««« LOAD 21 »»»
Before the sun could set, the Pinker Human, Ruiz, had declared it was time to return to the castle. She'd packed her things and gone on her horse. Irukuku had offered to take her, and her animal too, but the human had scolded her. Because if she took the human, they would be seen together and then it would be obvious she had been been discovered.
Sylphid really should think more before she said things. Big Sister was right. Around all these smart humans, she should stay quiet. Even the weird ones like the Pinker one. So she'd turned back into proper scales and right number of arms and followed the human from above the wind. And this time she did not lose sight of her even once!
The human, Ruiz, slowed down at the gates of the castle and looked up in her direction before entering. Irukuku supposed that meant she didn't have to spy on her anymore, right? She was back at the castle with Big Sister. It… was probably better to ask Big Sister before she did something that made Big Sister angry with her. Again.
Irukuku asked the Wind Song about her Big Sister, Small Snow Breeze Blue Human. The Wind Song gave her Big Sister's smell and Irukuku followed it. Ah, Big Sister was in her own nest. She should have thought of it and checked there first.
Urgh, today was being a very bad day for Irukuku. First she'd let lunch escape, then she'd lost sight of the Pinker Human and then she got found out, twice!
She landed on the ground under Big Sister's nest and then stretched up. Carefully not to break anything, again, Irukuku tapped on the nest's glass. Big Sister appeared at her nest's entrance, looked down and then opened up her nest. Irukuku fit her head into the nest's opening. An opening that was bigger than before Irukuku had… been careless. Human things were fragile.
Big Sister made a Song of quiet around her nest then spoke. "How did it go? Were you found out?" She ran her hand over Irukuku's nose scales.
Urk. "No. It was boring." She'd have to thank her Pinker Human… friend? For helping her get ready for this.
"What did she do?"
Irukuku thought of what she could tell Big Sister. "Well, first she went around in her horse", and Iukuku had lost her, "and went into the city." The city Big Sister had been very serious about Irukuku not going into or even near. Not that she would, even if she was curious... "I didn't follow her there."
"Good. Then what?"
"Then she was there for a long time. Then she went around in her horse again, but this time went to the human village, the one with the… the one near here?" There were so many human villages. "Then she was weird."
"Weird?" Big Sister stopped the nice movements of her hand.
Well, yes, it was kind of weird. But human did those things a lot, even Big Sister sometimes. "She did magic against trees and wind." Weird and pointless. "And she carried around heavy things."
"Heavy things?" Questioned Big Sister.
Urk. "It… looked like stones?" Irukuku wasn't going to tell the human had been carrying her around. That would make Big Sister understand she'd been found out, like Ruiz had explained.
Big Sister was quiet. Then she sighed, very quietly, like she was. "Thank you, Sylphid. You did a good job."
Usually, Irukuku was happy when Big Sister said that but… not today. Irukuku hadn't done a good job. She'd been found out. She didn't want to disappoint Big Sister or to make her mad, so she stayed quiet. Ruiz's question, the one Irukuku was supposed to found out about because of their deal, passed through her mind. She was curious too, genuinely. Why was the human important to Big Sister?
"Big Sister?" Irukuku started, carefully. "Why did you want me to spy on her? I… I'm curious."
And Big Sister was quiet for a very long time. Like she was looking at Irukuku, but not. Finally, she rested her body against Irukuku's nose, and loosely put her arms around Irukuku's head. "I'm worried."
"Worried?"
"Yes." Big Sister said, eyes closed, and Irukuku understood she wouldn't say anything else.
Because Tabitha was very worried. She was always very worried for herself, for her mother and now, she was worried about a pink-haired Tristanian. Worried about her, for her, because of her. La Vallière had changed and Tabitha didn't think it was from her own free will. And as much as Tabitha loathed to see anything like... that… happen again, to a person that Kirche was so close to…. She knew it didn't always end as well as her own story had.
And she was prepared to do whatever was necessary, if the need arose.