Chapter 14: Summer Vacation
Cid breathed a sign of relief when he spotted the sign for Gamma's new 'Palreia' resort, eagerly awaiting a few Alexia-less, Claire-less, and especially Rose-less days.
Summer vacation had started early since the school needed major repairs (and to replace a few teachers who had died trying to defend the students). Most of the academy seemed kind of down and he understood why (fitting in required being able to see like a normie), but to him the whole Funsplosion event had been a magical time.
His new free time had been heavily encroached on by his new girlfriend. Whenever it was possible she clung to him like a barnacle; getting him to join her for sword training, music shows, shopping trips, dinner dates, long walks around the campus and literally anything else she could think of. As the side character Cid Kagenou loved her enough to jump into a sword for her, he had to eagerly accept all of these invitations.
Alexia and Iris had been no help. After her initial fury Alexia realized she would look completely pathetic if she told everyone they were together when Rose kissed him, so she pretended they broke up a week before and she just hadn't made it public. From the way her friend Millicent looked at him in the corridors now, she definitely knew better.
Iris had claimed to be injured for a while, but according to Alexia she'd been fully healed on the night of the school takeover by the royal physician and was just moping around the palace. He really could have used some more Crimson Order meetings to stall out Rose, without Iris the whole operation just came to a standstill.
The only meeting Iris had recently called did not go well for her.
"I can no longer continue to be a part of this group" Beatrix announced as soon as they were all seated.
"What? Why? You can't just give up, you're supposed to be the goddess of war!" Iris cried out.
Beatrix hung her head "I surrendered to Shadow. To my people that means a great many things, but the most important is that I can't be part of an organisation that's deliberately moving against him. It would be the height of dishonour".
"I would have thought the height of dishonour was abandoning your allies when they needed you!"
Beatrix refused to give any ground "I'm sorry, but my people created these rules for a reason. If someone who surrendered to you could just start fighting you again fifty years later, then offers of surrender would just be ignored and there would be no end to conflict. It's a crucial tradition to keep peace and prevent any wars we do have from becoming bloodbaths".
"But Shadow doesn't want peace or anything like that, he just wants to fly around doing whatever he wants and causing chaos wherever he goes".
Not the most off-base assessment she could have made honestly. She still shouldn't know that, did I make a mistake somewhere?
"Even so, I cannot continue. My sincerest apologies". Beatrix bowed, but couldn't have been any more implacable.
After some more arguing (and some muttered curses from Iris she probably thought were less audible than they were) she sent Beatrix away only for Alexia to call her back.
"So if the cult were to cause another incident, you wouldn't be opposed to helping us then?"
"No, that wouldn't be a problem" Beatrix stated calmly before turning back to the exit.
Iris looked peevishly at Alexia before turning to her remaining members "Anyone else want to leave?"
No one spoke for a few seconds until Iris herself changed the subject, struggling not to pop off again. The meeting continued on for a little under an hour as everyone tried to make sense of who was behind what during the academy attack. It was obvious there were multiple factions and Shadow was opposed to the main terrorist force, but the murder of Lutheran Barnett had confused things.
Cid had tried to float the idea that Lutheran had been a member of the cult, it obviously wasn't true but anything he could do to confuse the investigation w ould be ideal. Just as Beatrix had her code of honour, Cid too had his own principles he couldn't betray. He'd accepted Eta's bribe to be her accomplice in the murder, and goddammit he was gonna cover for her as much as humanly possible. Throwing out random crap like that also made people think "that guy's kinda dumb" which was a great diversion from the fact he was the mastermind who knew everything.
Eta gave no indication she was the murderer and her cool indifference gave him that odd feeling in his chest he could remember from his mission with Alpha. Now that he'd decided to let the murder go, he could admit it had been masterfully done.
Eta hadn't stayed long though, she was dismissed from the investigation once it was decided the complete eye of avarice was to be destroyed. She was given a small fee, a thanks for her service and was told that if anything else came up that she could help with they would be in touch.
Claire had been… worse than expected. After she heard he got stabbed defending Rose she was furious, and it was all he could do to convince her not to attack Rose the next time she saw her. After that she tried to force Cid to cancel his plans with Rose whenever possible to monopolize his time even more than usual, or accompany him on what would have otherwise been dates with Rose. It did keep Rose from getting too over-the-top with him, but that didn't make it a pleasant experience. She was combative the entire time.
Of course, why didn't I see it before. The differences in our personalities make complete sense if Claire's mother is part beastkin and mine isn't.
In terms of dealing with Rose, there was one winning strategy. By going out with his new normie friends along with her he could keep Rose at a distance. His contributions to fighting the terrorists, saving Rose and now having dated both academy princesses seemed to make him popular by default. Between Garin the muscle-head, Oliver the stick in the mud and Isaac the...the...guy he cheated off of when he couldn't be assed to study (that really was his most distinguishing trait) he now had a cliché friend group. He purposefully didn't invest much attention on Isaac, if he knew character group dynamics one of the two less-distinct ones always had a death flag, and well, Cid obviously wouldn't be kicking the bucket.
He'd gone out bowling (he still needed to check but was pretty sure it was a Mitsugoshi subsidiary) with them, Rose, and a couple of her friends, all while Skel and Po looked on enviously. He decided that even though he didn't need them anymore he'd keep hanging out with those two occasionally. If he needed to do something dumb being with them answered every question most people would ask.
On the plus side, Rose seemed unable to refuse him anything and he had moved swiftly to check the limits of this the same way an y young man would . During their trip to Mitsugoshi he lamented all the things he couldn't afford due to his meagre allowance and Rose just smiled at him, sa ying she'd pay and that he deserved it for being so wonderful. He might have stopped just due to public embarrassment but he was in the middle of an experiment, and his question needed answered. The answer to when her generosity would stop turned out to be when the gold in her purse ran out.
Another silver lining to their relationship was that unlike Alexia, her public persona was totally sincere. During their first breakfast together he'd pushed someone into her (discreetly) and arranged a couple more accidents throughout the day but she took them all in stride, never losing her temper or even cursing the offenders out to him in private. If it was possible to be disturbingly nice, then she absolutely was.
The final one was that in the future, it would be pretty cringe if the eminence in shadow didn't even know how to kiss a girl, so the experience when they were alone together wasn't unwelcome. Given all that he decided to keep the relationship going until her father found out and forced them to break up. Any other way of tanking things between them would also draw more attention at this point, so the 'just roll with it' strat was a-go.
As he drew in closer he saw that the building wasn't especially tall, looking more like a very large six-story villa as opposed to a high-rise hotel. As he moved through the main entrance he saw a several outbuildings a few hundred meters from the hotel, one of which was a large stable.
I suppose the normal guests will be arriving by carriage or boat.
The interior was pretty much what he'd expected, as high class as Mitsugoshi but with more classical style of decoration. He walked up to the front desk where he saw Gamma waiting for him.
"Gamma, you're not working are you? This is supposed to be a vacation".
"Yes, but as the manager of the resort, I should show you to your accommodations. Naturally you've been given the finest room available".
Yeah these last few days have been hard work, I do deserve to treat myself.
As he followed Gamma into the elevator she began explaining the hotel's structure to him "Each floor has a different number of rooms, fewer as you go up while size and quality increases. This also allows us to easily track the most important guests for customer service and" she gave him a little wink "surveillance purposes. The first floor is dedicated to our service facilities and communal spaces, things like; staff quarters, kitchens, dining rooms, the library, the bar and other facilities designed to be available to all our guests. The top floor has the presidential suite, your room, along with two penthouse suites. Alpha decided we should draw straws for who gets those as soon as Zeta arrives"
"Is everyone else here?"
"Yes. Everyone else is in the kitchens making dinner. For our private holiday we've brought a dozen of the numbers who are going to be assigned here for basic maintenance. They could have cooked for us but Epsilon insisted on making you something and once she started, everyone else had to chip in. Is that all you've brought?" She asked the last question indicating his 'vessel'
"It fits more than you'd think, I'll be fine".
As they reached the sixth floor he stepped out of the elevator and followed Gamma across the hall and through the large double doors into the penthouse suite.
"What are the other buildings for?"
He was only half listening to Gamma's reply as he looked around the room (it was actually several rooms). On his left was a study twice the size of his apartment and a bathroom of about half that size. The main floor was had several sofa's and tables (with a billiards table and piano in opposing corners) placed to view through the large screen glass doors that lead onto the balcony. The view below showed several terraces overlooking a series of interconnected pools, which were cleverly connected by a series of walkways and bridges dotted with palm trees, beach beds and well kept greenery. Beyond that was the beach and the ocean all lit by the setting sun. Opposite the study and bathroom were two large bedrooms which were kind of underwhelming given the rest of the place.
"We have a duelling hall, a musical theatre, a children's play-park, a prototype cineyma, several shopping areas and alternative dining locations at present"
This is as perfect as it could possibly be. The furniture, the artwork, the decorations, the view, they're all befitting an eminence in shadow. The only flaw is that occasionally other people will use it, but even that could be an advantage, putting my lair in such plain view that no one expects it to be the mastermind's base.
He put his bag down on the bed of the larger bedroom and looked to Gamma "This is incredible. You've outdone yourself Gamma".
"Th-Thank you" she stammered out "But shouldn't you unpack in the master bedroom upstairs?"
Sure enough there was an almost hidden staircase built just into the edge of the lounge that curved around to another floor, the entire thing was a master bedroom that looked down on the lounge and had another bathroom opposite the stairs. The view through of the pools and ocean from here felt even more magisterial.
"I should go help the others preparing dinner to give you some time to unpack my lord. I'm deeply gladdened you approve of my work".
There were no words. He went over to Gamma, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and told her "Tell the others there only drawing for one of the penthouse suites"
"What?"
"It's yours, owners orders" she looked to protest "I insist. You built this place, you should enjoy it properly for a few days".
She still looked stunned. "I thank you for your generosity master". She gave him a little curtsey and made her way out of the penthouse.
---
It was hard not to reminisce about old times as Alpha looked on the Shades preparing dinner. What had once been their nightly routine had long since been delegated to the numbers to conserve their time whenever they got back together.
Epsilon had been the best cook in the group since they were children, but hadn't taken to ordering them around as the head chef until today. As she watched her explain to Delta that the soup needed to be stirred more gently (she'd been stirring so vigorously a few stray droplets were plastering the wall) and instruct Beta that the vegetables needed to be cut much more finely than her current attempt, Alpha smiled.
When did she go from being shy little Epsilon to this girl. It feels like I blinked and missed it.
Zeta had arrived just a few minutes ago, passing her belongings onto one of the maid staff and deciding to set the table and bring the drinks through rather than upset the controlled chaos of the kitchen. Alpha was just checking the dishes in the oven, bringing out everything that was done and rotating those that were still works in progress when Cid made his way down to check how everything was going.
Delta (unavoidably) ran straight to greet him and clamp herself around him (leaving Gamma to stir the soup), which was naturally followed by Zeta going over to scold Delta and make her own greeting.
Epsilon, perhaps sensing that the rest of the group wanted to see their master, declared she and Beta could take care of the rest and sent them through with a cart containing their starters, along with soup and bread to the prepared dining room.
Cid took his seat at the head of the table, while Alpha sat in her natural place at his side and Zeta took the seat opposite her. Eta, Gamma and Delta took their own seats and they all began to eat. Delta and Zeta (ironically) both mostly abstained since there was little meat or fish with the starters which were their natural preferences. Delta took the opportunity to regale their master about all the interesting prey she had hunted , including a truly massive boar that was to be served later while Zeta asked their master questions about his last operation.
Alpha contented herself to sit back and watch for now. Part of her role as the second-in-command was keeping the peace, and she knew the other girls would resent her if she dominated Shadow's time with the group.
"And no-one noticed you were gone?" Zeta asked
"Nope, the Crimson Order left, the cultists gave up searching for people hours ago, and when the knight's came they were so distracted by that enigmatic 'Shadow' guy they didn't search the school buildings properly for hours. I did cut it pretty close with Claire though"
"And how did you manage to work in princess Rose in?" Zeta asked with a mock admiration.
"I didn't really plan on that, but you need to be able to adapt to the situation." He shrugged his shoulders "These things happen". For as much wisdom as he had, sometimes he acted like such a boy.
"And what are your plans for her?" Alpha interjected. He'd used his relationship with princess Alexia to great effect last time, while this seemed more accidental (and infuriatingly more genuine on her part) he might work it into another plan of his and if so Shadow Garden needed to prepare accordingly.
"Ah, her father's coming to the Bushin festival in a few weeks. Everything will come to an end then, just leave it to me". Epsilon had reported several cultists getting closer to the King Raphael, most notably Duke Doem. Could he be planning to use his new connection to quietly assassinate the Duke? Either way he said he would handle it himself. She would be ready to answer if he called of course but for now she would leave the matter to him.
After a few minutes of conversation Epsilon and Beta moved another cartload of food into the room, setting each dish down on the table in turn before taking their own seats and joining in. Delta took at least half of the roast boar while Zeta had battered fish alongside a new offering developed directly with help from Lord Shadow 'sushi'.
Cid, much like her aunt, preferred simple foods (unlike all of his other tastes which ran towards extravagance ) and so had more of the small burgers prepared as side dishes than anyone else.
The others tastes were a little more varied, sampling the wide variety of dishes that had been prepared. Alpha herself had a slice of chicken and onion pie, some quiche filled with bacon and mushrooms, a few spring rolls, a couple of slices of spiced garlic bread and some of the sushi (since she would have to sell it at Mitsugoshi, she was somewhat obligated to try it ).
She felt overfull by the time she had finished but didn't regret it. She could hardly say she was on a relaxing vacation if she began stressing over having one large meal, besides it would have been rude to waste Epsilon's excellent cooking. That said she'd be wearing her swimsuit for a significant amount of time over the next few days, so it would be wise to exercise more restraint after tonight.
It was therefore with a mix of anticipation and reluctance that she saw Epsilon carry her new creation to the table, a desert in which she had managed to combine chocolate and cake. Cid was just in the middle of regaling them all with the story of his recruitment into the Crimson Order as Epsilon started cutting slices .
"So then I said 'well… we liked playing spy' and then Alexia starts laughing and says 'Sorry Cid, but the idea of you as some kind of secret agent is just ridiculous'"
"No" Beta managed between giggles "that's…"
"Yep, bent double, trying and failing to hold it in, but that wasn't even the best part. Iris and the rest of them were all trying not to laugh too, and I was stuck there trying my best to look offended like…" He mimed an expression of deadpan solemnity, as though someone had spit on him in the streets and he was pointedly ignoring it to maintain his dignity. The whole table erupted with laughter and Alpha found herself giggling along.
Epsilon had finished cutting the cake (she noticed some of the pieces were cut roughly, as if the person cutting it was shaking with mirth during the final few cuts) and moved a slice to a plate before setting it before Cid. She then took a small forkful, and leaned across the table to hold it just in front of his face. Cid gently took hold of the fork and forced her fingers off of it before bringing it to his mouth.
"It's great. You don't need to feed me though, this is supposed to be your vacation too".
Epsilon managed to respon d cheerfully "I just wanted to make sure you got the royal treatment, after all…" she then whispered something in his ear before winking at him and moving back to her chair.
Would he like it if I acted like that with him, as if he was the only person in the room ?
As she looked at Beta's stony expression and Gamma's poorly concealed longing she realized it didn't matter. She needed to keep the peace and that meant restraint around Cid.
As they finished the desert (which was certain to be one of their best seller s ) Beta broke the silence, leaning back in her chair contentedly "So should we draw straws for the penthouse rooms?"
Gamma was about to speak before Delta broke in "Delta wants to sleep with boss-man!"
She was about to shut her down when an idea struck her "That's not a terrible idea".
The rest of the table looked to her shocked "The presidential suite has three double-king sized beds, if our leader takes one, that means there are two left. If we go two to a bed that means we'd have space for five people in the presidential suite and the other three could stay in the penthouse suites. That way we could stay closer together and it would be easier to find each other in the morning if we're all on the same floor. It would probably be easier for our caretakers as well, and it's not as if we haven't shared more cramped quarters".
The rest of the table nodded acceptance and turned to Cid who also nodded "Fine, that's cool with me I guess".
"We still have to draw straws for who goes to each room" said Epsilon.
"Lord Shadow said I could choose my own room" Gamma blurted out "I'd like to stay in the presidential suite with you if that's acceptable master" Cid nodded again.
"Fine, but that still leaves three spots open".
"I think Eta should maybe go somewhere she has her own bed" Cid said, causing Eta's face to fall. "Sorry, but the whole sleepwalking thing'll probably upset whoever you would stay with, and you'll probably want to sleep a lot more than anyone else, so you'd get annoyed when they kept coming in and bothering you".
"Regrettable...but not illogical".
That left five still to be placed. Cid prepared some straws and held them out to his shades. She could have leveraged her position to draw first, but let Beta go ahead of her.
Beta managed to land the spot next to Gamma, Zeta drew one of the spare rooms, followed by Epsilon and Delta, who both landed the other bed in Cid's suite which left her to share with either Zeta or Eta.
A loss, but I essentially didn't try. Anyway, with all four of them there the chances of anything...untoward happening are almost non-existent.
Delta was saying something to Beta she couldn't hear but Beta was shaking her head and clutching her straw t o her chest like a lifeline.
"Delta, what are you doing?"
"Delta wants to swap with Beta but she won't swap. Delta doesn't want to sleep with Epsilon."
"Why?" Epsilon said, sounding hurt.
"Delta remembers the last time she shared a room with Epsilon. Delta doesn't want that to happen again".
Oh not this again Delta, please.
That had been Epsilon's worst night, and Alpha counted it among one of hers as well. Beta had trouble sleeping the night through when she first joined but her problem had just been nightmares.
Alpha had taken a room for herself the leader, leaving Beta with Gamma and Epsilon with Delta. The mistake of that vanity made itself felt as she was woken in the middle of the night and ran to their room to find Delta howling in fury while Epsilon huddled in a corner.
As Epsilon was the newest member and at that point the weakest, Delta considered what happened to be a grievous insult and her resulting anger had terrified Epsilon. She'd eventually managed to convince Delta that Epsilon wasn't trying to disrespect her and Epsilon that Delta wasn't going to hurt her but they couldn't sleep in the same room anymore.
She had given Epsilon her room by herself (which was still feasible before Eta and Zeta joined) and she had shared with Delta for then next couple of months. Epsilon had recovered soon enough, getting to grips with her magic and combat lessons, as well as truly making friends with all of the other members rather than just clinging to Cid as she had done before. She'd hoped the whole thing was long done and forgotten.
Instinctively she looked to their master did you day something then that calmed her, as you did when Beta struggled. What was it?
"I..I wouldn't...you stupid...". Epsilon wasn't crying, but tears were threatening to fall from her amethyst eyes.
"Delta" Alpha warned.
"It's true, Delta isn't lying, you remember it don't you. We really shouldn't..."
"Delta come here" Cid commanded forcefully, walking towards the door out of the kitchen. Ears drooping and tail stock-still, Delta followed.
Zeta tried to comfort Epsilon "What's this all about? I never knew you used to bunk with Woofy".
"I want to know too" Eta decided to join in, her natural curiosity was unstoppable, naturally.
Gamma and Beta shared a concerned look, probably remembering the night in question themselves.
Epsilon let out a huff of frustration, then sighed "I wet the bed, alright."
Zeta started laughing, much to Epsilon's annoyance "Sorry, it's not you...but just, I can't believe you topped that time I woke her up with a bucket of cold water. Remember, it was just after she killed all the targets I had been surveilling for weeks, I was this close" she held her thumb and index finger a centimetre apart "to finding their boss".
Epsilon calmed down slightly, realizing she wasn't the butt of the joke "She acts like...like I'm the one that hasn't grown up, of all people." she hissed "And she can't even meet Cid in public, because she can't even remember not to call him boss-man".
Alpha tried to calm things down "You know she doesn't always think about what she says, It's just her nature"
"Oh, so that's better" Epsilon rounded on her. "When she says she can't sleep in the same room as me, she's being honest!. How is that not just worse".
"I just meant...she's not trying to be cruel or upset you. You do know that, don't pretend you don't"
Epsilon stilled then, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself and Cid marched with Delta back into the room before things could continue .
"Epsilon, Delta's sorry about what she said. Can Delta sleepover with you?"
Epsilon considered for a few moments moment before responding "Of course. I'd be happy to".
Delta wrapped herself around Epsilon in almost the same way she would have with Cid. Zeta was smiling at them until she noticed Alpha watching her, at which point she deliberately shifted to casual indifference.
"So what's the plan now?" Cid asked casually.
"I thought we could have a tour of the facilities before bed. It would be best if everyone knew the layout for later, no?" Gamma asked. There was a general round of agreement and the group set off after Gamma as she began giving the tour.
---
There was still an energy to the party of five when they arrived at their presidential suite. Their things had been moved into the appropriate rooms after a few words with the numbers before the start of the tour, so they got changed into their pyjamas and then went back into the lounge.
Epsilon had known she would need to swim with everyone on this vacation and so had practised forming a convincing body without needing to hide it under clothes (along with preventing another slip up like what happened at the academy) and had accidentality discovered another potential function of the slime suit while experimenting, but that still needed work. She'd cancelled several shows and hadn't slept as regularly as normal to complete the work, but the proof was in the pudding when Shadow's eyes paused at her bust as he looked over at her.
Totally worth it.
Beta had convinced Cid to tell them a story before bed so they all huddled around him on the sofas while he reclined in an armchair.
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…"
The story was pretty good, but she had to admit she would have found easier to focus on if Cid hadn't been wearing shorts and a short-sleaved top.
Get a hold of yourself, he's going to be wearing...just trunks...tomorrow...in the water.
That thought didn't help her engage with the tale at all . By the end Beta had taken copious notes and was pressing Cid for details about the ending.
"And how come they didn't give Chewbarca a medal at the end with Lann and Huke?".
"Uh...I'm pretty sure they did. Guess I just forgot to mention that when I was retelling it". He stood up and turned to the stairs "Good night, see you tomorrow".
She and Delta said good night to Beta and Gamma and headed to their own room after a quick trip to the bathroom (the fact there was only one was probably going to be an issue at some point but they could all brush their teeth together at least). Epsilon had a fairly lengthy beauty regimen to go through before sleeping and so entered the bed a few minutes after Delta.
"Are you still awake?" she whispered.
"Uh-huh" Delta replied groggily.
She should probably let it go, but she was too curious "What did Cid say to you earlier?".
---
Delta trailed behind the boss as she thought over what she'd done. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong, but maybe the boss knew better. Even Alpha and Eta weren't smarter than Boss-man.
"Delta why did you say that about Epsilon?
"Cause it was true". Boss man wasn't there, maybe he forgot. She couldn't remember telling him about it. She was pretty sure Alpha told her not to bring it up right after it happened. She should tell him now so he understood.
"Epsilon was scared of Delta and wet the bed. If we share again it might happen again and Delta doesn't want that".
"Delta that was more than five years ago. It isn't going to happen again".
"But what if she gets scared again. Epsilon got way better after she stopped sleeping with Delta so what if sharing again makes it worse".
The boss seemed a lot less annoyed when he heard that "That was right after you met, I'm sure things are different now. Come on, when we go back you'll need to apologise and ask to share the room with her if you want it".
"Why?" I won that room next to boss-man fair and square.
"Because people don't like having embarrassing things from their past dragged out, especially in public. It's cringe".
"Boss-man, what's cringe?"
"Eh, how do I explain this so you'll understand. It's like if someone was trying to hunt really weak, injured prey in front of the whole pack then still couldn't kill it"
Delta shuddered "Boss, that's so bad. Delta's so sorry"
---
"It kind of went like that."
This time Delta did actually make her cry. She threw an arm around her and hugged her from behind.
She could remember being scared of Delta. Not that she had been particularly difficult to scare back then, but watching Delta rip through cultist with that savage grin on her face was terrifying to her in the beginning Her childhood self had been wrong about her, but she couldn't say the fear had been unreasonable.
She hadn't thought about that night in a long time, but she could distinctly remember trying to calm herself by asking Delta about her own recruitment into Shadow Garden. Hearing that she didn't consider Beta much of a threat (who had towered over her in terms of power) and had attacked Alpha hadn't eased her fears. All she could think before she went finally drifted off to sleep was that she probably wouldn't make it to the door if she tried to run (all while trying to convince herself there was no need to run).
"Anything wrong?" Delta asked cautiously.
"Nothing. I just realized that between the two of us I might be the stupid one".
"What's that mean?"
Epsilon struggled with the next words "I thought you were just being thoughtless when you said you didn't want to share with me. I never even considered that you might have another reason and I should have"
Her voice was kind a little shaky but she pushed on "It's just, I was always lagging behind everyone else when I first joined. So sometimes I... I want to win over the others , to prove that I' ve gotten better and...that I'm not the useless one anymore. S ometimes I feel like I'm fighting against everyone in Shadow Garden to not be in last place ".
"Epsilon isn't useless. You're stronger than Gamma and Eta, smarter than Delta, the best cook, and much less annoying than Zeta".
"Yeah, but Gamma and Eta are the two smartest, you're a way better fighter than I am and Zeta's basically a mini-Alpha. Even though I've tried so hard I still might be in dead last overall!". Delta didn't respond, she probably didn't know what to say and that gave Epsilon a second to think.
That's great, bitch about her when she's trying to help you, then bitch about how you want to be better than all out other friends, including her, right after. What a great teammate you are Epsilon.
Deciding she needed to cut her pity-party short she tried to change the topic and lighten the mood "It doesn't matter. I'm definitely not scared of you anymore, so if you bring that night up again I'll rub itching powder in your tail while you sleep".
That had been one of Zeta's old pranks, she couldn't remember what started it but they'd been deep into one of their regular spats . Between rubbing it against various trees and gnawing on it with her teeth almost all the fur on it had been pulled out. It looked like a tree in midwinter, shrunk by the absence of leaves. Judging by her reaction and how she tried to hide it whenever anyone (especially Cid) was around she thought Delta might just think about her tail fur similarly to how she thought about her figure.
Delta let out a little squeal and even though she couldn't see it in the dark she was sure Delta had just covered her tail with her hands defensively.
Maybe that was a little too far.
Epsilon decided should let Delta get some sleep and turned away from her, pulling the covers tighter around herself as she said "Goodnight Delta".
"Goodnight Epsilon".