[Gift] My Sister's Grim

"My dear, are you in?"

At the sound of a familiar, melodic call, and an equally familiar, rhythmic knocking on her doorway, Asphodel shot up from her work, a flurry of feathers and papers falling around her like petals.

"M-Magi--mrph!" Asphodel yelped, catching some of the materials in her mouth.

The Liberkin nearby, agitated by her abrupt movement, began to flutter wildly about. Asphodel's guilt nearly had her turning around to tend to them, but was stopped by the lazy, outstretched hand of her visitor. A wave of pacifying Sourcery, peculiar yet soothing, washed over her and her flustered, flying novella, settling deep into her heart. Her shoulders relaxed as the Liberkin did, a few smaller ones perching atop her head.

Asphodel heard a sigh, her guest's voice amused but lightly reproachful. "A bundle of nerves, you are. No need to stand on ceremony for little ol' me."

The clack of talons against tile resounded throughout the room as the other figure neared and placed their palm beneath Asphodel's maw. Fluster returning, she released her bite, the few bits of trapped parchment dropping lamely onto the awaiting appendage.

"Magimy..." Asphodel whimpered, chagrined by her own display.

Magimy's free hand gently waved off the Liberkin using the smaller Starlyng as roost, afterward coming to rest between Asphodel's horns, petting her gently.

"Be at ease, little one," Magimy said, aura placating and gracious. "There is no need for shame in my presence."

Sometimes, Asphodel thought, peering up at the taller Starlyng with shining eyes. Magimy seems like another person entirely, and far beyond me... She wouldn't like it if I said that, though.

"Why--" Asphodel blurts, curiosity spilled out despite herself, "Why are you here, Magimy?"

Internally, the Archivist despaired. Oh, that was rude, wasn't it?

Magimy laughed, breezy as always.

Right... Asphodel smiled to herself. Magimy doesn't care about stuff like that.

"I like a Starlyng that gets to the point!" Magimy said, removing her hand from Asphodel's head. With a twirl of her finger, the papers that she was holding float over to a nearby desk, the wind-based magic smelling lightly of fresh, spring air. The hint of flora and fruit makes Asphodel's smile widen. "Well, I'm here to steal you away, of course."

Her smile drops. Asphodel, used to this and knowing her rebuke is largely futile, can only manage to stutter a, "I-I don't think I can just..."

"You can," Magimy interrupts, tone brooking no argument. "And you will, since only the Creator knows how long it's been since you last took a break!"

Magimy's assured attitude is something Asphodel has always admired, especially the way in which the Universe always seemed to bow to her authority. Whenever she arrived to spirit Asphodel away, the Association never made a fuss, and, perhaps, she really, really should be more suspicious of that. However, she trusted (and moreover idolized) Magimy; the senior Starlyng has been nothing but magnanimous toward her. If anything, she may be too clement toward her, always letting bygones be bygones--and, somehow still, is just as charitable, lavishing her in ways Asphodel struggled to feel she deserved. (Magimy definitely would not like it if she admitted that, although Asphodel feels she's already long-suspected her self-esteem and has been endeavoring to bolster it.)

Regardless, from day one, Magimy has always been there for her like a guiding light, and... if Asphodel ever ventured to be so bold, like an older sister.

...Would she like it if I called her that...? Asphodel mused, silence settling between them as Magimy patiently anticipated her response, pleasant smile unwavering.

"Would you..." Asphodel began, before cutting herself off when Magimy's expression turned to interest. No, it'd be weird if I asked now. "Never, um, never mind. I'll... I'll go with you."

Everything about the other Starlyng lit right up, right down to her shimmering, pink plumes. Asphodel supposed it was okay to feel warmed by inspiring such joy.

"You will?" Magimy cheer, unmasked in her glee. "Oh, that's wonderful! I've been meaning to do this for a long time--I just never got around to it!"

Curiously, Asphodel parroted, "'Meaning to do this for a long time'?"

"Ah, right," Magimy said, returning to her more mild state. "I never introduced you to my girlfriend, right? I thought you'd like to finally meet her."

Asphodel's jaw dropped, hands instantly and anxiously motioning every which way. "What? You--What? You have a girlfriend?! Since WHEN?!"

"Oh, come now, my beloved bookworm," Magimy replied, tickled by her student's reaction. "I really never mentioned her? She and I have been together since before you were born."

"WHAT?" Asphodel exploded, her screech again frenzying the Liberkin. Also, what do you mean by "girlfriend", then!? Shouldn't you be "partners" at this point?!

At that, Magimy had the decency to look contrite, an elegant finger curling thoughtfully at her chin.

"Did I really never mention her...?" she murmured, more to herself than Asphodel. "...Well, she'd say, 'That sounds just like you,' but that always makes me seem like such a poor lover..."

Frazzled, Asphodel responded to it anyway, "YES, you never mentioned her! Why?! D-Do you not trust me?"

"Oh..." Magimy exhaled, sadness overtaking her and striking at Asphodel's conscious. "No. No, my dear Asphodel. Never that. There are just some aspects of my life that... How do I say this?"

It was rare for Magimy to flounder for words.

"...That are difficult for me to share, while also maintaining the freedom and life I've built for myself," she continued, ruefully. "That, and I'm rather forgetful of things most would consider unforgettable."

She directs another genuine, though waning smile at Asphodel, something unfathomable lurking in her eyes. "I'm quite old, after all."

"...You never told me how old you are, either..." Asphodel grumbled.

"Even I don't really know that," Magimy answered mysteriously, and Asphodel decided not to press that point for now, sensing she wouldn't be enlightened just yet anyway. "I'm sorry, Asphodel. And believe you me, my girlfriend wouldn't be pleased if I told her that, either. I'm always talking about you, after all. Nothing but good things about my honey-sweet apprentice!"

She winks, and Asphodel feels her hurt swiftly transform into embarrassment, privately basking in the knowledge that Magimy praises her to others.

"I-I'm not your apprentice anymore," Asphodel says, despite knowing that she doesn't mind still being called such. "I accept your apology. Though... please tell me more about yourself when... when you are ready to, please. I-If you want to, I mean."

Magimy softens with affection. "Thank you. I do want to, and I will. And..."

She sweeps Asphodel up into a squeezing, bear of a hug.

"...you'll always be my apprentice!"

"Magimy!"

Asphodel squeals, struggling and legs kicking just for the theatrics of it all. She goes lax soon enough, returning the embrace, and they stay like for a while, taking solace in the other. Eventually, Magimy sets Asphodel back on the floor, arms returning to her sides.

"Now, then!" Magimy is grinning now, infectious enough for Asphodel to shyly mirror it. "Let's go meet my darling paramour, hm?"

A short time later, they arrive on one of the few shores of the nearby Endless Blue, a place Asphodel can't help but associate with drowning, yet enjoys nonetheless. As they stroll along the coast, Magimy catches her observing the ocean warily and huffs a laugh, drawing back the attention of a now sheepish Asphodel. The second she's no longer looking at the waves, the younger Starlyng catches sight of a dark silhouette approaching them and swiftly darts behind her escort, timid and stiff as a board.

"Magimy," the probably-"girlfriend" greets, her rasping, dulcet tones oddly not a stranger to Asphodel's ears. "You're late."

"Nonsense," Magimy immediately deflects. "We have all the time in the world."

"You might," the other counters, exasperated and fond. Magimy chuckles, and her conversation partner evidently turns her focus to Asphodel. "Is this the diffident one, or the one that's always crying?"

Diffident... Asphodel thinks to herself, somewhat affronted despite its truth.

This is the second time today that Asphodel hears Magimy sigh. "Shouldn't you know how to be more tactful by now?"

"Shouldn't you learn to introduce me to your pupils millions of years earlier?"

"Alright, fine, touché," Magimy acquiesces. Their interactions have no heat behind them. "Asphodel, dear, why don't you come out of hiding so I can properly introduce you two?"

Asphodel, with jittering teeth and quaking knees, steps out from behind Magimy, gaze trained to the ground. Said Starlyng places a calming hand on her shoulder, grounding her slightly.

There is a moment where Magimy's partner is likely taking Asphodel in, before she quietly asks, "Won't you look at me?"

"Dear..." Magimy cautions, hushed and reprimanding.

"I want to see her," she insists, "and I want her to see me. I'd like us to remember each other's faces and become comfortable with one another, since she is important to you, and you are important to me."

Magimy gives a quiet, short laugh. "I suppose that straightforward and honest nature is why I fell in love with you."

"Surely not the only reason, right?" the Reaper jests, evident despite her monotonous cadence.

Supported by Magimy, and bolstered by the earnestness of her partner, Asphodel summons the courage to face who she's talking to head-on. Immediately, she freezes so obviously, the other two pause in their banter to regard her with concern.

"A-Are you..." Asphodel manages to get out, raising a fearful and shaking finger to loosely point at the very famous, and very distinguished Starlyng afore her. "Are you the EIGHTH?!"

The question was definitely rhetorical, but the Eighth nods with all the solemnity befitting of her position. "That I am. And you must be Archivist Asphodel, if my judgment is correct."

Her judgment... Asphodel thinks weakly, disbelievingly, and a touch deliriously. The judgment of the Grim Reaper, upon me?

"Oh, come on now, introductions were meant to be mine to give," Magimy says, not serious in the least. Asphodel can feel the grip she has on her shoulder tighten, and an unnatural wind with that same mollifying scent from earlier washes over them. "There is no need to fear my darling Grimshaw, Asphodel. She is like a kitten beneath that tough exterior."

"I will let that comment slide," Grimshaw says, displeased though not actually bothered. "For your pupil's sake."

Magimy gives Grimshaw a smirk Asphodel rarely gets to witness, and her lover returns it. Their easy comradery relaxes Asphodel, and she finds it in herself to speak again.

"It's, um..." she starts, vision flickering between Grimshaw's subtle expression and the sand between her feet. She wrings her hands restlessly. "It's nice to... It's nice to meet you. I'm Asphodel, and Archivist with the Association. I'm honored to make the, um, a-acquaintance of the Eighth Seat a-and august founder of the Way."

Amidst Asphodel's racing mind, and in the shining rays of Grimshaw's gorgeous, (surely rare?!) smile, one thought definitely stood out: How in the stars did Magimy manage to get together with HER?

"The pleasure is all mine," Grimshaw replied, words rumbling like an approaching storm. "You can do away with the formalities. I am here as Magimy's partner, and as Grimshaw, not the Eighth. Feel free to tell me if a certain somebody ever misbehaves or wrongs you."

Magimy gasped, affronted, a palm slapping dramatically against her chest. "You cur! You dare use my innocent apprentice against me?!"

"Consider it payback for keeping us from apart, yet always going on and on about her," Grimshaw argues, crossing her arms. "Do you know how it feels, listening to your lover laud some Starlyng you've never met, ignoring you all the while?"

"I never ignore you," Magimy grouses.

"Maybe I wouldn't feel like you were if you complimented me sometimes, too," Grimshaw responds, grave as can be.

"I always--!" Magimy's voice pitches high before she catches herself, tacking onto Grimshaw's game. "...I shouldn't still be falling for your tricks after all this time."

Grimshaw, seemingly self-satisfied, quips, "Didn't you just say you're always falling for me?"

"A horrible pun, commendable by St. Loki himself," Magimy jokes, appreciating. "And who said anything about 'always'?"

Suddenly, they are interrupted by the sound of a laugh. Magimy and Grimshaw, so caught up in each other they almost forgot she was there, look to a giggling Asphodel with surprised, yet open delight. Asphodel, noticing that they're now focusing on her, hastily covers her mouth, shy beneath their scrutiny and worried that she somehow offended them.

"It's always a great day when I get to hear you laugh, dear Asphodel," Magimy coos, looking like she wants to gather her pupil into her arms all over again. Instead, she begins to poke teasingly and unrelentingly at Asphodel's sides. "Do you like it when your big sister gets owned by her girlfriend? Maybe we should back-and-forth more often, hmm? If it'll make you smile like this."

"Stop it! H-Have mercy!" Asphodel wails, so distracted by the onslaught that she fails to register Magimy confirming that she, too, sees them as sisters.

"Maybe there is a point to talking to you," Grimshaw agrees, in her own way. She watches Asphodel's suffering with mirth.

Without missing a beat, Magimy snarks, "Maybe if you lived a little, there'd be something to actually talk about?"

"I can't 'live a little'," Grimshaw deadpanned, hands motioning to rest on her hips. "I'm dead."

"Ah, so you are."

Then, without warning, something nefarious shadowed Grimshaws features, and she began to prowl toward Magimy like a beast. Magimy, knowing full well what that look in beloved's eye meant, jumped away from Asphodel and held up her hands in a barricading gesture.

"Absolutely not! No!" she shouted, uncharacteristically distressed. "Stay away from me! Back, foul creature!"

Grimshaw's claws extend ominously before her, and she presses forward, not heeding her lover at all. "So you get to torture Asphodel, but no one gets to exact revenge on you?"

"Fiend!" Magimy yelled, volume climbing even higher. She then whirled around and began to sprint away. "I'll remember this!"

"You won't!" Grimshaw shot back, giving chase.

All Asphodel could do was watch on as her illustrious teacher was tackled to the ground and tickled to the point of tears by the acclaimed Eighth Seat and first-ever Reaper, Grimshaw.

Though not how she pictured her imposed break, Asphodel could not deny that she was endlessly entertained, and that she felt a lot lighter. Better still, she was quite grateful for the chance to learn more about the Starlyng who remained so steadfast by her side. One day, she hopes Magimy will open up even more to her, and that all those closed doors will finally be open. It may take eons, but with the way the elder Starlyng has already gotten Asphodel to believe in things she once never even dreamed of, Asphodel can already say that she's certain that time will come.