1162. At the Dinner Table
Jury rearranged the room after Enoch and Kissaria left with the boxed items. Chandeliers were taken down only to be replaced with scented candles. The light of the chamber dimmed to a warm level.
If Frost didn’t know any better, then she would have believed Jury was setting up the mood for a one-hundred-hour bedtime session. But she disregarded that thought when she spotted Joy helping Jury stir pots, striping silver skin from fresh meat, and chopping vegetables for dinner.
It was in Frost’s nature to offer help. But she was relegated to sitting at the table with a blindfold on. Of course, she could see seconds into the future, so she knew everything in advance. But because it was limited to only ten seconds, there was still a sense of anticipation.
… Which she wished she could toggle off or at least find a way to block it. Being able to predict the future even with her eyes closed meant that Jury couldn’t surprise her anymore in situations she’d rather not say.
That being said, Frost watched in silence as plates populated a table. The table was a simple folding table which was commonly used in picnics. Frost had access to the finest tables. In fact, she could have a marble table made within the hour with just a mere thought.
However, that was a waste of manpower. She would rather maintain the cozy atmosphere Jury had built than tarnish it with unnecessary luxuries. She was a simple person at heart, and her smile grew larger with each plate Jury delivered to the table.
“Malgam…” Joy was fixated on a tower made of jelly. She balanced it on both hands as she brought it to the table. Her body wiggled alongside it in a childish attempt to balance it.
A black-feathered tail would occasionally wrap her waist just as Joy was about to lose balance.
“Careful~ Jury’s going to get cranky if you drop it.”
“Gam?”
“I will not!” Jury humored her, knowing well it was a joke.
Joy wasn’t very tall even when compared to Frost. She was roughly 140cm, which was around the same height as the twins before their transformations.
But she also reminded her of Ignis when she first returned from Corruption. Both were children in different ways, but children nonetheless. A tinge of nostalgia washed over Frost as she recalled when the triplets were inseparable, and when Ignis could only think about her revenge against the Impuritas.
They’ve all grown so much in such a short amount of time. Ignis especially. I’m a bit scared Joy’s going to end up growing up too fast as well.
“Should we use [Surgical Administration] to remove the organs responsible for releasing growth hormones? Ah, perhaps we can close her growth plates prematurely to keep her small.”
Speak for yourself, Nav.
Frost mentally sighed, swishing a hand into the air to dismiss Nav’s intrusive thoughts. A hand landed on Joy’s head, and another onto Joy’s fluffy tail. Her tail was much like Jury’s, only it did not have a tip. The fur in her tail was bristly, yet smooth to the touch, whereas Joy’s hair was soft but slightly coarse.
“Have you been using soap? You know for long hair you gotta lather it twice.”
“Once?”
“Twice~ It doesn’t always get into your scalp. Has Jury been teaching you how to wash yourself properly?”
Joy nodded eagerly, as if to defend Jury.
“Relax, I’m not mad at her. It’s just that [Cleanse] doesn’t help keep your hair healthy, unless you’re Healer.”
Black particles emerged from Joy’s head like steam. Frost demonstrated that [Cleanse] could not maintain hygiene or hair health, since its primary goal was to rid the body of foreign contaminants. Unfortunately, [Cleanse] also removed beneficial oils and scents from soap.
A tiny hand reached into Frost’s head, and tiny fingers combed through her hair.
“Smooth!” Joy cried, fascinated by Frost’s hair.
Her fingers moved to her golden bangs, to the red patch of hair between her eyes, and then, to the white hair behind her head. Joy didn’t know how or why Frost’s hair was the way it was. Everyone Joy knew or seen – aside from Cer – had singular colored hair. In Joy’s eyes, the more colored hair a person had, the stronger they were.
Frost used this time to tell Joy about her life as Jury continued to cook in the background, wearing a tender smile as she closed her eyes, recalling those memories as if they were only yesterday.
She started from how she woke up at the Nexus one day, to finding Jury who was a lot like Joy now that she realized it. The tales of Frost’s betrayal, and the hardships she went through were omitted for Joy’s sake. How Frost received her first strands of golden hair after her encounter with the Icon of Judgement, and the red strands that came from when she resonated with the Nexus a second time.
As for the white hair, Joy knew this story, and her eyes seemed to ask: “Do you know the person you met?”
“She reminded me of the Fragment of the Captured Star we rescued from the Ghost Site. Other than that… I don’t have any firm proof of who or what she is, but I do have an idea.”
Joy lightly climbed onto Frost’s lap, pulling her face close as her eyes glittered with curiosity, asking: “Can you tell me?”
“Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived in a place we call the Expanse. She was a friend of the Arbiter.”
Joy threw out her arms, right as twelve more arms appeared behind her. They flapped like wings.
“Yep, Michaela. You know her, right?”
Joy furiously nodded.
She gave Joy an abridged version of who ‘Her’ was, what the Expanse was, and what the Captured Star represented. Joy was not aware of the importance of the Fragment of Light until she became aware of the Captured Star. It didn’t take long for Joy to piece together what Frost was, and at the end of the hour-long tale, Joy whispered a single name with reverence.
“The Sovereign Star…”
“You keep calling me that. How come?”
Frost was also aware that the Celeste Star Fate had called her the Sovereign Star. It was a name she didn’t know how to wear, unlike the Black Dove. Nor did she want to avoid it necessarily, like the Captured Star.
As Jury placed down the final pot of stew onto the table, Nav revealed a prompt.
The Sovereign Star
< The namesake of a Star. It has no distinguishable color like ordinary Stars (Celeste Star Fate, Pale Star Arbiter, White Star Jury, Blue Star Kachina). It falls in line with the namesakes of other Stars (The Black Throne Erelim and Sirius), whom of which were Michaela’s greatest enemies >
Black Throne Erelim
< A Star of primordial judgement predating human’s interpretation of judgement and justice >
Frost’s several trillion neurons were already paying off. The notion of a primordial judgement was interesting. It assumed that cognition – to some capacity – existed before humanity. Then again, what did she know? She only knew that Stars came before humanity, and at some point, human cognition began to influence Stars as much as Stars influenced humanity.
Then there were Sins. Impuritas. Corruption. Now, Light.
She cast her thoughts aside with a long sigh, nuzzled against Joy, and smiled at Jury as she took a seat from across her.
“Lots of food tonight, huh? You went all out. And somehow, we both might not even get full.”
“It’ll be enough, I promise! I won’t be eating too much tonight.”
“Really? How come? Not like you to pass on free food. Unless you put something in them?”
“Lots of love!”
Frost glanced around the table. Aside from the sheer variety of meals Jury had served, she noticed that there was a lot of texture to the food. For instance, soup was normally watery or blended down to a fine, uniform liquid since Frost could not experience texture.
Yet tonight, there were fresh croutons and diced meat in rich tomato soup. Beside it was a whole chicken with berry-based stuffing, and on another plate was rice with fried raisins and potatoes.
The steaks were seared perfectly, and the skin of the duck breasts were crackling like glass. Yet Frost knew that she could not experience any of this. Perhaps Jury had forgotten about Frost’s maw, or that she didn’t mind going the extra mile. After all, it was solely Frost’s problem.
Why deprive Joy of the experience of eating? Or Jury, even? In the end, while it saddened Frost that she couldn’t complement Jury on the texture, she was happy that they at least were not afflicted by this curse.
Joy began eating the moment Jury had sat herself down. She wasn’t well versed with table manners. She just knew that if everyone was seated to eat, then there was no point in waiting for someone else to make the first move. She scooped up dollops of mayonnaise, baked potatoes, rice, pasta – and filled her plate to the brim.
Then, to Frost’s surprise–
“Malgam!”
–Joy placed the plate in front of her.
“You shouldn’t have. Don’t you want to eat? Aren’t you hungry from waiting all day?”
“Gam!”