Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

“It’s a special spell that only shows up whenever I’m in trouble. I can’t find anything about it online.”

“The guy who sold Cecil to me said not to show it to anyone or tell anyone about it.”

“Well yeah, I thought it was kinda weird, but it’s super-duper strong and it has saved my butt a ton.”

Vince’s half-explanation didn’t ease the concern of Shouri and his Resonators. They managed to get back safely, thanks to the timely casting of the strange spell, Grave Torcitore.

The user in question didn’t know too much about it. Just that it was a sort of “pinch” spell that showed up when he found himself in a sticky situation, and during no other time.

“It’s evil,” Pacifica finally broke the silence.

The group of Shouri and his Resonators had made their way back to their room in silence. They had all almost died out there, but that wasn’t even what was bothering them. They all sat around the coffee table, Shouri and Pacifica on the couch, while the two foxes of the group each took up one of the recliners.

“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked.

“That spell is evil. I... could feel Cecil being consumed by it. It’s evil.” She hugged herself tightly, pushing tears down her face as she closed her eyes.

Shouri moved over and pulled Pacifica into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, trembling.

Taika grimaced, averting her gaze. “My spells have been called evil,” she mumbled.

“No!” Pacifica suddenly shouted, locking eyes with the raven-haired fox. “Lunar spells aren’t evil. They’re dark, sure, but darkness is natural!” The otter continued to cry as she spoke. Taika was taken aback, her face flushed. “This felt like actual evil, unnatural, wrong,” the water element clarified.

Shouri sighed, stroking the otter’s hair as she continued to tremble.

“It was hella strong whatever it was.” Rebecca paused, mulling over that thought. “Though...” She covered her mouth for a moment, really thinking over her choice of words. “Maybe it was the heat of the moment.” Another pause. “It didn’t feel like Vince had to use that much rhythm to cast that.”

Now that Rebecca mentioned it, she was onto something. “Yeah...” Shouri pulled up Pacifica’s tuner, examining his reflection in the glass screen. Half of his normally thick brunet hair was an ashy white at the present – a testament to the sheer volume of rhythm he had used up in their escape attempt. And he would have used more if it wasn’t for Rebecca (who was currently nursing some burns she had gotten from overtaxing herself).

Even using a spell as powerful as Grave Torcitore (one which wiped out nearly all the Scherzando and dished out significant damage to the trees around them) Vince’s hair didn’t have any greying. He could cast that devastating spell multiple times.

“Either way, Vince wasn’t bullshitting – there is absolutely nothing online about this spell. It basically doesn’t exist.” Shouri returned the blue tuner to his side to focus on consoling the still distraught Pacifica.

The room fell to silence. “Let’s try to get some sleep,” Shouri decided.

There was no protest from the other occupants of the room. Despite all that was on their minds, they were exhausted and they knew too little about the strange spell to ruminate on it any further.

Pacifica refused to release Shouri – she was simply upset and needed consolation. Rebecca and Taika didn’t argue and took their spots on the outside edges – Rebecca claiming Shouri’s back, and Taika Pacifica’s.

Slowly, the poor stressed-out otter calmed down and even managed to break a small smile as she nuzzled her face into her beloved Maestro’s chest to drift off to sleep.

“Wh-where are we Pacifica?” Shouri spoke as he came to.

“I... dunno.” Pacifica turned her head to and fro.

Surrounding them was a dense, unclearable fog. The kind of haze that swallowed even the brightest of light after only a couple paces away from it. There were no discernible landmarks, just a seemingly endless void, and the cold, uncaring mist.

The otter shivered, hugging herself and rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to warm herself. She could see her breath as she exhaled, a testament to how cool it was. She looked to her Maestro, face reddening slightly. She sidled up next to him.

“Cold?”

“Very.”

He wrapped his arms around her, keeping a tight grip on her while he tried to figure out their situation.

What even happened to them? How did they get here? All three of his tuners were missing and both of them were in their bed clothes. Taika and Rebecca were nowhere to be seen – they were all alone. It was so very strange.

“Let’s try to find somewhere to get out of the cold,” Pacifica suggested.

“Yeah.” Shouri nodded.

Hand in hand, the pair walked, though there remained nothing recognizable outside of one another. “This is seriously creeping me out Sho.” The otter squeezed her Maestro’s hand. Their voices were muffled by the unending blanket of fog.

Shouri noted the warmth of Pacifica’s hand. It was such a vivid feeling; he couldn’t help but squeeze her hand back in affirmation that he was still there.

No matter how long they walked though, it felt like they weren’t making any progress. “Sho, it’s so cold.” Pacifica trembled, teeth chattering.

He wasn’t sure what to do. If he had his jacket, he would have handed it over in a heartbeat. He gripped his head with his free hand. He couldn’t recall anything specific about how they had gotten into this situation. What happened to Taika and Rebecca? Was anyone even looking for them? “Let’s try to sit and think,” he decided.

They found a wall they could lean against, and Shouri slumped to the ground. Pacifica dismissed her shyness and sat on his lap wrapping herself around his form as much as she could.

“C-cold,” she whimpered, a few tears escaping her tightly closed eyes.

He returned her embrace in kind. She was shivering so much. “I’m here Paci...” he whispered.

“Sho...”

Her tremors began to slow, and her pained expression eased. “Sho...” she breathed out, now more of a coo.

“Feel better?” The Maestro smiled.

“Yeah. You’re so warm.” Without realizing it she began to nuzzle his face, making him much warmer than he was her.

“I-I’m glad Paci,” he managed to utter.

They remained this way for a bit. With no clock or sky to inform the passage of time, it could have been minutes or even years. Either way, they became cognizant of their surroundings once again when a low, guttural growl hit their ears.

“What was that?!” Shouri perked up.

“Was that your stomach?” Pacifica asked hopefully.

“N-not at all.”

A frigid gale blew over them, though despite the movement of the air the fog hung in place like a permanent fixture. The pair shivered, chilled by the sudden unexpected winds.

Grrrrrrrrr

The bestial growl grew louder. Whatever lurked in the mist was coming closer. Shouri scrambled to his feet with Pacifica. A shadow began to take shape within the fog. A large, beast-like shape, a Scherzando. Shouri’s hand brushed his side, his fingers gliding over the waistband of his shorts. His stomach sank instantly; that’s right, he had no tuners.

But they weren’t defenseless. His hand whipped up to Pacifica’s back, his rhythm connecting with hers instantly. “L'onda di tempesta, Accelerando!” he declared. The Maestro didn’t think they could overpower the beast, but certainly, they could push it in the opposite direction with the river spell.

“Wh-why?!” Pacifica held her hands out, but the usual stream of water wasn’t forming.

The otter’s desperation was evident as she turned to him, eyes at their maximum width. “I feel your rhythm in me but-!”

SLAM

The features of the Scherzando became clearer as it drew near. It was a lion adorned in white. A solar Scherzando. With a great roar, it unleashed a maelstrom of bladed air. The attack itself missed the duo. However, the mere wake of the spell that was left behind as it passed by was enough to throw Pacifica and Shouri off their feet and a small distance away.

“Pacifica!”

“My spells don’t work!”

Now totally out of options, they scrambled to their feet and began to run. They had no destination in mind, they just fled in terror.

The predator merely watched its quarry’s pitiful attempt at escape, almost relishing in the futility of the endeavor. Lowering its body to the ground, it suddenly sprung into the air, landing directly in Shouri and Pacifica’s path. A combination of the earth-shaking landing and the sudden appearance of the beast sent the pair to the ground, where they lay in a heap.

Before Shouri could get off of Pacifica, a massive paw pinned them down. A gentle, but firm force pushing the air out of their lungs. The next act in their torment was the beast slowly extending its claws.

“AHH!” Shouri cried out as his shoulders were pierced by the swords affixed to the beast’s feet. Going through her Maestro, the otter felt their sting next.

“AAAAAUGH!” she screamed as now her arms were penetrated by the natural weapons.

Neither of the two had any air left to utter a cry as their life force drained and pooled underneath them in a sticky, sickly soup, all whilst they tried and failed to gasp for any amount of life-giving breath. All while the white lion smiled sadistically over their inability to mount any form of meaningful resistance.

Everything began to dim, growing colder. Despite it all, Pacifica pushed her being, the fading vestiges of her rhythm towards her Maestro.

After all, she said she would be with him to the very end, and what was this but... their end?

“Pa-ci...”

“Sh...o...”

…

“Wa.. ...”

“..ke up ...se!”

“Plea..! ... ..ve to wake up!”

Warm. It was suddenly so very warm. She was holding a comforting warmth. Her Maestro’s rhythm, she could feel it so clearly.

“Pacifica! Shouri!” That was Taika crying out for them?

“This isn’t fucking funny! Wake up!” And Rebecca too?

Was her mind tricking her? Or maybe her life was flashing before her eyes?

She tightened her vice grip around her Maestro; she’d never let go of Shouri. God himself would have to come down from heaven on high to tear them apart.

“I-I think we’re safe Paci...” Shouri’s voice whispered into her ears. She could feel his breath tickle her. It had to be real. She so desperately wanted this to be real. Finally, she allowed her eyes to open and loosened her hold over her beloved Maestro.

It took a moment of the two staring at one another for their brains to finally piece together that they were back in reality. Back in the Maestro Affairs Office they had fallen asleep in. Free from the cold. Free from the pain.

“A dream?” they both whispered.

“We dreamt together?” They each had the same thought.

“What the fuck happened?” Finally recognizing Rebecca’s voice, the dreamers realized that there were others in the room besides the two of them.

Rebecca quickly rubbed away her tears, exchanging her concern for indignation. “You two started screaming,” the fire Resonator clarified, sniffling while maintaining a glare.

Taika was still crying but managed to speak calmly despite the rivers of water pouring down her face. “We couldn’t wake you up no matter what we tried.”

Shouri looked at the otter still clinging to them. He himself could feel the sweat drenching him, and the tears that soaked his face. Pacifica seemed to be in the same condition and kept a grip on his shirt.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

The four looked to the nightstand, where Pacifica’s tuner specifically was lit up, beeping, and vibrating all at once. Nobody moved to silence the device.

“R-Rebecca, could you-?” Shouri pointed to the blue tuner.

“Sure.” She crawled over and retrieved the device for her Maestro, presenting it to him.

As soon as it was in its owner’s hand, it ceased the racket. The device was showing the spell screen for Pacifica.

Idrante

Pianissimo – Piano – Forte – Fortissimo (New!)

Ghiacciolo

Pianissimo – Piano – Forte – Fortissimo (New!)

Shouri and Pacifica stared at the two (New!)’s, flabbergasted. “She has Fortissimo spells,” he revealed to the two confused foxes.

“Fortissimo?” Taika furrowed her brow.

“It’s the strongest your attack spells can get, they’re stupidly hard to unlock,” Rebecca clarified for her fellow fox. “You said spells, as in plural.” She turned to Shouri.

He nodded. “Both her basic attacks are maxed.”

“I sure don’t feel strong right now,” Pacifica sniveled, her fists trembling from how tightly she was gripping his shirt.

Rebecca frowned hard. Theoretically, from what she understood about this group, Rebecca was supposed to be the senior Resonator, but here was this otter who had the audacity to unlock Fortissimo-level spells. Her tail flicked behind her in irritation. “So, what happened?” the ombré fox inquired.

The fiery Resonator’s annoyance subsided as Shouri and Pacifica recalled the contents of their dream. It sounded hellish in all honesty. As the story went on though, the two telling the story slowly grew quieter, looking at each other with intensifying perplexation.

“Wait, I’m confused,” Taika finally chimed in. “It sounded like you’re saying you had the same dream,” the lunar fox pointed out.

“I think we did,” they spoke in unison. Their jaws snapped shut, once more looking at one another.

Despite it being four in the morning, neither Shouri nor Pacifica wanted to go back to sleep. They were both physically and mentally exhausted, but even in such a miserable state, they were both wired.

Rebecca and Taika were similarly tuckered out, having survived the same Scherzando attack mere hours before, and while they were worried about their Maestro and fellow Resonator, they couldn’t stay awake.

Locking up the room, Shouri kept all three tuners on him. Still dressed in their nightwear, he looked to Pacifica. She was a wreck, just like he was. Dark bags under her eyes, and that dream had damaged her rhythm to such an extent that her hair was greying just like his was.

“What are we gonna do?” she asked.

“I dunno.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, interlocking fingers with hers.

“Let’s just walk for now.”

“I hope it’s actually peaceful this time.”

The pair wandered around the Maestro’s quarters for a little while, dead to the world. There wasn’t anyone about this hour, most of the traveling Maestros had finished work a couple of hours ago and were sleeping peacefully. There were a couple of Resonators employed by the MA Office wandering around with cups of coffee in hand - probably just starting their maintenance shifts for the morning.

“Sho,” Pacifica spoke up. “Does this MA Office have a pool?” Her voice was but a breath, the usual zeal for life sapped entirely from it.

“I think so.”

“Can we go?”

To address that desire, they left the confines of building A in search of a pool.

Corhiasela in late May was definitely in the summer attitude, it was already warm outside even at four in the morning. What’s more, thanks to the coastal nature of the city, it was quite humid. Shouri’s complement of Resonators granted him immunities and resistance to all of the things the warm summer night could throw at him, so he was unbothered by it.

Pacifica was just numb. She refused to release the only thing she could feel: her Maestro.

A bit of wandering around campus eventually led them to the third building on-site, which housed the aquatics wing of the facility. “Ah...” Pacifica managed to crack a weak smile seeing the freshly cleaned pools. “Sho. Soak with me please,” she pleaded.

“But...” he trailed off, looking his otter over – in a rare twist, she wasn’t prepared to swim; she was clad in her baby blue shell-patterned pajama shirt and shorts. He then took inventory of his own attire - A pair of gym shorts and a white t-shirt, acceptable in some circles as “appropriate swimming attire” but not all. Plus, they didn’t even have towels, so they’d be walking back through the main office soaking wet.

“Please Sho. I didn’t want to ask in the room. I just want to soak with you.” She gripped the bottom of her shirt. “I need water right now.” Lowering her head, she spoke out one more request. “I need you,” she squeaked.

Shouri averted his gaze, shuffling in place awkwardly. She did raise a compelling argument (being irresistibly adorable and all). “I suppose it’s for our health.” He cleared his throat. “Yes yes, we both recover faster in water, since I’m your Maestro and all.” He glanced at the hot tubs nearby and their inviting bubbly jets.

“I mean it wouldn’t hurt, just for a little bit,” he muttered.

With her Maestro’s hesitant approval, she shed her sandals and jumped in. “Ahhh my friend I missed you so dearly.” Pacifica made herself comfortable, sitting back against the wall of the mini-pool with her arms resting on the side. She cast her weary gaze over her shoulder. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

Shouri averted his eyes, face reddening. “Hm?” Pacifica raised a brow. “What’s up?”

He pointed to his chest and then pointed at her. “Hm?” She looked down. “Ah.” Her face reddened, and not because of the hot tub. As it turned out, her pajama top was not designed for aquatic use and left little to the imagination as her undergarments bled through, clearly visible.

“It’s okay Sho,” Pacifica squeaked. “A bra and a bikini are basically the same thing, right?” she chuckled sheepishly, trying more so to convince herself over her Maestro.

With a resigned sigh, he kicked his shoes off and slipped into the water himself. Pacifica wrapped herself around his arm, leaning on him. “Isn’t this nice?” she cooed.

“Yeah,” he exhaled, leaning back and relaxing himself.

“Thank you, Sho.”

“Of course, we both heal in water, right?”

“No, I mean for being my Maestro.”

The Maestro in question gulped hard. He felt her tail wrap around him from the side.

“You’re my best friend Sho; you and Taika,” she whispered, slightly tightening her grasp around him. His heart was definitely racing.

“You too. You, Taika, and Rebecca,” he decided.

Under the water, he found Pacifica’s hand and took grasp of it. “Basically, like family.” He rested his head on Pacifica’s; she didn’t reject the gesture.

“HEY!”

And suddenly Pacifica and Shouri were violently thrust back into the waking world by a dull pain. One of the pool staff had found them and was poking them with the handle of a pool net.

“WAKE UP!”

Along with the yelling of a very irritated employee.

“We’re up, we’re up,” Pacifica groaned, attempting to swat the pole away from them. Still exhausted, the pair managed to gather enough strength to get out of the hot tub.

Still soaked and barely managing to hold each other up, the employee laid into them

“YOU ACTUALLY WERE SLEEPING?!”

“I’m a water Resonator, we’re fine.” Pacifica tried to defend their actions.

“YOU COULD HAVE RUN OUT OF RHYTHM.”

“I was touching my Maestro, it’s okay.” She pointed out

“NO IT’S NOT! THIS WAS RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS!”

Shouri stared at the man yelling at them blankly. The only thing running through his sleep-deprived mind was busting down a sick dance move. Yeah, that would really show this old man.

“AND YOU!”

Suddenly said old man directed his ire at Shouri. “YOU’RE HER MAESTRO WHY ARE YOU-”

“I have a fire and water Resonator – I resist heat and heal in water.” He yawned, flashing the red and blue tuners he possessed. “Didn’t think it’d be a problem.” He looked to where their shoes were. “Can we go now? We won’t fall asleep in the hot tub again.”

“We’ll just use the main pool next time,” Pacifica muttered spitefully under her breath

“Just GO.” The man pointed to the door.

Too tired to deal with being yelled at by a grouchy pool cleaner, Pacifica and Shouri quickly made their escape. Night had passed into morning, or at least enough for the sun to have risen. Though given the time of year it was, the sun cleared the horizon quite early.

A check of a tuner revealed it was only around 6:20 in the morning or so.

“Let’s get Rebby and Taika breakfast at least,” Pacifica suggested with a yawn. At least for the moment, her upbeat mood seemed to be back.

Shouri smiled. “Sure.”

However, the cafeteria staff weren’t giving them kindly stares as the sodden pair trekked pool water into the previously clean dining hall. Shouri wanted to give them a piece of his mind – Pacifica was a water Resonator after all, why would any of them be surprised that they’d come to get food after (presumably) an early morning swim?

If Taika were here he’d probably have verbalized that instead of just thinking about it.

Either way, they were just shooting him nasty looks – which weren’t illegal (as far as he knew). So he decided to not shave another couple of years off of Pacifica’s life and let them have their petty glares.

Or maybe he should have started something, as when the pair made their exit, they ran into the people they didn’t want to see at the moment.

Vince and Cecil.

Well, they didn’t know they didn’t want to see this particular duo until they locked eyes with Cecil. Instantly Pacifica ducked behind Shouri, whimpering quietly as she gripped his shirt for dear life.

“Good... morning Shouri?” Vince raised a brow. He wasn’t the most perceptive young man (in fact it could be said he was as oblivious as a runaway train), but even he could see how on edge Shouri and Pacifica appeared.

The elder Maestro gulped hard. “V-Vince,” he mumbled quietly, eyes locked on Cecil.

And it seemed the lion man was in a sour mood himself, carrying quite the scowl. He even let out a low growl which earned a loud squeak and whimper from Pacifica as she tried to hide further from the lion man.

“I-is everything okay?” Vince asked uneasily.

Shouri didn’t want to lie to the kid, but in the same respect, he didn’t need to know about their personal affairs. “We had some bad sleep.” He held up their breakfast. “Got some food, gonna get some z’s,” he said simply.

Vince nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess not everyone sleeps as well as I do,” he blurted out. Continuing that line of thought, “Cecil says I sleep like a log buried in peat,” the Maestro boasted.

“Uh-huh.” Shouri could do nothing with that comment but smile and nod. “A-anyways, gonna get going before breakfast gets cold.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

Shouri and Pacifica kept a vigilant watch on the other pair as they departed. When the lion and his tamer were out of sight, Pacifica turned Shouri around and cried into his chest. He was also unnerved by the encounter and held his poor stressed-out Resonator tightly.

“Excuse me.”

They were still in public after all, and a boy consoling a sobbing girl would raise some eyebrows, or at the very least attract some attention. Regardless, Shouri was still indignant about suddenly being approached.

“Can I help you?” he asked curtly.

“I was wondering if everything is alright. Was that boy bothering you?” A second pair had approached them: a Maestro and Resonator. Though unlike the young Vince and dour Cecil, these were most certainly seasoned adventurers, probably in their mid-twenties to possibly early thirties. Either way, they were both kind of plainly dressed, with dress shirts and slacks for the both of them. That being said, these two were in shape. Both man and woman were well toned carrying impressive musculature.

At initial glance, it was difficult to tell which one of the pair was the Maestro and which was the Resonator. After a moment, Shouri pinned the Resonator down to the man, he had an ever so slight pull on his rhythm, like most Resonators did. Though at a distance he’d be unable to tell this man apart from any other Maestro as there wasn’t any obvious indicator of a species being shown off (such as ears or a tail) Complicating things further, the woman, the actual Maestro of the pair had their tuner hidden.

“M-maybe not the boy, but his Resonator,” Pacifica admitted quietly, clinging to her Maestro for dear life.

“Yes, those lions are rare and powerful indeed.” The mysterious Maestro nodded in agreement.

“Quite. There are a few with some rare spells exchanging hands,” the Resonator noted to his Maestro.

“Right, what was it? Grave... Grave... Grave something?”

Shouri and Pacifica’s eyes widened.

“Grave... Torcitore?” Shouri uttered without thinking.

“Yes! That was it!” The woman looked quite pleased, though she kept her attention on her conversational partner rather than the other pair. “I heard it’s a sickeningly dangerous spell.” She told her Resonator. “One that devours the Resonator from the inside with each cast.”

“Wait what?!” Pacifica cried out.

“What do you know about that spell?” Shouri also chimed in.

At that point, the man and woman looked down on Pacifica and Shouri. “I’m sorry, this is a private conversation,” the woman said suddenly. “Good day.”

And as quickly as the conversation started, it was over as the mysterious pair simply walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Shouri and Pacifica alone with their thoughts.

“What... the fuck?” Shouri finally managed some words.

“Sh-sho...” Pacifica grabbed his arm and shook him, gaze still transfixed on where the enigmatic interlopers had departed to. “Sho; Vince and Cecil are in danger, what do we do?” she asked.

Shouri ground his teeth. “Come on, we gotta find them.” Grabbing her hand, they went back into the building they had just left, in search of Vince and Cecil.