." A change of clothes or two for her Summon would already be putting her close to broke, and even just one of those shabby mass-produced swords would basically render her penniless.

Xeria had to ponder over what kind of life her Summon had before becoming her Familiar. From what little she revealed, the woman was some sort of traveler and always carried a strangely-described sword with her, which sounded like she was maybe a sort of Adventurer. There were mercenaries and Adventurers aplenty in Juno, but they always wore practical, rugged clothes and armor to accompany their plain weaponry and tools. The woman's attire and mannerisms didn't exactly fit the image of a journeying wanderer to the Witch, though maybe she had left something behind when she was summoned; she would never know fully until she could explore some way of discovering where her Summon came from.

"... Well, we can leave that mess to tomorrow I guess. Is there anything you want to do? Actually, what should I call you? You don't remember your name; but I need to attach a name to a face."

 

[That Lass Over There]

Turning around and reaching under her small bed, she took out a small cloth sack that clattered and jingled with the familiar sound of coinage. It didn't take a genius to know that a cloth bag that small couldn't possibly carry anything beyond meagre wealth, but what Xeria said next only confirmed her lack of funds. "Mmmrgh... I only have a touch under two thousand Spina maybe I shouldn't have bothered to fix my shoes. We can go tomorrow to get you new clothes or a sword... I'm sorry." A change of clothes or two for her Summon would already be putting her close to broke, and even just one of those shabby mass-produced swords would basically render her penniless.

"I'm... Not really sure how much that's worth, sorry." A foreign currency had come out, something she should have expected but was not at all prepared for, and she couldn't properly estimate what that amount of money could buy. "Are those purchases going to leave us with enough money for food? And could we maybe make it cheaper by purchasing materials for clothes, or used ones? I have some experience with sewing, so it wouldn't be an issue for me." She'd put a lot of effort into the skill, though she couldn't remember why. Presumably because she had something she wanted to make, though she had a feeling it wasn't the kimono she was wearing.

"... Well, we can leave that mess to tomorrow I guess. Is there anything you want to do? Actually, what should I call you? You don't remember your name; but I need to attach a name to a face."

It took a moment to understand what the question was here, since her mind immediately went back to trying to remember her name. When she realized Xeria had just asked for something to call her in the interim until she could remember it. Unsure of what to do, she ended up throwing out a half-baked name that one might give a cat. "Kuroi would be fine." Hoping that the name wouldn't be translated by whatever is allowing them to understand each other and expose her terrible naming sense, she left it there and picked up with Xeria's other question. "It sounds like we'll be going outside tomorrow, so exploring this place can be left for then, but I think I need to be acquainted with some of the more basic things... Like, what we do for meals. Somewhere to bathe and wash our clothes, and -" A small, barely audible sneeze escaped her as she covered her mouth, "Where a cloth is that I could use to dust in here. That first."

There wasn't actually much that the temporarily named Kuroi wanted. Now that she knew that being sent back wasn't currently an option, she felt a little empty, the energy that had mustered on getting the idea she might still be alive lost to somewhere unknown. All that came to her mind were necessities and things she would need to do to take care of Xeria in the future. Only after being handed a cloth and starting to wipe every surface in the room did she think of something that might be good to ask about. "I don't actually know anything about you. Why are you learning to be a witch? What do you want to do, what are your hobbies? Do you have enemies, allies? If I am to support you, those seem like things I need to know." Her voice had fully settled back down to a monotone at this point, again giving a doll-like impression that had been lost with her outburst. As she prompted Xeria to talk a little bit about herself, she remembered to open the windows while doing this, staring for a moment at the foreign design until she figured out the latch and how to push them. While she was there, she also wiped the windowsill, silently keeping tally of the surfaces she had cleaned and those she still needed to.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Kuroi would be fine." Hoping that the name wouldn't be translated by whatever is allowing them to understand each other and expose her terrible naming sense, she left it there and picked up with Xeria's other question. "It sounds like we'll be going outside tomorrow, so exploring this place can be left for then, but I think I need to be acquainted with some of the more basic things... Like, what we do for meals. Somewhere to bathe and wash our clothes, and -" A small, barely audible sneeze escaped her as she covered her mouth, "Where a cloth is that I could use to dust in here. That first."

When the now-dubbed Kuroi gave her name, Xeria tilted her head at the exotic sounding nature of the name. It was likely that names perfectly carried themselves over without ambiguity since she then began repeating the name "Kuroi... I dunno if I should say 'it fits you' or anything, but it sounds nothing like any other names I've heard before." She admitted, more to herself than her Summon. "And uh... here, I only keep it if I knock over my ink bottle or something." She wouldn't say that she was a slob since the worst her room had was her clothes being tossed around and the dust, but she did keep a rag or two around for when she did spill something that needed to be urgently cleaned.

Only after being handed a cloth and starting to wipe every surface in the room did she think of something that might be good to ask about. "I don't actually know anything about you. Why are you learning to be a witch? What do you want to do, what are your hobbies? Do you have enemies, allies? If I am to support you, those seem like things I need to know." Her voice had fully settled back down to a monotone at this point, again giving a doll-like impression that had been lost with her outburst. As she prompted Xeria to talk a little bit about herself, she remembered to open the windows while doing this, staring for a moment at the foreign design until she figured out the latch and how to push them. While she was there, she also wiped the windowsill, silently keeping tally of the surfaces she had cleaned and those she still needed to.

"Enemies? I don't think I've done anything to have made enemies out of anyone. I'm just an orphan from the streets; the only threat I could pose to anyone is to their pride as a Witch or Wizard by being better." Maybe it was Kuroi trying to play the bodyguard role, scouting out potential threats and precautions to take note of. Xeria didn't really see too much of a point though, since aside from the usual foray of political intrigue that always followed nobility wherever they went, the King's Academy was the safest place in the entirety of Juno save the Royal Citadel. Besides, Xeria was a no-name with no history or future already set; she was essentially a side character in literally everyone else's story.

"Baby steps for now; leaving this Academy as a proper Witch comes first. After that, well... I'll see where life wants me." The warm sunset glow casted the little room in warmth when the window was opened, granting a picturesque view of the Academy, Ambition City, and the river that separated the two. Xeria counted herself lucky that she got one of the better rooms in the whole Academy, it was just a nice thing to have when she was cooped up inside all day. "Sundown already... Are you hungry by any chance? It must be close to suppertime, so we can go to the dining hall once you're done!" Finding her leather shoes wasn't hard for the Witch since her room was so small, and after throwing on her coat and hat (which really didn't help a lot with the modesty issue since she couldn't he bothered to button up) she considered herself presentable enough to go. "Maybe we can head to the bathhouse afterwards!"

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Enemies? I don't think I've done anything to have made enemies out of anyone. I'm just an orphan from the streets; the only threat I could pose to anyone is to their pride as a Witch or Wizard by being better."

On hearing this, Kuroi paused for the slightest moment in her work, wondering if she should clarify that the type of 'enemy' she meant wasn't nearly anything so dramatic, but she realized that she had posed the question with zero idea of what to expect so that very well might have been a part of her expectations. Xeria is a witch, after all, fledgling or not, and to Kuroi that sounded like a social status that comes with a lot of issues. She still couldn't shake the impression that Xeria was the type to get into trouble, though, so she'd just have to keep an eye out best she could while adapting to everything that seems to be different about this place.

"Baby steps for now; leaving this Academy as a proper Witch comes first. After that, well... I'll see where life wants me."

"How free spirited." The words left her mouth as a whisper without a thought, and because she couldn't hold on to the feeling that passed her by she continued with her dusting, already almost done - there weren't actually that many surfaces in the room to clean in the first place, Kuroi just couldn't bear the itch in her nose. While hovering around the bed, she ended up straightening the sheets that had gotten ruffled with Xeria plopping down onto them earlier, but that was the last obvious imperfection she could notice in the room.

"Sundown already... Are you hungry by any chance? It must be close to suppertime, so we can go to the dining hall once you're done!" Finding her leather shoes wasn't hard for the Witch since her room was so small, and after throwing on her coat and hat (which really didn't help a lot with the modesty issue since she couldn't he bothered to button up) she considered herself presentable enough to go.

"I'm done." She placed the cloth that she had been using on top of the desk and went to get her own shoes, again noticing the drastic difference between the wooden platform shoes she wore and what seemed to be leather shoes that Xeria had. Though she didn't pursue it, the word 'dining hall' had failed to translate properly, leaving Kuroi with only a vague idea of where they were going. Since she did notice that the coin pouch was being left behind, she did make sure to ask about that, though. "Do we need to pay for the food?" She wasn't sure of the arrangements that had been made, but she did know that little in life is free. The mention of a bathhouse only had her attention for a moment, but it doubled her concern about the fact that the money was being left behind.

 

[Aron the Aron]

Since she did notice that the coin pouch was being left behind, she did make sure to ask about that, though. "Do we need to pay for the food?" She wasn't sure of the arrangements that had been made, but she did know that little in life is free. The mention of a bathhouse only had her attention for a moment, but it doubled her concern about the fact that the money was being left behind.

"Nope!" The lightness in Xeria's voice told a thousand tales about how thankful she was about not having to constantly worry about feeding herself. "Everything in the King's Academy is free to use if you're a Scholar or Student. The Dining Hall, the Bathhouse, the Library, even the Alchemy Storehouse is open for us to use without much restriction!" Rather than opening the door, Xeria instead threw her hands forward and began to chant...

"Ekess voga goawy..."

...for all of about a second before pausing.

"Hmm... Maybe opening another Gate's a bad idea..." She muttered to herself, lowering her hands before she opted to open the lone door of her bedroom. Unknown to Kuroi, Xeria carefully minded the fact that she could've caused another accident at the Academy, something she would rather have not showcased to Kuroi so early on in their working relationship. She had already been scolded several times for frivolous overuse of the "World Gate" spell, which gave her teachers no shortage of headaches whenever her spell accidentally coincided with another spell and caused an Ether Flux. Now no sensible institution for the Arcane Arts wouldn't be lacking any measures to blunt the effects of such an event, but Xeria very much wanted to avoid further painting herself as the "brilliant, but idiotic" Witch.

---

The King's Academy - Lionscourt Hall: Inside
First day of Serpent, 493 NE
​

---

The Academy had hallways upon hallways for its many inhabitants to walk. Unlike the unusually homely nature of Xeria's personal room, the hallway she opened her door into had a very clean and sculpted aesthetic. Smooth granite flooring and stone brick walls stretched as far to both Xeria's left and right, brightly lit with a combination of gothic-style windows and special lanterns maintaining Spell Circles giving off a constant source of warmer light. Overall it painted a picture of elegance and wealth that only a well-founded Academy could afford to build and maintain, all the more mysterious that someone like Xeria could be a student of such a place.

"Come on! Dining Hall's only the next building over, and we're a few floors up in this Residence Court." Once Xeria made sure that nobody was around, she quickly grabbed Kuroi by the hand and began pulling her along. Hallways and stairwells became dizzying blurs as Witch and Familiar made corner after corner after stairway, and their rapid pace made it almost impossible for Kuroi to fathom memorizing the way they've taken. It could've been assumed that they had gotten lost in the maddening labyrinth that was the Academy, but the assuredness in Xeria's every step probably wasn't an attempt at bravado. Both did come to a heavier set of oaken double doors, which easily opened up with a push...

---

The King's Academy - Lionscourt Hall: Outside
First day of Serpent, 493 NE
​

---

Unlike the interior of the hall that Xeria and Kuroi had spent the last several minutes wandering in, outside proved to be a hive of activity. From the instant both stepped outside they were met with a veritable sea of bodies going every which way; Fledgling Wizards walked past wearing similar coats to the oversized one Xeria wore, and Fledgling Witches passed on by with hats as big as Xeria's.

Did I forget to mention that in the rush, Xeria had completely neglected to keep holding Kuroi's hand?

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Nope!" The lightness in Xeria's voice told a thousand tales about how thankful she was about not having to constantly worry about feeding herself. "Everything in the King's Academy is free to use if you're a Scholar or Student. The Dining Hall, the Bathhouse, the Library, even the Alchemy Storehouse is open for us to use without much restriction!" Rather than opening the door, Xeria instead threw her hands forward and began to chant...

"Ekess voga goawy..."

...for all of about a second before pausing.

"Hmm... Maybe opening another Gate's a bad idea..." She muttered to herself, lowering her hands before she opted to open the lone door of her bedroom. Unknown to Kuroi, Xeria carefully minded the fact that she could've caused another accident at the Academy, something she would rather have not showcased to Kuroi so early on in their working relationship.

Hearing that the academy was apparently quite well set up and accommodating for its students was nice, though Kuroi didn't quite understand the value of this 'alchemy storehouse' being free to access - she could only assume it was more valuable than books, given how it was emphasized over the library. And to her memory, books were rather precious. The bathhouse being free was truly excellent, and something she could well understand the value of. Knowing that they would be able to go there without worries had her much more excited, bathing in a proper facility being something she didn't always get to do in her travels.

When Xeria started speaking in that odd, unintelligible tongue of what was apparently witchcraft Kuroi didn't do much more than look at her, unsure of what the fledgling witch was up to... Though, Xeria's mutter and stopping of what she was doing confirmed the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't entirely the best idea. Though, she remained blissfully unaware of how Xeria was tinkering with the fabric of reality to try and save them a bit of a walk, and how badly such a thing might go.

"Come on! Dining Hall's only the next building over, and we're a few floors up in this Residence Court." Once Xeria made sure that nobody was around, she quickly grabbed Kuroi by the hand and began pulling her along. Hallways and stairwells became dizzying blurs as Witch and Familiar made corner after corner after stairway.

Unlike the interior of the hall that Xeria and Kuroi had spent the last several minutes wandering in, outside proved to be a hive of activity. From the instant both stepped outside they were met with a veritable sea of bodies going every which way; Fledgling Wizards walked past wearing similar coats to the oversized one Xeria wore, and Fledgling Witches passed on by with hats as big as Xeria's.​

Did I forget to mention that in the rush, Xeria had completely neglected to keep holding Kuroi's hand?

Kuroi raked her black eyes over every single detail she could spot as they walked out of the room, having been deprived of the opportunity to familiarize herself with these halls on the way in. The almost fully stone structure, different to the homely if foreign room they had just been in, made her feel a bit uncomfortable with the cold beauty of it. Like it wasn't somewhere for a human like her. The large windows helped alleviate that somewhat, though she couldn't see out of them between her poor eyesight and Xeria pulling her along, which she put up no resistance towards. The only sign that she was still operating with some level of autonomy was the way which her gaze combed everything they passed, though only she knew if she got any meaning out of the blur as they moved.

For the most part, Kuroi did an excellent job matching her pace to Xeria's in spite of the differences in their gait, even surprisingly keeping her steps with wooden shoes rather quiet on the stone flooring. That changed, though, when they reached the first set of stairs, and Xeria did not slow the tiniest bit to allow Kuroi time to adjust. Trying to match paces, going down the relatively narrow stairs rather quickly in platform shoes when she was never a fan of stairs to begin with, and overestimating the distance between her foot and the first stair caused the first loud step noise from behind Xeria in their entire journey, Kuroi having silently caught herself on the third stair with her other foot before it could become an actual tumble down. She didn't let out a peep about it, her face didn't show anything, and because she had gone with the flow and caught herself quickly before immediately going back to following Xeria there wasn't even much tell in the grip between their hands. She was a lot more careful about the stairs now, though, and the fancy footwork that had gone into minimizing the sound was gone while they were on them.

After several of those dreaded deathtraps that she was quickly starting to loathe, they managed to make it outside, and there Kuroi saw her first bit of evidence that Xeria didn't simply have a unique fashion sense. The pattern of overwhelming stone use continued in this cramped feeling street, though now balanced out with greenery that she had to wonder what sort of arrangement allowed it to grow so lively in the shadows of these towering monoliths of buildings.

It took her a moment to realize that they weren't moving not because they were waiting for an opening in the crowd like she thought, but rather because Xeria had slipped away into the crowd. Using the starting advantage of being up a few stairs Kuroi spotted the witch that hadn't gotten too far in these few seconds, and then squeezed her way through the crowd while catching glimpses of Xeria through the bodies between them, blankly apologizing to people she came in contact with or cut off as she went and closed the distance as fast as she could. When she caught up, she grabbed for Xeria's hand, the small feeling of panic she had dissipating with her guide through this place reacquired. She was reasonably confident in her ability to find her way back to places she had been, but she wasn't sure how well she would do at finding the dining hall on her own, and she also wasn't sure Xeria had a way to know where she is if they lost each other.

 

[Aron the Aron]

The sight of a pretty, foreign looking woman cutting her way through the crowded rush wasn't lost to many of the more observant members of the Academy's body; the ornate and flamboyant colors of Kuroi's otherwise dark kimono made her a dazzling sore thumb amidst the more drab blues, muted reds, and dark greens that made up everybody else. Immediately questions arose concerning the origins and nature of the mystery woman, and more than a few gentlemen stole a few glances at her enviable figure as the onlookers discovered who the woman was reuniting with. It was rather difficult to believe, yet perfectly on-brand for someone like Xeria to have never noticed how she lost and reunited with Kuroi. The Witch had a bit of a reputation among her peers for losing herself in her thoughts, and a few did snicker as the white-haired Witch pulled Kuroi through the crowds.

"Hrmm... Maybe we should've waited until the rush died down before we left our room." Xeria mumbled as she politely slid herself and her Summon past yet another Fledgling Witch, separating from the scramble and away into a quieter part of the Academy. "I forgot why I normally don't eat in the Dining Hall..." She said with a sheepish chuckle, finally letting go of Kuroi's hand and turning around to face her. "I don't think we're going to get anywhere close to the Dining Hall for now. Erm... Do you wanna go somewhere else, maybe the Bathhouse since it'll be less crowded?" She said, turning her head off in a direction one could only assume was where the place was. "It isn't too far a detour, and we could relax for a bit before coming back to eat. What do you say?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

Kuroi paid no mind to the rest of the crowd even after catching up to Xeria, her gaze blankly fixed forward as she was pulled along. Unlike before she made no effort to pay attention to the surroundings and memorize the path they were taking, finding it difficult to focus in the clamor of the crowd, and it was also difficult to catch sight of ground-based landmarks in the tides of people. Now that she thought about it, this was probably one of the largest crowds she'd ever seen, and thinking about the size of the residence hall she had left with Xeria this academy must be absolutely massive.

"Hrmm... Maybe we should've waited until the rush died down before we left our room." Xeria mumbled as she politely slid herself and her Summon past yet another Fledgling Witch, separating from the scramble and away into a quieter part of the Academy. "I don't think we're going to get anywhere close to the Dining Hall for now. Erm... Do you wanna go somewhere else, maybe the Bathhouse since it'll be less crowded?"

Xeria's comment made her look around to see if they had reached this dining hall, but instead Xeria was pulling her away into an alley and away from the crowd - something Kuroi didn't realize she had wanted so badly until she finally stopped feeling like she needed to cover her ears from the noise of footsteps, clothes and bodies rustling together, and voices apologizing as people pushed past each other.

"That sounds like a good idea." Kuroi didn't end up giving a neutral answer simply because of the mention that there would probably be less people at the bathhouse, and that was a good motivator. "Is there anything I need to know about it?" It occurred to her that they might not have similar bathing customs, and that she should check before she ended up embarrassing herself.