Unplanned Return [Hiatus]

2nd

"Gaaah, all these back to back meetings and piles of paperwork are so tiring!" Leonmitchelli wheezed as she put down her pen and pushed away a stack of papers.
"I know sis, this is going to kill us," Gaul wheezed as he stretched out in his chair to one side of the room.
"I know what you mean. I wish next month's war would come faster. Or if something interesting happened," Leo said as a solider came in and bowed before the two of them when she came to the middle of the room.
"Knight Captain Éclair of Biscotti requests a friendly audience with the two of you, my lieges." The soldier said calmly. Hearing this, both Gaul and Leo looked each other and grinned. Their way out of the boring paperwork had arrived.
"Very well, we will meet her in the guest living room." Leo replied, causing the soldier to leave with the reply.
It only would take them around five minutes to get to the guest living room, but between the ministers trying to make them do more paper work and changing into more informal clothing it took them nearly half an hour before they entered the room. Éclair was sitting comfortably on a chair with a biscuit in her hand seeming happy just being there. The thing that caught Leo's attention first however, was that she was wearing her full knight armour, complete with her blades in their sheath on the table beside her.
Noticing Leo and Gaul enter the room Éclair quickly stood up and bowed to the two of them. "Thank you for having this audience with me, Leo."
"I should be thanking you Éclair. You've helped us out of a pit of paperwork." Leo said as she and Gaul walked in and sat down on the same couch. 

"So, is this something about the heart of a woman." Leo then asked, bringing up the promise the two of them made a few months prior during union fest.
"I suppose, but I mainly wanted to ask you and Gaul about your thoughts on something."
"Such as?"
"It's kind of serious so it should not leave the room." Both Leo and Gaul both nodded. "It's about Shinku."
"What about him?" asked Gaul.
"Is it about someone's feeling toward him, maybe?" Leo insinuated to Éclair, who just slightly blushed and shook her head.
"He called Rico yesterday asking to be summoned to Biscotti. We all went to greet him this morning but when he landed he boarded Tornader and shot off into the southern forest without a word. I'm going to find him but I was wondering if maybe you have an idea of why he would run off without a word?
Both Leo and Gaul were completely silent after Éclair finished. Both of them seemed deep in thought before Leo looked up to Éclair. "I know a lot about the female heart, not the male one."
"Oh, I see." Éclair said before looking at Gaul.
"Me and Shinku are pretty similar so I can maybe think of a few things. Did he say anything to Ricotta when he called?" Gaul asked.
"Only that he wished to be summoned. Though Rico did say he sounded down about something." Éclair replied.
"I see. I don't know. Maybe he's pissed off at something?" Gaul said as he threw his legs onto the nearby table.
"I'm sorry Éclair, if it was something about a different friend or your own feelings, I could help more." Leo apologized to Éclair who merely shook her head.
"It's not your fault. None of us have seen him act this way before. I just thought maybe you could help me figure out why."
"I could get noir and the Genoise to help you?" Gaul added.
"No, I need to find him myself so I can make him answer my questions. But thank you." Éclair denied as she picked up her scabbard and stood up to leave.
"Where will you go next?" Leo asked as Éclair walked to the door.
Éclair turned around and glanced to the ground as she spoke. "I may just go to the southern forest and look for him directly. I don't know who else to talk to about this, so it seems like my best bet."
Leo stood up and walked beside Éclair, escorting her out of the castle herself as she talked. "I see. If you think that is right then do it. But I do have a suggestion."
"What?"
"Go talk to Isuka or D'arquien. They may be able to think of something I was not."
"I see. I thank you Leo." Éclair said as they reached where Éclair's mount was tied up at the front gate of the castle.
"Don't worry about it. Be safe and do what you think you need to!" Leo called as Éclair rode off down away from the castle.
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By the time Éclair had made it to Yuki and lady D'arquien's home the sun was well on its way to setting, painting the entire forest in a bright golden orange. As she walked into the yard, she saw the demon king, Valerie, sitting on the front porch with a tray with two glasses on it. One seemed to be filled with wine, as he drank it prolifically, and the other seemed to be filled with orange juice. Finishing his glass and refilling it Valerie looked and noticed Éclair. "About time you came by, I've been waiting for you!"
"Um,.. all right. Why?"
"I'll tell you as soon as you sit down." Valerie said with a smile. Talking him up on his invitation Éclair came over and sat down across from the tray of drinks, and then noticing that it also had a large plate of cheese and crackers on it. "You must be hungry, eat."
Éclair took a sip of juice and then picked up a few crackers, stuffing them into her mouth, before swallowing and finally speaking up. "How did you know I was coming, and is Isuka in?"
"Hina, Isuka and Adel went off on Kronos to deal with a small demon she sensed earlier today. Tell me why did you come by?"
"I wanted to speak to Isuka about something and get his thoughts on it."
"Worrying about the young hero, eh? That's expected when he disappears so quickly upon arriving."
Éclair looked up in shock. "How did you,...?"
"Yukikaze told us what had happened. She's down by the river training, if you're wondering. Adel and I knew something was up before though.
"How?"
"Adel wanted to try doing star reading so Yuki and I showed her how. We ended up getting a show of an athletic festival that both Nanami and Shinku were part of. He didn't exactly do well in it."
"Just losing would not make him like this though!"
"True. Adel and Hina thought nothing of it, but I smelt something off about the way the contest he was in seemed to go."
"What do you mean, like foul play or something?"
"Maybe, he knows something no one else does. I'd be willing to guess that's why he ran off into the forest."
"I see." Éclair muttered to herself as she nibbled on more crackers and cheese letting the information she had received sink in.
"If you want to find him I would suggest you get into the forest and get looking girl. Or he might just get himself into trouble." Valerie stated with a smile causing Éclair to get up off of the porch and fix her clothing before turning to him.
"Thank you for your help in this. I'll be going to find him now." Éclair stated as she ran out of the yard and onto the forest leaving Valerie to himself who merely chuckled to himself.
"Good luck to ya."
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