melodiesofeternity | Anniversary Event: Defying Fate

Before coming here, the only fairies she'd had any sort of experience with were in stories. Or Tikki, but she wasn't entirely sure a kwami even counted in this instance.

Either way, she'd been keeping her eyes open as they walked. Mai had agreed to sit this one out, but Tikki had wanted to come along, so the little red kwami was currently tucked away in one of the pockets of Marinette's bag.

"Do we know where they heard about the fairy, or its name?" These were, perhaps, things they should've stopped to discuss before-hand, but there was still time.

"How much cake do you think we'll need?"

"Beats me. I figure the kids ought'a know when we find 'em." These woods were kinda pretty. Sort of made him homesick, honestly. How many days did he spend exploring them, climbing trees and catching bugs? Yukiko always found them funny. If he'd ever met Chie way back when, she'd probably wonder why they both went insane.

"Probably a shit ton. But I ain't about to lug a three-tier cake out here on a fancy dolly and get jumped by sweet-tooth bears! I figure a small sample works to keep us from comin' empty-handed, and we can make more for the faerie if it asks, yeah?"

Edited 2019-03-18 15:31 (UTC)

"Some tales are only told, not documented. If we haven't found the legend they're following now, it's likely it was a story their parents would often tell them."

Kids were, after all, impressionable. People seemed aware of the world ending in the manner it does so it'd be reasonable that - without knowing when - their parents would tell them stories while going to bed.

"Perhaps they wouldn't mind providing a kitchen... somehow..."

The next area they stepped in was different, no crossroad, just a simple path forward. But there was something wrong. The tree next to the exit had one of Kanji's ribbon tied to it, even though they had never been to this area before. Clearly the trees around them were not to be trusted...

There is a stone in the middle of this area. The stone looks pretty fragile and easily breakable. The text on it is written in the language of the Eidolons.

Where fairies lie

The red fairy sure can't make up her mind.
When she's yellow, she can't help but lie,
But when she's pink she always says the truth.

White is all, Black is none.

Together they'll doom you,
But in a void they're pretty cool.

And the final mix? You're out of luck if you get it.

So if you don't wanna die, destroy this stone or you'll be stuck forever.
Just don't go where fairies lie!

"Tch!" He'd picked a specific color, too. That sure as shit was his ribbon exactly where it couldn't possibly be.

"There's one'a my ribbons over there. I thought I was clever and everything. Damn it..." He folded his arms over his chest, and noticed the markings all over the stone. In his travels to the temples to help Naoto get a hold of some of the eidolons, he could at least recognize the language when he saw it.

He nodded to the other three. As the only non-summoner among them, the etchings were gobbledygook as far as he was concerned, but he knew better.

"You guys're up. I'll keep watch on the treeline."

"Right..."

They found what they were here for. So, together with Marinette and Ren, Naoto would translate what was written on the stone for Kanji to understand. Sounded like a riddle to her, and from the looks of the ribbon on the tree, there was plenty off about the forest that they had to be careful.

"So, thoughts?"

Ren's eyes darted from one end of the scenery to the other when he first spied that ribbon, and went in to adjust his glasses before the translation. By the time it's all out in the open, he's pinching his chin gently between a thumb and forefinger.

But he shakes his head, having no insight for the sudden riddle just yet. He will, however, lean in closer to get a better look at that stone...

"We should... be careful with this." Did they even want to move it? He wasn't exactly keen on the dying part either, though.

"Don't know what any of it means, but I'm sick of bein' stuck." He put a hand to his glasses and changed jobs to Black Mage. The robes replaced his furs and armor, and his eyes bloomed to a pair of embers from under the concealing hood.

"Memorize the colors or write that down. I'm gonna break the rock." He wasn't keen on dying, but... he couldn't read the stuff or speak to faeries. If it got bad, well... They could get the cake off his corpse and he'll see 'em in a couple of days.

The first thing that caught her attention in this new area was the ribbon. Marinette was almost entirely certain they hadn't been this way yet, and still, there it was.

Following that, the stone and its markings were the only other notable things in the area, so she made her way over to stand beside Naoto.

"It's definitely a riddle, but not one I've ever heard. Or maybe just a poem?" Either way, it wasn't something she was familiar with. She considered asking Tikki about it, but that might not be the best idea with everyone else around.

In the meantime, she pulled out her iMog and proceeded to snap at least a dozen photos of the rock and the markings. Just to be on the safe side, she went on to open up a text document and add a transcript of the poem... riddle... whatever it was.

"What if it's a trick? Are we sure it's safe to break the rock?" Color her skeptical, but she just wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of someone playing with them.

"Where do fairies lie?" But also, was that lie as in rest, or lie as in tell lies?

"We can't be sure unless we try, but..." Ren gazed over Kanji's way over the rims of his specs, mentally on the same page without knowing it. If they didn't try to make a difference here, the loop was certain to go on— it was only by taking risks that they'd get anywhere... probably.

If things went south, maybe next time they could do at least a little better— which were the words he chose to leave unspoken between the four of them.

Upon breaking the rock, nothing happens. Should they go forward though, they'll reach a crossing. There are three fairies, they're really tiny so all that can see them is a small bubble of light as they fly by: one is red, the other is blue and the last one is green. The green fairy goes toward the path on the left and addresses the characters.

"Here, come this way!"

But then the blue fairy goes toward the path on the right.

"No no no, come this way!"

"Stop lying to them! You know there's nothing on that path!"

"Lying, me? You're the liar!"

The fairies keep bickering and will answer whatsoever no questions from the characters. The red fairy flies around and hesitates, but finally she goes toward the green fairy on the left path.

Uh oh. They said nothing about blue or green. But something in the back of his mind was nagging him. As a burgeoning textile expert, something didn't make sense.

Wait. One faerie was green.

"Right!" He hissed to the group, turning away from the faeries.

"I think we go right. If these faeries can combine n' change color, that green's part yellow." Then, he scratched his head.

"I think red lights n' green lights make yellow, too... but I know more about pigments than light stuff."

Naoto had made sure to write down in her notebook the Eidolon script translated for their progression. She was concerned what this 'final mix' meant, but aside from that, the stone was destroyed and she would have to contemplate it further as they went along.

The encounter with the fairies was... but she shook her head.

"Right. The mixture of colors is different when it comes to lights..." Even looking now, the red and green fairies close together were blending yellow.

"White is the reflection of all colors while black is the absorption."

Now that gives them a better idea of what they're working with. "Then we should follow the blue one."

Before she could think much about it, they happened across a group of fairies. The first thing that occurred to her was that there were three; red, blue and green.

The poem hadn't mentioned blue or green, but that was alright.

Fortunately, it seemed like Naoto had this figured out.

"Should we wait and see if a pink one shows up, or just follow the blue one now?"

There was no telling if or when that would happen, and she couldn't decide whether or not waiting would be the smarter option.

The fairies keep bickering in the meantime, as did the red one. They wouldn't do anything else till a path was picked, it seemed.

"Oi, Red... c'mon, we're goin' right. Got a good feeling. Also got cake!"

So rather than waiting, he gestured to the gleaming red light and proceeded in the path the blue faerie pointed out. Nothing was ever accomplished by waiting, eh?

There's a nod from Ren, the misleading colours were a bit of a throw-off, but he seemed to agree with Naoto's decision— should a pink fairy show up later as Marinette suggested might happen, they could cross that bridge when they came to it. For now, inaction wasn't an option.

Together they'll doom you...

Why did that line seem to be on an internal loop in his mind?

Eyeing the fairies as Naoto headed right with the group, they would have to be careful to make sure the fairies did not come together on whichever path they decided to take. If they did shift this way, they would just take the last path to get away.

"..."

And she was concerned what they might do at the offer of cake.

Upon taking the right path, they arrive at another crossroad. Nothing bad's happened to them though so they must have made the right choice, right?

"Ehehe! You must be feeling really smart, don't ya?"

A white fairy emerges from the left path, addressing them. Then soon, another emerges from the right path. This one appears to be black— It's hard to see her at all.

"Now which path is the right one, do you know it?"

"Whoa... more of 'em!" A black and a white one. Now, didn't they say that white was all, black was none? So what did that mean?

He paused to reach into his bag, retrieving the little clear case containing a spread of handmade buttercream cupcakes. Over the top of each was a spring flower made from candied petals. For any sweet-tooth, it was a dream.

"We got somewhere to be, a'right? I got enough cake for everybody I met so far, but only after we find who we're lookin' for."

He paused.

"But before I go, I always wondered: Am I the tallest one in this group?"

The fairies were no help, so Marinette was content to follow along with the group for the time being. She still planned on keeping an eye out for a pink fairy, but this was better than waiting around.

The arrival of the black and white fairies was unexpected, but honestly a little unnerving. Her first thought was the poem, but at least they seemed to be happy to float along individually.

Offering cake was an interesting tactic, and she was actually pretty curious to see how well it worked. If nothing else, it would be good to know for the future.

Kanji's question made her smile, though, probably because it wasn't something she'd really thought about before.

"I'm gonna say yes."

Most unfortunately, the fairies completely ignore the cupcakes.

"Oh it's cute, he thinks he can buy us out with cake."

"Ahahahaha! Don't worry, if we're hungry we got a prime quality meal..."

The two of them say the next word together.

"You!"

"So be sure you don't pick the wrong path unless you want to be cake!"

Flesh-eating faeries. Why wasn't he surprised. But that's okay- if they didn't want to play nice he had some nice cold iron to feed 'em instead. The 'beast' chuckled and was excited by the prospect of that outcome, rather than this peaceful bullshit. Kanji was finding the idea tempting, because this whole thing was getting frustrating.

Now would be the perfect time for the others to come up with a plan.

"A'right, let's put it another way: Would you two agree 100% that I got the most meat on me?"

This was... unexpected. But with a contemplative "Nnn..." Ren wasn't exactly pumped to hear about their eating habits. Could it be that the white fairy would consume them all, while the black would nibble on none?

Or was that too easy...

There's a cautious glance at each of the group members as he wondered if they were considering the same thing— though his grey eyes landed on Kanji last. Did he... have a plan?

"..."

Kanji, Naoto is going to let you finish your thing, but she already had turned to face the black fairy. Looking at her notes, 'Black is none, But in a void they're pretty cool'.

Quietly, she would be shifting that way since they should be getting a move on.

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