Yui slapped her hands over her mouth, somehow, whenever she talked about Mama or Papa she had tendency to forget herself. “He's . . . uhm, my Master, he treats me like his daughter so he's like my dad.” Botan looked confused. “It's . . . like an Elder Sister who looks after you and who you have all to yourself.”

The girl seemed satisfied with this explanation and shook her head. “Well, Sayuri-sama is much stronger than him!”

“No she's not!” Yui snapped back, Sayuri was only twelve centimeters tall, regardless of her fighting ability she was objectively weaker than Papa.

“Well, that's only because your . . . Papa . . . Is a Faery. If they were the same size, Sayuri-sama would beat him every time. She already beat all of the other Knights.”

“Oh no she wouldn't. Nobodies ever beaten Papa in a fair fight! Papa is the Black Swordsman of Aincrad, he fought a giant Minotaur all be himself and he can even fight with two swords! ”

Botan's expression soured. “Yui, you shouldn't tell fibs!”

“I'm not lying!” Yui said, jumping and sliding down to stand beside the other girl. Looking around, Yui found some grass blades that were about the right size and demonstrated. “Papa's skill is called [<dual blades]>. He learned to fight with two swords, and when he uses it, nobody can beat him!”

“Well Sayuri-sama can outfly a willow wasp!”

“Papa can fly faster than a Sylph!”

“Sayuri-sama beat a 'being' magic user!”

“Papa fought a whole team of Salamanders, and won!” Yui carefully omitted that she and Aunt Suguha had helped.

The girl scowled at Yui and shook her head, but the important part was that she participated. She was annoyed with Yui, but she wasn't frightened of her anymore.

“Yui!” Hinagiku called as she came over ridge. Her expression grew serious. “And Botan! You should be tending to the blossoms! Do you want your Little Sisters to be born sick?”

“U-un! N-no, I'm sorry Hinagiku-sama, I stopped for lunch and then . . . I'm sorry.” The girl quickly stuffed her needle into a string hoop that she wore as a scabbard and extended her wings. With a last glance at Yui she flitted off to return to her work.

Hinagiku shook her head. “Such an uncertain girl.” The shaman muttered.

“Hinagiku-san?” Yui asked curiously. "Do you mean Botan-san?"

The Shaman smiled, “She's a protege of Sayuri-sama. A Little Sister that wants very badly to become a Knight.” [<confirmation]> Yui thought. Hinagiku shook her head. “Such a troubled Little Sister. She'll never blossom like that.”

“You care about her a lot.” Yui observed.

Hinagiku giggled, “Only as much as a care about all the Little Sisters, including you Yui-san. Now come along, I want you to see the blossoms up close.”

The shaman had led the new Little Sisters and Yui to see the Yggdrasil blossoms that were tended carefully near the heart of the garden. There were hundreds of them, all a beautiful blue. Yui spotted dozens of open flowers and when she asked Hinagiku the Elder Sister explained that not all blossoms would give birth to a Pixie. Some were simply beautiful flowers, but even so they contributed in their own way, their scents drawing pollinating insects to the garden and moderating the behavior of the larger animals. [<Hypothesis]> Pheromones?

The new Little Sisters had been shown one of the blossoms, swelling up heavily as if pregnant, placing their hands against its waxy outer surface reverently.

“I was inside one like this . . .” One of the girl's next to Yui whispered and then smiled. “I hope you blossom soon.”

They had traveled through the garden until late in the afternoon, stopping among the flowers so that Hinagiku could explain the tasks that the others were performing. Some were responsible for keeping insects from harming the blossoms, while others tended to and collected the other plants for various uses.

There were other tasks performed by the pixies. Traveling out into the forest and finding wounded or sick animals, treating those that could be healed and comforting those that were near the end of their life, hunting down predatory insects that grew too numerous, or pollinating rare plants if the pollinating insects had not found them. Directing herbivorous animals to construct firebreaks by eating the vegetation and foliage, or clearing out rotting trees so that new saplings could receive sunlight.

[<Hypothesis]> The Pixies served some sort of regulatory function for the mobs and flora of ALfheim. Yui couldn't even begin to imagine how the transition to Halkegenia and introduction into an alien ecosystem had effected their task.

But these duties were reserved for the Elder Sisters and Eldest of the Little Sisters who could be trusted to take care of themselves. The new Little Sisters would be given tasks around the Garden and Nest until they had proven themselves.

That night the new Little Sisters had gathered around the hearth for dinner, speaking excitedly. Hinagiku had assigned them all to their new groups and they were taking this last opportunity to tell one another what their news jobs would be. Hinagiku had even given Yui a 'job' of sorts. She was to stay with the Shaman under her tutelage to learn all she could about being a proper Pixie. Hinagiku hoped that with time, Yui would be able to hear Yggdrasil's song properly. The former mental care AI didn't know if such a thing was possible but the opportunity to learn more about the Pixies from Hinagiku, and the freedom to explore the Nest and Garden would be invaluable.

It had almost been enough to make her forget, almost, truly forgetting was not a simple thing for her, that Sayuri had promised to speak with her again. Yui had felt the dread from their first meeting well up again after dinner as she was taken to very top of the nest by her escorts and led out onto a roost for Willow Wasps and Feathered Dragons, like miniature Arrun Tower. Only a single mount was present, Sayuri's black feathered dragon, yellows eyes watching calmly.

Sayuri was waiting. Yui swallowed. Even with her armor removed, dressed in a blood red blouse and her vibrantly colored skirt, and without even her sword, Sayuri was terrifying. The Knight sat with one leg pulled up, the other hanging off the edge of the nest. Her four angular wings reminiscent of those of a Sylph were stretched out behind her. She resembled some predatory insect, like a dragonfly. Fast and ruthless and singularly refined in purpose. Maybe Botan was right. If Sayuri had been a Faerie, maybe she could beat Papa. The expression on Sayuri's face was one of complete disinterest.

“Uhm, good evening Sayuri-sama.” Yui said cautiously.

Sayuri waved for the other Knights to leave. Only after they had departed did she speak. “Kigiku's patrol returned at sunset. They said the Faeries are still in Tarbes and that some of them even traveled into the Forest today.”

Yui took a chance. “They're looking for me. They won't stop until they find me.” She stepped forward, “Sayuri-sama, Leafa-chan and the others are good people. They want to help. That's why we were sent here. We can help you!”

“Help?” Sayuri tilted her head. “The only way the Fae can help is if they help get rid of the beings. But instead, they help them, they heal them, they drive off our attacks. They've allied themselves with the 'beings'. That makes them our enemies.”

“They're not your enemies Sayuri-sama. Leafa-chan and the others would never help people who were hurting you.”

“Never?” Sayuri chuckled softly. “The Faeries found my Garden today. Or rather, my Sisters' pyre. They're still helping the beings.”

“Y-your Garden?” Yui asked. Hinagiku had mentioned twin gardens, and suddenly Yui's heart sank. She doubted very much that she would ever be able to convince the Pixies to stop attacking, not on her own, not as long as Sayuri was leader.

The girl smiled viciously. “I should never have been born . . .”

Yui looked up, an array of her mental care subroutines came online at once and began to meticulously analyze her interactions with Sayuri for signs of suicidal ideation. Yui found nothing. What did Sayuri's statement mean?

The Knight stood up and turned to glare at Yui. “Hinagiku says that you wanted to know why we're attacking the 'beings'.”

“U-un.” Yui said cautiously, she had pieced together much of the story for herself, but she had been afraid to ask the others lest she antagonize them. It could not be an easy topic for any of them.

“The reason we burn down their homes is because they burned ours.” The pixie Knight bit off. “There were once two beautiful Gardens in this forest. Now there is only one. I saw the other die. The first thing I ever smelled was the smoke and ash as my Garden burned around me.” The words were spoken with complete calm. There was no hint of quavering in the girl's voice. There was nothing. Literally nothing, even with her enhanced senses, Yui could detect no hint of emotion.

Yui bowed her head, knowing what was coming next.

“The 'Beings' attacked us, and what they couldn't take, they simply destroyed. Even the Fae aren't so vicious as that.” Sayuri spat out. “We won't be safe until they are gone.”

"There are more beings then you can fight." Yui warned.

"I don't have to fight them all." Sayuri responded, "Just enough to make them leave this place."

Yui shook her head, that would never happen. Humans would never back down. “It might not have been the villagers.” Yui offered carefully.

“It was them.” The Knight said suddenly voice confident. “It was them. I've seen them clearing their fields for planting. Burning away the brush. They did the same to my Garden.” Sayuri ran a hand through her long silver blonde hair, pulling gently at her bangs. “You wouldn't understand Yui.” Sayuri explained calmly. “You've been tamed by your Fae masters. You've been tricked, convinced to see them how they see themselves. That's why I am allowing Hinagiku to teach you. So that she may bring you back to us.” The Knight regarded Yui with cool blue eyes and Yui took an involuntary step back. “In the mean time, you are going to tell me everything you know, about those being 'mages', the beast tamers, and the wind and fire Fae.”

Kirche felt her face twist up in distaste. 'I'm going to get wrinkles way too soon at this rate', the young fire mage thought. But what else could she do? Looking at what was laid about before her, she could hardly smile. It was midday and their small group, consisting of Silica, Louise, KoKo, and herself, found themselves standing in the middle of a clearing near the edge of the forest. It was obvious to Kirche that this place had been the sight of an intense and highly localized blaze no more than a couple of weeks ago. The local plant life was only just now beginning to reclaim the charred earth, the first hints of vibrant green sprouting up through the ash.

At the center of the clearing, KoKo was slowly turning around, taking the whole scene in. The Cait Syth didn't look happy. Her ears were folded flush with her skull and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. When Kirche had been a child, she had had a pet cat that looked just like so whenever the prospect of a bath had come up.

"This is the place?" KoKo asked, "You're sure, Louise?"

Louise nodded, "Florine said she was confident that Marco would be able to lead us back to the place where Euphrasie found the flowers."

Louise held up what appeared to be a small roughly cut pendant made from some sort of dull, unpolished stone. The thing fit in the palm of Louise's hand without any trouble and a small cord had been wrapped around it so that it could be worn around ones neck. A moment later, a head and four short legs poked out and looked around sleepily. The small turtle opened and closed its mouth, making soft gurgling noises and pointed its nose unwaveringly towards the center of the clearing. No matter where Louise moved, the turtle kept facing the clearing center, obeying his master's instructions to take them to where he had first smelled the flowers.

"What do you think about this, Kirche-san?" KoKo asked.

Kirche gave the clearing another look over before she felt satisfied. "Fire mage. Or a fire dragon, a really powerful one. They'd need to be. This place wasn't just burned, it was incinerated, and the way it just cuts off at the edges means it must have been a very brief and intense blaze."

"You're sure?" KoKo looked her in the eyes.

Kirche tossed her hair casually, "My affinity is fire, I know what kind of damage my element can do." Flames were passionate, they were also incredibly dangerous and destructive, as she had told Louise.

"I was afraid of that." KoKo said shaking her head. A bitter look was pulling at the face of the normally cheerful woman.

"What's the matter?" Kirche asked.

To answer, KoKo walked across the garden to the charred remains of an old growth tree. Beneath the few remaining blackened branches, a half dozen large earthen mounds had been erected. They looked like some sort of insect colony, but the details were far too fine for that. Though now charred and blackened, and crumbling to dust, every inch of the outside of each mound seemed to have once been smoothed and rounded. Simple lines and logos had been shaped into the surfaces like giant pieces of pottery.

"What is that?" Louise asked.

"It's a pixy nest." KoKo said. "In ALfheim, they were an important part of Pixie Gardens. The spawned pixies would nest here during the night and they would all swarm out if the nest was attacked or the Pixies outside were agroed. I guess here in Halkegenia it would be like their home. This place is why the Pixies are attacking Tarbes."

"Well that's good isn't it? Now we know why they're angry." The pink haired mage said. "Now we can find a way to calm them down." Louise decided. The expression on KoKo's face caused Louise to falter. "We can calm them down. R-right?"

KoKo shook her head sadly. The hunter didn't look herself, Kirche thought. It would be like Tabitha smiling, or Louise being calm and reasonable. Some of her, "KoKo-ness" seemed to have rubbed off, and for a moment Kirche saw sorrow and grief that just didn't fit on that always happy face with its fanged smile and bright golden eyes.

"Louise. We can't . . . Fix this." KoKo said quietly.

Louise paused, frowning, she looked about. "What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? They're angry that something destroyed their homes. But they're just big pots, surely we can find someone to fix or replace them." Louise crossed her arms and shook her head, "Honestly, such unreasonable children."

"Louise . . . " KoKo breathed softly, "Its not the nests . . . It's the Garden."

"Garden?" Louise asked.

"The Garden?" Kirche repeated, looking over to Silica who shook her head, she didn't know either.

KoKo gestured across what was left of the clearing. "This whole place, it would have been filled with flowers cared for by the Pixies, thousands of them, and all sorts. Spring flowers, and summer flowers, and autumn blooming herbs. It would have been beautiful."

Silica nodded in agreement, seemingly recalling some fond memory. Kirche had to admit, a garden tended by hundreds of Yuis, she would like to see something like that.

Louise shook her head, "But Tarbes is full of Flowers, there must be someplace else that the pixies could live." That was a good point, Kirche thought, but she didn't think KoKo would look so upset if it was that simple.

"I've been giving this some thought." The hunter said. "You know that part of our mission here is to investigate the change in mob behavior, right?"

Kirche nodded. "The mobs were Golems back in your world, and now they've become the things they're supposed to imitate."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." KoKo said thoughtfully. "Well, now that they're real. They've been getting smarter, you already know about that, but they've been doing other things like real animals too, like breeding. Pixies have a very unique reproductive cycle."

"They're all girls, aren't they?" Silica's cheeks reddened and her ears twitched in embarrassment before shaking her head. "I mean, insect hives are like that, right? All of the workers are female. But they still have drones that mate with the queens . . ." Silica squirmed awkwardly. "There aren't any boy pixies, right?"

"That's right." KoKo agreed, "Pixies reproduce symbiotically. Their gardens are filled with special flowers called Yggdrasil Blossoms. They'll only sprout in a forest that has an Yggdrasil shoot in it. The Pixies care for the blossoms, and when the blossoms bloom, they give birth to new Pixies."

"Like Thumbalina?" Silica asked. "I loved that story when I was little. So the flowers are like their . . . Oh . . ." The catgirl trailed off. The dragon on her shoulder coked her head, and gently nuzzled her master's cheek comfortingly.

"Oh." KoKo repeated softly.

Kirche felt something inside of her go dark. Even though the sun was shinning, she felt like she'd never be warm again. The Pixies were born from their Gardens. This place wasn't just a burnt field, it was the remains of a funeral pyre, and somebody had used a nursery as kindling. No wonder the Pixies attacked the Village so relentlessly. If they thought the villagers were responsible, they probably wouldn't ever stop.

"KoKo, are you alright?" Louise asked walking up to the woman. The Cait Syth had turned away from them, bowing her head to hide her face.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." KoKo said quickly, "Louise? Those flowers you said Florine had. I think . . . I'm pretty sure they're Yggdrasil blossoms. It sounds like Euphrasie and Antoine must have found them just after the Transition. They were probably running back home after the light and shaking cleared and came across the Garden. The Pixies would have tried to repel them, but if it was just after the Transition, they might have all been inside their nests, still stunned."

"But the flowers at Florine's house have already bloomed and there aren't any Wild Pixies." Louise said, "Don't you think Florine would have mentioned that? And that wouldn't explain how the Garden was burned"

"Not all Yggdrasil blossoms will give birth to a Pixie." KoKo said. "Its pretty hit or miss actually and the exact stats were varied based on a lot of factors. It's entirely possible that the ones Florine has are just flowers . . . But the Pixies don't know that. It explains why they were so systematic in their attacks, and why they took Yui. They were searching."

"They thought they were rescuing her." Silica realized.

"Un." KoKo nodded. "So Yui is probably safe with them for now." Even so, the Cait Syth didn't seem happy with that revelation. Kirche could hear the leather of KoKo's fingerless gloves creaking as the woman balled her hands into fists. "As for the fire, you said it happened a few days after the last time Euphrasie came into the forest. We need to go talk to Florine and Euphrasie again. We need to find out who's responsible for this. And when we do . . ."

Something had changed in KoKo. The subtle feline features that were almost cute when she was smiling or laughing, now lent her a disturbing gauntness. And the blacks of her golden eyes had grown ever so slightly wider. The fire mage found herself starring at the small fangs in the woman's mouth. They weren't particularly large, but they looked needle sharp. Even Louise seemed to understand that she needed to step back.

"When we do?" Kirche asked.

"When we do . . ." KoKo breathed slowly. "We'll see . . ."

KoKo and Louise exchanged looks. In the blink of the eye KoKo had the majordomo by the collar of his shirt and was dragging the confused man down the hallway, Louise storming after her, leaving the others to run to catch up.

"Please, I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding!" Florine shouted as she trailed behind. Nobody was listening to her.

"Which way?" KoKo shouted at Fernand.

"I – What?"

"Which way to the Count? NAOW!" KoKo barred her teeth.

"Down that hallway, last door on the right. In the old dining room." Fernand said. KoKo released him and raced down the hall with Louise in tow. "What do you intend to do?" Fernand called.

"Have a chat!" Louise shouted back.

Together, Louise and KoKo threw open the wide double doors and rushed into a brightly lit room. Tall windows lined the far wall, allowing in the afternoon light. A faint chemical smell filled the air, a mixture of alcohol, preservatives, and alchemic reagents. The room was filled with long tables and benches. A variety of projects appeared to be in the works, many of which wouldn't have looked out of place in Professor Colbert's laboratory. Louise swept the room spying trays and beakers, delicate looking glassware, and what appeared to be a tiny greenhouse filled with spindly looking flowers and connected to a peculiar arrangement of tubes and burners.

"Fernand, is that you?" A voice came from the far side of the room. "I told you I wasn't to be disturbed. This is all much too fascinating. Please, get out, get out!"

Louise and KoKo moved forward, they could see the Count now, hunched over a table set before the window. A cork board filled with pins was set at his side and as Louise watched, the man plucked up a pin and . . . Handed it . . . to a Pixie.

"See? When you arrange them, you insert the pins just like so. With this one we want the wings spread so we can see both pair. This species is native to Germania and you can see how it differs from the common Tristanian moth. Germania is a cold climate and is home to many fire mages, so the local moth population survives mostly in the cities where they can find refuge. Most people think its the soot that makes their outer wings black, but I suspect its an adaptation."

"Adaptation?" A small voice asked. "That's a funny word." Another Pixie was sitting atop a book at the Count's side.

"Yes, you see, insects can breed very quickly, and like all animals they inherit traits from their parents." The man explained.

Louise could only see the side of the man's face, but from what she could see, he appeared old. His hair had long lost the battle with gray and was now moving to white and his skin was deeply lines like that of a Commoner who had spent long days in the sun. A pair of silver spectacles hung from a chain around his neck.

"What I suspect is that certain traits are selected for based on pressures applied by the environment. The moths that have traits most suitable for survival live long enough to breed and thus their beneficial traits become more common in the general population. In Germania where many of the trees near the cities, and many of the buildings, are soot stained, the black outer wings will camouflage the moths from predators. But in Tristain, the climate is warmer the trees have white bark, so naturally, the Tristanian variety of these moths have white outer wings. Do you understand that Celandine? Iris? Olive?

"Yes Arthur!" Three small voices answered.

"Oh, very good my girls, very good!" The man chuckled warmly.

Louise exchanged another glance with KoKo. To her relief, the Cait Syth seemed as confused as she was. "Excuse me. Count . . ." Louise began.

Suddenly the man spun around with speed that bellied his apparent age, eyes going wide first with surprise and then confusion. “Who are you? W-What are you doing here?! Fernand! Did you let these people in?!” The scholarly warmth from a moment earlier was replaced with near stuttering terror and as Louise watched, the Count carefully spread his arms to shield the trio of tiny figures that stood atop the table. Three little Pixie girls dressed in pure white gowns. For their part, the pixies observed curiously. One girl with short, sandy hair, flitted up from the table to sit on the Count's shoulder.

“I'm sorry Arthur.” The Count's majordomo came rushing through the door followed by Kirche, Silica, and Florine. “I'm afraid they caught me by surprise. They asked to meet with you, the young girl there is a member of the Valliere family sent to investigate the incidents in Tarbes . . .” Fernand's stopped in his tracks and starred at his master. Three pairs of calmly curious eyes starred back. “I don't imagine an explanation will be forthcoming.” Fernand decided aloud.

“A Valliere? To see me?” The Count appeared to be on the verge of hyperventilating. “I see. Yes, yes, you must be the agents sent by the Crown. I suppose you must meet with me.” The man glanced about nervously. “If it isn't too much, could I ask, that perhaps some of you wait outside? Oh, Florine, you're here too? Yes, wonderful, more people!” The Count de Tarbes caught sight of the healer squeezing her way past Silica and Kirche. “I hope those herbs I sent along have been of use.”

“They've been wonderfully helpful.” Florine said in a reassuring voice before she too paused to stare at the Pixies.

“Oh, good, yes, wonderful. But like I asked, perhaps just one or two of you would suffice? I'm not terribly good with strangers you see.” Not terribly good? Louise wondered. The poor man was white as a sheet. No wonder he wasn't out protecting his estates. He was barely functional in a small group, much less a crowd. This was their number one suspect?

Everyone but Fernand and Florine looked on with disbelief but it wasn't long before Kirch and Silica were ushered away to wait outside, leaving the Count with the familiar faces of his majordomo and Florine, along with Louise and KoKo.

The conversation was awkward at first as things were sorted out. The Count de Tarbes proved to be as shy as Florine had warned. His replies coming in stuttered starts and stops whenever Louise pressed him for answers. After the first few question, KoKo took over. The Cait Syth's demeanor had swung back to its more mellow default after meeting the Count, and where Louise's needled probing failed, KoKo was able to start coaxing answers from the man.

“The Pixies?” The count asked, eyes brightening up. “Oh yes. Marvelous creatures aren't they? Imagine my surprise when I found them this morning! They were hiding among some of my herbs. The poor dears were terrified. But I found that a sugar cube was all it took to coax them out.” As he spoke, the Pixies had gathered themselves on the Count's left shoulder, leaning against the man, and one another. “I've spent the whole day talking with them, truly fascinating, and so curious about everything.”

“Erm . . . Well, that's wonderful.” KoKo said, carefully giving an awkward, closed lipped smile. She'd been building up to face a villain, and instead they found nothing but a shy old man.

“Actually, its the pixies we've come to talk to you about.” Louise said.

“Oh?” The count asked.

“Yes.” Florine leaned over and gently patted the Count's hand. “Arthur, those girls came from the flowers I gave you.”

The Count's eyes widened, “Truly? And I thought I'd misunderstood them!” The man looked terribly pleased with this revelation. “What fascinating creatures! I would love to observe them in the wild.” His expression soured. “Alas, their brethren seem non too pleased with us right now.”

“Actually, this all might have something to do with that.” KoKo explained. “You see. The flowers that they were born from were picked from a Pixie Garden, and that Garden was burned down not long after. We think . . . It was done by a mage.”

Fernand's eyes narrowed and the Count's countenance suddenly drained of color. “Oh no, oh no no no, I didn't want this, I didn't want this at all!”