#ch: melanie sinclair

[iunctura-arch]

THE UNENDING SPARK: CHAPTER 1

"Oh wow, this place is great! Why didn't we come here before?!"

"Probably because Melanie hadn't met us yet." Cassiopeia watched as March took photos of the landscape. "But we're here because of a mission, too. Don't forget it."

"I know! I just want some good photos so we remember this place before we go! So, Melanie, since you're the one who knows this place the best, where do you think we should start looking....?" March looked over to Melanie, who was talking to a... very small pink-haired girl near one of the... Were they shops or was it some weird storage area?

Both her and Cassiopeia walked over to Melanie, who looked over to them with a small smile.

"These are a couple of my new friends I've made on my journey. Cassiopeia, March, this is Tataru. She's a seamstress who set up a shop here in Sharlayan. Tataru, this is Cassiopeia and March. They're Trailblazers, world-hopping travellers on a mission."

March put her hands on her hips and beamed while Cassiopeia rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"A pleasure to meet you!" March said cheerily. "So, little Tataru, do you know where the Stellaron is?"

"I'll have you know I'm a fully-grown adult!" Tataru said, a frown on her face as she did so. "But I don't know where this 'Stellaron' is. I heard that there'd been a new discovery, but it seems to have been taken by someone before the Forum could officially figure out what it was."

That took the other two by surprise, while Melanie folded her arms against her chest and thought for a few moments. So, the Stellaron had arrived here, which meant the Stellaron Hunters were here. Which meant that the Astral Express had the advantage with Melanie's knowledge of the world they were currently on.

"That may have been the Stellaron they took. I'm guessing they left Sharlayan as soon as possible. Thanks for the info, Tataru. It looks like the Scions have to get together again. We're gonna need all the help we can get on this one."

She looked back towards March and Cassiopeia, putting a hand on her hip. "If they left Sharlayan, that means they may be heading to Othard. The only other place they could've gone is Limsa Lominsa, and I doubt they'd take the Stellaron somewhere where it could easily get stolen."

March looked confused as Melanie said that. "But... what if they do take it to that Limsa place? Wouldn't we be better going there?"

Cassiopeia looked a little irritated at that. "Melanie told us that Limsa is where the pirates are. They steal from others that aren't their own people, so going there would be pointless. I think we should hurry to this Othard place. But how are we getting there?"

It took Melanie a moment to answer, a wide grin appearing on her face.

"I'm taking you two with me." She grabbed both March and Cassiopeia by the hands before the three of them disappeared one-by-one. Tataru stood there, staring at where they'd been previously, before chuckling a little to herself.

"I hope they can handle teleportation!" She said with a smile on her face.

---

Not a few seconds later, the three of them arrived in the Doman Enclave, with both March 7th and Cassiopeia reeling from the experience while Melanie pulled out a couple of waterskins. She handed them over to the two.

"This cures aether sickness. Forgot you guys weren't attuned to the aetherytes..." Which meant that going back to Sharlayan would cause this, too. Or wherever else they went because of teleportation. Man, she really needed to stock up on the Lassi for aether sickness before she did that again.

Either way, they were here now. Once the two were back in order thanks to the Lassi, the three of them headed towards the Kienkan. Holding a hand out to stop March and Cassiopeia, Melanie walked up to the guard standing at the front.

It seemed Hakuro was out at the moment, which meant it was just the guard today.

"I'm here to have an audience with Lord Hien about something important." Melanie stated. "Could you tell him that the Warrior of Light wishes to have an audience?"

"Certainly." The guard gave her a bow before heading inside.

"Warrior of Light? What's that?" March asked. Melanie looked behind her with a shrug.

"It's a title I got for being... well, the hero of Eorzea. I didn't come up with it." She said, before turning around. "I've saved practically every country-- this entire universe we're currently in-- with my own two hands." She'd had help on some of them, but most of them she'd fought by herself. All alone, with her own two fists.

"Woooow...." March's eyes shined when she heard all that.

"So that's why Mr. Yang was so hesitant on letting you come with us on the prior missions." Cassiopeia said, thinking. "You're practically too powerful."

"I know how to hold back." Melanie shrugged. "He wants you guys to gain experience, but sometimes having someone who knows a lot there with you can help. I'm surprised he let me come with you guys here... And that Dan Heng wanted to stay behind."

"Well, the track did shift..." March recalled, tapping her chin. "It's never done that, according to Pom-Pom, so he's staying onboard to analyze and categorize the data we get from here!"

"Sounds about right." Cassiopeia nodded in agreement. At that moment, the guard came back out.

"Lord Hien has granted your audience, Warrior of Light. Please, come inside."

"Of course." Melanie turned to the guard and bowed, gesturing for March and Cassiopeia to come with her. The three of them were guided by the guard to the meeting chambers, where Hien was sitting. There was a tray with a teapot and some cups, all filled with Doma's famous tea.

"Melanie, it's good to hear from you again." Hien said with a smile. "I've heard you've come for an audience. That's quite rare. Is there any reason why?"

Melanie walked over to one of the cushions, sitting down on it and taking a cup of tea. Taking a sip, she looked into the liquid that rested in the cup. "My friends here-- March and Cassiopeia, they're looking for an item called the Stellaron. According to what we gathered, it ended up here on Hydaelyn, which is why we're here."

"Friends?" Hien looked to March and Cassiopeia before smiling at them. "Friends of Melanie are welcome here in Doma. Please, have a seat."

"Um-- sure!" March hurried to sit on one of the cushions while Cassiopeia plopped herself on one and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"The Stellaron is dangerous to this place." Cassiopeia said. "It could change something. It hasn't been here long, probably about a few days, but we need to get it off the planet before it does irreparable damage."

Hien nodded, a serious look on his face. "So you assume it'd be here in Doma?"

"The only other place is Limsa, and it'd be stolen without a doubt. Whoever took it clearly knows what they're doing, because they took it before the Forum could determine what it was." Melanie stated. "They'd come to Othard, for sure. And I was going to request your assistance in this."

"Whatever you need, my friend." Hien took his tea from the tray, taking a sip. "I have been hearing that a man has taken residence in the Swallow's Compass. Perhaps that's the person you're looking for."

"....I haate that place." Melanie groaned. "Guess we have to go back. Come on, you two."

The three drained their teacups, thanked Hien and headed out. Melanie took them to the ferryman, who took them across to the One River. It was only about a mile away from the dock at One River to get to the dungeon area. At the door, the three of them saw a familiar face.

"Kafka?!" Cassiopeia brought out her bat while March got her bow ready. "What are you doing here?!"

"The same as you." Kafka turned to face the three of them. "I'm here for the Stellaron."

"I'm surprised you found your way here." Melanie said, having not immediately gone on the offensive. "I know you Hunters and us of the Express are usually at odds, but could we work together this once? It's going to be difficult getting through there."

Especially if the Stellaron buffed the monsters in there. Which meant that they'd have to fight really hard to defeat them.

"Melanie, she's-" March started, but was cut off.

"I know this world better than you do." Melanie retorted, looking back at March for a moment. "I know what lies inside. We need more than just the three of us, so I'm calling a truce with the Stellaron Hunters here. The Stellaron may have also augmented the man, as we've seen happen with Cocolia. We need to get through this place first. I'm not feeling up to summoning Mr. Yang or Himeko off the ship, either."

"You know this world?" Kafka asked, starting to walk down the steps. "Did you originally reside here?"

"For quite a few years. Seven, in fact." Melanie stated, folding her arms against her chest. "I'm not an original resident of this world, but I am the Warrior of Light. I'd rather not waste our time fighting you when we could work together."

Kafka seemed to contemplate it while both Cassiopeia and March were on guard still. But then...

"Alright. We'll call a truce here." Internally, Kafka knew her reason for being here. A Stellaron falling on this world hadn't been on the original script Elio had written out, so he'd sent her to investigate the world itself and the Stellaron had lead her here. There was no reason to fight the Astral Express when they both needed information.

"Glad you could join us, Kafka." Melanie said. Both March and Cassiopeia put their weapons away before walking up to the two.

"Uhh.. Guess it's nice to work with you?" March was confused.

"Nice to work with you." Cassiopeia said, her tune already changed. "But just so you know, we'll be watching you."

"Of course." Kafka said. Melanie smiled before walking around Kafka to head up the stairs.

The four of them soon stood at the doors to the Swallow's Compass. With a deep breath, Melanie pushed the doors open and they all walked inside.

It was time to see what the Stellaron had done to the Swallow's Compass.

[ofauris-archived]

Most of the time, Elekleid was nice and dropped her off in a place where she could de-gear and figure out where she was. This was one of those times, where she ended up in a dead-end alleyway devoid of people. Deactivating Elekleid, she headed out into the daily commute of people. It wasn’t often that she was able to do this without worry, but today...

Today was a little different. Taking a turn, she noted someone else that seemed... lost? confused? She couldn’t really tell, their back was turned to her. So, instead of following the crowd of people, she took off over to the person whose back was turned and gently tapped their shoulder.

“Excuse me, but are you okay? Do you need any help?”

@tetsuwan-atom​ liked for a starter with Melanie

[ofauris-archived]

Other worlds were different, especially as a “defender of justice”. This was due to both avenues of fighting monsters, Gungnir and Elekleid, were useless against these types. She’d come across a strange creature who called himself Ringo in one of the worlds and had attached to her. Because of this creature, and the items he’d given her, she’d become Cure Ember and was successfully able to defeat any enemies that these worlds had.

To the point she wondered if she was overpowered as Cure Ember.

Regardless, having come to Pikarigaoka after going home for a month-long visit, Melanie did her best to blend in well. Assuming her alias of Kazanari Shoko once again, she assimilated into the crowd and did as much as she could without drawing too much attention to herself.

However, one day--- things were different.

Having decided to take the quieter route home, Melanie had been accosted by a random enemy. Ringo had warned her too late, and she had gotten knocked away by it and into a wall. For normal people, that would actually hurt... But she wasn’t a normal person.

Transforming into Cure Ember, she still had difficulty defeating it. Was this one much tougher than the other enemies or was she in a world that didn’t allow monsters to be taken out by Pretty Cure?

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone. A civilian, it looked like. “Get out of here, quickly! It’ll hurt you!”

@rosecoloredmuses​ || starter call for Cure Ember

[ofauris-archived]

“Remember, kiddos. Revealing a ton of information about yourself online is asking for trouble~”

[ofauris-archived]

@elluellegend​:

"It's a pretty sight to see snow fall from the sky, especially when you're indoors where the home is warm and where the cold won't come in~"

“I’ve been outside when it snows, it’s really nice to just watch the snowflakes fall and kind of just lay in the snow itself while watching.” She may or may not have done that a couple times. “My guardian at the time, Genjuro, used to wonder what my fascination was with snow. I don’t really see it a lot so I love being outside when snow falls.”

[ofauris-archived]

“....Someone told me to remember that they had once lived.

              I still regret my actions to this day.”

[ofauris-archived]

“...So he got himself killed because of.... pancakes?” She’s confused, but... there’s nothing she could do about it.

[ofauris-archived]

As her luck would have it, the area she ended up in wasn’t familiar at all. A place that reminded her of the dead world she’d gone to. But it’d just been a desert, nothing too special. Melanie shrugged off her jacket, shoving it into her bag. It would be too hot for it and, as such, a detriment to her getting through this area.

But she did, eventually. It had taken her a few days to get out of the desert and into a less-sweltering environment. By the time she met anyone while looking for civilization, it’d been a week since she first had set out.

It’d taken little for her to approach and give a gentle tap on the shoulder to the other person to potentially get their attention.

“Sorry to bother you, can you help me find the closest town or city? I just want to find a proper place to sleep tonight.”

@petalsechoes​ [ Ciel ] || Starter call for Melanie

[ofauris-archived]

“Ahaha, I like snow. It’s so pretty.”