Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

May 13th, 2018AR

Shouri Tomoshibi awoke on this Sunday like it was any other. Except, it was unusually cold this morning. The cause of the sudden chill became immediately apparent: the two girls whom he normally shared the bed with were missing.

Instantly, the young adult was concerned; doubly so when he sat up and found one of the two tuners missing, specifically the blue one. The midnight black one was still where he had left it the night prior. However, the girl bound to that particular tuner was also missing. He snatched it up and pressed the talk button.

“Taika?”

“Sh-sho!”

Her startled voice came not from the tuner, but the tiny kitchen he shared with the two girls. Speaking of which – “Where’s Pacifica?”

Taika walked around the corner, revealing she had possession of the missing tuner. “She wanted me to keep an ear out for her while she talked to her parents. She said it was important.”

Something felt... off. He wasn’t sure what was really going on, but both Taika and Pacifica were their own people, just because they were his Resonators didn’t mean he had to know every little detail about their lives.

“Is she okay?” he asked the only question that mattered to him at the present.

“Si! Si! Perfectly fine!”

Taika was a bad liar, or at least she was bad at hiding the fact that they were up to something. At any rate, as long as his precious Resonators were fine, he’d let sleeping otters and foxes lie. Nature was calling anyway and he didn’t have to pry them off of him this morning, so it was a win on that front.

He did, however, keep possession of Taika’s tuner in case she got ideas about making early morning phone calls of her own.

Pacifica kept her eyes firmly on Shouri as the pair made their way down to the cafeteria for breakfast. She was getting a bit irritated – why wasn’t he asking about this morning? She had an awesome story spun up and everything!

She could sense he was curious about it, but also...

... he was respecting her space?

Damn him and being perfect!

“Hey,” Shouri spoke up suddenly, jolting the otter out of her thoughts. “If you need to do that again, just wake me up. I promise you I won’t be mad.” He told her.

“Y-yes!” She swooned and just followed along in her smitten state.

Back to the room with breakfast in hand, probably one of the last they’d have here at that. Though, upon further consideration, they hadn’t solidified their next steps yet, with the big Scherzando taken care of there wasn’t anything left to tie them to Riva Sranvi.

“Sho.”

Shouri was pulled out of his thoughts and back into reality. The boy looked up from his breakfast - Taika and Pacifica had both called for him.

“We want to go swimming,” they said together.

With his previous thoughts in mind, that request made sense. If they were to go to a more inland town, the chances of them running into facilities with water elementals in mind would diminish. His eyes shifted towards Pacifica. He was concerned about taking her to a less hospitable place for her element, but she had made it out here on her own; it’d probably be fine.

“Oh? Are we going to have a repeat of last time?” he asked with a smirk.

Both girls blushed, recalling their past embarrassments.

“Non!” Taika shook her head rapidly.

“Please? Er, I mean no!” Though Pacifica let slip her true feelings on the matter.

With a roll of his eyes, he acquiesced to their request. “Fine fine, just behave; both of you.”

“We will!”

And thus, the group made preparations to head down to the pool. Swimming gear in hand, they made their way across campus to building C.

It was still hot out even this early in the morning and as such they skipped the hot tubs today. Shouri relaxed, floating around the deeper parts of the pool, every so often glancing over to see Pacifica continuing Taika’s swimming education. The previously brick of a fox-girl was now able to at least keep herself above water and do some rudimentary strokes.

What she needed now was confidence. Shouri went back to reading the news on one of his two tuners. Other people swam around him, but the lifeguard nor her Resonators were calling him out so floating he remained.

The news today was boring, slow even. Which was a touch bit irritating. Surely someone reported on the big Scherzando they took down last night? But no, not a peep of news about it. “Hrmph.” He glared at the screen.

It wasn’t worth the energy to get worked up about, but it still made him mad all the same. He let out a sigh and decided to move on from it. Next was the usual checks: his last name to see if his parents had done anything stupid. It was always a mixed bag – he never found anything, which was equal parts relieving and scary.

They could be planning something and not just brazenly declaring war on him. Maybe it was because of the direction they fled. He’d have to do something about that. They couldn’t just broadcast they were going to Canolapra; the last thing he wanted to do was turn this into more of a thing than it already was, and he didn’t want to drag Pacifica’s family into the mix. Based on the limited knowledge he had of them, they’d surely try to step in, with their daughter being involved now and all.

Speaking of...

His final check of the morning was to see if their kidnapper was ever caught. After a few tense moments, he found that no, law enforcement had failed them again and that horrible man was still at large. That man could have killed Pacifica, why was he just allowed to roam around freely?

“Sh-sho!” Taika’s shrill cry distracted him for a moment, just enough to look over and see the fox-girl doggy paddling over to him.

“T-Taika?!” He ceased his calm floating and re-oriented himself to be floating vertically, just in time to catch the girl. “What are you doing?” he asked, noting she was having a rough time trying to stay afloat.

“I wanted to swim to you,” she panted, clinging to her Maestro like he was a piece of debris from a sinking ship.

He looked past the girl he was now keeping afloat and saw Pacifica waving from the shallow end of the pool – most likely the perpetrator of the situation as a whole. “Come on, let’s get you back.”

Taika blushed as she held him. She stopped focusing on the water and was more flustered about being in direct contact with her Maestro’s barely clothed body. His skin felt nice, she decided.

“I thought I told you to behave,” Shouri immediately reprimanded Pacifica upon their return to the shallows.

“What?! She wanted to and I thought it’d be a good test to see if she’s ready!” Pacifica shouted back in defense of her honor.

Shouri raised a brow, folding his arms across his chest. “And, what’s the verdict?”

“She’s certainly not sea-worthy, but we can trust her in the kiddy pool,” the otter declared boldly, which earned an eye roll from the Maestro.

The trio began to head back to the room, when Pacifica ran ahead of them, spinning around to halt their progress. “Let’s go out for lunch!” she suggested.

Shouri frowned. They were supposed to get a bonus within the week. “We shouldn’t.” He shook his head; it just seemed so wasteful when they were getting fed by the MA Office for free (the food was pretty good too).

Taika grabbed her Maestro’s arm. “Please Sho!” came the begging cry.

And Shouri made the mistake of gazing upon her teary puppy dog eyes. “Nngh.” He gulped. Too cute. Averting his line of sight was a mistake, Pacifica had also turned on the pleading gaze. “Grk.” Closing his eyes was the only strategy. These two were way too much.

“Pleeeeaaaaase Sho.” The harmony of both of their voices hit just the right pitch to wear away his objections.

“Fine,” he sighed, “Where do you two want to go?”

Pacifica frowned. “Well, I’m not from the west coast,” she hummed in thought.

“Anywhere is fine with me,” Taika added.

“Hmm...” Shouri pulled out his tuner and began looking over their choices in eats. “Hmmm, maybe a diner.” He stroked his chin in thought.

“G-gimmie that!” Pacifica stepped forward and snatched her tuner away from Shouri.

“Wha-?!” The Maestro didn’t have time to react to the device being stolen from him. He could only look on as the water-otter feverishly tapped the touch screen to find them lunch.

“Yeah, okay I got an idea let’s go!” She turned and began walking off campus.

Shouri looked to Taika for guidance, but the vixen was quick to follow her otter counterpart. “What am I going to do with them?” he sighed. At least they were both in good spirits. He’d settle on that and follow along.

He found Pacifica and Taika waiting at a bus stop. “What are you two doing?” he braved the question.

“The place I wanna go is across town – I figured we could take the bus there,” Pacifica explained. “I already got the route.” She waved the tuner she had yet to return.

“I’ve never been on a bus before,” Taika added with an almost child-like wonder in her voice. Shouri shrugged and rolled with it; someone else making the decisions for once was a welcome change of pace.

The bus arrived only a few minutes later and the trio boarded. A beep came from the tuner still at his side as they got on. As he sat down next to Taika and Pacifica, he checked what the noise was about. “Ah. They charge you automatically,” he noted.

Resonators were half the price of adult Maestros, as long as they had a Maestro. That was handy. Not that it was all that much in the first place. Their total fare for the trip was less than ten notes.

Taika had been given the window seat and had her face pressed against the window the entire time, in awe of all the businesses and landmarks that passed them by. “This is a nice city,” Pacifica noted, gripping her tuner tightly.

“You alright?” Shouri asked.

“Yeah, just thinking about last night,” the otter replied quietly.

“It went well.”

“You scared me.”

“Hm?”

Pacifica trembled slightly. “I thought I lost you for a moment,” she quietly admitted .

Shouri lowered his head. He knew the feeling well enough already. Screaming her name when she went limp in his arms before; the horror of believing you might have watched someone take their last breath before your eyes.

It was a sobering thought – a terrifying one at that; both Shouri and Pacifica made each other unintentionally experience that

“Sho.” Pacifica snapped him out of his thoughts. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring you down.” A melancholy smile rose on her lips. “Not today,” she whispered.

Shouri raised a brow for a moment, perplexed – but ultimately decided to dismiss it. Pacifica still seemed bothered though. After a moment of thought, he just spoke his mind: “We’re both fine. All three of us are fine. Let’s just celebrate.”

The gloomy otter brightened upon hearing that. “You’re right Sho.” She spoke with a giggle.

Taika kept her gaze firmly away from her friends, her expression clouded.

“Here! We’re getting off here!” Pacifica shouted to her friends.

The trio disembarked from the bus and once again was led to their final destination by Pacifica. “Oh! There it is!” She sprinted ahead to the end of the block they were on. Shouri raised a brow as it seemed like she was knocking? She was taking them somewhere that was open, right?

“Come on slowpokes!” The otter waved as the door swung open.

“We’re coming, we’re coming!” Shouri shouted back, picking up the pace with Taika in tow.

Once the trio had been assembled at the entrance, they were allowed in. The trio was guided to a table and seated.

The Maestro of the group looked around. They were all alone. Not a single other person was seated. The décor was high-class, something he had been used to going out to eat with his parents. The type of place which made one dress for the occasion. They were certainly under-dressed for this establishment. However, there was a lack of other patrons to give them the stink eye. In fact, the only other person they had seen thus far was the front desk manager who had seated them. Shouri gulped upon picking up the menu.

Specifically, he had locked onto the prices

“3 Courses $120 4 Courses $147 5 Courses $167”

Glancing up at the top of the menu, he found out why: “Restaurant Lawrence Danylo”

He shot an annoyed glance at Pacifica who was behind her own menu. This was one of those hoity-toity restaurants that didn’t charge per item, but for whole dinner experiences; all run by a world-famous chef. He was starting to get a grasp of her tastes as an individual.

Some quick dirty math gave him a total of 360 notes for the three of them to eat. He took a peek at his tuner for finances.

982 notes

This was about to eat up over a third of their savings on just lunch. He was about to stand up and demand they leave, but he remembered he and Pacifica’s conversation on the bus. She was truly scared of losing him – the feeling was mutual.

It was something he thought he buried a long time ago, but now he was responsible for these two girls’ well-being, alongside his own.

He didn’t want to let them down.

“Sho.” Taika snapped him out of his thoughts.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I have no idea what any of this means,” she whimpered flashing her menu at her Maestro.

Shouri chuckled as he began to explain the menu items. The waiter (a dragon Resonator of all things) arrived and requested the appetizers from the group – course one of three.

“Seafood Bisque with Celery Root, Carrot, Fennel, and Fine Herbs.” Pacifica smirked proudly.

“Beef Tartare, Pine Nuts, Shallots, Bearnaise Dressing, and Osetra Caviar Pillows.” Taika pointed at the menu as she read it off.

“Risotto with Lobster, Rock Shrimp, Shimeji Mushrooms, and Spring Vegetables,” Shouri spoke last as always but carried a certain dignity that Taika and Pacifica appreciated.

As the waiter left to begin the first course, Pacifica decided to bring up the pressing matter. “So Sho, what are we doing after this?”

“Probably sleeping, to be honest.” He shrugged.

“No silly, I mean our travel plans,” Pacifica giggled.

“Oh, that.” Shouri pulled the black tuner off his waist and looked over the map. Lybertera was a massive continent, of which they were on the temperate west coast.

“Well, there’s the Loggia Mountains to the east, so we have to figure out how we’re navigating that,” he hummed, “There are lots of small towns, but it still looks like a pain in the ass to cross on foot.” He zoomed in on the map.

“Is there anything we can do about that?” Taika asked.

“Maybe we could fly?” Pacifica suggested.

The Maestro narrowed his eyes once more in the otter’s direction – of course, she suggests the most expensive mode of travel.

“I think we should aim for Fercy. It’s the closest large city on the other side of the range,” he laid out his thoughts. “We might be able to find some buses to take us part of the way. Failing that, we can see about hitchhiking some of the distance, especially between mountain villages,” he paused. “Definitely don’t want to end up stuck between towns at night in the mountains.”

The two girls nodded. This was a tricky situation they found themselves in.

Their food arrived and they thought about it while they ate.

“May I take your main course now?” the dragon waiter inquired of the guests.

“Seared Sea Scallops with Patty Pans, Fava Beans, Peas, Green Garlic Puree, Pickled Ramps, and Fines Herbs.” Pacifica was already ready with her selection.

“Oh! Uhhh I wanted the Filet of Beef with Soy Mustard Glaze, Eggplant-Shiitake Marmalade, Potato Gratin, Haricot Vert, and Pearl Onions,” Taika managed to squeak out, taking a breath after saying all that.

“Branzini with Fennel Purée, Artichokes, Niçoise Olives, Pepper Chermoula, and Saffron-Orange Emulsion.” There was a certain flair to the way Shouri spoke out his request that wrapped Pacifica and Taika around his finger.

“So after we get to Fercy then what?” Pacifica picked up their previous conversation.

“I mean this is all in service to get us to Canolapra, looking at the map-” He pulled the tuner back out. “-we could hit Dalliva from Fercy and then figure out our way to Canolapra from there.”

Pacifica frowned. “Or maybe we could go down the Corhia River out to the Fohllentic then cut back in and take the Southern Maza all the way up.”

Shouri smirked. “You’re just determined to spend all our money, aren’t you?”

Pacifica pouted, taking exception to that. “We’re supposed to be getting a bonus, right?!”

Taika just looked back and forth between her friends as they spoke. She had very little frame of reference for the towns, cities, and landmarks of the Lyberteran content, but she was enjoying the conversation. This was nice, she decided.

Their main course arrived in spectacular fashion and the trio were too focused on eating to continue their discussion for the moment.

“I don’t want to spend all our money.” Pacifica restarted the discussion, having finished her second course. Shouri too, had finished his second helping of food. He wiped his lips clean with the provided cloth and sat it back on his lap.

“It was in jest, but also kind of serious. We need to be careful with our spending,” Shouri warned her.

“We have a backup plan!” Pacifica retorted.

“Relying on your parents?”

“Yeah!”

A pause as green and blue eyes locked on one another.

“That’s-” Shouri briefly considered his word choice. “-dubious.” The Maestro lowered his gaze. “In a situation where it became me versus them, what would you do?” he proposed.

The otter-girl was taken aback by that question, but didn’t hesitate in her response: “Rhythm is the soul – I’d pick my Maestro any day of the week.” She gritted her teeth. This was a common feeling amongst most Resonators, especially ones who were as close to their Maestros as Taika and Pacifica. “I would feel bad, but I knew what I was getting into when I knocked on that door.”

Shouri sighed; he wanted to avoid putting her in that position and realistically he wouldn’t. He shot a sidelong glance toward Taika, who was still eating. Unfortunately, people weren’t that easy to predict. Directing his attention back to Pacifica, he took in a deep breath.

“I’m sorry for bringing that up. I just-” Shouri began.

Pacifica cut him off, “-want to succeed on our own power, I know.” She hung her head. “I know,” she repeated, quieter.

She raised her head, ready to speak her mind, when she was suddenly kicked from under the table by Taika. It took everything in her power to not say what she was thinking at that exact moment.

“You can pick your family over me,” Shouri spoke up after a moment. “I wouldn’t take it personally,” he told her.

“Yeah, no. I’d rather be disowned than be a stray living with my parents for the rest of my life.” Pacifica smirked, sitting back in her chair.

Shouri shook his head. “I dunno what you see in me.” He too reclined in his seat.

“Think about the conversation we just had and you have your answer,” the otter chuckled.

At that moment, the dragon waiting on them returned. “What will you be having for dessert?” they asked.

“Ah, right.” Pacifica grabbed her menu; Shouri and Taika followed suit.

“Seasonal Fruit Sorbet Sampler with Cookies,” Pacifica decided.

“Baked Chocolate Soufflé with Two Sauces.” Taika once again held up her menu, pointing at her selection

“Crème Fraiche Cheesecake with Poached Oranges, Caramel Passion Fruit Sauce, and Pine-nut Brittle,” Shouri read out, not missing a syllable of pronunciation.

Left to their own devices, Pacifica decided to change the topic. “So, what are we doing tonight Sho?” she asked.

“I told you already, sleeping,” he replied.

“There’s really nothing else you want to do?” She seemed a bit hurt by that.

“Pacifica, my weak stave is willpower – we got up early, went swimming, and are currently out on the town. I only have so much energy.”

“Just like, vigorously head pat Taika, she has enough willpower for both of us.” The otter offered up her vixen counterpart. (Who blushed at the idea of a “vigorous” head patting.)

“Etude only gets us so far,” he reminded her. “Besides, we shouldn’t exhaust ourselves today when we’re traveling tomorrow,” came the second reminder.

Again, the otter was disappoint. “I suppose,” she pouted. This only lasted for a moment as “Taika and I will give you lots of cuddles! Maybe we can watch a scary movie,” she beamed.

His water-element was growing bolder by the day, but a movie night sounded nice regardless. The Lunar in his possession however was in her thoughts, visibly flustered out of her mind – he worried for her continued mental health as Pacifica seemed to be dragging her along in a variety of schemes.

Their final course arrived, complete with the bill. Taika and Pacifica practically sparkled from the excitement of seeing their respective sweets.

Shouri however, went to survey the damage of their indulgence. However, before he could lift it, Pacifica slammed her hand down on the check. “I-I got it Sho!” the otter squeaked.

The Maestro raised a brow. “With what money?” he questioned, refusing to remove his hand from the bill.

Keeping her hand firmly atop the slip of paper, she reached into her pockets and pulled out a quartet of fresh hundred-note bills. “See? I got it covered.” She chuckled nervously, setting the money on the table.

It was 400 notes, which did cover their roughly 360-note tab. There was a more concerning question: “Where did you get all that money? I thought you said you had all your cash taken by the kidnapper.”

“I did! But this was my allowance from my parents for this month,” she replied quickly. That was certainly a prepared answer. Shouri refused to release the check. Taika looked between her two friends, brows raised in concern as she ate her dessert. “Let me spend my money on you,” Pacifica sternly requested.

“Pacificaaaaa.” Shouri glared at her, returning her stern tone.

“Wh-what?! It’s my money let me have this!” she countered.

He continued to glare her down, shifting his frown ever so slightly in disapproval. “We literally just discussed this exact situation.”

“I know! It was killing me!” she exclaimed. “Look, look; it’s not me relying on them, it’s me taking advantage of their kindness,” the girl made up on the spot. “God, I’m an awful daughter,” she muttered under her breath.

Finally, the Maestro relented to another of his Resonator’s wishes. “Fine. Do what you want,” he sighed, releasing the check for her to pay.

“Hee hee, thank you Sho,” Pacifica giggled, pleased with herself.

The Maestro shook his head. “Weird girl,” he decided.

With lunch behind them, the trio made their way back to the MA Office.

Beeeeep

Their door unlocked with a wave of one of Shouri’s tuners, just like normal. Taika let out a weary breath, throwing the bag she had been carrying the whole time on the couch.

Shouri yawned, shedding his jacket. Taika followed suit with her own jacket, and Pacifica with her vest. Public transport was tiring in and of itself. “Nap,” Taika demanded.

“Bed,” Pacifica chimed in.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” The tired Maestro yawned again. It was about three in the afternoon or so. They’d probably sleep for a good three to four hours. The trio crawled into bed, with Pacifica and Taika clinging to their precious Maestro.

What a nice day this had been, Shouri thought before drifting off to sleep.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Shouri opened his eyes slowly. Someone was at the door. “Oh! I got it!” Pacifica bounded from the bed, and surprisingly, Taika rushed out of bed too.

“What the hell?” Shouri sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Thank you!” Pacifica could be heard saying to whoever was at the door. The door shut, with the two Resonators doing something in the mini-kitchen their room had. Begrudgingly, Shouri decided to get out of bed to see what the two girls were plotting now.

They had been unusually secretive today, and while he wanted to leave them to their own devices, he was starting to get irritated with the situation. He turned the corner to see the pair huddled over something – backs towards him.

“Hey, what’s-?”

They turned to him, both holding onto a small gift-wrapped box. “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHO!”

The boy stood there like a deer in headlights, mouth slightly agape. What was today again?

May 13th, 2018AR

That’s right, he had been so wrapped up in being disowned, taking care of Taika and Pacifica, the big Scherzando, everything really – he had forgotten his own birthday. In hindsight, everything Pacifica and Taika did today now made sense. But that begged the question:

“How did you two know?” he asked.

Pacifica looked down at her smaller counterpart. “Taika told me,” the otter said.

“I was paying attention to the stuff you were filling out when you adopted me, and when you got our hunter's clearance done,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t want to ever forget your birthday Sho.” The vixen smiled sheepishly.

Shouri’s gaze lowered, looking down at the gift they were still presenting to him. What did they even get him? Either way, he didn’t want to disappoint them – they must have gone through quite a few hoops to get whatever this was. He grabbed hold of the box but didn’t pull it away from them. “Thank you both.”

The girls smiled brightly, releasing their gift.

Gently unwrapping the present, he slipped a small book out of the paper covering. Shouri looked it over whilst his two Resonators watched expectingly. The edges were gold, though flipping it open the pages were blank. There was a pen taped to the spine.

“Taika noticed you were taking a lot of notes on the little notepad that came with the room,” Pacifica pointed out. “We thought you’d be able to appreciate somewhere to jot down your thoughts or ideas,” Taika added with a small nod.

The boy stared at the book for a moment before stepping forward and hugging the two girls. They were both taken aback for a moment. “Thank you, this means a lot.”

“O-of course Sho.” Pacifica couldn’t hide her big dumb grin.

“You mean the world to us,” Taika said, also with a smile and red face.

Shouri stood at the vending machine – he recalled he had seen bags of popcorn amongst the selections before and wanted to get some for their movie night. He located the bags on the bottom row of the machine and quickly vended it.

“Oh, Shouri.”

He turned around to see Makani and his own Resonator. “Grabbing some snacks?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna watch some movies tonight,” Shouri replied.

“Nice, sounds like fun!” Makani chuckled.

“Maybe we should do the same.” Rynda elbowed her Maestro in the side.

“Maybe maybe.”

Shouri looked down at his two bags of popcorn and frowned slightly. He wanted to get back to the room. People were draining, especially without Taika there to prop up his weak will. “Well, it was good seeing you both again.” He decided to make a swift retreat.

“Wait.”

The escaping Maestro stopped mid-step. He silently considered just booking it before he got roped into some other arduous task. Against his better judgment, he slowly turned back to face the other Maestro and his bird-girl

“Where are you all heading? I assume you’re leaving soon,” Makani inquired harmlessly enough.

“Well, we were gonna head out probably tomorrow for Fercy,” Shouri admitted sheepishly.

“On foot?”

“Yeah, trying to save money.”

Makani and Rynda exchanged a glance and nodded. “Ride with us,” Rynda offered.

Shouri raised a brow. “Eh?”

“We’re booked to head to Fercy the day after tomorrow. Nobody’s gonna complain about three extra bodies,” Makani explained.

That was sudden – Shouri was taken aback by the offer though. “Are you sure?” he asked.

The pilot smirked. “Of course, we own the plane; the clients can deal with it if they want to keep us on as couriers,” he told the younger Maestro.

Shouri nodded slowly. “I guess if you don’t have a problem with it; I wouldn’t mind avoiding those mountains,” he spoke his thoughts.

“For sure! Just think of it as a finder’s fee for that big Scherzando,” Makani chuckled.

“Hope you didn’t forget that we get that nice bonus too,” Rynda added.

“Yeah, thank you.” Shouri tried to leave, but once again he found himself halted by the pushy pilot and his nightingale.

“Wait! Last thing I swear.”

Once more Shouri stopped but tried to remain cordial given that these people were offering to fly him for free. “Wh-what’s up?” Shouri turned back again.

“What room are you in? We’ll drop off the itinerary tomorrow morning so you have it for Tuesday.”

Shouri returned to the room with the popcorn bags in hand. He let out a sharp breath, socially drained after interacting with Makani and Rynda. “Sho!” His two Resonators joyously cried out upon his return. They rushed over and clung to him. At least his twin day stars could restore his stamina. “I was gone for like ten minutes,” he chuckled.

“We missed you, birthday boy!” Pacifica pouted. The otter-girl furrowed her brows, noting the social fatigue Shouri had accrued in the ten minutes he was gone.

“What’s up?” she braved asking.

“Nothing gets by you.” Shouri laughed nervously. “Makani offered to fly us to Fercy.”

“For free?” Taika made the relevant inquiry.

“Yeah, for free; apparently they were already heading there.”

Pacifica nodded, unlike her lunar counterpart, she wouldn’t pass up this opportunity. “Well, that solves that problem then.”

“When do we leave?” Taika continued her string of inquiries.

“Tuesday apparently,” Shouri informed them.

The water element of the group lit up. “Ooh! Ooh! Can we go to the beach tomorrow? Please Please Please?!” She bounced as she spoke.

Of course, she wanted to go down to the beach – outside of their arrival they hadn’t gotten a chance to even visit it their entire stay. There was just one point of concern on Shouri’s mind: “How do you feel about this?” he addressed Taika, the weakest swimmer of the trio.

Put on the spot, Taika wavered. “Ah... eh...” she fretted, playing with the edge of her shirt while avoiding Shouri and Pacifica’s stares. “Se è quello che entrambi volete...” she muttered. Shouri frowned, not understanding what she said. Pacifica’s ears twitched.

“It’s not about what we want – he’s asking you,” Pacifica replied.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” she admitted her feelings more clearly.

“Hmmm...” Shouri frowned. It was clear to him she was nervous about going to the beach. “Okay, how about this?”