The second of August arrived bright and early for the fire Resonator known as Rebecca. It was nothing special. She woke up, changed out of her pajamas like everyone else, and helped pack up the room.

It wasn’t until they left the room that things got a little weird.

Rebecca noticed other Maestros walking about stopped and lowered their heads. Did Shouri do something to merit their reverence?

No, wait a minute… they were revering her. WHY?!

Rebecca felt ill. Those eyes on her; the distinct sensation of idolization - it was so vivid today. She could feel the gazes on her back as they walked. Both hands rose to her gut, pressing down in a vain attempt to steady the bile that was rising in revolt. The pressure to perform, to excel, to be worthy of the Renard name – it pressed down on her like a ton of bricks.

Stop it! Stop looking at me!

“Rebby!” Pacifica’s voice snapped the fox out of her panic.

“P-paci!” A couple of tears escaped.

Rebecca didn’t even realize Pacifica and Shouri had grabbed her until this moment – they both wore open concern for her.

They had only gotten to the lobby by this point, Rebecca realized. Unfortunately, plenty more Maestros and their Resonators were loitering about. Rebecca’s distinct fiery aura drew more unwanted gazes. Shouri and Pacifica moved between the lines of sight, body blocking the poor overstimulated Resonator.

“We’ll try to get out of here quickly, I promise,” Shouri told the fire element.

“What’s going on?” Taika asked.

“It’s Fire Hero’s Day. You’re supposed to give your blessings to fire Resonators today,” Pacifica quietly informed the lunar element.

“Whether they want it or not,” Shouri grumbled bitterly, gently rubbing Rebecca’s shoulder.

“I-I’ll be okay.” Rebecca steadied herself, stepping back from her friends. She had to be strong, she could take some eyes on her. It’s fine. It would be fine. It’s not a big deal, right?

Pacifica grabbed her fellow Resonator’s cheeks. “Stop it.”

“You’re allowed to be uncomfortable,” Shouri told her.

Rebecca trembled. “I can take a couple of people… it’s just… too much today,” she shamefully admitted.

Shouri took in a deep breath. Taika folded her ears back and closed her eyes. “ENOUGH!” the Maestro bellowed, silencing the room.

“It’s Fire Hero’s Day? Mind your own business! Leave her alone!” Shouri’s glare swept around the lobby, retreating glances following in his wake.

The poor fire fox felt the relief in an instant, though there was still some unease in her gut. “Sh-sho…” She grabbed the back of his jacket. “I’ll be stronger,” she whimpered quietly, the guilt cracking her voice.

The Maestro spun around and took hold of his emotional fox. “I ask you to be strong all the time, you’re allowed to have your moments.” He held her tighter.

“B-but-!”

“Rebecca, no one can go one hundred percent at all times. It’s not sustainable.”

Rebecca’s gaze fell behind Shouri and settled on Taika. She couldn’t be vulnerable, not while Taika was still struggling with her powers! She needed to-!

Taika shook her head. “Rebby, non accetterà un no come risposta,” the fox spoke at a volume only the two of them could hear.

The fire Resonator grimaced, knowing her counterpart was right. “Fine,” she acquiesced.

Now hand in hand, Shouri led Rebecca out of the building, Pacifica and Taika close behind. Any looks from others earned scowls of contempt from the protective Maestro.

Thankfully the casting range that was usually attached to the cafeteria was empty despite it being mid-morning. It wasn’t all blessings, however, as the cafeteria appeared to be quite busy at a glance.

Looking around, Shouri quickly came to a decision. “Rebecca, Taika, wait in one of the booths for us, we’ll go get food,” he told the two.

Following their Maestro’s order, the two vixens huddled themselves up in one of the nearby booths. Rebecca stood near the bench while Taika drew up the privacy curtain to deter any looky-loos.

The two girls remained alone in the booth, silent.

After awkwardly shuffling around for a moment, Taika stepped over to her fellow fox. Neither said a word as the pair stared one another down. There was no tension between them, such feelings of animosity had long since faded.

“Eh?” Rebecca’s eyes widened as Taika wrapped her arms around her. It wasn’t a simple hug, but one more enveloping. One arm around the back of her neck, and the other found its way to the small of her back. The two girls were of similar stature, so Taika’s head ended up resting on Rebecca’s shoulder. Finally, a warm fluffy tail wrapped around her legs.

“Taika?” Rebecca squeaked.

“È solo che... ci tengo a te,” Taika whispered.

“Eh…?” The fire Resonator’s eyes widened.

Taika pulled her head back, the two girls now looking at one another face-to-face. The tips of their noses touched. Rebecca’s face reddened, though the fire Resonator failed to find the strength to break away from the other fox’s embrace.

“Voglio essere più forte per te…” Taika spoke breathily, gently rubbing Rebecca’s cheek with her thumb.

“Ehhh…?” Rebecca squeaked, her brain long since abandoning its post. Her heart was still in its battle station, hammering away at top speed. Well, not quite top speed, as it grew faster as Taika’s lips approached hers.

Before impact, however, Taika stepped away, turning in one motion to face the curtains. Shouri and Pacifica appeared at that moment. “Anyone bother you?” the Maestro inquired, holding a pair of to-go containers.

“Nobody that isn’t present,” Taika mumbled, coyly averting her gaze.

“Rebby, are you feeling alright? Your face is really red,” Pacifica addressed the other fox in the booth, placing the back of her hand on the other girl’s forehead.

“I’m fine! Let’s get out of here!” Rebecca snapped, trying and failing to hide her fluster.

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“So the itinerary is we’re going to take a ferry from here to Orvata and stay the night there. From there we’ll take another ferry that will bring us directly to Wenja – the last city before the Schietto Mountains,” Shouri informed the group. “Any questions?”

Rebecca’s expression fouled, she opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Pacifica’s hand flying up into the air.

“Yeah?” Shouri pointed to the water element of the group.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Why a ferry? Not that I’m complaining, but wouldn’t a plane be faster?” the curious otter asked.

“Cheaper.”

“Ah right, we don’t have Mr. Klein supporting us anymore us anymore.”

Taika’s expression clouded, which Shouri picked up on. “Don’t worry about it,” he addressed the gloomy fox. “Elijah did make sure to pay us for our time in Naiza.”

He flashed one of the tuners to the girls. Their banking app was currently up, showing the damages Taika had wrought earlier in the week. “Ah ah,” he chided the girls, pointing to the top of the screen where their current account balance was.

Balance

10197♪

“Oh!” came three surprised gasps.

Shouri didn’t want to tell them about the chunk of change he had to pay for damaging the street with the Null ultimate. He was just thankful the police let him off with a slap on the wrist all things considered.

“Yeah, we have a decent sum of money. However, I’m ordering some replacements for our current outfits when we get on the boat. Gonna get them overnight shipped to the Wenja MA Office,” Shouri informed the rest of the party. “We’re all looking a bit rough and if we’re going up a mountain, I want to make sure we’re all in peak condition.”

Examining their outfits, there was notable wear: small nicks and tears throughout. They did participate in some fairly intense battles before they had been separated and rhythm dampening only went so far before it broke down, or so they had discovered.

“Overnight shipping isn’t cheap.” Pacifica nodded.

“Not at all,” Shouri agreed.

It was at this point in the conversation the other half of their traveling party arrived.

“Heyo!” Emily waved to the group as she approached, her trio close behind.

“Hey, Emily.” Shouri returned the wave in kind. “’bout ready to go?” he asked.

“Yup! Got everything I need for the trip!” the Lunar Princess boasted proudly.

Shouri raised a brow.

“She’s never been on a boat before,” Ritika informed the confused Maestro.

“Hey! Disasters at sea are serious business! You can never be too prepared!” Emily barked in defense of her honor.

Sure enough, there was an additional bag Soot was carrying on top of their usual travel luggage.

“Is that all disaster prep stuff?” Shouri questioned wearily.

“You can never be too prepared!” Emily insisted, louder.

Pacifica stepped over and placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “Relax, the sea is great!” The otter’s eyes shimmered with a starry excitement.

“Reminder, we have two non-swimmers,” Shouri attempted to reel in the otter’s zeal.

“Four,” Albarich cut in. “We don’t got seas on Luna, neither Emily or I can swim, though I was just gonna fly if it came down to it.” The sky dragon extended his large wings with pride.

“F-five…” Ritika piped up sheepishly. “I’ve lived in deserts all my life, never needed to swim,” she admitted.

Pacifica was practically brimming with excitement, to the point of physically shaking. “I can teach you!” The otter exclaimed.

“Not right now!” Shouri barked.

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“Ah, this is the life,” Pacifica cooed.

“It could smell better here, but the sun is nice,” Rebecca said.

The two girls were reclined on lounge chairs, taking in the sun’s rays. Soot sat next to them, also appreciating the hot day. The rest of the group was huddled around a table underneath an overhang. They were surrounded by sea, a ferry taking the group from Alspo to the island of Orvata.

“They’re having fun.” Emily giggled.

Shouri nodded in agreement. “At least this ferry seemed to be slower than usual, probably wouldn’t have been able to pull out the chairs if there were more people aboard.” He commented.

“They can have my share of the sun,” Albarich complained, with Taika quietly nodding as well.

A couple of other passengers walked by the table where the two Maestros and their sun-averse Resonators were seated. Ritika noted the similarity in the dress of the passing group. “Uniforms?” She questioned.

Shouri leaned out to catch sight of the group. He caught sight of a particular symbol adorning their attire – the silhouette of a strong-looking tree surrounded by a heart. “Oh, it’s Unwavering Hearts, never seen them out in the wild before.”

The rest of the table stared at the boy.

“Who?” Emily decided to ask.

“They’re a pretty famous guild,” Shouri replied simply.

“A what?” The Luna native remained confused.

Taking in a breath, Shouri began yet another explanation. “Guilds are organizations run by Maestros usually for Maestros. A guild usually has a mission statement they abide by. Unwavering Hearts is a guild focused on providing medical aid to places hit by disasters or communities that don’t have good health infrastructure.”

“Those people are doctors?” Taika perked up.

“A lot of them are combat medics like you are,” Shouri informed the fox.

“So, guilds do charity work basically?” Ritika questioned.

“Not at all – you can organize a guild centered around whatever you want. There are some duelist and hunter guilds around. It’s just usually easier to gather people to join your guild if you have a good mission statement,” Shouri continued his little lecture. “From what I’ve read, there’s a whole like application process you have to go through to have your guild officially recognized by the government.”

“Is that even necessary?” Emily asked.

“I’d say yeah – officially recognized guilds get their payrolls handled by the government. In exchange, the government gets specialized organizations in a variety of fields to contract work out to if they need it,” Shouri informed the group.

“Ah, there it is.” Emily nodded in understanding.

“Always gotta have their piece of the pie.” Albarich too, nodded along with his Maestro.

Shouri rolled his eyes but smiled. “If there’s a bunch of Unwavering Hearts members on this ferry they must be heading home after a mission,” he reasoned.

“Makes sense. They’d probably use a faster method of transport on the way to a disaster and take the slow boat back.” Emily shrugged.

Taika was sitting up taller, keeping vigilant alert for any of the guild members.

“You want to talk to them?” Shouri guessed.

“Si!” Taika’s gaze shifted to her medical bag at her feet. “I want to see if they have any good advice.” She admitted, earning a smile from her Maestro.

He placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair. “I’m sure they’d be happy to talk to you.”