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

Chapter 338 280 - Unwavering Bonds

That day started like any other, but he had no idea the storm that brewed until he awoke.

"Hey! Wake up!"

He was shaken from his sleep. "Get up! Something's wrong with Clara!"

That wasn't good. He sat up and looked around with alarm. Clara's first, Mick, was at the other cot, trying to wake Florence; their party's second.

"What's wrong with Clara?" Shouri asked blearily.

"She won't move, she's barely breathing!" Mick exclaimed.

That was the definition of wrong, still Shouri wanted to err on the side of optimistic caution. "Maybe she's just tired," he offered.

"No, no, she's a light sleeper; that's why she always has a separate tent from us," Mick replied.

To say he was panicked was an understatement.

Florence had risen at this point, with the same alarm that Shouri felt. "Come on," said the axolotl girl to Shouri. "You and me will go see what's wrong." She looked to the mouse boy, Mick. "Go to the other tents and see if you can get help."

With the plan in mind, Florence and Shouri ducked into the tent next to them while Mick ran off to get more help.

Their Maestro was still in her cot, covered in sweat. That wasn't odd, given they were in Subterrian Kalanichi. What was odd was how little she moved. Shouri gulped as he slowly approached.

Florence was already knelt by their Maestro's bed. She put a couple of fingers against the unmoving woman's neck. The axolotl shook her head.

The Water element looked back to Shouri. "I'm going to need your ears," said Florence.

"Right," Shouri nodded. He closed his eyes and perked them up. "What am I listening for?"

"Heartbeat."

He focused on their Maestro. His face scrunched up with mild frustration, then panic. "W-wait--" he drew closer to her bed and dropped to his knees. He cupped his ear against her chest. He felt…cold. He had never truly been afraid in his life, not until now. "Her--her heart isn't beating!"

In that instant, Shouri found himself pushed to the side, Florence administered chest compressions. He watched the axolotl take a deep breath. "We need a Lightning element here now!" she bellowed as loud as she could.

Shouri pushed himself out of the way as the tent suddenly filled with medical staff. He didn't understand what was happening. That was, until they announced it.

"She's gone…" said the guild's head doctor.

What happened?

How did Clara just…die?

And why?

Why did he smile? The tears streamed down his cheeks, but he couldn't stop smiling. Why? Why was he--

--relieved?

"Oh no, Rebecca's in shock. Someone take her out of here."

That was the last time she saw Clara.

…

…

It was so sudden.

Sometimes life is like that. For all the magic and technology we have, sometimes Sahji decides to fuck you in particular.

I would never be relieved if you died.

Oh I know, you'd chase me straight to Hell.

Shouri and Rebecca awoke not in a cot, but a big comfy bed, joined by their otter girlfriend. In that moment, neither the past nor future mattered; the fact that they were together was all they needed.

Pacifica, upon waking, discovered her two loves had thrown themselves into à deux and clung to one another like life preservers. It was interesting to see it from the outside, but there was a very small part of her that was a bit jealous. At least if Taika were here, she could be clingy with her. The logical side of the otter drowned out the voice of dissent in her head--she got her turn to be deep with Shouri, Rebecca should get hers too.

The trio got out of bed and got ready, as usual. She watched as Shouri and Rebecca attempted to enter the bathroom together.

"Hold up." The otter yanked Rebecca back. "What are you two doing?"

"Going to piss," they both said.

"With one toilet?" she challenged.

Rebecca and Shouri exchanged a glance. "Right." They both acknowledged what a terrible idea that would be.

"Rebby, go first. Both of you need to practice breaking apart for short stretches." The otter shot her Maestro a look, since he should have known better. Rebecca must have greater control of them at the moment.

Shouri and Pacifica stood outside of the bathroom, as they waited for their third to finish her morning routine.

"You have more practice," Pacifica answered Shouri's unspoken question.

Shouri shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Moving on with their morning, the trio went and got breakfast. Pacifica watched them grab the same exact meals, even down to portion size. This was less harmful than trying to use a one toilet bathroom together, so she let it slide.

The ghost pepper sauce might have been a step too far. Pacifica grabbed Shouri's wrist before he could ruin his breakfast. "Since when do you like ghost pepper sauce, Shouri?"

Rebecca and Shouri shook their heads. "Fuck, you're right," the two realized what they were doing.

"I bet it's gonna taste weird if one of us has the sauce and the other doesn't," they continued to speak together.

It always earned them strange looks wherever they went. Speaking in stereo wasn't something the average Jane or Joe was ready to parse. It wasn't as if they couldn't be understood; no they were perfectly articulate. Again, it was interesting to Pacifica to see it from the outside, since she had experience with the phenomenon herself.

A quick survey of the cafeteria revealed the population was made up of a lot of people from various guilds. Mainly Unwavering Hearts, but there were others sprinkled in. Not any Pacifica could identify at first glance.

Pacifica did manage to spot Scott in the crowd, surrounded by six Resonators. Nobody paid him any mind. He was just a guy who herded his group through the breakfast line. Soon that'd be them--figuring out the wants and needs of the five Resonators.

For now, it wasn't their responsibility. So, Pacifica paid attention to the two beside her that needed the care. They were eating perfectly fine. However, they started to garner attention as the pair moved in unison. They took the same scoops of food, chewed the same amount before they swallowed and took drinks from their cups--all with perfect synchronization. Pacifica couldn't exactly understand what was being muttered, but the slow annoyance that crept onto Rebecca and Shouri's faces told her they did.

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"Ah." Pacifica snapped a finger. "Rebecca's strong emotional stave isn't like mine," she spoke her realization. "Her's is focused around how people feel about her, and trying to match their expectations of her."

Shouri and Rebecca remained quiet.

Pacifica could sense they wanted to know more, so she continued. "My version of the stave is more about reading people in general. Kinda like how I just figured you wanted me to elaborate."

"That makes sense," spoke the linked pair.

"So, it's kinda like the two of you have a bigger 'surface area' kinda thing, so you're 'catching' more of people's thoughts about you," stated the astute otter.

Rebecca and Shouri nodded. They understood the concept. "It's kinda like how my stave just makes us insanely curious, where other knowledge staves might be more like military planners and the like," they said.

"Exactly!" Pacifica clapped her hands, pleased they understood.

"What should we even do then?" they asked.

"Probably should get you two away from the adoring public," suggested the otter. "That, or you to break it off for today."

Their shaking heads killed the second idea in an instant.

"Guild liaisons just do a little bit of everything, don't they?" Pacifica wondered aloud as they got their assignments for the day.

Cheryth was present, alongside a bunch of other similarly suited men and women, helping dole out tasks to the rescue workers. Each liaison wore a badge with the guild they represented. Cheryth was the only PTRS representative, while Unwavering Hearts had at least five.

"Just glad she listened to us when we asked for something away from big crowds," Shouri and Rebecca said.

"Yeah. Ring me if you need grounding though," Pacifica advised.

"Definitely."

And with that, the mistake of Shouri and Rebecca being left to their own devices was made. They were to do simple supply runs. Turned out, there was small, but important things that needed to be moved between the different rescue sites. The roads were hard to navigate due to landslides and standing water that remained in the region. Sure, they could fly a helicopter out, but that would have been a waste of resources. Besides, the obstacles weren't a problem for a man and fox on foot. Or one really big fox, for that matter.

"Famiglio Incendio, Lento," Shouri called.

Rebecca summoned their noble fire steed, which lowered itself to the ground to allow its passengers on. Rebecca rode front, while Shouri held her from behind. On his back was a bag which contained some special medical supplies the team out there needed to get soon.

They earned more looks as the fire fox rose. "Go!" shouted the two riders.

Thankfully, they wouldn't be around to feel all the eyes on them as they bolted off into soaked desert.

The ride wasn't long, especially with their big fox at top speed. Being made of rhythm, it didn't get sore or tire. It just happily took in the rhythm of its two summoners.

It wasn't the heat that was the problem. For a Fire element (and bonded Maestro), it was quite lovely weather. No, the humidity which plagued a soggy desert was what made it miserable.

Guh, can't we clear this shit with weather magic?

No, it wouldn't do anything to the humidity, since the water is still evaporating.

God damn it, why can't things work the way I want it to?!

Regardless of their mental complaining, the flame fox arrived to the other base camp in no time flat. It was maybe a fifteen minute ride at full sprint. The second base camp had far fewer staff, being located well outside the city of Diyah.

Their arrival was heralded by the usual accolades for being so damn cool. Even if Rebecca hated the attention, she did like the feeling of being awesome. Shouri helped by keeping her calm and logical. Lento rank Famiglio Incendio was rare. Even more so having a Maestro and Resonator riding it.

"Wait--"

Rebecca and Shouri flinched at that voice.

"Rebecca? Is that you?" A mouse Resonator walked up to the pair.

"M-Mick…" the two spoke in unison. Shouri's logical mind had faltered and he mentally screamed at Sahji for his hand in the construction of this scenario.

Sho help, I thought I could do it, I can't do it.

I know, I know. I went through it with you this morning, remember?

The mouse boy looked as if he had aged twenty years in the three that had passed since they last saw one another. He looked the Fire fox up and down, then the flame beast by her side. He smiled. "You look good," he commented.

Shouri and Rebecca opened their mouths to speak together, but Shouri quickly snapped his shut. Rebecca took a breath and spoke alone. "You don't," she stated bluntly. "You… still miss her," she said, quieter.

Mick was disarmed. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say? No, that was definitely the worst thing Rebecca could have said.

"Y-yeah. I do," his voice cracked. "It's hard," he admitted. "I've been through a lot of Maestros. None of them are like her. I just--" Mick considered his words. "None of them have worked out. I think UH is getting sick of me, to be honest."

Shouri nodded slowly. Based on what Rebecca told him before about this Resonator, he blamed the guild for Clara's death. In fact--

"I'm surprised you stayed with them," Shouri commented without thinking.

Mick stared at the Maestro blankly. "Oh, she told you about me," he said.

There was a pause, while the three all considered what to say next. Rebecca was the one that broke the silence.

"I showed him."

Mick blinked. "I uh, don't understand."

Rebecca looked around, and spoke quieter. "Sho--this guy and I--we've been practicing à deux. Last night I relieved the memory of that day, and he saw everything from my eyes."

The mouse looked between Rebecca and Shouri. He didn't even know that was a thing, but he could see it in Shouri's eyes. Rebecca hadn't lied to him. This Maestro…was something special.

"Sorry." Mick shook his head. "I'm probably wasting your time--"

"Do you want another Maestro? Someone outside of Unwavering Hearts?" Shouri asked.

Again, Mick found himself entirely disarmed by these audacious people. "I, maybe? Are you offering?" he asked.

"Not in the traditional sense," said Rebecca. "We're Pruned Trees Re-Sprout; a Resonator aid guild--we place Resonators with Maestros they click with. Round peg round hole kinda thing," she explained.

"I've never heard of you," he said bluntly. "But that sounds wonderful." Mick allowed himself a small smile.

"We can take you in and try to find you a new partner," Shouri proposed.

Mick looked back at the rest of the camp. He balled up his fists, trembling as he considered the offer. "They need me here right now," he mumbled. "But--" he looked to Shouri and Rebecca, "--after that, I'll talk to my current Maestro."

Shouri offered a hand to the mouse. "Sounds good, we'll be ready and waiting for you whenever."

Mick accepted the handshake, and let his smile grow more than it had in years. "Thank you."