Chapter 63 - 57 - Sparring Match
It was another beautiful Thursday morning, which meant Pacifica was up at the crack of dawn, dragging poor defenseless Taika into the family pool. The lunar fox had enjoyed a couple of days of sleeping in, but those blissful times were over as Pacifica was back on her regularly scheduled programming.
"Mmmrgh…" Taika trudged through the house in her swimsuit, attempting to not get too much water on the tile while she desperately made her way towards the bathroom and the blanket of warmth provided by the shower contained within.
Unfortunately, this morning came with its own trials and tribulations. "Good morning sunshine!" Priscilla blocked the way to the bathroom. Truly there was no justice in this world. Taika made a sad whimper reaching out for the fabled warmth of the shower.
"So you made a right mess of my kitchen a couple nights back," Priscilla began, ignoring the sad noises emanating from the lunar fox. "Wanna learn how to cook?"
Taika perked up but quickly grew suspicious of the sudden offer. "Why?" she questioned.
"Well, it's a useful skill to have, especially since healing magic isn't a be-all-end-all solution to fixing up your teammates," Priscilla elaborated.
The vixen's ears folded back, as she hugged herself – a perceived failure on her part. "Oh, don't be that way. All healers learn this lesson," Priscilla stated. "Just be glad you learned it this way and not in the field," the elder Maestro said with a lower voice.
Taika understood the implication, but that didn't help raise her spirits. "Being able to nurse someone back to health with good nutritious food is part of the healing process," the elder Maestro told the young healer. "I can teach you the basics," Priscilla offered once more.
"You know how to cook?" Taika asked, slowly losing her skepticism.
"Sure, the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Priscilla boasted knowingly.
That statement encouraged deep thought in the young fox girl. She now had an ulterior motive for obtaining these skills. "Okay, can you teach me?" she acquiesced to the elder Maestro's pointed offer.
"Sure sure, come on!"
"Aspetta! Let me shower first!"
"Sho… Rebby… wake up."
Thursday morning began not with either of the remaining occupants in bed waking up of their own accord, but with the owner of the bed in question gently rocking the pair.
"Nnnnghh." Rebecca weakly swatted at the hand trying to shake her awake. Shouri also protested by pulling the blanket over their heads.
"Come on you two, breakfast is ready," Pacifica sang, continuing to shake the protesting pair. "Don't make me go borrow one of Dad's rubato crystals," she gently threatened with her singsong voice.
"Mmmmmrgh." Rebecca and Shouri rose. "Fine, we're up," they spoke together.
Begrudgingly, man and fox girl slid out of bed and followed their cheery otter companion into the kitchen. Though they both woke up properly upon seeing the kitchen. There were pans all over the place, with various food residues coating their now-empty basins. Priscilla was at the sink, humming away while washing the dishes.
Taika was standing at the table, pouring the last glass of orange juice while Pacifica already was seated, her tail wagging excitedly. The lunar fox wore a serene smile on her face and a white apron around her neck. Her ears twitched and she looked up, locking eyes with her Maestro. With widened eyes she jumped, not having realized they were there. "B-buongiorno Sho!" she squeaked, spilling a small bit of orange juice from the carton.
The lunar vixen quickly averted her gaze, squeezing the orange juice container. "Prego, si accomodi!" she spoke quickly and loudly. "Spero che sia buono…" she mumbled as a quick aside.
Shouri, not speaking Naturalian, glanced at the fox by his side for translation duty. "She wants us to sit." Rebecca raised a brow. "I hope it's good?" the fire fox whispered to herself, not understanding the implication of those words.
Regardless, neither wanted to disappoint their traveling companion and quickly took their seats. Before them was a relatively simple breakfast: fluffy yellow eggs topped with fresh green chives, bacon strips cooked to lovely crispy browns, green-skinned pear chunks had their own section, and a steaming golden-brown biscuit rounded out the meal.
Taika took a seat, having shed the apron. "I hope it's good," she repeated, motioning for the group to start eating, all while bearing a slight but persistent shiver.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Pacifica began eating. "Oh! This is great!" she spoke through her mouth full of food.
Shouri and Rebecca exchanged a glance, before focusing on their own plates. Taking a small fork-full of egg, the first bites were consumed.
"Hm?" Two surprised hums followed by a second bite of egg and a third. Taika let out a sigh of relief as her friends quickly cleaned their plates.
"You made this?" Shouri asked suddenly.
Taika lowered her head. "S-si… I know it's kind of simple but-"
"It's good, I didn't know you knew how to cook," he spoke excitedly.
"I didn't really…" Her gaze rose, meeting Priscilla's.
The elder woman, still standing in the kitchen shrugged. "She's got some latent talent. I just got her started and she knew when stuff was finished."
That appraisal of Taika's supposed cooking skills earned her three pairs of eyes looking at her, impressed.
"Ch-che?" The vixen shrunk a bit upon receiving the scrutinizing gazes.
"I didn't know you wanted to cook," Shouri said.
"I didn't know either, to be honest." She fidgeted with her jacket's zipper, avoiding her Maestro's eyes.
"I mean, the soup you made for me was great. Could have fooled me," Rebecca chimed in.
"I like bacon," Pacifica added helpfully, whilst chewing on some leftover slices.
After breakfast was done, the group fell back into their usual routine – gathered around the television and watching something to pass the time. The only change in their arrangement was Taika had her nose in a thick book on cooking. The success of breakfast lit a fire under the young lunar fox and she gained a newfound curiosity for the art of food craft.
That being said, her weak stave of rhythm was knowledge, so despite her overbearing willpower that pushed her into her studies, she maintained physical contact with her knowledge-strong Maestro to clear the fog that usually clouded her mind. For both of their sanity, all that was needed to accomplish this connection was Shouri leaning back on her tail, just being mindful to not crush it too badly. In exchange, he got a nice fluffy pillow-like appendage to relax on.
The trio paying attention to the movie enjoyed it at length. They had decided on a comedy movie about a Maestro and a hotel they ran with a wide assortment of Resonators. It detailed the wacky hi-jinks of their day-to-day lives and ended on a happy note.
"That was a good one," Rebecca chuckled, her gut a bit sore from how hard she had been laughing. This earned a warm smile from Shouri. Days like this made it all worth it. Seeing Taika, Pacifica, and Rebecca all as happy as could be easily cast out any doubt about the decisions he had made in the last three or so months.
Rebecca herself seemed quite bright and cheery today, which prompted Shouri's next inquiry, "How are you feeling today?"
The fire fox perked up, realizing she was being called upon. "I feel good," she spoke after a moment.
"Good." Shouri nodded. "Wanna head to the court?"
There was an ounce of hesitation, which even Shouri picked up on. Rebecca gritted her teeth hard, balled up fists on her lap trembling. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak: "I-"
SNAP
The group's attention was turned to Taika, who had slammed her book shut. Without a word, she stood up from the couch and approached Rebecca. Shouri and Pacifica moved to stop her but froze in place when they watched Taika gently grab the other vixen's hands.
"It's okay to be afraid. You're still recovering. You need to work your fire back to where it was before." With how gently she spoke, it threw Pacifica and Shouri for a loop, not expecting that from the normally catty vixen. "It won't take you long, I know you can do it."
"Y-yeah." Rebecca's eyes were wide, focused on her own hands in Taika's. She felt the other vixen squeeze her hands tighter. "Let's go Sho," Rebecca spoke with a sudden, newfound confidence.
Satisfied with that, Taika released her fellow Resonator's hands and simply returned to the couch where she buried herself in her studies once more.
Rebecca stared blankly at the large mirror that proudly hung in the main bathroom. It was the first time in a couple of days that she had donned her everyday wear. While it did give her a small confidence boost, there was still that nagging presence in the back of her mind that made her doubt her ability to conjure up her flames.
Taika's words raced back to the forefront of her mind. Why had she said all that? Rebecca's heart raced with an unusual warmth radiating from her face (even for a fire element such as herself). Was she still sick? That had to be it.
Taking in a deep breath, she tried to clear her mind. Slowly she released her held breath, attempting to calm. She wasn't sure if it worked but decided to roll with it. Dusting off her skirt and blazer, she stole one more look in the mirror. She was never one to critique her own appearance, she wore what felt comfortable, what made her feel good in her own skin. The fiery ombré fox-girl that stared back at her was presentable, she decided.
Exiting the bathroom, her heart leaped into her throat as she hadn't expected who was standing out there. "T-Taika!" was all Rebecca managed to squeak out.
The lunar fox looked her fire counterpart over and regarded her with a short nod. "You were taking too long," she noted. Though her word choice was curt, Taika spoke with a gentle tone, once more causing blood to rush through Rebecca in a mild panic.
"S-sorry," the fire fox mumbled. "I'm ready," she added
Taika led her fellow fox back into the living room where their Maestro waited. Pacifica was relaxed on the couch, starting another movie. Dropping off Rebecca with Shouri, Taika plopped down next to the reclined otter and resumed reading her book.
"They're not coming with?" Rebecca questioned, with a finger cast in their direction.
"Nah, they wanted to give us some alone time," Shouri said.
He had to be phrasing it that way on purpose, thought Rebecca whilst attempting to will the blood away from her cheeks.
"Be good!" Shouri told his two Resonators who were staying behind.
"You too!" Pacifica held up a hand and waved, still focused on her movie.
Rebecca kept her head lowered as they walked to the battle court that this subdivision had. She focused on her heels; they sparked uselessly as she attempted to ignite them with her ad-Lib.
"Hey, Rebecca."
"Huh?" She snapped up from her futile kindling.
"How used to sparring are you?"
"I did it a lot with other Maestros." There was a pause. "And when I got my ad-Lib," she added quietly.
"Ah good. I've never had Taika or Pacifica fight other Resonators before. Maybe I can have you teach them."
"Am I really the best for that?" she mumbled, eyes back to her sparking feet.
They reached the court without too much trouble, but Rebecca's eyes widened as they were not alone. "There you are! 'bout fuckin' time!" Amika barked.
"Sorry for the wait!" Shouri replied with a wave, as Rebecca slightly hid behind him. Of course, it was her. It had to be the fire Maestro that was here. The vixen's gaze met the chinchilla boy. He looked over, but as soon as their gazes met, Rebecca flinched and lowered herself behind Shouri's back. Once more she mentally pleaded with her heels to function.
Rebecca's theatrics were plain to see, even Amika noticed the wavering Resonator's non-verbal cues. "Your third one, right?" Amika questioned, pointing to the flighty fox.
"Yeah, Rebecca." Shouri pivoted around the hiding Resonator, to put the spotlight on her. He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. However, his expression quickly soured as he noticed the desperate sparks at her heels. He grimaced, gritting his teeth and balling up his free fist. "I fucked up and she got re-kindling."
Both Amika and Andi's expressions pitied the fox. "That's why she wasn't out last night," the chinchilla muttered to himself. "Damn," he added.
A flick of a fox's ears meant Rebecca had heard all of that, even as quiet as Andi was trying to be. It just made her feel worse as she too ground her teeth in frustration. It wasn't even Shouri's fault she had ended up like this. They were the ones that had decided to chase after him. He would have come back just fine if they had given him enough time to do so.
"She's not just fire though," Shouri suddenly spoke up, earning the vixen's undivided attention. "I know she's a tough cookie even without her ad-Lib." He looked to Rebecca, who just stared back in disbelief.
"You sure?" Amika raised a brow. "Andi does have his ad-Lib, it'd be kind of unfair," she pointed out.
"Totally, I have faith in her."
"Sh-sho." Rebecca was solely focused on her Maestro who sang her praises despite it all. Taika's words once more came to mind. These people were simply too much. "F-fine. Let's do it," the fox acquiesced to the implicit demands of the rest of the group.
"A'ight. Andi, let's do it."
"Feel kinda bad about it, but okay."
Amika and Andi walked across the court, while Rebecca and Shouri remained in the Maestro's box, drawn around them. "Sho, I-"
"I only asked them to come out because of this." He flashed Rebecca's tuner to her.