Chapter Text
After another and, this time, a big case, Neuvillette thought for a long time, sitting on his “throne” - the best place, as it was said in one letter several centuries ago, clutching his cane harder than usual. How much time had passed, how many trials had been held, he could not help but worry about the fate of people, even though it was customary to see almost the same human dramas. “And yet, Hydro Dragon, you are more humane than many people living in Fontaine, since you have empathy.” He had heard those words before. He doesn't remember exactly when, in which century. Memory treacherously and ruthlessly remembered this moment and fixed it in the mind of the judge for a long time.
When Neuvillette went down to the stage, he walked in a circle several times, thinking. Out of the corner of my eye, and then completely turning around, I looked at the extinguished Oratrice, and regretted it. And after all, as a descendant of the Hydro Lord, he does not need to feel sorry for the usurpers? Or maybe he got too attached to people. He became attached to her. He did not want to let go, and in the end he allowed the deity to leave first, and then her human version. Furina refused to be given immortality by Neuvillette. She really wanted to finally finish everything. She even asked to forget herself so that the judge would not torment himself in the future. The city has been experiencing a storm for many days, weeks and months, which has subsided only a little since that fateful moment, sometimes there was only cloudy weather. The sun rose at the moments of the actress's performances on stage. In most cases, she staged productions on days when Yudex was free and could visit the theater not for a court case, but to distract himself and feel not chest pain, but admiration and joy, although his face did not show it too vividly. In any case, Furina felt his emotions not only through the weather. Neuvillette understood that.
“Monsieur Neuvillette!” the little assistant interrupted the judge's reasoning, clutching in her paws a folder with a recently completed case that was a week ago, “should I give this to you personally while you are here? I thought you'd left a long time ago, but you haven't been in the office for a very long time!“
"There is a long distance from the Mermonia Palace to the Theater.... Have I really been here that long? the man asked himself questions, and then switched to melusine, “please put it on the table next to the exit. I'll take it all myself.”
The creature nodded, wished the Judge a good day, and sauntered out of the courtroom.
“I'm sorry,” Neuvillette approached the non-working mechanism and ran his hand over it slowly and carefully, stood next to him for a few seconds, still continuing to think about long-standing moments and left the stage himself, and after that the building.
There were no strangers anymore: this explained the late hour and the time approaching night. Neuvillette walked around the fountain of Lucine and found himself at the name plate. He loved to listen to the sounds of water falling into him.
After staying by the fountain in silence, the sound of someone singing reached pointed ears. Judex's lilac eyes scanned the area and did not find owner. The singer's tone was more childish than adult, and it was no less annoying: usually children do not go to the Theater, except for those who came with their parents to make a wish at the fountain.
“Who's here?” Neuvillette decided to ask a question into the void, which was just ridiculous and stupid on his part, but in response he heard a questioning mooing, and then a splash of water.
A terrified creature appeared in front of Neuvillette. Oceanid. A small oceanid child. He stared at the man for several seconds in complete silence, which was interrupted only by the sound of crickets.
“You... Who are you?”
”I am the Chief Justice, but I am mostly addressed as Neuvillette” The judge considered it too formal, especially to introduce himself like that to a child who appeared at the fontain in an incomprehensible way and from where, but he decided not to keep silent about his role, so as not to answer questions related to it.
“Neuvillette,” the child repeated to remember. “I do not know my name. My name is not called in any way”.
“Then can I just call you Oceanid? Then I'll come up with a name for you if you want.”.
“Good! I don't mind” The creature happily swayed in place, slowly waving its fins in the air.
“Let me ask you a question. How did you get here?” Neuvillette was most interested in this. As far as he remembers, the Oceanids appeared from the tears of the former Hydro Archon - Egeria. The man had not seen other representatives of the genus of this child for a very long time, but he could not guarantee that he simply did not notice them.
“I don't know. Or I don't remember. I've been here recently. I woke up here”
Neuvillette also remembers that oceanids have a small vocabulary when they are still children. In this case, it will be more difficult to communicate.
“Do you remember anything else? About your family, for example”.
“Family? Family. No,” the child waved his fins negatively, and then landed back in the water. Only the creature's head peeked out of it. “If I sleep a lot, I can remember. Perhaps. Not exactly”.
“You can start now. I'll come back tomorrow and I can talk to you again if you want,” Neuvillette replied and watched as the oceanid completely submerged under the water and instantly fell asleep. She really won't be noticed by the others.