Previously in NWC-
CeCe and Lyn awake from a night of intense partying. After slowly managing to work their way outside, CeCe and Lyn begin planning. During their planning, Lyn finally speaks her mind on Reno, claiming he's a liability. After some back and forth, Lyn agrees to give Reno a genuine chance. Having moved past their disagreement, they continue to practice for the upcoming town meeting. In another part of town...
Back at the Town Hall…
Reno scratches his neck awkwardly, trying to think of a way out of the question. "Well, you see..."
Ben waits patiently, leaning forward slightly. "Is somethin' wrong, Young Reno? You seem a bit choked up all of a sudden."
"Nothing's wrong! I was just so focused on telling you about Arthur that I completely forgot to mention Luna! Luna is… adopted! She wasn't adopted until about a year ago, so she doesn't know about the past family drama or anything."
Ben's eyes light up as he nods his head slowly. "Adoption? That's very noble!"
Reno lets out a breath of relief as he begins to calm down. "Yeah, she was adopted. My parents are always away on business, so she doesn't really know our parents very well. I pretty much always end up taking care of her, like now."
Ben laughs, nodding his head with understanding. "You do seem to be quite the responsible older brother! Why don't they have you watch Arthur as well? Why is it that only Young Luna came to stay with you."
"…" Reno sighs, his heartrate rising once again. "Well…" He grips his forehead for a moment, cursing himself internally for starting this lie in the first place. "She's kind of attached to me. Since Arthur has all of his friends back home, we thought it'd be better for him not to be moved around a whole bunch."
"Makes sense! That's adorable that Little Luna loves her big brother so much!"
Reno groans to himself slightly as he realizes how difficult it's going to be to keep up the lies. He's half tempted to just look crazy and admit he's from another world, but he manages to repress those thoughts. Before things could get worse, Luna enters the room, drying her hair with a towel. She wore a light blue dress that was gifted to her by Lyn and CeCe the night that Reno came to Ben's. She looks at the two and gives Reno look of curiosity, seeing the relief on his face. "Reno, the shower is open."
Reno stands up, leaving the room quickly. "Thanks, Luna!" He rushes past her, making her curious.
"Young Luna, I hope the shower wasn't too hot. Sometimes the magic crystals start actin' up and make things a bit too cold or hot."
Luna walks over, sitting in the seat Reno had just left. "It was quite nice, actually! I'm very grateful for your hospitality, Mr. Ben."
Ben smiles, running his hands over his moustache as he thinks. "Young Reno tells me you're adopted! Do you like your new family so far?"
Luna sighs, immediately tensing up. "Correct! (So I'm adopted now?) It was quite scary being taken in by someone I didn't know, but now that I've had time to adjust, it's quite nice."
"I'm so sorry to hear that your new parents are always on business trips. Is your big brother raising you well?"
Luna cringes slightly as she forces a mechanical smile. "Of course. My big brother isn't entirely incompetent… sometimes. (Keeping up lies is quite bothersome but it would be unwise to go around claiming to be the Goddess Mixzys while I'm in this weakened state.)"
"Well, adopted or not, your brother seems to care very much for you and Arthur."
"Fortunately, one of positive things about him is his caring nature."
Ben nods his head, letting out a slight hum. "What about a negative trait? I'd be interested in hearin' something you think is bad about him."
Luna lets out a loud groan, her body going slightly limp as she rolls her eyes. "Don't get me started! He never listens. He's selfish half of the time, and it's like pulling teeth to get him to do anything. He doesn't think. He shifts blame on literally anyone but himself. He has no backbone and gets walked over easily. The only time he shows any sort of redeemable personality he ruins it by constantly trying to make everything a comedic scenario!"
Ben does his best to hide his growing smile. Holding in his laughter, he speaks, "Is that so? You must care a lot about him to notice that many flaws!"
Luna sighs with exasperation. "That's the problem, I do care. Too much I think."
"Well, for this old man's sake, give your brother a break every now and again. I remember when I was his age, trying to find my place in the world."
Before long, Reno returns, seeing the two conversing. He sees Luna's expression shift to annoyance when she sees him. "I guess I'm in trouble later."
Luna crosses her arms, looking over at him. "Oh, good, you're learning."
The two bid farewell to Ben, returning to the street and looking at each other. "Alright, what are you mad about THIS time?"
"You impudent brat! Are you aware of how difficult it is to keep up with your lies?!"
"I can't just go around telling people I'm from another world!"
"And I can't go around claiming to be the goddess Mixzys, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to add layers upon layers of lies when someone asks me a basic question!"
"Well, I mean, yeah. Because I'm the one who adds the lies for you."
Luna grits her teeth, crossing her arms. "If I had my full strength right now I'd blast some sense into that thick skull of yours."
Reno looks at her with concern, holding his hands up in defense. "I feel like you being able to say that with a straight face automatically gives me a free pass for lying."
"Pray tell, what sort of thought process lead you to think that?"
Reno smirks, shrugging his shoulders. "Because I said so, that's why."
Luna sighs and shakes her head. "I swear, you're the most stressful part of regaining my power."
"Because you don't do anything!"
Luna holds a finger up to quiet him, pointing at him with her index finger. "Need I remind you where you get your strength from?!"
Reno sighs, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Yeah, yeah. Your miracles and all that crap."
"Good!" Luna smiles with delight as she begins taking the lead, walking further into the town. "Now, shall we meet up with Lyn and CeCe? We'll want to plan as much as possible before the meeting tonight!" The two begin making their way further into town, their next objective clear.
Meanwhile, at the Future Training Grounds-
Medusa wanders around, moving her body from one tree to another via her vines. Her eyes scan the clearing, observing everything and nothing as she waits for time to pass. "Muhh." As if she had just said something profound, she nods her head. She quickly retracts her vines, her body hovering in the air for a moment before falling. She falls, letting herself hit the ground and slide around on her smaller vines. Her eyes narrow as she looks off at the entrance to the FTG. Smirking, she puts two vines in front of her, crossing them like a human would cross their arms. She hoists her head up and over the tree line, looking around like a periscope. She spots the barn and slowly plants her vines into the ground, anchoring herself as she leans over, expanding her body to extreme lengths. As she narrows in on the barn she begins letting out noises of strain as her vines start reaching their limit. She pokes her head through the second story window. "Muh, muh mnnnn-!" She opens her mouth, biting down on the party's blankets that hadn't been washed for a while. After biting down on them, her body quickly shoots back towards the forest. Her head flies past her body and shoots further into the woods. Like a spring doorstop, her head goes back and forth before finally returning to it's starting point. Medusa takes one of her vines and makes a clothes line. She slowly opens her mouth wider, shoving the blankets into her mouth and swishing them around. Her green mystery liquid soaks into the sheets, a small trail dripping from her mouth, until eventually she spits them out. Carefully, she catches them, hanging them from her vines to dry off. Pleased with herself, Medusa cheers. "Muhh!" Pleased with having found a work around to the rule of not leaving the FTG without permission, she began rehanging herself from the trees, keeping a watchful eye on the blankets to make sure no other curious creatures were trying to mess with them. "Ree…" Her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep, idling her time while she waited for Reno's return.
TO BE CONTINUED...