The survivors’ arrival was welcomed with wails that were singularly quaint but drowning once combined. Tsuki, who knew nothing of this world, was greatly troubled by this.

"They are thanking their loved ones who sacrificed themselves 25 years ago," said Lapis. She wasn’t looking at the city’s wall but farther in the distance, as if trying to catch a glimpse of someone. She continued, her voice trailing off into a whisper, "We lost good people. Families, friends, lovers… Ahhh… Those men went with daffodils in their pockets. They came from a gentle man who could never take up arms. You can still see them to this day…"

The old lady pointed to the walls, which Tsuki looked at with more focus. The bricks displayed faces, limbs, and daffodils—the people who defended the city 25 years ago.

Tok Tok Tok

Cain, Lapis's husband, was at the door. He was there to help his wife outside as a group of soldiers wanted to know exactly how many people they had to accommodate and if anyone needed immediate help.

The city’s ruler didn’t want to help the survivors because there was a major issue with food and housing. Winter was a few months away, and they were already pressed on with few resources to survive it. He’ll have to ask for help from the capital…But for now, during the 25th anniversary of the city survival, he couldn’t just send them back on their way.

Tsuki was about to leave until Hoomaikai said something that annoyed her: "My history teacher taught me a bit of what caused those walls to be like that. False prophets dressed in red declared:

And the World was made flesh, and dwelt among us…

Or something like that. Somehow, this caused the people defending the walls to become it… Don’t you know anything about this, Tsuki?"

Tsuki turned to Hoomaikai with her heterochromia’s eyes as clear as water and simply responded with a short ‘no’. She didn’t like that sorceress’ inquisitive nature. Tsuki had only been living in this world for less than a month. There was no way she could know about a group of false prophets.

The girl then summoned both Sinorous and Halambusha before going outside. The heavy sun made her coil back in reflex. The last time she went out in the sun, her skin was marred with painful red marks. Grumbling, she put on a few heavy clothes made from petals to cover most of her skin and even made a sad excuse of an umbrella, hoping it could block the sun for her. Hoomaikai looked at Tsuki leave while wondering if she should have said anything about how those clothes didn’t fit together at all…

❀

It was decided that the survivors would have to spend the night outside the walls as they were in too great a number to be provided semi-permanent shelters. During that time, a group of public servants would take records of every survivor’s desires and talents to find out what to do with them. Someone like Hoomaikai needed to return to the capital for various reasons. Thus, preparing transportation for them was necessary.

So there, a tall man, whose look could make anyone succumb to his charm, no matter of gender, was looking down to Tsuki. His opinion was that she was suspicious. Suspicious of what: that he didn’t know. It was just a gut feeling he had when looking at the two beasts on either side of Tsuki. The tiger was big and menacing but was overshadowed by the simply creepy wolf, whose form was spazzing around. In the middle of both those beasts was a girl clad in a heavy layer of petals. The man could see a tail behind her, which he couldn’t tie back to any animal he knew.

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"That arm of yours," said the man, pointing at her right side. "If you lost it due to the events that took place in the small fishing village, then you can claim damages. Such events shouldn’t have come to pass under the last emperor's decree."

"No, I’m fine. Sinorous is my arm."

The man was unsure of what he heard. So Tsuki just said the same thing after momentarily returning Sinorous as her arm.

"Yeah…….and the other one?"

"That’s Halambusha, the brother of those two boys over there. Hmmm. Don’t get too close to him. He might eat you. I think?"

"I see… We won’t be able to let you inside if that’s the case."

Tsuki’s response was to simply return him to a bunch of yellow petals, which attached to her left arm. She said nothing of Halambusha’s existence thereafter.

"Any other surprise we should know about. If you don’t report something and we find out at a later time, you could be sentenced to up to five years in prison depending on the severity."

The five years in prison were because of a blown-out law that was forced in place by a xenophobic lawmaker. It never came into play but was effective in scaring weak-minded people who were hiding things.

Panicking a bit, Tsuki showed a few of the things she could do and explained the more tiresome abilities, like changing herself into petals for a moment. The only thing that made the civil servant nervous was when she used the devouring maws on her leg to eat a rock. He took note of it and gave an awkward smile.

When all was done, the girl tried to regroup with those she was familiar with. At first, she was hoping to find Hoomaikai, but she was taken in by a doctor who was making a cast for her leg. Vergeltung was towing around a group of orphans, much to the disbelief of a few guards who knew his story. As for the two rakshasas, Tsuki had no idea where they were, and this worried her a tiny bit.

In the end, she simply isolated herself. Be it the warm reunions or the tearful mourning; the mending of body and mind with others; the vultures picking at the vulnerable abandon of hope… Tsuki didn’t feel like doing anything or having to deal with anyone. She simply wanted to lament the sudden weight of her loneliness. This dark contentment was well enough for her. As long as Alice wasn’t in her sight, the fearful sentiment of one day forgetting her voice was strangling her happiness.

The sun was too heavy for her…

Also, she was worried about not seeing Luk, the man who had attacked her for no apparent reason. He couldn’t have just disappeared… Well, he technically did. Not understanding what Tsuki was, he went back to his own world in the hope of finding some answers. It was the same thing for Folkvang, who was supposed to teach a bit of magic to the girl. He was also trying to figure out something about Tsuki. Maybe if both men combined information, they might have gotten a head start.

Still, Tsuki looked from a distance at the other survivors who were able to smile. Was it jealousy, envy, or regret that she felt – this she couldn’t say. She saw Lapis surrounded by a group of men, with her husband by her side. They were showing their respect to the old, unimpressive lady. Another group that formed, made mostly of mercenaries, was partying with Rouhong, Croak, Sher-Dor, Kriemhild, and others. Even Fi, who used to fly high in the sky, was back on the ground and helping large men move boxes and necessities.

Then, Tsuki summoned back Halambusha after feeling annoyed. "Go find your brother… They might be happy to see you."

Thus, a large tiger strode calmly in the midst of people.

The lone girl did her best to stay awake. It was hard on her to be up during the day, and it was her first time alone in a long time. Her thoughts were racing inside her mind. Things like what to do in the future. Hoomaikai was bound to leave at some point… She didn’t like that idea. But as much as she tried to muddle her brain with depressive thoughts, sleep did manage to creep up on her. When she came to, or maybe it was all a dream, she was inside a garden that stretched as far as she could see. She was amazed by all the flowers basking in a warm light until a voice came from behind her, "You there. Aren’t you little Tsuki?"

The second person that was supposed to teach her thing in her sleep had come…