(SOL time, see y'all on the other side)

"Listen, we're not working with that Sampo guy! Honestly, there's no need for you to arrest us!"

"I wholeheartedly agree with you, March, but uh..." Caelus grimaced a little bit, "Maybe you should've said that before y/n attacked him."

The Silvermane Guards and the Astral Express crew members had brought their fight to a temporary pause.

It took a good ten minutes, with the collective effort of all the remaining guards as well as Dan Heng, March 7th, and Caelus, to pry y/n away from the blond captain whose name they now knew was Gepard.

Y/n was ready to fight some more, but March threatened to show Welt the recording of the fight the moment they boarded the Astral Express.

She cooled off quickly enough, but Dan Heng kept a firm grip on the back of her clothing just to be sure.

All eyes turned to y/n who was too busy glowering at Captain Gepard to even think of apologizing.

"Still, we're clearly not friends with that scoundrel! And y/n only attacked because it's her job." March pointed out before giving y/n a brief glance, "...and because she lives for violence, but that's not the point. Didn't you see how fast he ditched us? We had no idea he was going to try to use us to get past you! Sure, y/n got a few good hits to your head, but there's no way the brain damage is bad enough for you to fall for his—"

"I'm a captain, not an adjudication panel." Gepard interrupted, his gaze stern and unwavering despite the 🍑 beating he'd just received, "As a Belobog citizens you have the right to defend yourself, but that can only take place under the scrutiny of the Architects."

He was clearly done chatting, "Take them away."

"The least you could do is take our word for it, considering how much we went through to drag y/n off of you." Caelus grumbled under his breath, "Maybe we should sic y/n on him again so she can knock some sense back into him."

Y/n snorted at that, but quickly silenced her incoming laughter when Dan Heng gave her a stern look.

"We're not even from Belobog!" March interjected before anyone could comment on Caelus's suggestion.

"Oh, yeah, we're not..." Caelus mumbled before giving the pink haired woman a little nudge, "Hey, March, you should let them take a look of the photos."

The young woman's gaze immediately lit up, "Ah! That's right! You're a genius, Caelus!"

She retrieved the photos she took while they were on the Express and offered them to Gepard, "You all have probably never seen what your planet looks like, right? I took this one. Behold, Jarilo-VI!"

Y/n managed to convince Dan Heng that she had chilled out and no longer needed to be held onto, so he obliged. Not before advising Caelus to keep an eye on her, of course.

As the Silvermane Guards and their captain were taking a look at the photos, Caelus leaned closer to y/n and whispered, "You must be real down bad if you don't want Mr. Yang seeing a video of you curbstomping someone, huh?"

"Hm? Oh, Mr. Yang has seen me fight plenty of times. March would be doing me a favor if she showed him the video." y/n replied with a wave of her hand before winking, "He actually complimented me a couple times before, y'know?"

The golden eyed young man gasped, "Really? What'd he say? No, no, how'd he say it? I've gotta know-!"

As the two of them were whispering and swooning like school girls, March 7th was slowly dying inside.

'I can hear you, y'know? Go simp somewhere else...'

After the guards took a look at the photos, there was clear disbelief and slight amazement amongst them.

"You mean to say that this... white ball, that's here?" one inquired, "That's our home? How can that be?"

"I mean, take a look around you." y/n hummed with a little shrug, "Is it really all that surprising to you?"

"Hush, y/n, don't be so hard on them." Caelus sighed with a shake of his head, "The poor beings who have not yet witnessed the glory of Miss Himeko and Mr. Yang are small minded. It's only natural."

March 7th gave them both a look of disbelief, "Can the two of you not drool over them for like— 24 hours?"

Y/n and Caelus exchanged a look before simultaneously giving her a thumbs up.

24 hours my 🍑, it'd only be 24 minutes.

Despite the bickering amongst the little group, Gepard seemed thoughtful before finally speaking up.

"It is said that a long time ago, strange visitors from beyond the sky would visit us here... but after the Eternal Freeze, the blizzards made passage impossible, and Belobog cease to witness such arrivals."

"But these people are—" a soldier began.

Y/n zeroed in on the soldier, clear blood lust in her eyes as she stared them down, 'These people are what, huh?'

"This decision is beyond us. If what they say is true, then only the Supreme Guardian may decide their fate." Gepard interrupted, "Our job is to present them before her. Nothing more."

"And..." a soldier gave y/n a wary look, "...what about the woman who attacked you, Captain?"

Y/n and Gepard stared at each other in silence.

Dan Heng was about to grab y/n again, noticing how she was looking a little froggy and preparing to leap, but Gepard simply turned away.

"You heard them, she's their guard. She was only doing her job." Geoard replied simply before beginning to walk, "Outsiders, follow me. Belobog lies beyond this blizzard."

Y/n gave Dan Heng a smug look before walking on after the Silvermane Guards, her companions following close behind.

It wasn't too long of a walk, but it suddenly felt like y/n had just ran a 🚚ing marathon when they finally got a look at the city. Yes. It was that breathtaking.

Gepard paused, and glanced back at them all.
"Welcome to Belobog — the City of Preservation."

"Mm, impressive." y/n murmured.

Upon entering the city, there was a very noticeable change in temperature. Not the the cold was bothering y/n, but she still was aware of it.

She wasn't the only one.

"Hey! It got a little warmer!" March 7th chimed.

"That's because you're in Belobog, the last bastion of humanity." Gepard said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Last bastion?" March echoed.

"Hey, we aren't from the planet, buffoon. Instead of explaining it to us like that, can't you tell us exactly how it got warmer?" she questioned— more so demanded.

Gepard looked to Caelus instead, clearing his throat, before continuing, "700 years ago, monsters from beyond the sky set the world ablaze. The land was turned to scorched earth with raging infernos and billowing towers of smoke stretching beyond the horizon. In the midst of the conflict..."

Y/n started spacing out, white noise occupying her mind as Gepard kept going on and on. Good grief...

Something about the Eternal Freeze, steadfast architects, Qlipoth: The Preservation, and the forever warm Belobog.

"He's saying some weird stuff." March murmured.

"There was a change in his tone, he's likely quoting the information from a historical record." Dan Heng replied quietly.

"Uh-huh. So why is he telling us all this?" March questioned quietly as Gepard simply crossed his arms.

"You wanted to know." was all he said.

"Y/n wanted to know." Caelus corrected.

"None of it answered my question though." y/n grumbled under her breath, her brows pinched.

Gepard just turned around and continued leading them through the city. Not even halfway in, y/n was already staring people down who had gotten curious and looked at the group a little too long.

A Train Guard dutifully doing her job!

Y/n did manage to answer her own question, kind of, as she observed the many little heaters scattered around the city on their way to see the Supreme Guardian.

It was quite beautiful, y/n had to admit.

The kind of city she'd go to on vacation or something.
Or perhaps on a date... that too.

"Hey, y/n." Caelus whispered to y/n, shuffling closer to her, "Is it just me... or is Gepard having some difficulty looking directly at you?"

"Caelus is right, he's been avoiding direct eye contact with you." March 7th comments as she huddled up next to y/n to join in on the hushed conversation, "Any clue why?"

"Mm..." y/n closed her eyes and thought deeply.

"Piece of 💩! No good guitar case carrying 🚚 wad! How dare you accuse us of being criminals! I'll kill you!"

The battle between the Astral Express's attack dog and the Silvermane Guard's Captain was more so of a petty fight between middle schoolers, the two of them rolling around the the snow and barely hitting each other.

Y/n merely intended to restrain him to get him to chill out so she could explain her intentions, but damn, he was strong.

"I have no choice but to consider you criminals, since the first thing you did was attack me!" Gepard snapped back, "Quit resisting and surrender!"

"Hell no I won't! 🚚 you— HEY!"

The two rolled a little further away and y/n found herself pinned the cold snow seeping into her clothes.

She shuddered, 'Ugh! Wet clothes-! Ew!'

Y/n was half expecting to get punched, considering she docked the blond man in the face multiple times within the past few minutes, but there was nothing.

Not punches, not even her being called a criminal.

Y/n glared up at the Captain, "Oi, Captain 🚚-up, you gonna punch me or are you finally realizing that we're not criminals."

She met Gepard's gaze and immediately noticed that something was amiss when she noticed the clear look of shock on his face. The kind of look a polite, well-mannered gentleman who has never touched a woman in his life would wear after accidentally— oh.

"Oh." y/n mumbled.

Immediately, Gepard's blue eyes met hers and he was met with an almost repulsed look. It almost hurt his feelings.

"Look— I didn't mean to—"

"Pervert."

"I'm not!"

"Pervert."

"I said I'm not!"

Y/n snickered to herself, recalling how she'd used the situation as an opportunity to headbutt the flustered young man and gain the upper hand yet again.

She only called him a pervert to 🚚 with him a bit, she didn't expect him to actually take it to heart.

"Hehe, not a clue." she lied without missing a beat.

Finally, they arrived at their destination.

A grand building with an obscene amount of stairs.

"We're here, this is Qlipoth Fort. The best of Belobog and headquarters of the Architects." Gepard announced.

Caelus looked a little confused— maybe a lot confused, "Qlipoth Fort? Architects? I'm... a little lost."

"Qlipoth is the symbol of Preservation. Under Qlipoth's impulsion, the Architects constructed Belobog. Thus protecting the spark of civilization from disaster and the Eternal Freeze." Gepard explained, "To show our reverence, we named this fortress after the Aeon themself."

Y/n let out a long, loud yawn, "Can we go in already? I'm tired of standing around, Captain 🚚-up."

Gepard looked like he wanted to say something, but still refused to look directly at y/n, "Ahem, right, I will now bring you to see Madam Cocolia. Please have your words at the ready. Her time is precious, so she prefers concise communication."

"Uh... we're gonna see her right now?" March 7th questioned, looking a little alarmed, "Can I at least find a place to freshen up first?"

"Any etiquette we'll need to observe?" Caelus inquired with a nervous smile, "I wouldn't want our first encounter to go... uh, south."

"I'd rather not go in at all. I feel sick." y/n said in a blank tone, "Can't I just sit out here on the steps?"

March gave y/n a skeptical look, "You look fine to me. Don't tell me you're trying to use it as an excuse to get out of this. You can't fool me, y/n!"

"No... actually, you guys got a bathroom anywhere nearby?" y/n inquired with a nervous smile, "I... really need one right now—"

Gepard visibly cringed, "...I'll escort you there."

While Dan Heng, March 7th, and Caelus all went to see Madam Cocolia, Gepard was so kind to escort y/n to the restroom where she locked herself inside.

He simply awkwardly stood outside the door, unsure of whether or not he was to be concerned about the fact that it sounded like y/n was coughing up her guts on the other side of the door.

After a while, he caved and called out to her, "Miss Y/n, was it? Are you doing alright in there? You sound unwell."

Mostly silence, followed by the flushing of the toilet and a strained, "Oh yeah, I'm doing great, this is normal. Just needs a little bit of tending to, haha... ugh..."

Gepard winced each time he heard the ruckus from the other end of the door before calling out once more, "If you're feeling unwell, I know a few spots that sell food and drinks to help with nausea and, uh..."

"Retching."

"Yeah, that."

"Is this your apology for touching my chest earlier?"

Gepard looked around in alarm, just to see if anyone else was present to hear y/n's inquiry before clearing his throat, "Yes, and no. I do feel bad for inappropriately touching you earlier, and I'm very concerned about your health. You really don't sound well."

"Mm... careful now. I might just mistake your apology for a date offer." y/n chuckled leaned against the wall, taking a moment to pull herself together, "Tell me what they've got there, and maybe I'll take your recommendations."

From the sound of her voice, Gepard could tell she was feeling a little weak. It'd... probably be a while before she'd leave that bathroom.

"I haven't been there in a while, but I can tell you what I order from there most often. Are you a fan of soup?"

"I'm not too picky about it, what kind of soup?"

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⋆　　　。　　 ⋆。　 ඞ 。　 . • .  .   ⁎ 。　. 　。　.　　⋆. 　　。 .　 .　　 .  ⋆.   。.   ⁎ 。•　 　ﾟ　　。 .

By the time the meeting with Madam Cocolia ended, y/n was free from the bathroom and happily writing down all to Gepard's food recommendation on the steps of Qlipoth Fort where they sat together.

Now that they weren't trying to kill each other, and Gepard was no longer have a crisis over his hand just barely grazing y/n's chest, they had the opportunity to become friendly enough with one another.

Gepard was actually a pretty sweet guy, adorable even. Y/n believed she could get along him easily enough.

"I knew it! You weren't sick at all!" March snapped as she approached the duo, "You just didn't want to meet up with the Supreme Guardian!"

Y/n huffed, turning her head to give the pink haired woman a pout, "Are you kidding me? I wasn't lying about feeling unwell."

"She's telling the truth." Gepard chimed in, "Her condition was rather concerning to me, so I offered to make some food recommendations that might make her feel better."

"Food recommendations?" Caelus echoed.

"Mhm! Gepard here told me about a bunch of cool places that sell comfort food and food specifically to treat or ease any ailments one might have!" y/n chirped with a gleeful look, "He was even nice enough to recommend some notable locations for us to visit during our time here!"

"Huh, so you really weren't feeling well." March mumbled before sighing, "You really missed out, y/n, Madam Cocolia was super cool! Definitely got that queen of the castle vibe going on!"

Y/n's expression grew intense, "Cooler than Miss Himeko? Answer me honestly, March, this is important."

The young woman's smile faded.
"Not this again..."

"Anyways, Gepard, thanks a ton for the recommendations!" y/n exclaimed with a gleeful little look, "Will you be showing us around, or are you too busy."

"I would happily oblige, but I'm afraid that I still have duties to attend to. I must return to my post, but I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay in Belobog." Gepard replied with a little smile, "I hope you feel better soon, Miss Y/n."

"Hehe, thanks a ton! Invite me to join you and the Silvermane Guards for training sometime when my condition improves!" she gave Gepard a grin, "I'm sure I could teach you all a little something!"

"I look forward to it, that's something I'll definitely consider. Until then, take care of yourself."

"You as well, Gepard! Stay safe out there!"

As the blond Captain headed off, Caelus gave y/n a little glance, "Well you two got friendly real quick."

"That's just how y/n is. Once you get past the initial chaotic gremlin y/n, you get the charismatic and friendly y/n." March replied with a sigh, "Or the y/n who doesn't want to work. Or the sleepy y/n. Or the y/n who thinks you're a roach."

"That's a lot of y/ns..."

"You get used to it with time." March 7th said with a shrug before looping an arm over y/n's shoulders, "Show me what you've got on that list! I wanna take a look around!"

"You do whatever you want, I'm getting food!" y/n declared, immediately scampering away without a second thought.

"I— y/n! I thought you weren't feeling well!!!"

As the trio watched her run off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake, Caelus found himself feeling a little worried, "Should we... go after her, maybe? If she's not feeling well, it wouldn't be a good idea to leave her by herself."

"She wouldn't run off if she wasn't in a condition to be running off. She'll be fine." Dan Heng replied simply, "But, if were going to look around, we should make it quick."

"Right then! Let's explore!" March cheered.

They wandered around almost aimlessly, visiting the Everwinter Monument as well as a little shop that sold sewing equipment and stuff.

Upon seeing the sewing items, Caelus lingered a little longer as he thought back to poor Mimi who was currently missing an ear. Ahh, but he didn't have any money, he'd have to come back later.

While wandering out and about, Caelus found himself entranced by the gleaming trash cans and immediately took to dumpster diving. He found some interesting things.

The worldly currency: Shield, some suspicious items, pretty trash, and a bunch of other stuff. A successful treasure hunt, if you asked Caelus.

Dan Heng and March 7th didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, though, considering the weird looks they gave him.

They stopped at Neverwinter Workshop too! Y/n had scribbled a little note about outdoor performances sometimes occurring there. There was no performance currently taking place, but there was a broken heater!

Erm... not all that impressive, to be honest.

You know what was impressive?

The damn food!

Y/n may have gone a bit overboard. Not only did she order the iced tea and vegetable and broth soup Gepard had recommended, but also a yummy looking pretzel, some a fruit salad, and various other things she couldn't bother to name.

'So good~!' she thought with delight, swaying from side to side as she headed for the Goethe Hotel where Dan Heng had instructed her to meet the group before dark, 'I've gotta thank Gepard for recommending this spot! Oh! Oh! And share it with the others as well!'

...

'You know what? Nevermind. This will be my spot.'

Selfish 🍑.

Anyways, after eating *she knew damn well March would ask to try some the moment she saw that y/n had food*, y/n headed right for the hotel. Just in time to meet her companions in the lobby.

"Well look who it is!" March announced with her hands on her hips, "Miss I'm-not-feeling-well!"

Y/n rolled her eyes, "Shut up. Let's just go to our rooms,