Eccedentesiast

Chapter 6: The Show Begins!

"Mhm, My lady..." Quincy whispered to her. "You're rambling." Furina nodded her head slightly, thankful for the reminder. 

"I, Focalors, hereby welcome you to the nation of Hydro and acknowledge the value and significance of your trip. Now, you may rejoice in this!"

"Well, finding the Archon was easy enough." Lumine muttered under her breath. 

"Yeah, Paimon still can't believe it. It feels like we've only been here for a few minutes. But the Hydro Archon's entrance was, uh...a little over the top." Paimon cleared her throat before looking up at Furina curiously. "How did you know we where coming?"

"As Outlanders, you inevitably lack some of the most basic understanding. Don't forget that even the gods can be divided into the mediocre and the excellent. I suppose it's only natural for you to be awestruck by my abilities. You had best stop and consider; do you really have the noble qualities and etiquette necessary to communicate with a god? All it takes is a flick of my finger for me to know everything about you." Furina boasted. 

"Who, talk about high and mighty..." Paimon whispered to the Traveler.

"Feels like she can't get over herself." Lumine growled, slightly irritated. Furina blanked for a moment. She had to think of something to show her authority as a god. What would Quincy do? She grew more anxious as the crowd grew larger in size. Duel. She could have a duel. She knew how to after all.

"You may consider this my reward to all of you! I have determined that there will be an epic duel between myself and this traveler from another land, just as you were hoping to see!" Furina decided.

"Furina..." Quincy elbowed her softly. "You're getting ahead of yourself." 

"Of course, after you prove yourself worthy by defeating my guard, Quincy!" Furina corrected herself. To her surprise, Quincy had nodded, and tapped his cane against the ground to prove her point.

"Bring it on." Lumine challenged, drawing her sword. Furina let out a quiet, shaky breath. She wasn't actually expecting a fight to occur. She thought the Traveler would back down. She looked over at Quincy to see that he had actually drawn his sword. She assumed he didn't want people to know he had a hidden weapon. 

"A-Are you not afraid? Might I remind you that this is a duel against someone almost as strong as the divine?" Furina asked, her confidence wavering. 

"What are you trying to do, Traveler?" Quincy demanded. He was now standing on the railing with Furina, his sword pointed menacingly at the Traveler. He was speaking in a tone, she had never heard from him before. "Provoking a god in front of her people?"

"Maybe we should all calm down." Lyney suggested next to the Traveler. From how he was talking, Furina assumed the magician had heard that tone before. 

"Clorinde!" Quincy's voice rang out authoritatively to the Champion Duelist, earning him a low hum. "Take Lady Furina back to the Palais."

"And with that, today's performance can finally be called complete!" Furina delcared. "And Quincy, finish up here as soon as possible. Guarding me is your responsibility, after all." 

Third Person POV: Lynette

As Furina said those words, she got off the railing and left wwith all her guards. The crowd dispersed after, not interested in watching the fight. Lynette watched her Uncle put the sword away and make his way over to them. She was happy to see him again, even if she had seen him the night before. He was her favorite adult. 

"Uncle." She approached him, and flattened her ears so he could give her a head pat. A muffled purr came from her throat as he gently rubbed her ears. This is how he greeted her. With warmth and affection. 

"Mhm. Lynette." Lyney pulled her back by her cape, and she gave him a tiny hiss. He stuck his tongue out at her, but nothing else was said between them. "Uncle." 

"Lynette. Lyney." Quincy acknowledge the twins. "Where's Fremi?"

"At home. He was going to go get parts for Pers and go diving." Lynette explained. She was more chatty with Uncle than she was with other people. 

"I see. Tell him I said 'hello' then." Quincy told her. "Sorry about the performance, Traveler. I have to put out appearances."

"You're a lot nicer when you're not working." Paimon pointed out.

"Yeah. Almost like two different personalities." Lumine agreed. 

"You could say that." Quincy laughed, extending his hand for them to shake. Lynette knew this was one of his methods. This way, he could get a feeling for strength and attitudes without having to ask questions.

"Uncle, are you coming to the show?" Lynette chimed in. "I left a ticket on your nightstand this morning."

"I got it. I'll be coming, but for work. I have to watch Lady Furina." Quincy explained.

"But we'll see you there?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."