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The sun beams down as Hyacine dips the tip of her glass pen repeatedly into the jar, lost in thought, not realizing the amount of ink that was coating the tip as she thinks. She goes to write another word, failing to hear Ica’s dus of warning and frowns upon seeing the huge ink blot now covering what was supposed to be a detailed page on alleviating food poisoning.
“Ah…well, I guess I should take this as a sign to take a break,” the physician stretches her arms high towards the sky, her hands attempting to grasp that endless blue hue. There’s been an increasing amount of visits lately at Twilight Courtyard, and while Hyacine oh so loves her job and is very, very passionate about it, she sometimes wishes she can just fly away into the sky if not for a brief moment with how absurd some of the cases she gets are. “Seriously, who thinks of eating droma food?? You’re bound to get food poisoning if you eat three whole blocks worth…” She mumbles to herself as she takes her gaze off the sky and looks towards the side, where a bunch of chimeras lay together lazing about. Hyacine smiles slightly as she feels a slightly cool breeze come in, closing her eyes and letting it rustle through her hair and clothes, calming her down. After all, she’s supposed to listen and not judge.
“Du? Du du!” Hyacine opens her eyes as she sees Ica fly about rather excitedly.
“What is it, Ika?” Hyacine follows the Pegasus’ gaze as she sees a familiar face walking towards her, and she can’t help but smile wide upon seeing a fellow Chrysos Heir.
“Cassie, hi! What brings you here?” Her smile morphs into one of concern as she notices Castorice’s rather somber expression. “Are you alright? Do you feel sick?” Hyacine asks, worried. The look on Castorice’s face now seemed far different from the one she had during their school days, when Anaxa would flunk her for simply giggling over Phanion’s constant disruption. She vaguely recalls a moment when Phainon brought in a live crying baby, as one of their many argument-debates regarded a hydrogen bomb versus a crying baby. Hyacine still to this day doesn’t know what Phainon was trying to prove, if anything at all. She clears her notebook and supplies out of the way as Castorice sits across from her, and Hyacine watches as the other fidgets with her gloved hands, avoiding eye contact at all costs. It seems like there was something the other woman was rather hesitant to say, so Hyacine decides to work her magic.
Castorice blinks as a tea cup was casually slid towards her field of vision, and she looks up to Hyacine winking playfully.
“Hehe, don’t think about where the tea came from too much, I just have my ways is all. I thought it may help you calm your nerves down a bit since you seem rather tense; I’ve dealt with one a many to know. Don’t worry, just think of this like all those times I’ve tutored you to get your grade back up in Professor Anaxa’s classes!” She hides her smile in her cup as Castorice takes a sip from her own, taking pride as she watches the other visible relax. “So, what’s going on? I didn’t expect a visit from you so soon. Usually you’d send me a message.” She watches as Castorice’s eyes go wide, face flushing slightly as she looks down and fiddles with the handle of the teacup.
“This is not really something I can ask with a simple message and send with my teleslate…” she pauses to think over her next choice words carefully, glancing over to see Ica playing with the chimeras. “It is regarding my…ailment with Thanatos.” Hyacine waits, for she knows all too well when they had initially met at the Grove of Epiphany when the other would drastically avoid her handshake like the plague. It was only later she had learned that the poor girl inherited a curse from the Death Titan, where everything she touches dies within her grasp. She can still recall the sorrow she felt upon imagining the kind of life Castorice has led up until now. “…I know it is incurable, that I’m cursed to live this life forever, but I just have to know…how much time do I have left?” She so desperately asks as Hyacine blinks, attempting to keep a straight face, though bless her and her pure heart, just this once she could not as she bursts into giggles, the other Heir staring in surprise.
“Eh? Have I said something strange?” Hyacine waves her hand in the air, attempting to stifle her giggle fits.
“N-no! I just—“ she attempts to calm herself, as she breathes and regains composure. “Cassie, that’s not an illness at all! There’s still so much for you to experience, so stop with all this death talk already!” She watches as the Servant of Death blinks, confused. Perhaps a different approach would work better for the other to understand.
“Here, how about this,” Hyacine goes to open up her and Castorice’s chat as she goes to type as fast as she could on her teleslate. “Meet me tomorrow at that holy candle near Mister CharChar’s blacksmith shop. I think it’s better to show you rather than sit here and explain to you what I mean.” She watches as Castorice nods slowly, still processing at what had all occurred. Hyacine grows slightly remorseful, it must’ve taken Castorice a lot of courage to even come to her in the first place, looks like she still needs practice in handling her composure when it comes to friends.
“…thank you, Lady Hyacine.” She’s reminded of the time Castorice had come to her shaking, fear in her eyes as she explained to the other about a horrendous nightmare she had. Visions on the fates of the other Heirs tormented her as she could only helplessly watch in agony as each Heir’s tragic demise played out right before her very eyes. Hyacine waves goodbye to the other as she renews the words she had said to Castorice that time in her heart once more, more determined than ever before.
•—————————•
Castorice enters to the marketplace, doing her best to avoid the hurried glances and hushed whispers. While she has gotten long used to it by now, given she’s dealt with this behavior since Aidonia was still standing, it always gives her a feeling of absolute emptiness each time.
“Ah, Cassie, over here!” Like a candle was lit in a dark room, she looks up from her heels to see Hyacine waving happily next to Chartonus, presumably talking to the giant, while Ica was…fishing coins out of the fountain? Was that even allowed? She walks over, stopping just outside the shop’s entrance.
“I am sorry if you had to wait long—“
“Nope, not at all!” Hyacine all too readily shuts down that thought with a smile, and Castorice blinks. She nods in greeting to the giant, who does the same. Hyacine joins the mortician by her side, though a bit closer than Castorice thought. Hyacine takes one step forward, and Castorice takes three steps back, as though they were doing a dance.
“…you do not really want to get that close to me, you know…” Hyacine only blinks, before closing the gap once again, fully aware.
“I know, but I like being close to you despite all that! You have this sort of vibe that makes me feel calm, if I’m being honest.” She hears Ica du, which sounded more like a ‘subtle.’ but she pays no mind, waving goodbye at the giant. “Now c’mon, I wanna show you something.” She hums happily, skip in her step, as they walk.
“I was not aware you knew Mister Chartonus well.” Hyacine coughs lightly, and Castorice sees her ears turn slightly red.
“Y-yeah, I tend to come to him when I need something made for…physician things!”
“Hm,” Castorice leaves it at that. Clearly, Hyacine lied just then, Castorice didn’t even need to use her ability to sense it, but she’ll show her friend some grace. Hyacine leads the other Heir to a more open and secluded space, where very few people were and only the dromas passed by on the road. She runs excitedly towards what looks like a pair of binoculars.
“Ta-da!!~” Hyacine strikes a pose with jazz hands, and Ica creates a little sparkling rainbow over the binoculars. “We’re going bird watching!” Castorice’s eyes widen slightly.
“There are birds residing here?”
“Yep! When people think of animals from Okhema, most would respond with either the dromas or the chimeras, forgetting to look into the sky. There’s so many different kind of bird species, believe it or not. Look for yourself!” Hyacine moves to the side, allowing Castorice to pick up the binoculars and look through them. It’s safe to say Castorice was in complete awe, who knew there were so many birds here? Hyacine’s smile grows upon seeing the woman’s childlike wonder. “Most of these birds unfortunately aren’t classified anywhere, so I took the liberty of naming them myself!” She picks up the other binoculars, pointing out the different birds that come and go.
“Look! Over there is Rex Lapis! I named them that after the dark brown and gold color scheme.” She points to a glowing green bird, a smaller one following after it. “I named the large one Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the smaller one is Lesser Lord Kusanali. Oh! And over there,” She points excitedly towards a teal bird, whose chirps sound like a melody drifting in the wind. “Over there is my favorite bird, Barbatos! I dunno why I like them so much, it’s just some sort of feeling, like in some other reality I’d be a deaconess of theirs! Anyways,” Hyacine looks away from the binoculars, smiling brightly at the other Heir, teal eyes sparkling. “Whaddya think?? It’s fun, right??”
Castorice smiles. “It is very fun to go bird watching, thank you for sharing this experience with me, Lady Hyacine. I will be sure to look into the sky for birds more often.” Even though the sky was a bright blue and the sun was positioned at noon, beaming down on the two, nothing could compare to the brightest thing right in front of her.
•—————————•
She stares at the white chimera sitting a few feet in front of her, not breaking eye contact. Castorice got to the Twilight Courtyard a bit earlier than expected, as Hyacine was buying something at the marketplace, so now here she was, having a staring contest with a goddamn chimera.
“Grrr,” the chimera growls, as if wanting Castorice to forfeit, but to no avail. The Aidonian continues to bore holes into the furry critter, unrelenting. Absolutely nothing could break the Heir’s concentration.
“Du…du!!” She looks up to see Ica struggling to carry a bunch of bags, flying around haphazardly as Hyacine waves, smiling bright, with one hand behind her back. The chimera grows happy at the presence of the woman, jumping down and running towards Hyacine with a few happy awoos.
“Hi, little one! Did you miss me? Well worry not, I bought you so many cute outfits today at the market!” Hyacine goes to pet the chimera as Ica falls to the ground, letting out a defeating du. “Oh, Ika,” the Physician scolds. “I told you not to go overboard! I know you want to be like your ancestors a lot, but you can’t overdo it either!” Hyacine huffs, going to pick up the remaining bags and joining Castorice at the table with an apologetic smile. “You weren’t waiting long, were you Cassie? Shopping took a little longer than expected, hehe…”
She shakes her head. “No, not at all. I was just having a friendly contest with one of your chimera friends over there.” She glances menacingly at the chimera, who glares back. She blinks, noticing Hyacine’s hidden hand. “What is that behind your back, if I may ask?” She watches as Hyacine pales, sweating.
“T-this? Ohhh—it’s absolutely nothing…yes. Don’t worry about it.” Hyacine stutters unconvincingly, glancing anywhere but Castorice. For someone who’s known to only really show positive emotions and whatnot, Hyacine was an incredibly bad liar only when it came to Castorice. “Anyyyyways, let’s get started on our little fashion show, shall we? Now,” Hyacine holds up two different outfits, whatever was behind her back seemingly gone now. “Which one looks cuter, A or B?”
—
Castorice blinks at the rather…fascinating sight, for there were approximately a dozen or so chimeras meticulously dressed by Hyacine—along with Castorice’s meticulous choice of clothes—now lined up by color of fur.
*TWEEEEEET* Hyacine stands in front of the chimeras, whistle in hand, as she crosses her arms with a serious expression. “Hear me, chimeras, for you will all be playing a very big role today! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to…” Hyacine breaks into a wide smile, seems she couldn’t keep the serious facade any longer. “Play with all the kids coming in! Have fun!!!”
“Dudu!!” Ica adds along. Castorice blinks as a group of 11 kids suddenly appeared, each one getting to play with their very own chimera.
“Hehe, surprised?” Castorice leans down slightly as Hyacine goes to whisper in her ear. “These kids suffer from chronic illnesses, many from the effects of the black tide. I thought it would be fun for them to have something new, rather than me dazzling them with my usual bubble tricks.” They watch as Ica flies around, producing sparkles and rainbows near each kid and chimera pair.
“You are an incredible person, Lady Hyacine…even I would not have dared thought to do something like this. Truly, no one is as kind as you.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the wonderful sight, and she fails to notice Hyacine’s blush at the compliments.
“Ah, t-thanks.” They stand together, watching the sight, although something was bothering Castorice. If there’s only 11 kids, then…
“Awooo…” she looks down at her heels to spot the same chimera she was contesting before, only now it was sulking. She blinks, Hyacine surely wouldn’t make a miscalculation of this level, so why…?
She feels something metal ruffle through her head, looking up to see a metal hand the size of her own waving at her. Hyacine smiles slyly.
“I was thinking about how rough you must have it, not being able to touch anything in fear of it dying…so I got you this!” She bounces from one foot to the other. “I commissioned Mister CharChar to make this, actually. That way, you can still theoretically ‘touch’ living things!” She makes a grabby motion with the hand, offering that end to Castorice. “It’s yours, think of it as a gift of gratitude from me for helping so many people smile today!” Castorice graciously accepts the gift, fidgeting with the lever end of the grabby hand. It’s very well made, with the hand basically able to imitate everything a real hand could, just with more distance. Castorice doesn’t quite want to imagine how much gold this costed Hyacine.
“Awo!” She looks down, seeing the chimera growing impatient. With careful care and precision, she gently pets the chimera with the metal hand, who purrs.
“Hehe, looks like you made a new friend!” Castorice smiles slightly at that.
•—————————•
“…”
“…”
The two familiars stare at each other, and Castorice feels as though she can cut this tension with her scythe, watching with baited breath.
“Lady Hyacine, I do not think—mmphh!“ She’s cut off as she feels Hyacine’s warm hand cover her entire mouth.
“Shhhhhh! Just wait and see.”
Is it really necessary to keep your hand over my mouth though… Castorice redirects her gaze back at the scene, where a dragon’s head and a small pegasus float staring at each other. Just another average day at Twilight Courtyard.
“Du?” Ica tilts their head, and Pollux does the same. Suddenly Ica flys back to Hyacine.
“Hm? What is it, Ika?”
“Du du du, du!”
“You two are friends now?!”
“Du!!!” Ica nods excitedly and Hyacine hugs the pegasus happily.
“Thank you, Pollux.” Castorice smiles, resting a hand against the dragon’s snout. It was an absurd idea, Castorice had awoken to Hyacine’s messages late at night offering the idea that their familiars should get to know each other better. Castorice was at a loss for words at this, for her dragon was 12 times bigger than Little Ica, but she agrees. She watches happily as the two fly about, even if Pollux was just a dragon head coming from a portal. She’d rather not attempt to scare off the other patrons in the courtyard if Pollux were to fully come out.
“I’m so happy everything worked out! This calls for a flower crown!” Castorice watches as Hyacine goes to sit in an area with lots of flowers, happily picking up an assortment. “Oh Cassie, remember when we graduated from the Grove?” How couldn’t she? Hyacine had done something similar, creating flower crowns for the both of them in celebration of their graduation. She only wishes the flowers were preserved in some way.
“Of course. The flower crowns you made then were beautiful, although, I was rather disheartened I could not do much to help.” Hyacine only giggles, and she produces two perfectly matching flower crowns in a matter of minutes.
“Don’t worry about it, I understood then, and I still understand now. It made me incredibly happy that you agreed to wear it!” Castorice lowers her head as Hyacine goes to put it on her, like she was crowning a queen. “Hehe, you look amazing! Wait, let me just—“ Hyacine goes to put on her own, struggling. Something tugs at Castorice then, and as sneakily as she could, she pulls out her teleslate.
*Click!* Shit. She forgot to silence the shutter. Hyacine looks in surprise, before pouting.
“Wow, you see your beloved friend struggling, and the first thing you do is take a picture. Meanie, how could you? At least let me see how I look!” Hyacine makes grabby hands as Castorice sheepishly slots her teleslate into the metal hand before redirecting it to show the other.
“You looked quite amusing, so I decided to take a picture.” Castorice says earnestly. “Unfortunately, all of my photos end up turning a dark gray like that…” Hyacine stares, unresponsive, and Castorice fidgets with the edge of her dress. Was it too far? She genuinely did think it was quite the funny sight and Hyacine struggling looked so damn cute in the moment but now she only feels regret. She’s reminded of those cold, harsh days in Aidonia, and she feels her breath start to go hazy, her eyes blurry—
*click* Suddenly, she’s thrust into something so warm, and she’s reminded of where she was right now. Hyacine turns to her with a grin, a glint in her eyes and face close.
“Payback, thank me later.” She removed her hand from the others shoulder and places the teleslate back in the metal hand, and Castorice blushes furiously looking at the photo Hyacine just took of them together. She looked preposterous! Castorice’s eyes were widened slightly, her mouth in an ‘o’ as Hyacine was smiling wide, as their faces were touching with them both looking at the camera. Castorice can’t quite imagine how bad the blush on her face is right now, but if Hyacine noticed, she didn’t say a single word. “Now, help me?” Castorice fidgets with her metal hand as she gently takes Hyacine’s hat off, and the physician goes to place the crown in its proper spot where it belongs. “Well, how do I look?”
“As beautiful as ever, Lady Hyacine.”
“Dudu du!” They both look up to see Ica flying around happily, as both familiars had similar flower crowns on, though, Pollux’s was on its snout.
“Pfft.” The dragon grumbles as it stares at Castorice, as if saying ‘don’t laugh.’ Castorice pays no mind as she bursts out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the sight, with Hyacine looking at her with a smile, cherishing the sight and engraving this very moment into her memory.
“Sir, you can’t just—“
“Quiet, you!” They both turn their heads towards the commotion, and Castorice spies a rather angry looking scholar heading in their direction. She hears growling and looks up to see both Pollux and Ica on edge. “YOU.” He points at Hyacine.
“M-me?” The scholar’s rage doubles tenfold, and he snarls.
“Assistant Instructor Hyacinthia, what in Amphoreus are you doing?! Why are you neglecting your teacher assistant duties to go frolic in the grass and make stupid flower crowns?!”
They are not stupid. Castorice retorts back, though not aloud. She doesn’t want to get angry at this guy, as much as he deserves it, for she may as well slash him down with her sycthe now. She watches as Hyacine stands up, flashing a quick apologetic smile at Castorice for the commotion.
“My apologies, I’ll get on it soon—“
“No, you will get on it now.” He shoves the boxes of papers into Hyacine’s hands, and Castorice has to try extra hard not to immediately put her scythe into this guy. His death would be the absolute antithesis of her ideology. “Titans, do I have to do EVERYTHING myself? Who gives a whopping damn if you’re some ‘Chryosos Heir’, or that you’re part of the ‘flame-chase’, or that you’re a physician????? You should know better than to—“
The scholar doesn’t get a chance to continue, as he’s met with a purple scythe aimed right at his throat.
“Speak any more, and I will make sure you can never speak another word for as long as you live. You are NOT to spew such insults at Lady Hyacine ever again. She does so much more than your pathetic self could even dream of doing in comparison.” The angry scholar sneers.
“And who are YOU to—“ a swift movement, and half of his locks are cut away and blown away by the wind, leaving the man partially bald. The scholar wordlessly pats his head and pales.
“Your vocal cords are next.” She gives a menacing glare, Pollux and Ica behind her as the now frightened scholar screams and runs away, begging for mercy from every single Titan possible. She turns towards Hyacine, who’s looking at Castorice with such astonishment.
“…Not quite the way I would’ve handled that, but nonetheless, thank you for defending me.” Hyacine places the sky high boxes to the ground with ease, and before Castorice could even dare to blink, Hyacine places a soft yet gently kiss on the other’s cheek. “Ah, your flower crown is slightly crooked…there!” Smiling brightly at her handiwork, she grabs Castorice’s metal hand, balancing the many boxes in her other. “C’mon, help me grade these papers. It’ll be kinda like old times, only then we were grading each other’s papers, hehe.” The Heir is dragged away to a corner table before she could utter another word.
“Du du…” Ica shakes their head, as though saying, ‘They’re hopeless…’, and Pollux rumbles in agreement. Their masters were quite useless, weren’t they?
•—————————•
Hyacine hides behind the small stone statue, staring wide-eyed like she has been for the past 20 minutes or so now, she doesn’t quite know anymore.
“Du?” Ica appears, and Hyacine shushes them.
“Shh, Ika! Not now, I’m…spying on Cassie.” Ica gives her a look and a du of disapproval, and Hyacine looks away. “Don’t give me that look, it’s for a very important reason!” Yes, because like any normal and typical demigod, she’s trying to see from very far away what Castorice was reading. It was only supposed to be a short visit to the Library of Philia, as she had wanted find some material related to romance for no particular reason.
“Du…” Ica says, unconvinced.
“I did NOT know Cassie was also going to be here!” Hyacine whisper-yells, before ducking behind the statue as Castorice curiously glances up. She looks around once, then goes back to reading. “Geez, you almost got us caught, now go away!” She shoos Ica away, and the pegasus huffs before dissipating into a bunch of sparkles. She can’t keep staring like this any longer so as quietly as she could, she sneaks up to Castorice’s shoulder to get a peak at what the other woman could possibly be reading.
< The sky thunders heavily, as two girls, [***] and [*****] fight each other in the storm. The scene grows tense with each second, as neither is willing to back down, throwing attacks and projectiles at each other in acts of desperation.
Suddenly, the sky parts, and the other girl could only watch in horror as [***] unleashed her sword in front of her very eyes, casting a powerful electrical attack. As the girl falls, unconscious, the other one follows suit, grasping onto her friend’s hand with her entire being.
“You reached out your hand to me that day.” [***] laments in a sad tone. “You changed my destiny from the moment we touched.” [***] closes her eyes briefly, before opening them again.
“You’re the most important person in my life.”
They land on the roof, [***] gently holding [*****]’s figure bridal style. The setting sun illuminates the scene a dull orange, as [***] places [*****] down against a rock. [***] stares at [*****] wistfully.
“If rescuing you is a sin, I’ll gladly become a sinner.” She turns chastely, closing her eyes as to not look back, for she knows she will break.
“Farewell, [*****].” She descends into the sky as a red lightning bolt and disappears among the parted clouds. >
“It is quite sad, is it not?”
“Yeah, it really is…” Hyacine agrees, before yelping. Since when did Castorice notice her presence?? She was practically a ninja! “C-Cassie! What a pleasant surprise!!” Castorice only smiles slightly.
“You do not need to go through such lengths to conceal yourself, Lady Hyacine, I had already noticed your presence in the library ages ago, but thought to not bother as you seemed preoccupied…though, not preoccupied enough to spy on what I was reading.” Castorice teases lightly, and Hyacine puts her hands up in surrender, blushing slightly.
“Hehe, you got me. We haven’t seen each other in forever though, I kind of panicked and forgot how to function, I guess.”
Castorice blinks, confused. “We sent each other message correspondences just this morning?”
Hyacine coughs lightly into her fist, deciding to change the subject. “So, what is it you’re reading, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“It is called Lament of the Fallen. It is a ‘doomed’ romance between two girls. Lord Phainon recommended it to me recently, telling me it was ‘really good’ and that he ‘cried a lot over the doomed yuri’. I had the free time, so I thought come here and finally read it for myself. I have been enjoying it immensely.” Castorice swipes her hand up, and a copy of the scroll appears in front of Hyacine. “If you would like, you can read it too, there is an extra copy available.”
“Thank you, Cassie!” Hyacine says excitedly, for now it is another topic of discussion for them. She pockets the scroll as she gathers the courage to speak again. “By the way, since I ran into you here, would you like to do something together? It can be anything really.” Castorice ponders for a moment, tilting her head before speaking once more.
“Head to our usual spot at Twilight Courtyard, I have something in mind.”
—
“Awoo!” Hyacine looks up to see Kevin, Castorice’s new chimera friend, excitedly jump up and down.
”He seems like a Kevin, I feel as though it is a fitting name for him and his big blue eyes.” She recalls the other saying, smiling at the memory. While it was a rather odd and uncommon name in Amphoreus, it fit the chimera well. Castorice huffs slightly as she carries the sewing supplies and assortment of fabrics to the table, barely being able to see ahead of her as she weaves in and out to avoid hitting one of the chimeras around.
“Cassie, you didn’t have to run here, I would’ve been fine with waiting!”
“I am…aware, but…I got a bit…too excited…” she goes to sit as Hyacine inspects the haul, smiling at the stuff. “One of my hobbies is plushie making, believe it or not.”
Hyacine giggles. “That’s such a cute hobby!” Castorice blushes as Hyacine looks through the sewing kit. “What kind of plushies were you thinking of making?”
“I was thinking of making a plushie of everyone…though it sounds a little embarrassing, saying it out loud like this.”
“Nonsense, I’m sure they’ll all love it!” She smiles at Castorice, and the other feels her nerves disappearing when their eyes meet. “Besides, you have me helping you! So, where should we begin?”
—
“Awww, these are SO CUTE!” Hyacine giddily says, admiring the craftsmanship of the 10 plushies that laid in front of her. “Though, I like this one the most.” She picks up the small Castorice plushie with both hands, smiling down on it like it was the most precious thing ever.
“I-if you would like, Lady Hyacine, you can keep that one.” Hyacine blinks and looks up at the other Heir.
“Eh, really?! Are you sure?!”
Castorice nods. “It is my plushie after all, I think it is best she stays with you.” Hyacine jumps excitedly up and down before latching the Castorice plush next to her Pegasus head plush.
“I’ll make sure to treasure it forever then! Oh, that means you can keep mine too by the way. Hopefully you’ll think of me in your dreams.~” Castorice’s face reddens as Hyacine places the plush of herself into the Heir’s metal hand, and the woman goes to hold the Hyacine plush. Thanks to their team effort, Castorice’s plushies have looked the best they ever have been, especially the Hyacine one she’s holding right now. She smiles as she stashes the plushie for safe keeping. “Right, we should divide up which plushie we are giving to who. If it is alright, I will take the Lady Aglaea, Lady Tribbie, Lady Trianne, Lady Trinnon, and Lord Mydei plushies with me to gift to them later.”
“Sounds fine to me! That just leaves Phainon, Professor Anaxa, and Cipher then! Shouldn’t be a problem at all, I’ll let you know soon how they react to their gifts!” Castorice smiles a bit wider as she nudges the metal hand towards the physician. “Eh, what’s this?”
“Another gift for you. Think of it as my repayment for the metal hand.” Hyacine smiles wide upon seeing the Ica plush.
“Oh Cassie, you shouldn’t have! Look, Ika, It’s you!!!” Ica curiously flys towards the plushie, nudging it softly before taking it from Hyacine and playing with it. “Seems they really like it, thanks Cassie, you’re so sweet!” For once, Castorice feels like a regular person, not bound to Thanatos in the slightest and having a fun time with her friend.
“Awoo?” She looks down and notices Kevin staring curiously, and she gently places the white chimera plushie into the metal hand, setting it down for the chimera to see. “Awooo!”
“Hehe, Kevin also likes your gift too, huh?”
“Our gift,” Castorice corrects. “This would have taken me far longer if not for your help and collaboration, Lady Hyacine. Since we still have some time, what do you think about plushies of all the chimeras here?” Hyacine claps with excitement, readily agreeing.
“We can even gift those plushies to the kids! It’ll sure make them smile wide knowing their chimera friend is always with them! This is all so much fun, thank you for showing me your hobby, Cassie!” They smile at each other and with that, the two get to work.
•—————————•
< I just gave Phainon and Professor Anaxa their gifts, Phainon loves his plushie! The Professor does too, though he won’t admit it. Your gift idea was a huge success, Cassie!! Don’t worry, I’ll find the time to give Cipher’s plushie later. Love you!! <3 >
Castorice smiles upon rereading the message she had gotten this morning, coincidentally after she handed out her own share of the gifts, aside from Mydei’s. She truly is grateful for everything the other Heirs have done for her, she feels as though she’s a slightly different person than the one she was 1000 years ago.
Her smile turns into a frown though upon looking up from her teleslate, it seems her favorite flower shop has been closed indefinitely, for she has not seen any sign of the shopkeeper or flowers for the past few days she’s been free of duties. While it was really quite small and laid in a rather secluded spot in the marketplace, Castorice often found herself wandering the shop often, admiring the beautiful arrays of flowers. The nice old lady had even memorized Castorice by heart, always giving her a warm smile and greeting whenever the Heir came around. It’s strange, but Castorice finds herself missing those rather small and mundane moments.
“Ah, Lady Castorice! There you are!” She blinks and looks up, recognizing the woman coming up to her being one Perhippas, Hyacine’s helper in the courtyard. She looked rather frantic, a serious expression on her face as she approaches the Heir. “You have to come with me, quickly…it’s urgent.” Castorice wastes no time in following the other woman, wondering what has happened.
—
They arrive, and Castorice is greeted with an atmosphere she knows all too well, for the air is heavy and the mood tense. She can practically feel the sense death radiating from the courtyard, and she runs to Hyacine’s side, who’s reciting a blessing.
“…!” Hyacine looks up, locking eyes with Castorice. “I’ve done all I can, but I can only do so much. She kept requesting for you though, sorry if you were in the middle of something.”
“It is no problem at all.” Castorice looks over to the person laying in the cot, eyes going wide as she recognizes the old lady in front of her to be the same one that was the shopkeeper for her favorite store. She smiles sadly as she takes a step forward, with Hyacine and Perahippas stepping back to give the Heir room. “So, it is finally your time.” The old lady opens her eyes, turning her head slightly.
“Ah, Miss Castorice, I recognize your voice anywhere. It’s been awhile, how have you been?”
“I-I am doing well, thank you.” She tries her best to keep her composure as Hyacine does. “I was sad that your flower shop had been gone for awhile, now I know the reason why.” Castorice’s voice cracks slightly. Despite all her experience with death and the deceased, it always pains her when someone has to depart, especially the few ones she’s grown to have a bond with.
The old lady laughs. “Oh deary, don’t give me that look. Look at me, I’m so old now! It was only a matter of time anyways.” She coughs heavily, and Castorice’s frown only grew deeper. “You were one of the few that would always come to admire my flowers so often, the only other one was my daughter, but she had succumbed to the black tide a year ago. I feel as though you two would have gotten along well.” She coughs again, even heavier than before. “My time is running short, so I just have one final request before I go—!” The old lady forcibly hoists herself upright, now eye level with Castorice. She opens her arms widen, and the Heir all too well knows where this is going.
“I know you loathe your curse, dear, and that curse is the exact reason you stray away from others, however,” the old lady smiles warmly. “I think it makes for a more beautiful goodbye, wouldn’t you say?” Castorice wraps her arms around the old lady, feeling the woman disintegrate with each second they embrace.
“Thank you, Miss Castorice.”
“No, thank you. I truly loved seeing your flower display when I got the chance.” A few stray tears escape, yet she doesn’t let go. “May you have a safe journey crossing the River of Souls.” She feels the last of the old lady disappear and stares sadly at the purple particles that remain.
“Cassie…” she feels a warm set of hands on her back as Hyacine goes to rest her body against the other Heir. “Cry as much as you want, okay? I’ll be here. I won’t go anywhere.” She reassured the other, gently drawing patterns and shapes on the other’s back as Castorice weeps for the departed once more.
—
“…thank you, Lady Hyacine.” She takes a sip of the tea, recognizing it to be the same one Hyacine gave her before. They’re outside the courtyard now, at their familiar table that they’ve always gone to.
Hyacine smiles sadly. “Of course, Cassie, anything for you. I know it’s tough having to do that, but I’m always here for you, okay?” She feels a bit more at ease seeing the woman’s reassuring smile. Hyacine truly is such a strong person, in comparison to her. “If there’s anything you need, let me know.”
Castorice shakes her head, finishing the last of her tea. “Thank you, but I think I will just go for a stroll around the city to clear my thoughts.” She bows at Hyacine and walks off, while Hyacine stares with a frown. She knows the burden Castorice holds runs far deeper than she can imagine, but if only there was a way she can alleviate the other Heir’s pain, if not for a bit…
*Ding!* she looks down and grabs her teleslate. Finally, she got an answer. Hyacine gets up from the table and makes her way down towards the marketplace.
•—————————•
“…geez, take any longer, would you? It’s not like I got any treasure to steal or anything.” Cipher remarks sarcastically as she finally sees Hyacine approaching, slightly out of breath. Cipher had asked to meet on the roof, and someone had conviently broken Janus’ hidden passage, so Hyacine had to endure the long route of climbing manually. She raises an eyebrow. “What’s got you so out of breath? Wait let me guess, is it Princess Homebody or whatever?” She sees the look Hyacine gives her and smirks. “So I was right! Fair warning, it’ll cost ya double if it’s matters of the heart.”
*SLAM!* Wordlessly, Hyacine drops a huge bag of gold coins from seemingly nowhere, and Cipher feels her eyes pop out of her skull as she stares at the golden hue she loves so much. “Haha, now we’re talking! To Zagreus, how much they paying you, doc?!” She swipes a gold coin, raising it up towards the sky and admiring the glint.
“Ahem!” Cipher frowns and her ears droop as she turns back towards the other Heir, barely listening.
“Yeah, yeah, whatcha need?”
“Do you happen to know what Cassie’s favorite flower is?” Cipher blinks, tearing her eyes from her treasure to gawk at Hyacine.
“Can’t you ask her yourself?!” One look from Hyacine said otherwise. “Okay, okay, it was just a question. Don’t get your pigtails in a knot now.” She ponders for a minute, tail moving back and forth before she snaps her fingers. “I had to take her on a little day trip to Styxia, and to the Titans, she couldn’t stop yammering about some flower called ‘Snapdragons’ or whatever. Based on that, I’d assume your dearly beloved would love some snapdragons.”
“Thank you, now go get some for me, would you?”
“Eh?” The Dolos cat blinks. “Surely I didn’t mishear you, right? I’ve only got nine lives here—“
“Keep talking and we’ll make that one.” The look Hyacine was giving her was borderline murderous, a far cry from Hyacine’s usual cheery image, and Cipher could only wonder where she picked that up from. She puts her hands up in surrender.
“Alright woman, damn! Cut a cat some slack here! Well? Is that all to your silly demands?”
“I’d also like some flowers, any kind will do as long as they’re in different varieties and colors. If you could get some flower seeds as well, that would be nice.” Cipher grumbles as she stretches her limbs out, before blazing off. Sneakily, Hyacine quickly gets to work swapping her real gold bag with a decoy. She just barely makes it back to her original spot as Cipher returns, tossing the items requested at the Heir as she makes a dive for her beloved coins.
“Got it, now shoo, kitty’s got some treasure to sift through, hehe.” Cipher shoos the woman away as Hyacine gives her thanks and quickly departs from the roof, whistling as she does so. “Treasure, treasure all mine!—eh? What the hell?” She picks up a gold coin, scrutinizing it. Her cat senses were tingling, it was fake! She gets to the bottom of the bag and feels something soft, pulling out a plushie of what looks like her and a note.
< To Cipher,
You may be wondering why you were given fake coins. That’s because you have a bunch of pending medical bills you’ve failed to pay back. Remember your many visits to Twilight Courtyard after you got hurt ‘doing very good deeds for Aglaea and totally not robbing Phainon’s hidden funds?’ No matter, think of this as a way for debt to be lifted! The plushie is a gift from Castorice and I, please be careful not to lose it or tear it up with your claws.
Hugs and smiles,
Physician Hyacinthia >
“DAMN IT!” Cipher crumples the note under her heel and sighs. Looks like she’s not making a quick buck this time, but at least the plushie is cute, she’ll give those two that. She looks down at the bag, frowning before an idea comes to mind.
“You called?” The spirithief appears, and Cipher smirks. She tosses the bag in its face, pocketing the plushie as she does so.
“Here, Bartholos! It’s pay day!~”
“Oooo, gold coins! Let’s see…hey! This isn’t real gold at all!” Bartholos looks up, only for Cipher to stick her tongue out and run away, leaving the translucent purple mass to eat dirt.
—
Castorice sighs, staring sadly into the sky. She recognizes Hyacine’s favorite bird, Barbatos, as it chirps a tune. While Castorice will eventually get over the shopkeeper’s passing, she will miss seeing those flowers.
“Du!!!” She blinks as Ica flies right in front of her face.
“Eh, Mister Ica? What are you doing here? Why are you not accompanying Lady Hyacine right now?” Castorice could barely keep watch of Ica as they twirl around in the sky. “…do you…wish for me to follow you somewhere?”
“Du du du!!” Ica nods frantically, leading the mortician towards a familiar place.
—
“Ah, this is…” Castorice blinks, unable to believe her eyes, for she recognizes the patch of flowers to be the same ones her favorite shop would have on display.
“Du du,” Ica gently nudges her, and Castorice pulls out her metal hand as Ica drops a few Snapdragons tied neatly together with a pink bow. The Pegasus flies off as Castorice smiles for the first time today, admiring how beautiful the snapdragons look.
“Oh, Lady Hyacine, thank you so much…” Castorice mumbles, yet it didn’t fall on deaf ears, as Perhippas does her best to muffle her cheers from behind the corner.
“Haha, way to go Lady Hyacine!!”
“Shhh, quiet! I’m happy too, but Cassie does not need to know we’re here right now!” Ica flies back to Hyacine’s side and gives her a look, as though they were saying ‘next time, do it yourself girl’. She stares at Castorice, happy her plan of cheering the other woman up worked.
“…”
“…”
“…does this mean you two are going to date now—“
“I said quiet, Perhippas!”
•—————————•
*Knock knock knock* Castorice knocks on the door rather hesitantly. She’s going to meet Mydei in the kitchen, as she had asked the former king for help on foods she can make for her and Hyacine’s stargazing picnic later today.
“Come in,” a voice resounds, and Castorice gently opens the door, a wave of aromas hitting her nose as she does so. “You’re here earlier than we agreed on.” Mydei comments, and Castorice smiles sheepishly.
“Yes, I would like to make the best possible meal for Lady Hyacine, as I feel very much indebted towards her and everything she’s done for me.”
“Damn, just confess your love already.” Castorice tilts her head, not hearing what the other said as Mydei waves it off as nothing. “Just give me a minute to finish these meals for Aglaea and the others,” he says as he perfectly stacks the final pancake to the last dish, placing some berries and and a drizzle of honey as final touches.
“Those are impressive, Lord Mydei…although, may I ask about that?” She points towards a lone plate on the side, where berry tops and overly burnt pancakes sat unevenly.
“Ah, that’s for Phainon. He pissed me off recently, so he only gets the scraps.” She watches as Mydei scoops all five plates onto his arms. “Stay right there, I’ll be back after I deliver these.” Mydei exits the kitchen as Castorice goes to hastily put on an apron and chefs hat, frowning at how the chefs hat doesn’t seem to straighten up. Mydei quickly comes back, and Castorice can hear Phanion screaming.
“MYDEI, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO INITIATED THE WHOLE THI—“ Mydei kicks the door shut with a grunt, and Castorice winces at the echo the force created.
“Now then, let’s—“ he stops, staring at the other Heir, who blinks.
“…is there something the matter, Lord Mydei?” He blinks, attempting not to laugh and quickly snaps a picture of Castorice, secretly sending it to Hyacine.
“No, nothing. Here,” he gives her a massive scroll titled Festive Culinary Guide. “Look through these and tell me which ones you want to make. I’ll be happy to help.”
—
“Perhippas! On this report here, change the patient’s medication to a placebo, we just need them to think they’re taking the real thing.” *Ding!* Hyacine blinks as she feels her teleslate vibrate, and she pulls it out. “Now who could possibly—!” Hyacine drops her teleslate, face completely red.
“Alright, I changed the patient’s medication like you asked, is there anything else—“ she stops, staring at Hyacine. “Lady Hyacine, are you okay? Are you coming down with a fever??” She watches as Hyacine sinks to floor, and Perhippas bends down to look at Hyacine’s teleslate. She laughs in realization. “Pfft, ohhh, I see what it is. Young love these days.” She pats Hyacine in the head as she walks off to leave the flustered Hyacine with the oh so adorable picture of one Chef Castorice open on her phone.
“Mydei, really…?” Hyacine grumbles. Either he’s about to get a one way ticket to the courtyard or a personalized first aid kit free of charge. She slams her head against the grass in embarrassment.
—
Mydei takes the cookies out of the oven, putting them on a rack to cool. “Alright, and that’s the Spirit Day’s Lucky Cookies. You picked a lot of great choices. I’m sure Hyacine will love your stargazing picnic.” Castorice smiles as she looks over the spread. Over the past three hours, he helped her make dishes like Nikador’s Shield of Victory, some Cerces’ Leaves of Wisdom, and Janus’ Double-Sided Pancakes.
Castorice bows her head gratefully. “Thank you very much, Lord Mydei. I do not quite think I would have been able to do this alone.” Mydei flashes a thumbs up as the mortician goes to pack everything into the basket.
“Of course. You made for decent company for once, I’m more than happy to help if it’s you and not Phainon. Good luck on your date,” Mydei jests, and Castorice stops suddenly, face red. This wasn’t—no…there’s no way, right? They’re just friends going on a friendly date together AS FRIENDS. Mydei stares awkwardly, watching as Castorice freezes in place. “…you okay?”
“I—uh—“ Mydei sighs, running a hand through his hair.
“HKS…” he mutters under his breath. “‘Aight, I get it. It was a simple joke. I was just under the impression you fancied her is all.” Castorice looks down, setting the food back on the table.
“I-it is not that, Lord Mydei. You are correct with your assumption, it is just—“ he waits as she finds the right words. “Would she even like someone such as myself?”
Mydei raises an eyebrow. “Have you seen the way she looks at you? I remember I had an injury once and had to visit her, and she kept yapping and yapping about you, my ears were about to explode.” He places a hand on Castorice’s shoulder. “My advice? Tell her. You don’t exactly have a lot to lose, and if she rejects you, then you have a reason to go get the Death coreflame earlier than expected.” He smirks, going to put the rest of the food in her basket. “Don’t fret too much about it, she likes you back, that much I can tell.” He closes the basket and places it snug on Castorice’s arm. “There, now go, you’re not supposed to keep a lady waiting, but you can keep a Phainon waiting for hours on end after you promised to do some…seal slamming? Whatever the hell that is.”
“Ah, thank you, Lord Mydei.” She’s almost out the door of the kitchen thanks to Mydei practically pushing her, but she manages to fish it out of her pocket in time. “This is for you, Lady Hyacine and I made it ourselves.” He smiles at the miniature plushie of himself.
“Could use a bit more muscle, but thanks, I’ll treasure it.” He waves as Castorice hurries off to meet Hyacine at their usual spot.
•—————————•
Castorice practically runs from the elevator, only stopping once she sees the person she treasures most in view. She can only stop and stare pathetically at how the moon hit Hyacine in just the right angle, making her seem like a deity that could rival the Titans.
“Ah, Cassie, you made it! Just in time.” Hyacine smiles brightly upon seeing the other as Castorice goes to sit on the blanket, placing the basket down between both of them. “I didn’t even think about making this a picnic, by the way, thanks for suggesting it!”
Castorice smiles. “Of course, I thought it would make the occasion more special.” Amidst her ‘ways to have platonic fun with your platonic friend platonically’ search, an interesting article appeared that said many platonically platonic friends tend to go on picnic stargazing outings…platonically, of course. Castorice certainly does not hold any more feelings towards Hyacine other than pure friendship. So when Hyacine had asked her earlier in the week if she was free to stargaze, she decided to swallow all her nerves and ask then and there if she could make it a picnic, to which Hyacine happily agreed.
“Oooo, Janus’ Double-sided pancakes! I’ve been craving those lately! You made so much stuff—do I spy cookies?!” She holds up the container of cookies. “These look so good!”
“Yes, they were the one I was most proud of making, though, I did not get a chance to taste them at the time.” Hyacine opens the container, and before Castorice could blink, a cookie was offered to her. She goes to grab it with her metal hand, but Hyacine firmly holds it down.
“No. I’m feeding you it, silly. Now, say ‘ahhh’…” Castorice blushes, and while it takes her a few minutes, she regains her composure.
“A-ahhhh…” Castorice tucks some of her hair behind her ear as she closes her eyes, Hyacine placing the cookie inside her mouth. She’s really gotta make sure to thank Mydei later, the cookies were incredible. Maybe they were even better because Hyacine was with her this very moment, but nonetheless, they were delicious. She opens her eyes and sees Hyacine staring at her as though she were the most beautiful thing in the world, and Castorice feels her cheeks turn warm again.
“How are they?”
“T-they are good.” Hyacine holds up another cookie, a mischievous look in her eyes.
“Would you like another one?” Oh Titans, what kind of trap has she gotten herself tangled up in? Castorice could only relent as she was fed almost half the cookies in the container, as well as half of the other food, with Hyacine giving her that look of adoration every single time. Once that was done, they turn their attention towards the night sky, basking in the incredible view of the stars. They sit like this for awhile, at peace with each other’s company and the night sky. Eventually, Hyacine breaks the silence.
“…Regarding what you had asked me before, with how much time you have left…to be honest, I don’t know. And I hate that I don’t really know, when I’m technically supposed to know the answer to that.” She feels Castorice’s gaze on her, and she looks down, twiddling her thumbs. “I get many different patients that come in, some with an illness that’ll only last a week or so, while others are nearing their last few moments. They’ll ask me that same question you did, and they’ll have a similar look as you, and the worst part about it all is that I truly don’t know.” Hyacine’s voice breaks, and she feels a few tears running down her cheeks. “I’ve always tried to say it with a smile, to not show my sorrow until they’re truly gone…but it always sticks with you, seeing someone depart when they could have still been living.” She wipes the tears from her eyes, as Castorice says nothing, but Hyacine doesn’t mind, for she knows the other woman is listening with her entire life. “I-I’m sorry, this is all so stupid—“
“No. It is…reassuring, in a rather odd way.” She meets Hyacine’s eyes and smiles slightly, before turning to look at the view. “I feel similarly to my curse, how my mere touch can cause things to wither away in an instant, how I can easily take away the life of anything.” Her smile turns sad as she reflects. “That is why, whenever someone or something has to eventually pass on, I can only hope their end is met beautifully.” She looks down and notices her hands were wet, and she goes to touch the source. “Ah, looks like I am crying as well, I guess we can match.” Hyacine barely musters a laugh as they sit there, the literal bringers of life and death, crying over something quite nonsensical. “As Chrysos Heirs, we must all eventually fulfill our duties regarding the core flames and the prophecy…but,”
“But until then,” Hyacine picks up where Castorice leaves off. “let’s enjoy the little time we have now.” She turns her whole body to the other, smiling despite the stream of tears still running down her face. “When we eventually do pass, I hope…I hope we’re able to see each other in the next world. I hope that we don’t have to be burdened by such ridiculous expectations and burdened by our extreme circumstances. I hope that we can hold hands, and that we can actually embrace each other, not as the ‘Servant of Death’ or the ‘Healer of Light’, but as Castorice and Hyacine. Yeah, I’d really like that, but alas…all I can hope is that—“
“We will see each other tomorrow.” Hyacine blinks, looking back up at Castorice. Similarly to her, she was also crying, yet the smile Castorice had on was one that could rival the stupid Dawn Device itself, and Hyacine wonders how blessed she must be to even see such a rare sight.
“Pfft, look at us, crying like babies when we’re demigods, heh.” Hyacine laughs as Castorice joins her, laughing at the absurdity of everything. As they calm down, Castorice frets a little. Now seems like the perfect chance to confess, however, it feels like the words are stuck in her throat, she can’t communicate them properly! Little does she realize Hyacine was also going through something similar in her mind.
“…Hey, Cassie?” Hyacine goes first, but pauses. Why is she hesitating, is there truly anything left to lose at this point? She stares into those lilac eyes she’s grown to adore so much. They’ve practically done everything together now, it’s safe to say they’ve grown even closer than ever before. Hyacine has known a lot about Castorice and has gotten to learn new things about her. To others, Castorice might seem like a gloomy person whose only role is to grant others a rather painless death, but to Hyacine? Castorice was everything to her. She steels her resolve and speaks.
“Can I kiss you?” Well, here goes nothing. Hyacine’s sure she’s shaking, her voice is wobbly and uneven, and everything about this seems like a mistake, that it wasn’t perfect enough, but Hyacine wants to see this through no matter what may happen tomorrow. “Er—sorry, let me rephrase that. You’re the most important person in my life, so may I kiss you?” she watches with utter delight as Castorice’s face turns horribly crimson, the exact reaction she was hoping for.
“A-ah, that’s…!” Actually, Hyacine spent all her free time studying and engraving that romance scroll Castorice had given her into her brain ever since their encounter at the Library of Philia; She can practically recall every single sentence from it. She may have lost sleep over it yes, but it was so worth it for this very moment. “…the answer is yes, by the way, yes—just kiss me, please.” Castorice pleads as Hyacine gets on the other’s lap and gently places both her hands on Castorice’s face. She leans in as Castorice does the same, putting her hands behind her back as their lips lock together. They pull apart, both breathless and dizzy, and Hyacine can’t help but love this view. Typically, she was looking up at the other Heir thanks to their rather extreme height difference, but getting to stare down at Castorice felt so rewarding in a way. It must be a short person type of thing. She stares lovingly into Castorice’s eyes, smiling at how they seem to sparkle a little more when with her.
“…does this mean you like me then, and does this mean we are now ‘together’?” Castorice asks, still breathless as Hyacine nods her damn head off. She takes her thumbs and wipes the stray tears still on the other’s face.
“Yes and yes. I’ve been wanting to do that for so long now.” She smiles and touches their noses together, giggling. “I love you so, so, so much, Castorice.”
“I love you very much as well, Hyacine.” They don’t exchange any other words for awhile as Hyacine pulls her in for another kiss under the twinkling starry sky.
•—————————•
The sun beams down as Hyacine places down her glass pen, smiling upon finishing the detailed page on what more foods to avoid for unwanted food poisoning.
“Well, time to take a break.” The physician stretches her arms high towards the sky, her hands attempting to grasp that endless blue hue. “At least there’s no more food poisoning cases now with the first few pages I put out already, thank Kephale they put the droma food elsewhere…” she mumbles as she takes her gaze off the sky and looks towards the side, where a bunch of chimeras lay together lazing about. She spies Kevin within that group, seemingly taking a nap. Hyacine smiles slightly as she feels a slightly cool breeze come in, closing her eyes and letting it rustle through her hair and clothes.
“Du? Du du!” Hyacine opens her eyes as she sees Ica fly about rather excitedly.
“What is it, Ika?” Hyacine follows the Pegasus’ gaze as she sees a familiar face walking towards her, and she can’t help but smile wide upon seeing a familiar someone.
“Cassie, hi! Glad to see you, hehe.” Her smile only grows bigger upon seeing her girlfriend sharing the same smile. “How have you been?” Castorice raises an eyebrow, still smiling, as she joins the other at the table.
“You asked me that this morning as well.” She comments as Hyacine clears her notebook and supplies from the table.
“A lot can change from the morning to noon!” Castorice sits as a tea cup casually slids towards her, and she looks up to Hyacine winking playfully.
She gratefully accepts the tea, drinking it slowly and savoring the unique flavors of the tea she’s grown so accustomed to. “I am alright, though I do not believe Lady Cipher is. I ran into her while coming here, and she had mentioned to me something regarding fake gold coins?”
“Ah…don’t worry about that. She’ll get over it soon…probably.”
“So my suspicions were on point after all.” Hyacine groans slightly as Castorice bursts into giggles. Eventually, she breathes and regains her composure, before speaking once more. “If it is alright with you, I would like to go to the market place today. There is some wonderful new thread and fabrics that are available. I figure we could create a plush Pollux.”
“That sounds great to me, wanna go now?” Castorice nods excitedly as Hyacine gently grasps Castorice’s metal hand. They head towards the elevator, though suddenly, Castorice stops.
“Hm, what is it Cassie?” Castorice looks away bashfully, taking a few moments to choose her next words, and Hyacine smiles, waiting patiently to hear whatever life-changing lines the woman will say next.
“…thank you for everything, Hyacine.” It was simple, yet it meant the entire world to Hyacine to hear those words. She’s reminded of the time Castorice had come to her that day, asking her about the amount of time left she had in regards to her ailment. In response, Hyacine took it upon herself to show the other Heir what she meant, engaging in various activities with the other. Their time may be limited, and the prophecy looms over the both of their heads, reminding them of the grime reality they will have to face eventually, but for now, Hyacine is content. She’s always loved the warm fuzzy feelings she gets when it came to helping others. Seeing the other person smile and thank her so graciously continually affirmed Hyacine’s aspirations to continue being Twilight Courtyard’s chief healer, Hyacinthia.
But with Castorice, she can be Hyacine, a rather average person who others deem as vastly different in comparison to the valiant bloodline that precedes her. Here, she can go on random dates with the other woman, point out a cool new bird, pick a new outfit for a chimera, read more romance scrolls and create new plushies, and go stargazing with the one she loves the most.
Really, there’s no better feeling than that, wouldn’t you agree, O Nameless one?