the specter of dreamful nights greets you with passion, dear stargazer :D
i’m Areixyn, pronouns are ae, they, and xe. (i also have a pronouns.page if you're interested)
i like to call myself a creator, and this is where i store my creations. i tell the stories of the children of Noxeris — my original characters. these stories come in a variety of forms: writing, drawings, and maybe more.
if you're new here, be sure to check out the official travel guide for Noxeris! it can help you understand more about this place ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
also, here is a link that’ll rewind the clock and take you to the start of our journey!
asks are always open! questions about the characters, thoughts on the latest post, or just a random chat — share whatever it is :D
there's also a chinese (traditional) version of this blog — @areixyn-zh!
that's all i have for now, i think. enjoy your stay; may your dreams be starry and your reality be sugary ☆
i have concluded that drawing full ref sheets keeps stressing me out and i keep procrastinating on them so have some full body sketches for the time being (?
(dear chizakura and kokatsu why are you so hard to draw. this is making me dread the ref sheets even more) (← in a hell of my (past self's) own making)
also have some sketches of summermist characters' casual outfits!
the lineart of the drawing of Arashi was done by Y ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
“Mumu!” Chizakura appears in Kokatsu’s study as she always does. “What do you think about reality?”
“The dimension of reality? Why so sudden?” Kokatsu puts down the book in Kokatsu’s hands.
“They never let me go to reality. It's so frustrating,” she pouts as she pulls a seat for herself, “Sigh, how can a god know nothing about the world humans are in? So I came to ask you.”
Kokatsu thinks for a moment. “Reality… is not great, I guess.”
“Eh?” Chizakura seems disappointed, “It can't be that bad, right?”
“It's pretty bad,” Kokatsu recalls, “Though, seeing as I am Kokatsu, I probably see more of the darker sides of the world.”
“Come on, don't be that dark all the time,” she skips to the side of Kokatsu, gesturing at the window. “Look, the world also has brighter sides!”
“Saki, that is literally a completely black sky.”
“Oh come on, can't you just use your imagination?” Chizakura sits back on her seat. “You're boring.”
Kokatsu chuckles softly. “Alright. I suppose reality isn't that terrible, it's just… complicated. There are good people, but there also are people who are extremely horrible.”
“Oh,” Chizakura thinks for a moment. “I wanna try going to reality.”
“Didn't you just say that they don't let you,” Kokatsu points out.
“Even you're stopping me now…?” Chizakura stares at the other, a little upset.
“Reality has its dangers,” Kokatsu says, “You will need to pretend to be a human, and some people really like hurting children like you.”
“You’re— um. I’m not a child.”
“But you look like one.” And act like one too, honestly.
“Hmph. I’m much stronger than a child; I can just use magic,” Chizakura says, proud of herself.
“I advise you not to, unless you plan on killing every single witness,” Kokatsu looks at her seriously. “Humans do not like people who can use magic.”
“L-Let's not kill anyone yet! Besides, only people in Inkeloss hate magic users, right? I can just go to some other country—”
“The whole world does. The only difference is the narrative.”
“Aww…” Chizakura deflates and collapses on the table. “That's not fair.”
Kokatsu sighs. “I remember that Inkeloss even has an institution for experimenting on magic users.”
Chizakura springs up from the table. “Seriously? That's so cruel! How has no one reported it or something?”
“It's a secret institution made by the government, after all. Magic users don't have rights, I guess,” Kokatsu ponders for a moment. “I remember it was called Light of Shadows or something, how ironic.”
“Light of shadows? Sounds like some kind of dish,” Chizakura says, “It sounds like a delicious dish…”
“…What?”
“N-Nothing!” Chizakura changes the topic, “You said it's a secret institution, then how do you know about it?”
“Many magic users follow Choreya, and some are those who have been captured by the institution. I’ve seen what it's like inside.” A moment later, Kokatsu adds, “No, I will not tell you what it's like inside.”
“I don't want to know either,” Chizakura scrunches up her face, “Ew. So scary.”
In the morning, Akinari and Sakina sit in the living room. Sakina just finished their breakfast, and Akinari keeps looking at the door.
Akinari looks at the clock once again. Weird, how…
Suddenly, someone knocks on the door. Sakina turns to look, and Akinari gets up to open the door. A familiar silhouette appears at the door.
“Finally got the guts to see me, Batsu?”
Akinari calmly retorts, “Finally got the time to come here, Yoi?”
“Tsk,” Yoi says, “Don't forget that it's all thanks to you. If you weren't here—”
“Fine, sorry,” Akinari glances at Sakina. “They could recognize kafus at first glance, who knows if they can recognize the yacho.”
Yoi looks at his own clothes. “I’m not that recognizable, am I?”
Akinari gestures at Yoi's wings. "Are your horns and wings not obvious enough?"
“...So that really is... the yachoshi?” Sakina asks Akinari, confused and a little concerned.
“...Fine,” Yoi says, “Yep, I’m the yacho, but just call me Yoi. He/him is fine.”
Sakina’s eyes widen, “You… know sign too?”
“Yes. Gods, their assistants, and other beings who need to communicate with humans usually understand all the languages their followers use,” Akinari signs, “However, although the yacho is supposed to be an assistant, I suppose it feels more like… coworkers?”
“Ew, don't call me your coworker.” “Well then, do you prefer being a subordinate?”
Yoi looks away. Akinari says, “Lets stop chit chatting. Did you bring the stuff?”
“Obviously,” Yoi summons a box of books with magic. “I couldn't find some of the books you said our library had. Are you sure we have those?”
Akinari looks through the box. “If I remember correctly, yes, unless you threw them away.”
“I’m not that bored; I’d never go in the library,” Yoi leans on the doorframe.
“Oh,” Akinari sorts out the books, “What about the ones that we needed to buy?”
“Come on, don't you know that — right, you really don't know. It's all chaos down there due to the war, how am I supposed to buy books?”
“…Then these books are?”
“So I stole some.”
Akinari is speechless. “…Sure.”
Seeing as Sakina seems concerned, Akinari hands them the box. “Sakina, these are some books I thought you might enjoy. Can you put them in the study?”
Sakina hesitates, staring at the box. “Did you just say these are…”
“Don't worry, no one wants books in a war,” Yoi says, “Just be grateful they didn't get blown up.”
Sakina seems even more worried.
“…Anyway, please go put these books away, Sakina,” Akinari puts the box in Sakina’s arms. Sakina reluctantly walks towards the study.
“You even have a study?” Yoi comments, “Fair enough, that kid does feel like you when you were little.”
Akinari suddenly gets quiet. “…Don't say that.”
“What? I’m just saying that you both like reading.”
“…Oh,” Akinari sighs, “It's not like there's much to do here.”
Yoi furrows his brows, “You think this is boring? There isn't even anyone else in Soshiya. I can't even fight with you.”
“…You can also start going to the library.”
“Not a chance. What kind of Kokatsu reads all day?”
Aimee smiles as she stares at Cyrus. Music plays in the cafe, yet it still doesn't fill the silence between them.
“Hm…” Cyrus sips his drink, hesitating.
“Come on, is there anything you can't tell me?”
“Well, it's nothing…” Cyrus says reluctantly, “I was just thinking about… Samiel.”
Aimee’s smile drops slightly. “Oh.”
“I-I know it's his fault,” Cyrus quickly explains, “It's just… kinda weird to have someone missing in your daily life.”
She stirs her drink, gazing down. “I get you. Sometimes I also feel weird seeing the empty space in my dorm.”
“Ah, right. I guess you must have it worse, since you were there when you saw Krishna…” Cyrus doesn't dare finish the sentence.
“Ahaha. It's… It's alright,” Aimee holds Cyrus’s hand. “Well, at least we still have each other, right?”
Cyrus looks at Aimee. “Yeah, but you don't play basketball.”
Aimee laughs, “So it was just about basketball? There are still tons of people in our class who do!”
“But it's still different!” Cyrus laughs together.
The relaxed atmosphere doesn't last for long, and Cyrus furrows his brows again.
“I still think it's kinda weird.”
“What's wrong?”
Cyrus fidgets with the straw. “Look, isn't Samiel usually a really good guy? I’ve known him for so long, and I’ve never thought that he would do this.”
“Well, that's how some people are,” Aimee responds, “Besides, hasn't it been really long since you've seen him? Before we were all in the same class now, I mean — well, I guess we're not in the same class anymore.”
“It hasn't been that long, it's just…” Cyrus counts on his fingers for a second, “About three years?”
“You think three years isn't long? People can change a lot just within a short time,” Aimee says as she sips on her drink.
“Oh… fine,” Cyrus gives in.
“Alright, alright, let's stop thinking about these things on a perfectly good date,” Aimee pouts half jokingly, “If you keep getting distracted, I’m going to feel jealous.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cyrus chuckles.
happy birthday to Aimee :D
sadly i am late but i also planned to post something today so technically this is according to the schedule (??
Sakina stares at the mirror, adjusting her shirt yet again.
You should always be at peace with your body.
She takes a deep breath.
You should not try to fight with your natural self.
Her eyes glance at the drawer, the binders Akinari gave her.
Was that why Akinari gave her those? Because breaking rules is what Kokatsu does, and Akinari is…
She tears her eyes away and closes the drawer. No. She cannot. She should not.
Yet the sweater sits weirdly on her body, and it looks wrong, and she hates it, and she wants to—
A knock on the door makes Sakina nearly jump.
“Sakina, it's me. Are you up yet?” Akinari calls out.
She opens the door and smiles. “Good morning, what's wrong?”
“Nothing. You're up a lot later than usual.”
“My hair just seemed to refuse to stay straight today, so I was trying to keep it straight, sorry,” she lies, examining Akinari’s face.
Akinari is expressionless as usual. “I see. Breakfast is done, so come down when you want.”
“I will,” Sakina watches as Akinari’s figure disappears in the staircase. She closes the door as her eyes return to the silhouette in the mirror once again.
You should feel peace being your real self.
Maybe they were right. She was perfectly fine and in peace for years, perfectly content with wearing skirts and being called “she” and not thinking about anything wrong. Up until now.
It's okay. She can start doing the right thing again, starting by not using (wrong, false, deceiving) binders today.
Be a good girl.
Sakina sits in a corner of the sofa, hugging a cushion. Next to her, Masaki is eating caramel popcorns, looking intently at the TV.
Sakina suggested watching movies once when they ran out of ideas of what to do. Apparently Masaki had never watched those before, and decided to try asking for Stanwatt to bring her some movies.
The movie seems to be a fantasy movie with a side plot of romance. Sakina keeps her eyes on the screen, yet it seems to be harder to focus than usual.
Masaki (Chizakura?) is so close. Can she sense the conflict inside her? Will she notice that she is not focusing? She can always see right through her. There’s no use in fighting.
She catches herself looking away as the screen shows the male protagonist and his girlfriend kissing. She directs her vision back.
Why didn't Masaki say anything when Sakina told her about her gender? Was this yet another test she failed?
Something's poking her arm. It's Masaki, holding out a popcorn for Sakina to try.
Sakina smiles and shakes her head. Masaki pouts a little and holds the popcorn even closer to her. Sakina finally takes the popcorn and hopes that Masaki didn't notice her fingers shaking.
The sweetness blooms in her mouth. Masaki always had a sweet tooth, after all.
Masaki sat closer. “Nana, what's wrong? Do you want to tell me?”
Sakina freezes. So she knew after all, she’s disappointed in her, she’s upset—
“Hey, hey, calm down!” Masaki says hurriedly, “Um, take deep breaths and breathe slowly, okay?”
Oh. She’s hyperventilating.
Masaki takes Sakina’s hand and puts it on her chest. “Here, try to copy my breathing, okay? In… and out…”
Sakina tries to copy Masaki. The familiar notions feel comforting, but somehow also frightening.
After a while, Sakina calms down. Masaki has always been good at calming her down.
“Um, it's okay if you don't want to tell me for now. I’m just worried about you,” Masaki says softly.
“No… It's just…” Sakina considers what to sign. It's still a little difficult to imagine Masaki as Chizakura, but if that is true…
Shame bubbles up inside her. “I’m sorry.”
“Huh? I told you, you don't need to be sorry for panicking!”
“No, not that,” Sakina takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry for… not being at peace with my body.”
Masaki blinks. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Sakina hugs the cushion a little tighter. “I’m just… a little confused. I never meant to break the rules, sorry.”
“…W-What rules?” Masaki seems genuinely confused.
Does she need her to sign it that clearly? The shame burns her insides as she signs, “I’m sorry for… telling you, no, telling everybody that I’m not a girl.”
Masaki blinks slowly. “What's wrong with that?”
“…What?” Sakina feels confused at Masaki’s reaction. “I’m… I’m supposed to be a girl. I knew that being… like this was wrong, and yet—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Masaki interrupts her, “Who told you being transgender is wrong?”
“What?”
“That's what you mean, right? You think that being trans is wrong?”
“Is it not…?” Sakina recalls, “Because… because it's being in conflict with your body…”
Masaki gasps. “Is that what people taught you?”
Sakina nods.
“That's—!” Masaki almost seems angry. “Nana, don't listen to that.”
“…What?”
“I know Mumu always says that we shouldn't control what others think or whatever, but I won't accept this!” she pouts, “How dare they be transphobic and then claim that it’s me who said so? Nana, listen, there's nothing wrong with being trans, okay?”
Sakina stares at her, dumbfounded.
“At least, I, Chizakura, have nothing against trans people. Or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community,” Masaki looks at Sakina in the eyes. “Anyone telling you that Chizakura hates them, or hates you, is lying.”
Seeing that Sakina isn't convinced, Masaki continues, “If they say that trans people don't feel at peace with their body, then that's why they should change it into something they do like, right? If they force themselves to pretend that they are happy, wouldn't that be being in conflict with their feelings?”
“That… does make sense…”
“It's okay to be in conflict sometimes. The point of peace isn't to force everyone to be happy forever, but to figure out what's causing unhappiness and then fixing it. Peacefully.”
Sakina stares down, head dizzy from emotions.
Masaki sighs. “Um, I know I really sound like the people forcing their beliefs onto you. But… I just don't want to see people sad and hurt because some people want to twist my words to hurt others…”
Sakina hesitates.
“Maybe… Maybe think of it like this. If you think you're trans, agender, anything, but you’re afraid that Chizakura doesn't like that, then know that that’s not true, okay? I told you, Chizakura accepts everyone, no matter who they are.”
The familiarity of the phrasing makes Sakina’s breath hitch. They nod softly.
“Be yourself, okay?” Masaki smiles. She then turns and gasps.
“We’ve missed a huge chunk of the movie! Wait, where’s the remote…”
happy pride month :D
yeah this is my pride month post now. this was originally planned to be about gender dysphoria but then kinda derailed into religious trauma lol
and this was unexpectedly long whoops. ig i'm just better at writing hurt/comfort (jk
Choreya Realm is quiet as always. That's how it is in the afternoons — Kokatsu, who’s basically nocturnal, only gets up at this time, after all. Kokatsu walks to the study, about to start Kokatsu’s day. Speaking of which, usually, around this time...
“Mumu!” A voice sounds from the corridors, then energetic footsteps and a familiar silhouette. Dressed in white and pink, she forms a stark contrast with the black walls forever enveloped by eternal night.
Kokatsu looks up, "Arashiko."
"I was thinking, why don't you come up with a nickname for me as well?" Chizakura suggests.
"…Nickname?" Kokatsu asks.
"Mm-hmm! Just like how I call you Mumu, I want you to come up with a nickname for me, too! We’ve been friends for so long, calling names just feels wrong."
"Nickname…" Kokatsu thinks of Chizakura's name, "Ara?"
"That sounds just like Allah! Don't call me by some other god’s name," Chizakura huffs.
Kokatsu smiles softly. "Hmm… Arashiko…" Kokatsu mouths Chizakura's name, trying to figure out how to make a suitable nickname using these syllables.
"Ko… I know! Koko!" Chizakura says.
Kokatsu stares at her, stunned, "That's… That's like calling you 'child child.'"
"Uh… D-Don't think too hard about that…"
"I'll try thinking up something else," Kokatsu continues to think.
If her name doesn't work, maybe Kokatsu can try using her personality instead. When it comes to Chizakura or Arashiko, what would Kokatsu think of?
Kokatsu thinks of cherry blossoms. (Of course Kokatsu does.) Of the pink petals flying in the wind, soft and light. Of the flowers in full bloom, bringing happiness to everyone nearby.
"Saki," Kokatsu says unconsciously.
"Saki?" Chizakura asks.
「花が咲きますの『咲き』。」Saki, as in "bloom" in "Flowers bloom."
"Oh," Chizakura pauses, "That's so cool! I like it."
Hot and dry air burns your throat. Exhaustion fills your body like it's about to collapse. A burning sensation spreads from your calf to your entire body, as if you are about to burn into ashes alongside the fire.
You hold tighter onto the kittie plushie on your shoulder and run.
The dark corridor stretches out before you, only lit up by the enclosing flames behind you. You open yet another door and run into yet another corridor.
How long have you been here? Three hours? A day? Too many years?
Smoke slips through the cracks of the old door, leaving no time to think. You grit your teeth and step forward.
Step. And step. And step. The same corridor as always, the same pain as always, the same step as always. Even the pain is getting numb, as if you're becoming a machine.
Perhaps you are a machine.
After a few turns, your legs fina give out. You collapse on the floor, tears forming in your eyes.
Your shoulder gets patted. You turn your head. It's the kitty plushie.
With the familiar confort, tears start flowing freely. You hug the kitty tightly and try not to sob too loudly. The kitty is silent, but the familiar weight on your shoulder makes you relax.
Coming to your senses, the flames have spread to your side. You hurriedly get up.
Unexpectedly, the kitty falls out of your grasp and onto the ground. The fire quickly crawls and engulfs the kitty.
“No—”
Ophelia wakes up in cold sweat.
She pants, yet her emotions refuse to calm down, pressing down on her chest and making it hard to breathe.
In a field of daisies stands a statue in the shape of a color pencil. On the top of the statue is a single yellow and purple pansy. Sitting against the statue, Areixyn is drawing on a field sketch board. Not far away, Metsys stands and looks at aer.
The paper Areixyn is drawing on has an unfinished sketch of a smiling girl. Metsys looks closely at Areixyn.
“What's the point of this?”
Areixyn laughs. “Mets, you should know me better than to ask me what the point of things are, shouldn't you?”
“I know,” Metsys says, “But every time you're here you feel slightly different. And I don't understand why.”
“Well, bold of you to assume that I know why.” Areixyn starts lining the artwork. “Maybe I just want some day to commemorate my dead child self, you know?”
“From what little I know about humans, humans don't tend to do that.”
“Come on, people remember anniversaries of traumatic events too. Well, some do.”
“Did something traumatic happen today?”
Areixyn’s hand pauses. “Hm. Maybe.”
“Maybe I remember it so clearly that I can tell you what day it was. Or maybe I’ve blocked out the memories and just randomly picked a date. Maybe there even isn't a date of death because it was a drawn out process.”
“But eh, who cares? Poemu’s birthday is May 19th because I say so.” Areixyn pokes at the paper with a painting brush.
“Does drawing her every year make you feel better?”
Ae considers for a moment. “It's something I do, alright.”
“Why?” “Why not?”
Metsys sits down in between the flowers. “…I don't have a counter argument.”
“Hm.” Areixyn continues to color the drawing.
A moment passes in silence. Metsys looks at the sun, forever in a golden sunrise.
“Done!” Areixyn sets down the sketch board and creates two plates of cake. “Now we can enjoy the cake!”
“Fruit cake. As always,” Metsys comments and takes a plate.
“It's the classic birthday cake! With the classic pudding too!” Areixyn takes a bite of the cake.
“Does this imply that you had tasted a birthday cake at least some time in your life in Tricos?”
“Come on, it could have been some kid who decided to share a cake with everyone, you know? Or a kind teacher. Or some ad, I don't know.”
happy birthday to Poemu :D
(shh it's still midnight so it still counts as the 19th)
fun fact i originally planned this to be a comic. needless to say after drawing so many daisies (and then blurring them) i do not want to do that again /lh
if you don't click the image for better quality i will cry (jk but still i spent so much time please
A knock on the door broke the peaceful silence in the morning.
Sakina looks at Kemys, who seems equally confused. Akinari went upstairs to get something, and isn't back yet.
They decide to go and open the door. It was someone who looked like Masaki, the same white and pink hair, similar pink clothes, except this person had horns on their head and a small pair of wings on their back.
…Just like how kafukus are described…?
“Hello, is Chizakura here?” The person asks.
Sakina’s mind was filled with confusion. They look around in search for a pen and paper — in an environment where everyone knows sign, it feels like it has been some time since they've used writing to communicate.
Kemys walks to the door and answers with her machine, “Chizakura?”
“Yeah. You're the kids who Chizakura… adopted, right? There's only this building here, after all,” The person says, “I’m a kafu— you know what kafus are right? We’re Chizakura’s helpers. There's an important document Chizakura still hasn't sent back to us yet, so I’m here to ask about it.”
In a sudden, tons of information was stuffed into their head, blocking off any air. What are they talking about? What is happening?
The person who claims to be a kafuku seems to see something. “Ah, Kokatsu, can I ask if has Chizakura awaken yet?”
Sakina and Kemys slowly turn to look at where they are looking. There stands Akinari, who just came down the stairs.
Akinari pauses for a moment, then quickly comes to the door. Akinari signs to the two, “Sakina, Kemys, go and wait there. We have work to do, but it will be quick.”
Faced with a situation they cannot understand, Sakina can only reply, “Okay.”
Kemys doesn't reply and simply walks to the couch. Sakina follows her.
Akinari speaks with the (self-proclaimed) kafuku and goes upstairs. After a while, Akinari drags a still sleepy Masaki downstairs and brings her to the kafuku.
Sakina watches them, still trying to process everything. Too many questions have clustered their brain, causing it to stop working like a crashed computer.
Akinari sits down on the sofa near them.
Kemys is first to ask, “What did that person mean?”
Akinari falls silent. “I know you have questions, but… we’ll explain after Masaki is done, is that okay?”
Thus, the living room returned to silence — a suffocating silence.
After a long wait, Masaki walks into the living room.
“W-What's with this heavy atmosphere…”
“It's time we tell them, Saki,” Akinari says.
Masaki laughs defeated, “About this, um, anyway… sorry about not telling you the truth for so long.”
“What… do you mean?” Sakina’s hands tremble as they sign.
“We are deities. But, not like what you imagine,” Akinari takes a deep breath and starts explaining.
“You might know that magic is based on imagination. With enough imagination and magic, anything can happen.”
Sakina nods.
“Therefore, when enough people believe in a deity’s existence, the power of magic will manifest the deity into existence. This is also why we sometimes need to do things to maintain people’s belief in us, such as trying to make people’s prayers come true or allowing religious rituals to happen smoothly.”
“Actually, that document just now was also about a prayer…” Masaki says quietly.
“However, due to reasons we don't know either, even still magic cannot sustain a deity's existence forever. So, every once in a while, a deity goes through a process called “etali” — which basically means handover. The deity will create a couple of successors, teach them knowledge and abilities required to become a deity, and then one of them will become the new deity.”
“This is how we were created as gods. We are created as gods to act out a role,” Akinari finishes.
“Uh, don't make it so negative!” Masaki laughs awkwardly, “I-I still enjoy being Chizakura, you know?”
“Act…” Sakina attempts to understand, “But… your personalities don't feel like… deities.” Maybe they can imagine Akinari as a god, but Masaki…
Masaki pouts, “If I had to fit into everyone's expectations of what Chizakura should be like, that would be so tiring.”
“We have free will,” Akinari explains, “…Mostly free will. There are still basic lines we cannot cross, like how Chizakura cannot hurt people, at least not directly.”
“I will never do that,” Masaki nods.
A pause. Akinari adds, “Of course, another reason is that humans have different understanding of religions, and we cannot control how people interpret us. So your understanding of us might not always be how we understand ourselves.”
“Is that… so…” Sakina is lost in thought. “Then—”
“No, our understanding is not the one and only correct answer. Even the same gods across different generations can have different opinions. You're the ones believing in these religions, and you can decide for yourself what it means to you,” Akinari says.
“Mm-hmm. Even though I think most of what Merii said makes sense, there are still times I think differently…” Masaki recalls. “Ah, Merii was the last Chizakura. Speaking of which, other than Chizakura and Kokatsu, me and Mumu can be called Arashiko and Kemusaki!”
…So that's why Akinari’s nickname is Mumu.
Akinari turns to Kemys. “Kemys, you haven't said anything for a while.”
Kemys looks at Akinari.
“So you were never aliens.”
Masaki laughs awkwardly, “Ah… We were planning to tell you, but we couldn't think of a way to tell you properly, and…”
“Sorry,” Akinari says.
Kemys is silent. A moment later, she stands up. “Excuse me.” She quickly goes upstairs, and Sakina seems to hear a door being locked.
“Ah… K-Kemys…” Masaki looks at where she disappeared frowning.
The living room falls silent.
After a while, Akinari looks at Sakina. “This might be hard to accept. If you have other questions, please ask us.”
“…Okay,” Sakina replies, heart heavy with a whirlwind of emotions.
Lying in her new room, Kemys stares at the ceiling. She’s been doing breathing exercises for a while, yet she can't seem to fall asleep.
She turns yet again. A tiny part of her still misses the tea that person used to give her in times like these —
Kemys sits up. She can go get hot water herself as well. In fact, she’s lived perfectly fine on her own for the last few years. This is nothing.
…That person will tell her to get up if she can't sleep as well.
After putting on her headphones, Kemys quietly slips out of her room. Her room is the closest to the stairs. Down the stairs, then towards the kitchen —
There's a silhouette outside the window.
Her body gets ready to strike before she sees the wings clearly. Big black bat wings, with brown tips? Is that…
“Kokatsu…?” Kemys opens the door.
The figure turns around slowly and signs, “That's me.”
Kemys blinks. Not only is Kokatsu in front of her, they are also… signing?
“I know about you,” Kokatsu signs, “Don't worry, this is simply a dream. Perhaps you have encountered some hardships lately?”
Hardships… The past couple of months have been eventful, to say the least. But quite some time has passed; she should be used to it now.
Kemys considers signing, yet ultimately gives up. She uses her headphones to say, “Things have happened… but I think I’m fine.”
“I see,” Kokatsu considers for a moment. “One cannot fight forever. Rest is the best way to prepare for the next fight.”
Ah, a line from the Shiki, although less often used and slightly different from the version she was taught. She knows this… what does it mean?
“You shall rest.” Kokatsu approaches her, “Rest now, my child.”
The world goes black.
Kemys wakes up to soft sunlight shining through the blinds. She is back in her room again. So it was all a dream…
She checks the clock and decides it's about time to get up, though the dream still appears in her mind.
“It's a long story,” Akinari thinks for a while, “Basically, we were separated when we were young, so we don't know much about the other’s childhood. But technically we are twins.”
Sakina and Kemys are wordless. Sakina signs, “Technically…”
Akinari seems a bit troubled. “I told you it's a long story. You can ask Saki later.”
“Alright,” Sakina compromises.
It is now lunchtime, and Masaki appears at the dining table just in time.
Sakina looks at Masaki, hesitating. It seems she hasn't figured out a natural way to bring up the question.
Kemys decides to get straight to the point. “Masaki, when is your birthday?”
“My birthday?” Masaki swallows a bite of food, “February 4th. What’s wrong?”
Kemys and Sakina glance at each other.
Sakina signs, “A long time ago, you told me your birthday is today, but Kemys says you told her your birthday is in August, and just now Akinari told us you are twins, so your birthday is on May 13th…”
“Eh… Umm…” Masaki freezes, “You caught me. I just made those up, ehehe.”
“…So it's on May 13th like Akinari said?” Sakina asks.
“Hm… Wait, no, I don't want my birthday to be on such a sad day!”
“Sad? Why?”
Masaki pouts, “That's the day the last cherry blossoms wilt away!”
“That's why it's my birthday,” Akinari says, “But it indeed does not suit you. Let's have different birthdays then.”
Sakina interrupts, “You can just… have different birthdays like that…?”
“Actually, neither of us know when our birthday is,” Akinari explains, “For convenience, I’ve always said that my birthday is on May 13th, but it seems Saki has been saying a different date every time.”
“Mm-hmm. It's pretty fun,” Masaki nods.
Sakina thinks for a moment, “So, do you not celebrate birthdays?”
“We said before that we are aliens. There are ones who celebrate, but we don't.”
“Wha-” Masaki rubs her eyes, slowly blinking awake. The clock shows that it's a little bit past 8 AM. “Mumu? Why did you wake me up?”
“Sakina is sick.”
“What?” Masaki jumps up from bed. “Wha- How- How are they right now?”
Akinari considers how to explain the situation. “They nearly fainted just now, and —”
“Oh no!” Masaki rushes out the door. “No, no, no—”
Akinari watches as she slams the door to Sakina’s room. “…Um.”
“Nana!” Masaki rushes to Sakina’s bedside. Sakina lies on the bed, eyes closed. She holds their hand. “Nana, are you okay? What's wrong?”
Sakina opens their eyes and looks at her. They try to raise their hands, but then they give out.
“Ah, don't push yourself,” Masaki says and uses her magic. “Okay, I can hear your thoughts now. Just think about what you want to tell me, okay?”
“Just like before…” The voice appears in her head. Sakina smiles weakly. “Ah, nothing. I… should be fine, please don't worry…”
“You are not fine!” Masaki almost yells, “Just- Just tell me what happened, okay?”
“It's just… It's probably just the cold I caught a few days before. Don't worry, it'll go away soon… It's always like this, you know it…”
The cold? Is that why Sakina was coughing before? Oh, she should have noticed, why didn't she ask them about it…
“Tell me what you're feeling. I can heal you,” Masaki holds their hand a little tighter.
She can't hear anything for a moment. Sakina’s smile drops a little. “Fatigue, weakness, a bit of nausea… probably a fever too. My magic isn't working as well as usual.”
“…Okay,” Masaki raises her hand, before remembering that she can use her staff. She summons her trusty Tree Branch — oh, she missed the familiar grooves and warmth — and channels her magic.
Sakina closes their eyes, and a faint glow envelopes Sakina’s body. Masaki stares intently, ignoring the undercurrent of doubt inside.
She can heal Nana. She will heal Nana. She has to believe that she can heal Nana.
The glow fades away. Sakina opens their eyes.
“How are you feeling?” Masaki hurriedly asks.
Sakina moves around and concentrates on how they feel. “I feel back to normal now,” they sign, “Your magic is as good as always… Masa.”
She makes the staff disappear, then smiles. “I’m glad.”
“…You didn't need to worry that much, though,” Sakina signs carefully, “I would be fine—”
“No!” Masaki interrupts them, “What do you mean you would be fine? You mean you would suffer alone and pretend you're fine until you get better?”
Sakina averts their eyes.
“You know I don't like it when you do that. At least tell me…” Masaki pouts.
“Sorry,” they quickly sign, “But I get sick all the time…”
“And I can heal you all the time,” she says.
Sakina hesitates.
Masaki holds their hand again and looks directly at them. “I’m— We’re always here, okay? We can help you whenever you need us. In fact, I’m the one who brought you here, so I should take care of you.”
Sakina stares at her, wordless. A moment later, they laugh softly.
“What's so funny?”
“…I just thought it seems like I am getting scolded by someone who looks like a child, even though I am an adult now.”
“Hey! I’m not a child! I’m older than you! Besides, you only turned 18 this year!”
