May I Enjoy My Life: Entry 46 (Patreon)

11/8/1100

I would like to say that my homecoming was charming and wonderful, and that my parents embraced James and I. Failing that, I’d like to say I was heartbroken by their rejection and that it surprised me. 

The truth is, both of those would be a lie. I knew what was going to happen. Did I hope it would be better? Of course I did, because I’m an optimistic idiot. But I knew. I knew they were going to react with fear and horror. I knew they were going to demand I leave and act like I was accursed. Honestly, the surprising thing was that Murmura was so willing to embrace me again and still loved me without even a hint of fear in her. 

That, more than anything, is why I didn’t break down in fresh tears. My little sister still loved me, and was happy to see me. She’d even more or less run away from home with me to go shopping, and was absolutely delighted to see me. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been so much younger she’d barely had a personality, but now she was really her own person, even if she was still a child.

What did my heart even better was seeing her with Lisa. We had gone to where she and Ingrid were shopping for the wedding, and I had warned Murmur what to expect. 

“A lot of my friends are Infected, like me,” I told her, holding her hand in mine as we walked along the street, Rosmontis and Red just behind us. “I need you to be brave, and kind. Just because someone is Infected doesn’t make them evil, or even dangerous, like mamma and papa believe.”

“Ok. Your friends seem nice so far. I don’t know why mamma and papa are so mad. You’re a doctor, and you wouldn’t let me get sick,” Murmura said with all the confidence of youth. 

“No, never,” I agreed. 

Then she said something utterly deranged. “Is your boyfriend really the Savior? Does that make you the Savior too?” 

“I, where did you even hear that?!” I demanded, utterly shocked that my sister would think I was some sort of Savior! James might be something special, but me?! I’m basically just his fun-sized luggage half the time!

Well, and the one who keeps him out of trouble. And his physician. But, look, the idea I’m some sort of savior is pure madness. 

“On KwickNote! It’s on a bunch of reels.They say that Rhodes Island has figured out a cure to Oripathy but I thought it was just a crazy rumor, but then the nice diavolo you were with said James really was one and you didn’t say he was wrong, and you’re a doctor at Rhodes Island who does all sorts of cool research so I think maybe you’re the one who figured out how to do it, which makes you just as cool and that’s why you want to marry him even if he’s gonna die!” 

“James isn’t going to die,” I said firmly. “I won’t let him.”

Murmura grinned, her tail wagging happily. “See! You are the Savior! You can cure oripathy too!” 

“I…look, that’s not how it works. I can use James’ arts, but only for healing arts,” I argued. “And I had to learn those from Lisa.”

“Who’s Lisa?” 

“Well, she’s a kitsune girl, about your age, though she is from Higashi.”

“Wow, an Elder?! So she taught you secret kitsune arts?! Can you go invisible, and make illusions!? That’s what they can do in Love is Hard When You Have Seven Tails!”

Since I have more sense than James, I decided not to mention that Love is Hard was based on Lisa’s parents’ own romance. “You would have to ask Lisa about that, but her arts are more along the lines of exceptionally potent healing.”

“Well that’s boring. You can do that already,” Murmura huffed. 

“Then perhaps you should come to the hospital with James and I this evening, and you can see just how potent those arts are,” I laughed. 

“Can we?! I always wanted to see you be a doctor! I’m going to be a doctor too someday!”

That made my heart swell with pride, and I picked my little sister up and kissed her, which made her squeal in protest. And nearly caused my back to give out. She really was almost as tall as I was already. I am the shortest in my admittedly short family, so it wouldn’t be surprising for Murmura to surpass me in a year or two. 

“Well, then you should talk to Lisa. She is already an excellent medic, and has even gone on several operations with Rhodes Island, including this one.”

“Can I be a Rhodes Island operative too if I learn healing arts?! I’ve been practicing with your old wand I found, and I healed Samanta when she got a paper cut! Then I could come and live with you and have adventures!” 

Oh no. There was absolutely no way that I would ever want my sister to be a Rhodes Island operative. The death and horror I’ve seen…I don’t want Murmura to ever have to live through that. “Well, maybe you could be a doctor here in Palermo, and take care of sick people.”

“Nope! That’s boring. I want to go on adventures and be a super cool hero like you and kill Emperor’s Blades!”

“I never killed any Blades, and adventures are a lot less fun to have than hear stories about. You should ask Lisa, she’s been on many adventures, and I don’t think she’s enjoyed them as much as she thought.”

“This Lisa better be super cool. There’s no way she’s as cool as my big sister!” 

Bless you, Murmura. You made this painful homecoming worth it. 

We found Ingrid, Lisa, Sora, and Croissant together. Emperor was sitting outside with several bags and looking very disgruntled, while the others were trying on dresses. I wondered briefly where Lappland was, but decided that as long as I didn’t hear any sirens or explosions, it was probably fine. 

Later I found out she was planning the catering and actually did most of the cooking for the small wedding party herself. For a megalomaniacal serial killer, she is quite the Renaissance woman. 

The shop itself was in the most prosperous quarter of the city, Quatro Tribunali. It was built up along the heights above the lake, and has many historic buildings, and the great Cattedrale del Sacro Sigillo, which had been constructed by Saint Cincinatus in 387BCE. That meant that this shop was one of the most exclusive and expensive in the city, and was along the main Via di Cassaro. The dresses and suits that were shown in the windows were of immaculate quality and the finest materials. I half wondered how we were paying for this, as a dress here was a month’s salary for me. 

“Oh, Lucia! I’m so glad you could come! Here, I have a couple of dresses picked out!” Sora said, hurrying over when she saw me. She paused when she saw Murmura, who had turned slightly shy again and was hiding behind me. “Oh, um, hello. You must be Lucia’s little sister, Murmura! I, ah, well, we’re planning a wedding, and your sister is going to be one of the bridesmaids. I-”

“Can I come too?! Please!? I really like weddings!” Murmura blurted, immediately forgetting to be shy. It never lasts long with her, even when she’s dealing with someone who is obviously a Sarkaz. “I know you’re a Sarkaz and you’re marrying a girl because Lucia told me but that’s OK I still want to come because you’re Sora and you’re my favorite Idol and I have all your songs my favorite is Smile! Step! Spotlight! and I want to dress up as you on Carnival like in Sora no Uta even if you’re a Sarkaz now but Lucia says you’re still really nice and cool!” 

Tears came to Sora’s eyes, and she got down on one knee so she was on eye level with Murmura. “I was always a Sarkaz, Murmura. I just hid who I was to be an idol. You’re not mad about that?”

Murmura looked embarrassed, glanced at me, then leaned in close to Sora to whisper in her ear. “Sometimes, I pretend to be a Lupo like the other kids at the park. I wax my tail and clip my ears and get big shoes like Cia, because I’m embarrassed. Vulpos aren’t as cool or pretty as lupos, according to Theresa, and she’s the biggest and smartest even though she’s a lupo not a vulpo and everyone makes fun of Maria because she’s the only perro.”

“Do you make fun of Maria?” Sora asked gently. 

Mumura blushed and looked down, scuffing her slippers on the ground. “Sometimes, because the other kids are doing it. But I felt bad and said sorry and now we’re friends again.”

“Well, then, I think both of us learned an important lesson about hiding who we are, don’t you?” Sora asked, and hugged Murmura. I felt very proud of my sister in that moment. She was learning to overcome the hatred and resentment that were ingrained in Siracusan society. The lupo looked down on the perro because they were smaller and weaker, and the perro looked down on the vulpo because they were smallest and weakest, but the vulpo looked down on the sarkaz, because at least we were not an accursed devil.  

While Sora and Murmura were talking, Ingrid and Lisa had appeared. Ingrid gave me a knowing smile, then knelt down herself, Murmura looking curiously at her. “Ah, who has been telling you that a vulpo is not as strong as a lupo? You see Rossa here? She is a big strong lupo, yes?”

Red puffed her chest up and stood up as tall as she could, which was taller than anyone else there, even matching Croissant. “Red strongest lupo!” 

“And who do you think wins in our training sessions, eh? The big strong lupo, or the Lady of Scars,” Ingrid purred, a vicious grin on her face. 

“...Red win sometimes,” she muttered, kicking the ground in irritation.

“You beat RED?! But Cia said she’s a Fang! They’re even scarier than- wait, La Signora delle Cicatrici!? You’re Ingrid Venezia!? You’re the coolest and strongest Vulpo EVER! Well, except for my big sis, she’s a doctor and a Savior because she’s going to marry the oripathy guy who is also the Savior!” 

“Yes, I am Ingrid Venesia, but La Signora delle Cicatrici is not my favorite name,” Ingrid said and gently brought Suzuran forward, who was looking at Murmura curiously. “My favorite name is mamma-san. This is my lux, my Lisa, and she is being about your age, I think.” 

“Hello,” Lisa said, smiling and bowing properly. 

“This is Murmura, my little sister,” I said, at which point, introductions were over and Murmura took over, grabbing Lisa’s hands, tail wagging and eyes sparkling. 

“Are you really a Rhodes Island operator Lisa?! Cia said you go on super cool missions and beat up bad guys, but your mamma is a bad guy so do you beat her up too!? Also are you going to be in the wedding between Sora and Texas!? Is that the dress you will wear? It is very nice, can I have a dress like that too Cia?! Please?! Come on Lisa, let’s go find a cute dress!” 

This proposal seemed to delight Lisa enough that she forgot to be her dignified self for a few minutes, squealing and running off with Murmura to terrify the shop attendant, who mercifully was able to handle two little girls talking a hundred kilometers an hour and asking for a dress fit for a ducal heir of old, and not an impromptu lesbian wedding between…well, a mafia princess and an idol singer. So, perhaps the overly ornate dress was appropriate. 

“I’m so glad you're here, Lucia!” Sora said. “I’ve got the theme for our bridesmaids' dresses. Texas wanted to pick the first thing she saw, but we went with something closer to contemporary Lungmen fashion than the old style ones she’d chosen. We’re going with this shade of vermillion, and-”

After an hour or so, James arrived with Texas and Exusiai. Texas warily allowed herself to be fitted for a bridal gown, and finally admitted she did not want the overly frilly princess style dress, but something much more modern that clung to her figure and had a slit on the skirt to make movement easier. Sora, on the other hand, went full frills and puffy lace, though in a distinctly Kazdelian style that raised an eyebrow from the tailor. However, they were being paid rather handsomely, and Texas looked murderous, so they were wise enough not to ask questions. 

My dress was in a Columbian style, and a little old school, but still very fashionable. James was fitted into a suit, with the old tailor happy to work with him. He told us quietly why as he measured James. “My son, he has oripathy. He goes to Rhodes Island for treatment. You do very good work. I may lose some customers, but I did not lose my son.”

“Your son is Benedetto Sartorelli, then? I treated him myself. I’m Dr. Lucia Sussurro,” I said, and the old man had tears in his eyes as he kissed my hand. 

“You saved my son's life. So you are the fierce little doctor he wrote of. Well, you and your friends are welcome in my shop any time. Yes, even you, sir, do not look at me like that!”

“I wasn’t looking at anything,” Odda muttered as the tailor’s assistant helped with measuring him for a suit. 

“The dresses, they cannot be ready before three days, and that is a rush job beyond all rush jobs. No, you cannot offer me more money! If you want this done right, you give me three days!” the tailor told us. 

That was a very fast job for eleven dresses and four suits. Lappland refused to wear a bridesmaid's dress, and she and Texas very nearly came to blows before Sora played peacemaker and said that it was a lesbian wedding, and lesbians wore suits to weddings all the time, and wasn’t Lappland gay too?

“Pff, don’t limit me in such a way,” Lappland sniffed, then laughed and changed the subject. In the end, she wore a very elegant old-style black suit with long tails, a vermilion waistcoat and tie, and silver buttons and brocade. She also wore very tight black pants with long laced boots that had small wolves embroidered on them.

The Signori dei Lupi that floated around her also had little red bowties on . I have no idea how she got so many of them, but she had a black and silver collar for Zarro, and he stayed mostly corporeal for the whole thing. 

That done, it was time for James and I to get rid of some of the originium in our systems. Most everyone else went to dinner, while Mon3tr reappeared from wherever she had been. “I’ve made arrangements at the hospital. Red, Rosmontis, you take the night off. Enjoy dinner tonight.”

“I will be coming as well. If you are taking Lisa, you are taking me,” Ingrid said firmly. 

“I want to come too! I wanna see you do the miracles!” Murmura insisted. “Also, Lisa is my Best Friend now, so I’m going to be there for oral support!” 

“You mean moral support,” I said with a shake of my head.

“No, I’m going to talk to her, so it’s oral.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. “I…yes, I suppose that would be correct. I am not sure, we will be there very late…”

“It is August so there is no school! And mamma and papa can’t get any madder so I may as well stay later. Besides I can just tell them that a monster and La Signora delle Cicatrici kidnapped me and it took a long time for me to run away!” 

“We did not kidnap you, though, that would be lying,” Lisa pointed out, giving her new Best Friend a reproachful look. 

My sweet little sister just shrugged. “Well, I have to lie to mamma and papa that my new Best Friend isn’t an Infected or they would never let me see you again so I think just a few more lies are OK.”

“Or the Lady of Scars could just kidnap you and be rid of your- nevermind,” Ingrid muttered, cutting herself off.

“We should be more polite to Murmura-san’s parents, mamma-san,” Lisa said reproachfully as we all piled into a rented van, Murmura included. Ingrid sat up front with Mon3tr, who was driving. Did she have her driver’s license? Well, she couldn’t be worse than Exusiai. 

Then my angel of a sister nearly made me choke on my iced coffee. “Cia says mamma and papa are testa di cazzo when I said they were testa di cavolo, but I agree with her they are a pair of di cazzo so-”

“You were not supposed to repeat that!” I gasped, glaring at Murmur, who just grinned back at me impudently, while Ingrid was trying to hide a smile and James was actually laughing. Suzuran, bless her, was blushing furiously. 

“Do you not know how to swear, Lisa? I can teach you! Cia says all kinds of new and interesting words, like I’m pretty sure that palnakayo means-”

“YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD NEVER REPEAT THAT!” I snarled at her, then turned to James, who was laughing helplessly. “I, look, she asked me if Gavial had taught me any words, and I said only bad ones, and well, she talked me into- look, I don’t even know what it means but it is not polite!” 

“In Acahualla, it means you have a rotten body, and is roughly equivalent to the Victorian ‘bastard’ or the Siracusian bastardo,” Monst3r supplied helpfully from the driver’s seat. “It is indeed quite vulgar.”

“You know, I think your sister is probably exactly what I expected,” James chuckled. “Tiny, but fierce.”

“Hey, I’m not that little! I’m almost bigger than Lisa, and she’s older than me!” Murmura said, straining to sit all the way up in the car seat, and sticking her tongue out slightly as she measured quite a way up to get to Lisa’s height, who was a good three or four centimeters taller than her. Fortunately, Lisa’s clothes were about Murmura’s size, and Murmura was borrowing one of Lisa’s outfits, a nice blue dress and white blouse, while Lisa herself had on a little doctor’s uniform with a white labcoat and stethoscope, which looked very adorable. Apparently, Ingrid had ordered it custom-made while we were still in NuNuova Volsinii.

“I was much smaller than you when I was 8,” Lisa said helpfully, which made Murmura beam with pride. 

Of course, when Lisa had been eight, she’d been the equivalent of a Vulpo at two or three, and a Lupo of four or five. Murmura might be quite precocious in some ways, but she’s still a very young child who hasn’t quite figured out how the world works. But she is trying. 

We arrived at the first hospital, where they had really rolled out the red carpet. The Hospital Director and Chief of Medicine were there to meet us, along with all their department heads. There were dozens of doctors there: Not just from the main hospital, but from several towns and mobile cities in Siracusa.They had a wheelchair and a nurse waiting for James, though Mon3tr informed them she would be pushing the chair. She had on combat boots and a version of Kalt’sit’s white and green director’s uniform, though the sleeves were much too large, and she kept having to roll them up when they flopped down over her hands. 

I did the whole song and dance for everyone, explaining how James’ arts worked, and giving a presentation. I also introduced Lisa, who bowed and explained that she would be teaching the doctors present how to use the new form of arts. 

“However, using the arts requires you be infected with oripathy,” I explained, and showed the scar of the shard in my leg. “I reinfected myself after burning through all of me, so I could continue to use them.  You will be able to cure yourself, eventually, by using the arts, but you do have to be fully infected. Are…are there any volunteers?”

One doctor, a grey haired lupo man raised his hand. “I am old, and near death anyway. I will try. Infect me, and show me how to use these arts. If I can save more lives, then I will accept this burden.”

“I would volunteer as well,” a younger doctor offered, but the old man shut him down. 

“Shut up. You’re young. Let me see if this works at all before you condemn yourself to death.”

“Why does Dr. McCoy not show us instead of this child?” the grumpy old head of Internal Medicine asked, his feathery liberi eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Ingrid bristled, but I put a hand on her shoulder. “We aren’t sure why, but James can only teach Elders how to use this arts. Do you happen to have any of an Elder race on staff?” 

There were a lot of headshakes. Elder races aren’t common anywhere, but they’re extremely rare in Siracusa. 

“Then I will be your instructor,” Lisa said, and bowed to everyone. She bit her lip slightly. “I… my oripathy may run out, before I can show you, so, um, do you have-”“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Ingrid snarled and slammed her fist onto the table, cracking the wood. The room fell silent, ears going back and doctors recoiling as Ingrid’s eyes blazed.

“But, Mamma-san, if my oripathy runs out, and it is very low, I cannot teach anyone else!” 

“You are NOT going to reinfect yourself like that idiota Lucia did!”

“But we must teach everyone this new arts! We could save lives!” 

“Fuck the lives, you are my daughter and if you are cured, then so much the better! I will not countenance this!” 

“But, mamma-san!’

“THERE WILL BE NO BUTS! THIS IS FINAL!” Ingrid roared. 

Lisa’s ears had wilted, and she started to sniffle. 

James cleared his throat. “There is…an alternative solution.”

“And what is that?” Ingrid snarled, whirling on him, her eyes burning so hot that even James must have felt their glare, because he flinched slightly. 

“I can reinfect her, then absorb the originium back into myself when she’s done teaching at the hospitals. She’d be cured completely and unable to use the miracle arts since she’d be uninfected.”

Ingrid hesitated. “You have suffered enough. And are close to death. I would not deny the world your power through my own selfishness. No. You will not reinfect yourself.”

“But-!” Lisa said, but Ingrid held up a fist, and Lisa quieted down.

“No. You will give me my daughter’s oripathy. And a little more. You saved her life, killing that Blade. So, I pay you back, by taking some of that sin upon myself. I will…I will allow her to have this last demonstration. Then you give me the oripathy.”

“Mamma-san!” Lisa gasped, horrified. 

Ingrid just smiled and gave her daughter a hug. “I would have always taken your infection upon myself, if I could. I have no facility for healing arts, but maybe you can teach me some, eh?”

“B-but if you are Infected, I-I won’t have them!” 

“Hmm. Then I will die soon enough anyway. You have a long life ahead of you, Lux-chan. This is a gift any mother would be glad to give.”

Lisa cried, but she didn’t protest further. Murmura looked rather disturbed, but she held Lisa’s hand and told her it would be OK, and Lisa quieted, obviously relieved to have a friend with her. 

James put a small shard of originium into our volunteer, who winced, then laughed. “I’ve treated enough oripathy patients, but I never thought I’d be one! Right, what’s the next step?”

Then, Lisa demonstrated the arts, holding the hands of the first doctor as she healed a woman with a broken arm. The old lupo doctor gasped, his eyes going wide. “It is like…it is like a book, in my mind, and she has turned to a page I never read before! Quick, take me the trauma ward!”

Sure enough, he was able to use the new arts to save a life, right then and there. A liberi man had fallen from a ladder and broken his neck, and the old lupo doctor healed the entire injury cleanly,  though he was exhausted after

“It’s a last resort, for only the severest cases. As you could see, Lisa is near arts overdose after a minor usage, and Doctor Giasolli actually passed out. But it can save a life. It can-”

I paused, as James, freshly injected with Solvignis and leaning on Mon3tr, started walking around and healing everyone. And I do mean everyone. He’d have an attending read him the chart as he ran his hand over the patient, then just healed them, and they got up and left. There were shouts as an ambulance rolled up with a car crash victim a few minutes later. Their spine was nearly severed at L4, and their skull fractured. They were up and able to walk out under their own power in two minutes. 

I turned to the assembled doctors, who were watching, open-mouthed. “This is what this new arts can do. As you can see, James is even slowly losing originium. If you measured his lesions, they’d be shrinking with each healing. I actually cured my own oripathy after using these arts only once, though my case was incredibly mild after James absorbed most of it, mostly on accident. If the big idioto wouldn’t keep trying to cure every sob story he meets-”

“You introduced me to most of them, sweetheart,” James called, and I blushed. 

“Well, yes. You will not be able to cure oripathy: So far, only a Sankta has been able to do that, and we’re not sure why. We tried teaching someone else, and it didn’t work.” James had tried to show Sora how to absorb originium when Texas wasn’t looking, and so had Exusiai, but Sora hadn’t been able to do anything, despite already having healing and offensive arts. 

To my shock, a dozen doctors volunteered on the spot. James infected all of them, though only with stage one, and then the exhausted Lisa healed minor cuts to show all of them how to use the miracle arts. 

But when we were done, James’ levels had crashed all the way to Stage 2 instead of Stage 3. He was utterly exhausted, though, and instead of going to our hotel, they gave him a private suite at the hospital, complete with a much nicer bed than normal. It was even big enough for two, which was good.

“You’ve been so strong,” I whispered to him as I lay atop him, stroking his chest hairs. 

“Funny, I feel so weak,” he chuckled, sweat on his brow from the arts overdose. He was still full of energy from the Solvignis, however, as a certain organ was standing to attention. 

“Let me reward you,” I told him. 

“You still want a kid after how Murmura behaves?” James half laughed. 

I started. “Oh shit! She’s with Ingrid and Lisa still!” 

“Oh, it’s fine. Just a sleepover. She was pooped by the end, I bet she and Lisa are passed out in the next room.”

“Well, then don’t you want a daughter as adorable as they are?” I asked, leaning down and kissing him. 

He held me clumsily, pulling me down. “I guess I do.”

He was rather frisky until the drugs wore off, at which point, he passed out even before I could give him a sedative. Still, he clung to me in his sleep, and I wrapped my legs and tail about him as tightly as I could, resting my head on his arm. I did hope he got me with child. That night, especially. 

I could see the ravages of oripathy on his body. He was covered in scars and lesions now. Even as the crystals retracted, he didn’t fully heal. One eye was a ruined mess, the other cloudy. We would have to remove them both, I feared, but didn’t want to broach it at the moment. 

Fear ran through me, and I shivered. I just knew I would not have James for much longer. I didn’t see how he could survive the year. And so, I wanted his child. His name. Everything of him I could get, before he was taken from me. 

“May you enjoy your life, James. And practice your art, respected by all Men in all times,” I whispered, and kissed his cheek as he drooled. 

In the morning, I resolved to give him a very pleasant wake-up call, and hope that took. That, and to spend every moment I could with him. Whatever time we had left, it would be time for us to love. 

We vulpo live fast, and love hard. 

What we don’t say is that means we die quickly too.