"This young and adorable priestess needs your help, Calli." Ina was referring to herself in third-person.
Ninomae Ina'nis was similar to Calli in the sense that their ages were blurred alongside history. The age groups surrounding HoloMyth couldn't be simply indulged by the public. However, Gura's already known to be somewhere around the 9000's. Even then, she herself couldn't create a synopsis for every century she was connected to.
The priestess of the Ancient Ones stood by her door menacingly, a sweet smile plastered on her face. Definitely the personification of Eldritch horror right there. Her tentacles waved around like seagrass at the bottom of the ocean. The flaps on top of her head seemed to move on their own too. Upon further research, her tentacles were like multiple extensions. Controlling them for her convenience was only done in times of risk or obligation since they required more than a singular mind. That must've been why she used her hands to open the door.
Calli was trying to finalize the song we wrote. Seeing as I've already done most of my responsibilities during the day, afternoon struck us and welcomed in orange tinges along with the sun soon preparing to set. The tune she played beside the song was already the missing piece of shard to the puzzle. I'd expected she knew her stuff when it came to this but I didn't expect my writing could produce gossamer-like inflections. Safe to say, I admired her a lot more now.
Weeks back I preferred to work for Kiara but I wanted to go back in time to slap myself for saying that.
"Ina!" Calli sprung up from her chair to vault herself towards Ina and locked her in a warm embrace. The priestess returned her warmth, her tentacles looked elated. "Of course I'll help! I don't know what it is but you can always count on me."
"Humu~ You are very generous today. What's with the hug? You never do when I ask for favors?"
Well, I didn't mind if the song was finished or not. It was already nice seeing Calli acting like a girl for once. She was a machine during work and an even scarier artificial intelligence when she did overtime.
Calli laughed nervously. "I-I don't? Huh, weird. I must be feeling real good today. Yeah, everything's just going well with work."
"Hm?~ I surmise your mood has something to do with someone in particular?" Ina's eyes darted over to my direction. As far as I knew, a popular expression known in both Japanese and Western media was the 'Anya smug face'. Kiara had done this before when we were at the mall. Now Ina was doing it and I could now understand why Damian misunderstood her attempt to smile at him. It was an expression that reflected the opposite. She covered her laugh and returned back to Calli. "Enough of my muses, my request has something to do with increasing a page to my book of spells. For that reason, I've invited all of you to a strange island. I desire to meet the witch in question and make her teach me a spell. She's also not responding to my texts so I'm a little worried... "
"What type of spell are you looking for exactly?" Calli asked.
"A spell to make one forget," Ina replied. "There is something I wish to erase in this world. Rest assured, it's not going to affect a big population and it's not for evil purposes! In order to do that, I have to find her."
"Wouldn't your book of spells be advanced enough to have that spell written somewhere?" I asked, getting closer to the both of them. "We need you to be specific with what you're desiring to eliminate. Since you said 'forget', it's plausible it's on the mental side you're talking about."
Weirdly, being apart from Calli for a few seconds during work already made me feel regrettable.
"I promise on my creators I'm not up to no good. The book I have in my possession is notorious for having setbacks. There are memory-erasure spells but their effects are... a bit harsh. I'd need another one unblemished and only serving the purpose of erasing a particular memory. I'm sure you are aware of the Ancient Ones. They are the people who made me this way because I happened to read this book. Their voices ring in my head and they often tell me the Necronomicon bears so much abominations that it's hard to find a spell that's pure."
Ina was insistent about it. She even made an oath. That may be a big deal then. "I will tell all of you when we are making our way to the island. Just don't laugh. There's a reason why I didn't tell the girls individually the why. I won't hear the end of it."
"Clay, you want to come along with us?" Calli suggested, strangling me with one arm placed around my shoulder, her forearm locking around my neck playfully. "A little island isn't going to do you harm and while we're there, we could also take pictures of good scenery and the girls. It's like a tropical getaway. What do you say?"
"You're just going to go along with it?" she nodded at me. Idols in Hololive were pretty simple but I gotta respect their willingness to help their fellow idols. "I'm definitely joining. I'm to follow you no matter what but the strange island's probably going to affect me more than you guys."
"Your well-being is safe in our hands."
~*~
CALLI'S POV
The Underworld made a lot of places on Earth look like they're microorganisms. The island in comparison was like a famous hub spot or an enclosed habitat for monsters, which wasn't saying a lot.
Ina didn't waste time and made a portal for us to go over the other side.
"So, what's your reason for helping Ina out?" I asked both Gura and Amelia. Their troublemaker-expressions were already in full-force. I was wondering what violation they were going to commit. Out of the five, these two were wild and uncontrollable when left to their own devices.
And Amelia was a human.
"It couldn't be because you're such Samaritans..." I remarked, making sure I brought my scythe with me. After summoning it in all its glory, I whisked it away to the wind as it disappeared for use later.
"Hey! We have hearts! Ina's our friend and we had nothing to do today!" Gura roared. "Besides, a little water's good for the body! I missed the sea! The seaaaa!" She was like a kid.
"I agree. Being inside the building for weeks and waking up in our houses was getting repetitive. A new change of pace is always welcome. Hanging out with you girls is always a treat." Amelia brought out her magnifying glass, surveying the coconut trees and anything else she could deem significant. "It gets pretty lonely sometimes. Before and after. I'm glad to be here."
"You only came to hang out, huh?" I whispered. Nevertheless, they offered assistance. I'm pretty happy we could still be complete like this.
"I wonder how my parents are doing in Atlantis?" Gura thought out-loud. "You think if I pay them a visit, they'll understand how great a shark I've become?"
"You don't need to do that. No matter what anyone else thinks, you'll always be great, Gura~" Kiara said. "Spending time with your family's important though! How long have you stayed away from your home?"
"Er... I'm not sure myself... It's been a long time?" Gura kicked a few stones on the sand, sending them miles away to another island. "I'm not that fond of my parents but my mother always accepted me for who I was. My father, on the other hand..." Her eyes were turning into lasers. She violently scratched her hair. "GAH!!! I still remember our last fight! Going back might be impossible, after all!"
"You should really visit soon. Even if your dad doesn't agree with your ideas, he's still family. I visit my home every month. Even as a baby bird back then, I really didn't miss a single family event!" Kusotori proudly declared.
I hand the Phoenix a hair tie. She looked like she could use it.
"Thanks, Calli! You want a chu~ for that?"
"No thanks. Keep your hands away from me..."
"Aww! No need to be shy! Just a lil' kiss on the cheek?"
"I see no need. How's visiting home then? Is it still peaceful?"
"Same old same old~" She didn't elaborate further.
Clay looked like he had a hard time trying to go through the portal. He wasn't on the island yet and the portal in front of us was like the huge opening of a cave. Ina was still on the other side trying to encourage him to enter while Kiara, Gura, Amelia and I were already afoot the island.
I could hear their conversation miles and miles away.
"Just take a deep breath and hoist yourself in~! Everyone did it."
Clay's voice made me chuckle. "Your portals almost caused gray hairs to appear on top of my head..." He was such a baby.
"I'm going to leave you behind if you're going to stall."
"Ladies first then. I'm not anyone special." He was ridiculous.
I pushed my hand inside the portal and grabbed his collar, yanked him by force and lo and behold, his face looked like a ghost.
"Hello there," I commented. His soul was going to leave his body any second. He looked really cute though. Like a lost lamb in a den filled with lions.
"Your hand scared me," he said, his face completely white from the shock.
"I have that effect." I joked, getting him to stand straight. "Are you alright? You know I'm always going to protect you if danger arises around here."
"I'm not complaining. You wanted me to join so I did. I'm not worried about the danger part." His soul was begging to come out because of the shock the portal gave him. "Let's take the stairs next time, Calli. I think I have to vomit..."
Ina was the last to come out of the portal and summon it into oblivion.
Now it was just us and the island's secrets.