“Please… have mercy, Rebby,” Pacifica whined as she trudged after her teacher. The poor otter was pouring sweat, her meshy swimsuit soaked for the effort exerted.

“My god, you’re as out of shape as Shouri is,” Rebecca commented, jogging in place. The pair had been running circles around the perimeter of the temple for the better part of a few hours. Rebecca was a cruel, but fair trainer – she allowed breaks, but only when she determined Pacifica was at her breaking point. Once the otter had recovered an acceptable amount it was back on the grind.

“Am NOT!” the otter shrieked. “You’re just insane!” she protested, throwing an accusatory finger at the fox.

“Hey, you wanted to get good, well it doesn’t just happen overnight!” the fox argued back, rolling her eyes while folding her arms across her chest.

They remained standing in the middle of the outer fields for a few minutes, Pacifica still attempting to catch her breath while Rebecca waited. It wasn’t that Pacifica was out of shape. On the contrary, she was actually in very good shape. She just lacked endurance outside of the water. Rebecca also suspected Fisher of the Sea, Pacifica’s unique species trait, helped her cheat the physical act of swimming.

Either way, most of their confrontations occurred on land, so they would train on land, and that was final.

That being said, Rebecca noted it was getting “late”, seeing the blue of the sky box take on a more orange tint. “We should probably head back.” She motioned for the front gate.

“Bath,” Pacifica sighed wearily, trudging behind her fellow Resonator.

“Yeah yeah, let’s go,” Rebecca led the way back into the temple grounds.

The walk back was quiet, Rebecca’s ears tuned to Pacifica’s heavy footsteps and tail sliding on the ground behind her. She had to be hard on her – they didn’t have the luxury of messing around. Not just because of the possibility of fighting Whistler again, but other enemies. The goons at the O’Naer airport also came to mind as well as Taika’s mysterious “caretakers”.

There were plenty of strong people out there, and while Rebecca didn’t fancy herself a fighter, she had a new goal in life: To defend this new family of hers to the last breath. She knew Pacifica and Taika both felt the same.

“I want to be able to put them down – with overwhelming force.”

There was no need to confirm her feelings with Shouri, either – Rebecca knew how he felt. Their hearts all beat as one. If the world became their enemy…

…well then that’d be the end of this world, now wouldn’t it?

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“At this rate, you’ll be done in a few weeks,” Vienna noted, eying the ten-strong cluster of beads in the bowl while she patched up Shouri’s hands for the final time that day.

Like the day prior there were assorted “failures” littering the ground. About the same number as yesterday. Shouri was frustrated – Vienna gathered that much from his rhythm.

“I’ll have to see how Taika liked the one I gave her yesterday,” Shouri chuckled hollowly. “Hopefully this isn’t a waste of my goddamn time,” he mumbled, glaring at the bowl.

Vienna rolled her eyes. “Same time tomorrow?” she asked.

“We’ll see,” he replied.

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Yeah yeah, the addict needs her fix.”

“You’re the last one I want to hear that from, Shouri Tomoshibi.”

With that, the two departed the storeroom and went their separate ways. The rubato clay he had been working with was a fascinating material. He hadn’t gotten a chance to research it online yet. Was it used in the production of Vatonium? Or perhaps it had some other use in building materials?

No, it stored rhythm – it wasn’t an insulator. It wouldn’t make a very good building material in that case. It seemed more fitting as a weapon. Scherzando could be dispatched utilizing any material made with it and charged with the appropriate amount of rhythm.

Which was why Sarayul was having him make them. The rhythm inside gave it durability, maybe even pseudo-healing properties? But the big thing it did was make it a functional weapon against Scherzando in theory.

Hunts were about to become even easier once Taika mastered her ad-Lib. She would be able to rend Scherzando apart with just her rhythm and her beads.

It was insane to think about – two of his trio of Resonators could fight all on their own in an emergency. He could focus on command of Pacifica and not worry about Taika or Rebecca in the short term.

“Sho?”

Speaking of, the lunar vixen stood in his path. “Ah, Taika.” He couldn’t help but smile. “How was your training today?” he asked.

She grunted and frowned. “Non so,” the fox mumbled. “It’s hard,” she admitted.

Shouri nodded, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Keep at it, any new skill takes time to understand, and much more to master,” he offered.

Her tail wagged as a smile rose on her lips. She stepped forward and gently pecked her Maestro’s lips.

No words were needed after that, they both understood one another. With that, they made their way back to their lodgings.

Rebecca was already there, in her pajamas, her hair wrapped up in a towel. The usual programming was on; an old movie channel, though today she was watching an old Lyberteran western.

“Is Pacifica-?” Shouri was cut off

“-in the bath? Yeah.” Rebecca said, motioning to the closed bathroom. “Put her through hell, she’s gonna sleep like a pup tonight,” the fire fox chuckled, her focus remaining on the movie.

Shouri and Taika joined their companion on the couch. “What about you?” Shouri questioned.

“What about me?”

“You’re helping Pacifica, are you okay with that?”

Rebecca chewed on that thought while continuing to watch her stories. “Maybe,” she decided after a moment.

The trio fell silent, the movie playing on without care for their discussion.

“Wanna talk about it?” Shouri offered.

“Still gathering my thoughts,” she replied off the cuff.

The Maestro nodded slowly. “I understand.” Before he could get up and leave, Rebecca grabbed his hand and kept him in place.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“It’s nothing you did wrong.” Rebecca’s gaze remained fixed on the screen in front of them. “Nothing Taika or Pacifica did either,” she added.

Neither Shouri nor Taika had a response to that.

“I just am thinking about a lot right now, that’s all,” mumbled the fire fox.

Shouri pulled her into a side hug. “Take your time,” he whispered.

She smiled. “Thanks.”

With Rebecca sorted out, Shouri turned to Taika. “Wanna lay down for a bit?” he asked, motioning towards the large bed.

“Do you even have to ask?” the vixen replied with a coy smirk.

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Dinner came around, but not in the way that any of the trainees had expected.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Hm?” Rebecca perked up. Pacifica was lying on the couch next to her, zoned out. Meanwhile, Shouri and Taika had sat up in bed, groggily staring at the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Rebecca grunted, seeing how she was the only one who was actually functioning hopped to her feet. She trudged to the door and threw it open.

Who was standing there caused Rebecca to cock a brow. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“Where are Nina and Talys?” asked Sarayul, looking none too pleased to be there.

“I dunno,” Rebecca said with a shrug.

“I left them with you,” the Ethereal pointed out.

The fire element mulled that over. Another annoyed grunt escaped the Resonator’s nostrils. “They said something about taking a vacation. Didn’t think they’d seriously do it,” she informed the nine-tailed fox.

She watched the millennia-old fox pale. “But… they can’t take a vacation!” he shouted.

“Why not?” Shouri asked, joining his Resonator at the door.

“Who is going to cook dinner?!”

Shouri and Rebecca looked at one another, then back towards the bed where Taika sat.

“Che?” chirped the innocent fox.

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“This… is a lot…” Taika blinked.

Shouri, Taika, and Rebecca stood in the kitchen. Pacifica had chosen to remain in their room as she was still exhausted from Rebecca’s boot camp.

“So, what do we do first?” Rebecca asked the “expert” amongst them.

“Uhhh…” Taika blinked.

The kitchen they stood in defied their expectations. Despite the traditional wood décor most of the rest of the temple possessed, it was no stretch of the imagination that they were standing in a modern kitchen.

Not just a modern kitchen either, the facility in which they stood was comparable to a commercial kitchen in size and quality. The ranges on the stoves were restaurant quality. There were four industrial-sized refrigerators. An open door at the far end of the room was a second large storage space that seemed to be a pantry based on what they could see from their current vantage point. Plenty of counter space greeted them alongside every conceivable kitchen appliance they could think of (and many they couldn’t).

“What do I do?” Taika asked Rebecca.

“Why are you asking me?! You’re the cook!” the fire Resonator shouted.

Shouri stepped between them. “Alright, let’s split up and find out what we’re working with here,” he decided for the unfocused foxes.

And so, they split up. Taika vanished into the pantries, Rebecca scoped out the appliances, and Shouri checked out the contents of the refrigerators.

Taika discovered an insane amount of dry goods for any dish she could think of; potatoes, rice, and even things she wasn’t familiar with such as raw beans were present and accounted for.

Shouri not only found a wide array of perishable ingredients such as meats and cheeses but also enough snacks to kill a man a hundred times over (presumably for Sarayul).

And Rebecca just played with fire for about five minutes until they had to reconvene.

“Alright gang, what’s the verdict?” Shouri questioned his two foxes.

“I need to learn more about food,” Taika mumbled, her ears folded back and tail curled around her leg.

Shouri nodded. He looked at Rebecca. “And you?”

“The appliances work,” she added helpfully.

Another nod from Shouri. “Good work,” he decided to humor her. “Okay here’s the plan…”

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Sarayul stared at his dinner for the evening: a cheeseburger and fries. It was not something he claimed familiarity with. Perhaps once or twice he had the Lyberteran classic, he was used to meals served on the Yazhou Steppe.

He had fond memories of the vast, temperate grasslands he once conquered as a mortal Resonator. The flat, treeless expanse receiving little in the form of rain limited the types of meals one could make. In his day it led to the farming of domesticated animals. However, such a lifestyle was impossible now thanks to the extinction of nearly all life on the planet.

“Do you not like it?” Taika asked, snapping the immortal out of his thoughts.

“It looks wonderful, you may go,” he waved her away.

Taika frowned, the Ethereal seemed to always be so silent unless he was instructing her on something.

Thanks to Shouri’s etude, her curiosity itched something fierce, so she couldn’t help but try scratching it.

“What was it like?” she asked.

“Hm?” the Ethereal hummed, glancing up from his meal.

“We went to a museum before and they said the meat we have isn’t real. I was just curious about what it was like before all the mundane animals… uh… died,” Taika elaborated.

A thin, melancholic smile rose on the man’s lips. “Oh, my child.” Sarayul shook his head. “How I wish you could have beheld their majesty. They were such beautiful divine creatures,” he waxed poetic. “We took them for granted and Lord Cievo took away his gift to us.” Another pitying shake of his head.

“There were lots of them then?” Taika guessed.

“As many wonderful creatures as you can imagine, and many more you couldn’t,” the Ethereal sighed wistfully. “I digress,” he said suddenly. “This will suffice for dinner – you may go,” he repeated his earlier dismissal.

With that wave off, Taika took her leave. For some reason, she had the feeling of loneliness from him.

Ethereals were strange. Why did they live forever?

…did they even want to?