-Present-
As tears flow out of my face like a stream of water, I stare at Iancu, who says, "What's going on? Cease with all of the crying?"
"I can't, you're just too adorable! He did all of this for us."
ΦIancu, turning his face, sees Gheroghe and Wadim crying, causing him to say, "Not you two!"
Wadim says, "He somehow convinced a woman to dance with me, despite all the complaining I do. I love you, little bro, I really do."
Gheorghe says, "I have never been so gently manhandled by another person. I feel normal for once. Thank you so much, I promise I will always use this body to protect you no matter what."
Ivana says, "Never get married, Iancu, just stay with us for the rest of eternity. You're far too cute for anyone else."
Suzuka, dancing past him, says, "Pretty like a princess."
"Don't make me smack you across the backside of your head."
Maple says, "Don't be embarrassed, Iancu, not everyone can illicit such a response from people. Looks like you're more like Orb than you thought."
"Call me a slur again, and there will be a mutiny in our country."
"Iancu, I am going to make sure that whatever path you go down in life will be a good one. I can't keep being a loser. Isn't that right, Wadim, Gheorghe?"
"YEAH!" They both shout over towards her.
Iancu, getting more and more embarrassed, says, "Stop with all of this. I just did it because I want to make you guys feel better. You don't need to be crying like a bunch of children over this. We've always been together, so of course I would do this."
Wadim, Ivana and Gheorghe all fall to the ground as those words leave Iancu's mouth, and break out in a giant swarm of tears all across the ground, and quickly grab onto Iancu, soaking him in their fury of emotions.
Trying to break free from their tight grip, Iancu says, "Get off me!"
Turning his head to look at the sight playing out behind him, Marinescu says, "What's Gheorghe up to now? Can't they just hold it together even for a moment?"
As a flower appears in front of his nose, Orb says, "Instead of complaining, maybe you should take a hint, and see how an older brother reacts to a younger brother who cares about him."
Grabbing the flower, Marinescu says, "How did you do this again!"
Orb, walking past him and the rest of them, says, "If you can't figure it out, I suggest trying harder to work on your logical reasoning. But until then, I have had enough running circles around you and will be off. Have a good day."
ΦHugging Suzuka from behind, I rub her hair, and look at the sight of the three idiots around me hugging Iancu, and I say, "I guess it's a universal thing for older siblings to embarrass their younger siblings in public."
"Orb existence is embarrassing, so you don't have to worry about that," Suzuka says.
Looking down at her cute face, I say, "That was rather mean. Are you still angry at him for what he did two days ago?"
Defiantly turning her head, Suzuka inflates to two steamed buns that rest against the sides of her face and says, "No way, not at all. Orb can go die for all I care."
I rub her head, and I say, "Though the feeling of having someone older who loves you just like a parent is rather adorable, still, I wish I could do more for them as well."
"I think that's a ridiculous way to look at it."
"Huh? What was that?"
"Sorry, was that rude?"
"No, go on."
Clearing her throat, Suzuka says, "I know how it feels to lose people, and right after Orb just lost someone and almost his life, you came to his rescue. It might not seem like much, and I know Orb is really tough, but you're saving him on Fimbulwinter and introducing him to people who'd care for him a lot. To me, Orb and Cyrus are like saviours, and I think you're that to him as well, so is Iancu to those three. I know it's hard to put into words if you haven't felt it, but when someone is there to so kindly fill that hole in your heart that has been ripped out, you love them more than anything. So I think you and Iancu, despite how you can feel, are just as great as Orb."
I guess I never thought about it because I was so selfish, but Orb did I really help you that much? Is that why you care for me so much? What a stupid elder broth-.
Feeling something across my cheek, I turn my head, and there I see Orb with ink across his finger, looking directly at the side of my head. As our eyes meet, he smiles and then continues to rub his finger all over the side of my face.
Grabbing it, I say, "What are you doing?
I squeeze his finger, and he smiles back at me, saying, "Obviously using the great, beautiful canvas I see before me to embed my art into."
"I know someone with a far cleaner, pure white face than mine."
As I squeeze more, Orb, feeling the pain, says, "The compliments are nice, but none can compare to you, my dear little sister."
"I disagree, and let me prove it to you, but for that I will need some ink," I say, cracking his finger more.
"All the ink is finished."
"Then I will just make do with your blood."
ΦSeeing the crowd of people on the dance floor break away, I say, "It seems like my lovely wife and brother are really the stars of the day."
Cyrus, beside me, asks, "Shou-ld we st-op, them?"
"No, just let the chaos play out. Besides, I am more interested in what is going on past this window here."
Φ Looking out, it, along with Willow, Cyrus' eyes are greeted by the sight of the Nightmare of Blestemate Balaur, the many bones that make up its large body, solely but surely shift in shape to completely different forms.
"Wh-hat's this?"
"Balaur has the ability to absorb the nutrients of any bone placed into it and regrow the flesh of said bone. This can be used to reanimate the curses of those who have long passed, and it's the way Blestemate is able to recycle important curses for the sake of being used for cursed items. One can say it's the backbone of the entire country, allowing them to use cursed items as more than one-off tools."
"But why is s-so much changing now?"
"It seems they are making an announcement and to detail it to everyone across the city, they will be turning large portion of balaur into a form of a curse that amplifies sound, though I still don't fully understand how they are able to get it to turn into a cursed item, when it should only be reusing the bone of the absorbed Nightmare."
Behind them both, Šviesis walks up and says, "Balaur isn't a mindless animal; he happens to be just as old as the Queen herself, don't underestimate his abilities."
Willow and Cyrus turn, and as they make eye contact with Šviesis, he says, "Orb told me as payment for my loss, it was either being your guide or allowing him to examine my body. I just the former."
Fist pumping in the air, Willow says, "Thank you for being so repulsive, Orb! Now, what did you mean by all of that?"
"Balaur has been watching this country grow since the beginning and has also been there the entire time we have developed cursed items. When we give him a cursed item, his body only fuses with the bone, but he scans the whole thing, and when it comes time to manifest the curse on its flesh, it's smart enough to be able to use it's bones and the curses within itself, to try and not just bring up the curse, but reshape it into the cursed item. Balaur himself is the most brilliant engineer within the country."
Willow, sticking his head against the window, says, "This is so amazing. What a glorious animal. Who could've thought it could be so intelligent and knowledgeable? I wish I could go and pet its head."
"If you want, you can. Balaur is rather shy, but I have high enough access to bring you towards its head."
Turning around, Willow runs and grabs Šviesis, saying, "Yes, please, I want that more than I want to breathe!"
"I will do that, but as a married man myself, I think you should do something about all the bloodlust over there."
Looking past Šviesis, Willow sees all the dancing on the floor having resumed with Orb leading all of their friends in a giant circle as they constantly swing around, with the only exception being Maple, who stares daggers into Šviesis's back.
Soon, a tiny layer of ice forms around her feet, and a push from Suzuka's tail sends her sliding over to Willow, who grabs her. Holding her tight, Willow says, "Would you like to dance with me?"
"What, no. Don't be stupid."
"Ahh, I see, so can I please have the honour of dancing with you?"
"Look at you begging for just a moment with me. Since I am a good wife, I will allow you to have it."
"Thank you so much," Willow says as he goes in for a kiss.
Maple brings her head forward, smashes her forehead against his lips, making him recoil in pain, and as they spin, she says, "I told you to ask first, I can't always do that in public or I will die!"
"Sorry, sorry, but you're just so Maple."
"Why are you using my name like an adjective!"
"I just can't describe you as anything other than Maple!"
"Well, figure it out, and stop being such a Willow!"
"But you like Willow a lot, so why would I ever want to stop being like that?"
Blushing, she says, "You seem to forget I am the chief; I am going to punish you when we get back."
"Just me and you alone, I absolutely can't wait."
Looking at the sight play out between the two kids, tears start to fall from the eyes of the stone-cold face of Šviesis, shocking Cyrus. As Šviesis holds his hand against his face, Cyrus, in a panic, says, "IS everything okay? Do you need any help?"
"No, it's just that they reminded me of my youth, and how hard it was to charm my dear Vėja. The days when she would always give me words of advice, yet would threaten me coldly despite their frequency. Cyrus, I hope one day you find a wife to warm your side as well."
Under his breath, Cyrus mumbles, "I already, ha-ave one." Yet the words from his mouth can't reach Šviesis, as throughout the entire room, the music starts to rise as the amount of dancing increases.
Orb giant circles of people holding each other's hands and swinging around grow, as Orb constantly breaks free and moves from one person to the next, adding them to the circle, increasing its size.
Soon, it encompasses close to the entire dancefloor, and as it reaches its pinnacle, Orb breaks it down, allowing all the individuals inside it to break into pairs and dance with one another.
And as they all twirl away, Orb says, "New encounters for everyone. But I guess I can't just leave you by yourself."
Orb looks to the hand of a little girl at his side, who looks like she is about to cry from having no one to dance with, so he quickly grabs her hands and gives her a small number of twirls like a princess before stopping her.
He crouches in front of her and says, "Watch this?" Then claps his hands, and in a moment, flowers appear all throughout her hair.
"How did you do this?"
"Isn't it obvious? I merely asked the Messiah to embody your greatness in another form, and now the flowers bloomed."
She jumps up and down with happiness, and Orb gives her another twirl before saying, "It seems like a dancing partner has been found for you."
He gives her a little push towards another young boy, and claps his hands as he walks away and says, "This is really refreshing my brain."
Yet he soon comes to a stop as a wondrous sight lies out before him. Holding her hand Open, Elia stares directly into Orb's eyes and says, "I give you permission to dance with me."
With deep grey hair, Orb eyes cross as he says, "WHAT!?"