At one end of the field, and unmarked stone slab is partially-shoved into the ground, rendering it firm and unmoving against the elements, and the earth in front of it is not quite as overgrown as the rest o the field. Surrounding this marker are three beings, two of them who look completely like on another (save for their difference in clothing coloration), and the other resembling a small white, long-eared cat. A small pile of glittering black crystals are seen, set into a small heap atop what one would assume to be the grave site, and not one of the three are speaking at this time, silently casting their individual gazes upon the monument in front of them.

Tyrranis approaches the gravesite from the north, a smooth pace accompanying the giganto’s apparent lack of surprise at either the small heap of crystals or the two other people at the grave. He approaches, remaining silent for now so as not to interrupt any form of ceremony that might be occurring.

Kyuubey looks up as Tyrranis draws nearer, but ops to not say anything, only blinking his red eyes a single time before looking back at the twins; as forward as he often was, he wasn’t without some semblance of manners, at least once in a while. The two girls don’t seem to be engaged in any form of actual ritual or ceremony, but they do seem at a bit of a loss, and perhaps even a bit out of place. Mollianne, normally one to accompany them on a trek this far away from Viorar, is nowhere to be seen, and the two of them are merely holding one another’s hand, a bit tightly. An uncertain expression is written over both of their daces, as if, even this long beyond, they still couldn’t believe they were here, seeing what they are now. Beneath them, the pile of Grief Seeds sparkle warningly, but not without any real threat.

Crossroads followed closely behind Tyrranis, not entirely sure where he was heading but happy to follow along on his walk… until she realized exactly in what direction they were heading. Her good mood dampened somewhat and she brushed her white hair behind her ear in discomfort. Frowning, Crossroads looked out ahead of them towards the site as they approached, realizing shortly after that they were not the only ones who were going to be there.

Finally, a break in the silence. “Hey, do you actually think… this is what he’d want from us, Kyuubey I mean… this was Kyrk…” May Ann’s question prompted her sister and Kyuubey to look at her briefly, then back at the gravesite. “Maybe. But, y’know… If we didn’t come here, it still might be sorta disrespectful. He taught us everything we know. How to take care of ourselves, live with what we’ve got… even when Molls isn’t around. ‘Sides, Kyrk was… different. Y’know?”

Rae Beth looked like she was going to keep talking, but it was at that point that, whether physically noticing or sensing, she looked up at Tyrranis and Crossroads’ approach. She smiled slightly, followed my May Ann’s accompaniment of the same, the latter offering a semi-low nod. “Hey, big guy. You too, huh?”

Tyrranis looks to the twins with a raised eyebrow, and then impassively at the tombstone. “In truth, no. The construction of this by my hands was only to help the rest of you. I come because I needed to meet with the Wish Granter, albeit briefly. I will not intrude for long.” Tyrranis draws the grief seeds he holds from his bat, and offers them to the cat-thing. “Will you take these?”

Kyuubey turns part-wise around, and reaches up with both earpendages to accept the grief seeds Tyrranis has offered him, before setting them gently down in the pile with the other five or six. He then steps back, sitting down on his behind. “My thanks as always for your services, Tyrranis. Though this gathering bears a grim undertone, it is good to see so many of you active and on your feet. Forgive my heartlessness, if it is the case, of the current situation.”

Crossroads looked over at the grave, noticing that the bell she had placed there was still hanging in the little make-shirt arch next to the grave site. This was a relief to her as she had come to check on the grave periodically and often found that it had toppled over in the wind. She wasn’t very good at building them it seemed. Her eyes then fell to the grave itself where Kyuubey added Tyrranis’ grief seeds to the pile with the others and she raised her eyebrow at the group in confusion, not sure what was the meaning behind this. Still, she didn’t say anything.

The twins both look at kyuubey and his comment briefly, then at each other, and finally at the now-larger pile of grief seeds. “We wanted…” Rae pauses, frowning at something and finding herself unable to continue. May picks up for her however. “…Kyrk to see that we’ve been working hard, in his stead. Molls told us to take all of her extra grief seeds, and show Kyrk… show him how hard we’ve been working. For him. For his memory.” Rae Beth leans against her currently-stronger-willed sister as she speaks, her eyes threatened with misted expression. “We know he can’t see us, or hear us, or even knows… but he meant so much to us, to all of us, in Fa’diel, it seemed wrong to pretend like we were both okay with just going on. It gets hard, especially on Molly… Especially after we lost our treehouse.” May lowers her head with a sigh. “Molls is only a couple years older than us, but she is like the mother we only with we ever had.”

Tyrranis shrugs, offhandedly. “I settle more with Kyuubey than the rest of out number at times. Many years I walked with no home, nothing to lead me. It is almost nature to me, truthfully. Living in a home, having allies and those who care. Its almost a foreign concept to me. But, living with Crossroads. It lets me see the side you speak of. I give sorrow to your hardships.”

“This difficulty will pass, in time. Unfortunately with the exception of Mollianne, you all being here is an opportune time for me to bring your attention to something of a grave matter. The witch that cost you your friend was but a small part of a bigger picture, as it were; did she happen to divulge any information, or did you simply off her without a second thought?” Kyuubey remains seated on his behind, looking up in equal parts between the lot of them.

“You have to do what is best for you to cope with these things.” Crossroads said to the twins softly, reaching for Tyrranis’ hand. It was what she had done. Despite her decision to shun everything from her old world and old life and try to forget about it, she had gone back to the ways of her people for the sake of her own comfort in dealing with Kyrk’s death. At Kyuubey’s words she looked down at the ground and the sand and pebbles lying at her feet, shielding her eyes wit her own bangs. “She was finished off quickly” Crossroads said, in a quiet voice.

May Ann gently lifts Raw’s head up off her shoulder, nodding at her in a sisterly affirming way. The other wipes her eyes with the back of one hand, whether the tears had started or not, and sniffs once, “There’s always more, isn’t there…?” May looked down at Kyuubey, still resilient. “Don’t worry, we’ll let Molls know about whatever’s going on. It sounds pretty serious.”

Tyrranis shakes his head. “I remained with Kyrk. I cannot speak for anything that may have happened with the witch.”

Kyuubey gets to his feet, walking over to the pile of grief seeds at a leisurely pace. “The one you destroyed is one of a set. It’s not normal to refer to sentient things as such, to my recollection, but it is the best way to put it. There are three of them total, and they are known as the ‘Blackheart Princesses’.” He stops next to the pile, and sits down again, looking up at the group. “A short story if I may.”

“A while ago in both another time and another dimension, a terrifyingly powerful witch existed; this witch was known as ‘Walpurgisnacht’, and while that may be a mouthful for some of you, she was as freighting as her name implies. The entire world in which she dwelled within was doomed to darkness, ha it not been for the courageous acts of a select few. But their stories are unimportant at this time, and I will get to the point”

“What they didn’t realize is that this witch was capable of leaving traces of herself along the lines of time and space; you call these familiars, and she no doubt had her own array. Before she was removed from existence, she left three specific traces of herself to flow freely through the dimensions, and it has come to my attention, when I realized who it was you had fought and vanquished that day, that they ended up here, in this world. These ‘Blackheart Princesses’ are remnants of what some had called the ‘Witch Queen’.” Kyuubey eyes Crossroads briefly, before speaking again, “Though I am approving in your acknowledgement of a quick victory over one of them at this time, I would direct your attention to the cost. These remaining two witches are not your everyday variety; more importantly, they have a powerful influence over any nearby yoma, and delight in adding their voracity to their agenda.”

Crossroads kept here yes down, lightly squeezing Tyrranis’ hand for comfort. She was well aware already what the cost for their quick victory had been over the first of these ‘Blackheart Princesses’, and the idea of there being two more of them scared her. She remained quiet for a long time, then with a deep breath she asked, “What do you know of the remaining two?”

Both girls look upon Crossroads, then Tyrranis. They hadn’t been there, themselves, to see what had transpired, but judging from the look on Crossroads’ face, it hadn’t been pleasant. Deciding not to ask, the twins instead exchanged quick glances before returning their attention to Kyuubey, Rae standing up a bit straighter than before. “Familiars aren’t supposed to be that strong, but Kyrk did say that they could eventually become witches themselves, if left alone long enough…”

Tyrranis considers Kyuubey’s story carefully before speaking again. “Two more witches, of that might. In addition they can warp the wills of Yoma? They sound like an interesting Fight. I would be happy to engage in battle against one myself.”

“It is likely you will have the chance. Unfortunately, I do not know much about them, specifically.” Kyuubey looks at Rae Beth, nodding in affirmation. “It is highly likely that these witches, even as familiars, likely claimed many of your comrades before becoming full witches themselves. Don’t forget where I spoke of them coming from; though the threat of the Walpurgisnacht is not a problem for us, her spawn readily is. I have no way of locating them without being in much closer proximity than normal witches, due to their ability to cloak much more effectively; you might do well to have the siren help you out, if you decide to go actively look for them. Her ability to directly manipulate and dissuade the corruption has granted her a heightened sense of location of witches and yoma, to the point where her detection powers succeed even my own, at times.”

Kyuubey turns, looking upon the pile of Grief Seeds silently before speaking again. “I would suggest a strong devotion to the spirit of camaraderie in these fights to come. Even beyond the Blackheart Princesses’ capabilities of yoma manipulation I sense that corruption is becoming altering in ways I haven’t witnessed so far; it is almost as if it is banding itself together, in order to stand against you. Do not be surprised if you do come across multiple Yoma or witches in single locations, depending on where you find yourselves.”

Crossroads shivered, “I see.” She said quietly. One witch or yoma was tough enough on their own, but multiple ones in one location was a terrifying thought and coming from a walpergishwhateveritwas… she cast a quick glance at Kyuubey then, eyes widening as a thought occurred to her, “You said that the walper thing wasn’t a threat here. But if she was a witch, then she had to have been one of your contracted, right? Though she may not be a problem for us, is it possible for another one to come into existence?”

“Some people are pretty powerful by themselves, even without taking a wish from kyuubey.” May Ann looks at Crossroads briefly, but the thought didn’t appeal to her any more than it did to Cross. Rae Frowns, shaking her head. “But any way you look at it, we should probably be worryng about what actually ‘is’, for now, as opposed to what could be… or we’ll get worked up and distracted.” Both of thm look rather uncertain though; between Kyuubey’s speech and Crossroads’ revelation, having MORE to worry about was really the last thing the two of them needed right now. Especially without…

Tyrranis seems a bit detached from the conversation at this point, now examining the skyline with an even, hard expression.

At this time, Kyuubey’s backside-circle begins to glow a bright red color, taking on the portal that is has become known for. Without the need for physical exertion, one by one, the grief seeds laying in the pile atop Kyrk’s grave rise into the air, float over, and deposit them “inside” the circle on Kyuubey’s back, consumed and removed from existence. As the cat-thing seats himself again, the glow abruptly fades, and he looks upon the rest of them. “I can’t offer you much else in the way of guidance, but I will assist you in trying to keep an eye out for stronger presences of corruption that may be the targets you seek. Simply exercise caution when it come time, that is honestly the best advice I can give.”

Kyuubey looks at the twins. “For now, however, we need to be returning to Fa’diel. It is unfair to leave Mollianne to her own devices when she has so much to do already, and if a yoma or witch were to strike, it may have the upper hand.”

Crossroads glares down at Kyuubey who had avoided answering her question of whether one of those things could come into existence here or not. She didn’t care whether the twins didn’t think they needed more on their plate to worry about right now, Kyuubey had been the one who started all of this, and he should know how these things had come abou tin the past. He was responsible for their existence… Then again, when did Kyuubey ever feel responsible for any of the things he did? “Right. See you later then, Kyuubey.” She muttered.

The twins seem a bit surprised at kyuubeys sudden decision to return home, and also seem to have realized that while he did acknowledge their concerns and possibly Molly’s, he completely blew Crossroads off. Frowning May pipes up. “Cross, we’ll try and find out whatever we can. Lora should still have the com-radio that Kyrk gave her, maybe you can borrow it from her and keep it nearby in case we find anything out. It’s better than having to walk a whole continent just to get up-to-date n thing.” At this time, Kyuubey has already started southward, not seeming to warrant looking back at any of the others. Rae looks from her sister to Crossroads, then at Tyr, and finally opts to hurry on after Kyuubey, sighing loudly (perhaps obnoxiously) as se does. May lags behing, attempting to at least not retain Cross’ poorly-concealed contempt for Kyuubey on their behalves.

Tyrranis takes everyone’s departure as a que that they can all leave and squeezes Crossroads’ hand gently before turning to the direction of the rest of the farmland. “Shall we continue on our walk?”

Crossroads’ eyes remain fixed on the cat as it continues on its way. She didn’t like the fact that it was withholding information from her. Nothing good could come of it. “Alright. See what you can get out of him. I don’t like the idea of him keeping things from us.” She said to May, then gave Tyrranis’ hand a small squeeze in return, eyes still not leaving the creature. “Yeah, lets go Tyr.”

May Ann offers a hurried curtsey (awkward as such that she wasn’t really knowledgeable of such things), and nearly trips as she is suddenly jerked backward from the invisible tether that binds the twins together, turning in time to avoid tripping and sprints after her sister and Kyuubey.