Javal couldn’t help but smile widely as he heard Kou declare that she was going to protect him and lead the way. Of course, it wasn’t because he found the claim odd or dismissed her defloration, it was simply because he’d never heard that before. Usually, he was claiming and shouting about protecting other people so to hear someone else say that about himself he found it strange but not bad.



“Oh, an adventurous business Madame Kou? That sounds awesome! Is there any way I could join? I’d love to get out there and work with others in the field! I run a humble team of security and safety who hire themselves to others. From work like helping cats out of trees to helping guard important stuff to defending the weak! Honestly, it’s just a cool team of people that for some reason decided to follow me and follow the path of justice!”, he exclaims excitedly before shaking his head, “No Madame Kou it’s fine! I’m a brave adventurer so I don’t need to have my hand held!”.



Madame Kou was begging to remind him of his mother the way she cared about him and was making sure he was alright.



Javal’s mind had been blown as Kou raised her suspicions, “Woah really? A witch you say? I’ve never heard of a candy witch before although that does sound like an interesting set of abilities”, the fellblood ponders out loud before focusing back on the subject, “It is unforgivable that she has used the sacred art of candy for such evil purposes. We must find any trace of her or her minions at once before they can hurt any other lost traveler. Let’s hurry at once and get through this candy dungeon so we may punish those responsible”, Javal says, gripping his blade at the angering thought.



As he jogs over to the door in front of them he attempts to push the door open before the stuffed squirrel toy in the middle of the room rises from its seated position and shrieks to life, focusing his attention on Kou as he raises his large stuffed animal hand and swipes at her.

“Well, thus far the only member is myself. I travel with my friend Yasei, and he’s a true adventurer if you ask me!” Kou explained, unable to resist taking a moment to gush about her travel companion. “But I do my best to protect the good people of the world and bring smiles to their faces.”

A sudden, wistful smile overtook her features.

“I’m under no illusion that I am young or spry or even truly fit for battle. But I also know that I have not much longer left to live - and if I can use these twilight years of mine to give others a smile and use what skills I have to help others no matter how small the task, then I’ll die knowing that mine was a life worth living.”

She reached out and nudged Javal with her cane.

“A security company, eh? I get the sense that you and I are quite the same. There’s a spot in my adventuring business if you want it, dearie… though I fear it might not be what you seek. A strong lad with lofty ideals is meant for bigger and grander adventures than mine. That is why I fight so hard to ensure that you stay safe. That you get out of here. You’re going to do good things, Javal. I just know it.”

She nodded as Javal recounted what she suspected. Of course, she was working from limited evidence, but regardless of what might have caused this, there was one immutable truth - something had created what ought to have been a place of whimsy and turned it into something dark and twisted, something that refused to let the two fellbloods out of its clutches.

She nodded, her energy and resolve renewed entirely as Javal made his way to the next door. She was so distracted that the demure elderly woman almost missed the toy; almost. But the creature’s enraged squeak caught her attention. Kou gasped, whirling around and holding up her cane, blocking the animal’s claws with the Sakura-wood. But the force from the blow still knocked the weak woman off her feet, sending her sprawling to the ground, the wood of her cane, the cane given to her by her precious grandson, split in two. Something in the wood cracked and gave, and the top popped off of the bottom in her hands… and revealing the cane’s secondary function.

Even when he wasn’t there, Kou’s grandson was still protecting her - this time, with a hidden blade.

Javal was about to jump in the way of the blow intended for Kou but he was too late and the kind elderly woman was sent to the ground, The squirrel growling and looming over the woman Javal grit his teeth and grabbed its tail from behind and pulled it away with all his strength (1. Bulls Strength).



“Hey buddy, why don’t you pick on someone else?”,  he asked through his teeth before spinning himself and the squirrel around and around and around before letting go causing himself to dizzily crash into a wall as he walked a few steps and the giant toy squirrel to slam into the wall. They both stand up, Javal struggling holding himself up by his sword.



“Alright Kou”, he says dizzy pointing only a few feet from where the other fellblood is in his confusion, “We got this, let’s get this furry fellow handled”.



He raised his sword and charged at the toy, slashing its chest and causing some stuffing to fall out.



He grinned at the sight, “This should be easy”, before swinging another slash at the squirrel’s foot, stuffing pouring out.

The squirrel itself wasn't just gonna take it any longer and dropped on all fours charging at the blue fellblood before jumping and aiming to tackle the young man to the ground. 

Kou sniffled, pulling herself to her knees and reaching for her cane. All she’d heard was the creaking of wood and felt it come undone in her hands, and knew in her heart of hearts that she’d damaged it. Picking up one of the pieces, Kou held the sheath to her chest while Javal scrapped with the squirrel, protecting her. “I’m sorry, Tarou…”

She couldn’t even keep the first gift he’d ever given her safe.

Ah, just as well, Kou supposed. She’d set out to travel the world, but even struggling with this little enchanted creature, Javal needing to be the one to do all the work, perhaps it was a sign that this life wasn’t meant for her. She was no fighter. Javal was. Tarou was. Yasei was. Yet… Kou possessed no such skills. She turned to pick up the other half of her cane, when her eyes widened in surprise and she recoiled in shock. It wasn’t a broken cane at all; but a blade, one that had been concealed within the Sakura wood handle.

“What…?”

Had that been there all along? And how had she not known about it? Kou picked up the weapon with trembling hands, unsure what to do with it. She was no fighter, had no idea how to deal with blades at all besides the ones that you found in a kitchen. Yet, Tarou had given her one to protect herself in her cane, because he loved her. And Javal protected her now, because he cared about her.

Love. That was what it all boiled down to.

Kou stared at the blade in her hands, and at the stuffed squirrel leaping through the air for Javal.

And she pulled herself to her feet, abandoning the weapon entirely.

She caught the squirrel with open arms, wrapping it in a warm embrace. The squirrel scratched at her with claws, hissing and spitting with elongated teeth. Still, Kou held tightly to the little creature. “You’ve been down here a long time, haven’t you? Bereft of love and life. That’s no way to live.” And as she hugged him, her arms began to glow, a warm, relaxing aura enveloping the stuffed squirrel, mending its scars and stitching and returning lost limbs and fluff.^[1] And in the middle, returning a heart that had been lost… years, perhaps even decades ago. The squirrel fell still, finally granted the warmth and softness it so craved, perhaps without realizing it.

And it became a regular stuffed animal once more.

Kou pat it on the head, tucking it in her bag along for the ride. “How upsetting, a creature designed to be loved and held, turned into a murderous monster.” She turned to Javal, picking up the pieces of her cane and sliding back together. The grandmother did not often get angry, but she could be described as such now. “Whatever this witch has done, we need to get out of here. And if she’s still alive, she cannot be allowed to continue her evil plans. Come along, young man. I’m quite steamed now, and more determined to put an end to this than ever.”

She moved to open the next door, entering a room that could only be described as a nightmare.

---

1. Mend Object

Javal tried his best to surge forth as Kou stepped in front of the frenzy of the animated squirrel. However, it appeared he was too late as Kou simply held onto the large beast in front of her taking it while healing the creature somehow. For whatever reason it appears that Kou’s power and love managed to quell the monstritoy’s rage enough so that it simply shrank back to its original form, a small little toy squirrel probably meant for the hands of a child.



The younger fellblood immediately jogged towards Kou worried sick at the elder’s scratches.



“Are you alright Madame Kou? Everything okay? Please if you have injuries to report let me assist, I can summon my celestial patron Uriel to help patch you up”.



After hearing Kou’s response and making sure she was alright he quickly answered her remarks, “Yes using a poor and innocent toy for children as some sort of terrible horrifying guardian of this abandoned place is truly despicable. You’re right Madame Kou I’m on the same page we must bring this vile person to justice for if left unchecked who knows what matter of villainy they’d continue”.



He follows behind Kou hurriedly keeping up with her pace her in case anything else in the room rises and decides to attack. Suddenly he turns to see the room before them as it opens, his eyes widen in shock, and his heart begins racing as he sees the horrifying sight before them. In front of them lay an entirely blue room with strange blue contorted figures. Scattered around the room were notes filled with mad ramblings next to these figures, each of them blue and standing in a container. They looked in so much pain whatever these homunculus where they seemed to have either been experimented with blueberries or muffins.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Mama Kou assured the harried young fellblood while she bent down to pick up her cane - careful to avoid the sharp bits. With great care she tucked the blade back into its sheath, turning it into a cane once more. There. Much better. When she was finished, Kou re-tucked her hair into a tight bun and readjusted the spectacles on her face. Once she was certain she felt a little less out of sorts she patted Javal on the side. “It was only a scratch. Sometimes people lash out when they want love and don’t know how to ask for it. All you can do is open your arms and remind them that they don’t need to use claws to make their mark. They need only ask for it.”

She ran her thumb along the bunny’s soft down.

“You just wanted a hug, didn’t you, Usagi-Chan?” She cooed, before reaching up to grab Javal. “And one for you, too. Amidst such horrible things it’s easy for us to forget to give each other kindness, too. That’s the part that makes life worth living. Don’t forget that.”

She reached into the deep pockets of her robe before pausing, tilting her head, as if reconsidering. “Well, I was going to give you a piece of candy to boost your spirits, but I plumb forgot it’s probably in poor taste, isn’t it?” She settled for handing him a small cloth bag of dried seaweed snacks, which would serve as a nice little savory crunch as they continued on! She declined to eat anything, more determined than ever to seek asylum in Moonglade’s woods.

Good thing she didn’t, too. The contents of the next room made her stomach turn.

One might have mistaken them for dolls, if not for their humanoid shape, each in a different stage of growth, like watching the stages of a butterfly’s growth out of a cocoon. She gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth; utterly and truly unable to muster the words to express the dread that gripped her heart at such a sight. There were none.

“What is this…”

She hobbled over to one of the tables and picked up the paper. It took a moment to adjust her glasses so that she could read the font, and even then, it was difficult to make out. Her comprehension of written common was difficult at best, and with such bad handwriting, she felt left in the dark. Tugging on Javal’s sleeve, she held the piece up to him, a worried expression painted in the pinch of her wrinkles. “Dear, what does this say? I’m afraid I can’t make any of it out…” she murmured, staring intently at the piece of parchment as if focus might help better glean its secrets. It was the best she could do, in the present moment. The action was better than focusing on those horrid, pained golems, at least.

Even then, it still might take Javal a moment to decipher the scribblings contained on the paper…

A madman’s ramblings…

THeY ^CALL ME oBSCUr E. Th EY 

FORGET THE j o y I B r o u g h t _THEM

ThEY WILL REMEMBER.

I WILL

MAKE 

THEM 

REMEMBER

Javal smiled as he felt the elder fellblood’s hug and responded with one of his own as the two examined the next room. It felt appropriate considering the abominations that they were seeing.



“Madame Kou I appreciate your kindness very much and you’re correct, especially with what we’re going through right now. A place of refuge among a terrible storm turned into a nightmarish house of torture. I’m glad I’m at least here with someone else for if not I’m not exactly sure that I would still be here at this moment. Heck to be honest I’d probably still be in that wind rune enchanted room”.



He took the elderly woman’s candy and tucked it into his coat pocket, “Once more my friend I am grateful for your generosity, do not worry about being in poor taste. For after all candy shall always taste delicious no amount of terrifying and disastrous monsters can ruin it for me”.



The candied drake that stood amongst them had a curious worried expression on his face as he heard the man’s remark but decided to keep the oddness of it to himself. Javal’s face dropped to a frown as he looked around the room with more care, the only result being making himself upset.



“What type of monster…”, he begins before, “Is something so horrid so disgusting?”



His heart swelled with rage, a deep and true hatred was boiling, he was fine with almost being killed, fine with dealing with traps and tricks. But this, this was different, this was horrible, whoever no whatever type of monster was behind this wasn’t human. The agony that these experiments were in hurt him as he heard their muffled cries of pain and sorrow. What type of person does this? He shook his head in confusion feeling nothing but sympathy for the poor homunculi. He was taken out of his rising rage as he felt a tug on his red sleeve, his expression calming down as Kou got his attention.



He looked over the paper with care as he read it out loud slowly taking his time with every syllable, “They call me obscure, they forget the joy I brought them . They will remember. I will make them remember''.




He took a moment of silence to digest these foul evil words crumpling up the paper in his hand as he grits his teeth.



“I can’t believe this, whatever type of monster behind this is truly gone to madness and rambling. I can’t understand it besides people forgetting this person who made joy and them being angry now”.

“Why, don’t sell yourself short! You’re very strong, but what’s more important is being kind. That alone has earned you support and friendship that has helped you.” She assured him, though she was inclined to agree that this place was a dream-turned-nightmare! She certainly wouldn’t be amenable to staying in strange cabins she found in the midst of the woods!

… She did take note of the candy drake’s strange expression, but paid it no mind or distrust as they continued to the next room.

And if they thought the mansion thus far had been a nightmare, it was not but a dream in comparison to this room.

The two fellbloods were frozen still, horror and nausea churning in their guts. While Javal was boiling with anger, Kou only felt herself grow tired… a deep-set fatigue, and a pity for the creatures that had been built by whoever had once lived here. An entity embittered at being forgotten, only to abandon and forget their own creations here. Was that person dead? Or simply gone? They had no way of knowing without any other information about them.

All these letters indicated was that whoever they were, they were too far gone by the time they’d built this room.

Kou blinked tears out of her eyes while Javal expressed his anger. “I’m not sure who would ever do something like this. It just seems so evil to me… they designed this place to be a prison and for whatever dark purposes, made these pitiful creatures. Perhaps we ought to-”

A sound from the next room over made her freeze in place. Kou’s eyes widened, her heart stammering in its chest. It almost sounded like something pounding on the door.

“Did you hear that?”

It was difficult for Javal to keep himself calm although he was trying his best, this was just too horrific of a scene to bear. It broke his heart to the fellblood life was so important every person every being everything had a life had meaning. To see it just be abandoned here left agonizing in its pain hurt him deeply. There was boiling heat coming from his stomach towards his heart as he continued to try to simmer his rage as much as he could. Javal considered himself a calm and not unstable person but it was moments like this seeing such injustices that brought out hatred he didn’t like feeling. It was different than when he blacked out and lost control not even remembering what he’d done. It was a genuine hatred and rage he felt, back during his pirate days he would see many cruel and horrid sites. He would lose himself in his rage and would make sure that those people who did that were thoroughly punished for that he got the title, 'Dragon Prince of Blood'. He clenched his fists and looked down at the floor not even able to meet any of the homunculi’s gaze. He felt too ashamed, too angry to think clearly, so he dropped the crumbled-up ball piece of paper to the ground.



He tried his best to keep his composure as he spoke to Kou, his voice tinged with a tone of frustration, “I’m not either, it is evil and there has to be something done right now. I’m sorry Kou I know we should probably be looking for a way out but I can’t right now. Finding out what happened here and bringing whatever person did this is the only thing on my mind right now”.



Before he could say anything else his heart froze as he heard pounding on the door in front of them. Loud sounds of wailing and whining were heard as the wood of the door started to break.



Javal took out his sword once more and stood a couple of feet in front of the door shouting, “Kou get low and hide behind me now”.



Suddenly the door breaks open and a terrifying sight appears in front of them: a monster like they’ve never seen before, a muffin man?

Kou could hear the frustration in Javal’s voice; a melancholic vibrato. The both of them were frustrated at the injustice they’d seen here today. She pat him on the arm, as understanding as always. “I know.” She murmured, as gentle as possible. “Patience, Javal. I’d wager that if we continue on the path, we’ll find the answer here.” There was evil seeped into the very walls of this house. It had taken them captive, trapped them in this tomb. But the further they delved, the more secrets they unlocked. And perhaps if they found the spirit haunting this place… perhaps they could put it to rest to secure their freedom.

And if they could not put it to rest peacefully…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something pounding on the nearest door. A rhythmic sound on the wood, thud, THUD, THUD-

Javal drew out his sword at the same time the monstrosity broke through the barrier.

The ground shook, chips of wood exploding everywhere. Javal barked an order, frantic to protect her; but Kou refused to be sheltered again. The great, lumbering muffin raised its hand and fired a volley of blueberries at them, a sickeningly-sweet aroma in the air. “Get down, Javal!” Kou threw herself into Javal’s side, throwing him out of the way of the blow. She fell, her hip colliding with the ground with a CRACK. The pain radiated up her side, but she refused to cry out. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a handful of birdseed, tossing it in the air.

At once a swarm of pidgeons manifested from seemingly nowhere.^[1] The hungry little pigeons spotted the muffin man stomping towards them and dove, the flock pecking at the sweet bread like a delicious snack. The distraction was all she could manage… she just had to hope that the distraction was enough for Javal to put an end to the beast. She could feel the rest of her energy fading, drops of sand through an hourglass.

Just a little longer, Kou.

They could make it. Both of them.

---

1. Raven Storm

Javal stood right in front of the door facing down the monster in front of him, a terrifying sight more monstrous and more abominable than anything they’d seen so far. It was some sort of muffin-man creature? It resembles the blueberry muffin homunculus in the cases around them but is way bigger and scarier. It was incredibly muscular, its body made out of muffin and it had two big iron gauntlets over its hands. It appears as though this thing was the result of all of the experimentation; this was the final product of all the suffering. However, it seemed like this being too was suffering as let out a screeching pained wail from its muffin mouth. It unnerved Javal greatly but he stood firm in his conviction to protect as he swung his sword against the creature’s breaded flesh. Suddenly as a response to Javal’s blow, the creatures roared and shot blueberry projectiles from its body and they were headed straight at him. He had little time to move or dodge them so instead he grinned ready to take on the full damage to himself. However, instead of feeling the impact of the high-velocity berries, he saw Kou jump in front of him and take the hit for him. His face turned from a confident grin into a horrified frown as he saw the elder fellblood fall to the floor and hurt herself with a crack.

He immediately rushed to her side and tried to help her up, “I’m so sorry Madame Kou, are you okay? Please hold on, I can heal you once I finish this foul beast who hurt you”.



He turns around and before he can rush forward to do battle against the beast Kou summons a flock of pigeons at the man and terrorizes its body picking and biting at the homunucli’s bread flesh. It screams in agony and tries to slam its iron fists into the pesky birds but it’s of no use; they're too fast for it.

Javal grins at the woman’s wise plan and says, “Thank you for the chance Kou I won’t let you down I promise”, he then sprints forward as fast as he can.

He whirls his sword in the air as he charges, collecting momentum in his blade. He then continues to whirl and move his blade in his hands rhythmically. He then steps forward and slashes (1) the beast across its chest ripping through its weakened flesh like the bread it’s made out of. He then twists his grip on his sword’s handle and goes for another slash this time in the opposite direction. His glowing blue and white blue rips through the beasts with little difficulty. The creature’s anguished screams continue as its sliced body falls to the floor with the pigeons finishing off the rest of its body.

---

1. Blade Dance Slash (Passives: Bulls Strength, Water Rune, Angelic Light, Double Strike)

“I’m fine, I’m fine-“ Kou reached into her bag for her last dumpling, savoring the taste of the red bean paste inside.^[1] The snack did the trick, healing the minor nick in her fragile bone just enough to allow her to get back to her feet. It was a poor substitute for bed rest and time, but it would have to do for now. The elderly woman panted, leaning against her cane while the pigeons enjoyed their snack. The muffin man swatted at them, far too bothered by the minor annoyance pecking at crumbs and blueberries to notice the warrior raising his sword and tearing through flesh.

The pigeons took to the air and disappeared, leaving behind only Kou and Javal, both battle-weary and winded.

“Thank you… Javal.” Mama Kou wheezed, catching her breath the best she could. “That muffin was a big one… whatever’s behind this door must have been something worth protecting.” Perhaps they’d finally found the witch’s lair. She tapped her cane against the ground, reigniting the soft, magical light woven into the wood.^[1] At the very least, it made this cold room feel a little warmer, a little less empty. She closed her eyes and murmured another small prayer in her native tongue, cleansing this room of spirits with ill intent.

“May your souls find rest in what remains after.” She murmured, and opened her eyes once more. “Let’s go see what this witch was hiding.”

She delicately stepped over the muffin man’s corpse, getting blueberry juice over her robes, and hobbled into the next room.

Inside was completely and utterly different from everything else they’d seen so far. Devoid of candy, or any other thrills; on the surface, it appeared like a plain office… if it weren’t for the dolls hanging from the ceiling by strings. At the very end of the wall there was a painting of someone Kou didn’t recognize, in front of the manor with a handful of children, all wearing bright smiles on their face. Kou approached the portrait, pushing her spectacles closer up her face to get a better look at the idyllic scene.

The manor was familiar to the exterior she’d seen earlier, though with a few marked differences. The dilapidated chocolate exterior was new and fresh, decorated with little candied animals and edible flowers. A sign on the front, just over the door, read,

MADAM MOLLY MARIGOLD’S MANOR OF MOLASSES MAGNIFICENCE

And everything looked so… lovely.

“They forget the joy I brought them…” Kou murmured to herself, remembering the words they’d found in the maddening letter earlier. The pieces were clicking in her mind, a puzzle painting a picture she could see better. The house of candy. The unrestful spirits. The golems. The manor. And her heart sunk in her chest as she recognized what had happened.

“This is what the witch’s home used to be.”

---

1. Light

Javal quickly rushed back to the elder fellblood’s side to check on her condition, still worried about her. After hearing her confirm that she is okay and eating one of her fantastic dumplings he calms down relieved.



“Yes friend Kou, it does appear that whatever manner of the monstrous mastermind behind all of this placed this fellow to protect something valuable”.



He stepped back letting Kou lead the way with her warmly light staff. He bowed his head and bowed his head saying a prayer towards Salina to guide their path as he watched Kou do so in a tongue he hadn’t heard of before. He walked behind the elder fellblood with confidence and readiness for whatever manner of evil fiends and disturbing sights the next room had to offer. To his surprise, it wasn’t that at all it turned it to be more boring and mundane than terrifyingly horrible. He examined carefully the area pulling the chair back and trying to open the desk only to find it locked. He walked over to where Kou was looking at a very well-done painting. He took a closer look and saw children on it smiling in front of the house they were in. It almost seemed like an entirely different place; the place itself looked more friendly and brighter. What did this mean? How was this a place of joy and happiness when currently it was filled with terror and monsters?



He listened to Kou’s words, finally clicking into his head, “What? There’s no way. This place that we’ve had to fight for our survival is the residence of some sort of witch who lived here?”.

Kou heard his question - but she regretfully had no answer for it. She only had the evidence in front of her eyes, but none of the context to put it all together. The truth of the matter was that, once upon a time, someone had lived here. Once upon a time, this was a place of wonder and whimsy and joy. But what had happened to turn it into what it was? Kou’s grip tightened around her cane, brows furrowed together in thought. They were on the verge of discovering the secrets of this place… secrets that would help them find their escape.

“I don’t know.” She admitted, honestly. “My only guess is that this place… that lady there built it to provide a place of joy. Maybe something here twisted her sweetness into something sinister.”

More importantly, was she even still alive? They’d seen hide nor hair of anything living in this place, and they were nearing the end of the road.

Kou turned towards the candied dragon following Javal, and bent down so she could be closer to its eye level.

“Is it true? That this place was once a place of mirth?”

The dragon inclined its head. It didn’t have a face to form a full expression, but even she could feel the grief and misery in its movements, the curl of its tail and the sugar shimmering in its eyes.

Kou reached over and nuzzled the side of its face. “Oh, dear… what happened?”

The drake merely lifted its claw and pointed at a gilded box covered in dust on the back of the desk. Even from this distance, Kou could feel something… oppressive radiating from it. Kou frowned, making her way over to the side of the desk. She lifted her cane, and tapped the side of the wooden box tentatively.

Nothing happened.

Kou turned to Javal. “I think something might be here… something that might have caused all of this.” And maybe - just maybe - if they got rid of this, or figured out what it was, they might be able to eliminate some of the dark forces keeping this place together.

Javal looks at Kou seeing that she as well is frustrated and lost in deep thought. He scoffs looking around the room, “Really? Why that can’t be I mean those creatures outside of here seemed so ravenous and monstrous. What could’ve happened to turn such a nice-looking house into a place of nightmares? I can’t help but wonder what type of person owned this place and made it so horrid”.



He steps back as to Kou and the candied baby drake room to speak crouching down himself so he could hear. Javal heard Kou’s soft and gentle voice as well as his new little buddy’s sorrow and fear. The fellblood’s gaze was then taken from their conversation to where his little buddy pointed at.





He stood up and walked over to it with a curious expression on his face, this little thing? He looked at it for a bit trying to figure out what about it made it so special, after all besides the fairly oppressive aura surrounding it seemed too small to hold something so important.

Javal looked on as Kou tapped it and saw no reaction confused, “I think you’re right Madame Kou if my candy friend says it is then it must be so".

He moves forward and grabs the box into his hand and shakes it vigorously. He heard something rattle inside of it, something with some weight. He places it down and turns to grab his katana from his waist. Hen was about to bring it down on the small box before taking a moment to think about his rash decision, the pressure around the box increased massively causing him to reconsider mid-slash.



“No, I feel that I’m doing something wrong here”, the fellblood would say, placing his weapon away.

He would instead reach into his hair taking out the sweet lily clip that held his ponytail together. He would turn it on its metal side and begin fidgeting with the lock on the gilded box for a couple of minutes before suddenly a click would pop out and the box would open.