Eldaryan Short Stories

A Night to Remember - Music Day 2021 LanRina Special

A show was organized by the Guard for the Music Festival. Huang Chù, Karenn and Koori were going to sing in front of the whole HQ. They must be quite talented and confident to do such a thing. Rina was walking through the Long Hall when she noticed how quiet the building was. What is going on? She arrived in the Hall of Doors and met Adalric and Chrome.
"Silence sometimes says more than all the songs in the world," said Adalric.
"That's right, I guess... Does something seem to be a problem?" Rina asked, not knowing what had just happened.
"What a relief I found you too! We need your help," Chrome stepped closer, he seemed to be a bit out of breath. As if he had been running around the entire HQ.
"What's wrong?"
"Karenn, Koori and Huang Chù were attacked by a mermaid while they were rehearsing!"
"The stars predicted this incident since the new moon, but we ignored them," Adalric added.
"The girls were swooped down and their voices were stolen by the mermaid."
"That is tragic, especially right before the performance. It sounds too bad to be a joke..." Rina commented.
"Yes, the universe is never stingy with jokes as long as we know how to taste them..."
"I might have heard about something like this, but I can't quite put my hands on it... What kind of mermaid is this?"
"It's a winged mermaid, they are known for this type of attack."
"That explains it. What shall we do about it?"
"It has been already captured by Lance and Nevra," Chrome answered. Rina's face lit up hearing his name. Her cheeks reddened and felt like they were burning. It hasn't been long since they have come back from the mission to Genkaku where Lance turned out to reciprocate Rina's feelings and finally confessed. I waited seven years for that moment.
"However," Adalric interrupted Rina's train of thoughts, "this ungenerous creature scattered the voices around in a myriad of fragments..."
"Exactly. They are off in nature. Everyone is working to find them. Your help would be greatly appreciated, Rina."
"I'll do my best."

Rina decided to look around inside the building of the HQ. Now that she had heard what Lance was up to, she was relieved. Everyone was helping, it was only natural that he was working on the case too. She wouldn't dare to bother him at the moment, but she would have liked to see him. Maybe, he'd find her after he had finished the job.

When Rina realized that there were not any voice fragments inside, she headed outside. She went to the Cherry Tree. It brings back pleasant memories, like when I snuck out in the middle of the night to meet him, she reckoned. Lost in thought, she didn't notice someone approaching and embracing her from behind. Her cheeks immediately turned red and hot but the mysterious lips cooled them down for a moment with icy kisses.
"What are you doing?"
"Lance!" Rina tried to turn around but his grip seemed to be stronger than what she could resist. She relaxed her muscles because she couldn't fight him nor wanted to and answered his question. "I'm looking for the three girls' voice fragments. I've already taken a look inside but haven't found any."
"I see you've been working hard while I was away. Did you come here to take a break? You didn't look like you were looking for anything..." Lance sneered.
"I didn't come here to take a break. I just... decided to go down memory lane. Yes, that is what I was doing." Rina pouted.
"Come here then." Lance turned her around but was still holding her tight.
"But I'm already here," Rina murmured as they brushed their noses against each others'. Lance looked at her and she looked back at him. He lifted his eyebrows and brought her into a kiss immediately. Rina slid her hands from his chest to nape and embraced him by his neck. He tightened his grasp around her waist to feel her body as close to his as possible. When they finally let go, they exchanged loving glances.
"Go and rest. I'm guessing catching the mermaid wasn't an easy job..."
"I still have some work to do, but I promise you I'll make time to unwind. See you later."
"See ya," said Rina as Lance planted one last kiss on her cheeks before departing.

Rina spent her following days looking for the lost voices. She also got missions from Huang Hua and Lance since there is still work to do outside of the Musical Festivities. It was rather tiring to look for the fragments of voices and do everyday tasks day by day. It almost seemed like nothing changed between Lance and her because they acted mostly the same way they used to before the mission to Genkaku. Should have something changed? Rina was a bit concerned about whether she was showing enough affection towards him, but also if she was giving him enough space. This was her very first and serious relationship. She didn't know what to do and didn't want to mess it up. Though nobody is perfect and mistakes can be corrected, right? A relationship is about accepting the other person with their faults and becoming a better person with their help.