Reunion:the return of the greatest star

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"Why are you here?"

Neuvillette was the last person Furina expected to see in the training arena of Zapolyarny Palace. She also stares at the people behind him, a small frown forming on her face. She did not expect to see the three of them either, and frankly, two of the three were not people she felt like talking to or entertaining at the moment.

Behind her, Skirk and Childe were still sparring. Furina should be watching them to take note of Childe's progress, but she was interrupted, unfortunately by their sudden appearance.

Furina taps her food impatiently, but Neuvillette ignores her obvious annoyance. She didn't feel him activate the hydro mimic finches she created for the two of them to communicate, so how did he know she was here? It couldn't be coincidence he came here all of a sudden, and without any reason to.

"I was curious."

Furina snorted at Neuvillette's so-called reason for coming here. A simple excuse that was reasonable, but one that will not work on her. Last she checked, sparring matches did not interest the illustrious Iudex of Fontaine who preferred to keep bloodshed to a minimum.

"Or rather, we were curious. Right, Clorinde?" Wriothesley, the administrator of the Fortress of Meropide had cut in with a easygoing smile, nudging Clorinde, who nodded slowly before stepping a little closer to Furina

"Yes. It's been a long time, Lady Furina. How have you been?" Clorinde asks, and Furina did not know how to answer her. It was a little awkward between them, given Furina had ignored all of Clorinde's attempt to visit her, until the champion duelist had given up after being stonewalled for an entire year.

"I have been fine," Furina decided against ignoring Clorinde, because that was just asking for trouble when she was going to be trapped in the same Palace as Clorinde for at least a month. She turns back her attention to Skirk and Childe, who were still fighting like their lives depended on it (though it was really just Childe that was struggling).

Though, it was hard to focus with Neuvillette standing over her. She turns back to him, all four of them, with a frown.

"Are you just going to stand here?"

"Is my presence bothering you?" Neuvillette asked back, as Furina sees dark stormy clouds roll over them. She looked away from him, feeling a little bad now. Maybe she was being a little too snappy at him. The weather was a reflection of Neuvillette's emotions, and dark, stormy clouds were not a good sign, especially in an open-air training area...

"No, what I mean was, that you...never mind, just sit down. You are here to watch, right?" Furina said as she patted the space on the bench next to her. Neuvillette does not waste time in doing as she said. He sat down next to her with the grace he had always naturally possessed, and Furina felt her heart did a somersault when his arm accidentally brushed hers.

Her body felt so unnaturally stiff, so nervous she might do something wrong or make a blunder of herself like elbow Neuvillette in the face if she wasn't careful enough or turn red like an apple if she accidentally brushed against him again-

"What do you think of the sparring match, Lady Furina?"

Huh? Furina blinked, turning in the direction of who just had spoken to her. Beside Neuvillette was Navia, who had addressed her with a solemn look in her eyes.

Miss Navia from the Spina di Rosula. Alongside Aether (who had been watching the match from the opposite side), she had been the other person that helped to mount the pressure towards her when she stood at the stands as the defendant. Naturally, as the defendant who was found guilty by the prosecutor(s), it was impossible for Furina to not hold a grudge against Navia.