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schoenheit
Card: [SSR] (Sweet, Dangerous Mischief) Owen
Event: Waltz of the Wizard and the Black Cat
Characters: Akira, Heathcliff, Owen
Chapter One ✧ Chapter Two ✧ Chapter Three ✧ Training Episode
Chapter One
Location: Manor Library (Night)
Akira: Hmmm... I guess it's not here either. I keep losing things lately... How weird.
(I don't remember exactly where I put it, but I'm sure I didn't take it out of my room...)
Ah, jeez. That glass pen was a gift from Snow and White. It was pretty important to me...
Owen: Trick or treat.
Akira: Wah— Owen! You surprised me there...
Owen: It's supposed to be that "Halloween" now, right? And when I chant that spell, aren't I supposed to get candy? Master. Gimme.
Akira: I apologize, but I don't have any candy on me right now...
Owen: Tch, useless. I guess I have no choice but to play the nastiest trick ever on you.
Akira: I'd prefer if you could refrain from that for now, also...
S-Speaking of, Owen, have anything of yours gone missing lately? I've heard that everyone keeps losing their things all over the manor.
Owen: You really think I'd be stupid enough to let something like that happen?
Akira: I thought you might say that...
Owen: But, I do know the culprit who took everyone's things.
Akira: The culprit...?
Owen: Your things weren't lost— they were stolen. I was just thinking of catching up to him. Heyyy, Master... Why don't we go catch this burglar together?
I'm sure you'll get to see something very interesting.
✧✧✧
Location: Graveyard (night)
(Sound of a crow cawing before flapping its wings and taking flight)
Akira: Uuu... Why are we at a graveyard at this hour...
Owen: Stop clinging to me. I can’t walk like this.
Akira: (I came along as I was told, but is the thief really here...?)
(Sound of bush rustling)
Akira: —Eek! W-Who's there!?
Heathcliff: ... Master? And Owen, of all people. Why are the two of you here?
Akira: Heath...?
Owen: Good evening. We've been looking for you.
Heathcliff: Huh? Did you need me for something...?
Owen: You have something to give the sage, don't you? O impish, young noble?
Heathcliff: ... Um... I believe... this is yours, Master.
Akira: Ah! My pen! I thought I'd lost it. Did you go to look for it for me, Heath?
Heathcliff: No, I didn't. I have it because, um...
???: Kyui!
Heathcliff: Ah! Hey, now! You need to stay hidden!
(Sound of cloth rustling)
I catch a glimpse of a creature that looks very much like a Japanese flying squirrel, its face popped out from Heathcliff's pocket.
Akira: Wah, how cute... Its eyes are so round. Who's this little guy?
Owen: This is a sallaui—a magical creature. They're bad little children who have a fondness for things that glitter and shine, so they steal them.
The one who's to blame for the things everyone's "lost" in the manor... is him. Which makes Heathcliff his accomplice.
Heathcliff: I... I didn't mean to be...
Sallaui: Kyu.
Chapter Two
Heathcliff: I found the sallaui in the courtyard a short time ago. It looked weak, so I carried it to my room to let it rest there. It seems it took a liking to me after that.
It would keep showing up in my room long after it'd recovered. I would take it outside and release it each time, but...
Akira: I see. I'm glad you were able to save it in time.
Sallaui: Kyui!
Heathcliff: Even so, I sincerely apologize, Master. I didn't mean to cause you trouble, too. I had no idea it had a penchant for taking shiny things.
I actually chased it myself since it took my clock parts, but... I never thought it'd take me to a place like this.
Akira: Maybe its family lives somewhere here...?
Owen: ......
(Strange, ominous sound; dimly-lit fog rolls in)
Akira: (Something feels off... The way the trees are swaying makes me a little uneasy, too.)
Heathcliff: Master, do you feel anything strange? The air's grown oddly chilly...
Akira: I'm getting a weird feeling, too. And now it's all foggy...
Owen: Ahhh... Now you've done it— You've attracted the spirits of the dead. All because you guys were being too loud.
Akira: Spirits of the dead!?
(Sound of wind? blowing; a sound like a low moan)
Horrifying Voice: Aaaahhhh...
(Faint grunting sound)
Owen points to a patch of moist soil at our feet, and from it comes the wet squelch of the bog shifting. We see first a stretch of white— the bone of an arm crawling out from the earth.
(Faint moaning sound)
My eyes lock with the endless void peering from the skull creeping up from the ground next.
Akira: Run—!!
(Sound of running)
(Fade to black)
✧✧✧
Location: Graveyard (Elsewhere) (Night)
(Sound of running)
Akira: (Heavy panting)... What should I do...? I lost Heath and Owen on the way...
Owen: ≪Quare Morito≫
Akira: Was that Owen's voice? Where is he?
Just when I thought some miracle might save me, a black tree branch shot out from within the fog.
Akira: Eeeek—!! The branch coiled around me!? Why, you— Get away!
S-Someone! Please! Save me!
Owen: Ahaha. You're quite the sight right now, Master. Do you want me to save you?
Akira: Owen...! Yes, please! Please save me!
Owen: I wonder, I wonder... What should I do? If you were to beg a little better, I might consider thinking about it.
Akira: That's so... Please! There's no one I can rely on but you!
Owen: Haha. That's very true. It's been funny watching you run in circles like an insect. Especially since you've had such a stupid look on your face, Master.
But I'm already bored of this. I guess I'll end it now.
Akira: Huh...?
Owen: ≪Quare Morito≫
(The fog fades)
Akira: Both the fog and the branch disappeared... Owen, don't tell me that all this was...
Owen: It was all my doing. I told you, didn't I? "Trick or treat."
Akira: (Don't tell me this was the "trick" he mentioned back in the library... That was nothing to sneeze at, never mind laugh at...)
Owen: What? Did you want me to leave you behind?
Akira: No, it's nothing! Thank you very much for saving me.
... Huh?
By the way, where did Heath go?
Chapter Three
Akira: Heathcliff! Where are you? Please say something!
Owen: How come we can't just leave him? He's a wizard too, you know. He can get back on his own.
Akira: We can't just leave him alone. I hope Heath and the sallaui are safe...
Owen: Wow. So our master is loving enough to extend their compassion to spirits of dead animals.
Akira: ... Owen, what did you just say...?
Heathcliff: Master?
(Fade to black)
✧✧✧
Location: Graveyard (Night)
Akira: Thank goodness, Heath. I'm so glad you and the sallaui are okay.
Heathcliff: We are. After we were separated, the sallaui guided me here.
Akira: Here, specifically? ... Is this where it lives?
(There's a round, ball-shaped structure here... It's made of a number of items packed tightly together, from the looks of it. And all of these items are familiar.)
Heathcliff: I thought it might have family here since it was working so hard to build a nest, but...
Akira: ... The inside of its home... It's empty...?
Heathcliff: ... Yes, it seems so.
Owen: Weren't they all eaten up?
Graveyards have lots of spirits who are exceptionally strong. Weaklings can't last a second here before they get their lifeforce sucked dry. He's no exception.
Akira: No way...
Heathcliff: ... I thought so. This sallaui is no longer alive, is it?
I did think it was strange. No matter how many times I put it back outside and locked my door, it would always be back in my room before I knew it.
... You were protecting your nest for your family, even in death, weren't you? You've truly... done very well.
Sallaui: Kyui...
(Rustling sound)
Heathcliff gently pets the sallaui with his fingertip. There was something indescribably sad about the way its little head pressed up against Heathcliff's finger in response.
Owen: ≪Cur Memini≫
(Bright wisps form a ball of light, which then fades)
Heathcliff: Ah! Wait...!
Akira: It turned into a ball of light and disappeared...
Owen: All I did was exorcise him. You were about to cross a line, and there's nothing but trouble on the other side. If he weren't exorcised now, he would've become an evil spirit.
Better this than carrying on with this trick, leaving him to an empty nest where there's nobody home.
Heathcliff: ... That's true. It was protecting its nest all on its own. I'm sure... that it wanted to go home to its family as soon as it could.
I couldn't save it through my power alone. Thank you, Owen.
Owen: ... Shouldn't you be running instead of thanking me?
(Sounds of gasping moans, a thick fog rolling in)
Heathcliff: Huh...? The fog is back?
Owen: Spirits of the dead are such a pain. You exorcise one and it attracts dozens more.
Akira: Um, Owen? By any chance, is this another one of your tri...
Owen: Nope.
(Sound of impish cackling)
Skull: Eeheeheeheehee!
Akira: Eeek!! It's the skull from before!
Owen: Well, I'll be going, then. Do your best not to die.
Heathcliff: M-Master! Get behind me!
Akira: Heath... But there's so many of them, something could happen to you...!
Owen, please help us! I don't want to die here!
Owen: Master, trick or treat.
Akira: (Now!?)
Ah... I'll give you all my snacks tomorrow! It's a rain check, but, please!
Heathcliff: P-Please help yourself to mine, too!
Owen: Yay, don't forget.
≪Quare Morito≫
(Sounds of magic and things crashing)
Training Episode: His Favorite Spell
Location: Manor Dining Room (Day)
Owen: Master, Master, trick or treat.
Akira: I thought you might say that, so I already have some ready for you. I asked Nero to give me some a little earlier.
Owen: Ugh, boring.
Akira: You're quite adept at utilizing "trick or treat," Owen. Are you fond of Halloween traditions?
Owen: I guess. It's just interesting how it's a spell that makes it okay for me to play a trick on someone if they don't give me candy.
Akira: (That's an uncharacteristically honest response for Owen. I guess he really likes it.)
Owen: But I wish I could say it every day. Every day of the year should be Halloween.
Akira: I'm not surprised you'd think that... I think it's fun because we only have a specific day to play around.
Owen: Hmmmm.
Akira: Anyway, Owen. Trick or...— Mmf!?
Owen: Do you think I'd let you just say that? I'm not giving you anything that's mine.
Or, maybe the great sage has enough guts to play a trick on me.
Akira: Mmmf... Nmmmf...
Owen: What? Did you forget how to talk like a human being?
Akira: —(Gasping for breath)...! I can't talk if you're covering my mouth with your hand...
Owen: Hmph. You're a thousand years too young to try and play a trick on me.
Thank you 310mc1 @ Twitter for proofreading!
