~Notes~
In which I cleverly snuck in a way to express my hatred for a particular BGM in a particular map in a particular Victoria Island town.

Episode 58 The Fluttering Fairy

Kunai strides down the dark, empty hallway, glancing briefly through the window in it. The sky outside is completely dark, and the ghostly light of a clear, round moon peeks in through the window panes. He stares at the glass in the window for several moments, before startling himself as he realizes he is staring at his own reflection.

Kunai watches his own eyes widen in the window, and he quickly draws them away from it, snapping his eyes shut in order to block out the picture he’d seen in the window. Ivy steps sleepily into the hallway, dressed in a white sleeping gown. She rubs her eyes sleepily, noticing Kunai standing in the hallway.

“Kunai, what are you still doing out in the hallway?” she asks, stifling a yawn. “It’s past midnight, everyone else is asleep in their rooms. Your room is the only one with lights still on. You might wake up the other guests staying in Ellinia Hotel.”

Kunai shakes his head, flashing Ivy a forced smile. “No, it’s all right. I’ll go to sleep in a bit. What are you still doing up, anyway?”

“I came to get a glass of water,” Ivy murmurs.

Kunai sighs, and nods, stepping out of Ivy’s way. “All right. I’ll go to my room now.” He sidesteps Ivy in the hallway, and enters the first room on his left. He closes the wooden door behind himself, and sighs, leaning against its surface.

Footsteps sound outside his door, departing away. A minute or two later, they return, stopping just outside his door. “Kunai—” Ivy’s voice sounds.

“Yeah, I know,” Kunai replies. With a deep sigh, he reaches for the switch on the lamp nearby. Hesitating for one brief moment, he finally tugs gently on the switch.

Darkness sweeps over the entire room like an ocean wave crashing against the shore. Kunai feels his way through the room to his bed, even as the voice in his head begins to grow louder once again, as it does in the darkness.

‘Kunai. Why are you so afraid of me?’

[Earlier that night…]

Tide springs from his seat on an armchair in the Ellinia Hotel lounge, rubbing his hands mischievously. A sly smirk appears on his face. “All right!” he cries exuberantly, accidentally knocking over his chair in the process. He merely stands it upright again, his spirit not at all dampened. “It’s time to have some fun!”

“And where do you think you’re going at this hour?” Silver asks accusingly, her face hidden behind a large, heavy tome. She sits comfortably in an armchair by the fireside. A few cozy embers crackle merrily in the fireplace.

“Going out for a few drinks,” Tide shrugs, his smile faltering slightly at Silver’s glare, “if it’s all right with your highness, of course.”

“Are you stupid or something?!” Silver cries, her voice suddenly intensifying in harshness.

Tide jumps in alarm at the iciness in her voice. “Whoa! What’s with the gall, Silver? I’m just going out for a couple drinks, that’s all.”

“And gambling and sampling of women, no doubt,” Silver retorts, folding her arms. “But that’s not the point. I cannot let you go, at least not alone. Have you already forgotten the massacre onboard our ship? We came here because we were looking for our attacker. You could easily be killed walking around on your own like that!”

Tide stares at Silver for a moment, his expression serious. He nods in understanding. “Gotcha.” Suddenly, Tide turns and makes for the door, grabbing his cape on his way out.

“W-Wait!” Silver shouts, running after Tide. “Moron! Didn’t you hear anything I just said?! I said—”

Tide stops, placing his palm over Silver’s mouth to keep her silent. “I heard what you said,” he replies slyly. “You said that I can’t go out unless I take someone with me. So, you’re coming with me!”

Tide removes his palm from Silver’s mouth, and abruptly grabs her around the forearm. “Ready? Okay! Let’s get drinking already!”

He half drags her out of the hotel lobby and into the cold night outside. “H-Hey!” Silver cries, as Tide continues to pull her along like a wagon. “I did not agree to come with you!”

“You don’t have to!” Tide cries enthusiastically, plowing onward despite Silver’s resistance. “I’m taking you by force, since you said I couldn’t walk around alone anyway!”

A few moments pass by, and suddenly Tide screams out loud into the night, causing the lights to come on in several buildings nearby. “OWW! YOU DON’T HAVE TO BITE MY ARM!”

“Well, let me go!” Silver shouts back.

A light breeze blows by, rustling the unseen leaves on the ground. The suppressive darkness of the night presses down on the reticent ground below. The grotesque, spidery shadows of trees stand tall in the sky, waving their many-limbed branches in the air.

Tide trots confidently up to a bar built on the outskirts of Ellinia, while Silver creeps right behind him, reluctantly keeping close to Tide. No other buildings stand nearby; there is only forest almost all around, except for a narrow dirt path leading back to town.

The bar is a dingy building, not belonging at all with the trees and moss standing all around. A grimy, wooden door shields the entrance, while a sign hanging over the door identifies the pub as ‘The Fluttering Fairy.’ A fairy with blue wings and blue hair sits at a bar with crossed legs on the sign, while he drinks heartily from a beer mug the size of his head.

Yellow light from within the pub spills onto the earthy floor outside, filtered through a pair of barred windows on either side of the entrance. From inside, loud, raucous laughter rings, while rowdy music plays in the background.

“This doesn’t seem like your ordinary neighborhood bar,” Silver whispers, shivering slightly in the cold night. She glares at Tide, her eyes narrowing slightly. “This is one of your dodgy bars, isn’t it?”

“Obviously,” Tide replies. “I mean, the place just reeks of criminal behavior. But it’s at these kinds of bars where the bets and drinks are the best, not to mention the ladies.”

Silver sighs, shaking her head. “Are you really going to go in?”

“Of course, of course!” Tide cheers enthusiastically.

“Well, you could’ve at least had the decency of not dragging me all the way out here!” Silver frowns.

“Hey, you insisted on coming,” Tide replies.

“You dragged me here!” Silver argues.

“Whatever,” Tide replies, a sharp, surprising tone of indifference in his voice.

Silver starts in surprise, startled by the unfamiliarity in his voice. Meanwhile, Tide steps forward and pushes open the door, holding it briefly open for Silver.

Silver jerks back to consciousness just in time, stepping through the threshold before it slams shut in her face. Inside, she finds that it is considerably warmer, as she peers around nervously at the many faces she’d rather avoid.

“Wow,” Silver mumbles to herself, “I wouldn’t want to meet a lot of these people in a dark alley.” She blinks profusely, unsure of what to do.

“Wanna dance, pretty lady?” A toothless drunk sitting at the bar says to Silver. He waves his beer mug, as he sways drunkenly on his seat. Eventually, he topples over onto the floor, and a sour-looking fairy immediately takes advantage by taking his seat.

“Um…no thanks,” Silver replies, stepping away from the drunk who has begun to grovel on the floor, while foaming at the mouth. She tracks down Tide, and follows him to the bar, where he has already begun ordering drinks.

“One Warrior Potion, please,” Tide says as Silver arrives at the counter. She awkwardly takes a seat at the counter, unused to the feel of the barstools on her bottom.

“And what’ll the lady have?” the bartender inquires, nodding over at Silver.

“Um…one Red Potion, please?” Silver replies tentatively.

The bartender raises an eyebrow at Silver, before turning around to prepare the ordered drinks. Next to Silver, Tide sniggers into his hand.

Silver glares at Tide angrily, the frown on her face growing wider. “What’s so funny?”

“N-Nothing,” Tide chuckles, “it’s just that you might as well order Pure Water.”

“They have that here?” Silver cries, her eyes widening slightly. She leans over the counter, tapping the bartender fiercely on the shoulder. “H-Hey! Can I change my order to a Pure Water?!”

The bartender stares at Silver for a moment as if she is crazy. Finally, he nods, and grabs a wine glass from under the bar. He seizes a canteen as well, and pours a grayish liquid into the glass. The bartender places the glass on the bar in front of Silver, handing it to her.

Silver stares at the glass, her eyebrow twitching slightly. “What’s the matter?” the bartender asks, cleaning a beer mug with a rag. “That’s what you ordered, right?”

“N-Nothing’s wrong…” Silver mutters, gazing at her glass absurdly.

“Here you go,” the bartender suddenly says, sliding Tide’s Warrior Potion over to him.

Tide grabs the mug of purple liquid and downs a considerable portion of it in one gulp. “You know, you actually make a good drinking partner, Silver, in your own quirky way,” Tide comments.

“R-Really?” Silver asks. “Because, honestly, I—”

“Tidey!” a girlish voice suddenly cries in Silver’s ear.

Silver suddenly finds herself thrown to the side, as a blur of green jumps into the space between her and Tide, grabbing the latter ferociously around the neck.

Silver’s eyes widen ridiculously, as she stares at the beautiful green-haired girl in front of her, who has her arms wrapped tightly around Tide’s neck.

Tide stares incredulously at the girl, a mixture of confusion and excitement on his face. “Uh…h-hi!” he stutters. “D-Do I know you, by any chance?”

“You don’t remember me, Tidey?” the green-haired girl says cutely.

Silver stares at the girl with distaste. ‘What an annoying woman.’

The girl suddenly stops suffocating Tide with her hugs, and turns with a cutesy curiosity towards Silver. She stares at her with startlingly green eyes. “Hm? Who are you?” she asks, while Tide continues to ogle at her.

Silver sniffs, displeased at the scent of her perfume. “My name’s Silver. And who are you to run up to random strangers and hug them like that?”

While shock flashes across the girl’s face, Tide smirks mischievously. “Heh, heh, jealous, Lady Silver?”

“Ohhh, no, of course not!” Silver replies, her voice strangely flowery and over-exaggerated. “I wouldn’t dream of separating you two lovebirds!”

Silver pauses a moment, as a half-annoyed, half-devilish sneer crosses her face. “Right, Tidey? Hey, here’s an idea, would you mind introducing your friend to me?”

Tide blinks, his eyes widening slightly. “Uh…hmm.” Tide pauses uncomfortably, looking about. Finally, he resigns to glancing at the girl, who still has her arms wrapped around him. “Well, would you like to do the honors?”

The girl opens her mouth wide in surprise, her face falling. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my name!” she cries, staring sadly at Tide.

“Uh…heh, heh!” Tide mumbles apprehensively.

“Midori!” the girl exclaims brightly. “It’s Midori!”

“Ah…right!” Tide replies. “Midori! How could I have forgotten! I mean we, uh…we go way back!” Next to Tide, Silver shakes her head exasperatedly.

For a moment, Midori pauses, and stares forward. Silver blinks, thinking that she is staring at her. However, upon further inspection, Silver notices Midori is staring past her. Before she has a chance to react, an annoying, whiny song rises into the air.

Midori grabs Tide abruptly, squealing, “Oh, oh! It’s CavaBien! That’s our song!”

“I-It is?!” Tide exclaims, allowing himself to be dragged onto his feet by Midori. The next second, they are dancing fiercely to loud claps and jeers from the others in the bar.

Silver turns and watches the two of them for a moment, before disgusting herself. She shakes her head and places her hand on her forehead. “Bad music, bad dancers, bad bar.”

“Did you say something?” the bartender says suddenly, drawing closer to Silver.

“Ah!” Silver cries, startled. “N-Nothing!”

The bartender shrugs and stalks off to take another order. Silver sighs and glances around the bar, finding herself sitting alone. For the first time, she notices a man cloaked completely in black sitting on her right, not far down the bar.

This man’s face is completely hooded, revealing nothing about his face. A sheathed Doombringer is clasped to a leather belt on his side. However, as Silver looks more closely, she also notices a bundle of Steelys hidden in a pocket in the man’s cloak.

The man turns his veiled head towards Silver as she stares. Catching herself, Silver glances quickly away, blushing slightly from getting caught.

At last, Midori and Tide return to the bar, both of them out of breath from dancing. However, Silver notices Tide has a more solemn expression on his face than he had previously. “Tide, what—?”

“C’mon, Silver,” Tide replies, interrupting her. “We should get going.”

Silver starts at the solemnity in Tide’s voice. “O-Okay,” she blurts out.

Midori frowns at Silver and Tide, a rather sour look in her bright green eyes. She resigns herself to waving goodbye, as Tide nearly drags Silver out of the bar in his hurry. “Bye-bye, Tide!” she grins, waving animatedly.

As the door slams shut, Midori turns irritably to the cloaked man sitting at the bar. She frowns at him, placing her hands on her hips. “You really don’t trust me to do my job, do you…Recelo?”

Next Time: Episode 59 Rain on Me

Ivy: Wow! So this is the secret way to Haven!

Rill: Yup! Beautiful, isn’t it?

Kunai: Do both of you have to sound like a walking commercial?

Rill: Looks like an enemy is about to greet us.

Kunai: That’s more like it—wait, WAH?!

Episode 59 Rain on Me coming soon!