brand new start

Oh, empty my heart

The girl looked pleased that her offer was accepted, and she nodded eagerly - always eager - in answer. "It's a deal," she smiled. Longheat was not far off, and Seren had no doubt that the remaining weeks would be a whirlwind of other things requiring her attention. Definitely not so long that she would get bored.

She poked her tongue out at Ronin at the amusement lacing through his vow, but nodded all the same, accepting the promise for what it was. "Thank you. Enough people will look at me and only see my parents. I don't want them to think I get by because you and Mother arranges for it." More importantly, Seren did not want to be that kind of spoiled person. It was undeniable that she was favored - loving parents, powers and the benefit of their connections - but she loathed the possibility that it would remain all she ever was.

As for the dragon, she tilted her head and ticked off the requirements on her fingers. "Remi helped me find a blue shell, so that is done. Next, Sugar needs to breathe frost on it, and then it is to be placed in a geysir at Rainbow Road. And then I wait." Quite simple, in essence. A quest designed for a child under parental supervision; it was only altered circumstances that prevented her from having completed it a long time ago.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "And I wouldn't want that for you either. Whoever your parents might be, you're going to do great things with or without them. I won't interfere and stop that." Ronin smiles to his daughter, and the pride on his face indicates that he absolutely believes it. "We'll get you settled in the barracks at the Dragon's Nest, and you'll be training with all of the other recruits. I imagine you'll already run rings around some of them, and that has nothing to do with Safrin or I." With mischief in his eyes, he settles back on the bench. Her quest for the dragon absolutely sounds simple - and very easily done, when it comes to Longheat. "Would you like me to call Sugar down now?" he asks. "If you have your shell, I will be able to have her make it frosty in just a few minutes." Ronin nods up at the starry skies overhead. She might not always show herself, but his companion is rarely far away.

Oh, empty my heart

Satisfied, Seren nodded and gave her father a wide smile. "I will do my best not to let you down," she said with a light laugh. In fact, she would do everything in her power to make him proud, just like now.

"Oh! Would you? That would be great, yes. Here, let me just..." Reaching out, she made a slight gesture with the fingers, like parting some invisible veil. In response, the air rippled like the haze over sunbaked rock and shifted out of the way. Her hand vanished, sinking into nothingness and a look of absent concentation came over the young demigod as she seemed to rummage about for something. Then she nodded, withdrew her hand and held up a shell, bright blue in color and dusted over with sand.
"There. Isn't it pretty?" she said, and held it out for Ronin to see.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Then it's settled - both matters, in fact, and Ronin tilts his head as Seren let me justs and proceeds to reach into absolutely nowhere. It's a feat that has blank surprise wiping across the Star's face, and he slowly tilts his head as if trying to see past where his daughter's hand has just gone, that he might be able to peer into the space where she's trying to fetch her shell. But then the shell appears, and she's offering it out to him; Ronin takes it on autopilot without looking. "What did you just do?" he asks softly, before dragging his gaze down to the shell. "Oh - yes, it... I'll... hang on." Laughing at his own inability to comprehend, instead Ronin tilts his head up to the night sky and lets out a sharp whistle. A moment later and he's given an answering trill, and from the rooftops somewhere a pale shape emerges, approximately the size of a small cat. "I assume whatever you just did is a new trick?" he murmurs, smirking at Seren and holding out an arm for Sugar to land on. She ignores it, naturally, bustling around his shoulders instead and offering a chitter of greeting to the demigoddess opposite.

Oh, empty my heart

Sometimes she forgot that the things she took for granted were new or plain uncanny to others. Seren blinked in confusion at her father's odd response, though brightened with understanding at the question. "Oh! Yes, it is. You see, I..." Interrupting herself, she fumbled for a way to explain the process in a simple way. She knew exactly, but would any of the calculations, theories or explanations of dimensional law make sense to Ronin? "Think of it as... a little world of my own," she went with. "I can put things there and take them out, and go there myself. Would you like to see it?" Seren glanced sideways at her father, a hint of mischief glittering in the blue of her eyes.

Following Sugar's descent to Ronin's shoulders with a bright smile, she cooed softly and held out her hand towards the dragon, in mute request to pet her. "Hello, sweetness, I have missed you. Would you consider helping me with something? This shell is a bit too warm..." She pointed at the seashell in Ronin's hand, and touched it with a gravity pulse. Already light, it would seem to become all but weightless in his grip, and if he let go it would begin to drift, floating on some invisible current.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving A little world of her own sounds a lot more magical than Seren makes out, and Ronin raises his eyebrows to his daughter; as if he needs to be told twice. "I would love to see it," he says. "But first, let's sort out this shell of yours..." Unlike with most, Sugar seems to be able to sense that the demigoddess is the Star's flesh and blood, and so Seren is treated with warmth and nuzzles to her outstretched hand (much to Ronin's suspicion). "Clearly you know how to bring out her good side," he says with a chuckle, dutifully releasing the shell as he feels a gentle tug against his fingers, allowing it to float up and lazily before the two of them. Sugar complies, of course, snuffling haughtily and drawing herself up to sit properly upon Ronin's shoulder, before letting out a short, sharp blast of ice that frosts the shell over completely. "There we go," he says, giving her a scritch under the chin as thanks.

Oh, empty my heart

"Perhaps she simply remembers me." Seren had distinct memories of the dragon being far grumpier even with her, but she was not about to pass up a chance to cuddle when it was offered. She scritched the dragon under the chin until Sugar sat up, and clapped appreciatively as the miniature blizzard was unleashed. Releasing the shell from her control, Seren caught it as it began to fall and had to shift it hastily between her fingers, as the chill of it bit into her digits. Even so, she couldn't help but hold it up and admire the faint gleam of starlight over ice and blue. It really did look like a dragon scale at this point.

"Beautiful! Thank you, Sugar. Better put this away before it thaws again." Rising to her feet, Seren held out a hand towards her father with a wink. The dragon was given a regretful look; "I'm afraid I can only bring one person. I owe you, little one, maybe next time." It certainly did not seem fair to ask favors of Sugar only to then exclude her. In her mind, Seren made a note to bring the companion a proper treat the next visit.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Perhaps. Well, if she does remember you then it can only be good things, because she remembers a lot of things and still doesn't particularly like them," Ronin points out with a chuckle, watching as Seren juggles the frostbitten shell between her fingers - Sugar watches it like a cat watching a mouse wiggle about, and only when Ronin runs a finger along the underside of her scales does she seem to catch herself. But then Seren is rising to her feet and offering out her hand, and the Star can't help the thrill of anticipation at seeing something new. Taking his daughter's hand and following suit, he gives Sugar a final scritch before she takes to the air again. "I don't think she minds. We must have interrupted her hunting," he says with a smile to Seren. "Come on - I can't wait to see this."

Oh, empty my heart

"And I can't wait to show you." Seren watched as the dragon took off, ascending back into the sky. With no scales ruffled and business taken care of, the girl smiled at the thrill of excitement passing through her.

Keeping her father's hand clasped in her own, she repeated that same small gesture with her free hand and once again something about the air changed. The ripples spread wider this time, and without hesitation Seren stepped into it, through it, and tugged on Ronin to encourage him to come along. It felt like nothing, just a step between here and there. No dramatic flashes of light, no sudden gusts of wind or fanfares. Just a step, from the quiet night of Stormbreak into...

... a calm, quiet night elsewhere. Stars twinkled quietly above, though they seemed much closer here. If Ronin looked closely he might find that none of the constellations of Caido could be seen. There was no moon either, no sign of dawn or dusk anywhere on the horizon. Just endless night stretched out peacefully in an unbroken arc above and all around. White sand shifted under her bare feet as Seren stepped further into the realm. They were standing on an island. A mere atoll in this ocean of stars, void of anything resembling plantlife, with quiet waters - if it even was water - lapping against the shores in somnolent sighs.  

"What do you think?" she asked quietly after a while, and turned her blue gaze upon Ronin. A little nervous - she wasn't sure what he would think of this. "We're lucky with the weather. Sometimes it's a bit... stormy."

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving Ronin goes willingly, of course, his hand clasped around his daughter's, his steps sure and confident and trusting of whatever powers Seren had come into in his absence. And when they step through the veil and he sees it, he finds his breath catching in his throat. With wide blue eyes Ronin looks around his feet shifting in silken sands, his fingers threatening to try and reach up for the stars that seem so close. "It's wonderful," he whispers, clearly distracted as he turns to watch the not-water. "In fact, I would swear I had been here before. In a place like this, but larger..." His own island, when he had been a star in the sky with Vanya. Sailing in a sea of stars under a twilit cosmos. Unable to wipe the smile from his face, his arm slips around Seren in a hug. "So this is your own little space...?"

Oh, empty my heart

Watching Ronin take in the surroundings, the starchild realized she was holding her breath. Letting it out in a soft sigh as he expressed his awe, she smiled in no small amount of relief. "I'm glad you like it," she said simply, though judging by the look of pride and delight playing across her face her feelings were far from simple.

As her father put an arm about her, Seren leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Maybe you were," she replied. "Who can say where this ocean ends, or what may lie between here and there."

Holding out the seashell, she let it slip through her fingers. It tumbled over itself and fell soundlessly into the sand, cradled safely between alabaster grains. As though a priceless treasure, rested upon some velvet cushion. "But yes... This is my space. A room no one can barge into without knocking." Giving Ronin a playful side-glance, Seren made to wrap her arm around his back and tickle his side. Just a little. She had no recollection of that ever happening before, but just in case...

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "Maybe I was," Ronin agrees, and suddenly there is something so simple and clean in the act of watching the starlit sea with his arm around his daughter that he's not sure he really wants to leave just yet. Of course they can't just stay here forever, so eventually he tears his gaze away and smiles down at Seren. "I more than like it. It's perfect for you. A little island of peace to call your own." And with their recent talk of war, that kind of respite would be few and far between. The tickle against his side has him squirming, the Star flashing a cheeky grin down at his daughter as he releases her from the hug. "Hey," he says. "I don't recall ever barging into your room." He tries not to sound too sad about it; he hadn't had the chance for that. "But I would still like to veto any friends you decide to invite in here."

Oh, empty my heart

Perfect. Yes, that was the word. While it applied to few things... this? This moment? This was it. All the more beautiful because it could not last. But in her mind it only meant there would be new chances for even better times still to come, and thus it did not pain her when it ended.

Besides, how often did she get the chance to make her dad squirm? It was almost as good as surprising him, and she laughed as he wriggled away. Open, free, perhaps even more at ease here than she had been before, if that was even possible. Seren definitely did not lament the lack of breaches to her privacy. In fact, even the (reasonable?) request to meet her friends made dark eyebrows arch high on her brow. The nuance he had given the word was lost on her, and the slight whine as she protested with a "But daaad...!" was quite genuine.

Really? Was he serious?

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving "But Serennnnnn," Ronin whines right back, a shit-eating grin on his face and an identical whine in his voice as he folds his arms across his chest. "All I'm saying is that if you start sneaking boys into your secret pocket dimension and I find out about it, there's going to be trouble. For them. Maybe for you as well, but mostly for them." He's joking, of course. (No he isn't). Still his expression softens once more and he holds out a hand that she might lead them out of her little island, back to the Celestine and the stars that sprawl above instead of all around. "It's really good to have you here, Seren," he murmurs. "Oh - before we go back - do you happen to have any shoes stashed away here? Or do you want me to give you a piggyback to the barracks?"