Majoraa
Ariamis
FaithfulMuse
The World
twave
CitrusArms
Shinny
Lime
Villamvihar
Two days after the rave…
Rays of morning sunlight streamed through the window of Connie and Mia’s room at Penrose Orphanage. Normally, it would fall upon two slumbering figures, but today, a third individual was lying under the oversized bed’s warm covers. For over twenty-four hours, Faith had been sleeping in the middle of the bed, surrounded by Connie’s collection of stuffed animals, and flanked by the room’s usual occupants. After the exhausting events of the rave and subsequent battle in the park, Connie and Mia had decided to remain in bed themselves for most of the previous day, while making sure to keep a careful watch over Faith, while she regained her strength. Now, for the first time since that horrible night, Faith’s eyes began to open and perceive the world around her with clarity once again.
”Mmmmm!”
Faith pushed the sheets off of herself and stretched. Her hand came up to her mouth as she yawned. Then her hazel eyes scanned the room. She looked to Gaia, then to Connie, and then at her coveralls that she had worn to bed. ”Wait, what?” She turned to Connie, and her eyes ballooned. ”I’m-” She clamped her arms around her chest. ”My skin!” She shrieked. ”My divine mantle has been plundered! Ahhhhhhh!”
Mia winced and Connie sat bolt upright at the sound of Faith’s shriek. Before either of them knew it, their friend had rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. It locked with a click.
“F-Faith…?” Connie asked in a tone of dazed confusion, unsure if she was dreaming things.
“Not so loud…” Mia muttered. “Tryin’ to sleep here…”
Though they could hear her audibly clear her throat. Then, with a voice better associated with the fairy girl, she spoke.
”I would ride with you upon the wind, run on the top of the disheveled tide, and dance upon the mountains like a flame!”
Gold and neon light poured through the door’s seems. When the door swung open, a wall of fog and glitter tumbled into the room, only to vanish in the next few seconds. And standing in the doorway was Faith, self-proclaimed demigoddess.
”Hello beauties~!” Faith strummed her harp. ”I see a shapeshifter tried to take my place at your side. But her beauty and grace pail when compared to the real thing!” She spun on her heel and giggled. ”Who’s in the mood for blueberry pancakes~?”
“Mmm… That sounds nice…” Mia mumbled, her eyes still closed and only barely awake.
“Faith!” Connie exclaimed, while jumping out of bed and rushing over to the fairy girl. “Y-You’re finally awake! I’m so glad you’re okay! A-And I’m s-so s-sorry about Lotus,” she added with tear–filled eyes, while wrapping her in a big hug. “I w-wish we c-could have b-been there for you…” she sobbed while holding Faith tightly. “I-I mean, I s-saw the m-message you s-sent me a-after w-we brought you here, b-but I d-didn’t have time to l-look at it at the r-rave, b-because everything k-kinda w-went c-crazy, b-but i-if I had, and w-we’d been there s-sooner, then m-maybe…”
While Connie was tearfully giving her rambling apology, Mia had finally woken up, and for the first time noticed the situation playing out before her.
“Holy crap… Faith’s awake…”
Faith sighed. ”So that wasn’t all a dream then?” The Fairy traipsed to the end of the bed and sat down, taking Connie along with her. ”We didn’t know each other long, but she was still one of my oldest friends.” She placed a hand on the side of her face. ”I’m sorry, I don’t know if I can make breakfast. Not only is this news truly terrible, but I seem to have a pain in the back of my neck.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”When I turn my neck a certain way, my entire spine shivers.” She looked at Connie. ”Maybe I slept on a teddy bear?”
“A-Actually, I-I t-think it m-might be b-because y-you were, umm… i-injured in the fight…” Connie said hesitantly as she sat down next to Faith.
“Yeah, some crazy edgelord bitch in black armor attacked you,” Mia added with a yawn as she stretched herself out, “but with the help of some friends, we managed to drive her off and heal most of your injuries. You were out cold through all of that, though, so I’m not surprised you don’t remember any of it.”
“O-One of the p-people who h-helped us said they k-knew someone who had a h-healing artifact, and they’d t-try and b-bring it over w-when they c-could. I h-hope you don’t m-mind that we brought you h-here… S-Since we d-don’t know w-where you l-live, we thought...”
”I have a home in the forest, but it’s not as nice as this.” While holding onto Connie, she fell backwards onto the bed. ”And that sounds horrible. I’m glad I don’t remember it. ” Faith traced circles in Connie’s hair with her finger. ”That healing artifact sounds like a good idea, I’m glad you’re so resourceful.” She continued to groom Connie before turning to look at Mia, but not without wincing. ”I’m sorry, um, did my mother hurt anyone?”
“Your mother?” Mia asked, more than a little puzzled. Then, her eyes widened as realization dawned. “Holy shit… A-Are you telling me that horror is your mother?!”
”Hmm?” Faith Still had a hand on the back of her neck. ”That was Gaia! I wouldn’t call her a horror, but she can be a little frightening.”
Mia’s head spun after hearing Faith’s explanation. “Uh, yeah… You could say that… But, uh, no, ‘she’ didn’t really cause all too much trouble,” Mia said, choosing to leave out the parts about the Pillar Druids, mystic energy lances, corn cob missiles, and cute girls turned tentacle monsters.
Connie’s phone buzzed not long after as a message came in. ‘Got the artifact. Let me know where to meet up.’ Back on Raven’s end she would delete the message and wait for a response.
”Looks like someone got a call.” Faith kicked her legs. ”I didn’t realise other people knew you. That must be nice~!”
“Y-Yeah, I made a lot of n-new f-friends at the rave, j-just like you s-said I would,” Connie told her as she picked up the phone, having missed the revelation of “Gaia’s” true nature due to how blissfully relaxing Faith’s caressing had been. “B-But t-this is t-the p-person who s-said they c-could get the h-healing artifact. T-They’ve g-got the artifact and w-want to m-meet up s-somewhere…”
”I’m fine right here.” She picked up one of Connie’s dolls and started to wiggle its arms. ”Or we can go to the forest! But that might be dangerous now that Lotus is gone.” She hugged the doll against her chest. ”I should send Nuncio a text.” She pulled out her phone, which had some charms featuring fairies, hearts, and stars. ”It usually takes him a while to get back to me, but he never picks up if I call him~!” she giggled. ”Regardless, I think that’s something I could use.” She reached for a tin on her hip and pulled out a band aid. ”Then again, these have always worked for me in the past~!”
“U-Umm… I d-don’t know h-how much g-good a b-band-aid will do…” Connie said as she watched Faith apply the bandage. “A-As for the m-meeting, I, umm, g-guess she could c-come here… W-Would that be okay, Mia?”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Mia said firmly. “I know she meant well, but that girl seemed kinda clueless. I’m not too fond of the idea of her knowing where we live. Or seeing us untransformed…” she added.
“W-Well, she d-did see F-Faith untransformed,” Connie pointed out, “b-but I g-guess I k-know w-what you m-mean…” Turning to Faith, she whispered, “Mia gets r-really e-embarrassed about her m-magical girl f-form, s-since it’s s-so d-different from how she u-usually is.”
Faith’s brow was fret the entire time Connie was talking. ”I told you! That was a shapeshifter!” She placed her hands on her shoulders with a smile. ”This demigoddess has one shape, and you’re looking at it!” She hopped to her feet and stretched. ”Regardless, I would love some fresh air-Gah!” Faith swat the back of her neck. ”B-being this happy is tiresome. But I know it’s what Lotus would have wanted.” She walked forward. ”The pancakes can wait, let’s grab a banana and run~!”
“O-Okay,” Connie said, a little taken aback by the whole “shapeshifter” thing. “I-If you t-think it’s safe…” she added, while texting raven with the location of the clearing in which she and Mia had first met Faith. “C-Come on, Mia! L-Let’s go!”
Faith was peeling her third banana. ”A bit less dreary than the city, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yeah,” Connie agreed. “I-It’s actually r-really p-pretty out here…”
While Penrose was in shambles, the surrounding forests had held strong. Which made sense when you considered there were fewer people littering, camping, and hunting out here. Though the path had become overgrown. Branches extended into their way, and the grass was up to their knees. There hadn’t been a snow in a while, so there was nothing holding the plants back.
Faith inhaled. ”Mmmm, even the smell is nice.”
“Indeed it is,” Gaia agreed with a blissful sigh. “The desolation sinking its malign tendrils into the city has yet to take root here, for which I am most thankful.” Both she and Connie had changed into their magical girl forms and were now following Faith as she led them down the forest path. “If memory serves, we should be nearing our destination.”
In the time it took them to travel to the forest Raven had flown most of the way already. They had let her know where to go in the forest. She supposed they didn’t want her knowing where they lived or whatever, which was entirely understandable. It didn’t take her long to locate them from her vantage point. Flying down a Raven with a golden object in its talons. Slowing down it changed into Raven proper with the healing artifact in hand. ”Hi girls.” She smiled. ”Good to see you up and about Faith. I brought the artifact.” Holding up the object she began to step closer to the group.
“H-Hello again,” Connie said, giving the girl a smile. “T-Thank’s for d-doing this.”
”Wait a second.” Faith raised her hand. ”You’re friends with her?”
“W-Well… I g-guess so?” Connie replied hesitantly. “W-We m-met her at the p-park, w-when she h-helped get you to s-safety. W-We don’t r-really know her all t-that well… I-In f-fact, we d-didn’t even k-know her n-name until today.”
The Fairy flexed her fingers. ”Raven Bianchi? Like Amber Bianchi, right?”
Ah, someone else that knew Amber she supposed. This was very quickly becoming a nuisance. "Ngh, kind of? I chose the name because I'm part of her soul that got stolen or something. Though as I was rudely informed by someone a couple days ago I'm apparently nothing like Amber. I'm beginning to think choosing her name was a mistake. Has a lot of baggage I know nothing about." She dropped her hands. "Can't really do much about how I look though. I'm sure that'll haunt me eventually."
”She helped me?” Faith hugged her harp against her chest. ”Amber was Lotus’s sworn enemy, and you helped the cardinal escape. But you helped me escape too?” She sunk to her knees. ”Why won’t Nuncio pick up?” The grass waved about her shoulders. She took her hand and brushed her hair back. ”I’m sorry if I upset you Raven, it’s been a rough 24 hours. If you want to try healing me, the back of my neck is bothering me.” Before Raven could get to work, Faith’s head shot up. ”Oh! But if Raven is nothing like Amber Bianchi, maybe we should give her a new name!” She turned to Connie with a smile. ”It doesn’t have to be her real name, we can give her a nickname!”
Raven was slightly confused, though it looked as though Faith may have been as well. She wasn’t entirely against the suggestion to change the name. ”I mean, if you want to help me with that that would be great. I’m not the most creative with names, obviously. I kind of chose it on the spot when I was brought to life like… almost three days ago?” Clearly she hadn’t learned much about keeping things to herself. Way too much of an open book.
Part of someone’s soul? Brought to life only three days ago? Connie’s head spun as Raven spoke, each new piece of information seemingly stranger than the last. But there was no time to be confused now. Faith was talking about giving Raven a nickname, and Connie had always liked nicknames, especially cute ones, so she immediately started brainstorming. “Hmmm… L-Let’s see…” she began, inadvertently thinking out loud as she often did. “A R-Raven’s a bird, so m-maybe birdie? N-No… W-What’s another n-name for a bird? A-Avian? Avia? Avi? Ava?”
Gaia simply smiled and slowly shook her head. Connie may have loved nicknames, the verdant magical girl reflected, but she was absolutely terrible at coming up with them…
”She may be named after a bird, but I scarcely think we should stay with that.” Faith stroked her chin. ”I don’t know why, but I get this ‘Norse’ vibe from her. Valkyrie also fly, but that’s a little too on the nose.” Faith hummed to herself as she continued to think. ”Off the top of my head, Hildr and Eir are the only valkyrie I can think of. Hildr resurrected the dead, and Eir is often associated with medical skills. I like how short Eir is, but it almost sounds like I’m saying ‘ear.’ Hildr isn’t too cute, but Hilde is~!”
Hilde huh? It was certainly an older sounding name. Not that she was against such a thing. The past was something that stuck to her rather naturally. It had an odd appeal. ”Okay. So that’s one option. Also good call on the Norse bit. My patron would probably like that.”
“W-Wow, Faith, y-you’re really good at this!” Connie gushed. “Hilde’s a great name! Don’t you think so, Mia?”
“Yes,” Gaia said with a nod. “It certainly sounds cute, but it is also filled with meaning. I like it. Although, I am curious… Did you have any ideas yourself, Raven?”
“D-Don’t you mean Hilde?” Connie asked, while giving her friend a grin.
“Of course, little sister,” Gaia replied with a smile of her own. “My most sincere apologies.”
"I... Not really. Hilde. Hilde." She would say the name aloud a few times to herself to get a better feel for it. "Maybe if we work out the last name too. That one is the problematic one as I'm learning. Maybe it’ll all come together."
”Hilde Eir has a nice ring to it.” Faith nodded. ”Though you probably want a real surname. I’ll need to cheat for that one.” she pulled up her phone and flicked through some web pages. ”Hilde Frydenlund? Hilde Borgerson? Hilde Hjelmstad? I don’t even know if I’m pronouncing those right, and they aren’t cute enough. They’re on the long side too. We want a last name that’s just a touch smaller than your first name.” After a bit more searching, her face lit up. ”Ah! Hilde Bell!” She looked at Raven. ”It is a Scandinavian name, though it has German and English origins. Since your soul also has distant origins, maybe it’s not a bad pick?“ Faith rubbed the back of her neck. ”How long does it take for the healing to start?“
Raven had become sidetracked from her duties with the artifact with the name thing. "Oh, sorry." She raised the artifact again and began feeding it magic. Thankfully that was something she had a decent amount of so even despite how inefficient the thing was she could fuel it for a while. "I'm actually more sold on Bell than I am Hilde to be honest. As a last name anyway. Now you know why I just picked Raven, it was easy."
“Hilde Bell…” Connie said aloud. “Hilde Bell,” she repeated, this time saying it a little faster. “Hildebell! W-Wow! W-When you s-say it really fast, it sounds even cuter!” Connie exclaimed with a giggle, causing Gaia to laugh as well at the sight of how adorably excited her friend was getting.
”Well, most people receive their names as a gift. Like how mine was bestowed upon me by my divine mother~!” Faith closed her eyes and sighed. ”That’s starting to feel a lot better. But as for your name, perhaps your name would have more meaning if it came from someone important to you hmmm? I may be a demigoddess, but I am not your guardian.” She smiled. ”Regardless, I think Connie is correct. Regardless of what they call you, you will always be Hildebell to us~!”
The raven girl's face turned slightly red as the others toyed with the name. Shortly she had to smile at the silliness of it all. "Oh well now I have to keep it." She laughed. "And I'm not really sure they care what I call myself. Otherwise they would have given me a name. They knew I didn't have one to begin with." She would go silent for a moment and say the name again to herself. "Hilde Bell. I'll think on it, but it's growing on me."
“I-I’m so glad!” Connie cheered, clapping her hands together. “I already s-said how c-cute I think it is, a-and I’m s-sure your other friends will t-think it’s r-really adorable t-too!”
Once the healing was done, Faith stood up and rubbed her shoulders. ”Yes, now I feel like a goddess regardless of which direction my head is turned.” She spun on her heel and patted Hildebell on the head. ”Well, thank you. I’m glad I gave you a chance. I’ve never met Amber, but if there’s any of her in you, she can’t be all bad.” Faith sighed. ”A-anyway, did everyone want to do anything else? It was nice to do this.”
"I would love to! This has been a lot of fun. The group would be looking at her since she was the last one to speak. "I have no idea what we can so though. I get the feeling Faith knows Penrose the best." She would hope someone did.
Faith looked away.”Well, more the forests and the suburbs than Penrose proper.” The fairy giggled.
“Y-Yeah, I’d r-really like t-that t-too!” Connie added. “I-I’ve n-never had the chance to s-spend a day h-hanging out w-with friends before! A-At least, aside f-from Mia… B-but, e-ever since all the d-disasters s-started, m-most of the n-nice p-places are closed…”
Gaia’s heart ached to see Connie’s disappointment. Although she had a possible solution to their problem, she also had considerable misgivings about voicing it. Still, if it provided a chance to bring even a little joy to her friend’s all-too-often joyless life, she would have to take it, regardless of the risks. Giving voice to a weary sigh, the verdant magical girl spoke up, “If all else fails, we can all go back to the home Connie and I share. It is a rather meager dwelling, but it has been my experience that the company filling it makes all the difference.”
“B-But, M-Mia…” Connie gasped, placing her hands over her mouth. “Y-You s-said…”
“Yes, well… I was being foolish, little sister,” Gaia replied, while placing a hand on Connie’s shoulder and flashing her a reassuring smile. “I now realize we have nothing to fear from our new friend. She is welcome to visit us any time.”
“Oh, Mia! Thank you!” Connie cried joyfully as she gave her best friend a big hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
”I hope you have board games then!” Faith strummed her harp. ”Then let us go back to their dwelling! You can set up a board game while I make Blueberry pancakes! A proper breakfast!” She lifted a finger to her lip. ”Chocolate pancakes are also good. Everything is good if you slice up a banana over it however!” With a laugh, the fey girl played a song and led everyone back to Mia’s home.
