The bean buns were munched in between her teeth, a board in front of her face. The Sun beaming past the curtain got in her eye, causing her to wince.
Fumeko grunted with her mouth full. She got up from the floor, brushing off her hands before she sat on the other side of the board.
Bowls of finished food lied on her nightstand and her small table, blankets in a mess and the bed not made. The sack she always carried was emptied into a pile next to the wardrobe.
"Hm…" Fumeko pondered whilst examining the various pinned papers on the board, connected in a web of red string. The largest piece of paper was pinned on top, 'Velatos Case', it read.
Her thoughts became mutters out loud. "Me and Jotou beat the velatos with a stick and crushed it… The centicrab was stabbed in the eyes, but maybe the body was just too thick…
Then she basically skewered the bat and the rat velatos and the giant talking one needed a master level spell and last time that spell failed and so did every other method…
Still, she can't get hit by one directly… that day," Fumeko's eyes peered to the right of the board, various clues from the guild. She kept her thumb to her lips, "What did Moren say…?
He said we have just enough funds to repair the damages, but the prices of a velatos kill dropped only several hours before that night… it seems almost pre-emptive but," she sighed.
"That may just be a lucky coincidence; but that's two coincidences I have on you Moren… How could you just conveniently forget what Jotou said?" her eyes moved elsewhere.
"But then why help us join the guild…? Is it just greed and we could aid in that? Never mind. Velatos; nobody can tell where you came from or what you are…
Whatever the case, only master level spells seem to affect you. My second day in Kria…" Fumeko thought to when they fought the centicrab velatos; a flash of memory of Hotaru saying something.
"You said since rejuvenate was a low-tier spell, it wouldn't affect the velatos; I didn't know that much about magic, but if that's the case, you weren't wrong either…
Though my thoughts were more so that velatos were undead. Healing magic's known to hurt undead things, even I know that. We never see how a velatos is born or made…
But every time we end one it disassembles into something dead. Everyone presumes its dead because they killed it, but what if it wasn't alive to begin with…?" the brunette racked her brain.
Her eyes alit, "Wait a minute, snow! How could I go until the Ordinate and not ask about the sudden snowstorm? Even they didn't mention it…
Dammit Jotou, your beauty, your title and your 'Anastasia' details made everyone forget," she blamed. She shifted the strings around.
"I'll send a letter to Kor about the snow. Hm… some detective I am… I can't let Jotou call me stupid again, I have to figure this out."
She stared at the board, rubbing her chin, "Why did it try and kill Hotaru…? Nobody else had the same near-death experience she had, just injuries," she jumped from one information to another.
"The armite, why give such a large reward then change it to a platinum? The guild has a scanner, so does the Ordinate… they're both in on it?
No that doesn't make sense. Or at least as not as much sense as, that they're both important organizations tasked to take down the Velatos Case…
Case, case… What have the Krialin done? At least in Burnetrout the police have enchanted crossbows or flintlocks or pistols and the higher-ups are getting rifles.
Meanwhile, all the food in the world clashes in Kria and the Krialin still have basic crossbows. The technology in this city is so damn inconsistent…
They have standard issue knives I guess and I did see the commissioner with a musket but what does that do to a velatos? I don't think even a firearm could do anything.
Maybe Moren was onto something when he said they were throwing their weight around… They have no business in this case, they have no power over it other than the law.
Laws aren't useful against things trying to kill you, they already decided that. Talk down a fire, see what happens. Instead, they arrest Jotou on suspicion of her being a velatos, pfft.
Did they genuinely think if she were a velatos, they could just arrest her? Maybe it was safer for me not to join their ranks. Just because Jotou has some pretty brown eyes now, suddenly she's a velatos."
She shook her head, "And the velatos itself said Jotou's not from it but- ugh, so many missing links," Fumeko frowned, "How do you do it dad…?" she whispered.
The door creaked open, "Hey! Knock first! Oh- it's you," Fumeko looked up to the blonde slowly opening the door.
"Who else would it be?" Jotou narrowed her eyes.
"I don't know, Hotaru? Asobi? You're invited here though, it's fine," Fumeko looked back to her board in pondering.
"Yeah, you didn't close the door genius," Jotou peered into her mess of a room before glancing to her board, "Figured anything out yet?" she leaned on the door frame, crossing her arms.
Fumeko hid her gulp, "Nothing much, just leads and clues. Don't worry about it; did you need something?" she hid her findings.
"Well, I need you to get out of your room cause we're training our magic, remember?"
"That?" Fumeko scoffed… Her aloof façade quickly faded as she averted the blonde's gaze, "...Do you really think I could do magic? What if… what if I fail?" her shoulders slumped.
Jotou looked to her… 'A meek Fumeko…?' Her thoughts were befuddled. "Listen, I think you can do it and that's that. Since when did what-ifs stop you? We're learning; we're allowed to make mistakes," Jotou smiled.
Fumeko gave her board a glance, then to her. "I guess… I guess you're right," she popped up, taking a deep breath. "Today will be the day Fumeko Namora conquers magic!" she proclaimed.
"If you make too many though, I'll consider you a failure."
"You're the one bleeding after spells," Fumeko snarked back. Her smile was genuine, though she insulted the blonde.
Jotou rolled her eyes, lifting off of the frame and left her to get ready.
Fumeko pouted to herself, "Why does she keep giving me hope?" she mumbled before she smirked, "She believes in me… That's one thing you never gave me dad."