Crystal Legacy - Generation 5 (Part 14)

 

Abandoned by her mother at an early age, Citrine has always been loved by her family and she loves them all the more in return. But even that love can't fill the hole inside of her, and chasing after her past only leads to more heartbreak.

Citrine; D’you ever miss the idea?

Moonstone: oh, sometimes. I miss playing ball–it was such a part of my life back then, and I still get the itch sometimes, but…well, life changes on you sometimes, too.

Citrine: Doesn’t it ever. 

Moonstone: But music’s been a joy in my life, too. Being able to work with my mothers on those books gave me purpose again, and the family lullaby…

Citrine: Wait–you wrote that?!

Moonstone: *laugh* Your Gramron did, actually. While I was pregnant with your Mom and Dad. It was the only thing that would stop your Mom from kicking all night, too!

Citrine: *laugh* Okay, you know when you say it like that…

Moonstone: *laugh* I know!  *sigh* Honestly, Citrine…sometimes I do wonder what it would have been like to live with my sight, but…I’m content with how things have turned out, too.

Citrine: Really. You’re content with never seeing your children’s faces, or your grandchildren?

Moonstone: Well, not with that, no, but…I know I’ll see them, when it’s time. 

Citrine: How…oh, you mean…

Moonstone: Mhm. 

Citrine: …and you’re…looking forward to that?

Moonstone: I am. Not that I’m in any hurry to speed it up, mind you! Just…considering it a treat at the end of a life I think I’ve lived well.

Citrine: …you have, haven’t you.

Moonstone: I like to think so. I’ve had purpose, a wonderful wife, two wonderful children, two wonderful grandchildren…there’s so many people who don’t have that at all, baby. Having what I’ve had…*deep inhale, deep exhale* If I can leave you all with knowing I was happy, I can leave peacefully.

Citrine: Gram…

Moonstone: I know you all want me to stay, baby.

Citrine: Well, yes, but. *clear throat* You’d really be okay going? Really? No regrets?

Moonstone: No regrets that you can fix, honey.

Moonstone: Please, don’t beat yourself up or feel bad. ‘I’ve really had a good life! 

Citrine: ….I’m really…really going to miss you, you know?

Moonstone: Oh, honey. I’ll always be with you.

Citrine: Yeah, but we won’t be able to talk like this, or hug, or…anything. It’s not the same.

Moonstone: No, but someday we’ll be able to do that all again, and it’ll be worth the wait. 

Citrine: …how can you be so sure of that? What if there’s nothing after this? Nothing to–just…nothing?

Moonstone: Because I’ve seen your Gramma Opal after she died, that’s how. Citrine, there’s a whole other place after this. I don’t claim to know how it works, or what sort of…life that’d be, but we’ll be together in it some day.

Citrine: …and you’ll see Mom.

Moonstone: I’ll see your mother. So, yes. I’m sure.

Moonstone: I’ve lived a wonderful life, baby. And if this is how it ends…I’m content with the life I’ve had. That’s all any of us can ask for.

The next day…

Fern: First rule: Always watch your opponent’s eyes. They’ll give things away before their fists or feet.

Eternal Glow: Eyes on me!

Fern: Exactly!  Thumbs on the outside, elbows loose, knees bent but not locked–good, good! Eyes up, posture limber!

Moonflower: So all those martial arts movies–

Fern: Forget them! Stage combat’s a whole other thing to real combat. Apples and oranges.

Fern: They don’t want to hurt their actors. A real fight’s aiming to hurt, so you make it fast. Better not to be there at all, but if you have to be…

Citrine: Hit them quick, get out fast.

Fern: Exactly.

Fern: Eyes on the face and don’t over-reach. If you see an opening, take it, but don’t go too hard! You want to save energy, not spend it and exhaust yourself!

Eternal Glow: So don’t put it all behind one hit?

Fern: Never put it all behind one hit!

Fern: And don’t grapple! Grappling’s one of the worst things you can do!  Especially you two!

Lucky Penny: Wha–why not?!

Fern: You’re too small!

Fern: No height or weight advantage! Aim for the nose, make their eyes water, and run!

Citrine: Ack! Ow ow ow–

Fern: See? You good?

Citrine: Oof…yeah, I’m good!

Fern: Good! Remember, SING!

Eternal Glow: Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin!

Peppermint: Oof!

Lucky Penny: Does that–shoot, sorry!

Moonflower: Ack!

Moonflower: Yep–eyes watering!

Fern: No grappling, Cit!

Citrine: Argh! Get back here!

Fern: Use your whole body! It’s a weapon, maybe the only one you’ve got! Use it! Knees are hard, they can do some damage!

Peppermint: no kidding!

Fern: And if you get your attacker on the ground, leave them there and run! Don’t “finish them”! Just go!

Moonflower: Won’t they just get up and chase?

Fern: Better than them turning the tables on you! Good, good! But don’t overbalance, either! High kicks are easy to snatch and twist! Always keep your balance low!

Eternal Glow: Groin level? Does that work in…well, women?

Fern: Oh, yes it does!

Fern: Nerves are nerves, EG! Make every hit count, even if it means fighting dirty!

Peppermint: Very dirty. Ow.

Peppermint: Okay, I’m out.

Moonflower: Me too. *sigh* I’m not built for this…

Citrine: ….ow.

Fern: You out?

Citrine: I am. So out.

Fern: We’ll get there. Okay, time to change tactic. Moonflower, come ‘ere a second.

Moonflower: ugh…okay, fine.

Fern: Can you breathe okay?

Moonflower; Uh-huh. This for if you get grabbed from behind?

Fern: Yep. If you get grabbed like this, don’t try and fight your way forward. You probably won’t be able to.

Eternal Glow: Oh, Watcher…

Lucky Penny: But if you can’t go forward what’re you suppoed to do?

Fern: Ideally, break their thumb and book it, but if you can’t do that…

Fern: You need to use their body against them. If they’re behind you and you’ve got your feet on the ground, stomp on their instep. If you’re up in the air, kick at their shins. That really hurts!

Fern: Another thing you can do is elbow them in the gut–oof!

Moonflower: Like that?!

Fern: Yep!

Fern: The idea–is to get them to loosen their grip. Elbows to the gut–definitely do that!

Peppermint: Don’t break her, Moony.

Moonflower: No promises!

Fern: Once you’ve gotten loose, use your elbow on their face–just like that! …thank you for stopping.

Moonflower: Hey, you’re our teacher, not our enemy.

Fern: Once you’ve gotten free, sock ‘em in the nose and then run away screaming. You’re not an easy target then, which is what they don’t want. Should be enough to get free. 

Moonflower: Should?

Fern: Should. ..okay, let’s take ten. 

Moonflower: Is this what it’s like to fight vampires?

Fern: In theory? I only ever trained with the other Hunters, but…sure, I guess?

Citrine: How many more are there?

Fern: Oof, not many.

Fern: There’s us, the four Guardians in training–the ones who’ll eventually sit Council with Master Chronos, our leader–and…two or three other families per Guardian. We’re a…pretty small bunch.

Citrine: And it’s still kept secret? What happens if…if you get hurt, or worse? Who takes over?

Fern: Ah…well, the Guardians choose a new family from the outside world, I guess. Or…there’s the Elixir of Healing that Sage Lace makes, but that’s only for really bad cases.

Lucky Penny: Elixir of Healing?

Fern: Yep. It’s supposed to be this really powerful potion capable of healing any illness or injury. It’s hard to make, and the ingredients are rare. It has to be made specifically for the Hunter in need, too, so it’s not like we can stock up.

Moonflower: …wait, d’you–could you use it for anyone? Not just a Hunter?

Fern: sure, not sure why not. Why?

citrine: …because if it can heal any illness or injury…it could fix Gram’s heart.

Fern: *gasp*

Lucky Penny: Could it?

Fern: It could! Probably. I think. But getting it made, I mean…we’d have to go the Council and petition them and…well, to do that, they’d have to know I told you everything…

Citrine: Which would be bad.

Fern: I could be disowned.

Peppermint: Gram wouldn’t want that, either…

Eternal Glow: But what if we made it ourselves? Alchemy’s not that far off from chemistry!

Fern: Well, no, but the problem is I don’t know the recipe. I didn’t train with Sage Faba, didn’t study her books, so…

Citrine: But could we find out? Somehow?

Fern: I don’t see how…but there…might be another way.

Citrine: How?

Fern: There…is the Queen’s Well. It’s supposed to be able to heal anything and anyone, even resurrect the dead if you get them to it in time. My family’s been tasked with protecting it. I don’t know where it is, exactly, but…

Peppermint: Find it, take Gram to it. No need for a potion.

Fern: Exactly.

Citrine: ….we need to find it. Give her the choice.

Fern: I wouldn’t even know where to start looking, sunshine. I’m technically still in training…I won’t know where it is until Master Terra declares my training complete, and that could take years.

Citrine: I don’t care. We can find out, somehow. …please, Fern. Gram may still say no, but–

Lucky Penny: She deserves the choice.

Fern: Hey, I’m all for that. I’m just saying it won’t be easy. We’ll have to hunt it down on some really slim leads. We may not find it in time, but…if you want to look for it, I’m with you every step of the way.

Citrine: …thank you.

Fern: Of course. Anything for you.

Citrine: …so, where do we start?

Fern: Well, all I know for sure is what it’s called. The Queen’s Well is an ancient tale from before the Prismatic Split.

Citrine: oh geez. That was so long ago!

Moonflower: That was almost before the Watcher. How’re we supposed to find something from that long ago?

Peppermint: I mean, there’s still some records from back then, but. Not many. Not about much.

Fern: Plenty of theories, though.

Citrine: It’s a start. It’s more than we had this morning. I don’t care how slim the lead is, I’m taking it!

Fern: We’re taking it. I’m with you all the way.

Ctirine: …thank you. Really, Fern, I…

Fern: Hey. Anything. I meant that.

Eternal Glow: ugh, more erotica…

Moonflower: Did you try the quote trick?

Eternal Glow: Yes!

Lucky Penny: Then you’re searching wrong!

Eternal Glow: Hey, no commentary from the peanut gallery! Ugh, this isn’t even my kind of stuff…

Moonflower: TMI, EG, TMI!

-

Peppermint: Okay, so Simgle’s got nothing. We can agree on that?

Fern: Yes. Yes we can.

Citrine: What about the occult forums?

Peppermint: You’re not going to find those on Simgle. We’d need the deep addresses, and I don’t think we’ll get those here…

Fern: Not with these privileges. 

Lucky Penny: EG, can’t you bypass that?

Eternal Glow: Not without getting caught! Nooooo thank you.

Citrine: So we need an unlocked system?

Eternal Glow: Yep!

Moonflower: And we’re not getting that here. We’d have to buy a whole new one, I think.

Lucky Penny: Who wants to pool allowances and internship pay?

Citrine: GUys, no, I can’t ask for that–

Peppermint: You’re not asking, we’re offering. And she’s my Gram too, ya know. We’ve gotta try.

Pyro: Try what, exactly?

Moonflower: Oh! Mr. Pyro, um.

Pyro: What’re you kids up to?

Moonflower: Um, well.

Moonflower: …okay, this is going to sound crazy, but we’re trying to find out if some really really really old stories are true.

Pyro: How old are we talking?

Moonflower: From before the Prismatic Shift.

Pyro: Whoooo boy, that’s old. Have you tried the academic journals?

Moonflower: What we can get without paying, yes. This is old and occult, so.

Pyro: So it’s niche and definitely behind the paywalls. Hm…well, if it’s occult and before the Prismatic Shift, you’re looking for ancient texts and transcriptions…hm…let me think.

Pyro: You might try the library in Forgotten Honeycomb?

Fern: Oh no.

Moonflower: Why there?

Pyro: It’s rumored to be the oldest library on Maxis which still exists. Supposedly the founder was around when the Sages were.

Moonflower: That old, huh? And if it doesn’t have anything?

Pyro: Well, the only other library I could recommend is the Library of Ages, but that’s a complete myth, far as I know.

Moonflower: So, Forgotten Honeycomb. Is it safe?

Pyro: Should be.

Pyro: What is it you’re looking for?

Moonflower: Oh, um. Just. Chasing stories. curiosity, you know?

Pyro: …uh-huh.

Moonflower: Could you. Not tell our parents? Please?

Pyro: Ah. Well, you’re all old enough to know when you’re in over your heads. Do you promise you’ll be careful?

Moonflower: We promise.

Fern: As careful as we can be, going to a place like that…

Pyro: Then yes. I won’t tell your parents. Just…be here for class, and we’ll all be fine.

Moonflower: Thanks, Mr. Pyro.

Fern: Forgotten Honeycoimb. Why did it have to be Forgotten Honeycomb.

Citrine: Oh, come on. We’ll be fine with you to protect us!

Peppermint: Would eating garlic help? Or wearing silver?

Fern: Garlic, and nope.

Fern: That’s just a stupid myth. Some vampires love garlic noodles.

Citrine: Heh…well, we’ll be careful and leave before dark. Would that help?

Fern: …yeeeeesss?

Moonflower: We’ll be fine! Probably.

Eternal Glow: Way to sound sure of yourself, Moony.

Moonflower: Hey, I can’t even put you guys on the ground. I know I’d be useless fighting vampires. 

Lucky Penny: I dunno…you could scream ‘em into submission.

Moonflower: Very funny!

Peppermint: It’s gotten kinda late to go, right? How long’s the train ride?

Eternal Glow: From here? We’d have to take the Mountain line, so…oof, about four or five hours.

Lucky Penny: Way too late now. We’d get there at dusk. No time to search.

Fern: We’ll go tomorrow. Just…let your folks know, okay? ….my parents are going to kill me if they find out what I’m doing.

Citrine: Well, thank you for your sacrifice. You’re the best.

Fern: I try.

*soft guitar music*

Citrine: Dad? 

Nova: Out here!

Citrine: …is he asleep?

Calcite: Mmph.

Nova: Trying to be.

Citrine: Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad.

Calcite: Mmph.

Nova: *laugh* Babe, wake up. Your daughter needs to talk to you.

Calcite: …before sunrise, she’s your daughter.

Citrine: *laugh* Daddy, it’s just before sunset.

Calcite: Mmph. Fine. I’m up.

Calcite: *yawn* What’s up, baby?

Citrine: I wanted to ask if it was okay to go to Forgotten Honeycomb tomorrow.

Calcite: Forgotten Honeycomb? What for?

Citrine: School project. We need to look some really old stuff up, and the library there’s supposed to have what we need.

Calcite: We. Is everyone going?

Citrine: If they can get permission, yeah.

Calcite: And it’s safe? It’s got a pretty dark reputation, you know.

Citrine: Fern swears it’s safe.

Calcite: …uhhuh. 

Citrine: Dad, we’re not little kids anymore.

Calcite: You’re always going to be our babies. 

Nova: Big babies, but still.

Citrine: Pop, come on. I’m almost seventeen!

Calcite: …if we say no, you won’t sneak out of the house and go anyway?

Citrine: Mm…..maaaaaybbe?

Calcite: *sigh* A girl after my own heart. Of course.

Calcite: ….*sigh* Okay. Okay. But I want that phone on, and you on the train back before sunset. You can be a little late coming home, but–

Citrine: On the train before dark. I promise.

Calcite: And texts! Every half hour, letting us know you’re okay and didn’t get…eaten or something.

Citrine: OKay okay! I promise that, too!

Calcite: Okay. Then yes, you and Pep can go…so long as the others can, too. And by the Grace, stay together over there!

Citrine: Oh, that will not be a problem! Like I’d wanna go to the spooky,always winter and never Winterfest hollow in the mountains by myself.

Calcite: I’m just saying. Oh, and dress warm.

Peppermint: As soon as I find my jacket! We’re going?

Calcite: You’re going.

Peppermint: Great! Come on–ack, Dad, do you know where my jacket is?!

Calcite: –!!

Nova: Check your drawers!

Peppermint: Thanks, Pop!

Peppermint: …did I just–

Citrine: You did.

-

Calcite: Did they just–

Nova: They did.

Calcite: …we’ve got some great kids, babe.

Nova: We absolutely do.

The next day…

Moonflower: Why is it so cold here….

Eternal Glow: Mountain air! 

Lucky Penny: Could do without that, thanks.

Peppermint: Are we sure it’s safe here? I feel like I’m being watched.

Citrine: Me too…

Fern: We probably are. Stay close, okay?

Moonflower: Noooooo problems here. I’m…guessing vampires don’t like Hunters much?

Fern: No they do not. But public property’s supposed to be neutral ground, so we should be okay. 

Lucky Penny: Should?

Fern: …if I tell you to run, run.

Citrine: Where do we even start…

Fern: Upstairs, I think–

Blue Moon: That depends entirely on what you’re looking for.

Blue Moon: Hopefully it isn’t trouble, little huntress.

Citrine: *gasp* Her eyes–

Fern: Easy, Cit. We don’t mean any trouble.

Fern: We’re just here to look at the books.

Peppermint: …oh, Watcher. She’s…she’s a vampire.

Blue Moon: You have nothing to fear from me. I only take blood from consenting adults. You are all still children. And, so long as you respect my books, there is nothing to fear at all.

Fern: So you’ll let us upstairs?

Blue Moon: Why not? Knowledge should be shared. Do no harm, and none shall be done to you.

Citrine: Thank you, ma’am. Fern, come on.

Blue Moon: Could I perhaps be of assistance? What is it you’re looking for?

Peppermint: Oh, uh–stuff about healing herbs, that kind of thing?

Blue Moon: Then you’ll want the section by the grandfather clock. Do heed his warnings, children. This is no place for your kind after dark.

Peppermint: Ah…noted.

Moonflower: *hissing wheeze* Was she–

Fern: Yep. Vampire. You’ll know them by the eyes, usually.

Lucky Penny: Oh. Great. 

Citrine: Look, let’s just. Get what we need and get out of here, fast. I’m getting a bad feeling.

Peppermint: You and me both.

Peppermint: Section by the grandfather clock…oh boy, that’s a lot of books.

Eternal Glow: Better get started. One shelf each?

Fern: One shelf each. Skim-read, no deep dives. *sigh* Watcher, be our eyes…this could take forever.

Peppermint: A potion crafted of eye of newt and wing of dragonfly can restore virility–okay, useful, but not what we need….

Fern: “I fear the Sylvan Wood lost forever…to think that Venom could side with the Darkness so readily, so easily–how could we have been so blind?” yikes…

Lucky Penny: Guys! Listen to this: The bark of the Spirit Willow can be used to heal the most grievous of wounds. It owes this almost magical property due to its roots being spread into the Queen’s Well!

Citrine: The well! So if we find the Willow we find the Well!

Citrine: Does it say where it is?

Penny: Hold on, let me see…Spirit Willow Bark, how to prepare…fifteen mashes under the light of a blood moon…ah, come on…ah, here it is. “On the banks of the Silver River, through the heart of the Ancient Grove”….oh, come on, where is that supposed to be?! Ugh…

Citrine: Forget it.

Citrine: Does it say where the Well is?

Lucky Penny: No…no, it just says the Well’s last known location was lost to time…

Fern: Lost to time….lost to time…

*clock chimes*

Fern: Lost to time! Oh, shoot, we’ve gotta go right now!