(Penacony is great BUT Jing Yuan is way more important *I'll give these chapter numbers later*)

(Sunday, forgive me)

Yun awoke before the sun, wrapped up in his mother's old blanket. He took a moment to rest on the floor of his room, processing where he was.

Running the restaurant with his mother by his side was something Yun was accustomed to, so suddenly having all of the responsibilities dumped on him following her death was certainly a difficult adjustment.

Yun persevered, though. He focused all of his energy towards work, running himself ragged every day and retiring to his room late in the evenings. This time, he'd barely made it five steps into his room before passing out.

He was so damn tired...

And yet he always woke up before the sun rose.
Every single day.

The boy inhaled deeply, burying his face in the blanket. His mother's scent grew fainter and fainter with each day, and it left a painful, gnawing feeling in his heart.

Still, he heaved a sigh and got up to start his day.

Folding the blanket, getting changed, and retrieving an object wrapped snugly in cloth from beneath his desk. The young Foxian ran from the restaurant and to the small courtyard in the back, unwrapping the cloth and observing the item that had been concealed within.

He gave it a weary stare, taking a deep breath.
"Alright... let's try this again."

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Late.

Gepard was actually running late.

Would you believe it?

He'd gone to bed early, as usual, and went to sleep with the little cheetah plush seated on the pillow next to him. Next thing he knew, he was up half an hour after his alarm was supposed to go off.

Sure, thirty minutes wasn't much, but it was such a sudden shift from his usual schedule that the man was a little rattled.

He rushed to get washed up and dressed, deciding to grab a meal on the way. Gepard hurried across Belobog, stopping briefly for some food.

As he was waiting on it, a display window in a nearby store caught his eye and he glanced over curiously. It was an advertisement, he only skimmed over it but there was a sale for sun cake ingredients.

It was just an ad, one little ad. And a nice little image of a stack of delicious looking sun cakes.

And yet the Captain's mind drifted to the h/c haired trailblazer who had eagerly munched on sun cakes during the short time she spent in Belobog during the Solwarm Festical.

'I wonder how she's been doing... should I text her? Or call?' Gepard wondered. He stood idly for a moment before shaking his head frantically.

'No, no, no, what am I thinking? She's probably really busy with... trailblazer stuff. Yeah. Being a train guard is very hard work... same with being an archivist. I shouldn't bother her...'

Even after immediately shooing away the thought, Gepard's mind still lingered on her as he wandered away from the food stall, not realizing he'd left his meal and the money he'd used to pay for it sitting on the counter while the perplexed store owner tried to call him back with no success.

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"I'm never gonna get used to this..."

"Mhm..."

March and y/n watched silently from the doorway leading to the rooms in the expressed, peering into the parlor car where Caelus was laid out on one of the couches.

He had his phone in one hand while the other was propped up under his chin, a stupid little grin on his face as he stared at his phone.

The women just couldn't figure out what he was giggling at... but at the same time, they didn't really want to know. After the 💩 show on the Penacony of Festivities, they didn't need to know what kind of mental trauma Caelus was carrying with him on his way out of it.

'The experience was so traumatizing he's acting like a school girl with a crush. Poor thing...' March thought.

Y/n had zero thoughts in her brain. By choice, of course. She wouldn't feel comfortable with thinking at all until they were far away from Penacony.

So, she made a beeline right for Himeko, Welt. And Pom Pom while March wandered over to Caelus and peered over his shoulder with a, "Who you talking to?"

"Ack—! Nobody!" Caelus snapped, slamming is phone face down onto the couch with a defensive look.

"Nobody? Giggling like that? I don't believe it for a second. Come on, tell me! Wait— you didnt get Robin's number and not tell me, did you?!"

"No way, I didn't even want her number! Hot robot men only!" Caelus retorted and March cringed.

"Ah. Right. I forgot."

Y/n tuned out March and Caelus's back and forth, which was interrupted by Dan Heng who had a few choice words for Caelus about leaving snacks in his pockets when putting his laundry in the washer.

She made her way over to the three senior members of the express, resting her head on Himeko's shoulder while Pom-Pom was looking rather pensive.

"Something on your mind, Pom-Pom?" Himeko inquired as she pat y/n's head, a gesture which was returned with a delighted smile from the woman and some internal screaming from Caelus.

"I've just received a message from the Xianzhou Luofu. Based off of its contents, it seems like it'll conflict with our schedule." Pom-Pom explained.

That caught March, Caelus, and Dan Heng's attention, prompting them all to come over to check it out. Caelus occupied Himeko's other shoulder, resting his head there as Pom-Pom pulled up a little hologram.

Y/n perked up a little bit when she realized it was Jing Yuan, 'Good news, I hope? Are we making a trip back?'

"It's been a while, my friends on the Astral Express. How has your trailblazing expedition been going?" the hologram began, "Soon, the Xianzhou Luofu will be holding the Luminary Wardance. Those who have aided the Luofu in overcoming the cries are cherished allies of the Xianzhou, thus, on behalf of the Seat of Divine Foresight, I'm extending an invitation to attend the ceremony. Your presence would be greatly appreciated."

March and Caelus both glanced at y/n, finding that she was all starry eyed and was barely fighting off a little smile.

"Seems like things are getting lively. We've barely had time to recuperate from The Family's Charmony Festival, and we're already being invited to another event," Himeko hummed, giving y/n a little smile, "I take it you're already considering going, huh?"

Y/n jolted when she realized she'd been caught, embarrassment heating her face as she remembered the innermost desires her fellow trailblazers had gotten a peek at thanks to the 💩show on Penacony.

"Ah—! No! No way! Not at all!" she sputtered, "I don't wanna see Jing Yuan— I MEAN GO TO THE WARDANCE!"

Caelus and March wore matching grins.
"Sure..."

The hydrogen bomb immediately raised his hand when y/n sent a devastated look his way, "I'd like to go! I vote that we head to the Luofu immediately! Nevermind the next planet, I want tuskpir wraps!"

"Me too!" March declared with a raised hand of her own, "And tea! Lots of tea! We should totally go and enjoy ourselves!"

"No, no, no, we shouldn't! We should stay focused!" y/n protested.

"So... we're leaving y/n behind to take care of the Express, then?" Dan Heng inquired, and y/n gasped.

"No way!" "Which is it, then?"

Y/n fell silent with a small groan. "But the crisis there just ended, why hold the festivities now?"

"Holding the Wardance so soon after the crisis is their way of showing everyone that they've returned to a state of peace and safety." Welt explained.

It was Caelus's turn to express some doubt, "They said the same thing in Penacony, then look what happened. Some dude named after a day of the week 🚚ed up our whole vacation."

"He's got a point," March 7th murmured.

"Don't worry, the Wardance isn't like the Charmony Festival with all the hidden secrets. It's just a festival to honor the Reignbow Arbiter and the Cloud Knights who fought against the Abominations of Abundance and protected the Xianzhou ships." Dan Heng reassured his companion, "Aside from starskiff performances, it's mainly martial contests. Sort of like the Taikiyan Roboball contests we've seen before."

(I should not be allowed near keyboards in the middle of the night)

"Can you guarantee that some person named Saturday won't sabotage anything?" "Probably."

Fed up, y/n slapped her hands over her ears and turned her away with a, "I can't hear you, sorry! Bye!!!"

She turned and hurried away, Caelus snickering and trailing after her, "But y/n? Don't you wanna see your hubby?"

"What hubby?! I have no hubby!"

"What was it you said in the dream?" Caelus cleared his throat before exclaiming in an intentionally exaggerated version of y/n's voice, "Oh Jing Yuan, you came to rescue me! Give me a big smooch!"

"I DIDNT SAY THAT!"

"You thought it!"

"I DID NOT!"

As the pair shouted back and forth, y/n fleeing out of the parlor car with Caelus hot on her heels. Himeko and Welt discussed it some more, they themselves wouldn't be able to go since they had some fossil research to be doing, but they figured it'd be just fine for the four goobers to head to the Luofu for the event while the seniors did some work.

Pom-Pom didn't protest about the change in arrangements, the express making the trip to the Luofu after the decision had been made.

It took some effort, but Caelus was able to sling y/n over his shoulder and carry her kicking and screaming out of the Express with Mimi tucked safely in his hoodie pocket.

By the time they took a starskiff to Central Starskiff Haven, she had calmed down and taken to regarding her surroundings with a much more satisfied look.

It was certainly more crowded than usual, and they wouldn't be able to find their petite escort in such a crowd, so the group of four found a better spot to wait.

"Hey, you guys! Hold on a moment!" a tiny person, a pepeshi, called. She was standing with an Intellitron, and y/n actually recoiled at the sight of them.

'Nope, no, not today,' she took a sharp turn, slipping past her friends unnoticed and retreating into the crowd, 'I know my way around, I'll find them later. I need to check on someone first...'

It was a little difficult to navigate with so many people in the area, but y/n made her way to the restaurant she had once known as home. When she arrived, it was... busy.

There were tourists and locals alike gathered, some enjoying food in the outdoor seating while there was a line literally extending out the door.

"That's a lot... has Yun hired any help?" y/n wondered aloud before walking ahead, carefully sliding past the line in the doorway with a quiet apology.

It was just as packed inside as she'd expected, hardly any free tables available while the line extended all the way to the front of the kitchen where orders were usually taken.

Much to the woman's surprise, there was a blur of stormy grey as the foxian boy darted around the restaurant, out and in the entrance, and back to the kitchens. Was he really balancing all of this by himself?

Y/n watched for a moment as Yun politely took another person's order before rushing back into the kitchen, immediately coming back out to clear up a table that had just been opened while saying farewell to the guests who had eaten there before rushing outside to check and make sure everything was fine there.

As he was rushing back in, y/n caught him by the shoulder. The boy's fluffy ears twitched in annoyance as he glanced back at her, "I'm sorry but we're really packed right now, if you could just wait..." his voice trailed off when he zeroed in on y/n's face.

She offered a small smile, "Hey."

"...hey." Yun murmured, "You're back."

"You're busy," y/n remarked, "Need a hand?"

The boy looked as though he wanted to refuse, but a timer rang out in the kitchen and he winced, "Sorry to trouble you with this right when you've just returned."

"It's no trouble, really." y/n hummed as she made her way over to the memorial at the far left wall of the restaurant, placing Mimi down on a stool beside it, "What can I help with?"

"Ah... just make sure the customers outside are content, clear up any tables people leave, and... relay orders to me? The kitchen needs my full attention." Yun replied hastily before rushing back to the kitchen.

Y/n shrugged, "Sure, no problem."

Pfft. Yeah. No problem.
More like a 💩 ton of problems.

Do you know how god damn ANNOYING it was?

"And I'll have uhh... mm... the roasted...? No, no, I want the dumplings... no wait, nevermind, I actually want..."

Y/n's eye twitched as the customers in front of her kept skimming over the menu, constantly changing his order. The other customers behind him were getting impatient, and y/n couldn't spend much more time waiting around.

"Sir? Maybe you should move aside and give it a moment to decide on what you want," y/n advised in a tense tone.

"No, no, I've got it. I want uhh..."

And the tables. Oh god, the tables.

'Who ate here? A bunch of toddlers?' y/n wondered as she gathered the dishes and wiped down the table, giving the seats a disgusted look when she realized that they were also dirty.

She darted from vacant table to vacant table, cleaning hastily before rushing off to seat more customers, relay their orders to Yun, and carry out prepped meals to other tables.

Over and over and over.

Y/n's phone buzzed as she was swapping places with Yun to take over cooking instead, pausing to take a look. It was a message from Dan Heng. Right... she hadn't told him and the others where she'd run off to.

Dan Heng
Where are you?
You disappeared without a word.

Y/n
Sorry, I wanted to check on Yun.
The restaurant is packed, so I'm helping out.
Say hello to Jing Yuan for me

Dan Heng
Sure, I'll tell him you said you missed him sooo much and that if you were here, you'd give him a big fat KISS ❤️🥰🎀💋🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️💍✨

Y/n
WTH
DAN HENG
WHAT

Dan Heng

Y/n stared at her phone in disbelief for a long moment before tucking it away, washing her hands, and beginning to cook with a somewhat mortified look.

'Maybe I should go back?' y/n wondered, glancing out at where the customers were seated when there was a shout.

"This isn't my order, brat! Where's my food?!" one of the customers demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry, that was for the other table..." Yun mumbled, his ears drooping a bit as he picked up the dish, "I'll be back with your food soon, don't worry."

Y/n glanced at the irritated customer and the other people still waiting to have their orders taken before sighing, 'There's always someone... who cares if Caelus says dumb 💩? My brother needs me here.'

As y/n was rushing some food out to the outdoor seating, she brushed passed a pair of customers who had blocked the way. She began to murmur and apology, but staggered to a halt had a jolt ran through her.

The customers, a pair of Foxians, gave her a disdainful look as she stood idle for a moment before nodding and continuing on to finish what she was doing.

As she set the food down outside, the customers at the table began to express their gratitude only to freeze at the sight of her face.

"What's with that look?!"
"Are you okay!?"

Y/n inhaled deeply, then puffed out a long exhale as she forced the expression to fade away and a pleasant smile to replace it, "No, nothing at all. Enjoy the food."

The trembling customers watched y/n go, looking somewhat weary as she made her way back to the kitchens.

'I'm certain of what I smelled, but those are just Foxians. What's wrong with me? Am I still suffering from the effects of memoria or something?' y/n wondered with a small grimace in her face, 'Whatever, I've gotta focus.'

They worked for a long while before Yun forcibly closed the restaurant a little while before the usual closing time. Y/n was confused, but she still helped him clean up the place and get everything tidy.

"This is rather early for closing," she commented before grinning cheekily, "Got a date or something?"

"Eh? No, nothing like that," Yun shook his head and looked away, "I just have some errands to run... gotta pick up groceries."

"Oh, groceries? I can help out!" y/n eagerly offered and her younger brother's ears and tail shot up.

"N-No! No!" he began with wide e/c eyes, pausing with a grimace when he saw y/n's confused and somewhat hurt look, "I mean... you're here with the Astral Express, right? You should go meet up with them. After what happened last time... I'm sure they're anxious about being apart from you for so long. Don't worry, I can handle it on my own."

He ushered y/n out the door easily, giving her a terse smile before shutting the door in her face.

Y/n stood awkwardly in front of the door letting her trembling hand fall to her side as she pulled out her phone, "Okay, then... I guess I can go catch up with the others."

Literally out of nowhere, y/n's phone buzzed and she left the Express group chat with Caelus, Dan Heng, and March to check out the new message.

She immediately went as stiff as a board.
"Ah! Jing Yuan! What the hell?!"

Jing Yuan
Dan Heng told me you'd gone to see your brother
Was the restaurant packed today?

Y/n
Very, Yun only just closed up now to run errands.
I'm coming to see you now, give me a few minutes

Jing Yuan
Apologies, but how about we postpone it until later?
We can talk a little later on, are you willing to meet at your favorite hiding spot after sunset?

Y/n raised a brow, "Eh? There? But it's so desolate..."

Y/n
Weird choice, but sure. Just make sure you bring some good food, I'm 🚚ing starving.
See you then, Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan
Make sure you catch up with the others quickly.
It's a little crowded right about now, and I know how you tend to get about overly crowded places

Y/n
What do you think I am? A kid? 😒
I'll be fine

Y/n shook her head, checking Caelus's messages.
Something about grabbing tea at the Alchemy Commission... okay, simple enough.

She'd get there in ten— no! Five minutes!

...

'Did I get here early?' y/n wondered.

She stood idly amidst the hustle and bustle of the Alchemy Commission, peering at her surrounding with curious yet confused eyes.

The woman pursed her lips into a small pout, "I guess I could walk around a bit? Now where to..."

She glanced over her