Jackie’s eyes slowly squint open the next morning, confusingly finding himself laid down and tucked into bed. When he’d last fallen asleep up against Arti’s side, and didn’t remember waking up to walk back here himself. 

 

This is only allowed to be a thought in his mind for a few seconds, before his phone starts to beep with the alarm reminding him that he’s got work this morning and is meant to be taking Artifal with him. 

 

Rolling out of his bed, he tosses on his now daily work uniform. A black dress shirt with yellow patterning in the shape of honeycombs, alongside a pair of black jeans. 

 

By the time he’s done getting dressed, and about to need to leave. Arti still hadn’t come out of her room, so he walks over and starts to knock on it.

Almost becoming concerned that the detective wasn’t home, or had stayed up so late that she’d be unable to come with him to work. Until he knocks one final time, and the door slides open. His fist landing in between Arti’s breasts as she doesn’t even have a bra on. 

 

“Oh…” Arti looks down, and grabs Jackie’s hand. Dropping it down at his side. “Sorry forgot I was gonna come with you, give me a few while I get dressed. I promise they’ll forgive you if we’re late.”

Jackie opens his mouth to argue, only to have the door slap shut in front of him once again. Leaving him as unaware of what’s inside as ever. “O-okay fine but please hurry I don’t wanna disappoint them!”

 

Walking over to the living room, he leans back on the couch and starts to tap his feet while he waits. Puffing his cheeks out, as he looks over the mess from them hanging out last night that neither had cleaned up yet.

 

After a moment Artifal walks out of her bedroom, dressed identically to every other day Jackie had ever seen her. Confirming that other than the one dress shirt, Artifal likely doesn’t actually own any clothes aside from the set that she’s constantly in. “Welp let’s get headed out yeah?”

Jackie nods, and sighs to himself. Leading the way down stairs and over to the car, where he watches Arti once again compact herself down into a little pretzel in order to fit. “I’ll introduce you if you’d like? Then I’ll have to go off to work.” 

 

“Sounds good to me.” Arti shrugs and wiggles in place as Jackie starts to drive them through the city to the Honey Pot. Staring out the window the whole time as she goes entirely silent.

 

It’s a fairly quiet drive, all things considered, despite the commute traffic in the center of the town. Jackie finds his parking spot and nudges Arti a few times as she doesn’t react to them being parked. “Alright, I’ll go ahead and head inside to help with opening. After we’re open, you can come inside whenever you’re ready, okay?” 

 

Arti gives a slight nod as she’s nudged, sliding out of the car and starting to lean on it instead. While Jackie locks it up. 

 

Jackie glances over Arti and how quiet she’d gotten despite being the one who wanted to come here. He slowly takes a few steps away and heads inside of the Honey Pot, where the opening crew is already preparing the bar for the day.

Arachne, Wally, and Kat are all standing around the bar as they talk about the bar’s inventory. Only Wally noticing as Jackie walks up to them to sign in for his shift. 

 

“Oh hey Jackie!” Wally’s bright yellow ears perk up at the sight of the cat boy. Revealing a clip in the left one from what had to be it being forcibly cut at one point. “Are you doing okay?”

 

“Oh, uh yeah. My roommate just decided to come here with me today to talk to you guys, and has been very uncharacteristically quiet all morning.” Jackie sighs and walks around behind the bar, as he gets onto the till and starts to log in for the shift. 

 

Arachne perks up slightly at the news. “Oh really? Well we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for her, and I’ll make sure I have the time to talk.” She nods to herself as she picks up the paperwork that had been spread out on the counter.

 

“Thank you ma’am, I really appreciate it. She’s been having a hard time with what’s been going on, and just needs to ask a few questions.” Jackie shuffles his feet as soon as he’s signed in, shaking his head lightly. “I guess I’ll just go get started then.”

 

“Nah, stay right here. I’m gonna train you on the bar today.” Kat finally speaks up, as her tail wraps around Jackie’s and gently tugs him back into place preventing him from wandering off. 

 

“O-” Jackie’s furr stands on end as he’s pulled back into place, attempting not to get flustered by the unusual way of stopping his wandering. “Okay sounds good to me!”

 

Kat’s tail quickly detangles itself, as she nods. “Good, we have a specialty item that I wanna make sure you’re good to work with it.” 

 

                                              * * *

 

Wally stands at the front podium, his tail swishing from side to side. While his eyes stay locked on the windows, looking around outside in anticipation of who’s going to be visiting today.

 

Eventually Artifal Carter walks past the right window, dressed as always in the same outfit as the first time the two had met. All the while Wally struggles to hold himself from barking to alert everyone that she’s here. 

 

The front door is soon after pushed open, as Arti awkwardly shuffles her way inside and up to the podium. Looking down and being met with Wally. “Hello, my name is Wally, I’ll be your server today. Is there anything I can get you started with?”

 

As he looks at Arti he can’t help but start to see that same light blue glow leaking out and around the detective. As it makes contact with him he feels the air become notably thicker, more difficult to breathe. Her magic is still overwhelming as ever. 

 

Arti laughs lightly as she looks down at the dog boy, one hand reaching back and starting to scratch the back of her head. “Well I’d like to speak with your boss, you see I’m a detective and I’ve been looking into the city because of a disappearance.”

 

Wally chuckles and shakes his head, before waving her along. “I’ll bring Miss Arachne out front, you just enjoy sitting at the bar until then okay?” 

 

Arti nods, and follows behind Wally. Quickly sitting down at the bar, and smiling at both Jackie and Kat. “I’ll take one of your house special.” 

 

Wally walks past the group while Jackie starts to fumble his way through making the mix of alcohol infused honey, in layers between batches of alcohol for a shot. “Should I put anything in for a meal ma’am?”

 

“No thank you Wally, I’m not really hungry right now.” Arti waves the boy off, allowing him to wander into the back of the bar without another word.

 

Going past the kitchen, Wally walks up to Arachne’s office and gently knocks on the door a few times. Waiting for a moment, before slowly pushing the door open and looking at the spider. “Hey sweetie, Arti is here and wants to talk to you!” 

 

Arachne looks up from the paperwork, only to have her eyes widen slightly at the news that Jackie’s roommate is actually Artifal. “Oh really now? That’s wonderful, and with how excited you’re looking you had a hard time holding back didn’t you.”

 

Wally nods ever so slightly as he slips all the way inside of the office. His tail slamming from side to side openly now that he’s not in front of the public. “It’s not my fault, we never even got to thank her.”

 

Arachne chuckles, and stands up. Walking over to the boy, and running a hand through his hair, and down his back. “No we didn’t, so we’re going to go out there and help her with whatever she’s working on now. We owe her that at the very least.”

 

Wally lets out a little whimper as Arachne starts to pet him. His left foot thumped with each little movement. “Yeah, Kat is up front treating her to drinks. While Jackie fumbles his way through the process of making them.” 

 

“Good, I always want her to feel welcome now that she’s finally back.” Arachne wraps her arm around Wally, and starts to lead him back outside of the office. “Now you get back to work, and I’ll go speak with… the detective.” 

 

                                               * * *

 

Arachne walks out of the back, releasing Wally so he can wander back off to the front of the bar to do his job. While she walks over to Arti, sitting down at the bar next to the detective. Who’s at this point drank her way through three shots. “Hello, I hear that you’re looking into getting some information?”

 

She nods over at Wally as he walks away. “Wally also told me you smell like Jackie, so I’m going to assume you’re his roommate?” 

 

Arti gives a little nod, as she leans on the bar. “That’s me Detective Artifal Carter, world’s most mediocre roomate.”

 

“Now that can’t be true, he’s never said a single bad thing about you darling. I’m Arachne by the way, welcome to the Honey Pot.” Arachne puts her hand out for a handshake, only to have Arti returning the shake feeling like a twenty pound weight was squeezing around her hand. 

 

“Yeaaaah, but I’ve got my own peculiarities, Jackie’s just a very nice guy.” Arti snickers to herself and shakes her head, as she lets go of Arachne and leans up against the bar. “As for why I’m here, I’m looking into a missing person case. I want to run the facts by you and know if you’ve got any leads I may be able to go off of.”

 

Arachne nods slightly, as she waves over at Jackie and Kat. “Can you grab me a Mountain Crush Kat?” Once she gets a nod, Arachne turns her attention back to the detective. Repressing a frown at the thought that Arti is having enough trouble with a case, to actually contact them again. “But please go ahead, I’ll respond and give answers where I can.” 

 

“Alright, so her name is Grant Marson. A supposed graduate of Change College, which is currently funded completely by Sapphire Industries. She went missing about a year ago, and I was hired to find her.” Arti waves over to Kat and Jackie. “Make a second one for me please.” She shakes her head before turning back to face Arachne. 

 

Two yellow drinks slide in front of the pair, as Kat leans up against the counter and starts to listen in on their conversation. 

 

Arachne grabs the drink, and sips it. A frown sliding its way onto her face as she considers the name. “Do you have a description, I know a few Grants who used to come here at about that timeframe.”

 

“According to the last photos I was given, she had brown hair that went about half way down her back. Was pale as a sheet, probably because she didn’t go outside for long periods. Pretransition, but obviously interested in it.” Arti taps her fingers along the rim of the cup, causing the soda to warp in on itself with each tap. 

 

“Oh!” Arachne perks up at the description, a pit of anxiety starting to bubble in her gut. “I remember her, mostly because she’s one of the only fully human customers who’d come in every week without change. She stayed in the corner, and would occasionally come in with someone else. Copper hair, short, looked to be about the same age but never got her name.”

 

Arti pauses at the description Arachne gives of Grant’s friend she’d come here with. “Well that’s definitely something to work off of, which is a significant improvement from what I’ve had to go off so far.” She continues to stim on the cup while she talks, not making eye contact all the while.

 

“Is there anyone you’re working with to find her, or are you working alone?” Arachne tilts her head slightly, watching as the drink warps under each tap. “Because we will keep our eyes out to help if you need it, Detective.”

 

“I’m trepidatiously working alongside Sapphire Inc currently, both because they’re the primary suspect, and because they have the resources to give me a fighting chance especially after all this time.” Arti picks the cup up and quickly chugs the entire drink, including the ice, before she places it back down on the bar. 

 

Arachne’s heart skips a beat when she hears who Arti is working with, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. “Well… if you’re working with Sapphire, that should cover the majority of the city…” She bites her lip and looks back out the front door. “But there’s still a few companies in town who aren’t tangentially attached to Sapphire Inc. I’d recommend checking them out if you’re struggling to find anything for leads.” 

 

“That sounds like a plan to me, honestly this conversation has already given me a few ideas.” Arti pushes the stool back and looks over at Arachne. A small pained smile on her face while they make eye contact. 

 

“I’m glad, after all, Sapphire’s coverage might be extensive. Anyone who’s going to do something this bold would have to be aware of the danger and be very careful about their movements.” Arachne stands up, and almost reaches out to give the detective a hug. Having to quickly lock her body up and start to turn away from the woman, to stop herself from pointlessly asking her not to follow this path any further. “Just please, be careful. I’d hate to see Jackie have his roomate hurt.” 

 

“Eh, don’t worry about me. I think I’m going to head on over to the blue fire bakery, tell Jackie I’ll have some snacks at home when he gets off.” Arti gently pats Arachne on the shoulder, obviously trying, and failing, to comfort the slightly shorter woman. 

 

“Alright Detective, I’ll tell him as soon as he’s off his shift.” Arachne slowly guides Arti over to the front door. Looking up and down the detective as she tries to make sure that she’s not too drunk to be unsupervised right now. Her eyes falling on the all too familiar poorly painted jack of hearts playing card logo on the back of her duster, staying locked there until the door slides back closed in front of her again. 

 

                                                   * * *

Saya Lee leans on the counter of the Blue Fire Bakery. Her long copper hair tied back, and hidden away under a hat to make sure that nothing gets in any of their baked goods. 

 

Her eyes scan around the recently renovated front room, booths and tables littered throughout the area. Most welded together and made with the assistance of her older sibling Noel’s fire magic, the titular blue fire now that she’s taken the business over from their mother. Turning the place from a donut shop to a general purpose bakery over the last two years. 

 

There are a few people sprinkled throughout the bakery, all in different phases of their meals. All the while Saya’s mind drifts off to where it alway goes when she gets a quiet moment alone Grant.

 

The fact that he’d disappeared without a trace mere months before graduation, without so much as contacting her. Sure the hicks that he called a family were the actual worst, but she can’t help but be enraged by the abandonment… not like it’d be the first time that a family friend disappeared without a word.

 

Grumbling she flops onto her back up against the counter, looking out the window upside down she’s met with a sight that she’d never expected to be… graced wouldn’t be the right word for it. Smacked would probably be more accurate, as Artifal Carter pushes the front door to the bakery open with all the swift confidence of a recently shot rabid raccoon. 

Arti stumbles her way up to the counter through the bakery as she accidentally sends the front door flying. Nearly denting it against itself from the force, once she’s stopped herself she leans up against the counter. 

 

Saya looks up at Arti, a nonplussed expression painted on her face. “Hello, how may we help you today Ma’am?” She slowly pushes herself to stand up, still barely making it half way up the woman’s chest even after two years of growth. 

 

“Oh yeah, I was hoping to ask you about a friend of yours?” Arti looks over the menu that’s hanging up above Saya, and at eye level with her. “Oh and I’ll take two honey muffins, and a chocolate donut twist… and half a dozen donut holes.” 

 

“Are you actually going to pay for any of those?” Saya raises her eyebrow, and crosses her arms as she stares down the detective. “And which friend?”

 

Arti snickers and scratches the back of her head at the paying comment. “Aw come on, you know I’m good for it.” She looks over more of the new menu. “Oh and the hot chocolate I bet that’s wonderful.”

 

“Fine fine, just let me tell Sis I’m going to be stepping away then I’ll get you… all of that.” Saya groans and turns away from Arti, walking into the back room of the bakery. Where plates and pans are floating all around with her sister Noel in the center of them.

 

The blond haired witch is holding a large metal staff with a small floating red gem in the center of it. As well as seemingly having a conversation with it, as all of the appliances are powered by her spells as well. She can be such a show off. 

 

“Noel, you’ll never guess who just showed up out front. Artifal fucking Carter.” 

 

Noel’s eyes widen, and all of the baking supplies that were floating around start to wobble and nearly plummet to the ground. “S-saya!” She closes her eyes and rebalances everything, gently guiding them and depositing each on the counters. “That’s not funny! You can’t just come back here and-” 

 

Saya immediately pushes the door to the front open, and points over at Arti. Who’s now crawling over the counter and stealing several donuts. “I’m not pranking you, no one else would have the gall to try and steal from you.”

 

As soon as the door is open, Noel sees Arti pilfering the baked goods from the front of the bakery. Immediately flopping down on to the ground and onto her back. “Okay, so I guess she’s back…”

 

“Yeah, so can you come and run the counter for me for a few minutes. She apparently needs to speak with me, and I don’t wanna wander off and leave the front unattended.” Saya looks back over at Arti, giving a little wave. “Although I suspect the greatest threat to our food will be distracted in the process anyway.” 

 

Arti waves back, as she bags all of the treats that she’d asked for. Starting to wander her way over to one of the back side booths. 

 

“Saya, just remember the rules while you’re out there okay?” 

 

“I will, you don’t need to worry so much Noel. I’m sure she’d not be here without good reason.” Saya walks back out front and over to the booth that Arti has made herself comfortable in. “So you were going to ask about one of my friends?”

 

Arti has a twisted chocolate donut half way down her throat while she nods at Saya. Gulping it all down at once, before she does a twelve point room scan. “Yeah, Grant Maroson. From Arachne I put together the profile of who her friend might be, and honestly you seemed like my best bet.”

 

Saya’s expression instantly sours, and face goes pale when she hears the name. If Arti is here, and talking about her… damn it. “She was… taken right?” She barely manages to squeak the question out, already knowing the answer before Arti even speaks. 

 

“Yeah… at least that’s what I suspect.” Arti bites into her muffin while she talks, her eyes scanning over Saya a few times. “Can you give me any details you remember, I want to check your accounts against the others that I’ve managed to get so far. Once I know what you think happened, I’ll give you my theories.” 

 

Saya takes a breath, her entire body shuddering slightly. “Okay, so the last time that I saw Granty it was a little over a year ago. She was in here for dinner like always, venting about her parents, as well as expressing how excited she was to get an interview with Sapphire Inc.” She reaches up and grabs onto her shoulder. 

 

“When she didn’t come back, I asked Sis and her girlfriend to try and use their magic to find her.” Saya glances at the back room, seeing Noel walk out and take over the counter. “But I didn’t have anything that was covered in her latent magic enough to track properly. Any attempts to devine her location would just lead to the compass spinning in circles.” 

 

“Yeah that’s the issue with depending on magic to solve all your problems.” Arti grumbles out as she leans out of the booth and waves Noel down. “Hey can I get hot chocolate please Ma’am!” She then turns back to Saya. 

 

“We don’t rely on magic…” Saya puffs her cheeks out, and sighs. It’s just like Arti to act like an idiot to try and calm her down. “Seriously Ma’am, Granty was super excited for that interview. Then her parents showed up for one of their monthly visits the same day.” 

 

She clinches her fist, and grabs ahold of the table. “I had to hide her in the back because it looked like they were gonna hit her.”

 

Noel walks over holding a large hot chocolate, a small fire floating under it to quickly warm up the contents of the cup. “Here you go detective, and Saya’s right. It wasn’t even the first time that we’d had to protect her from those monsters.” She flicks her finger and has the fire go out, placing the cup down next to Arti’s hand. 

 

“Well that adds onto the theory that it was the parents, but if that’s so why would they hire me?” Arti picks up the cup, and leans back in the booth. Staring up at the ceiling for a moment. “Then there’s the factor of them seemingly being people in governmental power, that would definitely give them the power to pull something like this off.”

 

“Uh… what?” Saya’s head tilts, trying not to sound too indigent. “Look Granty’s family were pricks, but they were just some stuck up hicks from down in South Virginia. She barely had enough to get by with a full ride from CCC.”

 

“That’s particularly odd, never mind that then.” Arti shakes her head, her expression slowly hardening as she starts to slowly sip the hot chocolate. 

 

“OW Noel what the hell!” Arti sticks her tongue out, as she lets out a panting breath. Obviously having burnt the roof of her mouth with the drink.

“That’s the price you pay for not paying your tab last time we saw you.” Noel sticks her tongue out at the detective, before turning away and starting to walk back to the counter.

 

Saya sighs and snatches the cup out of Arti’s hand. “You seriously need to bother to actually learn how to use your magic properly.” She gently starts to whistle, causing air from the room to start to spiral and spin around the cup. Cooling it off slightly, before she hands it back. 

 

“Nope never not gonna happen, no matter how much anyone begs.” Arti sips the drink once again, and lets out a relieved sigh. “Thank you though, this is so much better.” She then kicks her feet up across the booth and onto the other seat. 

 

“So we can rule out her parents in all likelihood, too many conflicting statements, making me believe no one has actually been in contact with them.” She whistles lightly, tapping her foot against the back of the booth Saya’s sitting in shaking the whole thing. 

 

“Arti, are you drunk?” Slips out of Saya’s mouth, before she quickly slaps her hands over her mouth. Cursing her flub, Arti hadn’t actually given her her name during this conversation. 

 

“Maaaaybe, probably just tipsy.” Arti waves off Saya’s panic, not even making eye contact as she continues to sip her drink. “Luckily that’s what being here and eating some delicious baked goods is for. After all, I’ve gotta make sure that everyone at my favorite bakery is doing well.”

 

Fine if she’s gonna be careless, fuck it, better to enjoy this conversation while she can. Lest the detective disappear from her life again before she gets the chance. “I can assure you, we’ve been doing fine. Better than ever in fact thanks to our association with that mysterious local hero that went missing two years ago.” 

 

Saya rubs the bridge of her nose, relieved that the woman had at the very least only chosen to be belligerent here. Gods knows who she’d be tormenting if she was just wandering around the town like this.

 

“Yeah more like local failure, no one even remembers her these days. It’s better like that.” Arti snickers to herself, as she chugs the rest of the drink. Smacking it back down on the table, before she sits all the way back up. 

 

“I disagree, anyone who was here will always recognize what she’s done for us. Even if the wider world doesn’t wanna acknowledge it.” Saya frowns and shakes her head, reaching down and putting her hand on the detective’s leg. “Are you okay?”

 

Arti tenses up when the question hits the air, and her generally relaxed demeanor fades in an instant. “Look, thanks for the information, I promise I’ll find her. If she’s in the city, or if she isn’t, if I’d known this was something involved with your family I would have come sooner.” She pulls her legs down and away from Saya. 

 

“Though, I will admit. This case has been more messy than almost anything else I’ve worked on. The only lead I have is related to Sapphire Inc and they have a million tiny excuses for anything I can bring up.” She slowly pushes the table away and starts to stand up. 

 

Saya quickly scurries out of the way, and grabs onto the hem of Arti’s duster’s wrist. As it looks like she’s about to do what she had always done, storm out without explaining anything. “Look Sapphire owns like half the city, she’s even tried to get inside the bakery recently if it hadn’t been for Noel holding firm. No matter how generous the funding was.”

 

“Well I’m glad she didn’t fold to that power, I’d hate to see you become a subsidiary of anyone.” Arti flicks her wrist and sends the hem of her duster flying out of Saya’s hand. 

 

“That’s not what I mean, with how much they  control with all of their money and power they could make anyone-” Saya’s mouth is open as Arti’s hand slams over it, cutting her off in the middle of her thought. 

 

Arti presses Saya back, virtually shoving her into the back room of the bakery. Causing Noel to chase after the pair, causing the red gem on her necklace to transform back into its massive staff form. 

 

Once the trio stumble fully into the back room of the bakery, Arti grabs the staff. Tossing the sisters next to her, while she maintains eye contact. 

 

“Arti what the actual hell?!” Noel points her staff at the woman, her hair floating slightly due to her agitation. 

 

As Noel gets upset, Saya starts to choke on the air itself. The room feeling as thick as jelly to so much as attempt to twitch in, as both the detective and her sister’s magic clash up against one another. “Please calm down!”

 

“Noel she’s right calm down, Saya was doing something really fucking dangerious and I needed to make sure the public didn’t hear.” Arti crosses her arms as she looks down at the pair of women, both at the very least a full head shorter than her. 

 

Noel takes a deep breath, as she pulls herself back together. “Alright, Alright, thank you Heart.” She curses under her breath and shakes her head, pulling her staff back into its compact necklace form. 

 

“Now Saya, I get you wanna help but…” Arti rubs the bridge of her nose while she looks between the siblings. “You can’t just bring up Sapphire Inc being a suspect in the middle of the front room. There was at least one person wearing a visor about to walk in the front door right as we were speaking.” 

 

“Oh shit.” Noel slaps Saya’s shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking?!” She puffs her cheeks out as she looks between the two. “That doesn’t mean you can just shove my sister Arti.”

 

Saya winces at the smack, and shakes her head. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, I mean she literally runs the college that Granty supposedly disappeared from.”

 

Arti shrugs, and looks over at Saya. “Look you were younger when it happened, but I was once involved with a case where visors were used to… rewire parts of a victim's brain. So we need to be cautious when around them, while it was declared a special incident that couldn’t be replicated with any other visors made by Gemstone Inc.” 

 

“Ever since Arti has been paranoid that the Gemstone’s have been the route of that case.” Noel reaches out and pulls Saya in against her side. “But she’s never found any proof, so I didn’t wanna stress you out about it. Especially since Granty was such a big proponent of their services.”

 

Arti groans and facepalms, leaning her entire body back in an arc obviously exaggerating it as much as possible. “Noelllll, I disappeared for two years and you became that lax on safety protocols?! What’s next, do you not set up the dark magic wards twice a day anymore either?!”

 

“We haven’t set those up in a little over a year now.” Saya snickers out, taking the chance to shift the attention over to anyone's behavior other than her own. “And you never even told me why we were setting those up?”

 

“We’ll talk about that when you’re older.” Both Arti and Noel look over and speak simultaneously. Their postures tightening ever so slightly. 

 

“Wow… so insightful, also I wasn’t a kid then and I’m not now.” Saya rolls her eyes slightly, as she starts to tap her foot on the ground. Ever since the original introduction of Anthros into society her sister and Arti had this shared tension any time the topic would get brought up. 

 

Making her own interest in the procedure little more than a stonewall emotionally speaking. Even if Noel did on the surface level at least pretend to be supportive about the concept, it was obvious that she couldn’t quite bring herself to actually be comfortable with it. 

 

Which Saya can’t help but find odd, after all Noel had never really had an issue with anything. Especially considering her relationship of over a decade now with her girlfriend Rachel Harlequin. The girl is apparently a magical creature called a homunculus, whatever that is. As far as she’s concerned it’s just yet another frustrating secret that her sister keeps. 

 

“Yeah it has nothing to do with age Saya, the more you learn about magic the more danger you’d be in. There’s some things that are best left with your sister, given she’s able to defend herself should you find yourselves assailed.” Arti shakes her head and bites her lip. 

 

While the room fell into an awkward silence for several seconds, Saya not even bothering to argue against the statement. Despite Noel’s attempts when they were both younger, she’d never shown any real aptitude for magic and also lacked the amount of magic inherent to herself that would make brute forcing the issue an option. 

 

Unlike her sister and Artifal, who both have so much of the stuff that it makes merely being in the room around them feel suffocating any time either get upset. Let alone should either actually choose to actually harness that power themselves. 

 

“Well… I think I’m gonna get on out of here. I’ve got a few ideas so far as leads now, and it’s probably best we don’t get seen together for too long given the situation.” Arti chuckles and slides on the tip of her toes to spin around and start walking out of the backroom. 

 

Saya reaches out after the detective, only to have Noel place a hand on her shoulder and shake her head. “No, just let her go. Arti is a professional, she can handle herself.” Noel’s hand tightens on her shoulder, the taller of the two bakers pulling her sister up against her chest. An all too common event when Arti is brought up in conversation, let alone actually showing up for the first time in years.

 

“Are you sure? This all just feels so… big, especially with Sapphire Inc involved as key suspects.” Saya leans up against her sister’s chest. Her eyes glancing over to see a line of people waiting for them to come back out and serve their meals. 

 

“Saya… I’m never sure with her, which is why we have to try and have hope.” Noel’s shoulders slump slightly as she slowly starts to pull away. “Because even if we tried to tell her not to go, she’d do it anyway… that’s just the kind of woman she is.”

 

Saya frowns, while she shakes her head and starts to walk back out to the front of the bakery. “Well then next time she’s here I’m gonna give her a real talking to. About how to handle getting back in touch with family.”