Dragonfire II: The Twilight Invasion

Chapter 10: The Goblin Revolt

Albedo and Kei were sitting at the table in their chambers. It was early in the night, and Albedo had just gotten back from her work as the Acting Grandmaster. She always looked forward to getting back. Every time, Kei made a cup of their favorite tea, and they sat at the table telling each other about their day. Sometimes they discussed menial topics, other times more serious ones. Regardless, Albedo always looked forward to it. This time in particular, as it was earlier in the night, Lui was still awake. She was sitting in Kei's lap, her eyes half closed. As she had grown over the past two years, she had adopted this look as a more permanent expression. And speaking of her eyes, they had undergone a rather strange transformation. Her irises had become red, rather than the shade of blue they once were. According to their friend Yuki, this was completely normal for someone of Lui's status. She was, after all, chaos incarnate. After her eyes changed color, she kept insisting on how her hair would change colors and she would look more like Albedo. Seeing how excited she was about it, Albedo and Kei decided to let her get her hair dyed blond. With her crimson eyes, her blond hair, and her dead-tired expression, she looked like a miniature Albedo. She was wearing a pair of black silk pajamas, further solidifying the look. She had hardly grown at all, so they didn't need to get her new clothes often. According to Yuki, it was impossible to determine her growth rate. It was possible that she could barely grow at all for the rest of her life, or she could reach an astounding seven feet in no time. Her traits made it entirely unpredictable. But for now, she was small enough to fit in Kei's lap, her eyes slowly drifting between open and closed. 

While she was falling in and out of sleep, Albedo was telling Kei about her day. "So...I finally asked Damian about this 'Ridley' lady he's apparently dating." She said, "You heard that from Asami, right? What did he say about it?" Kei asked, "Apparently she wasn't wrong. He just started dating her recently. Apparently, she's a Reptilian!" Albedo answered, "No way...did you ask him about the thumbs?" Kei asked, "I did! He uh...didn't really have an answer. She does have thumbs, though!" Albedo answered, "Well...now I wanna meet her." Kei said, "Same..." Albedo responded. To their surprise, there was a knock at the door. "Huh...who could that be?" Albedo asked. Kei shot a somewhat concerned glance at Albedo. It may not have been as late as it usually was when Albedo got off work, but it wasn't common for someone to come knocking at night regardless. She stood up, holding Lui in her arms. "Come on, little one. Let's get you to bed..." She said, walking upstairs. Albedo stood up and walked over to the door. She nervously reached for the lock, uncertain of who was outside their chambers at that hour. She cracked the door slightly, looking out at the knocker. It was a stranger. She had dark hair, gray eyes, and lighter skin. Her skin was a bit tanned, though not that much. Her hair was on the longer side, going down to her abdomen in length. She had a tomboyish look to her, with a perpetually mildly-annoyed expression on her face. She was the same height as Albedo, exactly six feet. She wore heavy armor, covering her entire body. Similar to Sammy's armor, what wasn't covered by steel was covered by chainmail. Both the chainmail, as well as the armor, were a dull red color. Like Sammy and Marin, she had a gem slotted into her torso armor, over her manubrium. The gem was a ruby, matching her red armor.

The armor had some engravings throughout, though it did not seem to depict anything specific. The armor had a large black skirt. It went down to her ankles and was split up the knee on either leg. This left one part that draped down in the middle while leaving her legs exposed. Her shoulder pads were rounded and trailed down into a matching black cape. The cape hung down longer on the left side and was more rounded than it was straight. Two straps wrapped around her torso, keeping the cape in place. She also had a matching belt. All three pieces were dark brown. Sheathed in the straps were two escrima sticks, both dull red like her armor. One look at her made it very clear; she wasn't a Celestial. With that knowledge in mind, Albedo could only wonder who this tomboyish girl was. "Uh...c-can I help you...?" She asked, "Yo. How's it hanging?" The Stranger asked, "Huh?" Albedo asked in response. The Stranger held her hand out for Albedo to shake it, despite the door still being mostly closed. "Reina Ruina." She said, "Uh...is that like a password...?" Albedo asked. A moment later...it clicked. Moona mentioned that she wished to introduce Albedo to "Reina and Iana." It seemed this woman was Reina. "Oh...sorry! I uh...wasn't expecting you. I'm Albedo." Albedo said, opening the door fully. She shook her hand respectfully. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Reina...but...I just said that, so I probably didn't need to repeat it...oh well, I'm Reina!" Reina responded. They let go of each other's hands and Albedo waved to the table. "Wanna sit down?" She asked, "Sure." Reina answered. She walked over to the table and sat down in the closest available seat. Kei had already returned from upstairs and was sitting across from her.