The Second Archon War: Animula Choragi 6

Animula Choragi 6: Part of Your World

Two days after the battle at the Louvre, Furina awoke feeling slightly off. It must have been something she ate, because she felt bloated, along with having a headache and feeling exhausted despite having gotten a full night's sleep. 

“Hey, good morning sleepyhead,” Yennifer said, smiling as Furina stumbled out of the bedroom. She was already dressed for work, and Charlotte had departed for school, their hours not lining up. 

“Mmph,” Furina said, grimacing. 

“You don’t look so hot. Sick?” Yennifer asked.

“Must have been something I ate, I think my stomach is bothering me, and I have a bit of a headache,” Furina said, rubbing at her abdomen. 

“Have some chamomile tea and a paracétamol,” Yennifer said, getting out a packet of tea and a yellow box that contained white tablets. 

Furina took it along with a fruit Yennifer called a banana, and felt a little better, though the bloating didn’t go away. 

Still, she got dressed for work and reported right on time at 11:30am before Wanmin Restaurant opened. She soldiered through the discomfort until nearly the middle of the lunch rush at 1:30pm. At that point, a wave of pain came over her, and Furina feared she was about to embarrass herself. She hastened to the staff washroom to relieve herself, but to her abject horror, found that she was bleeding.

Am I dying?! What’s happening to me!? 

Remain calm. I can release power to heal you, but I think it is best you immediately contact a healer, Focalors said, but she didn’t sound calm either!

Why are you panicking!? You’re just a voice in my head!

I’ve never experienced pain like this! I can feel what you do, Furina. And to be bleeding…well, I never had to experience biological functions, so I don’t have much experience with…that…but I do seem to recall that living things shouldn’t be bleeding! 

Look, you told me not to panic, we need to remain calm. Now think. We can’t just call an ambulance in the middle of my shift. 

I certainly think we can! Young lady, if you do not get yourself to a hospital, I’m going to use the Hydro Authority to heal you whether you want it or not!

No, no, I…I think I know what this is.

Getting out her phone, Furina put it to her ear after dialing one of the only numbers she knew. A moment later, she hiccuped in relief when Yennifer’s voice said, “Furina? What’s up?”

This is not the time to chat with a friend! Call the healers or I will-

“Um, Yennifer? I, um…I think I’m having my period…”

Dead silence from Yennifer and from Focalors. Furina took a bit of perverse pleasure in finally shutting the voice in her head up. Even the Hydro Archon didn’t know everything.

“Uh, OK, that’s uh…”

“I, ah, I’ve never had one before…what do I do?” Furina asked in a voice so timid and quiet, she wasn’t certain Yennifer would be able to hear. 

“You’ve never- Heiliges Barbados, Furina, what do you mean?!”

“I, um, well…I was…sort of Cursed, before? I didn’t age, and never got sick, and um…d-didn’t get, um…womanly courses…”

“Alright. Don’t panic. I’ll be right over. Do you have a change of underwear?” 

“N-no…”

“OK. I’m texting Ling. You’re alright with that, aren’t you?” 

Furina nodded tearfully, then had to remember that you had to speak over the phone and whispered, “Yes…”

She sat on the toilet feeling absolutely miserable and trying to clean herself up, but she mostly made a mess of things, she was in such a state. 

I still think this is an emergency and you should either take the Mantle or get yourself to a doctor. I certainly never had to deal with…such things. 

Oh hush, you’re a god. You were never even human, were you?

Well, I was. For about two weeks. Then Egeria was killed, I was made Archon, and I split off my humanity into you. Then I spent the next five centuries as an incorporeal spirit. So my experience is somewhat limited. 

Well, maybe I was never human either…

Oh, Furina…you were more human than you can ever know…I’m so sorry you have to go through this…

I’m not. It means…it means I really am just a mortal woman now, doesn’t it?

I…I suppose it does. I am going to have to consider what this means. I had thought…I had thought you were becoming a god…

Her mad ramblings with her invisible self were interrupted when the door banged open. “Furina?” Ling said, sounding worried. “Are you alright?”

“Well, I think I’ll live, I just…um…”

“Here, I got a spare set of undies, if you don’t mind borrowing. They’re new! I keep a couple of pairs here, I get pretty heavy periods myself and sometimes even with pads there’s some leakage. I’m passing you that, some ibuprofen, some Xiao Yao San, a chocolate bar, and some pads.”

Furina gratefully took all three. The Xiao Yao San she mentally translated to “free and easy wanderer,” and it took the form of some herbal pills. Furina was familiar with herbal menstrual treatments, as while she herself had never needed them, there had been plenty of concoctions of lakelight lilies mixed with powered beryl chonch for women who were having their moon’s blood. 

The chocolate was just to make her feel better, which she appreciated. 

Before she was even finished getting changed, Yennifer was there, out of breath and breathing hard. Furina hesitantly opened the door to let her into the cramped bathroom. To her relief, the first thing Yennifer did was hug her. 

“It’s going to be alright,” Yennifer said, giving her a squeeze. “I remember when I had my first period, and when Charlotte did. She called me in a panic, even though I was in Germany. Sometimes you just need some emotional support.”

“T-thank you,” Furnia sniffled. She grimaced and adjusted her pants. “These pads might help, but they’re very uncomfortable. How do you take them off without hurting yourself?”

“Uncomfortable? Oh! Um, Furina…the sticky side goes on your underwear…not your skin.”

As if the situation wasn’t already embarrassing enough…

After that, Ling informed her father the restaurant was “temporarily closed,” even though it was in the middle of the lunch rush, and Yennifer, Ling, and Julie all took Furina aside in the kitchen after kicking Chef Mao out and had a brief conference. 

“It’s really your first one?” Julie asked, looking baffled. She grimaced, glancing outside. “You’re lucky all this rain is keeping people away. It’s so odd that it’s been raining this much in April.”

“Have you been crying all morning?” Yennifer asked. “I should have known.”

Well, that was a complete non-sequitur, but Furina could only bite her lip and nod. “Yes, it’s been rather painful, and, um, well…I-I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I thought I just had gas…”

“She has a medical condition,” Yennifer told Ling and Julie, who both made commiserating noises and patted Furina on the hand. 

“Have another chocolate, it makes me feel better,” Ling encouraged, passing another square to Furina, who gratefully ate it. 

The other three women laid out the basics, which Furina mostly understood, but was grateful to have explained to her in simple terms. Focalors was blessedly silent through the whole thing, and hadn’t continued her insistence that Furina needed to go to the hospital. At least, until…

“...and we’ll need to take you to the doctor. I’ll schedule an appointment with mine and Charlotte’s, she’s very good. You’ll need to take a day off work to go though, they’ll want to run all sorts of tests on you,” Yennifer said.

I told you that you needed the attention of a healer! Surely this was completely abnormal, and you require intensive rest and medical attention. 

Oh hush. I don’t think mine was even particularly bad, I was just scared and surprised. 

Well, I’m not losing you again now that I’ve just got you back, daughter mine. I’ve invested far too much into this plan to simply let it come crashing down due to mortal frailty. 

Who’s the frail one? The god who never had to deal with the inconveniences of being a mortal woman, or she who perseveres through the normal trials of life? 

Why Furina! That is a most excellent argument.  You will make a fine Hydro Archon. I always knew it, but…well. Perhaps your Justice will be a purer one than mine alone ever was.

After some more crying and hugs, Yennifer excused herself to see to a client that would be arriving soon, and Ling and Julie asked Furina if she needed the rest of the day off. 

“Do you take a day off when you get your periods?” 

“Well, no, not usually,” Ling admitted. “But mine are pretty bad sometimes, and I might take some extra time off. I did a couple of months ago, actually. It was so bad I could barely even cook, and dad sent me home.”

“Mine are a lot lighter, but I do sometimes need extra time off my feet. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially if it’s your first one,” Julie said.

“No,” Furina squared her shoulders, then winced a bit, because she still had a headache and was quite tender. But she dried her tears, and ate her chocolate. Then, she struck a pose, pointing forward. “The show must go on!” 

The show did go on, though by the end of her shift, Furina wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue living. She felt ugly, bloated, and miserable. When Chef Mao sent her home early, claiming that there weren’t too many dishes, Furina didn’t protest, and instead stumbled home at a somewhat reasonable 10pm. She did stop and buy herself an entire carton of chocolate ice cream at the grocery on the way home. 

“You’re home early,” Yennifer said, looking up from the couch where she’d been reading and peering over her glasses. Normally, Yennifer wore contacts, but at home she used reading glasses. “Feeling any better?”

“No,” Furina admitted. She changed into her comfortable sweat pants and curled up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream, passing one to Yennifer. “Eat some, so I don’t feel so fat.”

“Mmm, I won’t say no to some ice cream. You’re lucky Charlotte’s already asleep, she-”

“Did someone say ice cream?!” Charlotte peered out of her room, then grinned to see Furina. “Ooo, can I have some?”

“Help yourself,” Furina said, then regretted it a moment later when Charlotte took almost the entire carton and dumped it in a bowl. 

“My sister is a fiend for ice cream, though she prefers chocolate chip mint,” Yennifer said with a smile and a shake of her head. “I thought you were asleep already.”

“You were acting suspiciously, and then Furina came home already! Plus, I was editing a video and chatting with Barbs,” Charlotte said, then stuck a big spoonful in her mouth. “Mmm, Häagen-Dazs! You sprung for the good stuff! Rough day?”

“It, um, yes,” Furina said, blushing and feeling terribly embarrassed.

“Hmmm,” Charlotte peered at Furina, then at her sister, then nodded. “I see! So it’s like that, is it? Well, hopefully you won’t be as much of a connasse as was the first few times I had mine.” 

“Yes, well…now I know what I can look forward to every month,” Furina said, feeling morose. She was about to take another bite when Charlotte lept up and exclaimed, “AH-HA!” which nearly caused Furina to spill her ice cream all over herself. 

“So, this was your first one! Now are you going to claim that women in Fontaine didn’t have womanly courses!?” Charlotte demanded, her eyes gleaming. 

“Lotte!” Yennifer snapped, standing herself and looking frustrated. 

“Um, well…they didn’t used to…b-but with all the intermixing…they started to,” Furina said, looking terribly embarrassed. 

Charlotte blinked a few times. Even Yennifer looked confused. “I’m sorry, what?”

Furina considered for a moment, taking another bite of ice cream while her mind worked. “Where…where did humans come from, in France?”

“Er…I should know that, we’re studying history now,” Charlotte said, tapping her forehead. “Ah ha! Yes, we’re originally a Celtic tribe known as the Gauls, but over time other peoples, especially the Germanic Frankish people, moved into the area and intermixed!”

“No, I mean…what were they, originally?” Furina asked. “Were they originally beastkin tribes that were shaped by a god, or were they molded from primordial clay, or did they descend from some sort of elemental beings?” 

“Uh…I’m pretty sure humans evolved from…well, not monkeys, but a type of ape?” Charlotte said, cocking her head to one side. 

“The church teaches we were created by God in the Garden of Eden,” Yennifer added, though Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“I see. Well, Fontanians…we were descended from Oceanids,” Furina said, looking down at her now-empty bowl of ice cream. “I don’t know all the details, but-”

We were born of water and waves. Humans were strangers to us, who came from a distant land. Some say another world. Until they arrived, we oceanids were near mindless. Like the Hydro Mimics, we frolicked and played, copying what we found in nature. But, when we began to copy Man…then, we began to think.

Furina just relayed what Focalors was saying, though in slightly less flowery language. And without the first person pronouns. 

…and so, that was Egeria’s Sin, to give her people the form of Man, that we might truly become our own people, and live life ourselves. I was one of the oceanids who took mortal form, becoming human. One of the first generation. Though as I said previously, that lasted only a short while. And for it, we were cursed, and our Doom foretold by the Prophecy, that the Hydro Archon would remain on her throne, weeping, as her lands were consumed by the waters of the Primordial Sea from whence all Oceanids came. 

This, of course, is the source of that old legend, that a Fontainian couple wishing to have a child needed to go to the Fountain of Lucine. There, the power of the Hydro Archon would bless them, and grant them a child. For Oceanids were elemental creatures, and not fecund as mortal humans were. 

Over time, of course, the mortal humans of other lands interbred with the humanity of Fontaine. Eventually, mortals of Fontaine no longer needed to pilgrimage to the Fountain of Lucine to be blessed with a child, for their blood had mixed, and they would quicken on their own. I had not drawn the parallels to mortal women experiencing natural courses…but I suppose it makes sense. So, then, Furina, that begs the question: Why do you experience such? You are me, and I am you. It is from that first generation that I sprang, and from me, in turn, that you were manifested. You should not have such things.

The story took quite a while, but neither Yennifer nor Charlotte spoke a word, though Charlotte had stolen one of her sister’s legal pads and began furiously taking notes shortly after Furina had begun. 

“So, let me make sure I have this accurately,” Charlotte said, absently tucking a lock of pink hair behind her ear and squinting at her pad; she wasn’t wearing her own glasses, as she’d been ready for bed herself. Yennifer handed her sister the reading glasses, and Charlotte smiled and put them on. “You, or rather, all humans from Teyvat-”

“Oh no! Just Fontainians. The humans in other lands arose in other ways,” Furina clarified. 

“...right. Anyway, you didn’t evolve from a common ape ancestor. You were some sort of aquatic elemental beings who mimicked humans, and by the power of the Hydro Archon, became human. You, Furina, were one of these oceanids.”

“Er, well…maybe? I was born at the right time, I just, um…I don’t remember anything before being given my task to avert the prophecy by Focalors. I could have been a normal human from another land-”

Oh please, Furina. Don’t lie to yourself or them.

“-or more likely…I was created directly by Focalors. Perhaps…perhaps even her ‘humanity.’ As she had become a god after Egeria died in the Cataclysm, and had been judged by Celestia.”

You know better than that. If I had created a human out of nothing, that would have meant a Divine Nail for Fontaine. But using myself? That was perfectly within the rules. Not that they ever noticed. 

“Right, just one clarifying question,” Charlotte said, looking up from her notes. “Furina…how old are you? And don’t go trying to wiggle out of it this time!” 

“Charlotte, it’s late, and Furina’s had an exhausting day. You can grill her later,” Yennifer said forcefully, but Furina shook her head. 

“No, it’s fine. I don’t know exactly how old I am. No, I’m not trying to wiggle out of it, Charlotte! I honestly don’t know. But…but 500 years passed from the time I was given my task, to the day the Prophecy came true.” 

“And if your year is a week longer than ours…500 divided by 52 is…approximately 10 years,” Charlotte said, her eyes racing back and forth as she clutched her pen and pad. 

“Nine and seven months,” Yennifer corrected, which Charlotte nodded at and wrote down. 

“So, you’re 509, at the bare minimum,” Charlotte said, a triumphant expression on her face. “There’s no way you’re a mortal human!” 

“I…” Tears filled Furina’s eyes. “I was. And am. Maybe…maybe even more so, now. I was Cursed, you see. By Focalors herself. I couldn’t die, or find happiness, so long as the Prophecy existed.”

Actually, the exact words were, and I quote, ‘I curse thee that thou shalt be stranded alone upon the stream of time. Thy body is trapped in a whirlpool, never aging, never sickening, nor quickening. Neither shall thou know rest nor joy until thy task be complete; thou shalt know no comfort until the Doom of Prophecy is at hand, and the Hydro Archon is judged, wretched, and alone upon her throne.’

And thank you for that! No wonder I was always a poor sleeper!

I do apologize, dear. But I had to. There had to be a great and terrible Doom upon you. Otherwise, you would have aged like a normal woman, and the ruse would have been up before it had truly begun. 

Why did I have to suffer, anyway? I’m not complaining, just…what were you even doing for 500 years? 

Why, forging a sword that could shatter even a Throne and erase a god from existence. It was a very splendid thing. Even Beezelbul would have been jealous. I invented a new material, Indemnitium, and with it, created a most splendid pyre for myself. I…I did not anticipate that such a pyre would consume you, as well, Furina. Though frankly, I am a bit baffled at how there’s even enough left of me to bear the Mantle for you. Even if only for a limited time. I should have been erased so utterly that even Irminsul might have forgotten me. 

“I’m going to need to know more about this ‘Prophecy,’” Charlotte said, eyes gleaming with intense curiosity again. 

“Not tonight,” Yennifer said firmly. “It’s well past your bedtime, and it’s a school night. And Furina looks deadbeat.”

Charlotte glared at her sister, her Vision glowing brightly, fists clenched so hard she was crumpling her notebook. 

“Charlotte,” Furina said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. She whirled on Furina, gaze full of ice. Yes, when Charlotte got this way, there was nearly no stopping her. Unless that is, you knew the secret: Juicy sources and personal interviews. 

“I promise, I’ll give you an exclusive interview. But not tonight. I’m too tired. Next Sunday, perhaps.”

At the words “exclusive interview,” Charlotte thawed from glacial to gleeful. “You mean it!? A personal exposé, just me and you!?” 

“As Furina’s lawyer and your guardian, I will also be present,” Yennifer said, her own tone brooking no argument. 

“You can run the camera and sound equipment! Ooo, I just know this will be the story that makes my career! Heehee, I’ll have to write down a list of questions!” Humming happily to herself, Charlotte skipped off to her bedroom.

Sighing, Yennifer picked up her sister’s empty bowl of icecream and spoon. “You don’t have to indulge her like that, you know.”

“No, it’s…cathartic. I…I always wished I could tell the Charlotte I knew the truth. We were…well, I can’t say close. I didn’t have any real friends, as I lied to everyone about everything. But…but we could have been,” Furina whispered, tears fogging her Vision again. 

Yennifer glanced at the window, where rain had started to splatter against the shutters. As she watched the rain, Yennifer asked, “Were you really human, Furina?”

“I was. Just a cursed one. And now…now I’m not even that.” Furina clutched her abdomen and grimaced. How long was this going to last? 

Go to the doctor in the morning! I wasn’t prepared for this sort of mortal frailty, and you need to take care of yourself, Furina. I watched you suffer for five centuries. I refuse to do it for a moment longer. Not when it serves no purpose. 

Channeling Charlotte, Furina replied in her most biting, acerbic mental voice, Yes, Mother. 

I…yes. Thank you, Furina. I…I think I needed to hear that. Furina heard the sound of sniffles and…wait. Was Focalors crying!? The manipulative mastermind who had condemned Furina to centuries of suffering with a smile on her face? This didn’t make any sense. 

A hand touched Furina’s shoulder, and she looked up to find Yennifer offering her a tissue. “I guess…welcome to life like the rest of us, Furina. It’s crappy and it sucks a lot of the time, but sometimes…sometimes you have ice cream with someone who cares about you. Unless your idiot kid sister eats half the carton.”

“Ha! Well, next time, I’ll know to get extra just for Charlotte,” Furina said, and somehow, despite the fact that she still felt awful…she felt just a little bit better. 

The next day, Russia invaded Finland. Neither Yennifer or Furina would sleep well for a long time to come.