Alyse widens her eyes in surprise as she casts her gaze at Alto, who has remained quietly thoughtful throughout her and Alara's discussion, as though she's been distracted by something else. But Alto is staring at Alara now, wearing a small, knowing smile.
Alyse glances at Alara in confusion.
"The wolf-kin girl with the sword?" (Alyse)
To her surprise, however, Alara seems to be mostly ignoring her. Instead, she's wearing an expression that's a mix of surprise and confusion, staring at Alto. After a moment, some realization seems to dawn on her, and she looks away from both of them, her face marred by internal conflict.
Alyse isn't sure how much time passes like that before Alara's expression seems to settle into a small, sad smile. Alara turns to face her with a heavy sigh, her gaze surprisingly sharp despite her melancholy disposition.
"Have I truly spent the last two millennia being so insufferably judgmental? What a waste..." (Alara)
Despite the fact that Alara is looking at her, Alyse gets the distinct impression that the question is almost rhetorical. Which is good, because...she's at a loss for words right now.
'Where the fuck did that come from? And why did the mere mention of this Zara girl affect her like this? I know that she's quitting the job as Alara's personal guard, but as far as I know, she's perfectly fine. And the Alara I know would never care about some wolf-kin in the first place. What the hell happened to her?'
After a few seconds studying Alara in stunned silence, instead of answering her, Alyse turns to face Alto with a bewildered expression.
"What exactly am I missing here?" (Alyse)
Alto gives her an amused smile, understanding the core of her confusion at a glance.
"Alara's last name didn't change for show...you could consider her a different person than the Princess you used to know. It's like I told you...that's just the effect Mizuki has on people. Her, Nina and Ilina...even me – none of us are the same after meeting him. If you keep leaning on your past judgements of her, I imagine you'll keep feeling like her actions don't make sense." (Alto)
Alyse's confusion only deepens.
'What does that have to do with your comment about Zara!? Or Alyse's impromptu pity party!? Are you just trying to tell me she's weird now!?'
However, before she can voice such misgivings, Alara interrupts. Her voice is almost...bitter.
"Alto's trying to politely imply that I've been in denial about the fact that my best friend is a teenage wolf-kin girl, and that Zara leaving my service saddens me so much that I'm subconsciously trying to find someone like her as a replacement. Something that's, admittedly, pathetic, but not as disdainful as remaining in such denial because I couldn't admit how foolish my racism towards demi-humans like Zara has been. Hence...my comment..." (Alara)
Alara finishes her comment with a rueful smile, and Alyse's eyes nearly bulge out of her head at the admission.
"That's...you really feel that way?" (Alyse)
Alara nods solemnly.
"I...do. I really am going to miss having her by my side, and I regret the fact that I...that the old me would treat a demi-human like her as lesser. But things have changed...I can see now how that's wrong of me. Hypocritical, even." (Alara)
Alyse stares at her in stunned silence for several moments, then...
"And the rest of it? About trying to replace her with me..." (Alyse)
Alara gives a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Fufufu...well, not consciously. I honestly thought you'd be a great person to take over Zara's job. You're strong, smart, and educated, you can be trusted with sensitive information, and you're capable of handling important tasks independently. Outside of Mizuki's inner circle, I can't say all that about anyone else at the moment. But after hearing Alto's thoughts...yeah, maybe I do see you as a kind of mature, elven version of Zara. It's a shame I've alienated you so thoroughly, though...sorry about that..." (Alara)
With her jaw hanging open, Alyse just continues to study Alara in disbelief for several moments. All the while, Alara just stares back at her with a regretful but earnest expression that only drives home the message to Alyse. She can't help but hear Alto's words about judging Alara ring in her ears again.
'She...could she really have changed this much?'
Alyse feels most of her subtle combativeness towards Alara lessen, replaced by an unexpected emotion...guilt. Seeing this side of Alara and continuing to engage with her under worst-case assumptions feels almost like...kicking a puppy. Her expression softens, and she's left wondering how she should handle their future interactions.
Nearby, Alto observes them both with an attentive eye, and unbeknownst to either, a small, satisfied smile graces her lips when she sees the changes in Alyse's demeanor.
"Well, I think this is probably a good time to depart from the hot springs. It sounds like everyone's at a loss for words right now, and it won't be long before Mizuki and Nina return. Alyse, you still wanted to meet Zara, right? Why don't we go meet up with her?" (Alto)
Alyse and Alara both give surprised glances at Alto, who eyes Alyse expectantly. Flustered, Alyse just nods.
"Uhm...yeah, I would appreciate that." (Alyse)
Alto nods and turns to Alara.
"Alara, do you know where she is right now?" (Alto)
Seemingly snapping out of her thoughts, Alara nods hesitantly. She seems...nervous, at the mention of seeking out Zara.
"Yeah, she is taking care of some personal things at the mansion. I can accompany you both back there." (Alara)
Alara suddenly freezes, and sends a hesitant look towards Alyse.
"That is...if that's okay with you?" (Alara)
Alyse raises her eyebrows.
'Alto wasn't kidding...she's practically a different person.'
She sighs internally. She's still at a loss for how to deal with this new Alara, but she's sure that there's only one answer that won't make her feel like an asshole later.
Alyse gives Alara a polite smile.
"Of course...I'd appreciate the help with introductions. Lead the way." (Alyse)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Zara looks around the floor of her room, taking stock of the items she's laid out. She raises an eyebrow at the sight.
'To think I've become so materialistic...'
Of course, if she'd voiced such an opinion to Mizuki or one of the others in this situation, they'd likely fall over in shock. That's because Zara is referring to the fact that she now owns nine decidedly personal items.
She drops to a knee and picks up the first item, inspecting it with a conflicted expression. It's a short, plain dagger in a simple leather sheathe, and it's her longest-owned personal item. The dagger is the same one that she first brought with her after meeting Mizuki – a parting gift from her missing father. Looking at it provides her with a comforting reminder that she wasn't always an orphan.
However, it's also a reminder of her goals left unachieved, and by extension, her weakness. Acquire personal strength and knowledge, liberate the wolf-kin from their ignorance and their persecution, then use that foundation to find her father...dead or alive. Finally, make sure that nothing so important to her can ever be taken again. That's been her roadmap for the past several years.
Unfortunately, she's not even finished with step one of that plan. And despite the shocking progress she feels like she's made towards her goals in the past month, she can't help but feel great urgency as more time passes – her father has already been missing for a couple of years. Even if he's still alive and she threw herself fully into searching for him now, she doesn't know where to start.
When her father left her with the wolf-kin Elder, Vardo, all he told her was that he'd be gone a little while, and that he was doing something for their mom. Her mom was already long dead at the time, and her father never told them exactly how she died, so that's little to go on. However, though the old wolf-kin always denied it, she's certain that he must have some inkling of where her father was going or what he was doing.
And now that she's the Elder, once she gets the wolf-kin squared away, she'll have all the leverage she needs to pry that information out of Vardo.
Then, there's Mizuki...
Of course, once she learned about his ability to sense wolf-kin across entire countries, she was tempted to ask for his help. Alas, the wolf-kin have long been scattered across not just their own country, but also across human territories as slaves. Asking Mizuki to physically check all the wolf-kin in the world to see if they're her father, who may already be dead, was neither reasonable nor practical. Especially when that may have meant antagonizing slave owners and human settlements in droves.
But things are different now.
'Mizuki has already resolved to end slavery in the Empire without me asking...he's even willing and able to free them by force. If my father's still alive after all this time, but hasn't come back to us, he's most likely a slave, and most wolf-kin slaves are in the Empire. In just a couple of weeks, when we meet with the Empire, I'll take my first solid steps towards getting answers...'
Zara's grip instinctively tightens on the dagger, and her eyes glimmer with a bone-deep resolve. After a moment, she carefully places the dagger into a small traveling pack that Mizuki bought her after she first joined his party – her second possession. She also picks up the light armor set that Percivil crafted for her – her third possession – and places it into her pack.
After a moment of contemplation, she grabs her two spell rings and enchanted sword – her fourth, fifth, and sixth possessions – and slips them back onto her fingers and belt, respectively. They're debatably her most treasured items, and she feels best when they're within reach.
Next, she grabs an elegant, red silk dress and begins carefully folding it as a rare smile finds its way onto her face. The dress is the one she wore for the reception at the elves' last Royal Announcement, and it's her seventh personal possession. Truly, she's not sure why she's so uncharacteristically attached to such a nonfunctional item, but she loves the way it looks on her.
More importantly, the memories it conjures never fail to put a smile on her face. In many ways, that experience epitomizes how much she's expanded her horizons thanks to Mizuki – the grand ballroom, the abundance of elves, the foreign food and wine, the lavish outfits, the tedious small talk interspersed with nuanced political conversations – it was all completely new to her.
Zara wraps the folded dress in linen to protect it, then places it inside her pack.
She turns to her eighth possession – a massive, leather-bound tome whose cover is embroidered with silver lettering – 'To be a Civilization'. The book was a gift from Alto, and it's a detailed, instructional account of what the elven author thinks are the necessary foundations of a thriving civilization – blacksmithing, agriculture, and carpentry techniques, legal principles and practices, economics, and more. Seeing it, Zara can't help but smirk.
'The gift is very like her – functional, excruciatingly detailed, and...exactly what I never knew I needed.'
Zara places the tome in her pack, then rises from the floor. She purses her lips, and her eyes flicker with complicated emotions that only fall short of what she felt when holding her father's dagger. Her gaze moves to a small box on the nearby desk...
Her ninth and final possession.