[Luna POV]
The day after we started on the way to the dragon island, I made the ship start flying. It was the perfect weather for it and the skies were relatively clear. Like that, we spent the first week with nothing showing up. Today, however, changed that.
In front of the ship was a giant school of sky creatures. Most of them looked like some weird kind of fish things with the body of a eel and the heads of boars. There was another group mixed in that looked like some weird bird that had two extra beaks where their feet should have been.
“These things get weirder every time.” (Soleil)
“I agree. They are kind of creepy.” (Velvet)
“They are in the way.” (Luna)
“Big sis?” (Soleil)
“What’s got you all worked up?” (Velvet)
“Atmos. She kept me up all night last night by whispering rawrs in my head. I got back at her, but I’m still annoyed.” (Luna)
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? We could have enacted the plan.” (Soleil)
“It wasn’t the time for it. We need to make sure she is in the perfect place to do that.” (Luna)
“Meaning when?” (Soleil)
“Next time she visits Tamamo. That way I can actually make sure we get her.” (Luna)
“Alright.” (Soleil)
{Should I invite Atmos over soon?}
“I’ll leave the timing up to you.” (Luna)
{Alright.}
As we continued to approach the giant school of sky creatures, they turned to us.
“Um.” (Soleil)
“That is unsettling.” (Velvet)
“Time to take care of business.” (Luna)
I walked to the bow of the ship and glared at the sky creatures. I then summoned a bolt of lightning in front of me, condensed it to its limit, and shot it at the clustered group of creatures. When the bolt made contact with the first creature, it vaporized it. The bolt then branched out like lightning does and started to hit every creature. Soon enough, the creatures were just cooked corpses that started to float upwards. I stored all of them in my inventory so I could snack on them later. When I turned around and walked back to the helm, Velvet and Soleil looked at me with expressions that said the scene they just witnessed was expected, but also a tinge of worry.
“What?” (Luna)
“It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you annoyed to this extent, big sis. I know you don’t like it when people keep you from sleeping when you actually want to sleep, but this is the first time in a while I’ve actually seen you vent in a more violent way.” (Soleil)
“Wait, this has happened before?” (Velvet)
“Yep. Though the last time I remember it happening, it was her dad. I think it was when he was trying to train her to be a light sleeper when she was camping outside of a city.” (Soleil)
“What happened after that?” (Velvet)
“Let’s see…She nearly broke his ankle when she kicked it to get him down on her level, then she did a quick chop to his throat since he was always yelling to wake her up.” (Soleil)
“I also refused to use healing magic until I slept enough to actually know what I was doing. After actually getting some good sleep, I immediately healed him and apologized.” (Luna)
“Yes, but that was when we all agreed that it was a bad idea to have you sleep deprived like that.” (Soleil)
“Ah, and here I thought I finished that training with excellent results.” (Luna)
“I mean, you did in a way.” (Soleil)
“Hmm. So will this only be a problem only when you want to sleep, or one that is going to happen any time you sleep and are forcibly woken up?” (Velvet)
“Just when I want to sleep.” (Luna)
It was then that Mio arrived on deck.
“What was that noise nya?” (Mio)
“Me clearing our way.” (Luna)
“…Angry Lunya nya.” (Mio)
“Not angry, just annoyed.” (Luna)
“Atmos kept her awake.” (Soleil)
“…Atmos nyeeds to be smacked nya. Interrupting sleep is a nyo nyo nya.” (Mio)
“I agree.” (Luna)
“So, Luna, how many levels did you get from doing that?” (Velvet)
“I don’t know why you’re trying to change the subject, but I got two.” (Luna)
“That’s surprising. Sure, there were a lot of those things, but I didn’t think it was that many.” (Velvet)
“They gave a lot of exp.” (Luna)
{Luna, I get that you aren’t in the best of moods at the moment, but that’s no reason to be all snippy at everyone.}
“…*Sigh* Sorry Velvet.” (Luna)
“It’s fine. I totally get what you’re feeling right now.” (Velvet)
I nodded my head at her words. I continued to pilot the ship until Skadi and Ophidia joined us. Skadi asked to take over the steering to which I gratefully accepted. I then told the others I was going to take a nap. Just as I laid down on my bed, Tamamo spoke.
{Atmos will be here shortly.}
“Heh. Soleil, come here for a bit!” (Luna)
Soleil came into the cabin and sat next to me on the bed.
“What’s up?” (Soleil)
“Get ready.” (Luna)
“Alright.” (Soleil)
“Tamamo, I’m heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee.” (Atmos)
“NOW!” (Luna)
[Atmos POV]
When I arrived at Tamamo’s place, I didn’t see her anywhere. I was confused by this for a second before something happened. In front of me the air started to distort and soon enough, a beautiful painting appeared in front of me. The scenery in the painting was so lifelike that you’d think it was actually a small window looking out at the place that was painted.
While I was distracted by this, Luna’s Gates started to appear at the corners of the frame. Chains shot out of those Gates and wrapped around my arms and legs. I was the pulled towards the painting. When I tried to get out of the chains, I remembered that I couldn’t break them of get out easily.
“Grey, I love you, but you’re sleeping on the couch for a week for this.”
The second I touched the painting, it started to ripple like water, and I was pulled inside.
“Have fun in this domain, Atmos. And when you get out, tell me what you thought, I might make this a thing for fun later down the line, so I want someone to test it out. Oh, and though I have a feeling you’ll be fine, please don’t go crazy. Enjoy the things that Soleil painted up for you to experience.” (Luna)
“Luna, you better be happy that this seems interesting. Otherwise, I’d prank you even more than last night.” (Atmos)
When I said that, the whole place shook and the sky became darker with thunder clouds forming.
“…This is fine.” (Atmos)
Since it was interesting, I decided to explore the place. The first place I went was a forest with trees that I’ve never seen before. When I entered the forest, I felt a weird sensation and before I knew it, it was like I was teleported to the middle of it. A cold mist also started to show itself, making the visibility worse. Since it was clear that I was supposed to make my way out of the forest, I chose a random direction and started walking.
It wasn’t long after that that I started to hear things. A little jingle of a bell here, some echoy laughter there, the snapping of a twig next to me, the sound of some musical instrument behind or in front of me. It was a bit unsettling. With the forest’s unchanging scenery and the sounds I’d been hearing for a while now, I started to worry if I was making any headway. It was only after I saw a medium sized rock that I saw when I first got into the forest that I learned that I hadn’t made any progress whatsoever.
“This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.” (Atmos)
“I can give you a hint if you want.” (Luna)
“No, I’ll figure it out myself.” (Atmos)
“Suit yourself. Just know that this is the easy part.” (Luna)
I rolled my eyes and started walking once more. Since Luna made it so that it was always day in here, I had no idea how long it was that I was in this part of the forest, but once I learned the trick to navigating it, I easily made my way out. Or at least I would have like to get out of here. In front of me was an archway of trees. Behind that archway was a wall of almost pure darkness. Thankfully I was provided a torch and a small brazier to light it. When I did so, I thought I saw a shadow move.
“No time like the present,” (Atmos)
I stepped through the archway with the lit torch in hand. I regretted that decision almost immediately. It was extremely windy in this place and it threatened to blow the torch out. There were also sounds that could only be heard when in here, and they sounded like they were surrounding me slowly. I braved on. The gimmick of this part of the forest was very obvious. All I had to do was follow the embers that floated off the torch in the wind. After what felt like several hours, I finally saw one of the things that was making noises.
It looked sort of like a wolf, but it was shadowy and looked like it was just a moving painting. When I saw it, it looked back at me and melted into the shadows. I then heard a loud howl and then several more that answered it back. Figuring it wouldn’t be good to be caught by these painted wolves, I quickened my pace.
“Wait, why am I scared?” (Atmos)
It was then that one of the wolves attacked. I didn’t panic and threw out my fist expecting it to go pop, but instead, I felt something with a watery consistency. The painted wolf, true to its name, was just a painting, so my punch did nothing to it. Shutting my eyes and expecting pain, I felt nothing. I opened my eyes again and saw that the wolf was just staring at me like a puppy expecting pats.
“…” (Atmos)
“Fufufufufufufu. You didn’t actually think I’d put things in here to hurt you, right? Why would I do that?” (Luna)
I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment. I quickly patted the painted wolf on the head as best I could and continued on my way out of the forest. When I finally managed that, I found myself in a slightly less forested part, though this place had many ruins. For some reason though, there were a lot of staircases that looked impractical to downright unusable due to them being sideways and upside down. Getting annoyed at the seemingly never-ending forest, I pushed ahead.
Thinking that the staircases were the key to this part, I climbed one. When I reached the top, I found myself at a doorway. Through the doorway was another one of the staircases. I shrugged my shoulders and walked through the doorway only to be thrown off when I got on the other side. I was now standing on one of the sideways stairs.
“How?” (Atmos)
“Magic.” (Luna)
“…” (Atmos)
Just shook my head and walked on. I don’t know how long I was there, but after being a while of walking the maze of staircases I figured out why I wasn’t making any progress.
“This was all a waste of time, wasn’t it.” (Atmos)
“That’s on you for assuming the stairs were the way to go. If you were in a forest the entire time, why would I change it up like that?” (Luna)
“Luna, I think I’m going to need to talk to you and Soleil about what you two think is a good prank. This is just tedious.” (Atmos)
“Boo! Fine, you want out of there? Then get out.” (Luna)
“Hey now, I know it’s my fault you’re all upset and stuff, but there is no need to take it out on me.” (Atmos)
{Atmos, how is that not a reason to take it out on you?}
“…I plead the 5th.” (Atmos)
“That law doesn’t exist here!” (Luna)
“Hehehe.” (Atmos)
I then started to feel an extreme case of vertigo. While it was at it’s worst point, the world actually moved and I started to fall. I fell all the way through the forest that I already made it through, out of the forest itself, and then through the frame that I originally entered through. When I fell out of the frame, I slammed down onto my back.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhh.” (Atmos)
While my vision was swimming, the painting and the space around it shimmered and it disappeared. It was then that Tamamo stood over me.
{Welcome back. You’ve spent three days in there.}
“Oh wow.” (Atmos)
{Atmos, I think it’s time for the three of you to end this prank war. You’re all already just getting petty. I worry that if you go any further, the relationship between the three of you will turn sour.}
“…I’ll think about it, but they have to agree as well.” (Atmos)
Chaos Realm:
Atmos: I declare the prank war over. What say you, Luna and Soleil?
Luna: Agreed.
Soleil: Agreed.
Order: As Goddess of Order, I hear your declaration and officially end the prank war. Please talk these things out in the future without escalating it.
Atmos, Luna, and Soleil: Alright.
Luna: So, what did you think of the painting?
Atmos: In the beginning it was fun, but after a while it got tedious and boring. You need to add more to it than just a forest maze.
Luna: There was more to it, but it seems only three people I know would actually enjoy it to the fullest.
I've already introduced her to anime, want me to start with video games next?
Luna: ...Do it. I'll happily accept more people that get my jokes and references.
Alright.
Order: Is this a good idea?
Soleil: Probably not, but it also seems like big sis is happy about it, so it'll be fine...probably.
Order: Guess he needs to spread chaos here and there sometimes, but that's what makes him cute, so it's fine.
[Luna POV]
The day after we started on the way to the dragon island, I made the ship start flying. It was the perfect weather for it and the skies were relatively clear. Like that, we spent the first week with nothing showing up. Today, however, changed that.
In front of the ship was a giant school of sky creatures. Most of them looked like some weird kind of fish things with the body of a eel and the heads of boars. There was another group mixed in that looked like some weird bird that had two extra beaks where their feet should have been.
“These things get weirder every time.” (Soleil)
“I agree. They are kind of creepy.” (Velvet)
“They are in the way.” (Luna)
“Big sis?” (Soleil)
“What’s got you all worked up?” (Velvet)
“Atmos. She kept me up all night last night by whispering rawrs in my head. I got back at her, but I’m still annoyed.” (Luna)
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? We could have enacted the plan.” (Soleil)
“It wasn’t the time for it. We need to make sure she is in the perfect place to do that.” (Luna)
“Meaning when?” (Soleil)
“Next time she visits Tamamo. That way I can actually make sure we get her.” (Luna)
“Alright.” (Soleil)
{Should I invite Atmos over soon?}
“I’ll leave the timing up to you.” (Luna)
{Alright.}
As we continued to approach the giant school of sky creatures, they turned to us.
“Um.” (Soleil)
“That is unsettling.” (Velvet)
“Time to take care of business.” (Luna)
I walked to the bow of the ship and glared at the sky creatures. I then summoned a bolt of lightning in front of me, condensed it to its limit, and shot it at the clustered group of creatures. When the bolt made contact with the first creature, it vaporized it. The bolt then branched out like lightning does and started to hit every creature. Soon enough, the creatures were just cooked corpses that started to float upwards. I stored all of them in my inventory so I could snack on them later. When I turned around and walked back to the helm, Velvet and Soleil looked at me with expressions that said the scene they just witnessed was expected, but also a tinge of worry.
“What?” (Luna)
“It’s just been a while since I’ve seen you annoyed to this extent, big sis. I know you don’t like it when people keep you from sleeping when you actually want to sleep, but this is the first time in a while I’ve actually seen you vent in a more violent way.” (Soleil)
“Wait, this has happened before?” (Velvet)
“Yep. Though the last time I remember it happening, it was her dad. I think it was when he was trying to train her to be a light sleeper when she was camping outside of a city.” (Soleil)
“What happened after that?” (Velvet)
“Let’s see…She nearly broke his ankle when she kicked it to get him down on her level, then she did a quick chop to his throat since he was always yelling to wake her up.” (Soleil)
“I also refused to use healing magic until I slept enough to actually know what I was doing. After actually getting some good sleep, I immediately healed him and apologized.” (Luna)
“Yes, but that was when we all agreed that it was a bad idea to have you sleep deprived like that.” (Soleil)
“Ah, and here I thought I finished that training with excellent results.” (Luna)
“I mean, you did in a way.” (Soleil)
“Hmm. So will this only be a problem only when you want to sleep, or one that is going to happen any time you sleep and are forcibly woken up?” (Velvet)
“Just when I want to sleep.” (Luna)
It was then that Mio arrived on deck.
“What was that noise nya?” (Mio)
“Me clearing our way.” (Luna)
“…Angry Lunya nya.” (Mio)
“Not angry, just annoyed.” (Luna)
“Atmos kept her awake.” (Soleil)
“…Atmos nyeeds to be smacked nya. Interrupting sleep is a nyo nyo nya.” (Mio)
“I agree.” (Luna)
“So, Luna, how many levels did you get from doing that?” (Velvet)
“I don’t know why you’re trying to change the subject, but I got two.” (Luna)
“That’s surprising. Sure, there were a lot of those things, but I didn’t think it was that many.” (Velvet)
“They gave a lot of exp.” (Luna)
{Luna, I get that you aren’t in the best of moods at the moment, but that’s no reason to be all snippy at everyone.}
“…*Sigh* Sorry Velvet.” (Luna)
“It’s fine. I totally get what you’re feeling right now.” (Velvet)
I nodded my head at her words. I continued to pilot the ship until Skadi and Ophidia joined us. Skadi asked to take over the steering to which I gratefully accepted. I then told the others I was going to take a nap. Just as I laid down on my bed, Tamamo spoke.
{Atmos will be here shortly.}
“Heh. Soleil, come here for a bit!” (Luna)
Soleil came into the cabin and sat next to me on the bed.
“What’s up?” (Soleil)
“Get ready.” (Luna)
“Alright.” (Soleil)
“Tamamo, I’m heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee.” (Atmos)
“NOW!” (Luna)
[Atmos POV]
When I arrived at Tamamo’s place, I didn’t see her anywhere. I was confused by this for a second before something happened. In front of me the air started to distort and soon enough, a beautiful painting appeared in front of me. The scenery in the painting was so lifelike that you’d think it was actually a small window looking out at the place that was painted.
While I was distracted by this, Luna’s Gates started to appear at the corners of the frame. Chains shot out of those Gates and wrapped around my arms and legs. I was the pulled towards the painting. When I tried to get out of the chains, I remembered that I couldn’t break them of get out easily.
“Grey, I love you, but you’re sleeping on the couch for a week for this.”
The second I touched the painting, it started to ripple like water, and I was pulled inside.
“Have fun in this domain, Atmos. And when you get out, tell me what you thought, I might make this a thing for fun later down the line, so I want someone to test it out. Oh, and though I have a feeling you’ll be fine, please don’t go crazy. Enjoy the things that Soleil painted up for you to experience.” (Luna)
“Luna, you better be happy that this seems interesting. Otherwise, I’d prank you even more than last night.” (Atmos)
When I said that, the whole place shook and the sky became darker with thunder clouds forming.
“…This is fine.” (Atmos)
Since it was interesting, I decided to explore the place. The first place I went was a forest with trees that I’ve never seen before. When I entered the forest, I felt a weird sensation and before I knew it, it was like I was teleported to the middle of it. A cold mist also started to show itself, making the visibility worse. Since it was clear that I was supposed to make my way out of the forest, I chose a random direction and started walking.
It wasn’t long after that that I started to hear things. A little jingle of a bell here, some echoy laughter there, the snapping of a twig next to me, the sound of some musical instrument behind or in front of me. It was a bit unsettling. With the forest’s unchanging scenery and the sounds I’d been hearing for a while now, I started to worry if I was making any headway. It was only after I saw a medium sized rock that I saw when I first got into the forest that I learned that I hadn’t made any progress whatsoever.
“This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.” (Atmos)
“I can give you a hint if you want.” (Luna)
“No, I’ll figure it out myself.” (Atmos)
“Suit yourself. Just know that this is the easy part.” (Luna)
I rolled my eyes and started walking once more. Since Luna made it so that it was always day in here, I had no idea how long it was that I was in this part of the forest, but once I learned the trick to navigating it, I easily made my way out. Or at least I would have like to get out of here. In front of me was an archway of trees. Behind that archway was a wall of almost pure darkness. Thankfully I was provided a torch and a small brazier to light it. When I did so, I thought I saw a shadow move.
“No time like the present,” (Atmos)
I stepped through the archway with the lit torch in hand. I regretted that decision almost immediately. It was extremely windy in this place and it threatened to blow the torch out. There were also sounds that could only be heard when in here, and they sounded like they were surrounding me slowly. I braved on. The gimmick of this part of the forest was very obvious. All I had to do was follow the embers that floated off the torch in the wind. After what felt like several hours, I finally saw one of the things that was making noises.
It looked sort of like a wolf, but it was shadowy and looked like it was just a moving painting. When I saw it, it looked back at me and melted into the shadows. I then heard a loud howl and then several more that answered it back. Figuring it wouldn’t be good to be caught by these painted wolves, I quickened my pace.
“Wait, why am I scared?” (Atmos)
It was then that one of the wolves attacked. I didn’t panic and threw out my fist expecting it to go pop, but instead, I felt something with a watery consistency. The painted wolf, true to its name, was just a painting, so my punch did nothing to it. Shutting my eyes and expecting pain, I felt nothing. I opened my eyes again and saw that the wolf was just staring at me like a puppy expecting pats.
“…” (Atmos)
“Fufufufufufufu. You didn’t actually think I’d put things in here to hurt you, right? Why would I do that?” (Luna)
I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment. I quickly patted the painted wolf on the head as best I could and continued on my way out of the forest. When I finally managed that, I found myself in a slightly less forested part, though this place had many ruins. For some reason though, there were a lot of staircases that looked impractical to downright unusable due to them being sideways and upside down. Getting annoyed at the seemingly never-ending forest, I pushed ahead.
Thinking that the staircases were the key to this part, I climbed one. When I reached the top, I found myself at a doorway. Through the doorway was another one of the staircases. I shrugged my shoulders and walked through the doorway only to be thrown off when I got on the other side. I was now standing on one of the sideways stairs.
“How?” (Atmos)
“Magic.” (Luna)
“…” (Atmos)
Just shook my head and walked on. I don’t know how long I was there, but after being a while of walking the maze of staircases I figured out why I wasn’t making any progress.
“This was all a waste of time, wasn’t it.” (Atmos)
“That’s on you for assuming the stairs were the way to go. If you were in a forest the entire time, why would I change it up like that?” (Luna)
“Luna, I think I’m going to need to talk to you and Soleil about what you two think is a good prank. This is just tedious.” (Atmos)
“Boo! Fine, you want out of there? Then get out.” (Luna)
“Hey now, I know it’s my fault you’re all upset and stuff, but there is no need to take it out on me.” (Atmos)
{Atmos, how is that not a reason to take it out on you?}
“…I plead the 5th.” (Atmos)
“That law doesn’t exist here!” (Luna)
“Hehehe.” (Atmos)
I then started to feel an extreme case of vertigo. While it was at it’s worst point, the world actually moved and I started to fall. I fell all the way through the forest that I already made it through, out of the forest itself, and then through the frame that I originally entered through. When I fell out of the frame, I slammed down onto my back.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhh.” (Atmos)
While my vision was swimming, the painting and the space around it shimmered and it disappeared. It was then that Tamamo stood over me.
{Welcome back. You’ve spent three days in there.}
“Oh wow.” (Atmos)
{Atmos, I think it’s time for the three of you to end this prank war. You’re all already just getting petty. I worry that if you go any further, the relationship between the three of you will turn sour.}
“…I’ll think about it, but they have to agree as well.” (Atmos)
Chaos Realm:
Atmos: I declare the prank war over. What say you, Luna and Soleil?
Luna: Agreed.
Soleil: Agreed.
Order: As Goddess of Order, I hear your declaration and officially end the prank war. Please talk these things out in the future without escalating it.
Atmos, Luna, and Soleil: Alright.
Luna: So, what did you think of the painting?
Atmos: In the beginning it was fun, but after a while it got tedious and boring. You need to add more to it than just a forest maze.
Luna: There was more to it, but it seems only three people I know would actually enjoy it to the fullest.
I've already introduced her to anime, want me to start with video games next?
Luna: ...Do it. I'll happily accept more people that get my jokes and references.
Alright.
Order: Is this a good idea?
Soleil: Probably not, but it also seems like big sis is happy about it, so it'll be fine...probably.
Order: Guess he needs to spread chaos here and there sometimes, but that's what makes him cute, so it's fine.
