Healers of Mind and Body

The night of the festival was supposed to be a happy time, where it brought people together for laughs, good food, good memories, reflecting on the past, you name it. It was bustling, filled with life, stalls as far as the eye can see. Well, for normal people, anyway.

June was here on a mission. She trusted Soma's sources, but she felt that anything she could do would help more. And Soma had dropped a name a while ago that she'd had on her mind for a while now: IDOL. From how he described it, it was some sort of information network filled with some crazy powerful people. And he had met one of them a while back with that Reisen girl, namely a moon rabbit by the name of Luna. And they were apparently hard to get a hold of.

It took a lot of tracking down and hearsay to find even a small tidbit of information about this "Luna," namely that she was performing at the festival on this date. Apparently she plays a mean flute, if the bar patrons were anything to go by.

That was enough of a reason for her to brave the crowds and make something of the night. Donning her familiar cloak that covered 90% of her body, enough that no random person would get freaked out by her appearance, she made her way through the festival, looking for wherever the performance would be starting. She had brought a copy of the picture she had drawn earlier, of the woman that she had been looking for. It seemed as though she had arrived a little early for the performance, however, and took a seat in front of the stage, willing to be patient for however long she needed to. She had been patient for years now; what's a few extra minutes?

Being a courier of music wasn't usually a common request as a contract but the patrons did provide a nice wealth of cultural information of the region in exchange and she is happy to perform in the festival for them. Beside, it wasn't often that she was able to bear her talent her music rather than her other skills. While she makes sure her flute was ready and in good shape, the introduction was taking place

"And today, we have a special guest. A skill flute player from the distance southern edge of the continent who has been whispered by many already. Give a hand to Luna Maladine." And with that, Luna steps into the stage. Today she wears a blue jacket with a fairly decorative star design and a white button blouse with darker navy blue skirt with a white outline and black flat shoes. She gives a formal bow before holds up her flute to play.

The flute design seems fairly different from normal flutes as it seems to be two-piece rather than one and different series of notes seems to be played depending on the position of both pieces to each other. Though it would make it harder to play than normal flute, it is capable of producing multiple notes and Luna definitely knows how to play as she plays as she plays the introduction of the music that definitely seems to origin from the eastern continent. Then a small moon seems to appear above her head and plays harmony music with to her melody, interweaving background accompaniment with the peaceful melody she herself is personally playing. Immediately there is silence as Luna's music leaves everyone listening intently.

The lights around the stage started to dim. Guess it was time to get things started. And she got her first look at this Luna. She had a grace to her as she walked on stage. A poise, almost. Confidence, perhaps? Or simply an incredible state of calm. June was never one for showing up on stage, she couldn't begin to imagine the stress, but she seemed perfectly in control of herself.

She also noticed that the flute she had with her was definitely not normal. 2 Ends? Anyone who knew anything about music would know that playing such an instrument with any degree of talent would take an incredible amount of skill.

And skill she had in spades. The notes flowed together in a calming wave that almost felt tangible. It was as if all of the negative thoughts in her mind all washed away with the tide. It felt...amazing. And then she heard an accompanying note to go with her own playing.

Hold on, she's playing on her own. What's going on her-

Her own thoughts were cut off by the appearance of what could only be described as a small moon, that was also playing music that meshed with her own incredibly well, essentially making her own band. She wasn't sure if it was visible to the other watchers, but it was definitely some kind of magic. That only made her more impressive, however.

This girl was not only playing a two-piece flute with perfect control, but also generating an accompanying tune with pure magic at the exact same time. This IDOL group really was the real deal. Just the thought of doing something like that is mind blowing.

For now though, she decided to just enjoy this moment of peace, feeling that sensation wash over her again. She would have her moment to speak with the moon rabbit after the performance. Just for this moment, it felt nice to not have any troubles or worries on her mind. Just this ethereal peace.

Luna's performance lasted a good deal, and even though there are some repetition it the melody, the different volume, pitch paints each one in a different light that even if the notes are the same series, the music itself is still a different experience.  

Then there is the crescendo and the tone shift with a variation of the main melody.  The once quiet song now given a burst of energy, the sun rising from the horizon.  The audience makes audible reaction and gasp followed along with some early applause before they stops.   Even then, it does not deafen Luna's music at the very least.  

Then there is a definite gradual softening of the music along with each instrumental sound from the moon stopping, just gradually that the transition is smooth.  Until, it fades leaving Luna finishing the the last notes slowly to end the music, like the sun slowly fades into the horizon to the west.

Right immediately, there was a large applaud as everyone started sending from their seat.  The reaction is definitely positive and Luna makes a bow to her audience with a warm smith that matches her music before she exits the stage.

As her song increased in tempo and tone, she could feel the sudden burst of energy, both in the music and in magical energy being exuded from her. The visual sun also joined in with the song, also playing music. The crowd cheering reassured her that this was very visible, even to those without any magic training.

Her magical ability dwarfs my own by an incredible margin. Such a feat would seem impossible from my perspective, and yet here I am, witnessing this incredible display. Soma was right when she said she was incredibly powerful. And she's only one of a larger group! If anyone can help me, it has to be this IDOL group.

She was positively enraptured by the display and performance, the notes almost telling a small story as they bended and weaved around her. It was intoxicating, almost hypnotic. June could have listened to this for hours without a care in the world, her mind in a state of bliss as it could barely form enough to be her usual analytical self.

She couldn't help but applaud when it slowly came to a close, nearly forgetting the main reason she was here in the first place in her awe.

Wait, no, I need to talk with her!

She sprung from her seat, her cloak nearly coming off of her as she briskly walked to the exit of the stage, hoping to catch a glimpse of this mysterious white rabbit. She was just in time as she had just stepped off the stage from the back.

Now, how should I approach this? She doesn't know me, and if I did this wrong she might just think I was a crazy fangirl of her performance. Which...might be true, but I need to get my point across.

Luna was shaking hands with the stage manager and owner as the latter hands her a scroll of a sort in which she slips in a form shaping pouch on her belt before bowing once more to them. Judging from their expression afterward, they are also fawning hard for Luna's music, and they are the one that invited her to play.

As Luna traverses towards the exit, her keen sight caught sight of someone that seems to be waiting and judging from who she is looking at, it seems that she is waiting for herself. Perhaps an admirer of her music? With a slow even pace, she makes her way to June, smiling as she is near. "May I help you?"

oh gosh she approached me before I could come up with a plan, just act casual

"Oh, hi! I was listening to your music in the crowd, your talent is incredible!" she said as she held her hand as a greeting. Hopefully she wouldn't be too put off by how it looked.

"But...that's not really why I'm here. If it's alright with you, do you think we could find some place a bit more private to talk?"

I can imagine this whole IDOL thing isn't exactly common knowledge. Maybe not the best to speak of it in public.

Luna moves to shake her hand, hoping that is what June is expecting as a greetings. Although, her ears raises up slightly as June expresses a need to speak in private. She wasn't entirely sure why the need for it unless it is sensitive information.

"I have not been within this region for too long so there are few places that I know of that would fit the criteria, unless we move to my room within a nearby inn that I am staying in for now. Would that suffice?" As she speaks, her eyes constantly observe the other individual, while still maintaining the relaxed and friendly demeanor along with the smile that had never faded.

She could feel the rabbit probing her in extremely subtle ways. All with the same pleasant look on her face. She was definitely a professional. She didn't blame her for being cautious, though. A complete stranger, wrapped in near full cloak, asking to speak in private? She couldn't be more suspicious if she tried, but there wasn't a lot she could do about it.

"Wherever you think would be best, really. I can assure you, it's strictly business. I figured you wouldn't want to talk about..." she gave a few looks around to see if anyone was eavesdropping, and then leaned forward and whispered "...IDOL work..." before moving back to her original place "...in public. I wasn't quite sure how it worked so for all I know it could not matter, but I wanted to be sure, was all."

How curious, she is sought out for her affiliation, and from what she can tell of what she speaks, it seems that she was referred to, judging from the fact that she wasn't to familiar with IDOL. It wasn't an issue as the rabbit operative could clarify things a bit more when they speak. She also wasn't able to detect signs ill-will either so she is willing to hear her out.

"We can discuss more once when we are reach to my room. From there, I can help you with what is it that you need. Please follow me" She allows the cloaked one to be ready before she leads her towards the inn. "Would you like some tea once we reach there?"

Oh, thank god. Progress.

Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure how cautious she would be about the whole thing, but thankfully things worked themselves out.

"That sounds lovely, actually, if you were offering, thank you."

Following behind her as she led them both to the inn, just observing the woman was a fascinating experience. There was this otherworldly charm to her, but if she was truly a moon rabbit like people said, then it definitely makes sense. That grace she had during the performance never seemed to leave her, almost as if it was simply a part of her.

The inn Luna was speaking about is only about 5 minutes away foot-speed wise and didn't take long even with Luna's smaller stride. Many seem to greet Luna on the way towards the inn and as they enter. It seems that she is a bit of a celebrity after that performance and some are clearly fawning over her. Luna gives the greetings a polite and warm smile before continues. It took a bit more than 7 minutes before they reach to Luna's room where she takes out a key to unlock her room before gesturing June to enter first.

The room itself seems modest with a single person bed, a bathroom, and a circular table with 4 surrounding chairs and several items of multiple purposes though some of which is for tea making. At the far wall is a reading table with two books labeled: the Link of Dreams and the Subconscious, and Music Therapy. Next to the bed is rather large bag full of documents including some music sheets.

"Please make yourself at home. I apologize for the sparse accommodation. I was not expecting company when I have arrived." Luna apologizes sincerely as she starts pouring hot water from the pitcher into the teacup before placing the bag of tea at the top before lowering the filter down into the hot water inside.

"No, no, this is fine. Sorry to have asked you of something you weren't expecting."

She apologized, but at the same time, she didn't see anything particularly wrong with the room. A little small, sure, but it was well kept and organized. Maybe she had something of a complex when it came to things like this.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your clearly busy schedule for someone like me. I can imagine that things like this aren't common for you. Truth be told, it took quite an effort to track you down, even after Soma described you."

Well, might as well bare it all for this one. No point in holding anything back now.

June started to slowly remove the cloak over her body, letting Luna see the real June that she kept hidden from the random passerby's.

Luna allows the tea to steep for a moment before turning towards June. It was then that her eyes caught sight of June's more unusual features within June's body but only looks for a split second before moving back to June's eyes as it would be impolite to be staring at oddities. More importantly, she hears a name that she recognizes.

"Ah so you know Soma. Then he refers you to me in regards to something he believes that I am able to help you with, Miss?" Overall, there seems to be almost no deviation of Luna's general manners and behavior that she has been showing regardless of June revealing herself though she does relaxes a bit more once Soma is mentioned as a referral.

"Oh gosh, I haven't even introduced myself yet. Where are my manners today? I'm June, it's nice to meet you, Luna."

"And you'd be right, Soma namedropped your group a while back. He's been...really helpful as of late with my own problems. He believed that not just you, but IDOL as a whole, could help me."

"I hit...something of a brick wall on my own with my own personal agendas. He believed that the massive information network that is essentially IDOL could help, or at the very least it wouldn't hurt to try."

"I'll cut right to the chase: I need your help in finding two people, those being...my daughter, and the person that took her from me."

"Please to meet you, June." She bows formally to June before she listens.

Luna listened closely as she watches June's eyes with her own. Her daughter and the one that took her away. It seems akin to a rescue contract mission to her. Luna is certain that IDOL would at least be able to further her goals to find her daughter. In a sense, she is flattered that June finds her worth seeking out for help.

"We can be able to help you with finding them both. Of course if you do have information before hand, it would help us with the search effort. Pictures, last whereabouts, anything. I take it there are some sensitive information that you require me to meet you in private as well?" Luna remove the tea filter and set it aside before pouring some of the fairly hot but soothing tea into two cups: for June and for herself.

"What I have is...unfortunately lacking. It's why I came to you in the first place, actually. The circumstances surrounding it are not what you would call normal. All I have left of her is a nearly decade old blanket and..." she reaches into her cloak to pull out a sketch. Facial features can be made out, along with the scant lines of a facial mark, perhaps a tattoo. It had taken June and Airi about 3 days worth to match everything they felt like they could about this sketch, from the colors to the precise shape of the face underneath the covering cloak."...this. I believe this is...the person that took her. It took a lot of magic just to get this, more than I was physically capable of on my own, and I feel like everything else led to just another dead end."

She thanks Luna for the tea and takes a sip, perhaps as a method of calming herself. Simply discussing the matter at hand had a habit of leaving her flustered. The cup rattled a little in her grasp. "I-I'm sorry. I guess it's a sensitive topic of mine. Whenever I think about it, I...I guess all of these emotions come flying in all at once. It's been so long since it happened, and yet, I can't seem to calm myself whenever it comes up."

"The full story is...long. I'd have to be very detailed for it to make any sense at all, really. Would that be...acceptable to you?"

"I understand. Something pertain to family is quite understandably something close to most anyone's heart." She replies with an assuring nod and a solemn look. "And yes, the story would help us. Perhaps find a vantage point in which we can start if the blanket itself does not." Luna is already formulating a plan within her mind on how to proceed with this operations on an active term rather than a passive term. "Though please take your time if needs be."

It was then that Luna takes a moment to observe the photo for a moment, commiting it to memory before she tries to replicate it from her mind to an illusion as she weaves a brief moment of her illusion, the moon fading into appearance before it creates a small beam in the air which slowly forms into the same photo that June had created before it faded, then the moon itself fades as well.

June took a moment to calm herself, knowing what comes next. A deep breath, a small sip of the tea (which was very well made), and a moment so that the cup wasn't rattling in her hands during the process.

"Thank you. It's not an easy topic to talk about. The blanket is over a decade old now, so I wasn't sure of how helpful it'd be. I've tried magic on it myself to see if it went anywhere, with no luck. I always figured it was too late to try that route, but I brought it regardless."

Did...did she just recreate matter using magic? I feel...dwarfed by this woman. She's been breaking all of my previous conceptions of magic in one night.

"Alright, I suppose I should start from the very beginning. I should warn you, that...that I've never told this story without ending in a sobbing mess. Lord knows I've tried. I guess I'm...weak, that way, to still be feeling this way after so much time. But, here goes..."

So she started from the very beginning. She spoke of small, little town surrounded by mountains, living peacefully with the Tengu. Of that idiot showing up for the first time, seeking to find his purpose through here. How she came to love that idiot, despite it all. Of their eventual marriage, and, of Ryuna, and the short time where she saw herself as a mother.

Of the accident that cost her Mora. Even after she had her last words with him, she couldn't shake off the feelings that came with it as they replayed in her mind. And then...of the second incident. It was here where the tears started to come, but she continued through it. Recalling all that everyone had done to try and find them was...too painful for her to keep a straight face anymore.

She spoke of what came after, meeting the strange old woman who introduced her to necromancy. And gave her a new body to do it. How she left that small little village to seek things outside of this small space.

She shifted to more recent events. Meeting Airi, and eventually Soma, who helped her accomplish one of her goals, that being one last talk with Mora.

"...a-and that led me, here. T-to you."

Her tears were flowing strongly now, and she hadn't even noticed them while she was telling her story. When she had finished and her mind had returned to reality, she felt them streaming down her face, some of it getting into the tea that Luna had made for her.

"O-oh, I'm sorry...I guess...I wasn't going to e-escape that this time, e-either, huh?" She tried to give a smile through it, even if it looked fake.

"It is understandable.  The wounds, they still hurt.  Though I am glad you have found some closure in regards to Mora.  That said, I hope we can be able to mend your heart further by finding Ryuna."  Her voice assures her soothingly.  It was then that her expression makes a turn towards the serious.  "But I fear this may be only the beginning, June.  I do not wish to break bad news so early but, you may be in danger."

"I pray that I am incorrect in this assessment and perhaps you know of it but it seems that you and Mora may have been targeted from the very start.  The incident with the boulder slide can be discounted as a natural occurrence but it seems that Ryuna was protected by the instigator while the rocks were aimed towards you both.  Of course there is a good chance this is an extraordinary chance that had happen."  

"However, relatively shortly after that, Ryuna is kidnapped.  The very nature of the incident and the timing for this to happened is extremely precise.  You were not gone for more than a moment before virtually everything is gone within the room.  The moment you turned your back away, they came and left, they were watching you."

"To reinforce this, when you return back to your home, they came and left to that same location knowing that you were treading there, to send you a threat and warning."  Luna takes a moment to gaze upwards a bit.  "And until you the moment you were discrete about business with me, they were watching you.  I daresay that should you continued without someone to protect you, they may not have hesitate to finish the job."

Someone was watching me? At the festival? I couldn't feel anything relating to malevolent intent at the time, and Souls usually can't hide that sort of thing...

"Are...are you sure?"

June's paranoia flared to life at her suggestion. If anyone else had told her all of this, she would be hesitant. But at the same time, Luna had just displayed a level of magic that didn't seem physically possible before tonight. It completely dwarfed hers on a massive scale. and if anyone could have noticed something she missed, then it likely would have been someone like her. Not to mention, whoever did this had enough control of their own soul that they could leave a note with the residue of theirs. Hiding its presence feels...possible.

"But...why? Back then, I was just a simple doctor, and Mora was just a swordsman. It can't be a magical thing, since none of us had that kind of potential to pass on to her. Hell, I had to have my own body modified just to start learning necromancy. We were a simple folk then, nothing special to be had from any of us."

"Why go through all of this...just for my daughter? For us?"

Her mind was swimming with thoughts and confusion, searching for anything that could have been a link, a reason, an answer, anything. And...nothing. No possible reason, for all of this. No possible reason to even leave a note. Her head was ringing as it overworked itself looking for any semblance of sense to be had here.

For a moment Luna closes her eyes. Nothing seems to happen for a good 5 seconds, then she opens her eyes, looking a bit concerned. "Someone has been attempting to scry us for a while, I think I felt the feeling as soon as we entered the inn. That said I created an illusory information that to make it seems that you are doing something you are not, and my own presence is unnoticed. As for anyone that within my vicinity, I would need a bit more time."

"As for motives, it is a bit hard to phantom though I think i manage to rule out some that may be possible. Revenge is not likely since they prioritized Ryuna rather than to kill you. As for why your daughter, that is the tricky one but there is a possibility that both of you have recessive genes for something that they knew and nothing really manifest because the dominant gene made it seems as if you both are normal. I won't say that it is the answer and I am still figuring out a motive. I apologize that I am not of help of us in that field."

Luna thinks for a moment. "However, it may actually be possible to try to narrow down the area in which they may be by deduction of the description of the individual you have described as well as the spell that they have cast. With this though, I have someone that is better at this field that I am. With your permission, I can have her arrive here within a reasonable amount of time." Spatial and teleportation spells are not her field of expertise, mostly illusions, subconsciousness, and dreams.

There is so much information being processed back and forth here that it's hard for June to keep up.

Someone's trying to listen in to us right now? Recessive genes?

Her head was spinning with all of this. Along with still trying to nail down who would even want to do something like this. Who would want to destroy them like this, but specifically take Ryuna for themselves. And then...something clicked into her head. Something that, from every angle, didn't make sense, but every other option made even less.

That hair color...it couldn't be...but why would they want Ryuna? They never approved of Mora abandoning the family morals, but at the same time...all of this?

"I...I have an idea. All of this has put a lot into perspective for me. It's let me think about...every angle. And...I have an idea of someone who would want to do these things to us. It doesn't explain Ryuna but..." the words caught in her throat a little as the thought rose in her head.

"...Mora's family is...a possibility in this. I...I don't know why, but it's...difficult to imagine anyone else. They had a motive for being upset with him and his decision, and I can't get that image of the person I saw in that image out of my head. Tracking them down would be near impossible as well."

"I think that...whoever you were thinking of might still be helpful in this scenario. Anything you feel like you can do in this scenario, I'll gladly accept."

Luna ponders the hypothesis that June had raised.  While she understands a bit of her direction and how she came to guess it, Luna wasn't as certain that is the case.  "That is one possibility but one that is not something I would see likely.  The ones that have your daughter has shown great amount of magic in both teleportation and divination.  Unless I was missed something, Mora's family line were skilled swordsman but I did not hear of anything pertaining to magic.  It is not to say that they don't have magic but a very skill mage would have been mentioned within the family."

It was then that  she draw an illusion of a blue pedigree in the air with her fingers before she draws a red arrow pointing towards the pedigree.  "As the family are swordsman, they must have their fair share of combat which raises the possibility that they may have an enemy or so, even an recurring one that has clashed with his families perhaps for generations.  Alternatively, it may be someone that covet their lineage.  The two possible motives may not be mutually exclusive either."

Luna then draws a green pedigree and red arrows pointing towards it.  "A smaller possibility would be on your side that may have something against you for the same reason but this is not likely as you were not as renown and you didn't mention someone that may have a standing grudge against you."

It then that the illustrations dissipate.  "That is my best deduction so far but keep in mind that it is not a guarantee that they may be the right ones and even a possibility that we are both wrong but that would be a good starting point.  That..."  She pulls out a device that looks like a tablet before her finger presses and traces over the the screen's interface few a good 30 seconds before she puts it away.  "...and my superior may be able to narrow down the search even further as she is a very skill spellcaster and can help discern the magic that was used."

It's true that Mora's family weren't magically inclined, at least to the level that would be required for something of this caliber. A part of her felt bad that she had suspected them and jumped to that conclusion.

An enemy of the family, huh? It's true that Mora's lineage went back a great deal, and having some recurring threat specifically out for their bloodline isn't out of the question. And someone that covets their lineage? Like a rival family? They'd have to be some truly heinous people to do all of this.

"Mora usually tried not to talk about his family much. I always got the feeling they pushed a lot of responsibility and prestige onto him, and I think part of him hated that. He did what he did for their sake but living with us...distanced him from all of that. I may have to pay them a visit myself later."

"Someone that would be against me personally though...that's harder to imagine. At the time, I was just a doctor. And been that way for years before I ever met Mora. I struggle to think of anyone that would want me to suffer like this, at least to my own knowledge."

Her own mind was racing through these new thoughts to try and piece things together, like trying assemble a jigsaw puzzle without all of the pieces, just to get a picture in her head. Until one statement cut through the fog her mind was currently in?

...discern the type of magic used? It took all I had and then some just to get a single image from what was left there. To be able to single out the type of magic entirely on their own...The level of magic required would be astronomical. Far beyond anything she was capable of.

"You have someone that could...do that?" In truth, she was a little stunned that this was even a possibility.