The Goddess' Druid

(Chapter 9) Vanya and the Forest of White Dreams

Arcadia tapped her fingers against the table as she watched Meliodas cook breakfast, before he tried to hand the girl a plate to eat. She pushed the food away before she went behind the bar and started to cook, getting a pot from the storage and then filling it with water. Arcadia then got some pasta from the pantry, setting the water to boil. She then put the pasta in and cooked it until it was what she desired, and got some lemon juice and butter, getting out a pot and putting it in at a boil. After the lemon butter was finished, Arcadia then poured the lemon butter onto her pasta and cleaned up the dishes, plating the food and then eating. She remembered Hendrickson and Zaratras teaching her a few recipes that she hadn't heard of, and needless to say, she was pleasantly surprised by how they turned out. Elizabeth was still upstairs, but when she looked over at Meliodas, who was ironing a tavern uniform for Elizabeth, she knew that the silver haired girl would soon be awake, and rolled her eyes as she ate. "I get that you think she'll like it, like Liz, but let's face it, she's a princess. She's going to be very uncomfortable if you try to make her wear that thing." she commented, causing Hawk to look up at the blond while he continued to work. The pig grumbled under his breath before finally speaking. "Hey, Arcadia, can I ask you something?" he asked. "You just did." she said, causing the pig to scowl before speaking. "Why is it that Meliodas cooks, but not you? You've clearly got better cooking skills than him." he questioned. "Yeah, that's because he knows that I can't cook tons of meals at once. I'm bad at multitasking with things, so it's easier on me if he cooks and I serve the drinks." she responded, causing Hawk to sigh. "That's not to say that I won't cook if I'm asked to, but honestly, Ban or Escanor are better cooks than I am. Seriously, I have no clue how those two can cook so well." she said, before hearing Elizabeth walking around to get dressed in her room upstairs. "Hey, Elizabeth, can you come down here for a second?" Meliodas asked, causing Arcadia to glare at the blond. "You know, I'm about five seconds away from backhanding you into next week for the sheer fact that you like to mess with her, right?" she asked, causing him to nod with a smirk. Once Elizabeth got downstairs, Meliodas handed her the uniform, telling her to go and put it on. After she had changed, and had walked out to stand in front of the group, Elizabeth spoke. "So, what is this, exactly?" she asked, her face slightly red in embarrassment. Arcadia slapped the blonde beside her, before Hawk's mama stopped abruptly, causing Elizabeth to fall, with Meliodas catching her at an angle that had his face buried in her bosom. Arcadia sighed as she grabbed Hawk by his ear while he was falling, apologizing after the tavern was stable again for doing so. She used her magic to get rid of the pain. "Is that any better?" she asked, causing the swine to nod. After the group got out of the tavern, they started walking, while Elizabeth dropped back to talk with Arcadia. "Hey, um, Lady Ar-" she was silenced by the girl taking her hands into her own as she spoke. "Elizabeth, I want you to feel comfortable when you speak to me. That being said, please," she sighed heavily. "Please just call me Arcadia. I feel as though it's only fair if I get to call you Elizabeth." she said. "Now then, what is it that you wanted to ask me?" she questioned, a soft smile on her face. "Are you and Sir Meliodas dating? You two seem to care about each other very much." she asked, her gaze slightly melancholy, but turned to surprise when the lady laughed. Arcadia shook her head. "Oh great heavens no. Meliodas is like an older brother to me, not like a lover." she reassured the silverette. Elizabeth nodded, apologizing for asking, before she was waived off by the platinum haired female. "It's fine, many people have asked about that before. You're not the first to ask." she reassured, before the two walked faster to keep up with the blond and the swine trotting along beside him.

Arcadia watched as Meliodas grabbed a kid with rather odd looking hair, before running back to the tavern as he got pelted with rocks. "Why are they hitting me?" he mumbled to himself. Arcadia put Elizabeth on her back and transformed back into her prairie cat form, running to keep up. Once the two got back, Arcadia and Elizabeth walked in, with Hawk not far behind. It turned out that the kid's name was Mead, and he was a rather unruly child. "Look, kid, how about an actual meal from yours truly?" she asked after he explained himself. Arcadia knew that scolding the child wasn't a good idea, but she knew that being attentive to children who were like him was the best way to go. She hadn't heard about his parents because she had been busy making sure that Hawk was alright. She received a nod in response, before she made some chicken for him to eat, and some honey pudding as well, for his dessert. She watched as he ate, and wiped his mouth after he was finished, before giving him the honey pudding and taking the plate back for him to eat. After she had cleaned the plate and walked back out, she changed into a normal domestic cat, and went into the village. She then sniffed around the sword, hoping to catch a familiar scent. Her eyes widened when she caught the scent of rose and lilac, Gilthunder's scent from ever since he was a child. Her eyes watered at the thought that such a kind and gentle natured person at heart would do this. She then went back after composing herself properly, acting like nothing happened. She remembered when Gilthunder had manifested, back during the first few days she had been gone, when she would spy on the children as they trained. Arcadia saw Elizabeth run out as Mead told her about the Forest of White Dreams. She nodded her thanks before joining the two...only to find that Elizabeth stared in horror and shock as Meliodas flew through Vanya, holding onto a spear charged by Gilthunder's lightning. After throwing the spear back, Arcadia took it upon herself to usher the customers away from the tavern to get back to their (most likely destroyed) homes. She nodded to Meliodas, who nodded back, before the group of four got into the tavern and got Hawk's mama moving in the direction of the large fog covered Forest of White Dreams.

When the group of four got to the forest, Arcadia transformed and ran off into the fog, having caught the scent of petrichor in the air. She knew that Diane was close, and she wanted to see her friend again. She kept running until she found the sleeping giant, smiling as she sat down next to a tree nearby. She then watched Meliodas and Elizabeth walk up to the Sin of Envy. "Lady Diane, we let some Holy Knights in on accident!" a hide and seek said fearfully. "Forgive us!" another begged as the giant sat up before standing, snatching up Meliodas as Arcadia watched. "Yo, hey Diane, how long has it been, like ten years?" he asked, causing the brunette to start laughing as she excitedly said hello. She then noticed Hawk and tried to eat him, stopping after the poor animal started screaming at the top of his lungs that he wasn't for eating. The giantess then glimpsed Elizabeth. "So, who is this?" she asked, causing Arcadia to come back out of her hiding spot of sorts to watch the conversation. "That's Elizabeth." the blonde bluntly replied for the silver haired girl, who smiled up at the giant. Diane smiled a rather unhinged smile at Meliodas as she looked at him. "So you're traveling alone then with this girl?" she asked, causing Meliodas to nod. "Well yea-" she slammed him into the ground with her fist, punching the earth as Arcadia kept jumping out of the way of the flying fists of the giant girl. After Diane calmed down, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. "After ten years, when I finally get to see the love of my life, he's with another womannnnn." she wailed, before wiping her face off before sniffling as she spoke. "Still, I'm willing to listen if you have an explanation for me." she mumbled, looking down at Meliodas. "Well, the thing is-" she punched him into the ground again. "I don't want to hear your excuses!" she yelled, before feeling someone hugging her face. She looked over to see Arcadia hugging her, and picked the girl up before smiling. "Hey, Arcadia, I didn't know you were with the captain." she said, causing the platinum haired female to nod. Diane glared down at Elizabeth when she looked back at her. "You sure you don't have that kind of relationship with the captain?" she asked, causing Elizabeth to nod frantically before Diane spoke once again. "Well then, I, Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy, shall lend you my strength in taking back Liones." she said, a proud smile on her face. Arcadia was sitting on the giant's shoulder, resting against her neck. "Arcadia, are you alright?" she asked, causing the woman to nod softly. "Just a little tired. You know how nightmares can be." she chuckled nervously as she spoke. Diane looked concerned about the platinum haired lady, and was about to say something before she tensed up when she heard thunder above them, shielding herself and Arcadia just in time for lightning to strike the ground and binds made of the element in question to form around her Arcadia, Hawk, Elizabeth, and Meliodas. The group heard the sound of clanking armor from behind them, and all turned to see a pink haired man with blue eyes, glaring at them as he spoke. "So we finally meet, you Deadly Sins."