genessia | 7th Healing | They Never Said Life Was Easy

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7th Healing | They Never Said Life Was Easy

[[Action: Everglade]]

Konoka's summer in review:

-Went on a lovely camping trip
-Traded barbs with a friend
-Realized she had feelings for said friend
-Then had no time to confess because Everglade went to hell in a handbasket because Dracula is a huge jerk
-Saw one of her mentors again, and set up room for her in her apartment somehow.
-Healed someone
-Learned Dracula's rampaging due to something about his wife... but the details were hard to come by, due to Dracula being... well, a jerk
-By the time she got some free time, the person she wanted to confess to... might have already been going out with someone else.

Long story short, Konoka was on a roller coaster of emotions, and the brunette was having difficulty dealing with it. So for the first time, she wound up digging into a bounty, a surprisingly easily solved case once she was willing to brave one of Everglade's wicked nights. In the end, it turned out that she wasn't truly cognizant of Everglade, just Castlevania... otherwise, why would she have been surprised when it turned out that it was a human vandalizing non-human properties? Maybe she should actually venture out and explore the place.

When not at her shop, Konoka could be seen venturing out into Everglade itself, poking at stores, asking people about their lives if they look approachable, regardless of whether or not they were human. And of course, she was keeping a close eye on Castlevania, knowing that something dangerous had been brewing there for the past few days. Maybe from this trip she'd be able to expand her shop's business... or at least get some fresh air. Too bad she seems a bit distracted.

[[Video]]

Hey everyone!

Now, I know I said Everglade is super dangerous right now, and as far as I know that still holds true. But I feel like I've been cowering for too long. I still work here, and I want to make this place better for visiting... given that I specialize in protective magic, it's the least I can do. If there's something else I can do to improve Everglade, let me know.

In the meantime, if you need to actually visit, please stop by my store! I sell protective charms so ghosts and undead can't get ya... even if you're not human! It'll be especially useful if you don't already have magic.

[[Video, locked to those who know of Castlevania except Dracula]]

This might be bold of me to ask, given that I'm just a bystander now... but Dracula mentioned he had a wife. Who is she? Why is he angry about her now?

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[Chiaki had never really gone to Everglade all that often and she figured that at some point, even after a year of being here nearly that she should. So she appears on the feed, pausing for a moment, looking up from a game she had been playing just moment ago.]

I might come to visit, just to see what it is like.

[ Oh that's Chiaki, isn't it? Didn't Mariko ask her out? Konoka had to minds about that, and she had to bite her lip to keep her complicated emotions from bubbling to the surface. She attempted to greet her cheerily as normal. ]

Oh, Chiaki!

I... hmmm, well you can, but please be careful! My shop's only open during the day.

His wife is a human woman, Lisa Tepes.

[He frowns slightly.]

He wrongfully believed that the woman brought here was a homunculus. He was too blind to see that the Lisa brought here was the very same that he wed centuries ago.

[ Konoka blinked. She hadn't seen this person before, but something about his bearing told her that he wasn't fibbing to her at all. ]

So... she's alive and here?

[ Konoka looked thoughtful. ]

So what you're saying is that Dracula thinks her being around is too good to be true.

[ Why are human instincts so dumb sometimes? ]

To state it lightly, yes.

[To put it more harshly is "Dracula is a dumbass who was in denial."]

Her soul has been too far gone for even Death himself to reach her. There is a greater force than even him in this world to have brought her back from her fate.

Dracula refused to see it that way.

So what you're saying is that Dracula is a blockhead, then.

[ Thank goodness she remembered to filter this from him. ]

I dunno if you know this, but he's been at Genessia longer than even I have, so I'm sure he should have figured it out by now.

[ She gave a long suffering sigh. ]

I don't think I have any hope of reaching him, but... if there's something I can do to help, let me know.

[ Another thought hit her. ]

By the way, how do you know him?

[He had figured Dracula must have been here for some time, but it took Alucard a matter of days to figure out that Genessia was able to bring people who were long thought dead. It made the matter of Dracula's denial all the more troublesome to deal with.]

It would be best for you to keep your distance from the castle. I would prefer to keep this matter to us until we are certain this is settled.

[He certainly would have preferred to keep it between him, Dracula and Soma, but those other girls were a great help. The one did manage to hold off Dracula's wrath long enough...]

Dracula is my father.

Whoa. I see.

[ His appearance made a lot more sense now. She wondered, despite the tone he spoke of Dracula, that she might have mis-stepped by her casual insult. ]

Yeah, I had no interest in picking any fight with Castlevania. I just wanted to know what was going on, given that I lived there for a time.

[ And didn't like it much. ]

I will do my best to be careful.

[If she has to she knows some moves she learned off of video games to use in self-defense.]

Plus I guess it's safer during the day.

Yep!

[ Konoka mentally chastised herself for the awkward add on. She was much better than this. However... ]

So how did you like Ayame-han's party?

Oh, I actually really enjoyed the party. it's not something I would have thought to go to before.

[She was happy she did. She was so used to going to them now. Made her want to plan her own some day with a group of friends, or at least try doing that type of thing again.]

Did you have fun?

Glad you think so!

I did too! It was great seeing more people.

[ She spoke low in an impish whisper. Perfect for disguising her more selfish curiosity. ]

Did you see any dating going on?

See any dating?

[She paused for a moment. She wasn't exactly sure what she meant, but she tried her hardest to answer.]

I don't think I saw any people on a date there if that is what you mean.

Ah.

[ Drat, that didn't tell her what she wanted to know. Though at least, it did tell her that she didn't miss anything juicy otherwise. ]

Not even anyone asking to hang out together?

[ She wisely left out any emotional requirement, given that poor Chiaki might be too awkward about that. Let the mad speculation begin. ]

Everglade probably wasn't the best place to get distracted. After all, who knew what monsters might lie in wait to prey on unwary travelers? Even in the towns and well-traveled paths, they could hide their fangs and watch for an easy mark to follow if they strayed too far...

Or, in a superficially similar but really entirely distinct series of events, they could get annoyed if their only real acquaintance flat out didn't see them waving her over and decide to get even by giving her a little scare. It was easy enough for Evangeline to appear suddenly beside Konoka while she was lost in though, the first sign of her presence the sensation of needle-sharp canines against Konoka's neck. The kind of game she'd played with Konoka's set long ago, and left off as they'd grown older and properly respectful... but evidently fresh meetings and fresh slights, even imagined, were enough to bring her back to form.

No, it certainly wasn't. It was much too dangerous, and yet here Konoka was, getting lost in her own thoughts. Well, she sure snapped back to reality quick when she felt teeth bare down on her neck. Konoka gave a high pitched shriek and attempted to throw a charm on her attacker, one that would stun them and give a mild burn. She realized a bit beforehand, however, that it was Eva. Though if Eva actually bit, she might have froze up.

If she didn't, Konoka would go through it anyway--not out of spite, but because Eva most likely trained her to those years ago.

"E-Eva-chan?!"

Eva caught the paper in her hand, heedless of the discharge of magic; the pain of a spell like that wasn't enough to do more than bring a cross look to her face. Well, in theory that kind of magic was more useful against an immortal like her than just trying to blow her to bits, but in practice she was probably a bit much to try to take on with just a charm, even if it was strong against undead...

"What the heck was that supposed to be?" On the bright side, Konoka wasn't getting bitten, but Evangeline wasn't backing off either; instead of her erstwhile student was getting pulled into some kind of headlock, the kind of rough play that poor Setsuna had usually wound up absorbing on behalf of the rest of the class. "You saw it was me and you still threw it, didn't you? Trying to banish your master to the other side just like that?"

"Waaaah!" Konoka hadn't been the recipient of a headlock like this, even though she knew Setsuna suffered plenty, so all she could do was flail. Yep, Eva was angry, and Konoka herself was really gonna get it now.

"No! That was a paralysis charm!" Konoka insisted. "I thought I'd get chewed out worse if I just laid there and took it!" Not that it was helping her any now but at least she wasn't lying. Sometimes you could only take the moral victories in embarrassing defeats.

"You thought I'd compliment your reflexes?" From Eva's tone it was perfectly clear there was no winning here. Unless Konoka counted getting backed into marshmallow hell while her arm got twisted as a win. "A decisive reaction is good, Konoka... but first how about you don't wander down some trackless monster-ridden path in a brown study? That dumb look on your face has been screaming 'free snack' since I saw you."

Konoka didn't even argue, even if her answer was a resounding no. Nah, that arm twist was hurting too much, so she was stuck squealing and trying not to sound too pathetic. She probably would have given the things that had been weighing her mind lately. If this is what Setsuna, Asuna, and Negi suffered on a regular basis, no wonder they were so strong.

She'd have to be strong too, as she was alone.

"Okay okay okay! I get it! I'll stop wandering like a clueless idiot!" Konoka said, with just a little bit of nervous giggling to push away the pain.

Evangeline didn't say anything at first. It was probably kind of hard to tell with the arm-twisting and not being able to see Eva's face but she was surprised.

"Hm... I didn't remember you being this obedient." Well, it wasn't a bad strategy; it got her let out of the hold, at least.

"Or are you just that dazed?"

Oh, I know I got asked to hang out.

[That was probably what the other was wanting, but Chiaki wouldn't be aware of such a thing.]

Apart from that, everyone else was already hanging out with one another so, no asking.

Once free, Konoka took a moment to blink at her newfound freedom actually being rewarded. For a moment, she was surprised herself.

But then she shook it off just in time to answer Eva's question. "Maybe? I've had a lot on my mind. I just chose a bad time to go wandering off. I felt like I didn't really know Everglade, and if I'm to help people (and make more money for my store), I need to know what I'm working with." She had far more on her mind than that, but it WAS one of the things she had been thinking about.

Really? By who?

[ Dammit Konoka disguise your excitement! Despite everything though, she was happy Chiaki made more friends. ]

Mariko.

[She was a friend, she wouldn't consider it all that surprising really.]

I'm always happy to hang out more with people. Made me think I should start to ask people myself more.

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7th Healing | They Never Said Life Was Easy

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