"Hmmm." "Hmmm." "Hmmm." "Hmmm."

Shouri, Taika, Pacifica, and Rebecca sat in a circle on the bed. The evening gold poured through the blinds but was rapidly losing its luster.

"Taika should go with," Pacifica said. "Yep, Taika's turn out." Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Che? Me?" Taika did want to hunt tonight, yes, but she had expected far more resistance.

"We really need that guild van so this isn't always a thing," Shouri huffed. "I know I know, I just don't like the thought of driving one." Rebecca grimaced, recalling her experience with the delivery truck back in Salegio City.

"Who all are you taking with, anyway?" asked Pacifica.

"Vince, Mila, Miro, Ritika, Albarich, and Emily are coming out tonight," Shouri replied. "Wait, that's way too many people?" Rebecca raised a brow. "Did you not see? Emily can drive herself," said Shouri.

"See what?" came the three curious inquiries.

Shouri hopped out of bed and threw on his shoes. "Come on, she's probably got it out."

The quartet wandered out of the room. Pacifica immediately felt the sting of impending winter and cursed under her breath as she rushed back in to grab her jacket.

Shouri, Taika, and Rebecca got to see Emily suited up in thick black clothes; padded black jacket and pants, heavy boots, and a matching helmet resting on the seat of a-

"Motorcycle?! No way!" Rebecca rushed over, leaving a trail of excited fire in her wake.

The curious Taika was right behind her fellow fox, tail twitching with curiosity.

"Oh, hey girls, like my baby?" asked Emily, patting the seat of her ride. "YES!" Rebecca answered eagerly. "You have to let me ride it sometime!" the fire fox demanded. "Oh sure, we got plenty of space for it here." The princess motioned to the large empty property before them.

"You sure that's safe, Ems?" asked Shouri, joining the gawk session, with a freshly jacketed Pacifica close behind. "Definitely. Mom and Dad sent me my tools and spare tires. I can swap 'em out in like half an hour. It's pretty easy," the Luna native said with a grin.

"Good, that means I can have you come with on hunts to keep the rest of them in order," said Shouri. "Totes, I got you." She offered a fist bump for him, which he reciprocated. "Speaking of, where is everyone else?"

As soon as those words left Shouri's lips, others began to gather. Starting with Ritika, who was bundled up in her own winterwear.

"Al will be a few minutes. Boy's still drying his hair," the cat informed her Maestro. "Sounds good, we're still waiting on everyone else."

Next up was Miro, who was dressed to impress and ready to go. "Buonasera!" he waved.

"Hey, Miro." Shouri returned the wave to their Natural companion. "How was your afternoon?" "Bene! I had the Lyberteran corn on the cob! It was hard to eat, but very good," the fox boy beamed.

Shouri studied the Natural's anatomy and noted his snout wasn't conducive to the strange form factor of the standard corn cob.

"Next time you try one, run a knife down the sides to take the corn kernels off and eat them that way," suggested Shouri.

"Oh! I will use that!" Miro exclaimed, his tail wagging excitedly for his next corn-based encounter.

In the interim, Albarich had joined the family outside and awaited the last two selected for tonight's hunt. Rebecca and Pacifica returned to the room to relax for the evening, leaving Shouri, Taika, and the others to quietly converse amongst themselves.

"Where the hell is Vince?" Shouri mumbled. "Non so; Should we check on them?" Taika asked.

Before they could investigate, the final pair joined the party. "Sorry we're late," Mila announced.

"We uh, underestimated how long dinner would take to make!" Vince laughed loudly, earning an elbow and glare from his partner.

Shouri and Emily exchanged a knowing glance, before letting it go. "Alright, get in the car everyone," declared the guildmaster.

Emily put her goggles down, and affixed her helmet to her head, while Albarich stretched his wings out.

"He's going to fly there?" asked Taika while she and Shouri got into the front seats of their car. "Guess so. That's between them I guess," mumbled the Maestro as he started the engine.

Vince, Mila, and Miro piled into the back. Taika looked out the window and watched Emily get on her motorcycle, Ritika riding on the back.

"Everyone good back there?" Shouri asked.

"Yup!" "Yeah." "Yes!"

Shouri looked to his partner in crime for the evening. "Ready, mi amor?" he asked. "Si!" Taika beamed.

The trip down to the hunting ground was peaceful. Though, there was an extra passenger unaccounted for in the attendance.

Zephyr poked her head out of Vince's jacket, taking in the cheery atmosphere. The sun had quickly dipped below the horizon, leaving only streetlamps to grace her vision. Vince noticed her and pushed her head down with a single finger. She huffed and glared up at him, but he shook his head, just enough for her to see the gesture without anyone else catching it.

The fairy pouted and curled up in the inner coat pocket she had decided was her spot now.

She was surprised Vince even entertained her nonsense, especially after the trouble she had caused him only hours before.

It was a simple request though – she wanted to see what hunting Maestros did. If she was going to live in this world, she had to know what would be expected of her, right?

Arriving at the hunting ground was rhythmically nauseating. It didn't make her sick, maybe a bit dizzy? It was a sensory overload - there were tons of different people talking, spells being cast in the distance, and so much ambient rhythm. More than she had ever felt in her life.

She leaned back into Vince's chest. It was warm thankfully, so she didn't have to worry about getting cold even with the temperatures plummeting well below freezing again.

The fairy thanked the darkness, as she could poke her head out of the confines of the jacket with reckless abandon. Words failed her as her eyes sparkled in the ambiance. Lights of fire, electricity, and solar illuminated the gathered hunters. Stalls selling goods and the sounds and smells of cooking food all hit the tiny Resonator at once. Most of the noise was drowned out by Vince and Mila's casual conversation. Her chaperones for the evening were further chaperoned by Shouri, and the rest of the present PTRS members as they weaved through the crowds.

"Wait! Sir! You have to-!" "PTRS, we're going on ahead."

With a flash of Shouri's tuner, the man who had tried to stop them backed down. She knew Shouri was a powerful Maestro, but just a wave of a tuner made official-looking people back down?

Her gaze was locked on the boy. He couldn't be older than twenty and yet he held such a commanding presence. He chatted with his vixen so warmly. Taika laughed at something he said and bumped her hip into his playfully. That was enough for her to tear her attention away from the pair.

"I'm not bitter," she muttered.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Shouri began to lay out the game plan for the evening. "Alright gang. Me, Taika, and Miro are taking to the north. Emily, you Albarich, and Ritika head east. Vince, you and Mila get the west. Pick off Scherzando as you see fit. If the groups get in trouble we'll gather wherever they're at."

And with that, the groups were left to their own devices. Once out of earshot of the foxes, Vince peeled the top of his jacket back a bit. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Zephyr replied. "Don't you have a thing to do? Go." She motioned for him to move, ducking back into the pocket.

Vince looked to his cat for advice, who shrugged back. Deciding to leave the fairy be, the pair began to walk.

"Fuoco Fatuo, Tenuto," was the first spell of the night. Light was granted by way of a tiny fireball hovering near Mila.

"Man, I really want that summon spell," Mila complained as they walked through the dark forest. "Yeah, I wanna see what yours look like. Rebecca's look cute," Vince pointed out. "Mhm," came the hum of agreement from the cat.

They walked for some time before Mila motioned for them to stop. "Sotto," Vince called, snuffing the firelight and plunging them back into darkness.

The waxing crescent in the sky didn't provide much luminance for their work, but it was enough to at least get the task done.

Zephyr was taken along for the ride as Vince and Mila crept closer to their targets. Amongst the trees sat a small cluster of Scherzando. She had never seen them this close before, the stronger fae in her home had been the ones to deal with such threats.

It was so eerie the way they moved without making a sound. Even when disturbing the underbrush, it was like they weren't even there. Yet, she knew these could cause real damage. Fairies were especially delectable for these monsters; being such tightly packed rhythm in a convenient, easy-to-consume form factor. There was a reason fairies were so hard to find in the wild.

Vince was unbothered by the presence of the hostile shadows. "Arcobaleno Fuoco, Fortissimo," he called, tuner in hand.

Mila rose to her feet, cracking her knuckles. She aimed an open palm at the beasts. They turned to face her – far too late.

BOOM!

An eruption of rainbow-colored flames illuminated the forest for that brief moment. In that time the force of the blast scattered the creatures into the rhythm that formed their bodies.

The fire element smirked, turning back to the two. She blew her palm off as if it were a smoking barrel. "Nothin' to it," boasted the cat.

Zephyr sat in awe. This was just how Maestros were. She had made the right choice – she had never seen such a spectacle holed up in her village. Not everything had gone smoothly since she had left. One might even say it had been an unmitigated disaster. But maybe, just maybe she could taste that bit of power for herself.

The evening went on in a fairly routine manner. At least routine for the two tenured hunters. It almost felt like Vince and Mila were showing off a bit. The big guns flew fast and free for the two. Perhaps this was their normal modus operandi – Zephyr certainly couldn't tell the difference.

What wasn't normal was the call Vince got on his tuner.

"Hey Shouri, what's up?" "Vince! Looks like someone got in over their head. If we send you the map data, can you and Mila get to them? You're the closest."

The young Maestro looked to his partner, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me and Mils got it." "Sweet! We'll be over ASAP in case anyone needs healing."

And with that Vince and the two Resonators were left in the dark. "Hope it's not too crazy," Vince mumbled while he waited for that map data.

"Shouri wouldn't have asked us to go after it if it was," Mila pointed out. "I suppose you're right."

It was at that moment the map was updated. One little friendly dot with a lot of red dots around. Vince held the tuner out, aligning himself with the direction they were assigned to. "That way."

Their pace had gone from a casual walk to a near run. Zephyr kept her head down and held onto her seat tightly. The last thing she wanted to happen was flying free from her ride and subsequently getting lost. That's how sweet little fairies disappeared without a trace.

"Mils, Lanciafiamme, Rubato!" Vince called out as they drew close. "Got it!" Mila picked up the pace and entered the combat zone. There were a good number of Scherzando around. About twenty or so. It was hard to tell from how dark it was. The only thing giving them a good idea of what they were rushing into was the stagnant map data. It wasn't the worst Vince had ever seen, but it could be bad if they let their guard down.

The boy came to a stop, not entering the fray himself.

"Why?" Zephyr asked. "Mila wants us to stay out of the circle. She's super-fast, so I'm not worried about her getting pinned," the Maestro explained.

"You…" the fairy trailed off. "I trust her, she's got this," he grinned.

There was that word, trust. It was such a warm-sounding word.

In the distance, Zephyr could see bursts of light from the waves of fire cast by the cat. If she listened closely, she could even hear the grunts of exertion Mila let out with each movement. It was intoxicating in a way. What snapped her from the enrapturing spectacle was a sudden cry.

"Shit! Vince!"

A trio of Scherzando broke loose and had turned their sights on the Maestro. Time slowed as the beasts approached. Zephyr felt each individual beat of her heart as the monsters drew closer, hungry, violent. But then… there was another feeling. It was… strange, foreign even.

Before she knew it, something compelled her to move. Words. Words made her move. Despite it being forced, she allowed it. She allowed the words to invade her, to guide her. And those words were:

"Vortice di Vento, Piano!"

Zephyr surged with unfamiliar rhythm. Her hand thrust out and a tornado erupted from the ground just in front of Vince, catching the trio of beasts off guard and throwing them into the air.

"Raffica Discendente, Allegro!"

Another dose of adventitious rhythm, and more movements innately within her repertoire. Her hands thrust downwards, commanding the winds as if a limb she never knew she had. The beasts smashed into the ground.

"Luce del Sole, Piano!"

A third round of rhythm hit her system, and she erupted from the safety of Vince's warmth, shooting out like a bullet, her body cloaked in white light. In her wake, she left fragments of brilliance that shot to the ground like a hailstorm of concentrated sunshine.

Mila came to a stop, her breathing elevated, eyes wide with awe.

Zephyr gripped her chest, her lungs unable to keep up with what her body demanded. She floated in the air, staring back at the Maestro who just commanded her with little effort. Her translucent wings glowed with a luster they never had before. Her body was wracked with the tremors of excitement. How easily it all flowed… how good it felt. Oh, it felt so damn good, she couldn't even make a crude quip about it.

That was the real deal. That was exactly what she wanted. She wanted more so badly.

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