Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

5th of the Blue Sea Moon

BEEP BEEP BEEP BE—

“Ok ok, I’m up. I’m up.” A voice says aloud as they turn off their alarm clock.

As they get up, they look at the alarm clock and it reads 8:00 am. They go over to the mirror to brush their white hair, seeing their yellow eyes in the mirror’s reflection as they brush their hair. They then went to get dressed.

“Alright Micaiah, a month until school starts… a month until you start high school.” Micaiah thinks to herself as she get dressed for the day.

“MICAIAH! Are you up? Breakfast is ready!” A voice yelled out.

“Yes! I’ll be down soon!” Micaiah replied as she grabbed her phone and left her room to head downstairs

As Micaiah headed down the stairs, she saw a younger girl with the same yellow eyes as her but with purple hair instead of white waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

“Good morning sister!” The younger girl said as she ran over to Micaiah and gave her a hug as soon as she stepped off the stairs.

“Good morning Sanaki!” Micaiah replied as she hugged her younger sister.

The sisters shared a smile between the two of them before heading off the kitchen to eat breakfast

“Ah there you are! Was wondering what was taking you two so long.” A blue haired older man sitting at the dining table said while smiling.

“Morning Uncle Zelg!” The two sisters said in union as they walked into the kitchen.

“Ahh there you are, I just finished breakfast.” An older purple haired woman said as she brought over plates to the dinner table.

“Morning Mom! Oooh bacon and eggs are my favorite!” Sanaki replied

“This looks great, Altina, as always.” Zelgius said as Altina sat down across from him.

With Micaiah sitting next to Zelgius and Sanaki next to Altina, began to eat breakfast but not before Micaiah asked a question.

“Where’s Dad?” Micaiah asked Altina and Zelgius. She looked at both of them as there was a brief pause before they responded.

“Well your father had to go into work early today. We don’t know why” Altina responded as she briefly looked at her plate before looking back at Micaiah. Micaiah looked at her mother with some concern before hiding it.

“Well it must be important and something that needs his expertise.” Zelgius added on to what Altina said. Everyone, except for Sanaki who was enjoying her breakfast, sat in silence at the table.

“Ah, we probably shouldn’t let our food get cold.” Micaiah said, Altina and Zelgius nodding in agreement. The three then proceed to eat their breakfast along with Sanaki.

A few hours later

Everyone was sitting in the living room, not really doing much of anything. Altina was reading a book, Zelgius was jotting down some stuff in a notebook while Micaiah & Sanaki were playing Uno with Micaiah having won every match so far.

“Uno!” Micaiah said as she held her last card, a red 5.

Sanaki then places a blue 5, thinking Micaiah would have to draw cards but instead Micaiah won the game.

“Oh come on, I wanna win a game!” Sanaki replied as she pouted and put down her cards.

“Ahh how about we do something else instead?” Micaiah said rather nervously. She sat there in silence before thinking of something.

“How about we go to the park?” Micaiah asked Sanaki.

Sanaki’s yellow eyes lit up at the question. She then turned towards their mother to ask if they could go.

“Mom? Can we go to the park? Please!!!” Sanaki begged Altina. Altina simply smiled in response.

“Of course sweetie. I think we all need to get away from the house for a while.” Altina said smiling. Sanaki got up in excitement and ran off to get her shoes on while Micaiah just sat there smiling.

“It would be nice to get out of the house. I feel like I’m gonna go insane!” Zelgius said aloud. Altina rolled her eyes before smiling while Micaiah let out a small giggle. The three of them then went to get ready to leave.

As soon as they left the house, Sanaki excitedly bolted off towards the sidewalk as the park was within walking distance from their house. Micaiah proceeds to run off after Sanaki, wanting to make sure she doesn’t get too far from them.

“SANAKI WAIT! You can’t just run off like that! Micaiah yelled as she ran after Sanaki down the sidewalk, nearly tripping in the process which resulted in Sanaki slowing down and turning around to check on her.

“OH NO SISTER ARE YOU ALRIGHT???” Sanaki asked, tears forming in her eyes as she ran over to Micaiah. Zelgius and Altina rushed over as well.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Micaiah said, trying to calm down Sanaki. She wiped away a few of Sanaki’s tears as well.

“That’s why you don’t run off like that. You, or someone trying to keep with you, might get hurt in the process.This time I’m fine but next time I could get hurt so please don’t run off like that again. Can you do that for me?” Micaiah asked. Sanaki nodded her head before giving Micaiah a hug.

“I’m so so so sorry sister! I won’t ever do that again.” Sanaki said sniffling, as she looked up to Micaiah. Micaiah simply smiled at her and brushed some of her purple hair outta of her face.

Zelgius smiled at his two nieces.

“Well if everything is alright, how about we get going to the park?” Zelgius asked Micaiah and Sanaki. Both of them nodded, with Sanaki wiping away the rest of her tears.

“Well then let’s get going then shall we.” Zelgius said as he suddenly grabbed Sanaki and put her on his shoulders and started moving at a faster pace.

“WOAH! UNCLE BE CAREFUL!” Sanaki yelled from atop of her uncle’s shoulders as he went towards the park.

Micaiah and Altina then watched them move further down the sidewalk.

“We should probably follow after your uncle and sister before they get too far from us.” Altina said with a smile on her face.

“Yeah.” Micaiah replied. The pair then start walking after Zelgius and Sanaki.

About ten minutes later

Micaiah and Altina finally make it to the park and see Sanaki and Zelgius over at the swingsets.

“Ah there they are, let's go join your uncle and sister.” Altina said, looking at the pair.

Her and Micaiah eventually walked over and sat on a bench near the swings, watching Zelgius push Sanaki on the swings. Micaiah and Altina sat in silence for a few minutes before Micaiah spoke up.

“So what’s actually going on with Dad? I feel like there’s more going on than you’re letting on Mom.” Micaiah asked, looking at her mother who simply sighed and briefly looked away. She just had a feeling that there was more to what was going on with her father. 

“...It’s always been hard to keep secrets from you…” Altina said, a slight smile forming on her face before she continued.

“As you know, your father is the Prime Minister of the Begnion government and with that position comes many responsibilities…. Taking into account that he cannot speak much about his duties, he recently told me and your uncle that the project he is working on right now will determine whether or not he keeps his job as the Prime Minister ....” Altina finished.

Micaiah stared in disbelief. She had no words for what her mother just said.

“Your sister can’t know about this… you know how she gets about things like this. Can you go get your uncle for me? I need to talk to him about a few things. Altina asked Micaiah.

“Sure.” Micaiah replied as she then got up and headed towards the swingsets.

The pair seemed to be taking a break, Sanaki was slowly moving her swing while Zelgius sat on the swing next to her barely moving.

“Hey uncle Zelg… ah Mom wants to talk to you about a few things.” Micaiah told Zelgius.

“Oh? Ok… I’ll be right back, you two don’t have too much fun now! Zelgius replied as he got up off the swing and walked over to Altina. He seemed a little surprised that Altina wanted to talk to him right now. Micaiah sat down on the swing to the left of Sanaki.

“So are you excited about going back to school next month?” Micaiah asked Sanaki

“Yeah! I can’t wait to see all my friends again. Are you excited to go back to school?” Sanaki asked.

“Mmm…. yeah! Though I don’t wanna spend another school year hearing Sothe yap about how cool Ike, who’s the star quarterback for the football team by the way, is.” Micaiah replied, jokingly rolling her eyes as she finished. Sanaki simply giggled.

“But yeah I’m definitely happy to see my friends again as well.” Micaiah continued.

“Sothe, Edward, Leonardo, Laura, Aran, and Meg! Ahhh so many fond memories with them… oh and I can’t forget our homeroom teacher Mr Nolan!” Micaiah finished.

“I’ve heard so much about your friends. I wanna meet them sometime. Please sister, can I meet them?” Sanaki asked, pleading those puppy dog eyes of her’s.

“Well of course you can! Next time I talk to them, I’ll see if we can arrange something before school starts. Micaiah replied.

“Yay!” Sanaki simply yelled out.

The sisters continued to sit on the swings, talking for the next 10 minutes until their mother and uncle came over to them.

“Well kiddos, it’s getting late so your mother wants to head back home.” Zelgius said to the sisters

“Oh wait, can we stay and watch the sunset? I know a really good spot!” Micaiah asked. Zelgius looked at Altina, who simply nodded. Micaiah smiled in excitement.

“Follow me this way!” Micaiah yelled out as walked off towards a hill, with Sanaki, Zelgius and Altina quickly following her.

Eventually Micaiah led them to the top of the hill where they could view the sunset. The four of them sat down on the bench that was up there.

“Oh wow, this is a really good spot to watch the sunset.” Altina commented as she brushed off leaves from the bench before sitting down

“Oooooh the sunset is so pretty!” Sanaki said as she gazed at the setting sun as waited for her uncle to sit down so she could sit on his lap .

“It definitely is.” Zelgius said as he grabbed Sanaki and sat her on his lap.

“I love coming to this spot often, the peace and quiet here is nice. I even befriended an orange bird that lives around here and gave it a nickname: Yune!” Micaiah said as she sat down in between Altina and Zelgius on the bench. The other three smiled at her comment 

The group of four felt like watching the sunset was taking an eternity but before they knew it was dark out. The sunset was rather nice to watch. Once the moon began to rise they started to head back home, their walk illuminated by only the moonlight.

A few days later on the 7th

Micaiah was currently running some errands for her parents at the supermarket with her Uncle Zelgius. They've been out and about for a few hours now, they had to pick up some ingredients so Zelgius can make dinner tonight.

“Sooo… what are you gonna make for dinner tonight uncle? Micaiah asked as she and Zelgius walked down the aisles of the supermarket.

“That’s a surprise. But it’s something special, one of your dad’s favorites.” Zelgius replied smiling. Micaiah smiled back.

“Can I help you with making the meal? Besides, wouldn’t it be a lot more of a special meal if the two of us made the meal together?” Micaiah replied, a large smile on her face.

“Well dang…. You’re right about that, great idea! Hahaha!” Zelgius laughed in response.

Micaiah and Zelgius smile at each other as they go on to get the rest of the ingredients they need for the special meal they're gonna make for Sephiran tonight.

Chapter Text

11th of the Blue Sea Moon

LightMage07: Hey gang, how’s everyone doing on this fine summer day?

Also, who changed the name of the group chat to “The Dawn Brigade”????

GreenZephyr12: I changed the name lol 

And as for your first question: I’m currently chilling outside in the shade of a tree

WayfairingKnight10: Hi Micaiah and Sothe!! Currently helping papa with some yard work :D

NobleArrow04: Practicing my archery skills, got to keep them honed.

RecklessSword60: I’ve just been messing around outside with a tree branch, swinging it around like a sword for the past half hour tbh :P

CarefreeSaint35: Me and Aran went on a walk at the park!

LoyalLookout03: More like Laura forced me to go with her…... But yeah, we did.

LightMage07: That’s cool to hear. I wanted to ask if you all wanted to plan a get together.

Well mainly because my younger sister wants to meet all of you guys.

GreenZephyr12: Sure why not

NobleArrow04: I wonder if your sister is anything like you…. 🤔

WayfairingKnight10: I’d love to meet your sister! :0

LoyalLookout03: Doesn’t matter to me cause Laura is going to force me to go anyways… :l

CarefreeSaint35: Aran!!!! Don’t be like that. 😭 Anyways I’m down for that!!

RecklessSword60: Yeah same!

LightMage07: Awesome. Thanks, you guys! 😀

Would all of you be down for doing it this weekend? 🤔

GreenZephyr12: I’m fine with that

RecklessSword60: Yep!

NobleArrow04: That sounds fine to me

CarefreeSaint35: Yes!!!

LoyalLookout03: That works out for me

WayfairingKnight10: That’d be great!! :D

LightMage07: Well, see you all then! 👋🙂

Micaiah sat there on the couch for a minute looking at her phone, lost in thought until she was brought back to reality by a voice. It was her younger sister Sanaki.

“Hey sister, what are doing? Texting your girlfriend Elincia?” She said with a smirk. This caught Micaiah off guard.

“HUH!! NO no I was texting my friends that you wanted to meet, setting up a get together for this weekend!” Micaiah replied, hoping that will change the subject. She never understood why her sister thought this considering there’s nothing to suggest that they were dating, like maybe Micaiah had those sorts of feelings for her and besides she doesn’t know if Elincia felt the same way. Maybe Sanaki was just messing with her or is a lot better at reading others than she lets on. Again, lost in thought but not alone this time, Micaiah didn’t notice Sanaki’s eyes light up at the mention of meeting her friends, getting so excited that she couldn’t stay still.

“REALLY!?!?!? OMG OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH, SISTER!!!” Sanaki yelled out and rushed over to hug her sister, again surprising Micaiah out of her thoughts. Micaiah returned the hug while also nearly dropping her phone.

“Hehe ok no need to hug me that tight. Besides, I still got to tell Mom about the plan.” Micaiah pointed out, prompting Sanaki to let her go.

“I doubt she wouldn’t let us do it though! And maybe she’ll want to meet your friends as well!!” Sanaki replied smiling. She wasn’t wrong about that, Micaiah thought, as the chances of their mother not letting them do this was very low. Before Micaiah could speak any further, a notification on her phone caught her attention.

PegasusQueen24: Hey! Wanna hang out later? 🙂

It was a text from Elincia. Sanaki saw this and opened her mouth to speak but Micaiah quickly put her hand over her mouth and shook her head, resulting in Sanaki pouting and staying quiet.

LightMage07: Sure! What did you have in mind? 🤔

PegasusQueen24: Maybe we could go to the movies or the park! It doesn’t really matter to me

LightMage07: Why not both then! We could get something to eat as well!! 😋

PegasusQueen24: Hell yeah!

LightMage07: Hehe 😊

LightMage07: See you at 5:00 then?

PegasusQueen24: Yeah! See you then

Well now Micaiah has plans with Elincia tonight, unexpected but welcome. Actually, this was great for her since she wanted to ask Elincia if she wanted to go to the get together. Happy, Micaiah got off the couch and went with her sister to find their mom. They found her in the small library they had, reading a book. It was called An Endless Road for Us , about a couple leaving their old life behind and traveling the world. Micaiah had read it before, it's a pretty good read. Altina had put her book down as soon as she noticed her daughter walk into the room.

“I overheard the commotion you two made earlier so yes, you can have this get together with your friends and you can have it here at the house if you haven’t decided on where yet.” Altina spoke with a slight smile. Sanaki’s smile grew wider, and she ran over to hug her mother. Micaiah smiled as well.

“Cool thanks mom! I’ll be sure to let them know! …. Oh, btw I’m going to go hang out with a friend later if that’s alright, the friend is Elincia.” Micaiah replied. Altina simply nodded her head. Micaiah waved bye and went off to get ready.

Two hours later

Micaiah, dressed in a red Riders of Daein 2004 tour t-shirt with a gray jacket over it, blue jeans, black sneakers with a blue bow in her hair, was waiting outside her car at the movie theater for Elincia. They were there to see a movie that just came out. It’s about giant robots that can transform into cars and trucks coming to Earth, the name of it was Transformers or something like that. Micaiah didn't know too much about it but Elincia seemed to be a big fan. 

To be honest Micaiah couldn't care less what the movie was as long as she got to hang out with Elincia. Eventually Elincia arrived, being dropped off by her close friend Lucia. Elincia had her green hair done up the way she usually has it. She was wearing a black shirt under an orange unzipped hoodie, thankfully it was cool enough for her to wear it, gray jeans that were worn out and had quite a few tears on them along. She also had on her riding boots, which meant she was probably riding her pegasus before coming here. Elincia walked over to Micaiah with a smile.

“Sooo are you excited to watch the movie? I know I am!!” Elincia asked. Micaiah rubbed the back of her head.

“Well, uhh I don't know much about Transformers but from what you told me so far it sounds interesting! Maybe you could tell me more about it later?” Micaiah replied. Elincia's eyes lit up at the suggestion. 

“I’d love to! But first we got a movie to watch!” Elincia exclaimed as she grabbed Micaiah's hand and pulled her towards the movie theater, resulting in both of them smiling and laughing as they went inside.

As they headed inside, the lobby was unexpectedly rather empty though to be fair it was later in the evening so all the parents taking their kids to see the movie had already done it. The pair proceeded to buy their tickets and snacks, they bought a large popcorn to share, a drink for each of them, and Micaiah got some nachos for herself, and headed to their theater. It wasn't too packed, but it wasn’t empty either. Fortunately, Micaiah and Elincia managed to get seats right in the middle row, so they’ll have a good view of the movie. They sat down and got ready to watch the movie.

About three hours later

“That was a pretty cool movie! Especially that final battle!” Micaiah exclaimed as they walked out the movie theater. Elincia nodded in agreement.

“My favorite part was probably when all the Autobots arrived on Earth! The music specially made the scene!” Elincia replied with a spark in her eyes that Micaiah had only seen a few times before, which made Micaiah quite happy. The pair decided to head to the park, take a walk around it and admire how beautiful it is. Eventually they decided to take a break and found a bench to sit on. Micaiah heard the familiar sound of bird chirps and was greeted by the slight of a familiar orange bird landing on her arm.

“Oh, hello Yune, nice to see you again!” Micaiah said as she gently stroked Yune’s back with her other hand.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend or just ignore me sitting here?” Elincia jokingly asked, with Yune seemingly chirping in agreement.

“Oh I am so sorry about that! Elincia, this is Yune! A bird that lives around here that I befriended and Yune, this is one of my closest friends: Elincia Ridell!” Micaiah said as she brought Yune closer over to Elinica. Yune then unexpectedly hopped over into Elincia’s lap, nuzzling up against her.

“You’re a very friendly bird! Well it’s nice to meet you, Yune.” Elincia as she gently patted the bird on its head, Yune chirping in contentment as she did. Micaiah simply smiled at the two. Elincia then looked over at Micaiah seemingly having a question on her mind.

‘So, how did you meet and befriend Yune? Befriending a bird isn’t easy.” Elincia asked.

“Well it was a year ago, I was sitting over by that fountain just doodling away in my notebook when I’m approached by this small orange bird. At first it was being friendly but then it stole my pencil and flew off with it! Took me nearly an hour to get it back…. But afterwards the bird was friendly again. It honestly left me scratching my head. I left the park that day thinking I’ll never see that bird ever again…. But I was wrong. The next time I came to the park, the bird would find its way to me. And whether it would just be friendly or annoy me was a chaotic coin flip. In fact, that reminds me of how I gave Yune her name. It came from a book I read about a goddess who was a chaotic prankster who often fled punishment by transforming into a small orange bird.” Micaiah explained, with Elincia listening intently.

“Ok, just one more question: how do you know Yune is a girl? Unless you’re some kind of a bird whisperer…” Elincia genuinely wondered.

“Well, you’re not wrong to an extent… perhaps due to me being one of them . I have always been able to connect with animals and people on a deeper level than most. My mom says that I get it from my dad. I wonder if she literally meant it or if it's just a trait I share with him. Being different… Sometimes it feels like a gift, other times a curse.” Micaiah said as she looked down at her hand. Her smile from before disappeared and the mood had gotten a lot more somber. This had gotten Elincia worried.

“One of them… . You mean being one of the Branded? There’s nothing wrong with that! Look I know it’s not exactly the same but when I was younger, due to being homeschooled before going to a private school I didn’t know much about the world…. I was quite naive and different compared to my peers; I didn’t act like a stuck-up jerk like most of them so that made me a target for them. They often tried to take advantage of my naivety, and they managed to successfully do so a few times, and it really put me down. Made me think that being different was a bad thing but I’d have my closest friends Lucia and Geoffrey to lift me back up and tell me that line of thinking was wrong. So, like how they were there for me, I'll be there for you whenever you need someone to lean on. Always.” Elincia said, not looking away from Micaiah at all. Micaiah still didn’t look at Elincia, hell she seemed to be trembling. Stifling a slight sniffle, Micaiah then moved over to give Elincia a hug, who gladly returned it.

The two of them hugged for what seemed like an eternity, nothing else mattered, but eventually they pulled apart. Micaiah wiped her eyes with her jacket sleeve and finally looked at Elincia, with a smile on her face.

“Thank you…. I often keep this stuff to myself; to not burden others with it but you made me realize that I don’t have to face this alone.” Micaiah said. Elincia nodded in response.

“Of course! Besides what are friends for if not to be there for one another.” Elincia replied. 

The two then sat there enjoying the park and chatting for another hour or so before they figured it was time to head on home but not before Micaiah had one more thing to say.

“Oh! I just remembered something I wanted to ask you. Oh, my goddess I can’t believe I almost forgot about this…... But I was planning a get together with my friends this weekend over at my place and I wanted to invite you as well!” Micaiah remembered.

“Sure! Heh besides I was going to ask if you wanted to hangout this weekend, but I guess we’ll have to do that another time then…” Elincia said, trying to hide that she was a bit miffed by that but of course Micaiah could tell she was/

“Well, we can still hangout, maybe later in the day after the get-together? I mean to be fair I still haven’t figured out what time it will be.” Micaiah stated, with Elincia breathing a sigh of relief. Clearly Elincia had wanted something important to share with Micaiah because otherwise she wouldn’t really act like this considering, they just hangout today. 

“Oh and before I forget, let me add you to the group chat! It’d make sharing information about the get-together easier.” Micaiah said as she pulled out her phone to do so.

Everyone welcome PegasusQueen24

LightMage08: Hey everyone, I added my friend Elincia since I invited her to the get-together as well!

PegasusQueen24: Hello everyone 👋🙂 

GreenZephyr12: Yo

WayfairingKnight10: Hii :D

NobleArrow04: Hel– Wait a minute…  Elincia…. As in Elincia Ridell? 🤔

RecklessSword60: What’s up!

CarefreeSaint35: Welcome to our group chat!!!!

LoyalLookout03: Hello

PegasusQueen24: Wow, a very warm welcome. And yes, NobleArrow04 the very same. Well, I look forward to getting to know all of you! 🙂 💚

NobleArrow04: 🤯

Eventually Micaiah and Elincia left the park. Micaiah had offered to drive Elincia home, but Elincia had already gotten a text from her friend Lucia that she was on her way. And so the two friends parted ways for now, leaving them both ample time to reflect on what they had talked about. Micaiah arrived home right as dinner was just being finished and her mother had asked her to go tell her father that dinner was done. As she headed upstairs, Micaiah could barely hear her father Sephiran speaking to someone, perhaps on the phone.

“Ma’am, I can’t really afford to…. sigh No I understand. I’ll get right to it…” Sephiran replied to whoever he was speaking to. Micaiah stopped at the door and briefly thought on if she should interrupt but decided to knock anyway.

“Yes? Who is it?” Sephiran asked.

“It’s me, dad. Mom sent me up to get you as dinner is ready. Everyone else is already down in the dining room.” Micaiah replied.

“Oh yes of course…. I’ll be down in a minute! I just need to finish… this work call.” Sephiran replied. Hearing this, Micaiah felt like something was off but couldn’t place it. Regardless, Micaiah headed back downstairs.

“Sorry about that, Lady Ashera. That was my older daughter. Came up to tell me dinner was ready.” Sephiran said, a bit uneasy about the whole situation he was in with his job.

“Then I won’t take up anymore of your time. I do hope you understand what is expected of you by the time we speak again, Prime Minister.” Lady Ashera replied in a monotone voice, which had sent shivers down Sephiran’s spine. Lady Ashera then hung up, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Sephiran didn’t want any part of this but thanks to those bastards in the senate, he got roped into this as well.

“In the end regardless of what everyone else thinks of me, I’ll regret nothing.” Sephiran thought to himself as he headed downstairs to eat dinner with his family.