Slowly waking up and staring blankly at the wood ceiling, with silver hair and crimson eyes, a girl could be seen laying on a soft bed. She was covered in a blanket to keep her warm, and the normal potato-sack-like dress she always wore was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it has been replaced by comfortable soft pants and a shirt.
'This is not normal.' Were the girls first thoughts upon waking up. It took her a second to remember the previous events. Bolting upright, she attempted to get out of bed before a sudden wave of nausea overtook her.
Reluctantly, she laid back down. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered how long she was unconscious for, how much time did she lose? Shortly after, she heard a door open and some footsteps approaching the bed. Sitting up again, but much more slowly this time she looked towards the one who entered the room, she saw a very blue woman with a tray and a bowl of soup placed on it, looking at her with mild shock.
"You're awake, that's great, I was starting to worry honestly." Morella said, setting the tray of food on the night stand next to the bed. She then took a nearby stool and sat down next to Ruby. "Here, eat this." Taking the spoon from the bowl, Morella blew on it a little too cool it down before she held the spoonful of soup in front of Ruby's face.
"... Uh, can you te- mm!" Attempting to speak only to have a spoon shoved into her mouth. Ruby would've been annoyed if the soup wasn't so good. It's been ages since she had a good tasting meal, the soup was not only warm it had other seasonings other than just a pinch of salt. The broth was rich with flavor, with both vegetables and meat. The juicy meat was seasoned and melted in her mouth. The vegetables were also made in a way that made her mouth drool.
"This is so good!" Ruby Marveled. "Ella, who made this? You?" Instead of answering, Morella just smiled and presented another spoonful of soup. Happily taking another mouthful, the Crimson eyed girl ate one spoonful after another in bliss. As she ate a faint smile, she could be seen on her face. Morella, who saw this, couldn't help but also smile, but much more noticeable. It was like watching a much younger sibling discovering something new and wonderful with the pure innocence of a child.
"Hehe." Morella giggled at the mental image.
"... Why are you laughing?" Ruby asked.
"Just never seen you act this way before, that's all." Morella responded. "You always made sure to keep a serious attitude no matter what."
Thinking about it, Ruby realized she was right. She was always on guard while growing up, not wanting to show any type of emotion in front of the people working in the facility. The only time she showed any hint of emotion other than anger and annoyance was when she was with Yuki and Morella. Even then, it was subdued. Just in case, you know? It was her own little way to rebel.
The difference between then and now was the fact Ruby felt free for the first time in nine years. She no longer felt like she was slowly suffocating, and that made her drop some of her walls. This environment just happens to be perfect for her to have the feeling of a weight being lifted off of her, which made her feel excited, and it bubbled over just a little more than intended.
"... I can still be serious." Ruby said while looking between Morella and the bowl of soup.
"Sure, sure." Morella responded, continuing to feed the girl in front of her. The same girl didn't seem to realize that their actions had discredited her own words.
Before she knew it, Ruby finished the bowl of soup. Looking at the now empty bowl, she couldn't help but feel a bit melancholic. Suddenly, her face went back to normal, the glare in her Crimson eyes returning, the kind of stare that would make one seem unapproachable. The cause for Ruby's sudden change was the person that just entered the room. Judieth Redwood.
"Hi, I just came to check up on you." Smiling, Judieth approached the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"... I'm fine. Thank you." Ruby said. "How is Yuki doing?" Ruby decided to ask the Doctor how Yuki was doing instead of Morella. She needed to know for sure that her friend was doing well.
"She's doing fine. She should wake up in a few hours. Anyway, I was just checking up on you. Make sure you rest okay. I don't want you straining yourself, especially since the procedure done on you and Yuki wasn't complete."
___________________________________
Yuki woke up a couple hours after Ruby did. When she learned from Morella about what Ruby was like after she woke up, the Demon girl couldn't help but be upset for missing the chance at seeing her friend like that. Over the next week or so both Ruby and Yuki spent their time bed-ridden, and no matter how much they both wanted to get up and move around and help out, Morella and Judieth wouldn't let them.
Judieth went as far as putting the girls in the same room and had her Sable Hook puppet keep watch over them. Judieth explained that even though Sable can move on its own and didn't need constant input from her, she was always connected to it. When needed, she could connect all her senses to Sable and control them remotely. Which meant she could always see when they tried to get out of bed.
Ruby definitely would've fought back against this much more if it weren't for the fact that the one to actually make her get back into bed wasn't Judieth but Morella. Both Judieth and Morella realized that no matter what, Ruby probably wouldn't listen to the Doctor, especially with her 'keeping an eye on them.' But with Morella in the mix, the Silver hair girl only protested a little but never fought back.
After a little over a week past, the girls were allowed to start moving around and do simple things. Ruby immediately started working out, strengthening her body so she could make sure she could defend herself and her family. She and Yuki also asked both Morella and Judieth to teach them a bit more about magic.
"Alright, start by directing a portion of your Mana into your hand. Like this." Morella quickly demonstrated what she meant.
Even though she's considered young by Nymph Standards, she still had a couple hundred years of knowledge under her young-looking figure.
Currently, Morella was showing off her knowledge in the front yard of the house they all found themselves in. No longer was she wearing the clothing all test subjects wore. Morella was wearing what appeared to be a blue sun dress and sandals, made from her water magic, something only Nymphs could do.
"... Okay."
"Got it."
The two younger girls followed her instructions without difficulty. Since they learned the basics when they were still in the lab - in a controlled environment - so standing across from her they waited for Morella to get to the next step. And just like the water Nymph in front of them, the Crimsoned eyed girl and the pink colored Demon had a new wardrobe.
Yuki wore a reddish-purple colored skirt that reached just above the knees, with a cream-colored sweater, and brown leather boots. Her clothes were enchanted to keep her cool in the heat, so the sweater she wore didn't bother her at all. Yuki smiled as she concentrated her Mana into her hand, her pink and red eye squinting as she smiled.
Ruby on the other hand wore black pants with plenty of pockets on them; they appeared to be a tailored version of Sables pants so they could fit her. She wore a plain long sleeve shirt with a long black coat that reached down to the back of her knees. She also didn't wear any shoes, going completely barefoot.
When the two girls got their Mana in their hands they started to faintly glow. Ruby's hand shined a deep crimson with wisp of purple, while Yuki was the opposite. Her hand glimmered a beautiful amethyst with wisp of red.
"... Okay, now what?"
" I did it Ella!"
"Perfect. I just wanted to make sure you could do it." Morella said smiling. "Judieth mentioned that you guys may have problems with your Mana, but you seem to be able to do this much. Okay now I want you to circulate your Mana through your body."
Morella then sat down cross legged and had the girls follow her example. The reason Morella chose this exercise was to have the two of them familiarize themselves with their own Mana and how it moves through their body. Another reason was the fact that unlike her and Ruby, Yuki can't do magic without Chants and magic circles, and she didn't know how to teach that. There was also the added effect of strengthening their body as well.
______________
After circulating her Mana throughout her body for a few minutes Ruby couldn't help but notice that part of that Mana wasn't responding as well. It didn't cause that much of a problem, but it felt like her Mana had difficulty moving at times. Frowning, Ruby glanced over to where Judieth was hanging out.
"... Doct- Judieth. I have a question for you." Stopping her training Ruby decided to just ask the Doctor. "Part of my Mana seems to be... difficult. It's kind of acting like a partial obstacle at times." Next to her, Yuki also stopped, looking over at Judieth with questioning eyes.
"The procedure done on you wasn't fully complete. You both have a piece of each other Mana in you, but that Mana is foreign. Usually, if one has foreign Mana in them, it's temporary and not interfering with your Mana links." Judieth explained. "What I did was directly interfere with your Mana links and inject the other Mana into each of you. So now it's partially connected and won't dissipate."
Judieth went on to explain that whenever Ruby and Yuki try to use magic, it has a chance of failure. The longer they use magic, the more likely for it to fail on them, or in the worst-case scenario, it can even blow up.
"But that's only because I didn't finish the process." She added. "When complete, you both would grow a little stronger and gain the abilities of the other. Currently, if you tried to do that, it would 100% fail."
The Crystal that Judieth used and managed to hold on to, not only does it have a piece of each of their Mana-Links in it, but it also has a sliver of their soul. It's only a small bit. it's just the extra energy that comes off the soul naturally anyway, the same stuff that's left over when you die.
With all those energies in the crystal, Judieth was supposed to break it and crush it into a powder. The crystal powder had all of that in it and was then going to act as a kind of binding, so the Mana could firmly become a part of the Mana system.
"Anyway, there's a little more to it, but that's pretty much it. Until I get the proper equipment to finish the procedure, you'll be a bit limited on what you can do." She said with a sheepish smile. "Honestly, it could've been worse if the Hero interrupted us at any other point. there was a good chance you could've died."
"... So, until that's solved, we have to be careful in any fight we get into?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, if you decide to cast spells anyway. Chi is a bit safer, adding an element to it can make it unstable, but Chi by itself shouldn't be able to harm you in any way."
"So, when do you think we can finish that procedure?" Yuki asked.
"I'm not sure. I don't have access to any of my equipment here, plus the Hero could still be in the area searching for Ruby and for us. This place is partially hidden, but still, better safe than sorry."
Noticing that it was noon everyone decided to go back inside and eat lunch, ending the conversation there. They planned to stay another week here before heading into a nearby town. It was never in their plans to stay here forever, and they planned to go to a guild and get themselves some credentials, making it easier to travel and earn some money by doing some work.
Ruby looked out the window while eating with her usual blank face, but inside she was just as giddy as a child waiting for Christmas. It would be the first time she's seen the outside world since she was ten. She wondered what the world had to offer.
'I can't wait.'