She’d never met another Maestro before. Meeting more than one at once was jarring. That should’ve been enough, and yet every word out of their mouths was worse than the last. Really, it was only one of them. He talked a lot.
“Hey, uh, you’re a Maestra, right?”
She’d known him for ten seconds. He hadn’t even said his name yet.
She raised an eyebrow, one hand still glued to the doorknob. “Who’s…asking?”
He gave a two-finger salute, paired well with a grin. “Both of us are Maestros. We’re looking for more people like us. Do you know what a Maestro is?”
Mina nodded, still more than confused as she eyed them up and down--mostly him, nonchalant as he was. “Yeah, of course. Both of you are?”
The quieter one nodded back. His smile was softer, by comparison, and he simply waved. “We’re both from a place to the--”
“Do you know what a Harmonial Instrument is?” the louder boy asked, just slowly enough for his words to come off as condescending.
Mina frowned. “Uh…yeah? I’m a Maestra. That’s…literally part of what that comes with.”
The boy with the gloves was undeterred. “We came from somewhere west of Selbright. It’s a place with--”
“Do you know what a legacy is?” the loud boy pressed, his gestures now equally condescending.
“Dude, yes, I know! I promise you, I know! Who is this idiot?” Mina snapped, her eyes on the quiet one.
“Look, we’re just used to having to explain it!” the boy with the cap whined. “It’s a reflex!”
The other one chuckled softly. “Sorry for all of this. I’m Briar. This is Francisco. Like I said, we’re from a little place to the west of Selbright. We’re looking for more Maestros.”
Mina crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe casually. “Do I even wanna know how you found me?”
She’d come to the formal conclusion that there was no way to get the loud one to shut up. She wasn’t even talking to him. He grinned anyway. “Briar’s Soulful. He’s got this gift that lets him--”
She held up one flat palm in front of her. “I know what Soulful means, thanks. That clears it up enough.”
The Soulful boy in question raised an eyebrow of his own. “You…sound like you know quite a bit already. Are you acquainted with any other Maestros?”
Mina shook her head. “You guys are the first other ones I’ve met, actually.”
“You’re about to meet a whole lot more,” Francisco interrupted with too much volume. She had a feeling it was intentional, given the exaggerated gestures that came with it again. He was almost annoying. “You’re probably not gonna believe this, so just keep an open mind. There’s a place full of Maestros near here. I mean, it’s a little bit of a walk, but it’s near enough. There’s lots of us. Tons of us. The more of us we can get, the better. We’re all waiting on one person to show up, but until then, we need as many as we can fi--”
“Tacell, right?”
His face fell. So, too, did that of the boy at his side.
“You’re…talking about Tacell,” Mina finished plainly, resting her head against the doorframe.
Slowly, Francisco’s face contorted from a blank slate into utter shock. “How the hell do you know about Tacell? Are you serious?”
Briar blinked, his reaction far less loud. “You’ve…been there before?”
“You know about Tacell and you’ve never met another Maestro? How does that even work?” his companion cried, outright grasping at his cap in exasperation.
She answered the more tolerable of the two questions, let alone the two boys in general. “I’ve never been there. I just know of it. I know where it is. I know what it’s for.”
Briar paused. “You…know about the Ambassador, then?”
Mina nodded silently.
“How?”
She gathered her thoughts for a moment. If they were Maestros, there was no harm in sharing. “My dad. He’s one of the people who helped build it. He helped the last Ambassador set it up.”
She could’ve sworn Francisco was going to faint, his eyes wide enough to swallow the sun. “Your dad helped build Tacell? Wait, your dad knew the Ambassador? Does he know the current Ambassador?”
Ideally, he’d pick one question at a time. Mina shrugged. “I don’t talk to him about it. I don’t really talk to him about any of this stuff. That’s as much as I know.”
They were quiet for a moment. She didn’t particularly blame them. It didn’t make it any more of her business.
“You know what it’s for, then,” Briar repeated slowly, echoing her words. “We’d be…glad to have you, if you’re willing to come. We ourselves don’t have any leads on the Ambassador yet, but we’re doing what we can in the meantime. Would you be willing to speak with your father about them?”
Mina shrugged. “I…guess. Didn’t really expect to get dragged into it.”
“Make her talk to River,” Francisco whispered.
She raised an eyebrow. She didn’t need to press, and Briar answered what questions she’d already been silently generating. “At the very least, there’s someone we’d like you to meet. The fact that you’re related to one of the founders of Tacell is…fantastic, honestly. It’d mean a lot to us if you’d--”
“You want something out of me, then? Because of my dad?” she tried coolly, adjusting her crossed arms in the slightest. This had been extensive. They were cursing her with unnecessary amounts of sunshine.
Briar shook his head. Francisco nodded. She rolled her eyes.
“Look, I’m not sure what you expect me to do for you. I don’t know you people. I’m not the Ambassador. You know where I am, now, for whenever you-know-what has to happen. That’s enough, right? You sure demand an awful lot of strangers. If you’re asking me to play messenger, you’re not being subtle about it.”
Briar sighed. “We’re sorry. We’re not trying to force you to take on a role that isn’t yours to deal with. I promise you, we have this process mostly sorted out amongst ourselves. Still, none of us were there when Tacell was first established. We’re just working with what we were given.”
“Look, don’t stress over it, alright?” Francisco offered with a nonchalant shrug of his own. “Can we at least, like, make it up to you? You said you’ve never seen it, right? Give it a chance. You don’t have to stay. Let us give you a little tour. Come back with us, meet our leader--”
“And be your messenger.”
He flinched. She smirked. “You’re not gonna stop until I say yes, are you?” Mina asked half-heartedly.
“It helps if he gets to meet them all, anyway,” Briar added. “It’s easier to keep track. You’re really close by, so that’s extremely helpful on its own. We’re sorry to ask so much of you on such short notice.”
“Hey, do you live in this house by yourself? Like, is your dad here? Can we just talk to him?” Francisco pressed, rising on the tips of his toes slightly. His best efforts to peer over her shoulder were blighted by her angle, and Mina shifted in the doorway solely to make it worse.
“No, he’s not here. I live alone,” she clarified, battling her rising annoyance. “He lives in Solenford.”
She probably shouldn’t have given that part out. It was too late to take back. If nothing else, it was vague enough to mean little. If they couldn’t find the Ambassador, they wouldn’t be finding him any time soon.
His face lit up far too much. “Damn, you get this whole place to yourself? That’s crazy! We have to share those little cottages in Tacell, and sometimes we can’t even--”
She’d had enough.
“Are you Strong or Willful?”
Francisco bit his tongue. She stared him down, content to drink in his shocked silence.
“I-I…what?” he stammered.
Mina didn’t budge, fixing one pointed finger squarely on the boy. “I’m right in the middle between those two. Either you’re Strong or you’re Willful. Which is it?”
In lieu of an answer, he traded glances of surprise with Briar instead. Granted, the Soulful boy wore far less astonishment by comparison. Francisco’s eyes flickered back and forth between the two Maestros for a moment.
“I’m…Willful,” he finally admitted. “How the hell did you know that? You’re Soulful, then?”
Mina shook her head with a proud smirk. “Don’t need to be. It’s written all over you. I mean, you could’ve passed as either one, and I would’ve believed it. You’re not Soulful, that’s for sure.”
Briar stared at her incredulously. “That’s…very impressive.”
“Okay, what are you, then?” Francisco asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Mina tensed. She stiffened in the doorway for just long enough that Francisco’s eyes drifted to the Soulful boy’s own. She wouldn’t let him take the truth. It wasn’t his to announce.
“Essenced,” she muttered, both syllables strained.
Francisco nodded slowly. “Yeah, I could see it.”
She didn’t let them dwell on it. “Tacell’s not ridiculously far from here, right? I know it’s not super nearby, but could we make it there before it gets dark?”
If the topic change was jarring, Briar didn’t show it. He, too, nodded. “Not by much, but by enough. We’d have to go now, though. We honestly didn’t expect to go back so soon.”
“We were gonna just stay in Selbright for the night,” Francisco explained. “Wait, can we stay at your house when we come back?”
“No!” she hissed, more than exasperated. “Dude, I just met you! Okay, you’re definitely Willful!”
Briar chuckled. “We appreciate you hearing us out. I promise you won’t be disappointed. I hope we’ve kept it the way your dad would’ve wanted it to be.”
Mina scoffed. “He’s not dead, you know. Your leader. What’s his legacy?”
Francisco raised an eyebrow. “River? He’s Spirited. Why?”
She stifled a laugh. “You have a Spirited leader? Like, of Tacell? This should be good.”
“I’m kinda seeing the Essenced part,” she heard him whisper to his left.
It was the first time she’d had the chance to practice. It really was as easy as she’d been taught, for what she knew of them. There was pride that came with precision, and Mina enjoyed their surprise a bit too much. A place full of Maestros would be fun to experiment with, if nothing else, given how every flavor of heart and soul would be on full display. Reading them would be a blast. It was a personal challenge that rang far too gratifying. She would’ve made for a splendid Soulful Maestra, were she born that way.
It would’ve been better than what she had.
----------------------------------------
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She could see it on his face immediately. It didn’t matter that she’d never met one before.
His grip fell somewhere between delicate and firm. She squeezed harder than she should’ve, probably. “I’m Mina. I live over in Selbright. These two guys dragged me all the way out here. You’re River, right?”
He smiled softly. “Correct. I’m River. I’m the leader of the Maestros of Tacell. We’re happy to have you here.”
His words were every bit as soft. His whole demeanor was soft. How he’d made it to being a leader was beyond her, and the confidence in his voice was the closest indicator she could find. Had she not known what she knew, Mina could’ve guessed him to be Heartful--provided her interpretation was fair. Still, for what various mental images she’d concocted of the Spirited, he fit at least one of them with absolute perfection. It was almost satisfying to be so utterly accurate.
“You’re Spirited, right?”
It slipped out. It wasn’t worth apologizing over.
River took it in stride, nodding proudly. “Also correct. And yourself?”
She was getting tired of that question. Again, she was stiff.
“E-Essenced,” Mina stammered. She kicked herself for doing so at all.
To her surprise, his smile managed to brighten. River's gaze fell to the right, and the girl whose eyes she’d eternally earned cursed her with the same stare still. Mina hadn’t figured her out yet.
Where she tried to be friendly, the aura of intimidation was almost distressing. It was subtle, and yet unmistakably present. She couldn’t find the drive to offer her hand again. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, too,” Mina tried, willing herself to maintain eye contact.
The girl only cocked her head. It left her sweating.
“Okay, so, the thing is, her dad is actually one of the founders of Tacell,” Francisco gushed, his voice every bit as enthusiastic as his gestures. “Like, he knew the Ambassador and everything. The old one, I mean, but still!”
River’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s…amazing. Is that true?”
His gaze fell back to Mina. Oddly-soft was preferable to unnecessarily-sharp, and she indulged him. “Yeah. I don’t know a lot about any of it, though, like I told them. I stayed out of it all. I don’t know anything about where the Ambassador is, either. Can’t help you out much with that, so…sorry, if that’s what you wanted me for.”
He waved his hands defensively. “N-No, not at all. No need to apologize. Just meeting you is enough.”
Mina shifted her weight onto one foot, resting her hands on her hips comfortably. “I like what you guys did with the place, at least. You seem like you’ve got this whole thing pretty under control. You manage all this yourself?”
River shook his head with a smile. “I could never. Briar, Francisco, and Mint have helped with more than I can put into words. The four of us handle Tacell together, and we work to improve it every day.”
“He’s bein’ modest,” Francisco teased with a dismissive wave. “River does damn near everything. We just kinda fill in where we’re needed. Hell, half of it’s on Briar, if anything.”
His words were only of partial importance. Mina tapped one finger against the open air, hovering over each Maestro in turn. “Francisco. Briar. River,” she identified accordingly.
Each nodded in turn. She paused, and her gaze drifted to the one place she’d fought to avoid. By comparison, the girl’s sharp eyes had waited patiently for her own. Once more, she tilted her head, crossing her arms comfortably. Mina hesitated.
“Mint?” she tried quietly.
The girl, too, nodded.
Mina was silent for a moment, and they briefly matched. “It’s…nice to meet you.”
Again, the girl only nodded in response.
Mina’s eyes flickered to River. He smiled the same soft smile she was slowly growing to expect. It was Francisco’s voice, instead, that filled in the gaps from behind.
“She…doesn’t talk. Can’t, really,” the boy clarified, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Messes her up if she tries.”
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There was curiosity. It would’ve been cruel to push. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed the scar, sprawling and climbing as it was. Splintering along Mint’s cheek, every glance at the girl’s face left it front and center. Mina refused to stare. Still, the added context left her wondering.
Silent or not, she was present. She was conscious, she was visible, and she was more than capable of understanding every word that left every mouth. It wasn’t worth prying into her persona by proxy. Mina knew the answers she’d receive would be limited, and still it would be polite. She held the girl’s gaze with mild discomfort.
“What’s your legacy?” Mina finally tried.
Her best guess, at present, left the girl neatly labeled as Strong--provided her interpretation of that was correct, as well. She looked the type, powerful and confident with her posture alone. It would be gratifying to be correct, although Mina was satisfied to be educated all the same. Of Mint, in particular, she was substantially more interested. She was subtle. Her counterparts weren’t.
Slowly, one finger arose between the two Maestras. Mint gestured back and forth between them accordingly. When Mina only blinked, the girl continued to do so several times over. It took time for Mina’s eyes to widen.
“You’re…Essenced?” she murmured.
Mint nodded yet again, her expression blank where her gaze remained dangerous.
There was, objectively, no reason for Mina’s heart to skip a beat. It was beyond her control. She was torn between questioning further and swallowing her words eternally. Beneath the girl’s staring, she felt smaller than ever. It never occurred to her to break eye contact.
“You guys are legacy siblings,” Francisco teased at her back. “You’re besties by blood. This is your first time meeting another Maestro with the same legacy, right?”
That morning, she’d never met any Maestros. This was surreal. “Y-Yeah,” Mina stammered.
“There’s quite a few more Essenced Maestros here,” Briar offered. “You’re welcome to meet with them, if you’d like.”
It wasn’t her full concern. The razor-edged eyes that had run her through, intentionally or otherwise, had softened in the slightest. The prolonged eye contact was as unbearable as it was unavoidable, for how conversation was one-sided and stifled. She stared. Mint stared back. More times than Mina would’ve preferred, her attention drifted to the scar. She doubted the action went unnoticed. She was being spoken to, supposedly. She wasn’t processing any of it.
When Mint broke their line of sight first, the sigh of relief Mina breathed was nearly dizzying. The girl’s focus was offered downwards instead, slender fingers making for the soft bag pressed against her hip. Gentle rummaging brought with it little noise, save for the tiniest of muffled rattles. Fashionable black gave way to yet more precious sounds, and the instrument she withdrew into cautious hands was as small as it was intriguing. Mina traded anxiety for interest, eyeing the tambourine intensely.
Mint trailed two fingers along the skin of the instrument, tapping delicately as she caught Mina’s gaze again. She motioned to the tambourine once before gesturing to the Maestra opposite herself in turn. Mina flinched. Again, it took a moment to interpret.
“You…want me to get my instrument?” she guessed.
Mint nodded. Mina’s heart pounded. It hurt.
“Did you even bring it with you?” Francisco asked. “I didn’t think you brought a case or anything.”
“Didn’t need to,” Mina murmured.
She didn’t give him a chance to push. It took effort to keep her hands from trembling, and yet she praised herself for suppressing the reaction. Slowly, Mina slipped her hand into the interior of her cardigan, carefully hooking the sturdy strings around her fingers. When she withdrew the cool iron, both halves glistened brilliantly beneath the spare sunshine. Descending or not, the remnants of the afternoon did justice to the tiny metal, and the triangle sparkled splendidly as it dangled aloft. She extended her hand to Mint carefully, the little instrument following suit.
Francisco’s gasp of endearment behind her was outright condescending. “Oh my God, it’s so cute!”
Briefly, her head snapped to him instead. His expression was far too elated. She rolled her eyes so harshly that it almost hurt.
“That’s your Harmonial Instrument, then?” Briar asked, far more calm by comparison.
Mina nodded. “Yeah. This is Savior’s Resplendence.”
She hadn’t minded the myriad of eyes on her until now. If anything, they’d almost been a novelty. Now, she shied away from their curious inspections. It was under more than Mint’s gaze alone that she felt small this time. Even River, for all of his natural-born softness, was doing little to alleviate her growing discomfort. She shirked his smile in favor of Essenced eyes. It was a surprise even to herself.
The silence was still distressing regardless. “That’s your instrument, right?” Mina added quickly, gesturing to the tambourine accordingly.
As always, Mint nodded.
“That’s Sunstryke,” River offered with the same smile. “They’re excellent partners. Mint is a wonderful Maestra.”
“Are we supposed to be doing a meet and greet, or something?” Francisco tried, already slipping the straps of his case off his back. “Briar, get Panacea Pure out, we all have to match.”
Briar settled one hand onto the Willful boy’s shoulder. “Just let them be for now.”
“Sunstryke,” Mina repeated slowly.
The Essenced nod she earned was expected. Mina fell silent, her attention once more falling to the tambourine. Mint was watching her, maybe. She didn’t bother to look up, Savior’s Resplendence having long since been cupped in hesitant palms. If her interest drifted to another instrument entirely, she feared what knots in her stomach would come with it. It was one of those days, apparently. She hoped it didn’t show.
Mint raised her head. The gaze that had rested so neatly on her Essenced counterpart was flung to a Maestro of another legacy entirely. Well past Mina’s shoulder, the look she cast beyond was sharpened once more. Mina’s eyes followed the tambourine as one outstretched arm brought the instrument level with the Willful boy at her back. She turned her head. He’d physically recoiled, outright cringing as he shook his own head fervently.
“Oh, hell, no! Why me?” he cried.
“Right now?” Briar asked with surprise.
Mina blinked. “Wait, what?”
River crossed his arms as he eyed Mint in turn. “Is…there a reason?”
“Why is it always me? Pick River! You never pick River!”
Mint’s focus was on the Spirited boy alone, her eyes flickering to Mina briefly. It took time for River to settle into his usual smile, just as gentle when it came.
“I don’t understand,” Mina confessed.
“She wants to spar for you,” River explained. “I suppose you could also consider it a ‘thank you’ for coming here. You’ve never seen other Maestros fighting, right?”
Mina shook her head. “No, I…haven’t.”
“Have you ever fought before?”
It was a loaded question. For the sake of the butterflies in her stomach, she chose to take it literally. “I’ve…fought Dissonance a couple times. Just a little bit. Not much.”
His smile brightened somewhat. “Then I think you’ll enjoy this.”
“River, can you, like, take one for the team, here?” Francisco begged, gesturing dramatically with his hands. “Seriously, it’s never you! Switch with me for once, good God!”
River laughed softly. “You’re very talented. You know how to put up a fight. I’m sure Mint appreciates that.”
“That’s not the reason and you damn well know it!” he hissed.
Mina couldn’t stifle a smirk. If nothing else, the idea of Francisco being humbled in the most fantastic way was highly amusing.
He grumbled and spilled obscenities all the way through unzipping his case, his own instrument far larger than Mint’s by comparison. There was a moment in which Mina was convinced size alone would turn the tide in his favor. Still, Mint never faltered, stealing rustling steps deeper into the sprawling meadow with only a little tambourine to show for it. With her bag discarded gently in the plush grass, she hardly bothered to stretch. Cracking her neck was the most she seemed to settle on.
Mint spared time to meet Mina’s eyes again. She did it more than once. Gone were the sharpened edges Mina had earned upon arrival. She couldn’t pinpoint what had replaced it. Whatever it was, it was comfortable. Mina didn’t mind.
“Are we doing Apexes or no Apexes?” Francisco called to his Essenced opponent, adjusting his grip around his instrument.
Mint shook her head. He shrugged. “Good with me,” he replied.
“Apexes?” Mina questioned aloud.
River nodded, his focus firmly ahead. “Do you know what an Apex is?”
“No,” Mina admitted. “Never heard of it.”
Francisco braced against the soft earth, his fingers settling neatly along every fret. “Hey, is this supposed to be a demonstration? Like, are we just messing around and showing off, or--” [♪]
He got his answer through action alone. Action was electric. Action crackled. Action sizzled, sparked, and skittered with every innocent rattle of a humble tambourine. Every miniscule motion Mint made as she lunged left voltage woven in her wake. Flashing golds, blinding and surging, were born of pitchless sounds that rang dangerous all the same. She was a lightning bolt of her own accord, striking with every powerful step as she slashed their gap. She was shockingly fast, and even Francisco was left to recoil as stylish plasma bore down upon him.
The tambourine was well at home in her deft fingers, and each motion was unfathomably natural. Wrapped in electric heat as it was, the Essenced Maestra practically carried a thunderstorm in her hand. Were Mina to stare directly at every rippling flash, the strain on her eyes would be dangerous. Curling currents crawled along Mint’s skin in the most mesmerizing way, trickling golds tangling around an arm adjacent to the essence of lightning. In lieu of a tambourine, she’d stolen nature’s wrath clean from the clouds above. It called her home, and its pulse was magnificent.
The plasma that countered hers, then, was brilliant and abundant in another manner entirely. Where Mint’s rhythm carried no harmony, Francisco’s scorching chords unleashed hellfire. His movements were as fluid as his song, and his swift fingers left an inferno bursting beneath his touch. From every string was born blasting heat, and the look of distress on his face betrayed the unforgiving wrath of his flames. Spiraling as they were, each lash of blazing scarlet and orange scalded air that once crackled.
Plasma met plasma, and Mint didn’t hesitate to blight him with electric violence. They were intangible in tandem, and yet surging gold struck against interloping fires with every downward swing of her wrist. The steady taps and rattles that accompanied every harnessed bolt were continuous, and her assault never waned. She showed zero fear in the face of the will of fire. It was remarkable, given exactly how much of it there was.
“Damn, chill!” Francisco pleaded above his song, gritting his teeth. “If you shock me again, I’m gonna get pissed!”
Mint ran an identical, if not opposite, risk. She knew his flames, maybe, acquainted as they were. Where she carved a path with swift steps, he held his ground. From afar, the roar of his raging wildfire was audible--perhaps more so than even the steady crackle of Mint’s voltage. Only the cries of their Harmonial Instruments intervened, and the sound was somewhat beautiful. Streaming crimson surged and swelled far too close to the Maestra time after time, and yet she circled Francisco regardless. His fluid flames offered up a scorching sea. Even so, she dashed well between every crashing wave.
So, too, did she crash much the same, unleashing her electrical prowess with forceful swings and flicks of her wrist. Again did white-hot gold meet scathing scarlet, sizzling as they mingled. The size of Mint’s instrument was a blessing, and Mina grew ever more enraptured tracking her every movement. As to what Mint’s end goal was, weaving between Francisco's blazing assault, Mina was unsure. She’d never seen them fight. She’d never seen anyone fight.
“Both of them have Apexes.”
Mina raised her head, prying her eyes away from the battling Maestra against her will. “What?”
River never tore his gaze from the quarrel, clinging to a smile. “Briar does, too. They’re…special. They’re strong.”
Mina couldn’t keep her attention off Mint for long. It was reflexive. “I mean, I can see that. What makes them special, exactly?”
River crossed his arms comfortably once more. “Their partners are the strongest of their legacies. As such, so are they. That doesn’t mean they don’t have to try, though.”
“Wait, what’s our win condition, exactly? The usual?” Francisco called, never once stilling his fiery song.
Briar cupped his hands around his mouth. “Just go with the usual, yes!”
He groaned with great exaggeration. “But it hurts when she does it!”
“Then you’ll just have to win,” River teased gently, raising his voice in the slightest.
Francisco found time to glare daggers into the Spirited boy. “Oh, shut the hell up! You should be the one standing here!”
River laughed. So loud was Francisco’s growl of exasperation that it rose well above the cacophony of violence. Searing flames and crackling electricity collided in glorious bursts of color beneath skilled touches. Mint’s all-too-close approach was enough to birth pursuit from irritation, and an inferno once indiscriminate now gave chase. His melody was precise, his fluid chords explosive. The cascading fires that rushed endlessly from between Francisco’s fingers sliced a clean path through the open air, besieging Mint with unforgiving heat. For more than a moment, Mina genuinely feared for Mint’s safety. She tensed, gripping Savior’s Resplendence just a bit too harshly in her clammy palms.
She was every bit as flexible as she was fast. Mina’s breath snagged in her throat.
Mint was equally as fluid. She was equally as surging, equally as flowing, electrical in every right as she threw herself down onto her hands. Upon the soft earth, she was just as quick, tumbling several times over with racing flames at her heels. Once, twice, three times she made her inverting escape, the infernal pursuit lost on her.
Flickering fires lashed out at the innocent grass below, scorching black where once had been a Maestra. With pulsing plasma, every bit as brilliantly gold, still encircling her skin from her shoulder downwards, she never surrendered her precious lightning. Her current was immortal, and she was forever sparking as she evaded his ruthless blaze. Mina’s heart pounded from watching alone.
“The strength they have is…dangerous,” River continued. “They have to train harder than most.”
The knot in Mina’s stomach was slowly twisting once more. It wasn’t the best time. Part of her wished he’d stop talking altogether. “I…figured as much.”
“Their legacies can be dangerous. To possess the power of an Apex on top of that is somewhat terrifying.”
She really, really wished he’d stop. Her hands felt numb. The small metal wasn’t quite so cold anymore. It didn’t ease the way her skin grew hot and her heart skipped a beat.
“I’ve…never had to stand in those shoes. I can’t wrap my head around being anything but Spirited.”
Mina eyed him uncomfortably. “What?”
Still, his smile was faint. “The essence of lightning is hazardous. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that much.”
She felt sick. Logically, there was no way he could’ve known. This was no longer enjoyable.
“In my opinion, it might be the most dangerous of them all,” River went on. “That’s part of what makes Mint such an incredible Maestra.”
Mina blinked. “What do you mean?”
The Maestra in question was an endless well of stamina. No amount of stylish evasion nor roaring flames was a deterrent, and she dodged every ember that licked at her skin with aplomb. She bounced on her heels slightly as she regained her balance, darting sharply to the Willful boy’s left. With Sunstryke thrust high towards the blue skies above, she hardly needed to call for a storm born of broiling clouds.
One rolling rattle of a tambourine sufficed instead, and she tore thunder from the shining sky as she threw her arm downwards. Lightning followed, blinding gold crashing to earth with a sickening crack. The ground shook beneath Mina’s feet, and Francisco outright jumped as the deadly bolt crashed far too close to his position.
“Oh my God, don’t even start with me!” he screamed. “We’re not doing this today!”
River was immune to his distress. His eyes were for their battle, and his words were for Mina. “Mint has worked harder to master the essence of lightning than any other Essenced Maestro I’ve ever met. To have an Apex on top of that has made things…complicated. She’s had her setbacks. She’s struggled. Every time, she’s gotten back on her feet. She loves being a Maestra more than she fears her legacy.”
Mina’s eyes widened. “She was afraid of it?”
He nodded in the slightest. “She wasn’t always perfect. She’s suffered through the worst parts of her legacy, just as she’s embraced the best of it. She’s…made mistakes. She has to live with that. It doesn’t change who she is.”
Even now, Mina refused to stare directly at the scar. She still refused to ask explicitly, and she kept her puzzle pieces purely mental. She somewhat feared River would track whatever involuntary movements of her eyes would follow. Spirited as he was, he didn’t quite seem the type to tear her apart. Every crack that followed precious rattles should’ve taken precedence, beautiful lightning striking the earth again and again in glorious flashes of gold. The thunderstorm born of a clear day spoke not to fear. Mint didn’t smile. Still, there was only confidence where apprehension should’ve lay. With her eyes firmly on Francisco and her body surrounded by a relentless inferno, she was undaunted.
“I love being Spirited,” River went on. “I can’t imagine anything else in the world I’d rather be. In the same way, I hope everyone can come to love the legacy they were born with. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I believe that everything happens for a reason.”
Mina would never take her eyes off Mint again, at this point. Francisco’s hellish assault was eternal, and his fingers flicked rapidly against every string as scarlet swirled forever. Still, there came a point when his surging flames waned in the slightest--secondary to horror, probably, as he backpedaled away from charred grass below. Where sizzling plasma had struck the earth moments before, he’d recoiled sharply several times over. He took his flames with him, his fluid chords tinted with apprehension as he maintained his fiery song. Mint didn’t let him breathe. Mint hardly let him play in the first place.
He knew it was coming, maybe, for how he winced the moment she lunged. Sunstryke was at her side, the chronic hum in the air just barely audible above Francisco’s hesitant notes. Mint was as fast as Mina had learned her to be, her arm aloft and glittering plasma stinging her fingertips once more. She was the smallest of conduits, and a streaming current still adorned her skin like a brilliant circuit. Three slashes, horizontal and crackling in their own right, carved a path through what remained of the fiery sea. The fourth was precise, accented by an innocent rattle and a delicate flick. It wasn’t quite a true strike. It was close enough.
If Sunstryke harbored the tiniest of thunderstorms, then Mint cursed Francisco’s hands with the tiniest of bolts. The flash of gold that burst from between shaking fingers gave the illusion of electricity cast from Mint herself. She was a bolt of her own accord, after all, forged in lightning as she was. Plasma opposite the will of fire crashed down onto hands buried in flames. Francisco outright yelped--albeit in a much higher pitch than Mina knew his voice could go.
Uncurling his fingers from the frets was reflexive in the wake of Mint’s stinging voltage, and the guitar fell to the ground with a heavy, pitiful thud. Francisco swore sharply, clutching his singed hands together as what remained of a fiery sea flickered and burst into the open air. Stray embers were caught along the wind, and Mint, too, came to rest.
“Every friggin’ time!” Francisco hissed. “Every time! Would it kill you to get creative?”
“Mint wins,” Briar called.
“I’m well aware!” Francisco growled.
Mina eyed the resting guitar uncomfortably. The idea of discarding Savior’s Resplendence so haphazardly was off-putting. She’d already deemed him unconventional, if not annoying. Her first impression of the Willful continued to worsen. “He really just…drops it like that?”
River chuckled. “Don’t worry. Valiant Kiss is strong enough to take a few hits. Francisco is a fantastic Maestro, too.”
Debatable.
At the very least, he paled in comparison to his opponent, and Mina couldn’t stop thinking about it. He didn’t take defeat well, swearing as necessary. “You wouldn’t like it if I did it to you!” he berated, anguished eyes upon his Essenced combatant. “It hurts! I’m not even exaggerating!”
Mint tilted her head in the slightest, her neutral gaze speaking where words faltered.
“Oh, you think it’s funny, huh?” he growled.
River applauded, beaming. “Well done, both of you. You two were fantastic.”
“Oh, hell, no, don’t give me that!” Francisco snapped, gesturing aggressively towards the Spirited boy. “River, I swear to God, get Renegadria and get your ass over here! I’m not kidding! I’m done!”
He only laughed once more. It solely served to fuel the Willful boy’s personal fire, and Francisco bristled eternally where his flames had faltered. He was every bit as loud as he’d been that morning, and it was almost enough for Mina to roll her eyes.
Mint caught them first. The Maestra straightened up, shaking her head slightly as she adjusted her fraying curls. When she met Mina’s gaze, her eyes were soft for her Essenced counterpart alone. Where Mina had found only sharpened determination in the face of surging fires, the look Mint offered was comfortable. It was indescribable and inviting all the same, and Mina clung to it longer than was necessary. At least once, with context, her eyes flickered to the scar. They most definitely were not supposed to, and she strongly feared Mint noticed. She kicked herself for the reflexive action.
Mina earned no hostility. Instead, she earned a smile.
It was faint, mild, and gentle, if not somewhat self-assured. Still, it was the first smile she’d ever seen grace the girl’s lips. Her dimples left the scar following along, the splintering markings trailing satisfied skin. It was a beautiful irony, and Mina adored her resilience. She, too, was beautiful. The grin that erupted in return was instinctive, warm in every way. She couldn’t help it.
Savior’s Resplendence wasn’t heavy, for once. Her hands weren’t numb. She wouldn’t have minded numbing them with lovely lightning instead, should it love her back. For all she’d resisted Tacell, Mina now lamented shying away from the settlement. Messenger wasn’t an awful career choice. It would give her something to do, she could rationalize. It would hardly be for River, let alone the other two.
From what Mina knew of the Essenced, she could hardly understand herself. By comparison, Mint was perfect for her legacy, in more ways than one. For once, Mina didn’t mind the one thing they had in common. She embraced it.