The Cost of The Chase

four .

Inky colored coils clouded the girls' vision and leaked into her being, her very soul. They crawled over her legs, arms, anywhere they could reach; yet they behaved in a pacifist way. It felt as if she was floating on a cloud with soft pillows cushioned beneath her. The tendrils soon faded from their intimidating black hue to a dusty pink color. Her restraints abruptly bursted into a thousand little pieces, allowing Giavanni to freefall into nothingness.

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"Hello, earth to Giavanni?" Ryūnosuke asked, waving his hand in front of her eyes.

Giavanni snapped out of her revere at the voice, wincing at the ear-splitting ringing in her ears. He peered at her, confusion gleaming in his eyes.

"If I thought my life was crazy before..." She complained, rubbing her temples fervently and looking around her surroundings. Giavanni came to a pause slowly and dropped her hands to her side. Her eyebrows raised and she gasped once again.

"Where are we?"

Hundreds of architectural buildings and towers pierced the skies with their heavenly height. The sunlight reflected perfectly off their gray surface, producing a slight sheen. The sky seemed to be painted a perfect baby blue color with no clouds in sight. The rosy-petaled trees danced in the temperate breeze. Giavanni and Ryūnosuke were standing in a park filled with the aforementioned trees.

"The Isle of Lannia," He said carefully, yawning afterwards. "Named after the first ruler's son." Ryūnosuke looked down on Giavanni as he explained, raising one of his eyebrows. "So far so good?"

"Yeah..." She shakily replied, her head still reeling from the information. "There's more of you here?" Giavanni asked, emphasizing the 'you'.

"By 'you' I can only assume you mean a kemonomimi. *(獣耳) That's what you humans call us, anyhow." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Ah," He turned to Giavanni with the cap in hand. "You'll need this." Ryūnosuke placed his hat on her head carelessly. His cat ears sprung from their place, twitching.

"Are you sure this will work?" She asked nervously, securing the hat in place. "I don't have a... that, either." She watched his tail swing idly, her eyebrows furrowed.

"If anyone asks, just tell them it's short." He responded nonchalantly. That's a rarity in itself, though. Ryūnosuke bit his lip briefly and continued to speak. "I'm not technically supposed to be seen in public, though." His head tilted up as he gazed the sky, thoughts swarming his mind.

"And what do you mean by that...?" Giavanni inquired, her breath hitching in her throat.

Ryūnosuke let out a huff of laughter, hooking his fingers into the pockets of his pants. "I'm of royal descent, to put it shortly."

When he hadn't received a response, he glanced at Giavanni once more to see that her face had taken on a paler color. Her eyes were wide as she stared up into his.

"There's a royal family that rules over this place?" She said, her voice shrinking. Giavanni thought of the several occurrences when she had sassed him at the drop of a hat and felt her cheeks burn.

He nodded, humming in response as a 'yes'. "That's a long story for a different time, but anyway—" Ryūnosuke paused, taking a subtle sidestep when a passerby looked into the depths of the park.

"...Would you like to know more about our humble abode?" He inquired, a ghost of a smirk gracing his lips.

Reeling from his sudden peaceful nature, she took a step backwards and felt the grass tickle her lower calves. "You're not mad at me? For being, you know, impolite and all..." She dug the tip of her shoe into the soil and clasped her hands behind her back.