As the star above slipped into its last few moments of its "exposed " state. The vibrant colors that draped over Stella Farm began to bleed, mixing dusk and dawn as if they shared both the sky and the same hour. The winds that had danced and blown along the land's golden crops, the same winds that fueled the wings of Pegasus and Surnsines, became weaker; more hushed. It was the only time that warned of the dangers to come during the star's "collapsed " state.
Nivk, now seated among the remnants of trampled golden crops from his and Themaines earlier scuffle. Eyes narrowed slightly, just now catching a glimpse of the small, otherworldly rabbit twitching in Ederi's arms. Not a single Bayoe had ever returned with a creature like this from a Decampremai patrol.
Curiously, with one eyebrow arching upward until it was fully raised. Nivk leaned forward to examine the creature more closely. "…It doesn't have any wings, its body is fluffy." There was a brief pause. "Are you sure it's not going to split into a 4-tendriled, star devouring blip?" He said, suddenly shifting his head towards Ederi.
Ederi's eyes shut, her expression full of disbelief . A wide, spreading smirk formed along her lips. As if to say: This kid isn't too bright, is he? " You… You don't faithfully believe that, do you?" She asked, her tone tinged with disbelief as she opened her eyes to fix her gaze on the rabbit.
Nivk and Themaine exchanged a glance, then, in a perfect joint unison, shouted, "YESSSS." Themaine's eyes shimmered with the spirit energy swirling within her now fully recharged spirit orb core. Meanwhile, beside her, Nivk held a deadpan stare at Ederi, only slightly revealing the smallest concern and worry about being right.
A warming-cold crept in, as a crisp French baby-blue color began to cover the previously golden crops of Stella. The now blue-shaded planets rolled in the winds under Adrazenith's collapsing star above, casting an azure-like hue over Decampremai zone's land, as the gentle breeze ruffled the grass. Nivk, now seated cross-legged on the ground, absentmindedly stroked the soft fur of the earthly rabbit Ederi had brought back. The creature twitched its ears, enjoying the attention, while Ederi playfully wrestled with her sister nearby, both of them laughing.
"So, flicker face?" exclaimed Ederi as she flipped Themaine beneath her, planting one elbow against her sister's back, leaving Themaine pinned to the floor; Ederi smirked smugly, her fingers playfully tousling her sister's hair. "And whose supposed to explain this to Dodma when he gets back in the next 2 star cycles?" Ederi's spiraling spirit orb core lit up her golden veins within her body as she added a bit more force to her pin.
Themaine squirmed to escape the state in which she was pinned, her own golden veins glowing and blinking as she pouted. "This is so dimming," she grumbled, "I only flared out because at first he said he was elite, then he called me a ZORK," trying to wriggle free from Ederi's grip.
"You can't start conflicts with official Elite members, no matter how flared up you get!" Ederi shot back, raising a gold, spirit energy-imbued finger to her sister's head before flicking it and releasing the pin. She stood up and whistled as she surveyed the crater her sister had inadvertently created.
"You'll be lucky if Monama doesn't flare out on you," she muttered under her breath, the teasing tone slipping away for a moment as she eyed the damage. As she turned away from both Nivk and Themaine, her spirit orb core changed color. A bright crimson red formed at the center of its swirl, slowly expanding outwards until it completely covered her whole core.
Nivk immediately stopped petting the rabbit, looked up, and a deep shock etched along his expression. "What…what is that?" Ederi's whole body shuddered at his words in a surprised jump, " What?! Did the hole get bigger?!" rang the concerned tone in her voice as she tilted her head to the side, trying to play off his question.
Themaine, who had been adjusting her hair after being freed from her sister's grasp, looked at Nivk with a knowing smile. "You gazed it too, right?" she asked, unable to hold back the hope in her voice, her eyes locked onto Nivk's as she positioned herself directly in front of him; the rabbit sprints off, scared and surprised. "I… I did, your spirit orb core… It changed hues… I've never gazed at that before. All spirit orb cores are pure blank white or gold, like the light we absorb."
"Well, guess there's no use trying to fool you now, is there?" Ederi exclaimed, arms crossing into a fold, sighing dramatically as she looked down at her mischievous sister. " But really, you never were told what a colored spirit orb means. I guess they don't teach the Elites about Zexornite stuff anymore, huh?" she remarked, before turning her gaze to Nivk.
His eyes widened slightly, "Zexornaites?" He had never once heard of the title in his past eleven stars of living. Ederi nodded solemnly, her voice carrying the weight behind her explanation. "Zexornaites are the highest tier of our race; they're above Decapremais and Elites. Those born blessed with the king of Beos' wish, destined to wield abilities drenched in arcane properties, even to our race. They're the most powerful, the most prestigious. And they have the Zephri, the ability to transform, manifesting spirit light from their cores through their eyes like this."
As she spoke, her eyelids sliding shut briefly, before a thick crimson red slowly spread around her iris and flooded, covering her sclera. Her pupils began breaking down into golden particles, splitting into two golden stars; one pulsing straight in the center of her eye, the other circling the former star in a clock-like motion. From her arm, golden-red blaring flames burst forth. Crackling energy and lightly warming the air around her. "Gaze upon this?" Ederi said, her voice a bit quieter now, yet full of pride, "These flames are a part of my Zephri's second star progression. They're a mark of our connection to the royal bloodline, even if, just by wish alone."
Nivk watched in awe, his own spirit orb core light increasing its brightness at the display. But his mind was racing even faster with the implications of her words.
Before he could respond, Themaine jumped in with a teasing grin. "AND THIS IS WHY I THOUGHT YOUR ZORKY BUTT WAS LOOKING FOR MY SISTER?" she shot the words at Nivk.
Ederi slapped her hand over Themaine's mouth, silencing her with a swift motion; crimson flames covered them both. "Jeez, gleam with ease," she hissed in a playful but serious tone. "The leaders of Adrazenith don't want anyone to know. They pretend Zexornaites don't exist, but it's so bummy. They fear that someone from royal lineage might rise up and end the civil war, take control, maybe even allow Nayoes to take refuge on our planet."
Nivk blinked, his jaw dropping as he stared at Ederi. "So you're telling me... You have royal blood? You're related to the…..King Beos?" his voice filled with confusion, and just a bit of wonder. Ederi closed her eyes for a moment, a sense of calm washing over her. "Yeah, flicker face, I just said that, but it's dangerous to talk about, so hush up. The Zexornaites are a threat to the powers that shine brightest in the elites, which is why they want to keep us silent; tell no one of what you gazed today."
Before she could say more, Nivk interrupted, "Then why tell me? What's the point of such dim actions if you're hiding it" "It's because you saw the color change," Themaine muffled through her sister's now golden-crimson hued flame-covered hand.
"Exactly!" Ederi's eyes widened in surprise at her sister's answer. "Normal bayoes can't perceive the color shift within a Zexornite's core?" Her tone once more shifted as she broke down the complexities further. "So technically that may mean you're a"
Nivk, in a comically swift motion, placed his hand over her mouth, just as she had done to Themaine earlier, silencing her. "A Zexornite, huh?" Nivk whispered with an incredible amount of disbelief, his voice softening as he looked at Ederi.
Ederi's expression softened as well, her golden-red flames dimming slightly as she listened to his words. The Zephri shining from both her eyes was mesmerizing. " Mhmm." Nivk simply blinked…. then he blinked once more. "…..Wait. Didn't you say your Dodma's not coming home for another two star cycles?" He slumped forward , head hitting the Stella farm soil, as the rabbit from earlier hopped back over and pounced on his head to rest.