Food time!

The cafeteria was madness. So many Maestros and Resonators everywhere. All vying for tables for their own groups. Given it was roughly the noontime lunch hour, this was definitely peak capacity for the lunchroom. The two foxes with sensitive hearing instantly folded their ears back to filter out some of the white noise of the conversations.

“Wait…” Rebecca furrowed her brows, head whipping back and forth. “Where the heck’s the food?”

“Uhhh… good question.” Shouri frowned.

“Hey, what’s that sign say?” Taika pointed to a paper taped to a stone column.

‘Pardon our mess!

Food available in True Meat exhibit’

“Where’s that at?” Pacifica raised a brow.

Stepping off to the side to avoid the busy walkways, Shouri pulled out the map and the group scoured it for the ‘new’ food spot. “Oh! There it is!” Rebecca pointed to the True Meat exhibit the sign was directing them to.

“Where are we though?” Shouri continued to scan the map. “Oh.”

It turned out there were three other exhibits they had to pass through to find the current food dispensary. “Oh fuck that,” Shouri grumbled. He was about to voice his decision to skip lunch, but made the mistake of looking at the pouting Taika. “Damn it.” He averted his gaze. She was too cute.

“Let’s get moving.”

The other exhibits were kind of boring and the quartet just passed through them. However, when they hit the True Meat exhibit, an interest was piqued.

“What… is this?” Rebecca gasped.

“But we eat meat?” Taika tilted her head, confused.

Shouri himself looked around. “So back in the day, it was commonplace to consume ‘mundane animals’ for sustenance.” He continued to take in this odd exhibit.

“Mundane?” Pacifica raised a brow.

“Like, a mundane fox was a little creature with Taika or Rebecca’s ears and tail.” Shouri paused, thinking about it further. “They’re kinda shaped like Scherzando,” he added.

There was a quiet understanding of what Shouri was implying. They continued walking through the exhibit. “Extinct?” Pacifica had stopped at a display case filled with various small fake taxidermized animals.

“That’s what they looked like?” Taika asked, seeing a small fox as one of the subjects.

“Like three to four hundred years ago. The increase in Scherzando drove the mundane animals to total extinction,” Shouri spoke somberly.

“They’re all gone?” Pacifica looked back to her Maestro.

He paused, considering his word choice. “Yeah,” he finally decided.

“Gone,” Taika whispered, placing her hands on the glass and staring at the motionless silver fox encased within.

“What do we eat then? I’ve always been told that we need to eat meat to live,” Rebecca brought up.

“From what I saw, there’s a lot of companies that produce artificial meat, but also there are some plants that are used which have the protein content we need to survive,” Shouri explained. “I never really looked too hard into it. Don’t really care to know exactly how my food is made.” He shrugged.

“Gone,” Taika repeated quietly.

The group found the food stand tucked in the very far corner of the main exhibit. There were already many other customers there grabbing their own food; the line moving slowly due to the single Resonator employed to this lonely little corner of the museum. While there were choices for food, the menu left a bit to be desired. Salads, fried chicken, sandwiches, and a small variety of snacks were what was available for their consumption.

“I think I’m gonna eat a salad after that,” Pacifica decided, grabbing one of the plastic containers.

“Sandwich.” Taika grabbed two of the also pre-packaged meals. “Oh fries!” She also snatched up one of the freshly made cups of fried potatoes as they were set down by another employee who had appeared from one of the back doors.

“Ooh, I hope they have some hot sauce for this chicken.” Rebecca excitedly looked around for the sauce for her own selection.

Shouri couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, grabbing himself some tomato basil soup as his own meal.

“Oh I hate this,” Shouri complained almost immediately after they checked out. The walk to the food spot was already long enough, but there were signs practically everywhere directing them all the way back to the proper cafeteria, a full five-minute walk away.

“It could be worse,” Pacifica chuckled nervously.

“I’m hungry now.” Taika frowned at her tray as they walked.

“I wanna know what bone-headed idiot decided this was a good idea,” Rebecca grumbled.

Much to Shouri’s dismay, they once again heard the boisterous female voice booming down the hallway and only growing louder by the second. To further elevate the boy’s blood pressure, they were stuck in a hallway of all places, where there was nowhere to hide. “Fuck,” he cursed with a squeak.

“Taika! Rebecca!” Pacifica suddenly shouted. The trio of girls surrounded their Maestro near the wall.

“There’s no way this works!” Shouri hissed.

“You’re right! Taika, Rebby – tails up!” the otter girl ordered of her two vulpine counterparts.

And suddenly Shouri was very warm as the two vixens hid him with their tails.

The interloper in question started to pass by, but obviously three Resonators huddled up with food trays in the middle of a hallway raised some eyebrows.

However, upon closer observation, the source of the voice Shouri had been desperately avoiding decided to stop and study the odd group. It wasn’t their strange positioning, but the attire of one particular otter that drew pause. “Hey, that jacket you’re wearing...” the red-haired woman spoke up.

Pacifica jumped – she had totally forgotten she was still wearing Shouri’s jacket!

Damage control time: “It’s nice right!? I’m glad I got it on sale!” Pacifica shouted without any real thought.

“Amika, stop bothering random people,” a male Maestro told the woman.

“It’s just, Shouri wore a jacket exactly like that one.” The woman looked the other group over once more. They were kind of fishy; a Lunar was a rare sight, on top of a fire fox, and a water otter. There was a fourth person there, but she couldn’t quite see who exactly it was. A Maestro perhaps? There wasn’t an elemental feeling coming from the fourth person – could be a Null element Resonator.

“Amikaaaa. I wanna see the True Meat exhibit!” a Resonator boy complained.

“Come on Amika, stop bugging them.” The black-haired male Maestro pulled his friend away.

“W-wait Leo! Let me see that girl’s jacket!” Amika cried out as she was dragged off, much to the relief of Shouri and company.

“Damn it, it actually is them,” Shouri groaned as he was released from tail prison.

“Who are they Sho?” Taika asked.

“Enemies?” Rebecca glanced down the hallway where the interlopers had departed.

“I doubt that Rebby,” Pacifica chuckled, patting the fiery vixen’s head.

“Just some pushy people. I don’t want to talk to them. They’re annoying,” Shouri muttered. “Come on, we’re on a timer for lunch now.” He motioned in the opposite direction.

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A fast lunch was had (despite how busy the cafeteria was) and the group quickly made their way into the final exhibit they wanted to visit.

“Incantatori?” Taika asked once more. She was curious, but only because it was a term she had zero familiarity with.

“Yeah, what the heck is this even?” Rebecca too, lacked any knowledge of the subject.

“That’s why we’re here sillies!” Pacifica pushed the two foxes into the exhibit; Shouri following behind, shaking his head and smiling.

Unlike the space themed Luna exhibit, and the earth-themed Dinosaur exhibit, the one on Incantatori was notably sea themed. There was a sea blue tint to the overhead lighting complete with shadowing that mimicked the rippling of water being above them. To complete the effect, the distinctive sound of jostling water played at a low volume over the speakers dotted throughout the exhibit.

“Woah…” the three girls gasped together.

The central piece of this exhibit was a massive stone tablet. There were all kinds of pictures and inscriptions decorating its surface. It seemed almost alien in presentation, though was strangely clean – no staining or wear present across its surface. One of the group in particular seemed to be oddly transfixed by this:

“What..?” Rebecca exhaled sharply, trembling.

“Rebecca?” Shouri looked to the fire Resonator.

“Rhythm, that stone is full of rhythm.” She pointed at the centerpiece.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“It is?” Pacifica looked to Taika who shrugged.

“Says here it's written in rhythm script,” Shouri noted, reading over the helpful plaque displayed nearby.

“So what’s that?” the fire Resonator asked, eyes locked on the rock.

Shouri took a breath in before speaking. “It’s an old way of writing where your intention is burned into the writing medium. Rhythm sensitive people can then read the ‘engraved’ rhythm and understand its meaning even if they didn’t speak the same languages as the author,” he explained. “The benefit to this style of writing is the intention is always passed through, so misinterpretation was rare, if not impossible.”

Narrowing her eyes, Rebecca focused on the rock. It was as if the words flowed clearly into her very mind.

“When our partners appeared, we took them in with open paws and wings. They were a curious sort and for that we walked the path, hand and paw. Our beloved partners, we melted the ice of their rhythm and unlocked their true potential rebuffed by the giants. For now, until the end of time we will appear before our beloved partners.”

Pacifica, Taika, and Shouri stared at Rebecca.

“Huh?” The fire Resonator shook her head. “What?!” She took notice of the stares she had garnered.

“You just kind of zoned out and said all that,” Pacifica pointed out.

“I didn’t realize how rhythm sensitive you were,” Shouri added.

“What are you talking about?” Rebecca glared.

Shouri stepped over and pointed down at another one of the informational signs. Notably it said exactly what Rebecca had just said. “Wha-?” She blinked.

“You read the rhythm script,” he told her.

“It just kinda appeared in my head,” she spoke quietly, cheeks a bit red.

“I thought it was kind of cool.” Shouri smiled, patting her back.

“But what does it even mean?” Taika piped up.

Shouri re-read the translation that was posted before them. “Hmmm.” He began to walk away without an actual word. His Resonators looked between each other, shrugged, and followed along. They watched him study the different sections of the exhibit before finally stopping at one particular stone tablet, or at least a fragment of one. It depicted a human in robes surrounded by three small animal-like figures.

“There’s no rhythm in this one,” Rebecca spoke up.

“Huh.” Shouri nodded. “The theory they’ve come to a consensus on is the Incantatori were essentially proto-Resonators.” He stroked his chin in thought. “That’s kinda interesting.” He leaned forward, looking over the tablet they had stopped in front of.

“Proto-Resonators?” Taika frowned, not understanding what that meant.

“Like our predecessors, right?” Pacifica asked Shouri. The Maestro nodded slowly.

“If all these tablets are legitimate, Maestros existed on Riterra well before the Sages' descent in year zero,” Shouri mused to himself. “It’s weird I haven’t read much on this. You think they’d teach this in school.” He stood up straight. With a sharp exhale, he smiled. “Well, that was interesting.” Glancing back at his three Resonators, he proposed a question: “What did you all think?”

“I didn’t know I could read rhythm script.” Rebecca was still reflecting on that aspect.

“It was cool!” Pacifica pumped a fist into the air.

Taika remained quiet, her lips curled down and she lowered her head pensively.

“Taika?” Shouri raised his brows in concern.

“It’s kind of sad,” she said in a hushed tone. “They said they would always be there, but… they’re gone now, right?”

Silence.

Shouri hummed in thought. “Maybe, maybe not,” he spoke up after a moment of mulling it over. The three Resonators looked to their Maestro, confused.

“They’re not physically here, but humans only re-appeared on Riterra when Resonators appeared. Maybe in a way that was the Incantatori ‘passing the torch’ to Resonators in a way,” he waxed poetically.

Taika lit up at that thought, her lips curling to a smile. “Sho!” She jumped forward, wrapping her arms around him. Pacifica joined in.

“We’ll always appear before you,” the otter-girl declared with a giggle.

Finally, Rebecca huddled close to the group, and she too wrapped her arms around Shouri with her counterparts. “I think you’re right Shouri,” Rebecca muttered, trying to hide the blush on her face.

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There was much more to the museum of course, but even going through the four exhibits they went through on top of lunch spent most of their time. Plus, they had to account for the bus ride home.

“SHOURI TOMOSHIBI!”

The quartet stopped within sight of the door. Their trip home just got thirty times more complicated. They had been spotted from the second floor by the red-jacket wearing Maestro they had been trying to avoid all day.

“We can run,” Shouri muttered to his Resonators.

“Cast Nuvola Oscura, lets run Sho,” Taika whispered to her Maestro.

“Add in Cortina Fumogena, for good measure,” Rebecca added.

“Stop it you two! We’ll get in trouble!” Pacifica hissed.

“YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!” the woman shouted pointing the accusatory finger directly at them. Shouri slowly craned his neck back and up, locking eyes with Amika. Even after all these years she still kept the same long unkempt red hair and still glared him down with those same annoying yellow eyes. He mouthed ‘no’ to her, which only seemed to further her infuriation.

“Book it!” Shouri told his Resonators before rushing towards the door.

“Motherfucker! Andi, handle my landing!”

Shouri looked back in horror as Amika was hopping over the railing much to everyone’s (except Shouri) shock. “Oh god she’s fucking doing it again.”

Thankfully for the uninitiated onlookers, Amika’s Resonator jumped after her, catching his Maestro mid-air and large fiery wings erupting from his back to soften their landing.

“We gotta do that Shouri!” Rebecca shouted, pointing back at the stunt Amika had just pulled.

“Less being impressed more running Rebecca!” Shouri barked at his own Resonator.

They cleared the door, and it was only then Shouri saw the stairs. “Fuck, okay you can do it Rebecca! Pacifica-!”

“I got it! Taika, the rails!”

“Oh! Yeah!”

And so like out of an action movie the four split up. Taika and Pacifica slid down the handrails while Rebecca lit her heels and scooped up Shouri into her arms. The fire-fox jumped and sprung off each landing, being careful to avoid any innocent bystanders. The three Resonators reconvened at the base of the steps, with Rebecca letting Shouri onto his feet whilst rolling to kill her own momentum.

“That was so fucking cool!” Rebecca’s heels continuing to blaze wildly from how hard her adrenaline was pumping from the situation.

“YOU THINK YOU’RE FUCKING CLEVER!?” Amika roared from the top of the stairs.

“Keep going!” Shouri shouted at his Resonators, bolting down the street

“What did you do to her Sho!?” Pacifica cried out, chasing her own Maestro.

“I don’t know! Be born I guess!?”

“GET BACK HERE ASSHOLE!!”

----------------------------------------

“I think we’re safe.” Pacifica held her hands over her pounding heart. They had escaped into an underground parking garage downtown.

“Sho, stai bene?” Taika asked, rubbing their Maestro’s back. Shouri was on all fours wheezing with sweat pouring off him.

“Ooh, that stings.” Rebecca nursed her singed feet while simultaneously out of breath and having a giggle fit.

“Okay seriously Sho, and pardon my Naturalian, what the actual fuck?” Pacifica shot an exhausted glare at their hunched over Maestro.

“She’s one of my childhood friends,” he managed to get out. “Specifically, she occupies the trope of the annoying one.” The Maestro sat back on his legs, resting his head against the wall behind him. “She’s a crude, strong woman,” he quipped.

The three Resonators exchanged a confused glance.

“Forget it. I just don’t want to talk to her.” He closed his eyes, getting off his knees and sitting down properly against the wall. Pacifica was a bit grumpy for a moment before she snorted and started laughing, joining her Maestro.

“Hm?” The Maestro in question looked to his Resonator.

“I just think this whole thing is funny.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.

Rebecca graduated from giggle fit to full on laughter. “That was so cool,” she repeated her prior sentiment. “I felt like we were in an action movie.” She exhaled sharply, leaning back against the wall next to Shouri.

Taika joined the family, laying across Pacifica and Shouri’s laps. “Fu una grande giornata,” she cooed.

“What a weird day.” Shouri remained sitting there in the dimly lit underground parking garage with his trio of Resonators all draped over him.