A Fretting Familiar (Takashi Agera, Fate Testarossa)

A Fretting Familiar (Takashi Agera, Fate Testarossa)
Date of Cutscene:	24 July 2024
Location:	Obsidian Tower
Synopsis:	Takashi heads up to present Precia Testarossa with a Jewel Seed, only to run into Arf and Fate on the way up - and Arf has some opinions.
Cast of Characters:	Takashi Agera, Fate Testarossa

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Riventon appeared back in Obsidian Tower - panting and steadying himself with one hand against the wall of the room he'd appeared in, letting go of Glimmer Brightmoon's hand so she could head off on her own. It was amazing how much just dancing - and then resisting the magically enforced urge to dance - had exhausted him. He was glad for the Oni girl carrying him up there. He was double glad he didn't have to fight her - despite his attitude to the contrary, he wasn't ready for a duel at that moment, much less the Everybody Against Riventon fight that it would have likely become.

In his other hand, Axion disgorged a gemstone - oblong, with a light blue outside and increasingly dark bands until the pure black center. A Jewel Seed. This is the seecond time he'd held one in his hand, but he knew he wasn't going to get as much time to look at this one. In fact, every moment he didn't head up there was likely troublesome. When Beryl was around he could have expected her to at least delay any intents to murder him from Precia, but now that she was gone? No, the thing had to go to Precia.

As he made his way towards her department, he reminded himself that to give it to Beryl was the whole point - those words of Jokers, annoying as they were, annoying as he was, it made a point. He needed to be useful to someone in Obsidian with Beryl gone - before he found himself considered extranneous, or worse, an entity around whom people seem to quit the company or disappear.

Precia's department is always a little eerie. While the woman has been afforded the same quantity of Stacked Space as any other Director, she has made most of her contribution to the company in advanced technology - especially in energy retention and direction, improving the reactor at the heart of Obsidian Tower. As such she's had very little need to employ anyone else, and her department lies mostly empty. The only occupants besides Precia herself are usually her daughter Fate and Fate's familiar, the wolfgirl Arf.

"Don't move, Fate!" Arf cries from around a corner. "You need to rest while I patch you up!"

"But..." Fate's small voice protests as Takashi rounds the corner.

There is Fate, being taken care of dutifully by Arf, who has a first-aid kit open and is trying to clean a burn. Overall, Fate has seen better days - she's in her Radiant Heart Academy uniform now, but she has marks and light burns on her body.

"What happened to Fate?" Takashi asks, moving over towards her, only to recieve a death glare from Arf.

"You know damn well what happened to her. You left her to fight that enforcer while you went to snag the Jewel Seed." Arf growled.

"What, Chrono? I just felt like I should let someone his own size pick on him for a change." Takashi retorted. His attempt at humor did not land well with Arf. "Look, Glimmer handled two energy signatures for me, I had two sparkles in the library with me, and Axion only sensed two signatures alongside yourself and Fate. I thought she had better odds than any of the rest of us." he says, putting his hands to his sides.

"Don't tell me that nonsense. You knew Fate was in a fight and you didn't come to help her, you went for the Jewel Seed!" she snarled.

"Arf, don't..." Fate tried to protest.

Arf shook her head. "No, no. It's not right to put you in that kind of danger! You can't tell me your Device couldn't tell..."

"I had no idea who it was." Takashi says, raising his hands, palms out. "But even if I had, Fate has the best chance of keeping Chrono busy anyways!" Takashi protests. "She's way closer to his level than I am - and that's not a height joke but don't you dare tell him that." he says. "And it worked, see?" He says, revealing the Jewel Seed. "I came here to give it to Precia."

"Yeah, you're just like Precia, putting Fate's health second to those stupid shiny gems. You and her are both ter-" the familiar yelled, before Fate clamped a hand over Arf's mouth.

"No, Arf. NO." Fate says to her familiar sternly. "We only left to get the Jewel Seeds, and bringing them to her is what she wants us to do."

"She shouldn't be making those demands at the expense of your well-being, Fate!" Arf protested.

"It's only for a little while. My mother is under a lot of stress. She needs the Jewel Seeds for a good reason. And once she has them everything's going to be okay again." The little twintailed blonde told her familiar.

"What does she need them for that's so important, Fate!" Arf demanded. Fate just shook her head.

"Look, Fate-chan, you know you can have Bardiche call Axion if you need me, right?" he asked her. Fate nodded. Arf growled. But the familiar went back to binding the little mage's wounds.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure Precia knows you were a big help, Fate." Takashi says to Fate, with a somewhat sad smile of his own to match hers. "I won't let her forget what a good girl you've been." He says, walking over and ruffling her gently.

Then Takashi looked down at the blue crystal once more before moving forward, to knock on Director Testarossa's door. He'd give Fate some credit, for sure, but... today was about making sure he had someone who appreciated his presence and had power.