(This man makes me think stuff I'm not proud of)
(AND HE'S A HEALER TOO, OH GOD)
Qlipoth Fort was quite nice now that y/n actually looked at it. The last few times the exterior had been within her line of sight, she'd hardly paid it any mind. And the only time she'd actually been inside was brief, so brief that she'd only gotten to see the pristine looking bathroom.
The Supreme Guardian's office, however, was even more impressive. It reminded y/n of the Seat of Divine Foresight in a way, and she instantly felt sick when her mind made the comparison.
Bronya was there with that lady from earlier, Topaz
It was way too soon to be feeling homesick, but she couldn't help but feel unsettled without Jing Yuan there.
She shuffled closer to March, refusing to meet her gaze when her pink haired companion gave her a questioning look.
"Let's get this over with..."
"Come on, we're here to see an old friend!"
"She's your friend, not mine."
March gave y/n a blank look.
"How could you be so cold..."
"Honestly, I don't blame here. I'm still feeling some type of way about Bronya immediately labeling us as criminals." Caelus whispered and let out a yelp when March slapped him over the head.
"If you two aren't gonna behave, get lost! Specifically you, Caelus! You already 🚚ed up once when you sent that picture of y/n's corpse to the group chat!"
"Fine! Fine! I'm leaving! Come on, y/n."
Y/n didnt protest as Caelus dragged her right out of the room, into the hall and out of Qlipoth Fort. She wasn't really complaining, there wasn't much that interested her there.
Still, where the hell was he taking her?
That little question was answered as they headed to the Underground and made their way to the Clinic where they found Natasha.
The woman was *understandably* surprised to see y/n who only greeted her politely. Anything other than a simple hello would've been accompanied by a surplus of profanities.
When she looked to Caelus, he only smiled nervously, "So... it turns out y/n really is part cockroach, Natasha."
"I am not." y/n grumbled while her gray haired companion laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ah, cockroach or not, it's good to see that you're alive. Can't say you're looking well, though... you look like you've been through it." Natasha remarked, "Still, if you're not too tired, perhaps you should pay Hook and Clara a visit. They'll be especially happy to see you."
Caelus glanced at y/n to see her reaction, but she simply stayed quiet with her gaze on the floor of the clinic.
"We'll be sure to swing by!" Caelus chimed, "But I think we'll take a rest before we head over there."
"That so? Alright, be careful though. Some strange people arrived in Belobog recently and they've been causing trouble, so take care of yourselves." Natasha advised the two of them before they headed out.
Caelus made a beeline for the Goethe Grand Hotel. He checked out a room and guided the sleepy y/n there, feeling satisfied when she flopped right on the bed and curled up with Mimi already in her arms.
"Are you feeling alright? Can I get you anything?"
Caelus asked nervously as his companion laid on the bed with her back facing him, "Food, water?"
"...just wanna sleep right now."
Oh. That was... fair.
"Alright, I'll let you rest." Caleus replied quietly before a buzz from his phone drew his attention. It was... from Seele? Had something happened?
Well of course something went down.
Something was always going wrong!
He read through the text carefully, frowning at the messages. He looked at his phone, then at his friend. His phone, his friend, his phone, his friend—
"If you have somewhere to go, just go. I'll stay here." y/n mumbled, rolling over to face Caelus with a tired look, "Whatever it is, March probably caught wind of it and is probably headed over there now. Make sure she doesn't tase anyone."
"Right! I'm on it! Get plenty of rest so we can hang out later, okay?" Caelus chimed with a determined grin before rushing out of the room.
Y/n laid on the bed in silence before curling up, holding a pillow over her head with a soft groan.
What a killer headache...
The voices weren't getting any quieter either.
She wasn't teetering on the edge of mara.
It didn't feel like mara either.
No burning sensation whatsoever.
But it felt as though someone's eyes were on her.
And she didn't like it one bit.
Y/n tried her best to go to sleep, but after half an hour of tossing and turning, she gave up and decided to just go ahead and pay Svarog and Clara a visit early.
The trip was a little... weird. She lost her way a couple of times since every corner looked the same, but eventually made her way to the Vagrant Camp and then the house Clara resided in.
The girl was sitting on the steps outside, a pensive look on her face and her magenta eyes down cast.
"What's got you looking so serious?"
The girl blinked in surprise at the sound of the former trailblazer's voice and her gaze lit up as she looked up at y/n who was approaching carefully.
"Miss Y/n!" she shouted, hopping to her feet and running to greet the h/c haired woman. She jumped into her arms, y/n stumbling to hold her up.
For a girl so small, she could hug pretty tight—
"It's nice to see you too, Clara." y/n hummed only to jolt when she felt something wet against her clothes, "WH— Clara, are you crying!?"
The little girl pulled her face away from y/n's shoulder, revealing tears streaming down her face, "I-I'm really sorry... I saw what Mister Caelus said about you dying and I was so sad that I'd never get to see you again!"
"Mm... you don't have to worry about me dying, Clara. I can't." y/n told the little girl, patting her head as she continued to weep quietly, "But, uh... I'm here now, so you don't have to cry anymore. It's okay."
Clara nodded, sniffling quietly as she was set back down on the ground, "You're right... I'm sure Mistee Svarog would be glad to see you too, but you'll have to wait until he comes back."
"He's out right now?"
"Mhm, he left with some lady earlier. But I think they're headed to Rivet Town. You might be able to find them there."
Y/n heaved a sigh, 'I really don't feel like running around right now, but...' "You seem worried, Clara."
The little girl hesitated before nodded, "I am worried for Mr. Svarog, just a little. That lady didn't seem to have any bad intentions, but she still seemed a little odd."
"Why don't we go check it out together, then?"
"Mhm, I want to go look for Mr. Svarog too."
"Alright, it's decided then." y/n offered Clara her hand and the little girl took it, the two of them wandering off together in search of the giant robot, "It shouldn't be too difficult to find them. Svarog is a giant robot, and that Topaz lady... she's got a distinct scent."
"Scent?"
"I remember how she smells."
Clara gave y/n a side eye but didn't question further, "Oh! Mister Caelus said you made it back home, did you get to see your family and friends? Do you have your memories back?"
The mention of family sent pain coursing through y/n's body. Agonizing, but gone just as quickly as it came. So much so that it didn't really feel right.
Still, she managed to muster a small smile.
"Mhm. I saw many old friends, I got to meet my younger brother for the first time, and I was able to speak with my mother again for the first time in years."
"Your mother..." Clara breathed, "What's she like?"
Mother... mother, what was she like?
Y/n strained to think about her. Why was it difficult?
It felt as if memories of her mother's face were being torn from her grasp, slipping through the cracks and bleeding away into obscurity as they grew fainter and fainter.
Something was trying to keep her from remembering.
Remembering meant suffering, but to forget would bring the same. Y/n didn't want to forget, so she stubbornly clung to her memories of her mother.
"She has quite a bit of emotional endurance, but she is very honest about how she feels. She doesn't like it when I wandered into danger either." y/n mumbled, "I ought to be more careful, so she doesn't worry."
"Does she look like you?"
"We're practically identical."
The pair began their search, y/n following a trail while Clara wandered along with her. The trip wasn't quiet for more than a couple of seconds, Clara eagerly asking about y/n's home while the woman carefully veer shared details while leaving others out.
Whether or not Clara had noticed, she seemed amazed regardless as y/n shared more about the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Your home sounds amazing..." Clara breathed, "I'd like to visit it someday! Especially the Artisanship Commission! I want to see all the robots there!"
Y/n chucked quietly, "I'm sure we can arrange some time for you to come hang out." her e/c gaze trailed away from Clara and towards a group of robots up ahead that had several people cornered.
Some vagrants, Silvermane Guards and... Gepard?!
"Those robots, they're attacking them!" Clara gasped, looking alarmed as the group of robots closed in on the soldiers, "Miss Y/n-!"
Her hand moved to where her sword would usually be awaiting her, only to realize that she'd left it back on the Luofu. That was fine, she didn't need it.
Shifting tones of light sparked in the air, shakily coming together to form what could've been a sword before flickering out. Y/n tried again, then again.
Why couldn't she...
'I don't like this.' y/n thought with a grimace as she picked up a fallen shovel, twirling it in her hand before hurling it at one of the robots, completely taking its head off.
The robot shuddered, took a shuddering step back, and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The fallen robot allowed y/n and Clara to get a better look at the cornered soldiers and vice versa.
Blue eyes locked with e/c ones, and Gepard's breath hitched. A familiar face, looking worse for wear and lacking the light he recalled, but still as stunning and awe inspiring as he remembered.
"Y/n?" Gepard breathed.
Y/n managed a small smile.
"Hey there, Captain. Need a hand?"
.𖥔 ݁ ˖˚
The h/c haired woman's arrival didn't have significant impact, but she was able to help subdue the robots and buy Clara enough time to tinker with them to get them back under control.
Once the automatons had chilled out, Captain Gepard issued orders to the Silvermane Guards before sending a messenger to Bronya. Y/n and Clara halted their search for Svarog, the little girl checking on the automatons while y/n sat on a crate and stared at her hand.
There wasn't anything abnormal about it physically.
Still s/c, still marred with old scars, still hers.
Something didn't feel right, though. As if she wasn't the only thing in this husk she was trapped in.
Y/n forced herself to tear her gaze away from her hand, glancing at Gepard instead as he approached awkwardly.
Her e/c eyes followed him as he took a seat beside her with a small sigh. He wasn't looking at her, but it felt like he was fighting the urge to do so.
"I can explain."
"There's really no need to, don't feel obligated to explain anything. I'm just glad you're okay!" Gepard blurted, wincing when he noticed the surprised look on the woman's face, "Ah— I apologize for interrupting you."
"It's no problem." y/n hummed with a little nod, gesturing that it was okay for him to continue.
"I couldn't believe it when Caelus said that you'd passed. It seemed so sudden and out of the blue, and... horrifying, actually." Gepard admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, smiling a little, "But I'm glad you're alive."
Y/n stared at him for a long moment, "Hm. It's good to see you again. Sorry Caelus scared you like that, I dunno what goes through that idiot's brain. Sending pictures of my corpse and 💩..."
Silence.
"Y-You're here for the Solwarm Festival, right? I'm sorry you have to deal with this mess, these IPC people couldn't have picked a worse time to start causing trouble." Gepard sighed, massaging his temples while y/n leaned back a little with a shrug.
"It's no problem, I'm used to hectic environments. This is nothing new," y/n replied, her shoulders sagging a bit, "Caelus and March brought me here to relax and wind down a bit. I needed the distraction, but it feels like no matter what I do, my mind wanders to the things that cause me pain."
Gepard watched y/n carefully for a long moment. Her skin had a paleness to it, the sickly kind, and her e/c eyes seemed sunken and almost dull.
Sure, she was alive and right beside him. Just as scarily strong as he remember, too! But perhaps... some part of y/n truly had died.
"Do you..." Gepard cleared his throat while y/n gave him a curious glance from the corner of her eyes, "After we handle this, if you and the others are still here for Solwarm, would you like to set some time aside to take a trip with me?"
"A trip?" y/n echoed, sitting up a little bit with raised brows, her interest already piqued, "Where?"
"My little sister," 'He has a little sister? :o' "She frequently leaves Belobog to explore the Snow Plains. She has a couple spots she goes to in order to escape the hustle and bustle of Belobog." Gepard explains as y/n gazed at him all starry eyed and amazed, "I've visited a couple of those spots myself, so I can show them to you if you'd like."
"Yes!" y/n finally exclaimed, sitting up and leaning closer to Gepard with an eager look, "I'd love to!"
"Woahhhh did I just interrupt a proposal?"
Both the Captain and y/n jumped a little at the sound of Caelus's voice and found him standing a little ways away with a smug look on his face.
March was with him, snickering quietly while
"Making moves, eh?" the gray haired trailblazer snickered. The teasing seemed to bounce off y/n completely while Gepard's face grew a little flushed. "N-No, I was just offering to take y/n to a nice spot in the Snow Plains."
"That so? Why don't you show this spot to March and I as well?" Caelus hummed as he slung an arm around the Captain's shoulder, all smiles as he guided the blond away from y/n while March immediately took his spot.
Y/n didn't protest when March scooped her up in a cozy hug, though she was a little puzzled about the dagger hers pink haired companion was glaring at Gepard.
"Well, sure. After we handle the current situation."
"Sounds great." Caelus drawled with a grin.
(Don't mind the other person in the corner, she ain't important LOOK AT CAELUS THOUGH)