A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 299: Chapter 299 - Emma and Alice

Another thing that happened in this time was the first break that Alice and Emma were spending together.

Currently, they were sitting on two sofas across from each other in the living space, between them was a pot of tea.

Emma looked at her younger companion with a calm smile while she poured each of them some tea.

Alice, meanwhile, looked a little uncomfortable. She liked Emma, a lot in fact, but she wasn't sure what to do with herself at this moment. She preferred to be training and preparing for her revenge against the hunters.

"So uhm… What now?" Alice asked the motherly figured across form as she scratched her head.

"I don't know," Emma shrugged casually. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Does training count?" Alice responded with a pout.

"Nice try, but no," Emma giggled, determined to make Alice relax and think about something else today.

A few moments of silence followed where Alice seemed unable to think of something, until Emma spoke up again, "You know, I won't try to replace your biological, or adoptive, parents but perhaps there's something you'd like to do based on the memories in your father's memory stone? Or something you enjoyed doing with your adoptive parents when you weren't training?"

Alice flinched a little when the grand total of four parents she had lost came up, and she looked away, "I— I've been trying not to think of them."

"I see…" Emma nodded nodded calmly. "And is that helping?"

Emma's natural instincts and, now carefully controlled, motherly aura made her into the perfect person to help Alice through her past.

"When I train it does," she mumbled grumpily and with a flash of annoyance. "But not when you ask about them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Emma smiled, and then went ahead and ignored Alice's desire not to talk about them. "You must have loved them all a lot, huh?"

"Of course I did!" Alice growled aggressively. "Ivar and Marta were good people! They took good care of me, and didn't deserve what happened to them!" She calmed down a little as her voice took on a sadder tone and small tears appeared in her eyes, "A— And my father…! He had his faults, but— but he gave his life for me, without hesitation… how can I not love him…?"

"Good point," Emma nodded, and kept pushing. "So what about your mother than?"

Silence descended as Alice gained an expression that no one should want to see on a ten-year-old. "I… I didn't really know her…" she whispered hoarsely. "She died when I was three," gnashing her teeth, she continued, "hunters killed her…"

"Which is why you seek revenge now," Emma smiled calmly at Alice as she used her motherly aura to give Alice some comfort and calm her down a little. Her lessons with Elora had payed off. "Not only do you want revenge for the fact those hunters took away the chance to get to know your mother, but it also helps you feel closer to her, right?"

Emma's presence and aura calmed Alice down without it feel unnatural, causing Alice to be a little more at ease and her trust in Emma to grow. She was still a little uncomfortable, however as she mumbled with a difficult expression, "I— I guess so? Why?"

"Well, isn't there anything in your father's memories that your mother liked to do? Maybe she talked to him about something she wanted to do with you in the future? Perhaps taking revenge isn't the only way she you can feel closer to her?" Emma mused softly.

Alice blinked and frowned, "I… maybe? I— I kinda like that idea."

"Good!" Emma smiled brightly. "I know I'm not your mother, but I'd be happy honor her memory by filling in for her if you like."

"Yeah, I— I think I'd like that!" Alice exclaimed, suddenly gaining some enthusiasm about this whole thing.

She grabbed a locket that was hanging around her neck, and opened it. The locket was made for her by Erik in order for her to keep her father's memory stone always with her. Softy stroking the stone, Alice went through the contents once again, searching for anything her mother might have wanted to do with her in the future.

Emma just watched calmly as she drank her tea and continued to use her aura to calm and comfort the young girl in front of her.

After a few minutes, a sad smile appeared on Alice's face. 'I guess she found something,' Emma thought.

"My— My mother and father were a little different," she mumbled with a lost expression. "He was a man who loved fighting and sports, while she… she was actually a scientist. She wanted to teach me to play chess one day."

"Great!" Emma exclaimed while clapping her hands. "I doubt there's any chess boards here, but I'm sure I can get Master or Elora to make something, and I actually know how to play! It's been a while, but I can definitely teach you the basics. If you want me to, that is?"

Shaking herself free from the memories and sadness, Alice closed the locket again and looked up at Emma with a grateful expression. "I'd like that… thank you!"

Not much later Emma had procured an ornate chess board, created from cheap materials by Elora's form shifting sigils, and from that a new habit was created, where Emma and Alice would play chess during their breaks.

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Another thing that happened with Alice, was a few months into their training period. Up to this point, Elora had been doing research on Alice's genetic makeup in order to find out if there were any possibilities of creating more Arcanist/Runebound hybrids like Erik. Enjoy exclusive content from M V L

After all, procuring fairies for all Runebound was a non-starter, especially while travel between Earth and other worlds was not yet as easy as it would be in the future.

So far, no progress had been made on accomplishing that specific goal, but that didn't mean she had nothing to show for her work, because there was one other thing that Erik had asked her to look into while she researched Alice's genetics.

"Can— Can you really make it so that my transformations don't always hurt so much?!" Alice exclaimed with an expression full of disbelief. She had been living with this condition for as long as she could remember, and the idea that she would finally be able to shift back and forth freely like any other shapeshifter, was entirely foreign to her.

But not unwelcome.

Still, even if no one, including Alice herself, truly believed that Elora was responsible for Björn's death, she was still the one that essentially pulled the trigger, and it was hard for Alice accept any help from Elora. Thus, her expression was complicated.

"Absolutely," Elora nodded calmly, and with clear scientific interest in her eyes. "Based on my research, I don't believe shapeshifters and humans were ever supposed to be able to reproduce, but… well, nature is a scary thing. Only now, you are suffering from a far more rigid body than full-blooded shapeshifters, making your transformations more laborious. I can fix that."

Setting aside the question of whether she wanted any help from Elora, Alice had one important question. "Will this… remove the human parts of my DNA?"

"Only the parts that are connected to cell- and bone-structure," Elora answered, matter-of-factly. "You'll still be 'you' for all intents and purpose, and most of the DNA you got from your mother will still be there."

With Alice's biggest concern dealt with, she looked a little more interested, but there was still a lot of doubt in her mind.

In the living room with them, were Emma and Erik as well. Alice's gaze went to them subconsciously, as people she felt she could trust. Emma smiled softly at Alice, "Don't let your conflicted feelings get in the way here, Alice. This is a good thing! Do you think your father would have wanted you to ignore this solution?"

Had anyone else asked her about what her father would have wanted, Alice might have gotten angry, but it was different with Emma. Ever since they started playing chess together, they had grown even closer, and Alice was already well on her way to considering Emma her third mother. Obviously, the process was greatly helped by Emma's motherly aura.

Thus, she nodded reluctantly, and softly grumbled, "No, he wouldn't…"

She turned back to Elora and sighed, "Alright, fine. Do as you wish."

Elora smiled victoriously. While she might have complained about her lack of respect despite the fact she was offering the girl help, the truth was that Elora also wanted this. Experimenting with her DNA directly was far more useful for her research than mere scanning and testing.

"Alright, hold still!" Elora grinned, and quickly formed a dark green, oval bubble around Alice, before putting her hand on it.

Emma and Erik quickly recognized this technique as being the same as Elora had used on Emma, back in London.

It didn't take long, before the bubble dissolved, and Alice stepped out.