—Aura Tomoshibi, “Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~”
Kiera’s face turned from olive to crimson before Violet even finished asking the question. The rapid change in subject clearly inspired an even stronger reaction than usual.
“Y–You can see those?” she squeaked. Violet blinked. She wasn’t certain what answer she was expecting, but it wasn’t that.
She chuckled awkwardly before responding. “Uh, yes? They are growing from your head. They are also bright red and shiny. And, uh…” she nodded toward the large tail escaping from behind the other girl and twitching nervously. Kiera held her hands to her face and groaned.
“Shit. What kind of crazy perception do you have?” Kiera complained. Violet giggled as if she couldn’t help it.
“It’s my favored attribute,” Violet admitted. It was almost an honest answer, excluding her unique attribute. “I take it you have a talent that’s supposed to hide them?” Kiera let a breath out of her nose and her hands fell from her face.
“It’s supposed to, yes,” she agreed. “But only if your perception isn’t significantly higher than my resistance. People our age rarely spot them… God, this is so embarrassing!”
“Why?” Violet asked. “They’re pretty, and they’re just a quirk of your calling, right?” Kiera nodded, then started examining her feet.
“I guess… Still. I hate how people stare. It’s like wearing cosplay everywhere you go. It’s humiliating!” Kiera lamented. Violet thought she could understand that. Attention was one thing, but attention you couldn’t turn off was another.
“I guess that makes sense. Sorry for bringing it up; it was just hard not to ask, once I saw them. I guess it was a bit rude, huh?” Violet replied. Kiera shrugged.
“No, it’s fine. I was just surprised. You don’t seem like the type to be rude about it, so I don’t mind,” Kiera responded awkwardly.
Violet beamed. “Oh, I would never! I think they are cool, if anything. I’m a bit jealous; my calling doesn’t give me anything flashy like that,” she promised. Kiera smiled.
“So, the violet hair and name have nothing to do with you being a secret violet category?” Violet rolled her eyes, but her smile revealed a lack of actual irritation.
“No, the hair is a sign that I have good hair. Other than that, I’m pretty mundane. Just a scout, nothing with any particularly cool effects,” she answered.
“Well, that explains the perception, I suppose,” Kiera replied. “Yeah, they are fox ears. I’ve had them for years, but my Illusion talent hides it from most people. At least back at Flag. I suppose they’ll be spotted a lot in Prism City anyway, so it’s no big deal.”
“There will probably be a lot more people whose callings have a physical effect, though; you’ll fit right in,” Violet mused. This tugged at the corner of Kiera’s mouth, cheering her up just a little. “What is your calling, anyway?” Kiera opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Stephanie’s arrival.
The lancer marched past each prospective student and straight to the front of the car. She cleared her throat as if all the eyes inside hadn’t already locked onto her. She allowed silence to settle over the group for several breaths too long, revealing the nerves she was trying to hide behind a confident posture. Violet made eye contact with her and winked. “You got this,” she mouthed, and Stephanie let out a deep breath.
“Good morning,” she finally greeted. “I’m glad to see everyone made it early. That means we can leave as soon as the unloading is done.”
“Where is Lancer Curtis?” the angry girl with the glaring problem cut in. Stephanie coughed nervously. Again, Violet offered her an encouraging nod. The woman seemed attached to Violet, either through guilt, gratitude, or both. In any case, the slight emotional nudge seemed to help.
“Right, I was getting to that. I am Yellow Lancer Stephanie Aition. Lancer Curtis, as the students who met him know, is a green two. This is likely why he was assigned to escort new students on this route. Unfortunately, it is also why our roles have been swapped. Before the train arrived, my team secured a green heart for the city barrier. Unfortunately…” Stephanie trailed off. Violet was mildly irritated that her efforts hadn’t been mentioned, but she brushed it off. Stephanie didn’t have long left to live. Violet could suffer a small injustice. She knew it would be paid for in full.
Stephanie shuddered as she carefully chose her phrasing. “Unfortunately, my team took a hit, and I was injured. Roseville is safe now; the green heart is seeing to that. But this area has never had a green nest before. We can’t be certain more won’t form in the time it takes to get another prepared team out here. So Curtis has volunteered to stay behind and investigate what changed, and to try to prevent new high-category nests from forming.
“We aren’t far from Prism City. Only a few days by train. As such, I will be taking over as escort,” Stephanie continued.
“Wait, so we have to make it the rest of the way to the academy with an injured yellow as an escort?” the angry girl immediately asked. “What the fuck are we going to do about refueling? A few days means we’ll have to stop several times. We can hardly do that with only a single yellow lancer, much less an injured one! Isn’t this trade a bit irresponsible?” Stephanie coughed and struggled to keep her smile stapled to her face.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Right, I was getting to that, but thank you for pointing it out, uh…” Stephanie started, before pulling some kind of tablet off her waist and scrolling through it. “Miss Clarke. You’re right, of course. It would be extremely dangerous to leave the defense of the train to me alone until we make it to our next stop. As such, we’ll be contacting Chromatic Academy through the crystal network once the train is running and connected. It will cost more clarity than we’d like, but it will allow us to meet up with a new team of lancers from Porttown on the way. They can’t travel too far from the town, but they’ll make contact in roughly a day, if we meet them halfway.”
“We need to stop every day! You’ll still need to protect the train at least once, with that plan!” the same girl protested. “And you are hurt. Are you telling me that’s not a problem?” Violet watched Stephanie’s response to this with interest. As abrasive as the other girl was, she was right. The trains ran on clarity, which burned quickly. They’d only make it so far before they had to stop at a crystal station and gather more. Violet remembered reading that a train to Prism City only took about eighteen hours before the collapse. These stops were what made the trip take days instead. The problem was the transfer of clarity. They couldn’t spare even a red heart for every station, which meant trains had to refuel in unprotected areas. And the transfer of energy would attract local hedron. It was extremely dangerous to try to refuel without a lancer of an appropriate category protecting the train.
“Yes,” Stephanie admitted. “You will have to rely on me to protect us for one stop.” She held up one hand to delay the complaint the other girl was certain to have. “I am not as injured as I look. They did spare a decent amount of clarity to heal what they could. I’m not at top performance, but I am more than capable of fighting. The hedron beasts in the land we are passing are rarely high orange, much less yellow. Provided nothing goes wrong, one stop will be perfectly safe, I promise.”
“Didn’t you just say Lancer Curtis is staying behind because of unusually powerful hedron in the area? And if there is a swarm?” the “Clark” girl challenged. Stephanie awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.
“Well, if there is a full swarm in the area, it will almost definitely be a low red swarm. Hedron I can handle easily, and any of you would be able to challenge. I would kill as many as I could, and…” Stephanie paused for a moment, a guilty look forming on her face like frost. “And I will need a couple of volunteers from the students to handle any strays.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” the girl spat. “You made this decision without even checking with any of us, and we might need to fight hedron without any training? Whose fucking idea was that?”
“Hey, now,” Violet cut in. “No need for such language. I get it’s scary, but Lancer Stephanie here really is good at what she does! She’s protected me before! She would never agree to any plan that actually risked our lives. Besides, the odds of a swarm are almost none.”
The combative girl practically cut Violet with the sharp look this response attracted. “No offense, bitch, but I only had to hear you speaking with your boyfriend for maybe ten seconds before I knew I would never trust a word you said,” she hissed.
“Whoa, Aubrey, there is no need for that,” Guy chimed in, “Violet has seemed perfectly friendly so far! I think that’s a bit harsh!”
“I–I’m fine,” Alex agreed.
“Aubrey, you haven’t even met her yet,” Kiera added. Violet suppressed a smirk as she caught a glimpse of Chase, clearly ready to jump to the girl’s defense, but reluctant to say anything about Violet while Alex could hear. Aubrey, the angry girl, clicked her tongue in response.
“Are you all seriously fine with this?” she asked.
“Well, she did ask for volunteers, rather than mandatory service,” Guy replied.
“Yeah, until no one volunteers,” she countered.
“Not a problem!” Violet said. “I’d be happy to volunteer. I’ve relied on Stephanie before, and I’d say I owe her something for everything we’ve been through together.” Violet didn’t know for sure there would be a swarm. She probably wouldn’t be called on at all. But if she were, it could provide her with an opportunity. Perhaps not an easy chance to get justice for Stephanie’s previous actions, but at least a chance to earn her trust. In fact, simply volunteering first would help with that. Most importantly, Violet had an inkling she wouldn’t be in any danger at all. Guy chuckled as Violet spoke.
“Yeah, she sounds like a real bitch, Aubrey,” Guy mocked. “I can see why you were so immediately hostile. I can barely believe all the vitriol just oozing from her. I’ll volunteer, too. I’d be happy to help.”
“It’s probably the sidetail,” Kiera added. “It’s a very aggressive hairstyle. We can hardly blame Aubrey for the strong reaction. Count me in, too.” With each comment, Aubrey grew redder in the face, and she wasn’t embarrassed. She sighed after a moment and looked at Stephanie.
“I will help, if it comes down to it. But I want it on record that this is a terrible plan,” she finally replied. She then shifted her gaze back to Violet. “Violet, is it? I’ll remember that.”
“Christ, Aubrey, who pissed in your breakfast today? Why do you always have to be like this? Do you have to pick a fight with everyone you meet?” Guy groaned.
“Real slick move, there, trying to volunteer after you realized no one was going to put up with your nonsense,” Kiera added.
“Hey, it’s all good; I don’t mind,” Violet said, defending the furious Aubrey before either of her new friends could escalate. “Aubrey just misunderstood me, I’m sure. We are all a little tense right now.” Violet paused and looked Aubrey in the eyes. "Sorry I rubbed you the wrong way. I didn’t realize you were eavesdropping. Alex and I are alright, I promise. There is some missing context to any disagreement we are having, and I’d rather not explain it all. I’m glad you volunteered, too. Maybe we can get off on a better foot if we end up in the mist together. And I’m sure Alex will be feeling better by the time we are back.”
Alex flinched at the assumption that he wouldn’t be volunteering, but he didn’t contest it. As Aubrey rolled her eyes and Violet smiled sweetly, the rest of the train remained quiet. Finally, Stephanie spoke up again.
“Right. Well, that will be more than enough, in the unlikely scenario any of you are needed at all. For the time being, if you four want to join me, it would be best if we shared our callings with each other and made a plan ahead of time. Everyone else, feel free to get settled in. The dining car will be open soon, and we’ll be headed out within an hour or so.”
“Sure,” Violet agreed. “Go team!” She was cheerful as she stood and followed Stephanie to the front exit of the current car. She only glanced toward the empty warehouse with Caitlyn’s body once. It wasn’t well used. She just needed the body to go undiscovered for another hour or so. She suppressed any anger she had at her loss of control. One more hour, and it would simply be a lesson learned. One more hour, and they would have ruled it a suicide well before anyone on the train was informed of what happened.
She just had to remain calm for one more hour.
Who Killed The World. It's by a writer who inspired me to be creative from a very young age, and is in no small part responsible for my work existing at all.
Here are the current goals and rewards, as well as how close we were to each at 11:00 AM CST on the day this chapter was published.
Click Description to learn more about each!
6k - 15k Bonus Chapter – 3,000 Followers
473 / 3,000
Description
Starting at 3,000 followers, I will write a bonus chapter between 6k - 15k in length every 2k followers. This may be a side character, this may be an AU, or anything else. Who decides? You do! When a milestone is reached, I will ask for suggestions and put up a poll of the most popular ones!
Webtoon Chapter – 6,000 Followers
473 / 6,000
Description
This is also a bonus chapter, but I will have it commissioned as a fully illustrated webtoon!
Spin-Off Novel – 15,000 Followers
473 / 15,000
Description
I will write a novel of at least 120k words focusing on Kiera, one of the prominent side characters. This spin off will remain on Royal Road as long as I am, no matter what.
Visual Novel – 20,000 Followers
473 / 20,000
Description
I will commission art for and develop a full length (and free to play) Cruel Violet visual novel. (This is something I know how to do, ftr.)