Chapter Text
It was a fine afternoon, being in a temperate state. As for Feli, she was in her room, performing her daily divination. Being skilled in her craft, she was able to get a clear reading on what the divination is most of the time. However, this time was different.
The only thing Feli could put together was a watermelon being crushed with seeds drifting away. She tried to look into the divination again, but something was still off.
At the same time, though, she wanted to learn more about it.
Feli continued to ponder the reading until she decided it was best to take a break. She left her house and went on a walk.
During her walk, the young dark maiden contemplated what to do for the rest of the day. Then, by fate, she saw Lemres participating in a Puyo battle with two boys who seemed to be his classmates.
Typically, Feli would go out of her way to give people who are close to him a piece of her mind; that included people like Klug. But since she still wanted to figure the divination out, she wasn't in the mood to do so.
"Hey, Lemres! Can I play too?" The girl asked him.
Lemres didn't plan on having Feli battle with him, but he figured he could Pair Puyo battle with another person with him.
"Umm...sure. Let's Puyo Battle!" Lemres tried to maintain his cheerful voice, but sounded hesitant.
Boards were placed before the four of them, and the match was initiated. As Puyo were being stacked and chains were being set off, Feli glanced at Lemres and his board a few times. He was setting up chains with his usual cool demeanour, but for a single glance, Feli saw a furrowed brow and a frown on his face, only for them to change the next time she took a glance at him. Other than that anomaly, the match went smoothly.
After the match's conclusion, the two seniors left. That left just Lemres and Feli, exactly what the latter wanted.
"Lemres!" The girl called out.
"H-hey Feli, that was fun, wasn't it?" Lemres once again tried to sound cheerful. The girl nodded at him.
"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Feli asked her upperclassman.
"Well, I arranged with Accord to meet her this evening to discuss proctoring her students for their upcoming exam session. Sorry."
"Okay," Feli responded with a sigh.
"Don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Lemres reassured her.
As Lemres took off on his broom to Primp Town, he thought of everything that had been happening to him for the past few days.
Not too long ago, he had received a letter in the mail from his parents. What do they want so bad from him? He left them a long time ago; he despised them for forcing him to be someone he doesn't want to be. What could be in that letter that would be worth his time?
After Lemres opened the letter, he began to read it. In that letter, his parents demanded money for his success due to his lineage of dark mages. Furthermore, they stated that without them, he wouldn't be where he is today.
To say that would be incorrect, as Lemres figured out the kind of person he wanted to be on his own now: helping everyone and having them get along.
Usually, whenever he is reminded of his family, he easily shrugs the thought off, knowing that it's minor. However, he felt a burden to carry this time around.
He had brought up his family to other people in the past; usually, he talked about things that had already happened. Those things are issues not to worry about anymore.
But this time, this was a new issue brought up by his family. He felt a bit of guilt knowing that his parents are still trying to reach out to him, although he made the right call to leave them. What else could he do besides not listen to them? How would his closest friends respond to his situation that is currently ongoing?
The comet warlock imagined how Klug and Feli would think of the situation. Most likely, not knowing what to do, they would both change the conversation to something else, like the former's academic boasting or the latter's proclamation of her love for him.
He cared about both of them, and they cared for him, too. Despite that, he wasn't sure if they were mature enough to handle a situation out of their control, given how they are.
As Lemres was approaching the town, he changed his thoughts on what needed to be done from his meeting with Ms. Accord to the day of the exam for her students. He had been focusing on his own issue for so long; he had more important matters to attend to.
The next day came, and Lemres and Feli were both in school. When lunch period began, the latter went to see him in the school's garden. Besides going to the garden for fortune-telling, that's what she did on most days. Typically, he would be reading magic books, talking with his classmates, or talking to her on most days.
"My dear Lemres, what's been up with you lately?" The girl asked him. She noticed yesterday that he wasn't his usual self.
"Well, I've been...going through some stuff-I was simply...tired and didn't get enough energy from my sweets."
That just left Feli confused. Her fated one wasn't always like this. Of course, this wasn’t the first time she saw him not being jolly, but this has been going on for more than she is used to.
"A-Alright. See you later." She didn't really know what to do with that response. She cared about him a lot, even to an unhealthy degree, but she wasn't sure if she should talk to him more.
Before she started to walk away, Lemres had something to say.
"Wait, Feli!"
"Yes, Lemres?"
"I heard of a festival in Primp Town happening tomorrow night. Interested in going?"
"Why, I would love to!"
At that moment, the thought of attending a festival with the person she was destined to be with cleared Feli's previous thought. As the school day continued, she kept thinking to herself that tomorrow couldn't come sooner enough.
From the point Feli woke up the next day, the festival was all that she continued to look forward to, even missing writing down a few class notes during a lecture. She could only wait for the final bell to ring.
Typically, when both Lemres and Feli visit Primp Town, they both commute on the former's broom. However, since Lemres had to get to there early to help set up stands, that meant Feli had to get a ride of her own.
Luckily, she did have one. After she left her house, she summoned Baldanders and mounted herself on his back. It took some time to get to Primp, but it was better than walking all the way there.
After getting off of Baldanders, Feli realised that she forgot to bring a treat for her pet. She searched her bag, hopefully finding a treat for him. She then felt a small bag of dog bones and grabbed one.
"Good boy, Bal." She handed the bone to him.
The dog woofed in response.
She then summoned Baldanders back to his realm.
Walking to the admission line, she thought about how the rest of the night would go. Once she meets up with Lemres, they'll have some treats, play various redemption games, and enter the grand competition. It would be a nice, romantic night to end the week for sure.
It didn't take long for the dark maiden to find her fated one, and when she did, she sprinted towards him.
"Hey, Feli! Glad you came." Lemres saw her come up to him.
"I've heard of a Pair Puyo competition happening very soon. Can we pair up?"
"Oh, about that...sorry, Feli, I've paired up with someone else," Lemres said.
Paired up with someone else? This person better not be Klug, Feli thought.
"Amitie and I agreed to participate in it when we were both setting things up. I'm sure there'll be someone else, right?"
Feli could only respond with confusion. It was set in fate that she'll be with him all night, and now that's out of the window?
She walked away and explored the fairgrounds. Eventually, she bumped into a certain girl with a red Puyo hat.
"Oh, Feli! What's up?" Amitie asked her.
"...It's you. By the way, have you seen how Lemres has been lately?"
"Oh, Lemres? It's nice that he's been hanging out with everyone here recently. Especially today, when he helped us run the festival."
"Has he been acting...strange?" Feli asked.
"Um…kinda? He kinda sounded strange when he offered candy to us, but we've been talking about how great the festival is gonna be. He seemed to be very happy when he was helping us, even more than usual." Amitie responded.
“There’ll also be a competition happening in 10 minutes. Interested?”
“I’ll think about it…” Feli dryly responded.
The purple-haired girl continued to walk before sitting down on a bench. She remained pensive until she saw a certain boy with glasses walk by.
That boy...of course, he was with Lemres, she thought.
The girl got up from the bench and followed the bespectacled boy before she came behind him and obstructed him.
“W-what are you doing here?” Klug said, while the girl glared at him.
“No one gets to Lemres but me!” Assuming that Klug was helping set up the festival, Feli was quick to accuse him.
“What are you talking about?” The boy said. He was used to Feli’s antics, but from what he could recall, he hadn’t talked with Lemres today. Instead, he was at the library, studying as usual.
“Don’t act dumb,” Feli responded in an acrimonious tone.
“Look, I was reading up on the books as usual at the library! I didn’t get to see him yet today.” Klug said defensively.
“Hmm...I kind of believe you, Four-Eyes.”
Klug glanced at his watch to avoid Feli’s gaze for a moment before he realised that the big competition starts in three minutes.
“Tell you what, I’ll prove it to you from him.” The boy took off to the place where the competition was held, and the girl ran with him.
“Not before I get to him first!” She said.
Both Klug and Feli arrived at the place where they were entered in the competition. Assuming that they were participating, Ms. Accord wrote their names down and announced the start of the competition.
The two started to look for their idol (or crush in Feli's case), but he was one of the first teams to go. That meant that they had to wait until he was available.
When it was the duo’s turn, they were victorious in the first round. There was a 5-minute intermission between the first two rounds, and Klug used the opportunity to find Lemres, while Feli stayed back.
The reason why she stayed back was that he told her to, so that she could alert him in time when it was about to resume.
While he was gone, Feli took out a makeshift crystal ball from her bag, and she went to one of the food stands, being a quieter place to do her divination.
She concentrated deeply for a minute and saw an image of Klug and Lemres talking to each other. From what she put together from the conversation the two boys had, the former’s statement seemed more credible now. She quickly put away her ball and zipped up her bag, running back to the area he wanted her to be in.
A minute before the intermission concluded, he returned to the spot where Feli was. Before he said a word, the girl interrupted him.
“I’ve heard. I now believe you, just this once.” Feli said, this time in a softer tone than earlier, but still with discontent.
The next round started, but when it was Klug and Feli’s turn, they both lost the match. As they were eliminated, they both went to do their own thing.
While Klug went to explore the different stands at the festival, Feli considered going home. If that’s what the rest of the night is going to look like, then what’s the point in staying? Of course, she could’ve stayed to the end of the competition to see Lemres, but at that point, she felt like going home.
As she got up from the bench she was previously on, she started heading towards the exit. For a moment, she saw Lemres, most likely taking a break with the intermission of the third round happening.
She saw him taking a bite out of a piece of watermelon he bought from one of the produce stands. As she took another glance as she was walking, she saw him spit out some of the seeds in that watermelon.
All of a sudden, that divination at the beginning of the week made sense to Feli. The watermelon is being crushed, and the seeds are drifting away.
Wait, will Lemres and I part ways? She wondered, approaching the exit.
She couldn’t believe it. He was exhausted when he saw her, but when he talked to anyone else besides Klug, he seemed to be just fine. Could it be that they’re done for? No, no, it couldn't be. Fate was unchangeable in her eyes.
The days came, and it wasn’t long before Lemres and Feli were both at school.
Everything that happened from the divination to the festival was all the dark maiden could think about during the school day.
Eventually, lunch period came, and she decided to do something about it.
She went to the usual spot where they met and struck up a conversation with him.
“My dear Lemres! You alright?”
“I’ve been...fine. The festival was fun, right?" The comet warlock tried to dissemble his dismay.
“Yes, but is everything OK? I haven’t seen you much lately.” The girl asked him.
He still didn’t want her to know about his issue with his family, for he worried she would derail the conversation. Knowing how she is, she would brush the issue off to the side and go about her love for him.
It wasn’t like Lemres could use another excuse, too. It became apparent that Feli was dubious of him, and he was running out of options in hiding his issue.
“I need some time alone.” Lemres bluntly said. At that moment, the comet warlock decided that setting up a boundary between him and her was the best thing he could do.
After hearing that from him, she decided to respect his boundaries, at least for now. Usually, she ignores them to get her way, but this time, she realised that it would be no use. However, Feli continued to grow even more curious about him.
The final bell rang, and she started to walk home. As she left the school property, she saw him preparing to take off on his broom.
"Lemres, wait!" The girl called out.
"Huh? Feli?" The comet warlock dismounted from his broom.
"Seriously, what's been going on? Now you don't want to talk to me about it?" Feli raised her voice with each question.
"But Feli-"
"I see how it is." She didn't wait for him to finish his sentence.
"What do you mean?"
"After all you did, taking me out for dessert, helping me get my ribbon back from Satan, now we're done? Please don't leave me."
"Feli, it's not like that," Lemres responded, this time sounding a little exasperated.
"If it's not like that, then why do you keep hiding it from me?" The girl said.
By now, it was just the two of them. Everyone else had already gone home.
"I-I wasn't sure how you were going to respond."
"At least you now know how I feel."
"Feli, this isn't just about you. This is a burden I've been carrying, and I need to get it off." Lemres tried to maintain his composure.
"Then why didn't you tell me that earlier?" Feli said, annoyed at him.
At this point, the comet warlock couldn't take it anymore. He had been bottling up his emotions for way too long, and they needed to come out, one way or the other.
"Do you understand even the slightest bit of what I'm going through? All you do is keep assuming that I avoid you because of something with you. You keep pushing my buttons, over and over. You're so obsessed with me! I've had enough of this. Just...leave me alone." He snapped in a stern voice.
"Lemres?" The girl's voice cracked slightly. She was taken aback by her upperclassman's snap.
"Right now!" The girl stood there, and her feet began to feel heavy. She began to sheepishly walk away from him, heading back home.
The comet warlock managed to regain his composure after a minute of looking at the ground. He thought of giving his friend a few chocolates to apologise for his outburst, but it was too late. He had furrows of regret on his face; he didn't completely mean to snap at her.
"I'm sorry, Feli..." Exhausted, he called out to where she probably went, hoping that she overheard him.