"I'm home!"
An aura of relief radiates from Celosia as she finds refuge from the inevitable rocky journey that lies ahead. As always, her father, the giant, beefy, manly looking man, stops tending the bush berries and rushes to his daughter, hugs her, and gives her a headpat.
"Cely!"
"Father! This is embarrassing! I'm 15 already!" she says as her face turn more red.
"Aww, come on! You can call me 'Papa' or 'Daddy'! It's finally time for your Favi… Aahhhh! I'll miss you! It's gonna be a long adventure! Nooo! I'm gonna be alone here in this mansion!"
"I'm here with you though, Igni. Sheesh! Celosia, can you believe this is 'The Famed Hero of the Empire!' or something like that. Why did even marry this guy?"
"Lis! I'll remind you with my awesome, amazing powers!"
The fully bearded man starts flexing his manly muscles and displaying his manly-manliness with his manly fire, "Art of Red: 127!" and magnificent white flames burst from his manly body, accidentally burning some of the bush berries in their garden.
"Oh noooo!!! My berries!!!"
Both mother and daughter refuse to look at as their loved one haphazardly tries to put out the fire, "Oh my Vulcan… anyhow, are you preparing to leave, Cely?"
"Yeah, mom." Celosia, with Solis chasing her, rushes into the mansion and into her room and shuts the door before her mom can enter.
She rummages though her closet, gets some clothes and some copper coins, "Oh, I heard Dux hired a huntress to help you guys."
"Yeah, yeah… a Pluvian huntress." Then she opens a box full of metallic stuff and grabs a dagger and some tips and whetstones for her weapon, puts them all in a backpack made from two wooden planks wrapped with strong, thin fibers with two suspender belts,
"And of course," puts on a necklace of pearls with a patterned choker of some sorts. She, then, looks at the mirror.
"Perfect."
With Solis' arts, she was able to open the door, although it broke.
"Wow! My daughter is so beautiful!" Celosia blushes again and dashes to leave.
"But a motley? That's crazy! I always knew Dux was soft but to be so desperate as to hire a motley…"
Igni overhears the conversation and adds his cup of tea, "Motleys are degenerates, I tell you. Worse race out there. Even other purebloods are more tolerable than them. Don't let It fool you, Celosia."
"Yeah yeah. Bye bye, Mom! Father!"
"Take care, Cely!!!" The parents tear up a bit for their chick has left the nest.
"You think she'll be alright with the war and the other stuff going on?" the mother asks out of concern.
"She has my blood, she'll be safe." She proceeds to embrace the warmth of her husband.
________________________________________________________________
476 steps later, Chroma enters the grand, crimson palace carved from the Puella volcano. With a strange sorrow on his eyes, he opens the massive door.
"Welcome home, Master Chroma." A file of Orange servants line up the vast corridor of the foyer with ornate obsidian pillars flanking the carpeted pathway towards the central stairs with marble statues of Chroma's forefathers from time to time as he passes the tapestry ever so slightly covering the vaulted dome ceiling.
They were ordered from lowest ranking at the front to the highest near the end of the line, signified by their attires from tattered rags to smooth silk dresses. The head maid, an orange woman with long straight hair wearing a red floral crown approaches him. Despite being the tallest, she is still only at shoulder length of Chroma, who isn't fully grown.
"Master Chroma, today is your leave for Favi. As such," with two claps, several maids and footmen appeared each holding a sack, "I personally prepared several materials ready to be carried for your utmost convenience, with each sack containing basic needs such as food, clothes, water, potio-"
"You don't need to do these things, you know?" He tries to hide his anger by relaxing his tense muscles and wrinkled face, "I already told you that you don't need to act like… slaves with me. Also h-how am I supposed to carry all of these?"
"I'm sorry Master, but Master Togra commanded us that we do so. She also appointed her to be with you for the duration of your travels, especially to carry your things." With one arm extended, the head maid introduces another maid who's wearing a relatively normal red toga.
"Apoy."
Dark memories immediately invades in Chroma's mind, flashing back to a damp, dark place with air so hard to breathe in, "Yes," He sees an inferno swirling in those eyes behind the iron bars in front of him, "She's the one."
The chosen assistant for Chroma kept tugging his tunic.
"Master Chroma?" He realizes he's back to reality.
Like a child concerned for his father, she exclaims, "Are you alright?"
"Of… course." He closes his heavy eyes and then asks, "Before anything else, can you even carry all of that?" referring to the various sacks.
She flexes one of her arms and declares, "No problem!" and proceeds to grab every sack from the hands of the other servants, making it seem as light as feathers of a duck.
"With strength like that, how did they even get conquered…" Chroma pondered.
"If it's father's words, then I have no choice. Let's go, Apoy."