The Sky Garden; [Open]

"Oi oi, this isn't so much a garden but a park," Jack muttered as the sky garden came to view. His eyes scanned the area until they rested on the odd little girl. He studied her up and down even as she addressed him. She certainly looked and acted like a doll but...

"Oi... you're not actually a--" Then Liseran came from behind and grabbed him in panic. His right hand flailed about as his footing stumbled in panic. "C-Can't breath! Can't- O-OY OY! AREN'T YOU TOO CLOSE??"

Jack exclaimed loudly, his face reddening as he tried to pry the girl off with his one good arm.

Liseran shuffled on top of Jack, but didn't let go. Her Legs were wrapped around her waist while her arm clutched around his neck. Her free arm, however, aimed a silver bell at the odd girl in panic.

"S-stay where you are!" Liseran demanded with a shaky voice. "If you know what's good for you, you'll...you'll not eat our souls!"

The strange girl stared at Liseran blankly and then rolled her eyes.

"Ah, yes, because what in Mä can a tiny bell do to--"

From out of nowhere, a glyph appeared under the girl. Instinctively, the girl leaped to the side and fell to the side just as a giant ice shard burst from where the glyph formed. The girl's eyes widened in disbelief in disbelief and slammed her fist on the floor in rage.

"A-are you mad, woman!??" she screamed.

"You haven't answered my question!" Liseran said, waving her bell threateningly at the girl.

"You didn't even ASK a question!!"

Jack would feel Liseran's arm clutch his neck even tighter as she thrashed in a flustered rage.

"It should be obvious that we're demanding to know who you are and what you're doing here!!"

The girl got up and stomped her foot on the ground angrily, now pointing fingers at Liseran accusingly as well.

"THAT WAS THE LEAST OBVIOUS THING CONSIDERING YOU PROCEEDED TO ACCUSE ME OF BEING A FAIRY AND THEN ATTACK ME WITH AN ICE SHARD, YOU HYSTERICAL BESPECTACLED HOMEBODY!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING HOMEBODY!???"

It was obvious their bickering was not going to stop and neither was going to calm down unless someone intervened. Their arguing was getting so loud, Cassima would be able to hear it from downstairs.

Cassima finally remembered a mark that she remembered learning back in Eisleyn, and just in time too, because judging from Liseran's wailing, things were getting bad from the garden. "I have to hurry before that fairy/incantii hurts them and takes there anima." Cassima ran up the stairs and soon came to Liseran and Jack's aide. While Jack was busy being strangled by a scared Liseran, Cassima turned towards the golden haired girl. "Don't hurt these two, they don't deserve to get hurt." Cassima slowly lifted up the geode but lowered it when she realised something about the girl.

She seemed very angry and didn't seem to be threatening at all. Cassima was, confused, to say the least. "Wait, are you even the noblewoman's daughter?" Cassima raised her eyebrow, wanting answers unless she was going to charge the trio and attack. "Is your favourite dish souls of the innocent?" Cassima asked again to the girl in front of her.

"GAK! GAH! ACK!" Jack's dialogue has degraded to a series of choking sounds as he tried to pry to woman off him. His eyes were bulging and his face was red as a beet. Slowly his wooden arm started moving again and with both arms he managed to take off the pressure on his windpipe. "I CAN'T BREATH!!"

As he shouted that he was desperately gasping for air while trying to remove the small woman attached to his back.

"Calm down already!!" He yelled that loudly. "Would you two stop it?? Just look at her!"

He pointed a wooden finger at the golden girl.

"You can tell just by looking she's a normal lady, can't you!?!?"

Upon seeing Cassima arrive, the girl sighed in relief.

"Finally! A sane person!" she said.

But then Cassima proceeded to inquire if she was a fairy. The girl's face puffed up, and she waved her tiny arms wildly in the air.

"For the last time, I'm not a fairy!"

Despite Liseran's firm grasp, Jack would also be able to tell everyone to calm down and point out the obvious. The blonde girl crossed her arms and nodded.

"Thank you!" she said.

Liseran had noticed Cassima, and because of her protective instincts, leaped off of Jack, and placed the aspiring student behind her.

"Didn't I say to stay downstairs?" she said raising an arm in front of her. "This woman could be dangerous. We don't know why she's here."

Both the girl and Liseran glared at each other, simultaneously smoothing out the skirts of their dresses and fixing their hair. Liseran pointed the bell again.

"Fairy or not, no one's been up here in ages," she said, trying to return to her formal composure. "So it strikes me odd that someone's suddenly up here running about. What is your purpose here? I find it hard to believe two strangers would simultaneously have interest in old records in a supposedly haunted library on the same day."

The girl pouted for a moment, still miffed at the accusations, but she quickly sighed and placed a hand on her hip.

"I could say the same to you," she said. "I saw you downstairs earlier looking for a particular book. I don't think a mage of your...specialty would have any logical intentions to be where obsolete research is."

Liseran stiffened for a moment as if the girl had struck a cord. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but paused and said nothing. The blonde girl looked like she wanted to coax Liseran more, but then eyed the other two present and decided to stop.

The girl slowly walked closer to them, Liseran standing stiffly, ready to attack in the event of an altercation. The girl rolled her eyes and sigh.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you fools," she said. "Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Mirabella Cinq, great granddaughter of the same noblewoman who created this very Sky Garden. But you may call me Mirai. I came here to inspect its condition as I have attempts to renovate it. That said, I found it surprising to find people here. I could hear your ridiculous bickering downstairs, but decided not to disturb you all."

After she was placed behind Liseran and scolded, Cassima tried to defend herself on why she came up to the garden, putting the geode next to her dagger in her pocket. "But I wanted to help. I couldn't stand the thought of two other people getting there anima eaten by the evil fairy/incantii girl." She looked back at the girl. Once she introduced herself as Mirabella, Cassima sighed in relief at the feeling that a battle was going to be avoided and that the trio will be ok...

For now at least.

Cassima shifted her eyes to Jack. "Are you ok? Sorry that I didn't come to your aide quickly." She asked the boy worryingly before looking back to Mirabella who revealed more about her history. "So if you're related to the noblewoman then do you know information regarding her daughter, that can help clear up some rumours that say that this library is haunted by her?" Cassima then scratched her head embarrassingly. "And, we're sorry, that me and Liseran here tried to hurt you. We just thought with your golden hair you could have been, well, the noblewoman's daughter." Cassima weakly laughed soon after, feeling bad for assuming that the woman was evil.

For now...At least.

The moment Liseran let go, Jack collapsed on his hands and knees, panting hungrily for air as he struggled with his nearly crushed throat. He massaged his Adam's apple, coughing as he tried to straighten himself.

"You jump to conclusions too fast dag nabbit," Jack wheezed as he nursed his choked neck. "And did you call her a fairy? A minute ago you said it was a ghost!"

Mirai looked at Cassima with interest as the latter apologized. She then made a small smile before pulling out a fan to cool herself with.

"Apology accepted," she said. "I suppose I do bear a bit of resemblance to my ancestors, so I can understand your folly. Not that I could tell you about my grandmother. I hear she just up and left the country to explore the other parts of Esterelf. Still, my resemblance to my ancestors doesn't explain why your friend almost froze me to death, though."

If Jack and Cassima looked at Liseran, they would see her turning bright red, so much she seemed to glow. She clutched her book tightly and covered half of her face with it.

"I...I...I'm so sorry!" she said. "B-but I was only acting out of protection and...and..."

Steaming, the girl hid her whole face in the book, once again showing how her composure would flip from extremely formal to an utter scatterbrain. She quickly lowered her book, however, and stomped harshly on the ground.

"S-still! How are we supposed to believe you're really related to Eminence Cinq!" she squeaked. "Or if you're really here with the purpose of renovating the Sky Garden!"

Liseran frowned as she clutched her book even tighter.

"I-I don't even see a need to renovate this place. It's beautiful the way it is."

The girl who introduced herself as Mirai sighed bored.

"True, true," she said. "I don't have any way to prove any of that to you. But, if I were a Golden Fairy, I would have eaten you by now, wouldn't I? There'd certainly be no point in wasting time, and it's rude to play with food."

Mirai then looked at Jack and Cassima.

"But now that we've cleared that up, don't you think it's impolite to not introduce yourselves?"

"Fairy, ghost, the noblewoman's daughter is basically someone that eats stuff, like people's anima and then probably their corpses as a second meal." Cassima offered to lift Jack up once he was finished tending to his neck, but she turned while waiting for his response towards the mysterious Mirabella, who asked for her name. "Oh, my name? Cassima Addington. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mirabella." Cassima perked up, although she couldn't help but get the feeling...

That there's something strange going on. She didn't answer Liseran's question about her relations to the noblewoman, but maybe she will in a few seconds. Either way, Cassima was slightly on high alert for anything strange related to Mirabella.

"Mng. Jude Johny Spriggins," Jack stated his name once he righted himself. "I prefer people to call me Jack."