“Please!”
“Please wake up!”
“Dai, ti prego! Svegliati!!”
Suddenly, it all came back. Taking in a gasp of life-giving air, Rebecca’s eyes snapped open. Teary blue eyes hovered over her. “R-Rebecca?” Taika asked shakily.
“Taika…? We’re alive?”
“REBECCA!”
The fire fox was winded again, but this time by her lunar counterpart basically falling on and hugging her tightly, sobbing loudly as she took a second go at trying to remove Rebecca’s lease on life. “Taika… you’re crushing me…” Rebecca wheezed with her last breath.
She was released from the death grip, Taika sat back on her legs and sniffled while wiping away the tears with her jacket sleeve.
“Uhg fuck…” Rebecca glanced down at her legs. The stunt that saved their lives had annihilated her fire-resistant socks and shoes, as well as leaving her feet and most of her shins severely burned. What’s more, they also had hit the ground rather hard, as her entire body ached at various points. She must have rolled at the last second to disperse most of the remaining momentum from their fall.
“I don’t have my spells anymore,” Taika whimpered sadly; her gaze fixated on Rebecca’s legs.
“We were knocked out; we lost our rhythm link with Shouri,” Rebecca noted.
“H-how was it so easy?” the lunar fox fretted.
Rebecca was surprised by that. “Have you never been hit by your weakness before?” the fire Resonator gasped.
“Ah…” The lunar wilted. “Solar spells.” There was a significant darkness that clouded her emotions, Rebecca noticed instantly.
“Do you… want to talk about it?” Rebecca asked.
“No,” Taika retorted sharply and firmly.
The Rebecca of a couple of weeks ago would have started a fight, but now she was just curious. Who exactly was this girl she had just saved? That could wait though, they were currently separated from their Maestro and by extension their fighting capabilities. They had been thrown somewhere random in the forest, and while Rebecca did have her ad-Lib back, she had very limited usage of it due to the state her body was in.
Taika got to her feet. She offered her back to Rebecca and crouched low. “Come on.” Taika motioned with her head.
“What?” Rebecca didn’t understand.
“Get on my back.”
“Eh?”
“We need to find Sho, and you’re hurt.”
“I can walk fine!”
“You have no shoes, shut up and get on my back.”
Rebecca gritted her teeth; she could sense how adamant Taika was about this. “F-fine.” Crawling over, the fire fox swallowed her pride and allowed herself to be carried by her fellow fox. Taika rose to her feet and began to walk.
“How are you so strong?” Rebecca questioned, noting the ease at which she was being carried.
“Che?”
“You’re not struggling to carry me.”
“Oh.” Taika took a moment to formulate her answer. “I have a lot of practice,” she decided on.
There was a certain… pain to those words, not an ounce of pride to be had. However she got this strength, she earned it, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Wish I had Rilevare,” Taika grumbled, not only having to carry Rebecca but perform triple time listening and watching for stray Scherzando.
Both girls remained quiet, focusing on remaining at maximum alertness. The forest was sinisterly dark, far from civilization. In the distance they could hear the suggestion that there were Maestros and their Resonators about, though the two girls kept their expectations in check; their strong hearing betrayed the distance other humans were from them.
“TAIKA?! REBECCA?!” very loudly and painfully rang in both vixens’ heads.
“Gah!” They winced from the sudden piercing cry of their Maestro, with Taika being so startled she stumbled.
“Sho!” Taika called out after shaking off her surprise. “Please give us some spells!” she requested.
“What do you need?” Shouri asked.
“La bella Vita, Rilevare, e Luce Lunare, per favore!” Taika listed off.
“Famiglio Incendio,” Rebecca added in.
“La Bella Vita, Rubato. Rilevare l’intenzione, Lento. Luce Lunare, Rubato. Famiglio Incendio, Presto Staccato,” came the four requested spells. The two girls felt a sense of relief as they were linked back to their Maestro once again.
Rebecca jumped as she felt waves of warm, healing energy course through her from her legs, radiating outward through her body from where Taika’s hands held her. With most of the pain from her fall having faded the fire Resonator made use of the spell she had requested.
Taking in a deep breath, Rebecca closed her eyes, focusing on the ground around them, she envisioned five tiny fire foxes popping up around them. It was a bit harder to cast the spell like this, but she felt Shouri’s rhythm invade her after a moment. With the rhythm gathered, Rebecca shaped it and projected it outward, surrounding her and Taika.
Sure enough, after some intense concentration, she opened her eyes to find she could see their surroundings once more thanks to the light of the five fox-fire familiars she had successfully summoned.
“You can put me down,” Rebecca told Taika.
Rather than a verbal reply, Taika shifted her hands down to Rebecca’s calf. “Ow!” The fire Resonator flinched with a yelp of pain.
“I’m trying not to rhythm burn you.” Taika jumped to adjust Rebecca on her back (earning a yip of surprise from the fire Resonator). “You’re going to be okay; I’ll make sure of it,” the determined fox muttered.
“T-taika…” Rebecca breathed out, feeling a rush through her body caused by her heart deciding that she was running a marathon of emotions.
As they trudged along, they were still all alone the only sounds being the distant whispers of Maestros and their Resonators and Taika’s heavy footsteps. “Do you need to rest?” Rebecca asked.
“No,” came the stubborn reply.
“You’re lying.”
“I have to keep moving.”
“Why?”
Taika grunted and refused to elaborate.
“Taika!” Rebecca protested. No reply as the lunar fox trudged on.
“Come on Taika, talk to me, what’s going on?” The fire Resonator began to struggle, further frustrating the girl who was carrying her.
“Stop it!”
“Stop leaving me in the dark! We’re in this together you…!” Rebecca wanted to say "bitch" but was trying to be civil and bit her tongue.
Taika allowed Rebecca to fall from her back. The fire fox landed on her feet, earning a small cry of pain as her still raw skin protested the rough forest floor.
Regardless, Rebecca stood up straight, tearing up slightly from the pain. The flame foxes slowly moved behind their summoner, focused on the lunar Resonator glaring them down.
“Talk to me,” Rebecca demanded, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her legs.
Whipping her head away, Taika grumbled some unintelligible complaints. “Tai-ka!” Rebecca barked. “Fucking talk to me damn it!” The fire fox stepped forward and grabbed her counterpart by her shirt.
Taika continued to refuse her fellow fox’s gaze. “We’re wasting time,” she muttered.
“TALK TO ME!” Rebecca demanded, shaking the other fox.
“We’re far from Sho, okay?!” Taika barked back.
“Okay, and?”
“I don’t think you understand how far away we are!”
“Then tell me! Help me understand!”
The arguing foxes stood in silence for a moment. “I can’t,” Taika mumbled, lowering her glare towards the dirt. “I’m too stupid to explain it to you.” She ground her teeth.
Suddenly, she found herself looking Rebecca in the eyes. “That’s all I wanted to know.” Rebecca kept her expression neutral while holding the other girl’s chin up. “We’re in a shitty situation, no need to keep me out of it.”
The lunar Resonator shook her head out of her fire counterpart’s grasp to avert her gaze, this time in shame. “Scusa…” She continued to grind her teeth.
Rebecca inspected her raw feet, stepping in place repeatedly in a vain attempt to relieve the nagging soreness that permeated through her lower legs. Taika turned and lowered herself again. “Come on.”
The proud Renard sheepishly approached the lunar and allowed herself to be carried once more. The flame foxes resumed their defensive perimeter around the two girls, and they began their pilgrimage anew.
“We’re on the way,” Shouri’s voice rang in their heads. “Keep updating the map Taika.”
“Yes, Sho,” Taika replied.
“Are you both okay?”
“I’m burnt as fuck, but alive,” Rebecca spoke up. “Taika’s carrying me.”
“Thank you, Taika.” It was clear based on the cadence in his voice that Shouri was running, or at the bare minimum, jogging.
Their minds went silent as their Maestro undoubtedly was focusing on making his way to them. Taika was definitely in her feelings, that much was clear to Rebecca. Steadying her breathing, the fire fox focused her rhythm on her arms wrapped around her counterpart’s shoulders and chest. In a rare twist, she found her etude target to be accepting of the foreign rhythm.
With a smile, Rebecca rested her head against Taika’s. “Thank you.”
Their relatively peaceful walk came to a stop after some time. “They’re coming.” Taika lowered her passenger to the ground. Freed from her heavy cargo, she took a defensive stance whilst forming a ball of lunar energy in each hand.
Rebecca summoned an additional two flame foxes bolstering her group to seven and strengthening their defensive perimeter. Where she had lost her maneuverability, she could extend her reach with her summons.
From the trees, several bird Scherzando descended on them. Taika easily cut through them with her Luce Lunares that were thrown in their direction. She knew better thanks to her detection spells though and kept forming balls of lunar magic to cut through a flock of Scherzando that had found them.
Despite her accuracy, Taika was quickly overwhelmed and left open to a Scherzando. “Taika!” Three flame foxes jumped to protect the lunar Resonator from a large rock thrown by the Scherzando. The rock spell and the three foxes burst, all dissipating from their interaction. Rebecca rapidly replenished her ranks, silently hoping she wasn’t draining Shouri too much.
“Rebecca!” Before she realized it, Taika had sniped a water Scherzando that was trying to sneak up on them. The two girls exchanged a glance and nodded to one another.
----------------------------------------
“Haa haa haaa… holy shit…” Rebecca managed to get out through her haggard breath. She sat back, propped up by her arms, two flame summons left to her name.
“Sho and Paci are getting closer,” Taika spoke quickly before returning to panting. “They’re still far away though.” She kept their collective expectations in check.
“Fuck,” Rebecca exhaled sharply. “I really hope we didn’t hurt him with all the magic we used.”
“They haven’t slowed down,” Taika noted.
“You know Sho will push himself for us,” Rebecca countered.
“That’s true,” the lunar admitted. Their Maestro certainly was one of the odd ones (not that they hated it)
Taika crouched on her toes, presenting her back to Rebecca once more. “We should keep moving,” she advised.
Rebecca’s ears wilted. Even without her rhythmic sense, it was obvious how simply exhausted Taika was. That being said, thanks to the aforementioned sense, she could tell how determined the lunar fox was. Despite it, Rebecca protested. “N-no,” the fire Resonator weakly refused.
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“Rebecca, quit fucking around, come on,” the lunar growled back.
Acquiescing to her companion’s pointed demand, Rebecca got onto Taika’s back again to resume their trek to their Maestro.
Rebecca closed her eyes. What a long night it had been. Taika had to be more tired than she was, but everything they had been through…
Yeah fuck hunting for the next like… week; Pacifica’s mom be damned. They could just go crash at an MA office if she kicked them out for perceived laziness.
Slowly her eyelids rose once more. “Taika, did I fall asleep?” Rebecca questioned.
“Probably.”
“Take a break.”
“No.”
“Fine.”
Igniting her heels, Rebecca jetted from her holder and landed on the ground. “Take a break,” the fire Resonator demanded despite the pain in her feet.
“Santo cielo Rebecca, come fai ad essere così stupida?” the lunar fox growled.
“I’m wondering the same thing about you? That stupid willpower of yours is gonna get you killed.” Rebecca kept her tone even but glared down the other fox. “Your hair is even starting to grey from how hard you’re pushing yourself.”
Taika bared her teeth at the fire vixen, though she glanced up to see the tips of her bangs starting to turn that ashy grey color that signaled she had run out of extra rhythm.
“You keep going like this and you’re going to die. I don’t want to have to explain to Sho that you killed yourself because you were too stubborn to stop for a few minutes,” Rebecca pointed out. “They know where we are. Just chill, please,” the fire element implored of her lunar counterpart.
The raven-clad vixen gritted her teeth in frustration. She felt absolutely useless at this point and didn’t want to back down. She could keep going, she could relax when they were safely back with the group. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
“Taika!” Rebecca had closed the gap between them and grabbed her shoulders. “Please just rest. I didn’t burn my legs up to watch you die like this!”
Still, the stubborn fox wore her frustration like a fashion statement. “We’re wasting time,” she protested.
“We are not. Just fucking listen to me!”
“Non!”
“Fine I didn’t want to resort to this-” Rebecca pulled a hand away from Taika’s shoulder. The Lunar pushed the fire element away, ready to scrap; however, all Rebecca did with that hand was snap her fingers. From up above the trees a burst of fire lit up the night sky. The light quickly faded along with one of Rebecca’s summoned flame foxes.
A second later: “Hey! Was that you?!” Shouri’s voice rang in Rebecca’s head.
“Yeah, tell stupid to rest, she’s at zero.”
Taika, having not heard Shouri speaking to Rebecca, felt her heart sink. What a dirty move!
“Taika!”
And now she was in trouble with her Maestro.
“Stay put with Rebecca, we’re like ten minutes away.”
“Però'-!”
“But nothing! I hate to pull this card, but that’s an order – don’t move!”
The lunar glared daggers at her fire counterpart who was more than happy to return the favor.
Shouri continued to speak: “Rebecca’s a bit off, you’re at negative ten rhythm right now. Please just rest!” he implored.
“F-fine…” Taika finally acquiesced to the multiple demands being made of her and slumped to the ground.
Rebecca finally allowed her shoulders to catch slack, letting out a tired breath. “Thanks, Sho,” she muttered.
“Please make sure she doesn’t try to bolt,” he requested.
“She won’t leave without me.” Rebecca glanced over at the defeated fox. “It’s a matter of pride for her… I think.”
“Okay. We’ll be like ten minutes.”
“We’ll be here.”
Returning to silence, Rebecca studied her fellow fox. After a moment of thought, she approached the stubborn girl and plopped down on the ground with her. “Ma che vuoi? Lasciami stare…” Taika grumbled, snapping her head away from the other Resonator.
Rebecca ignored this and instead took Taika’s hands within her own. “Che?” Taika's gaze snapped to their joined hands.
“Let’s etude.” Rebecca smiled warmly.
“Us?” Taika questioned.
“Sure. I’m not as strong as Pacifica but I can still feel how stressed out you are.”
“Us…”
Submitting to the process, a warmth began to radiate from Rebecca’s fingertips, slowly invading Taika’s form. Her heart began to slow, the worry fading from her mind. It was okay. They were okay. It had almost ended here, but Rebecca saved them.
She had to pay that kindness back. She had to make sure Rebecca got back to Sho safely. She HAD TO!
“Stop stop,” Rebecca’s voice snapped the lunar fox out of her thoughts. “Stubborn idiot,” Rebecca chuckled. “We’re fine. You haven’t even noticed yet.”
“Noticed what?” Taika raised a brow. At that moment a flame fox popped into existence next to them and scampered up a nearby tree.
“I’ve been sending foxes out to get rid of Scherzando,” Rebecca revealed. “They’ve been easy enough to deal with, keeps ‘em from getting too nosy.”
Taika wilted. “So I’m not needed.” This earned a painful tightening of Rebecca’s hands around hers.
“Cut that pity shit out. Sho needs you the most.”
“Che?”
“You’re his duet partner. He’s only rushing this hard because of you.”
This didn’t elevate her mood. Shouri had told her this himself before. It was so easy to let those intrusive thoughts in…
“Focus on me.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Hm?”
“Etuding with me.”
“I already told you; you’re stressed. When your rhythm is low your brain goes out of whack. Just let me in, you big dummy.”
With a sharp exhale, she submitted to the whims of her fiery counterpart; after all, she had the most actual rhythm training out of their group. Taika allowed herself to relax, beginning to warm to her core.
“Ah… you’re so warm Taika…” Rebecca let out a pleased sigh.
“S-so are you,” Taika admitted sheepishly.
“I’m so glad to be surrounded by such warm people…”
Taika’s jaw slowly drooped, catching slack. Tears were pouring down Rebecca’s face. The other Resonator’s eyes were closed, but she was speaking from the heart, it was disarming.
“Taika! Rebecca!”
Before either fox could properly react, they were tackled by their Maestro, and then their fellow Resonator. “I’m so sorry! Are you two okay?” Shouri cried out, the worry and desperation in his voice almost a tangible force.
“We should be asking you the same thing, holy shit Sho!” Rebecca pushed their Maestro up. He was soaked in sweat, and not only that his hair was half white from how much rhythm had been pulled out of him throughout the night.
“He would not stop,” Pacifica told the two. “That bird that attacked you apparently was like some kind of in-between from a regular Scherzando and one of those huge ones, so it took all of us to take it out,” the water element caught the pair of foxes up on the situation.
“There’s a small town near here. I think we should probably hit up the local MA office to rest for the night,” Shouri informed the pair.
“Good call, but let’s take it easy,” Pacifica chided their Maestro.
“I will,” Shouri relented, though he pulled Rebecca and Taika into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you both are alright.”
The two foxes exchanged glances before settling on smiling at one another.
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“Good evening and welcome to the Acero Park Maestro Affairs- oh my god are you okay?!”
The front desk attendant's Resonator rushed around the corner hearing their Maestro's shriek. Shouri and his Resonators were barely standing by the time they made it to the MA Office. Rebecca still lacked any kind of footwear her legs very clearly not in good shape, while Pacifica barely managed to hold Shouri up. Taika herself stubbornly remained unaided but was trembling, clearly about to collapse.
The Maestro slid his three tuners across the counter. “Please, just get us a room.”
“Right away – we have a vacancy in room three.” The attendant rapidly scanned the three devices before turning them back over to their owner.
“Thanks.” He scooped up the trio of tuners, just jamming them in his jacket pockets before they limped over to the Maestro’s quarters.
The attendant stared at the screen, their Resonator joining them. On display were the spell levels of the three Resonators they had just admitted into the building. That quartet was quite strong, what happened out there to leave them in such a condition?
----------------------------------------
Rebecca and Taika collapsed onto the loveseats, finally allowing the comforts of modern society after their extended stay in the woods.
“Ugh, sucks we don’t have our PJs,” complained Rebecca.
“At least we made it here,” Taika sighed.
Pacifica and Shouri had taken up the bathroom to try and use the water to expedite their healing process. The faster Shouri could recover the faster they could all recover.
The two foxes didn’t have the energy to care about the implications or even to read further into the other half of their group sharing the bathroom. They both just reclined in their respective loveseats, eyes closed and allowing their battered, worn-out bodies to finally rest.
“Grazie,” Taika suddenly spoke.
“For?” Rebecca opened an eye.
“Not giving up on me,” the lunar spoke at but a breath, too exhausted to put any force into her voice.
“Likewise,” Rebecca replied, in a similar state of fatigue.
The next time Taika became cognizant of her surroundings, it was via a command from their Maestro. “La Bella Vita, Rubato; see if you can finish healing Rebecca’s legs, please, and thank you!”
Taika stirred from her half-conscious state. She looked around in a daze, rubbing her eyes. Pacifica and Shouri were still locked up in the bathroom. Did she dream what Shouri had said? No, she could feel her rhythm linked with his. Focusing on her hands, they began to glow softly. Okay, she didn’t imagine that.
Peeling herself from her cushy throne, Taika shambled over to Rebecca. “Senti...” When the other fox didn’t stir, the healer exerted the effort to place a foot on the bottom of the loveseat and shook it. “Rebby, è ora di svegliarsi,” the groggy fox mumbled.
Rebecca’s eyes opened. “Wha' did you call me?” the sleepy fire element asked.
“Rebecca,” Taika stated firmly, her voice notably far sharper than before.
The fire Resonator shook her head, attempting to actually wake up. “But you-” She was not allowed to finish that thought, however:
“Sho asked me to try healing you again.” The group’s healer dropped to her knees, keeping her head down, attention firmly on casting her spell on the ailing fox.
And so the two sat in silence, Rebecca glaring quizzically at Taika who remained iron-focused on her spellcraft. “Tell me if it feels like it’s not working.”
“Right.”
It was strange, for all her bad attitude and aggressiveness, Rebecca could feel it through Taika’s rhythm - she did care. Reaching out, she placed a hand on the healer’s head. This was… nice.
“Che?” Taika’s face warmed significantly, her heart skipping a beat as she felt Rebecca’s hand slowly stroke her hair. What an affectionate gesture! She focused her attention on what her Maestro tasked her with doing.
Though she wouldn’t admit it… she didn’t mind.