48: Commitments

Fresh. Wet.

Like a hose with frozen liquid running through it. Between your legs, behind the knees, around the waist, behind the back. Airys saliva leaked from her mouth, she was so pleased that she rubbed herself off the blanket and whatever it was cooling her off on the living room furniture.

"Hehe haha" That something slid down the soles of her feet. "Hahaha!"

Her joy diminished with those tickles, it was a nuisance when trying to sleep, and with it, part of her consciousness returned from deep sleep and she realized an important detail: She had fallen asleep without any blanket.

She shook herself, woke up and opened her eyes in a hurry with her heart racing, and boy was she surprised to know that she had on top of her.

"AAAAH!" she screamed awaking everyone else in the house, and part from the next door neighbor.

"What's the matter?" said Melody, who had fallen asleep on the floor next to the bench where Airys was.

Natsume peeked around the hallway entrance, rubbing her eyes with her hands in concern.

"W-what is this thing?!" Her words broke, what had given her pleasure before, now she disliked it excessively, fresh was repulsive, slimy and grotesque.

A viper of lianas.

The creature —or plant? —had Airys fully rolled up and had her triangular face level at Airys's chest with a gaze fixed on those silver eyes. She stuck her tongue out at her and licked her nose, to which Airys reacted with chills and her hands flailed in the same place.

"H-help-help!" Airys yelled and Natsume adjusted her shirt ready to rescue her friend.

"But it's just Eli," Melody yawned with one eye half open. "You must have liked it a lot."

"Eli?" Natsume said.

"Yes, it's daddy's plant."

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Airys stifled her screams and pulled her face away as far as she could from that thing's.

"Samy says that she was his favorite, that we have to take care of her."

"Oh so it's the plant on the wall, first time I've seen one."

Natsume began to appreciate in the distance, Melody stood up and stretched her hand to Eli, who immediately bit her and swallowed her hand, terrifying Airys more and leaving Natsume wide awake in surprise.

"Are you/"

"Eli! You tickle me!" Melody's laugh interrupted Natsume and calmed them both.

"D-doesn't it have teeth?" Airys said.

"Why does a plant need teeth?" Melody caressed Eli's head happily, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

The scene seemed pretty, the creature hissed affectionately, Melody was happy, the light came through the window and the aura of the morning bathed the room with that classic nostalgia for having spent a night with friends.

Oh sure, Airys was there shaking uncomfortably too.

"C-can you help me, Melo?" she begged in the sweetest, most vulnerable voice of her life.

Melody made a sign to Eli and she released Airys as she returned to decorate the wall. Airys resisted the urge to squirm more and sighed once she was able to move her abdomen and legs away from there. Natsume touched her name, scaring her and making fun of it.

"I-isn't funny!" Airys jumped off the bench.

"Didn't you like animals?"

"I-is not the same!" she screeched hidden behind Melody.

"Don't scream so much, you're going to wake/"

Again they interrupted Natsume, this time it was a terrified scream from a man, coming from the room further down the hall. The scream did not come alone, it was accompanied by the sounds of loud and rough blows and head-banging on the wood of the house. The commotion didn't stop with that, that man opened the door with a jerk and collided with the wall of the hallway super altered.

"I-I-I'm REALLY sorry!"

"DO YOU WANT TO SHUT UP?! I TRY TO SLEEP!" Samantha left the room, and the person who found herself cornered was none other than her uncle Gregory.

The embarrassed expression on him, the sharp red in his ears and cheeks, the way his legs were shaking, all caused her confusion. Melody, Airys and Natsume peeked down the corridor and observed Gregory, dead with grief, half-opening his mouth and trying to formulate words to excuse himself.

"E-h, a-h, is, ahm, what-e, t-what, I, e-h, n-o is it…" he swallowed hard "I-I didn't know she was there and I was sleepy!" he assured and made his way out quickly between the girls.

They stared at him until he left the house and shut the door in a hurry.

"What happens?" Natsume said.

"No idea" Airys rubbed the shove she received.

"When did the uncle arrive?" Melody asked.

"What did just…?" Samantha muttered angrily, until her neurons fired and she ran to peek into her uncle's room.

Natsume also immediately understood what had possibly happened and approached quickly to find out, Natsume and Melody met eye to eye and followed her. The scene they witnessed was both moving and extremely funny for all of them.

Heylin was in bed, almost completely tucked in, with a blush on her face equal to or even greater than Gregory's, trying hard not to give the impression that she couldn't help but show the girls. The pupils of her eyes had expanded, her head was spinning and to top of it, all the girls didn't take their gaze from her.

"N-no ... it's not fair" Were her words before covering her face with the sheet.

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"Move faster Layd!" Yeb ordered.

"B-But I can't use my resonance like this!"

"And are you planning to stay like this?! Come on, answer!"

"T-it's harder than it looks!"

His teammates, who were on rounds of exercises equal to or worse than his, hid their laughter so Yeb wouldn't notice them.

"I'm not going to pay you anything until you're ready to act at any moment! Did you hear me?!"

"Y-yes sir!" Layd continued running in circles as he tried to lift rocks up to his chest with the resonance, with no results other than creating screams on the ground he ran from time to time.

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"It's delicious!" Natsume closed her eyes to savor the dough in his mouth. "What did you do to this? I love it!"

All of them were eating some torrejas —flour dough mixed with salt, water and an egg cooked in a pan —after having "decided" not to ask anything about the situation a few minutes ago, to which they "agreed" without any pressure. Heylin didn't particularly threaten them, no, not at all.

"Our flour is the best, just that," Heylin said, watching over the one that was being cooked with a wooden paddle in hand. "You want another Airys?"

Airys calmly chewed the last piece of torreja that she had, it was apparent that she was dispersed, not even she herself recognized that she was, and with a lot of sense. Without Seng, without a teacher, without money, what is she supposed to do to get ahead? Rather, where is "forward"?

"Airys?"

"Hm?" Finally blinked. "What?"

"Do you want another?"

Airys thought about it for a minute, but when she saw Melody dying of laughter eating and offering that plant, creature, whatever; the good taste of it left her system and she shook her head. She also decided to get off the floor and move a little away from the table and that piece of furniture, to prevent.

"I do." Natsume moved closer to the counter that separated the kitchen.

"Immediately," Heylin turned the torreja over. "Can you make more dough, Samy?"

Samantha was leaning back on the kitchen counter, eyeing Airys barely touching her food. She sighed and went to the mixing bowl.

"Wait, there's still two more left, why do I have to knead more?"

"For him." Heylin pointed to the window and Samantha met her uncle's stupid smile.

They finished eating, Gregory sat at the low table next to Melody and they talked about trivial things, no one dared to mention the accident this morning, only a whistle of the wind was heard that testified that Gregory had arrived drowsy at dawn. Of course, a frenetic thunder sent him to shut up, reporting that Heylin only went to sleep in that room because there were only three beds and Melody was going to sleep with her.

"What are your plans, Airys?" Heylin urged, wanting to put that topic aside. "With what you told me, I think it would be better if you rest for a few days, there is no rush to earn the money, and in a few weeks it is the festival of reflections!"

Airys lowered her head. Natsume drank from his glass of water after taking the last bite of the third torreja.

"I…" Airys looked at her left hand and drew a look of fear on her beautiful forehead. "I don't think I should waste my time."

"Oh come on, having a little fun isn't bad" Heylin sputtered with a pout.

"Oh, sorry," Airys's voice was muffled. "I didn't mean that. I need to get stronger so that… I can present myself to him with dignity."

Heylin didn't understand Airys's resolve much, anyway, if that was her wish, that was fine. Natsume assumed that she was referring to Seng, proving to that idiot that she is not dependent on him is without a doubt the right thing to do. Gregory sweated nervously, the reason why Mr. Yeb rejected her was not exactly her weakness or her experience... but hey, it's not bad that she wants to recover from that humiliation.

"Do you have to be strong to date Layd?!" Samantha was shocked. "Does he like them rude?"

Each of them mistakenly believed that she was alluding to those boys, when the real person, the name that came to mind every time she remembered how pathetic she was, losing her confidence and lamenting, was Echsos.

"I have to learn to use my resonance" she admitted, holding her left hand tightly, resisting the intense desire to forget the blood that was permeated into it.

"I know the exact place to take you" Gregory nodded with his arms crossed.

There was a silence that was broken merely by Melody's noises. Gregory sweated nervously at the gigantic disapproval in Airys and Natsume.

"T-this time it's serious!" Gregory waved his palms frantically. "Tell me Airys, how about I teach you?" Gregory offered calmly and honestly.

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"W-welcome b-be! W-what brings you to the palace of Lady Zul'luz the seer?!" Seng, still in Dingarsite's shackles on his arms, spread his arms wide and bowed.

"Hm, cheer it up."

"I didn't agree to this Zuly!"

"You are my slave; your opinion does not matter."

"But why the hell do I have to wear this?!" he roared in exaltation.

It was to be expected, Zul'luz was forcing him to wear an absurd jester costume; and not anyone, it was one with colored dyed leather pants that squeaked with the slightest movement —and highlighted his pompoms —, a pink shirt with glitters on top that gave the impression of being backwards and a stupid cape that didn't even reach the bottom, yellow for the sake of stand out more.

"Do you remember what you made me wear in Hegata?"

"That was years ago!" Zul'luz blurted out and turned his back on him. "The situation was different and you know it!"

The entrance bells rang.

"Go do your job, my s-la-ve."

Seng bit his teeth, opened the door, and repeated the show with a forced laugh and deep regret.

"W-welcome b-be! What… brings you to the Lady's palace… Lady Zul'luz the seer?!"

When he bowed, he drowned a cry of dread in his heart and his face flushed with shame, because Naoru was perplexed by such atrocity.