The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 494 - An Ungraceful Fall Right Into Questions
A branch manager knew she was being dismissed the moment Elua declared that she was ’done teaching’. With a full amount of ’irritation’ in the voice and spirit of the heiress, Dima knew she was being summarily dismissed by the mint-eyed teenager... who had been getting progressively more annoyed each time Dima successfully created a fragment. Storing a memory and recalling it with perfect clarity had been an incredible achievement to her - but she’d had to celebrate on her own.
When Dima managed to print an entire technical manual with only two attempts - a copy of one that didn’t exist in the Exclave? The ancient cultivator’s spirit had roiled with *petulance*. She’d spent long years figuring out the nuances of this technique and longer years refining it. Deciding how to make the device had been months of planning. Now, all because it could be presented in a clear form... a capable student could just consume it entirely in a week and start making her own progress.
’I could try and blame it on her particular Astralism. That Clarity has some innate advantage in picking correct things.’
However, that didn’t mean the brunette would have softened and been more polite. Two genius studies who she did not have strong connections to at once... was a bit too much to deal with! Dima found herself being carried, flown at high speed, and unceremoniously shoved through the activated Gateway with barely enough time to grab the travel pack she’d brought - or barely enough time to wonder why it was so heavy.
The sensation was a bit more disorienting than the realmshard teleportation, though she was sure that had more to do with being upside down when open blue sky was all around her suddenly. At least, until the moment her bit of spin revealed the aerial view of the Goltbred Estate. The only problem was that a new construction had begun directly underneath the egress point.
Yatrel had *not* been pleased about being dumped into the air, whether given the ability to fall slowly or not. In fact, that had only made it WORSE! She had been stuck up in the air looking down while waiting to finish falling for too long. That’s why, after her husband left, she took it upon herself to raise a grand pillar with a bit of a platform on top for the returning visitors to land on. Which was fine and noble - if it was not so close!
Her essence field scrambled at her pack, looking for something. She had been told that the first two sets had been given small discs inscribed with a particular ritual to slow her fall. She located it pulsing in activation already in her pack - along with another oddity - but there was still three heart pounding seconds where she was gaining velocity before it engaged. Whether it was the cultivator tool’s natural delay or Elua’s petty calibration done to make her fall for a moment, Dima would never know for certain.
But she strongly suspected the latter as she bodily rolled first on the edge of the platform... before floating down toward the estate gardens. She tried to smooth her disheveled hair and right herself, knowing she was failing to look anything like dignified through every part of this experience. Especially because two figures were fast approaching... one tall in a suit with blond hair tied back and the other with reddish-blonde hair bouncing wildly as she hopped and pointed up at the sky.
"Qat, Qat, look! Someone’s falling from the sky!"
"I see her. Step back behind me, please."
Qatrand gil Yecine’s low-toned voice carried clearly up to the branch manager. A calloused hand rested on the practice blade sheathed at her hip. Pigeon-blues tracked the fall cautiously, because it was concerning that there was only one person returning, especially a little earlier than they had been doing so far... on average. However, four year old Onya was not worried in the slightest.
Her days had been filled lately with learning the basics of cultivation under her mother - and most recently, watching a version of her sister who she hadn’t seen in years dancing with exaggerated expressions and bright colors. Cheerful melodies that only the child could hear... and of course a little voice belting out songs that made the whole estate giggle.
When Ondua came back home, he would find everyone talking about humming a song about energy flows, patterns, cycles, and most tellingly lots of ’hngg’ and ’shwaa’ interjections while laughing. But today, she’d decided swinging a stick around and mimicking her brother-sister (didn’t-really-matter to her) loved one was the only cultivating she was going to do. After all, sitting around after eating was boring!
The moment feet touched down, the woman straightened quickly and brushed the wrinkles out of her clothes. She had no real words to share immediately. Even raising her hand in greeting felt wrong, considering she was basically an intruder right now. A detail that one little girl was more than happy to play along with.
"Who goes there!?"
Wielding the little stick in front of her and taking one of the stances that had been taught a bit too well thanks to Cynosure, Onya happily confronted the woman she... absolutely recognized. After all, when she wanted to see the fox months ago, she had to go through this person! Now the tables were turned in the little mind and brown eyes of a mischievous tomboy. At least until a hand gripped soft over her skull.
"If you throw yourself in front of potential danger in my presence again, I’ll stop teaching you."
"What?! NO! It’s just Dima! Harmless!"
"Yes. It’s... just me."
"Why are you back early without the others?"
Not mincing words, the swordswoman was actively tracing her spiritual tendrils around the woman. Looking for danger, changes, and of course signs of anything sent back by her wife. Beyond the little disc, she also felt something that seemed like a collection of text with traces of the reincarnator on it, and some sort of other device within the woman’s pack.
"I was kicked out. For learning exactly what she asked me to."
"...I don’t really understand, but somehow I feel like you are owed apologies. And it might... not be the end of that."
Yatrel er Goltbred was rushing out from the side entrance of the estate as they spoke. The duelist strode across the garden with plenty of energy, mint eyes bright with what looked like fervor that somewhat dimmed as she looked around in the sky, toward the platform, and confirmed that it was only one person on the ground.
"How is my husband? Was my eldest driving everyone mad with her antics? More importantly, where is my husband if he has not returned yet?"
The barrage of questions continued as the Dame Goltbred more than closed the distance. The sigilist scrambled backwards into the pillar before she could answer any of that. She was rather confused how a parent could be so like a child who had strongly formative memories from her reincarnation! As well as why it couldn’t be that the heiress was more like the nice former Hero instead.
"Ondua is... he is probably fine. He was training with the combat constructs last-"
"Combat constructs?"
Reddish-blonde hair turned back to look at the more golden blonde cultivator, both of the women having interrupted with the same words at the same time... with the same amount of concern. Though while one wife was worried about if her husband was in over his head from something her eldest was doing, one husband-wife was more worried if El was making decisions much too bold without Qat there to temper them. Both of them began badgering her until there was no new information... and Dima was finally lead out of the estate.
’Without even a cup of tea or a proper meal. Do all of them actually hate me?’
She knew it wasn’t exactly the case, considering Onya actually sat on her lap the whole time. Yet, it still felt like most of the questions had been about Elua and how - or what - she was doing in the Astral Exclave. Not once had either of the three asked how she had fared or what she actually learned. It was just a little lonely to be sent off this way. Or so she was busily thinking, before being surprised by Yatrel’s sudden last words.
"I’ve put in some silent requests to the council for the formation of a new Guild and would love to have you join it once we are operable. The perspective of a trained sigilist would be invaluable. Come back for dinner when your first meal isn’t being held hostage... and we can talk more about it then."
"Hostage?"
A small cardstock was handed over, with a short few words writ in a familiar script. One quite neat and tidy for her common upbringing.
/ Do not feed Dima before I do, or I resign. - Klaytei /
"I didn’t want to risk it. She should still be working at the branch this time of day, if you’d like to clear this silly little threat for me. Good luck."
