Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

Chapter 337 - 279 - Respite and Conviction

The roar of the chopper wasn't any better the second time for any of the canids present. It descended upon them and kicked up plenty of dust. The door of the craft slid open to reveal Cheryth, headset on tight, her loyal snake boy by her side.

"Come on!" she shouted over the roar of the rotor.

Everyone loaded up onto the helicopter without any hesitation. With five new additions to their ranks, the transport was heavier than when it left. Cheryth must have known, as the helicopter they boarded was a different vehicle than the one they arrived on.

Shouri looked out the window as they left the Naturals in the care of the René Group. He couldn't help the frustration that welled up in his chest. Rebecca placed a hand on his back. He didn't face her, but he connected with her and fell into à deux with his fiery girlfriend.

It's okay, bossman.

Is it?"

Yeah, we got away with his 'prize', we're the winners here.

I wish we could have done more.

I know, I know.

The trip wasn't long in the slightest. About thirty minutes in the air and they landed at an airport in a town north of the Natural village they had been assigned to.

"This doesn't break our agreement, right?" Shouri asked Cheryth as they walked off the tarmac.

"No, we just reassigned you to help here. Your guild is still going to be delivering aid with conductor Scott in this region. We'll get you back to Lybertera in the next rotation. Should be in about a week or two," said the liaison.

"Where are we anyways?" asked Pacifica, looking around the airport they had landed at.

"Diyah, opposite side of the Perdita Trimare," Cheryth answered without missing a beat.

"What are we gonna do here?" Rebecca questioned.

"Same thing as you have been doing. Help with aid efforts during the day, and deal with Scherzando at night," Cheryth replied.

It seemed simple enough. "I guess this isn't goodbye yet," Shouri said, turning to Scott.

"Not at all my friend! Can't get rid of me that easily," beamed the beacon of a man.

Cheryth nodded, but before she could escape, Shouri had one more thing. "By the way, we're taking the five of them with us when we go home," he revealed.

Since only Scott and Mila had been involved in that conversation, the rest of PTRS gasped in astonishment at the revelation.

The older woman nodded slowly. "We expected as much. Most likely why the Conductor's Association took a keen interest in your guild. You offer a service no other guild provides." She looked to Scott, who nodded.

"The CA tries to do their best to place abandoned Resonators we acquire, but we simply lack the manpower to do it effectively. It's truly a blessing that PTRS exists, even as small as y'all are right now--we've needed a guild like you in the network," Scott told them.

Shouri smirked. "Don't send us too many at once. We're basically just a motel of wayward Resonators at this point," joked the guildmaster.

Vince ground his teeth, his head lowered, as he balled up his fists. He felt Zephyr in his jacket tap his chest a few times, as if urging him to speak his mind.

He didn't.

The entirety of PTRS, plus Scott and his party of six were ferried to the local MA Office. The aid efforts were routed through this normally lonely office. Gone was the typical Maestro traffic, as guilds of all shapes, sizes, and mission statements capitalized on the facilities offere to them. Cheryth led the way and got them all rooms in one of the wings.

"Take tonight off," ordered the liaison. She saw the arguments that brewed in not just Shouri, but the rest of the guild. "You all are exhausted. Just look at yourselves."

Hesitantly, the young Maestros did as asked and looked between their fellow guild members. They were all covered in dirt, sweat, and exhaustion alike.

"Guess cots can only take you so far when you get three hours of sleep," Emily admitted with a shrug.

"We can go longer, I know it," Shouri and Rebecca challenged.

"Don't burn yourself to ash, you two," Pacifica said, a hand on each of her lover's shoulders to stop them from bolting for the door.

Vince remained quiet, but quietly smoldered in frustration like his fellow guild members.

"I'm as bright as the full moon, don't know about the rest of them," Albarich chuckled.

"Yeah, if we can't do anything, you can't either," Emily pouted at her dragon. He shook his head and rolled his eyes--he'd listen.

Scott chuckled heartily. "Philina and I could use a break too," said the conductor. "We can't exactly help people if we fall and need help ourselves, now can we?"

Shouri sighed dramatically. "Fine fine, we rest tonight. First thing tomorrow morning we're going back to help."

Cheryth smiled. "Of course. Rest easy PTRS. You did well, and I know you're not done yet."

Shouri and Rebecca hadn't ever taken a shower together before. There was always that fear of the Fire setting.

That being said, they were feeling a bit experimental.

"Okay, ready?"

"Ready."

Click click CLUNK

Instantly, the bathroom was flooded with steam, as the shower head dispensed with scalding hot water. Rebecca placed her arm in it. "Ahhh," the two cooed, connected by à deux.

"Let me try."

Shouri extended his arm. It was only Rebecca's will that pushed him into doing it. His fingers made contact first. It…wasn't as hot as he thought. He pushed forward, his forearm getting soaked. The scalding water which should have maimed him harmlessly splashed off of his skin like it was nothing. It felt like a normal hot shower, but they knew this was the real deal. The steam that surrounded them was violent and pushed out the same way it did when Rebecca showered alone.

"Wow," the linked pair gasped. "I guess à deux intensifies the resonant bonus."

"I mean it makes sense, we're closer than ever now."

"I bet you can stand in fire like I can now!"

"Maybe we can try that when we have a chance."

Pacifica shook her head, and smiled as the she listened to the two in the shower play around in the boiling water. "Good to know about that resonant bonus," the otter mused quietly to herself.

Emily screamed into the mattress as she sprawled out on their bed for the night.

Albarich patted his Maestro's back. "Don't give up on me now, Princess. We still got like two weeks of this shit."

The princess in question turned her face off of the mattress to look to her noble dragon. "Let me enjoy the bed, at least," she said with a pout.

He waved her off. "Yeah, yeah."

The two let the quiet hang in the air for a moment. "You think those two are gonna get themselves in trouble?" he asked.

"If it was Rika on her own, no. It's Soot I'm worried about," Emily admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

Another bout of silence passed between the two. "You're right," Albarich conceded. "Dunno how a three millennia old golem can get himself into so much trouble," the dragon scoffed.

"Who freaking knows man." Emily firmly planted her face back into the comforter, to enjoy it before they got dragged out to clean up their teammate's mess.

Whatever it may be.

"We were supposed to get them dinner, big guy," Ritika reminded her golem companion. He answered her with a single finger.

"Yeah yeah, I'll wait." She shook her head.

In the golem's ceaseless wandering the duo found themselves outside by the water. It was a lovely little park just outside of the MA Office. Given the late hour, no one else was around. It felt kind of strange to see a row of palmtrees planted proudly in the desert region. Ritika figured the nearby Perdita provided enough water for the greenery to survive the harsh daytime sun.

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She had to admit, the railing that separated the park from the ocean was quite pretty. It was made of white stone, hand-carved, with iron bars in the openings which allowed the wind and sea spray to pass through.

The inland sea crashed against the stones set outside the park's perimeter which gave the whole place that distinctive salty ocean scent that Water elements like Pacifica loved. Ritika herself was neutral to the aroma, and she knew Fire elements found such fragrancy to be noxious.

"Okay, what are you even doing?" The cat turned to face her golem friend, only to find he had dug a huge hole. "Oh no, come on! This is a public park! Stop that!" Ritika hissed, immediately trying to close up the attempt at a tunnel by the Fire element.

Soot fought back, and burrowed faster than she could bury.

They'd get yelled at eventually, but not before doing their fair share of damage to the innocent park.

Miro had been separated from his fellow guild members. It's always how it went when they stayed at MA Offices. Thankfully, Cheryth already took care of getting him a room at a small hotel not too far from the Office his friends stayed at. She was even kind enough to ensure he had a ground floor room.

It had been such a long couple of days. Between the travel, and the time spent among his fellow Naturals.

He didn't miss it. He never missed it.

His home back in Subteris was too big, too empty.

The fox sighed, reclining on the small couch in his room. Perhaps he'd fall asleep.

No.

He sat up and grabbed his bag. Walter reminded him of someone, and he had to puzzle out who. Resonators came in many shapes and sizes--just like Naturals. They were related meta-species, so the variance only made sense.

As the young fox wrote out various words which helped him bridge his thoughts, he returned to a pair of words that didn't seem to connect.

In reality, they were the two words that made sense together if he considered another member of their guild.

Piccolo.

Saggio.

What were the Maelish words again?

Small & Wise.

Who did he know in PTRS who fit that description?

Vince sprawled out on their room's bed. Mila sat on the couch, Zephyr on her shoulder. The two Resonators watched their Maestro lie there in doubt. Finally, the Fire cat had enough of his indecision, and stood up. She stepped over and grabbed the boy's hand.

"Come on," Mila urged.

"Whaaaaat?" Vince whined.

"Get out of bed," said Zephyr as Mila began to tug on their Maestro.

"I don't wanna," he continued to protest.

"You gotta go talk to him!" Mila grunted as she continued to pull the boy out of his slump (literally).

Vince sat up, but rounded his shoulders as he leaned forward. "I just…I'm scared," he admitted quietly.

"Why?" questioned Zephyr.

"It's not like you're alone--we're here with you, dummy," Mila added.

"I know, but--" Vince sighed. "I dunno, change is just scary."

Mila yanked the boy to his feet, but before he could protest, she wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You're not alone," she repeated. "Just--we'll go with you. No matter what."

He returned her embrace in kind, squeezing tightly. Then, after a moment, the two broke apart. "I guess we find Scott then."

"Shouldn't be that hard. The dude is so loud," Zephyr scoffed.

Vince and his duo walked around the MA Office for a bit, in search of the charismatic conductor.

Turned out, however, they weren't the only ones who occupied the building. Several other Maestros and Resonators wandered about with their own Resonators behind them.

Everyone was plainclothes, just like they were--no identifications of what guild or organization they belonged to.

Eventually, the trio found their way to the cafeteria. It wasn't hard to spot Scott from there. He was the guy that tended to the five Resonators with his personal partner. Everyone else gave him room, but watched the man manage his personal crowd.

"There he is!" Mila exclaimed. "Go get him!" urged the cat, pushing him forward.

"W-wait! What should I even say?!" Vince hissed back.

"Just tell him what you're feeling, duh!" Zephyr said, waving from her perch on Mila's shoulder.

With a wary breath, Vince approached the group of seven. "M-Mr. Scott?" he asked.

The blond conductor turned to face the boy. "Oh! Vince! Here to get some grub?" he asked.

"Y-yea--no," the younger Maestro watched the five Resonators he had taken from the village happily eat their meals, being a little bit loud--they looked to be a bit on the younger side, maybe in their early teens?

"How are you able to keep them all here? I thought strays couldn't be kept in MA Offices?" Vince questioned.

"Conductor's privilege. Any Resonator we're currently using carries the same rights as our permanent team members," explained the conductor, patting Philina on the back. The stoic griffin coughed, almost choking on her food, before she shot an annoyed glare at her partner.

"Anyways, I know that's not why you're here. Wanna talk?" asked Scott.

Vince took a breath and held it for a moment. "Yes."

The two Maestros found an empty common room, their Resonators left to eat dinner in the cafeteria. They sat on opposite couches that surrounded a coffee table, and faced one another.

It took Vince longer than he cared to admit to finally speak his mind. "I…think I want to be a conductor," he admitted.

Scott nodded, with a knowing smile. He leaned forward, folding his hands together. "So, what's the hang up?" he quizzed.

Vince chuckled hollowly. "I'm that easy to read, huh?" The boy took in a shuddering breath, holding it in for a moment before he met Scott's expectant gaze.

"I don't want to leave PTRS. Sh--" he paused. "Shouri is…he's my hero. He saved me from myself, and I don't want to leave him. I don't want to leave the guild we started. I kinda just want it to go on forever, y'know?"

The older man leaned back in his seat. "That's not a problem," Scott said.

"What…do you mean?" questioned Vince.

"You don't know? The Conductor's Association just handles who gets a baton tuner, and who is legally classified as a conductor. We're too small to be a centralized force. Many guilds have one or two conductors in their ranks," he explained.

Vince just stared back, his eyes full of awe and relief. "S-so, I could be PTRS' conductor then?"

Scott grinned. "Yeah. My superiors were probably going to send a conductor your guys' way anyways," he said with a hearty laugh.

"Really? Why?"

"Don't you remember what I said on the way here? We occasionally pick up stray Resonators, and we need a way to place them in a good home without worrying about their well-being. In my opinion, PTRS has the heart we're looking for," said Scott. He stood up. "If you want, when I submit my report, I can request for an application to be sent your way. You'll have to go through some schooling, about three months or so at Zacara Academy in Selvica, but I know you'll pass with flying colors."

The conductor extended his hand. "Sound like a deal?"

Vince lit up, his breath sharpening as his smile widened. "Yes!"