Hylltywyll looked dazedly from the floating dagger to Ulrich, their eyes blinking slowly and unsynchronized. They wanted to know how he had gotten here and if he had anyone waiting for him in this city? Well, Bellighul had left him behind, so he didn't have anyone waiting for him except Cirice, and Cirice was all he needed. She would take care of him.

"On a boat... I got left behind... But it's fine. I only need Cirice now." they mumbled slowly before leaning into Cirice and smiling droopily.

“Alvis! Hello! Wonderful! Oh its so good to see you both! I’ve missed you terribly!” She reaches out with one hand and shakes Alvis’s handguard gently, not jostling him as she did before. Hyl answers their questions and she snuggles him a little tighter to her, comfortingly. “Oh my precious darling Hylly! Whoever left you behind must be so heartless. Leaving such a precious little guy all alone in the big city. You don’t have to worry. Oh poor thing you look like you’re getting sleepy…” She kisses his forehead and gives Alvis and Ulrich an apologetic look.



“He’s a sleepy little guy. But I love him to pieces. What are you guys doing here? I was about to go find us a place to stay for the night after getting my basket I dropped. Care to join us?”

Ulrich noticed that Hylltywyll seemed to answer his question in a daze. Was he truly okay? Maybe this was the result of him being left behind? He guessed that the little guy just needed some sleep since he leaned into Cirice so comfortably.

"Indeed, he does seem to be getting sleepy, doesn't he?"

"I agree. It's a good thing that you found him, Cirice."

Ulrich pondered on the reason why he and Alvis found themselves there in the first place. Really, they were only there by chance. They'd sailed to Sol City purely because Ulrich's travels lead them there— as is the life of an every day traveler, of course. Although, there was the fact that Avasha had sent him one of her winds, leading him in the direction of the Temple. Their meeting here had to be by design.

"Well, to be quite honest, we came here by chance! And we just happened to run into the both of you! Maybe we were all meant to meet today?" Ulrich says with a smile. Alvis shakes up and down next to him in agreement with his assessment.

"Ah yes, Darling. Finding a place to stay for the night would be wonderful!" Alvis exclaims as he floats back into the scabbard at Ulrich's hip.

Ulrich gives a smiling nod.

"Shall we go then?"

"Heartless..." Hylltywyll mumbled as Cirice snuggled him tighter and he nuzzled into her affectionately.

Bellighul was so heartless to leave him here. But he didn't need Bellighul anymore. He just needed Cirice. She'd take care of him. Only Cirice. He just needed Cirice... He just needed Cirice... He just needed... Cirice? Wait, why did he need Cirice? He didn't need anyone! He was a strong, independent little Fairy who didn't need anyone! He was a curse upon whoever found him! Why was he being so... cute!?

Hylltywyll's droopy, glazed eyes opened wider, looking around with a hint of fear in them. He squirmed in Cirice's grasp, trying to break free as her spell faded away.

Cirice is smiling at Ulrich and Alvis when Hyl starts wiggling in her arms. “Oh my. Hey little guy it’s okay, we’ll get some rest soon.” The runes on her arms flare to life under her gloves as she recasts the spell to make Hyl calm once again^1&2. “No need to be fussy.” She kisses his forehead once again and goes into the temple to get her basket before rejoining Ulrich and Alvis.

“I think there's a nice inn near here, let’s go!” She hums happily as they walk, taking Ulrich’s arm with her free arm so they’re all cozy and cute.

---

1 Be Jolly redux 3
2 Fade From Memory for the cursening

Ulrich and Alvis watch silently Hylltywyll starts to wriggle in Cirice's grasp. She moves to comfort the little guy, and a look of puzzlement finds itself across Ulrich's face for a quick moment. Ulrich notes the familiar glow as she calms Hyl down, and he stops his previous wriggling.

She walks past the both of them into the temple to retrieve something of hers. Ulrich and Alvis turn to each other slowly.

"I think we're going to have to address that at some point, Ulrich."

"She just— she really just casted that in front of us, right?"

"Indeed. Not a care in the world."

Cirice comes back out of the temple in a very happy mood and takes Ulrich by the arm as they make their way to the inn.

Why was he trying to wiggle out of Cirice's arms? He couldn't remember. He just remembered that he was safe in her arms. She would take care of him. Why had he thought he didn't need anyone? Of course he needed her. Without her, he'd be all alone and sad with no one to help him. No one to keep him clothed and fed. He couldn't leave!

Hylltywyll's eyes drooped again and he rested the side of his head against Cirice. His struggling came to a stop and he nestled into her arms, welcoming her embrace. He was right where he should be. Where he would always be, safe and cared for. A little drool dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Completely oblivious to her friends' concern, Cirice carefully wipes the drool from Hyl’s mouth as they near the inn she spoke of. This is a great day. She’s got friends to spend time with, a cute little guy to take care of and everything is looking great. “So Ulrich, Alvis, what have you guys been up to? Had any great adventures since we last saw each other?” They head inside and get a table and she sits Hyl gently in her lap to make sure he doesn’t get sat on on hit in the rowdy dining hall.

Ulrich watches silently as Hylltywyll drools from the side of his mouth which Cirice carefully wipes up.

Yeah, we're definitely going to have to bring that up.

Agreed. I feel bad for the poor thing. I mean he is just living comfortably in her embrace, but his free will is gone.

They head inside the inn and Ulrich takes a seat opposite of Cirice at the table. Alvis slowly floats out of the scabbard and stands himself on the table.

"I wouldn't say that there were many interesting adventures since we were last together. The life of an every day traveler isn't that exciting when you think about it," Ulrich says with a warm smile and a chuckle.

"Ah yes, nothing exciting at all, my Dear. Unless we're talking about the merchants we helped on the road with their bandit problem or the time we had to fight our way out of an outpost occupied by a hostile mercenary group..."

"Al, we don't need to to bore them with those stories."

"You know, Cirice, we met a couple of prisoners there that our good friend, Ulrich, freed from their clutches. There was a rather nice looking girl who took a fancy to our boy in glasses! Not to mention a few of the men as well! Great taste, that lot," Alvis was bouncing up and down excitedly. Once you got him going with stories, he'd never stop.

Ulrich cleared his throat loudly, "Heh, I-I don't think they want to hear much about any of that, Al!"

He was actually a bit embarrassed hearing Alvis talk about his escapades like that. Especially since they usually involved him losing his jacket and his shirt somehow.

"Oh yes, right you are," Alvis turns to Cirice and Hyl again. "So about Hyl here... We couldn't help but notice you casting a bit of magic back there, Darling."

A waitress walked up to the table and looked at the odd group before her. A fuzzy... cat? In the girl's, lap, and a dagger floating around next to some guy sitting across from her. She looked unimpressed.

"Your order?" she asked with a hint of attitude, a hand on her hip as she waited. Impatience was clear to see on her face.

Hylltywyll just sat docilely in Cirice's lap, staring blankly forward toward, but not at Ulrich. He just stared into the distance, eyes unfocused. He didn't care what was happening around him. He was being held by Cirice, and that was all that mattered. He didn't care what Cirice ordered for him, it would be perfect for him no matter what it was. He could trust her for everything. She'd take care of him.

A little more drool dripped from his mouth.

“We’ll have whatever your special is please. With whatever sweets you have for my sweets!” Cirice smiles brightly at the waitress and lovingly scratches Hyl’s head before turning to Alvis. “Oh that? It was just a spell to calm his emotions, he’s a bit prickly due to the circumstances.¹”

She gently lifts Hyl up and looks him over with loving eyes, wiping the drool away with a gentle flick of her fingers. “He was lost and scared and alone, but now he doesn’t have to be ever again! Everyone deserves a home and people who love them. He can live with me as my familiar!”

---

1 Smooth Talking

Ulrich and Alvis stare at Hyl in Cirice's arms as she explains the circumstances of why she used magic on him.

"Uhh... Riiiight."

"He certainly looks like he's capable of taking care of himself out there."

For some reason they both just went along with what she said, but there was a nagging in the back of their minds. It was as if their subconscious minds were screaming at them to think about the situation more carefully.

They watched as she lifted Hyl up to wipe the drool away from his mouth.

"Well that is certainly true. Him living as your familiar? That would be-"

"Such a nice thing for you to do, Darling! I'm sure he would be very happy!"

As they conversed it seemed as though their previous acceptance of what Cirice had said before was fading.

Wait a second! Were they actually going along with this? Just earlier they had said that they needed to address this! What just happened?

Not even writing anything in her notebook, the waitress looked almost bored as she listened to Cirice's order. Without a word nor a single glance at Ulrich, she walked away.

Hylltywyll stared blankly ahead, straight at Ulrich, his eyes glazed over and his mouth slightly agape. He looked to be the pinnacle of "no thoughts, head empty". He didn't need to think, Cirice would do that for him. She ordered food for him, and drink for him. What could he possibly need to think about himself? What did she order for him? Well, it didn't matter. Whatever it was, it was sure to be perfect.

But what was it? Did she order him more sweets? Actually, he didn't really want any more sweets. He'd already had a brownie not that long ago, and he liked other foods. He'd like a cocktail sausage now. Wait, where were all the cocktail sausages he'd stolen from the ball? Where was his bathrobe he'd stolen? All his stolen treats were in the pockets! What's going on? What is he wearing? Is this a bowtie!?

Hylltywyll's eyes came back into focus and darted around frantically. He started to struggle, trying to break free of Cirice's grasp. He had to get away from this crazy lady!

Cirice is too focused on Ulrich and Alvis to realize that Hyl is struggling at first and she merely clutches the little guy to her chest lovingly as he squirms a little, not enough to hurt but protectively.

“He’s very important to me. I want to make him happy! I’ll give him the best home ever and we can spread the word of Mother Moon through the world together! Right Hylly?” She leans down and rubs her cheek softly against the top of his head. “Traveling alone gets really lonely. You have Alvis to keep you company, but I’m alone often. All of my friends have such busy lives, I’m happy to find someone that can stay with me forever!”

Ulrich was focused on Cirice as she spoke, while Alvis noticed the turn in Hyl's expression. The previous fogginess that accompanied his eyes had cleared, and they were now darting around the room frantically! Having no features did come in handy in some cases— his being one of them! He didn't have to worry about giving anything away with his eyes or expression.

The bespectacled man nods in agreement at Cirice's remark of traveling alone versus traveling together with friends. Then he notices Hyl's frantic movements to try and get away from the girl, but he keeps the straightest face he can as he drags the conversation on long enough for Alvis to think of something.

"Traveling is quite less boring when you have someone to talk to. What happened to Iryla after our adventure?"

It wouldn't be long before Cirice figured out that Hyl was struggling against her. They needed some type of—

The waitress comes back with their food and drinks. Unenthusiastically setting everything down with the slowest pace Ulrich had ever seen anyone serve food and drink. The lady must've had enough of this job. Coming back to the topic at hand! The waitress provided the perfect excuse! She finishes setting everything at the table for them and without a word she turns and walks back into the kitchen.

"Wow, I'm starving! How's about we eat?" Ulrich says with a smile.

"Yes, you should all get some food in your bellies!" Alvis makes the sound of clearing his throat, "Cirice, Darling. Perhaps it would be easier for you to loosen your grip on our friend, Hylltywyll, here. A bit easier for you to feed yourselves, eh?"

Without missing a beat, Ulrich grabs his utensils and starts digging in to the dish in front of him. Hoping this wouldn't rouse any suspicion as to what they were attempting to do.

Get the poor thing out of her grasp before she has a chance to cast that spell on him again.