Forum Thread

"... remind me to teach him sewing when I go back..." Iteral shared the sentiment of "how the hell do you break a finger", before giving it a hug. "It's adorable. Let's go on..." She looks around and, not finding a place, she puts the fox plush on her own hat, tying it on with a small rope, before scouring through the past again.

The next gift was a small outfit, a dark colored dress with stars on the tulle of the skirt, a headband, and small flats. Laid on top of the dress was a necklace- a citrine in the shape of a sun. "That necklace was enchanted with a spell that ensured your happiness."

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"Now I kind of wish I could fit in it." Iteral looks down at her own dress, the sunny yellow from Ambrose. "Maybe I can resew it later so it fits. But..." She looks at the necklace, unable to put it around her neck. So instead, she puts it on her arm as a bracelet. "Improvised." She winks, resuming.

"Nice." She smile, some of these, she couldn't remember herself until she saw them again. She looked at the Storybook Iteral unwrapped. "That was a favorite of mine- the pages are aged, the book itself is very old, but it's a nice tale."

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"Well, if you put this much thought into your gifts, you deserve how I would be with them." Thus begins a small montage, where Iteral would place a watch with a single button down and then reverts in age to being one year old. The clothing, she would wear with her respective age, the piano she plays... well, decently. She places the more monetary gifts aside (but has a tiny bit of a smug smile when lifting the Luna Nova letter, since she got in without it anyhow) and, when done, she looks at all the gifts. Tears in her eyes and a smile forming... a smile genuine enough that she hasn't done it in a while. It looks creepier than her threats.

"You... really really thought of me this much...?"

"Of course. Gaia made me give you away, but you were still my daughter despite that. I wanted to give them to you one day, but recently, I've been having doubts about... Whether you'd think they were genuine or not. I was embarrassed, I didn't want you to think I was doing it simply because you're mine by blood and that I felt obligated to. That was never the case, but it didn't stop me from feeling that way." She smiled nervously, her hands were fidgeting the fabric of her dress.

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"... you know. I'm aware I haven't been a real role model of a daughter either. My outbursts. My demeanor... hell, you're a goddess of day and night with light magic, I am effectively a mistress of time with dark magic, I technically succeed you. But... I guess I just couldn't handle all this news at once. You know?" She sounded... dry, but not in an angry or condescending way. Moreso a bitter dry, at herself.

"When you recruited me back at Luna Nova, I didn't expect much. Sure, a war sounds serious but it would be a weird one if you decide to take a seventeen year old girl from the academy." In the time she talks, she fidgets with her own dress from Ambrose. "Then, you know. It all came down. First the time breaker, that even gave me those powers." To emphasize, she ignites her own hand in a sinister flame for a moment. "Then, that I was supposed to perish the night you took me. And then the whole revelation about the family." She sighs, her hands relaxing.

"It is all very taxing on a mind, especially if it's not fully developed like mine, you know. And when you reveal that I am your daughter but devote your time to Scaramouche and Caspian... it feels like a joke, you know? No offense, it just does. That's why I gave myself to my own underground. I'm sure a part of me just wanted your attention but... I did it so we could end this faster and you might have some spare time then." A loud groan comes, as she's holding her head a bit.

"I'm not saying that you haven't faced hardships, I'm sure you're worse than me in that department. And I'm sure you had your reasons, you told me I was more self-sufficient than the two or something. But... sorry, I ramble. My point is... I never hated you. Sometimes what you did but never you. I couldn't."

Iteral hugs Mercy tightly, her body for the first time in a while feeling like an actual human. Warm and cozy. "... I couldn't hate my mother."

Mercy jolted, but quickly hugged Iteral back, smiling. "I'll always love you Iteral. You know where to find me if you ever want something." She looked at the last gift she left her- the bag of money. "That money was to help you build a life when you decided to split from me. That's still an option, before you get stuck here with me forever." She joked, pulling away to ruffle her hair just a bit, then pet it to smooth it out again. She turned to Scaramouche for a moment- turning away again immediately. The thought of him leaving returned to her, she tried not to think about it.

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Scara had watched the exchange with little intrigue. Personally, he thought birthdays were a waste of time. But, he guessed, they meant something to them so…

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"Actually... this letter." She takes the Luna Nova letter and winks. "It has no expiration date. I am still, technically, a student there. And it's not like I didn't learn new spells in here. So my education is sufficient." She smiles at Mercy and then thinks. "... I'll rebuild with Ambrose first. Both factions have done damage and I feel like it's our duty to make amends. After which... maybe I go to present Luna Nova and we keep in touch? I visit you, you visit me once a week or so?"

"That sounds wonderful." Mercy nodded her head, looking outside. It was rather nice out, and the sun had just passed its peak. "I'm glad you enjoy the gifts."

"Hey, Mona. I'll skip out on the party tonight. I'm going to stay home and take care of Rūkasu." Mercy turned to Matsunaga, nodding her head.

"That's fine. Just make sure he stays at a decent temperature, feed him a bit more than usual- if he starts to cough... Or worse... I have medicine in the bathroom." She nodded, walking back to the living room to sit down. A knock at the door disrupted Mercy's thoughts, she walked over to it to see who it was.

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Iteral looks over to Mona and puts a hand on het shoulder, keeping her down. "I'll get it. You're too comfy." She points at Scaramouche next to her and stands up, answering the door instead.

Rūkasu supported himself to look up over the couch with his arm. ‘I can go to this party.’ he said to them, coughing a bit and then laying back down flat on the couch. ‘I’m able to walk fine.’ he said. He was only laying down on the couch because Matsunaga was making him do so.

Another maid from the central tower looked at Iteral nervously. She quickly bowed and held out a portal gun. "Mr. Aelius told me to bring the portal gun to Mrs. Aelius- H-Here you go. That links to Teyvat." Mercy couldn't hear the maid due to her mousy voice, so she watched Iteral from the kitchen. She had her hand back on Scaramouche's head, pulling him close to her.

'No, Rūkasu. You need to rest. It's just a party, I'm sure we'll have another back home, anyway. As long as you get better, I'll be fine skipping.' She opened the curtains in the living room so he could somewhat see the clouds, a pot of warm miso soup was already on the stove, cooking.

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"Oh, thank you. I'll make good use out of it." Iteral nods and takes the Aelius Science Handheld Portal Device. "By the way, ask him about the gun to Luna Nova and to a place called Runeterra. Both are for my use, Iteral Aelius."

‘You can go. I’ll be fine here.’ he told her. Although he probably wouldn’t be fine alone if he had any more problems with moving around too much. And he was too stubborn to give up on the matter at hand. Although the clouds looked quite relaxing.

"Who was it, Iteral?" Mercy looked back at her. Matsunaga shook her head and smiled at Rūkasu.

'It's okay. I'd rather spend some time alone with you without Mona trying to steal you.' She laughed, bringing her hand to comb through his hair. 'Are you excited to go home?'

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Rūkasu thought for a moment. ‘I don’t know. I don’t have many connections with anyone aside from Muichiro and you., along with Gyomei.’ he said. He and Muichiro often hung around where Gyomei trained. He was thinking about if anyone knew about what had happened to Matsunaga and him when they left.

"A maid. Scara, Mona." She puts down the portal gun and smiles. "The gun to Teyvat. Enjoy."

He eyed the gun warily, a sinking feeling in his chest. He was sure Mercy wouldnt like this either…

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