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

"Let's get this shit moved people!"

Chaos. That's what Emily bore witness to through the crack in the shipping container door. Many men and machines moved the various boxes around the dock. Some were stored, others were being opened and examined by the workers. It was confusing and the sheltered princess couldn't decipher what all of it meant.

"Al-"

"Shhh!"

Her mouth shut, resting in a hard line. Albarich was intensely studying the happenings outside their metal prison. "Let's move to the back of the container," he quietly advised.

"Why?" questioned Emily.

"We're going to bolt when we have a chance."

"But-"

"Just shut up and listen."

The girl frowned but decided he was the expert in this situation and obeyed orders.

Sitting in the back of the container, the duo waited in silence. Emily wiped the sweat from her brow. "Blech," she grimaced. She glanced over at Albarich, who remained quiet, sitting with his eyes closed. He was focused, that much was apparent to the princess. However, she was still hopelessly confused as to what he was focusing on.

Time passed, and Emily was bored. She refused to voice a complaint - it was clear there was some unknown opportunity the dragon was waiting for. She wished he would communicate with her. Sitting in the dark, hot shipping container was anxiety-inducing.

His eyes opened. "Let's go, quick," the dragon suddenly spoke, getting to his feet.

The two made their way back to the front of the container and slipped out through the door. Upon opening the door, it was revealed to Emily that all the workers were gone. "Where... did they go?" she asked uneasily, sticking close to Albarich.

"Lunchtime," he replied, his head whipping back and forth as they walked. "Act natural," he added.

"What the heck does that mean?" she questioned.

"Act like you belong here. Nobody questions you if you look like you know where you're going," he advised.

Once more Emily wondered who exactly Albarich was, but failed to find the courage to ask.

Navigating the various halls and maintenance docks was a challenge. They were most definitely lost, but as the dragon had previously stated, they had to look like they knew where they were going. Avoiding eye contact with people and acting as if the end of each hallway was where they intended to be.

It took them much longer than Emily had anticipated, but they soon found themselves leaving through a door and rejoining the general public.

The princess' eyes went wide. "Woah... what the terra is this?!"

Hundreds of people moved around the floor. In the center was a large glass cylinder that went down into the void. From the windows on the side walls, one could make out the blue Riterran skies and the clouds that dotted them.

"Not sure. From what it looks like we're in some kind of tower," Albarich observed.

"Oh! This must be the Lutera Space Elevator!" Emily realized.

"That sounds kinda familiar," Albarich hummed, stroking his chin in thought.

"I've heard Seat Teersa talk about it before," Emily beamed proudly.

"Who?" Albarich raised a brow.

"The third seat of the Fourteen's court, they're in charge of the Economy and Tourism of Luna," she informed him.

"Ah, government puppet," he said with a nod.

Ignoring that comment, Emily continued. "We do a lot of trade with Riterra, and I've heard them talk about Lutera a lot," she elaborated. "Though I didn't think there'd be this many people here," the princess paused. "Or that it'd be so big," she added, quieter.

"Well let's get to the ground floor and see what we can find outside." Albarich waved for her to follow him, which she did dutifully.

"Everything on Riterra is so... big..." Emily gasped in wonder, walking backward away from the Lutera Space Elevator. The structure reached high into the sky, piercing the very heavens itself with its monstrous height.

"They build 'em big on Terra," Albarich commented. "Probably compensating for something," he snarked with a smirk.

Emily rolled her eyes, turning back to the city before them. A helpful sign nearby pointed out they were leaving the Lutera Space Elevator and entering the base city of Naiza. Compared to the grand majesty of the tower that was behind them, Naiza was a shabby town. The buildings were no more than three stories at most. There was plenty of coverings extending out from the tops of the buildings, which gave the foot traffic below plenty of shade. That being said, there were also some small stalls hiding in the shade afforded by the buildings where many people exchanged goods and coin.

If they didn't know any better, they would have thought they were in any other town on Luna. There were many lunar Resonators and their Maestros walking about. Emily and Albarich took in the sights as they delved deeper into the city.

"Where are we gonna eat and sleep, Al?" Emily asked.

"Hm?" The dragon looked to the Maestro.

"I don't think any of my money will work here," she noted, watching unfamiliar bills and coins change hands.

"Ah, good point," Albarich grunted. He was surprised she was that sharp to have picked up on that. "At worst I can employ the good ol' five-finger discount." He grinned toothily.

"The what?" Emily raised a brow.

Albarich held out his open hand. "See these five fingers?" he asked.

She nodded.

"These babies can get me anything I want."

"How?"

"Usually by picking it up."

"But you have to pay."

"Not if they can't catch me."

Emily processed that information. "Ah." It clicked. "That's stealing!" she shrieked, pointing at her partner in crime.

"Only if you get caught!" he shouted in defense of his honor.

"Something the matter folks?" One of the stall keepers asked the lost couple.

Albarich huffed and elbowed his Maestro, urging her to speak up.

"We just got here and didn't realize there'd be... currency problems," Emily decided tactfully.

The stallkeeper nodded. "You should probably head to an MA Office, then. There's one on the north side of town," they advised.

"Why's that?" Emily questioned.

"You don't know? MA Offices take care of Maestros and their Resonators."

“Welcome to the North Naiza Maestro Affairs Office – how can we help you?”

Thanks to the helpful advice they received, Emily and Albarich had found their way to the so called "MA Office", but didn't actually know what they were supposed to be doing. The front desk attendant seemed cheerful enough, smiling silently while awaiting Emily's inquiry.

“I uh, we’re lost,” Emily admitted.

“Oh, no problem, can I see your tuner first?” the attendant asked.

“T-tuner…? Why?” she challenged weakly.

Thankfully for Emily, the front desk attendant was a professional and launched into an explanation. “In order to use any facilities at these MA Offices you need to present your tuner showing you’re an active Maestro,” they explained. “May I please see your tuner?” they asked again.

“I…” Emily glanced back to Albarich who cocked a brow. “We don’t have one,” she finally admitted. She didn’t have a single coin to her name, especially on Riterra. How was she supposed to get a tuner without any money?!

“Oh, that’s no problem. I’m assuming the dragon behind you is your Resonator?” the attendant asked, pointing to Albarich.

“Yeah, we did agree to be partners, but we hadn’t gotten our tuner made yet,” Emily told the attendant. Albarich nodded in agreement.

“Quite easy, please start with this form,” they handed over a tablet.

Emily nodded slowly, her head spinning. This was all too much.

“Come on Emily, this way,” Albarich grabbed his soon-to-be Maestro’s shoulders and guided her to a seat to tackle the form they had just been handed.

“Seems simple enough,” Emily glanced over the form. She began to fill it out using the touch screen keyboard, entering in her details as well as Albarich’s.

“Address?” She raised a brow at that section.

“Giving the Riterran government folks the Lunar castle’s address is probably a bad idea,” Albarich advised.

“Why?”

“At least from what I heard, Riterra and Luna aren’t on the best terms, you should probably change your last name,” he pointed out.

“Oh.”

Name: Emelia Ayame

DOB: 9/4/1999

Sex: Female

Hgt: 5’7”

Wgt: 136 lbs

Resonator: Albarich

Species: Sky Dragon

Ele: Lunar

Attrib: Shielding

Sex: Male

Hgt:

Wgt:

“Do you know your height and weight, Al?” Emily questioned the dragon.

“Nah, why do they need that junk anyways?” he scoffed.

“Hopefully they don’t reject it,” Emily frowned at the blank portions of the form.

The pair made their way back to the counter and handed the tablet back. The attendant looked it over and noted the missing details. “We can get his height and weight when we take you in the back,” the attendant noted, earning a sigh of relief from Emily. “What about your address?” came the innocent inquiry, causing Emily to jump.

“We… er… don’t have a home,” Emily admitted quietly.

“No problem! Any next of kin we should be aware of?”

Emily glanced to Albarich who shook his head. “No,” answered the Maestro.

“Alright, we can set you up with a student license, it does limit your casting level to Piano rank or lower and you can only have one Resonator registered under you, but it will be a start until you take your full licensing exam,” explained the attendant.

Once more Emily found her head spinning. What in the stars was she getting herself involved in?

“What is this about a full license?” Albarich asked in lieu of his Maestro.

“Maestros can be either Duelists or Hunters. Both have the same exam which relates to Maestro and Resonator law. Hunters are the Maestros who deal with Scherzando while Duelists take on Tournament battles with other Maestros. Duelists do get immediate stipends so long as they’re regular competitors and get more based on their tournament standings at the end of the season, while hunters get paid for either casting support spells in assistance of other hunters or killing scherzando themselves,” the attendant explained.

Albarich nodded, taking the information in. He wasn’t sure about Scherzando, the work sounded kind of dirty to him. Fighting other Resonators, he knew he could do that.

“The Duelist thing sounds good,” he noted.

Emily nodded in agreement. Truthfully this was beyond her, but the prospect of a regular paycheck in exchange for just doing some silly Resonator fights appealed to her.

She shook her head. What was she even thinking about?! They were supposed to be calling back home so Mom and Dad could bring her back!

thump thump thump

“Hey, anyone in there?” Albarich asked, tapping Emily’s forehead like it was a door.

“Cut it out,” she swatted her soon-to-be Resonator away. “Uh, can we get a tuner now?” Emily directed at the attendant.

“Certainly, we’ll take you in the back now.”

“Fuck… this is why I didn’t want to get chipped,” Albarich was sprawled out on the bed, attempting to make his head stop spilling through sheer willpower.

Emily stood at the window, staring out the window at the town they were in. Looming over them in the distance was a huge tower that reached into the heavens, the space elevator that had brought them from space down to the surface of Riterra. She let an arm hang limp, caressing the shiny new black tuner that was clipped to her shorts.

“I can’t believe they gave us this room for free,” Albarich commented.

“Huh?” Emily turned around.

“A room this nice, man it’d cost a fuck ton of money back on Luna,” he stared at the ceiling. “Wonder what the deal is.”

“Dunno.”

The pair remained quiet for a moment.

“You gonna call yer parents?” Albarich asked.

“Probably a good idea,” Emily pulled her new tuner from her side. Navigating it was easy enough. After finding the phone app, she smiled and hovered a finger over the dial pad.

“Uhhh… Al?”

The dragon looked up from the bed. Emily was pale, her eyes wide.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I um… don’t know my parent’s phone number…”

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Albarich scoffed as they stood in line to get food.

Thankfully they found out that the MA Offices served breakfast, lunch, and dinner to any Maestro staying at their facilities.

“I’m sorry Al! I never needed to call back home before! I always had a servant with me that would just do it if I needed it,” Emily admitted.

“Also, your hair looks like shit, you might want to re-do it,” Albarich pointed out.

“What!?” Emily shrieked. She fished her turner from her side and looked herself over in the reflection. “Uhh… Can you do it?” she asked sheepishly.

“Eh?” Albarich raised a brow, looking at his Maestro like she was crazy. “I ain’t no hair doctor,” he gruffly replied.

“Uhg, I should have listened to Ayame when she told me how to do my hair…” Emily hung her head in shame.

“Yeah, we’re kinda on our own now. Get used to it.” The dragon patted the girl’s back and urged her forward in line.

“I guess,” Emily mumbled, keeping her head down.

The pair got their food and found a table to sit at alone. They ate in silence, observing those around them.

“Hey there folks, mind if we sit here?”

Emily let out a small squeak of surprise at the sudden voice, having been focused elsewhere. Albarich meanwhile looked the interlopers over.

A man and a bird girl, Lunar element. The man was in some kind of brown uniform or suit. Some kind of wing-shaped pin was clipped to his shirt, the significance lost on the dragon. The girl on the other hand was dressed light, her attire short in form, made to take her wings and tail feathers into account.

“Uhh, sure,” Emily motioned to the seats directly in front of them. Albarich elbowed her. “What?!” the Maestro whispered at her dragon.

“Inviting randos to sit with us?!” he hissed back.

“They seem nice and could give us useful information!” she countered.

“Uhhh everything alright over there?” the bird girl asked.

“We can sit somewhere else if we’re bothering you,” the bird’s Maestro added.

“No, no, you’re fine! My friend here is just shy.” Emily shot a narrow glance at her compatriot.

“Fuck you,” he grumbled quietly.

Emily rolled her eyes. “I’m Emily and this is Al,” she introduced them.

“Albarich,” he corrected her.

“I’m Makani, a pilot,” said the man.

“Rynda, his co-pilot,” the bird-girl chirped.

“It’s nice to meet you!” Emily beamed.

“So, what brings you all the way out to Naiza?” Makani asked. “Besides the obvious,” he mumbled, glancing at Albarich.

Emily frowned, trying to figure out how to answer that question. “Ummm…”

“Let’s just say we ruffled some feathers back home and ended up in a spot of trouble,” Albarich spoke up.

“Ah, I see.” Rynda nodded. “They’re from Luna,” she told her Maestro.

Both Emily and Albarich flinched, shocked at being that easy to read.

“Don’t mind her, she’s a busybody,” Makani said with a laugh.

“Am NOT!” the bird chirped angrily, lightly pounding her Maestro’s arms with her fists.

“Have you picked if you want to be a hunter or duelist?” Makani directed at the other Maestro.

“I’m not sure. Scherzando seem pretty scary,” Emily admitted, lowering her head.

“Yeah, they can be. If you can get a couple more Resonators to follow you, the tournament circuit can be pretty cushy,” Makani advised. His gaze shifted to the sole Resonator under Emily’s charge at the moment. “So long as you’re okay with fighting other Resonators of course.”

Albarich scoffed. “I don’t think any of these people can hold a candle to me, let’s be real.”

“Al…” Emily grabbed his hand under the table. He cocked a brow, but allowed this transgression, for now.

“Well, if you give me your number, I can text you some study material for the license exam,” Makani offered.

“Oh! That would be so helpful! Thank you!”

“This is a lot…” Emily hung her head back.

They had returned to their room in the MA Office. As promised, Makani sent over the study material for the licensing exam. Emily sat at the provided desk and chair the room possessed. In front of her were some hand-written notes on the pen and message pad that was provided with the room.

Albarich meanwhile, was fast asleep, taking the opportunity to get some rest after everything they had been through.

Emily’s head pounded from the lack of sleep over the last twenty-four hours. She couldn’t sleep now though, she had to cram as much of this information in her head as possible. Not only to pass the test but also so they didn’t accidentally get arrested.

She sighed. Why was she even doing all this? What was stopping her from just marching up to that tower and demanding to be taken back to Luna?

She was the daughter of the current King and Queen after all – surely it’d be a snap to get her back home. Right?

The lost princess rested her head on her arms. She closed her eyes, pushing some gathered tears down her face. “I wanna go home…” she whimpered.

…

…

…

“Hey, get up.”

Emily slowly opened her eyes. Albarich rested a hand on her shoulder. “Come to bed, this can’t be good for your back,” he advised. “And I ain’t listening to you bitch about back pain,” the dragon added.

The Maestro nodded and did as her Resonator requested. She flopped onto the bed, eyes half open. The lights flicked off, yet she refused to sleep. “Al…” she whimpered. “Where are you, Al?”

He slowly walked into her vision. “What are you crying about?” he asked.

“Please stay with me.” She reached out for him, repeatedly grasping at the air.

“I’m gonna be on the couch,” he told her. Before he could get away, he was pulled back by the bottom of his jacket.

“Don’t leave,” she squeaked.

Albarich turned to snap at her but was disarmed by what he saw. Illuminated by the moonlight from the window, the tears rolling down Emily’s face shimmered. “Please don’t leave me Al.”

The proud dragon averted his gaze. “Mrrphg…” He ran a hand down his horns. “Fine, scooch over.”

Emily made room and allowed the dragon to lay next to her. Once he seemed comfy, she scooted over and nestled up against his chest.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Albarich frowned.

“Going to sleep,” she replied as if it should have been obvious.

“I can’t win with you,” he grumbled.

Despite his complaining, he wrapped his arms and a wing around her. “Don’t read anything into this. As soon as you’re asleep I’m going back to the couch,” he warned her.

“Sure Al, whatever you say,” she tittered, getting comfortable.