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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]It was a beautiful affair. The Maxillar House had truly outdone themselves in the estate they paved here. It was a wonderful two-story manor. For those coming in, they had quite a spacious, well-kept stable for guests’ chocobos. It was fully staffed to keep the chocobos well-groomed and fed. Guests were then received in the courtyard with valets to take their carriages. They were able to walk the groomed garden and trio of fountains at their leisure.
They were received in high arching foyers of marble, gold, and crimson. The dining room was well set and just as extravagantly decorated. An open house party that was available to all who were interested in accepting an invitation to leisure. The family was reintroducing their daughter to society after a ghastly affair. One that they prefer not to remember and move on past.
Hilda allowed the valet to help her off her carriage. She roamed the beautiful property, pleasantly chatting with the other guests. She made acquaintances with Dame Maxillar, who has a keen eye for the arts. She ran and funded a conservatory for musicians and dancers. Or, at least, she did before her late husband passed and she had to switch to managing the family cranberry vineyard business.
After enjoying the prior company of the other in Torensten’s academy, it was a no-brainer for Dame Maxillar to invite Lady Hilda to the event, just to give a critical eye to her daughter’s painting. She was quite proud of Sepsinia’s - her daughter’s - work, though as a noble woman, she was worried her daughter may not live a life of comfort without another suitor. As one confidante to another, the dame wanted to see if Lady Hilda could aid in the endeavor. Perhaps be able to boost Sepsinia’s passion in the arts again and regain her confidence in societal affairs.
How could Lady Hilda simply not try to assist a friend? Especially when the white mage knew the Dame had an eagerness to keep the respectable image in noble society...but she also never asked why. Why was her daughter like this? Instead, she tried to cover up the issue with an extravagant house party, a frivolous mood, and pretty baubles. She simply carried on and hoped things fell into its proper place.
So the Lady soon found herself wandering from the dinning hall into the study. Sepsinia’s paintings were bright and floral landscapes between the bookcases. Truly the girl had an eye for color and movement in her paintings. But there, Sepsinia herself sat in an arm chair. Her face half shaded from the sun with such a forlorn expression. She was the opposite of the cheerful paintings. Opposite of her mother’s frivolous attitudes. The dame gently spoke to her daughter, introducing Hilda as her new walking companion.
The girl hardly even glanced up. She mumbled a ‘pleased to make your acquaintance’, before turning to look back out the window. Hilda gave the Dame a gentle nod that it was enough, there was no need to scold her for her manners. Hilda would take it from here. There was a quiet tapping as the Dame walked out. Hilda studied the thin girl. She look too frail and her skin seemed pallid. She was not well with her glazed eyes. She was dressed in a beautiful blue dress, that complimented her gold hair.
Still, the white mage in Hilda could sense it. The girl’s mood was not her own. Something loomed over her like a dark cloud in a sky full of sun. Something unnatural. Instead of speaking, Hilda looked up and followed her gaze out the window. There was a beautiful view of a hedge maze in the distance. The gardener had truly outdone himself. And just beyond it was a beautiful bog of cranberries, the red glistening against the beautiful green grass and blue wetlands.
A gentle hand reached out to Sepsinia’s. She tried not to shudder at the sudden coldness that bit at her aura. What had snagged this poor girl so? “May I call you Sepsinia?” The girl simply gave a soft incline of her head...almost like she fell asleep. “Why is no one in the garden? It’s beautiful, isnt it? It would make a good backdrop for your art.”
There was only silence.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]@open • Enter at your own risk.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Truthfully this wasn’t the sort of party that Genesis enjoyed in the slightest. He could get behind a bit of elegance, but these were the sort of wealthy people that screamed of upper-level Shinra executives. He didn’t exactly fit in with that, though in an attempt to blend into the crowd, he’d at least switched out his usual leather coat for a red suit jacket and a tie. Somehow he didn’t think they’d have let him inside if he was under-dressed--not that he’d come in through the front gate of course after flying in on his single black wing, but the principle was the same.
Genesis wouldn’t have come at all if it weren’t for his benefactors back in Torensten. He’d had a tenuous relationship with the group calling themselves the “Children of Bahamut '' ever since they had tried to recruit both him and Mateus in the winding tunnels of the Torensten underground. Neither of them seemed to really fancy the cult’s ideals--for Genesis’ part, he had no idea why they considered Bahamut a god when any schmuck who stumbled on the materia could summon him--but there was no denying that the group had influence among Zephon’s nobility. They also paid handsomely for carrying out requests that furthered their goals, and since Genesis wasn’t exactly getting a weekly check from the SOLDIER program anymore, he didn’t mind doing occasional jobs for them. It wasn’t as if Sephiroth was doing anything to help pay their rent after all.
Stupid Sephiroth with his depression and his stab wound was the reason that Genesis had accepted the group’s latest request for him. Supposedly the Maxilars held a family heirloom with ties to the gods, and an open house party was easily the best time to infiltrate and investigate. What the object would be used for wasn’t exactly Genesis’ concern, and it might not be the group’s concern either if he couldn’t even find the damn thing. After a cursory tour of the manor, he was having a hard time locating anything that looked even remotely useful. Genesis had even resorted to descending the stairs to the wine cellar, though that had resulted in an awkward encounter with a maid on the way back up. She had insisted on walking him back to the party if he was really that lost, which had resulted in Genesis giving up for the time being. Snatching a glass of champagne off a waiter’s platter, the ex-SOLDIER had excused himself to the back garden with his drink as soon as possible.
Truthfully, Genesis wasn’t positive that he was supposed to be out here either. Compared to the courtyard gardens, this one was deserted except for him, the colorful flower beds, and a few fountains and benches near the center. Well, that wasn’t quite right. There was also the entrance to a towering hedge maze, but Genesis gave it only a cursory glance before he considered the angle of the setting sun through his champagne.
“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess We seek it thus, and take to the sky Ripples form on the water's surface The wandering soul knows no-”
There was a crack of a twig from within the hedge maze. Genesis considered it carefully, but no giggling couples emerged, and there was no sign of any further movement. In fact, the garden was so still that there didn’t seem to be any wind blowing or any birds about. He couldn’t hear anything at all apart from his own breathing.
Turning back to consider the mansion, Genesis had his eyes drawn up towards the second floor where a lamp was lit and two women were near one of the windows. The girl closest to the window looked pale and sickly, and if his enhanced mako eyes weren’t wrong, then her attention seemed to be focused on the hedge maze too.
Well. Perhaps this party wouldn’t be so boring, after all.
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
It's mostly still set-up - I assumed they'd meet in the garden eventually!
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path.”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]Sepsinia said nothing more. She only looked dejectedly out the window towards the garden. For a moment, the Lady was conflicted. She was to be Ms. Sepsinia’s walking companion. However, it seemed more answers lied within the hedge maze than from Sepsinia’s own lips. The unnaturally afflicted mood was more than likely a curse. Until she could uncover its source, Sepsinia would be hard pressed to make her debut again.
Hilda closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh. “Very well. You need not explain, dear. However I hope you don’t mind if I get some fresh air. I shan’t be gone long.” She gave Sepsinia a reassuring smile. No need to reveal too much to her. She was under enough duress as it was. “Shall I send for a servant?” Hilda received no response. It was like the girl was sleeping with her eyes open.
Hilda gave the young lady’s hand a pat.
She made her way out of the library and towards the exit that would lead her to the garden area. Instead of asking the other nobles here why no one visited the back garden and maze, she opted to ask the servants. She gave them a small sum to keep their mouth closed about her inquiries. Apparently, Sepsinia had someone, Opilio, that was courting her half a year ago. He suddenly committed suicide in the hedge maze. Ever since that day, it was simply considered ill fortune to enter the maze, even though it was not necessarily off limits. Sepsinia’s mood never lifted since that day. However, when Hilda inquired about the gardener who took care of the maze…
“Oh. We haven’t seen him for days.”
And it seemed a number of other servants had taken their leave without saying a word.
Hmm. This maze was certainly bad news.
She left the double glass doors onto a beautiful marble back patio. She took in the view of the cranberry fields and garden before stepping down its steps towards the hedge maze. She eyed the window where Sepsinia seemed to listlessly watch. Hilda needed to discover what was in the middle of the hedge maze. Even if it meant putting herself in danger to help put an end to the young lady's magical malady.
She hummed melodiously to herself. “Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme Remember me to one who lives there He once was a true love of mine.”
A song whose lyrics were to ensure impossible tasks for that ex-lover that would not let go. It even gave the ingredients to dispel such love hexes.
Parsley for comfort and protection. One needed to cut it to end love’s bonds. One then burned for protection against evil spirits.
Sage’s smoke clears stuck grief and restores emotional strength. It also purifies a space.
Rosemary for remembrance. Just setting a sprig of it down in an area was enough to ward off evil spirits and the nightmares they bring.
Then, the thyme for courage and opening communication with fae and spirits. A small sprinkling of it could consecrate the ground.
All simple things that the servants were able to fetch from the kitchen for her trip. She was unsure if she needed it, but it was better to be prepared than not.
As she approached, she stopped her humming and looked up at the man in red. “Pardon my intrusion.” She said pleasantly. Her hands folded neatly in front of her as she looked up at him. Something about him felt a little different than the other noble gentlemen here. Something other than the glow in his eyes. “Were you interested in the hedge maze?” She turned to look at the arched entrance. “There are some rumors about it I wish to investigate for the young miss of this household.” An unspoken invitation for him to join her, one that promised a potential reward from the family here. “Though, rumors claim that ill fortune befalls those who enter.” A gentle warning. One that would not stop her now that she set her mind to it.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]@ladyhilda Should I be worried that your word count is 666?
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Genesis had taken to walking the perimeter of the hedge maze in an attempt to ascertain if he was imagining things. He wasn’t one to believe in dark auras or things of the sort, but he didn’t like the look of the abandoned maze, and he didn’t like the sounds he’d heard from it either. Despite his quiet footsteps though, he heard nothing else until he stood directly in the mouth of the entrance. Dark shrubbery surrounded him on either side, and even though the sun hadn’t fully set, it appeared pitch dark around the first bend in the maze’s path. Then came yet another crack as if someone had stepped on a tree branch.
Either someone was playing a game with him, or he needed about three more glasses of champagne before he came back to this garden.
A gentle humming coming from the direction of the house distracted Genesis, and he glanced back as a blonde woman descended the steps to come join him in the garden. It was the first time since he’d been out here that someone else had ventured down, which struck him as odd as she approached. The woman exuded confidence in her impeccable hair and makeup, and she carried herself with an air that suggested she belonged here a lot more than he did.
She greeted him politely, before expressing that she was there to investigate the hedge maze for the Maxillar family and that strange rumors were floating around about it. “That explains quite a bit,” Genesis said a bit dryly as he considered the dark entrance again. He wasn’t one to do favors for a stranger—particularly when he’d left his sword at home—but the possibility of being in the family’s debt appealed to him. Besides, he still had his materia if anything went wrong. The walls of the maze weren’t wide enough for him to stretch out his wing and escape if he entered it, but he wasn’t past burning a place down to get out when he had to.
A certain other manor on the outskirts of Provo was proof enough of that.
“I make my own fortune,” he said to brush aside the rumors that she spoke of. “Fate can’t usually be counted upon to be anything but cruel.” Glancing down at her, his lips twitched slightly upward as he introduced himself. “I’m Genesis, by the way. And perhaps I will join you on your suicide mission. Though I hope you have a sword or something hidden under that fetching dress.”
Or Materia, though people from other worlds seemed to come equipped with endemic magic. It wasn’t fair if you asked him. If he had to rely on magic from special rocks, then everyone else should have to as well.
Genesis inspected the entrance of the hedge maze again, the moment inspiring a line of Loveless to his lips. “Ripples form on the water’s surface, the wandering soul knows no rest.” Giving the woman his best impression of a charming smile, he gave a deep bow with one arm outstretched towards the maze. “Ladies first.”
Genesis had never claimed to have the most honor.
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@ladyhilda
I love Scarborough Fair! Glad you incorporated it.
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]A brow perked at him. The odd rumors explained ‘quite a bit’? Had he been experiencing something? “Whatever do you mean?” Though she could soon imagine once those phantom footsteps echoed as she began to near the entrance of the hedge maze. Were the shadows moving within or was it her imagination? The aura here gave her a shiver down her spine, much like a gentle cold drop rolling over nerves. It was not unlike the aura that came from the girl inside the mansion. It hardened her resolve, and sparked her curiosity, to look into the matter.
Despite his eloquent words, she could already take a well-educated guess the type of person he was in this short exchange. More than likely he was a little reckless if he was to fight fate and found the consequences cruel, as well as be quite frank. She was willing to bet he beget much of his own woe.
She humbly lowered his eyes and tilted her chin. The crest of her brow declined slightly in a greeting, her hands crossed one over the other in front of her. When she looked back up to him, “Sir Genesis, your company is a pleasure for this stroll. Lady Hildagarde.” She politely returned the greeting.
He was certainly no honorable knight in shining armor, even if he wore the outer facade of one. Sending her in as if she were a canary to a mine. She gave him her own flicker of a smile, before unabashedly walking past him into the entrance. “I am afraid I must disappoint you. I’ve nothing so dangerous hidden under my garments.” She said graciously, “Regardless, I shall keep you safe. You needn’t fear. You may stand behind.” She felt her mischievousness touch the edges of her lips.
“A suicide mission, indeed.” She noted off-handedly. “The suitor took his life here. I am sure the circumstances of the haunt will be made clear as we progress.” She hoped. Though, as she stepped further within, the gravity seemed a little heavier and the air a little thicker. The hedges seemed too tall with too deep a shadow.
And there, stuck on a branch, was a small piece of blood stained cloth. Just below were hedge trimmers and gloves that might have belonged to the missing master gardener.
She knelt to inspect it, folding her skirt neatly beneath her. A soft frown touched her face. How many others had fallen victim to this cursed place?
Standing up, she looked down the path. In the distance, near the center of the maze, there was a distant sound of merriment being had. A mysterious mist began to materialize before them. The path seemed to shift within its obscurity. She shook her head.
“If memory serves correctly, the path is sinistral.” She said taking her strides ahead more confidently than what she felt. She hoped it was merely an illusion to play tricks and not a true physical shifting of the path. However, the path behind them had topiaries come to life. They coiled like bushy arms and snaking garlands to try to snag at Genesis’s legs. As they moved, they released a sickly sweet scent.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"] Genesis I think is going splendid.
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] The noblewoman expressed concern at what Genesis meant by her story explaining things for him, but he didn’t really have to elaborate. Judging by her expression, she could hear the footsteps from nowhere as well as he could. “Wonderful. I love a few ghosts with every party,” he said dryly, examining the shrubbery as she introduced herself in return. Lady Hildagarde was a mouthful, but he refrained for now from asking what exactly she was a ‘lady’ of. He was certainly no ‘sir’ himself, but whatever title she wanted to bestow upon him didn’t matter.
However pretentious she might have been, Lady Hildagarde certainly had guts as she strolled forward into the maze without any hesitation at all. She even made a subtle jab about protecting him, which rather than offending him, made Genesis laugh under his breath as he took his spot behind her. Well, at least she was wittier than anyone else he’d met inside too. That was the only thing that might make this mission bearable. He hadn’t counted on having to do the Maxillar family a favor, but whatever helped him finish this job faster was fine with him.
Sephiroth better pay the rent next month, because Genesis needed a break after this.
Lady Hildagarde pointed out that his description of this trek as a suicide mission was a bit too on the nose because a man had killed himself here. That just made it more perfect in Genesis’ opinion, but he didn’t really have time to say so as they rounded the corner and were confronted with some blood-stained cloth and gardener's tools. The combination did not exactly tell a pretty story, but Loveless did.
“My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow No matter where the winds may blow.”
The maze did indeed seem to abhor their presence as it began to show its true colors. The distant sounds of a party began to creep up from the direct center of the maze, and Genesis would have bet some gil that their goal had something to do with that ghost celebration. The hedges themselves seemed determined to keep them away from it though as a thick fog settled across the path in front of them. Even the soft glow of his eyes did little to cut through the mist as the paths seemed to shimmer until it was difficult to tell them apart. Lady Hildagarde at least seemed confident that they should go to the left, but honestly, Genesis was far more concerned with what was happening behind him.
The path that they had entered through seemed to have closed, and as the brambles began to coil their way around his legs, he decided that he was having none of it. “Nope, nope! I hate this already.” He stomped on one or two of the branches that were grabbing for him as he pulled out the Barrier materia from his stash. “Wall,” he muttered to cast a quick protective spell around himself, and the barrier ended up being his salvation as a few of the topiaries grabbed him and seemingly tried to pull him into the hedge wall. Genesis wrestled against them while grabbing for a sword that wasn’t there, but due to the protective wall that he’d cast, he ended up stuck dangling upside down on the outside of the hedge as he glared daggers at the woman ahead of him.
“Why haven’t they condemned this place? Ugh. I’m about to burn it to the ground if you don’t cut me down.”
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path."
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]Genesis spoke a stanza of modern poetry. His tone suggested he was quite fond of the words. It even sounded like he respected the source. “It is doleful with an elegant delivery.” She commented gently upon his recital. “I am afraid I have not heard it before.” And she thought herself well-versed in such literature. “May I ask where such masterful poetry comes from?” Had he written it himself? Or was there a literature she was unfamiliar with?
Though, she must say it may have been a foreshadow of what was to come. Perhaps this man had a gift of foresight.
Her eyes kept gazing down either path. Though there was not much to see to help make an educated guess. Just more hedge wall that opened one way on either side, followed by the thick spectral mist to obscure it even more.
Then, her contemplation was interrupted by the sudden irritated outbursts of the other. She felt the shimmer of his magic. It was alien to her, but the anatomy of it was familiar to her. She quickly turned, her heart racing at the sudden adrenaline at the danger. The topiary was interweaving upon itself to finally hand him upside down. He almost seemed like a living ornament to decorate the hedges wall.
Her instinct reaction was to touch upon the magic that was natural to her. “I have not any gardening shears…however…” Perhaps, he would be forgiving when she cast her own spells to save him. She took a deep breath and she summoned her own magic that seemed to pull and whip the air around her. Her eyes glowed a gentle white light as she seemed to no longer speak the common everyone else did.
“Auxeadium norilum.”
Though the words seemed beyond human comprehension as her vision seemed to look beyond.
It was odd. Summoners had their own bloodlines and abilities to control the constructs and myths generated by the life crystal. Hilda did not know where her own abilities came from. But it was much like reaching into a lock of biology and simply unlocking its own potential. To unravel and realign the structures that made it to be something different.
Instead of unlocking human thought taken form, she unlocked what was physically before her.
And that’s what she did here. He would not feel pain, but perhaps a slight confusion as she rearranged his structure into that of an auburn Mu. “To me!” She commanded as she was already revving up another spell. The ethereal wind had not slowed around her. She seemed much like a ballerina in her arm flourishes and a gentle turn to punctuate the change in spell. One arm gestured outwards in an elegant arc. “Mini!” She said with a gentle grace as she focused only on the living topiaries. They shrunk before her eyes, enough so to allow the smaller mu Genesis to escape his confines.
She held out a delicate hand for him to join her. The mini’ed vines tried to reach for her, but she simply stepped forward and on top of them.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Genesis Lol. Let me know if you need to know what it's like to be turned into a squirrel
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Dangling upside down from a hedge wall was maybe not the ideal time to talk about Loveless, but Lady Hildagarde had asked and it was rare that someone in this world was interested enough to come to him about it. He had been one of the world experts on the poem—he’d even compiled his research notes on its interpretation into a book—and yet he was trapped in a world where no one had even heard of it. It was tragic, really.
“You have an ear for poetry. Loveless originates from my world, though I’ve been inscribing it to hopefully be published here. A five-act structure with the final act lost to history.” He had his own ideas on how the fifth act resolved of course, but that was another story. And one he didn’t have time for while he was being strangled by vines.
The blood was beginning to rush to his head, and that made him irritable with everyone and everything. Including the blonde noblewoman in the fog, even though she hadn’t done anything to specifically set him off. Yet. “Do you have a nickname by the way? And what exactly are you a lady of-?”
She lamented that she had nothing to cut him down with before the air suddenly seemed to change. The wind flowed around her and gently pulled at her skirts as her eyes took on an ethereal white glow that was brighter than his own pair. Genesis was startled into silence for a change, watching her curiously as she spoke words that made no sense to his ears but still carried weight to them. If this was magic, then he hadn’t seen anything like it before. Materia felt like a parlor trick by comparison.
Lady Hildagarde’s magic washed over him and the vines that held him in place, and he felt almost dizzy as the spell set in. His constraints were steadily loosening, so Genesis assumed that had been the purpose of her spell, but as he tried to pull away from the hedge wall he was struck by how disoriented he felt in his own body. Something was off with his vision, and he was perplexed to find his limbs smaller and the blonde woman in front of him much taller than he remembered. In fact, it was bizarre how big she seemed compared to both him and the shrunken vines. She held out a hand for him to join her, and the ethereal wind around her ruffled at his tail fur-
His tail?!
“Squeak!” Genesis protested, but as the vines were still around his new body’s size, he had no choice but to take her offer and leap forward onto her hand. He fit quite easily in her palm, but that didn’t stop him from skittering up her arm to sit on her shoulder as she stepped on the now tiny vines. He had no idea if his words could be understood by humans or not, but that didn’t stop him from chittering angrily in her ear. A rodent of all things?! Is that how she saw him? She could have at least picked something more majestic.
[attr="class","character-spring-1c"]“A Shrinking Violet Led Down the Garden Path.”
[attr="class","character-spring-1d"]Oh dear. Their conversation would have to wait for now. The remnants of it were meant to be a distraction for what was to come. To ease the shock of the transformation. She watched as he shrunk before her eyes and became quite a bit furrier. From the tip of his wet black nose to end of his bushy white tipped tail, he was absolutely cute. Even in his squirreled confusion. She felt herself soften into that moment.
The vines withered upon being stepped upon, as she tutted at them. Well, this gave her a good idea of what happened to the gardener. Still, as she looked down, the wriggling, crushed topiaries then went up in a magical smoke before vanishing. Something foul was at foot here. And she had just consumed quite a bit of her magic now. She could feel the edges of her magical reservoir shrink a bit.
Well, nothing to do about it now. She must see what was at the center. Even more so.
She leaned her cheek against the new Genesis-Mu, as if to ease the incessant chittering. Ah. His fur was soft. She had no idea what he was fussing about. Actually, she had a quite good IDEA but did not understand the content. No one liked being something “I shall return you when the time is right.” She reassured him. “I think the garden is after humans. You will be safer this way. Perhaps you can climb to the top of the hedges, above the mist, to guide us to the center.” The faster they got there, the better.
She was placing her absolute faith in a stranger to them where they needed to go.
Ah, what were they talking about again? She rounded the corner she had been eyeing earlier. The mist swirled again and there were silhouettes of shadows that ran in a specific direction. Did she follow those or…she would see if Genesis would lead them first.
Oh. Yes. Their previous conversation. She would ignore his rude questions for a nickname and perhaps asking her what she was a lady of. Some things she would prefer not to reveal to him. Not yet anyway.
However, she had taken a keen interest in Loveless. It seemed he was passionate enough to even try to publish a manuscript on it. She hoped it came to light one day. “Dame Maxillar is a big patron of the arts. She used to run a school, until she took over the family business. Perhaps, she could aid in getting you a footing.” She suggested, hoping he could gain a footing one day.
She paused. Oh yes. She forgot to explain. “You are still capable of speech, though your mind may reel between animal and human. It shall take getting used to.” She remembered her husbands ‘ribbits’ between his words.
[attr="class","character-spring-1e"]Genesis Lol. Sir Squirrel
[attr=class,lyric1]infinite in mystery is the gift of
[attr=class,lyric2]the goddess
[attr=class,bulk] Genesis stopped his chittering when Lady Hildagarde laid her cheek upon his fur. He should have been annoyed by the action, but there was something appealing about it in his animal brain, and that realization made him squint his beady eyes at her. She apparently had no intention of turning him back into a human yet, and while her reasoning that it was safer this way made sense, he still bristled his tail at her. How did her magic even work? Would he still have his clothes when he was turned back? These were important questions that he didn’t think he could ask without speech!
Genesis let out a rodent huff, but clung to the shoulder of Lady Hildagarde’s dress as she strode forward deeper into the maze. The mist was even thicker at the next crossroads, but several shadowy figures could be seen striding into the path straight ahead. Without his sword or his materia, Genesis shrank a little lower on the blonde woman’s shoulder at the sight of them, but Lady Hildagarde herself seemed rather unconcerned as she informed him that the lady of the Maxillar house was a big patron of the arts. The suggestion that this could help him get Loveless published caused him to perk up and sniff at the air excitedly, his black nose twitching a little. If that was the case, then forget this job that the Children of Bahamut had given him. Loveless came first before rent money from shady cults. Whether or not Sephiroth agreed was his problem.
The noblewoman then informed him that he could still talk like this, and Genesis gaped at her with his little rodent jaw. What. What.
“Are you serious?” He chirped out in a voice reminiscent of his own, though it was a tad higher. Clapping his paws over his mouth, he took a moment to process that before going on. “You could have -squeak- something sooner! Squeak!” Maybe that was besides the point when they were stuck with which way to go next, so with a little huff, Genesis launched himself upward at the hedge wall. His paws turned out to be great for climbing, and in no time at all, he found himself seated on top of the maze, his tail swishing in triumph. The mist was less thick up here, and after skittering forward a few feet, he could see that the way the shadow figures had taken appeared to be a dead-end. More than that, the ground below the mist in that direction appeared darker than the surrounding grass, and after squinting at it with his new eyes, he could just barely make out the shape of a pit.
Oh no. He’d had more than enough of this maze, and it had been about ten minutes.
Creeping back over the hedge wall, he leapt back down onto Lady Hildagarde’s shoulder. “Definitely don’t follow the shadows. Right looks like it leads closest to the center.” Fixing his tail, he curled up to settle in for the way forward. “And you better not die before you can -squeak- me back!”
