[Mari]

TheSpatialWeeg

A small package arrives at Peach's castle, accompanied by a letter. It was addressed to Amitie. A familiar perfume could be faintly detected lingering on it, but of course opening the letter was the only way to know for sure who it was from. The letter was written on a pretty salmon pink parchment stained with a few tears and read as followed:

Dear Miss Amitie I'm sorry that I was unable to speak to you in person. Sometimes it's easier to write things than it is to say them. And I have a lot to say. Things've been hard since I arrived on Li. I don't belong here, and the idea of going home is starting to make me feel numb. I don't think I belong there either, but that's another story. Sometimes there's a difference between being ready and being able. I was ready to be a hero, to be a princess, to be a great magician, to be a good friend. But for the most part, I wasn't able to be any of those things. I never really imagined myself as a coward either, but I have no excuses to give the people I've let down. I also never imagined I'd come to admire you or Miss Lidelle the way I do now. It's kind of weird, right? After the way I've treated you two? Now I find that I want to be more like you. I've watched you both rise to be everything I couldn't, and it's not lost on me that I misjudged you for all that time. I can't stop thinking of that time we fought outside the hospital. I couldn't bring myself to tell you how I really felt. I ran off and threw myself to the streets rather than admit I couldn't handle myself. I don't think I can ever be a hero, a great magician, or even a princess. But I'm still holding out on being a good friend, which is why I'd like to give you my sincerest apology. You've gone too long without any recognition for putting up with me. Maybe next time we meet I'll be a 'proper' lady. Until then though, I need to go search for my soul. I don't know where I'll find it, but I guess I just have to start looking. Tell Lidelle that I'm proud of her, alright? The package contains something that used to be precious to me, but I don't think I'm going to need it anymore. It's magic. Try it on and move around. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Your friend, Raffina

And what was in the package?

...Raffina's letter had a sort of eerie finality to it. It felt like a goodbye letter instead of just an apology letter. If Amitie were so inclined though, she could go looking for Raffina. For once, not even Amitwo knew where she had run off to though. However, she could easily provide Amitie with a clue. There was a fountain in Rainbow Square that Raffina enjoyed visiting when she wanted to relax. Just maybe she could be found there.

And sure enough, a familiar pinkette could be found sitting by the fountain, just sort of lost deep in pensive thought. She certainly seemed a bit troubled, and it was kind of weird to see her casually frowning like that. It wasn't like her.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

That letter made Amitie's heart sink.

Her heart had flared a bit of happiness when it turned out Raffina really did seek out to become a good friend, but the ominous ending kind of nullified that flame and replaced it with freezing paranoia. Where was she going and when would she be back? Those questions didn't have an answer and it was worrying her so much.

She didn't want a repeat of that...

Once Amitwo gave out the clue of a possible locale the other could be hanging, she almost immediately darted towards the place. Almost. She had to hurriedly warn Lidelle about what was going on first and tell she was going to keep the smol updated. Then she ran towards the destination, dirtying her princess dress be flipping damned. While the dress itself didn't suffer to get there, Amitie herself did. She took a whole lot of lungefuls of air before spotting the pinkette.

This was probably the last time they'd talk to each other for a long time. She had to make this count.

"...W-wh...where are you going off to?" Amitie asked Raffina, still panting from all that running

[Mari]

Raffina's gaze snapped up to Amitie in alarm. Huh?! ...For a moment she was very confused. She hadn't been going anywhere! Not right now, anyway. Yet, here Amitie was acting like she should know the answer. She was panting. Her dress was a bit dirty. Had she... rushed out here? For her? Why would she ever do that?? And then it finally clicked to her. The letter! She'd talked about a journey. Amitie had rushed out here for her..? She eyed the other in wonder. Hadn't she done enough to stop deserving this kindness? It made her heart flutter a bit, but more importantly, she felt guilty. She'd clearly scared Amitie into a panic, and that hadn't been her intention. She wasn't sure how she'd done it exactly, but right now she didn't care. She was hurting inside, and the last thing she wanted to do was upset Amitie. Standing up to greet the other, she proceeded to do something ... odd.

"Pr-Princess Amitie." Raffina would greet, performing an equally rattled curtsy for other. It wasn't the formal way she addresse Amitie that was odd. She had always done that. Rather, it was the humility. It was one ting to accept that Amitie was a princess now, but another to curtsy for her. There was actually a strong chance that Peach had explained the etiquette of bowing and curtseying to Amitie by now, as it was basically royal manners 101. Every toad on Li would at the very least bow their head to Amitie when greeting her and it was important for Amitie to understand why they did and why others didn't, lest she begin to wonder if people were being rude to her on purpose.

And so there was a good chance that Amitie might actually recognize the significance--or at least the strangeness--in what Raffina had just done. To put it simply, it was only proper for one's subjects to bow or curtsy to them. The toads would bow, but the koopas would not. That would be disrespectful to Bowser to bow to a foreign ruler. What Raffina had done was unnecessary. Humble. Servile even. It implied at a lack of self-respect, or perhaps a newfound respect for Amitie. ...Maybe a bit of both in reality.

Reaching out with gently trembling hands, she took Amitie's hands in her own and gently guided the othere to sit with her. "Please, sit with me? I've got some stain remover in my--" Raffin began, only to glance to her hip and remember she hadn't had a chance too get a new pack or purse. She'd left her stain remover at the lodge. Most of her less mundane items, with the exception of Bonechill's Sealed Soul, were inside the pack she had given Amitie. She'd even left behind rare and powerful items like her hungry cookpot, cerebral sphere and golden egg. ...Had she been hanging around a golden goose? "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or make you chase me like this." Raffina softly went on to explain, a note of guilt in her tone. She really didn't sound like herself, even if she was making a noticeably stronger effort to be warm than usual. Between how rattled she looked, how rattled she sounded and how she literally rattled with anxiety, one could pretty easily catch onto the fact that she wasn't in a good place underneath her paper thing composure. A part of her wanted desperately to open her heart to Amitie, but now that she was face to face with the other she was too afraid to. "As for your question. ...I'm not sure yet." Raffina finished explaining after a moment's hesitation, unaware that she and Amitie were talking about two very different types of journies. She was still holding the the other'ss hand for some reason, only realizing she hadn't let go once she'd finished speaking.

A part of her subconscious didn't want to let go.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Amitie took up on the offer to sit down almost promptly. She still needed to catch her breath, it seems. Once settled down and allowing the other to hand hold (not that she was ever against it, mind), she gave the other a weak smile and a hushed "It's all right." to Raffina's apology. Nothing seemed to enact a reaction that major from her...

...well, until Raffina revealed she didn't know where she was going.

That made Amitie's heart skip a bit and her blood run cold. That...that didn't sound good at all! Raffina was to go out, by herself, with nothing in her?? That was...! Amitie found herself with words stuck in her throat for a moment or two before she mustered up the will to talk to her. She wanted to convince the other to have at the very least a clear idea on where to go!

"Mm...R-raffina...are you sure you want to go out there without anything with you or any destination in sight...? You and I know that it's very dangerous in there, a-and...I-I know it's sounds so...stupid, but...if you ended up infected, I...wouldn't know what to do! I could never try to fight you...not like that...I-I'm not stopping you from going at all, j-just give it some more thought before th-throwing yourself out there! A-and try to keep in contact somehow!" the blonde blurted out.

Well now, seems like the possible misunderstanding caused her to reveal some...interesting bits.

[Mari]

"Huh?" ...Raffina found herself briefly bewildered by Amitie's choice of words. However, she quickly focused back in on the actual sentiment behind those words. Amitie was... worried about her? But--why? She knew Amitie didn't think very highly of her and her behavior. She couldn't possibly still care about her all that much, could she? But then, if that were true, what was this?? ...She thought about what she'd said and how Amitie had responded for a good moment before abruptly realizing what had gone wrong. Amitie thought she had been writing literally. Leaving the life sphere without her pouch was a pretty risky idea that was likely to get her, well, infected! Everything slowly clicked into place and her heart began to race for a moment. It turned out she had frightened Amitie more than she'd even realized, but more than that... Amitie had come here to talk her out of doing something stupid. It made her wonder, though. Could there be a chance Amitie liked her? more than she realized. There was a nice thought, but it felt like a bit much to hope for. She averted her eyes for a brief moment.

...Then again, what did she have to lose by being hopeful?

"...Well, I do have a direction in mind, as well as a destination." Raffina began, deciding to approach the mistake carefully. She didn't want to scold Amitie. "It's just a matter of the path to take." Raffina went on rather thoughtfully. ("The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Ms. Raffina.") a voice warned in a disingenuous tone, creeping into the pinkette's mind. A little shiver traveled through her body. ("Then I'll let the curb guide me on a detour.") Raffina shot back.

"The only problem is, it's not a 'place' I'm searching for. It's an ideal. When I said I was soul searching, I meant that I was searching inside myself--for a better person." Raffina explained.

("I think one of those koopas--you know. The ones whose souls you ate. I think one of those was a real family man. Would that do~?") the voice chimed in again. ("...I won't let you stop me from finding happiness.") Raffina dismissively replied. ("Oh..? Do you think your victims would call it justice to see you 'happy'? After the horrendous things you did? Don't you think you owe a debt to them, to society?") the voice suggested, still in that terribly disingenuous tone. ("...I used to believe vengeance was a form of justice. That was the same logic I used while hitting Amitie and denying her friendship. I'm starting to believe that people who believe in poetic justice are just as selfish as I am.") Raffina once again dismissed before turning her thoughts back to Amitie. when she next spoke, it was with a certain fondness and yearning. Pretty weird by her standards, but perhaps not unwelcome?

"Actually, Amitie--I could really use your help. Lately I've been feeling like you were the best friend I ever had. Like you must've felt something very strongly for me to put up with me for so long.And I just never realized it because I was so... me. ...I wonder just how strongly you still feel. ...I want to be the person you saw in me. For myself, ...and for you."

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"...Ooooooooooh!" Amitie reacted with Raffina's clarification with certain relief in her intonation. So she wasn't leaving the Sphere at all! She was just trying to figure out what to do with herself. Of course, once Raffina went on to admit she wanted to become what Amitie saw in her, the other was brimming with excitement. It was practically written all over her face that'd she would happily help the other to get there.

...Then she remembered something vital, and while she was still smiling, it was evident that a worry began to surface on the blonde's thoughts. Then the smile ended p replaced by a more worried expression, as she went to explain what was bothering her mind.

"I wish I could right now, but...there's something I must do." Amitie went on to admit. "N. Trance...that egg-shaped guy...he's planning to hypnotize all of the Life Sphere in...3 days from now. And...he challenged me to a duel in order to stop him." She drew a sharp breath.

"I think it's a trap."

"I'm planning to go tonight to hopefully end him for good." she continued. "But...just in case I don't go back in a few hours..I'd like you to...do something in my stead to stop him." The Puyo-capped one requested. "...please? I-I know you probably don't want to do anything regarding that guy again, but...you're the only one I can rely on this in particular..."

[Mari]

Raffina was very slightly put off by the request. First, Amitie was clearly getting into something heavy. A duel to the end with that... creep? It wasn't that she didn't want to help. In fact, she would have refused not to go searching for Amitie if she'd asked. It was just...

Didn't Amitie know that she suuuuucked?

--Oh, that's right. Amitie didn't realize Raffina had given away the source of all her powers. She had her fists, yeah, but there was a good chance mere fists weren't a match for magic. That was the whole point of using magic--to do things you couldn't with your bare hands or even tools. However, Amitie probably already knew that if she'd put it on and tried it out like she asked--so she was just gonna go ahead and assume she did and not tell her. She didn't want to admit her weakness with words anyway. She seemed to consider it for a long moment before nodding in agreement. "...Alright. I'll go spend the night with Princess Peach then and wait for your return. But if you don't, I'm coming after you--alright?" Raffina softly reassured Amitie. In all honesty, she was kinda scared by the idea. Maybe on any other day she might've had any number of objections from not wanting Amitie to go to wanting to go with her to not wanting to tag along at all--but today she reasoned that listening to Amitie was a good idea. Before she could really get her mind off of that though, something occurred to her. "--Actually, Princess Amitie... I've been keeping these rings to myself for a long time now. They're... powered by love, ...but Princess Peach said it was okay to give them to anyone if you cared about them a lot." Raffina would remark, becoming mildly flustered by the idea that she loved Amitie. She'd never thought of another girl in a romantic light before--but honestly, she had learned a lot of things about love since arriving on Li. She wasn't sure how to feel anymore, and as long as Amitie wasn't being mean or violent with her like certain other enemies that had made her question her orientation lately she found that she was... okay with this. It felt confusing, strange and perhaps slightly scary as a result, but not wrong. "It's supposed to bind the hearts and souls of those who wear them forever--or until heartbreak. You can feel things, like if something goes wrong, and get an idea of where the other is. It might be helpful, and I was wondering if you'd..." Raffina went on, only to become uncharacteristically timid as she held out one of the rings. It felt kind of like she was proposing, which choked her up. Fittingly, they appeared to be diamond rings with gemstones shaped like hearts. One could observe tiny runes sketched into the golden band. barely visible in their current state.

If Amitie accepted it, and was earnest in doing so, the ring would come to life upon putting it on. The runes would light up with a pretty glow and a tiny flame would manifest itself inside the gemstone, causing it to glimmer rather beautifully. The color of the flame and the runes would subtly reflect Amitie's feelings, and in turn Raffina's would be a shade of orchid pink. The effect was brilliant at first, but would soon taper off into something a lot easier to ignore.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"...Thanks, Raffy. I knew I could count on you~" Amitie replied, allowing a pair of blush stickers to settle in her cheeks. "--Ah! By the way, your pouch is with Liddie. Just tell her you want it back and she'll give it to you!" she went on to say.

She gave the attention to Raffina as she began to talk about some...rings. They were apparently powered by love and could help you sense where the other was or how they were feeling--wait a moment. One second there. Was Raffina...? --Nah, she couldn't possibly do that. Boy crazy Raffina, proposing to Amitie? Besides, they were still very young! And they weren't even dating yet!

...Still. That didn't change how Amitie was a bit flustered about the whole thing...in a more positive manner, of course. "F-for me...? Really...?" she inquired as she took up the ring that was offered. Placing it on her index finger, the ring would do its thing. For some reason, Amitie felt a little stronger now. But...that didn't matter to the blonde right now. She was too busy blushing the heck up.


The expression wouldn't tell much, but the ring would reveal that her heart was blazing with joy. She would then express said joy by pulling the other into a very tight hug. "...I'll cherish it forever, Raffy~" Amitie went on to say.

...--Wait a minute, Raffy? One would probably wonder how long she thought of calling the other that. Or maybe it was a more on-the-spot decision. Who knows.

[Mari]

And then, Raffina was hugged. As much as she was very insecure about all these feelings she was experiencing and what they meant, it was at that moment that she understood that her future was here, in Amitie's arms. She slowly and deliberately wrapped her arms around Amitie and leaned to snuggle into the other, comfortably laying her chin aainst the other's beanie hat. ...She cracked a skeptical eye at the hat's eyes, but paid it little more mind than she had before. It had no mouth to judge her, so why bother worrying about what it thought of the situation? WIth their hearts mere inches from each other, a tingling feeling races across Raffina's body. She could feeling something wonderful just out of reach, something that demanded they get even closer to fully immerse herself in it, even when they held eachother in such a tight embrace. What did that mean, though? She hadn't the faintest clue, but she quickly passed a lewd thought from her mind. ...Nah. That wasn't what this was about. If anything, it probably wasn't a physical barrier between them at all! It was, in all likelihood, an emotional one. But the next step? That was where Raffina's mind went blank. She'd always thought of love in terms of her romance novels, of being swept off her feet and taken in a moment of passion. Of being told she belonged to someone, and they in turn to her. But somehow, as she thought back on it, it all felt a little ... silly! She'd never thought it particularly unrealistic before, but her view of the world was shifting and this felt so much more ... real. Did she even know what was real? Maybe it wasn't right to focus on that right now.

She wasn't ready to torture her brutalized ego any further. It needed a bit of time to heal before she admitted her ideas of love were a bit ... wrong, in hindsight.

"I... I hope you mean that. Because right now the world feels big and scary. There are a lot of things I don't understand anymore. It would be nice to look down at this ring when I'm feeling lost and know that ...someone who's seen me at my worst still believes in a better me." Raffina replied in kind, struggling to find the words to express her feelings for once. "Just like I've come to believe in a better you." the pinkette finished, giving Amitie a very enthusiastic little squeeze and slipping a hand underneath the other's bottom. She quickly moved to scoop Amitie into her arms, only to ease her above her head and gently set Amitie down on her shoulders. Both hands grasped her legs above the knee to help her keep her balance. She was giving the other an impromptu piggyback ride! "Can I see you off before you go? Maybe take you around the sphere? I've been so upset that I missed my exercise regimine." Raffina remarked, offering to carry Amitie as far as she needed to go before they had to part ways for this mission while passing it off as just a bit of makeup exercise. The reality was that she felt like she wouldn't be able to maintain this smile once Amitie was gone. She wasn't ready to be on her own, no matter what she'd agreed to. She just had to be strong. Strong for herself, strong for the people who believed in her. First and foremost, the person who had believed in her the longest.

Amitie.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"If the world feels big and scary, I'll try to help as best as I c--whoa!!"

Just as Amitie'd declare something, impromptu piggyback ride! If Raffina'd try to check on Amitie, the other'd have a shade of red plague her cheeks. That was...before the pinkette asked to see the other off before she went, or perhaps. Amitie's smile was still there, but it took a more soft appearance instead of the usual radiance. "Sure~ I got some hours to waste before I go. Where do you want to go? I'll let you choose~"  She went on to reply to Raffina. Amitie, in particular, didn't mind where they were going for, as long as she spent time with Raffina, anything would be fine. 

There was another reason she took up the offer though: she hoped it'd take a bit of her head off of N. Trance's ultimatum. She wasn't trying to forget it entirely, of course, but she didn't want to become a nervous wreck anticipating the showdown she was going to engage in. Maybe going around with Raffina would ease her up a tad, who knew!

[Mari]

"Across the sphere~ Maybe we can stop and get something to drink once we're done." Raffina replied somewhat light-heartedly. She wasn't kidding about getting a bit of exercise, but exercise just didn't do anything if you didn't treat yourself to some fuel! In the meantime, she'd be catching up with Amitie and reminiscing a bit about their time in school together. It was, perhaps, the happiest Raffina had been since she got close to Amitwo or Schezo.

((End of thread?))

[TheSpatialWeeg]

((Yup. End of thread.))