Astra sat cross-legged beneath the swaying cherry tree, her brow furrowed as she attempted once again to stitch a crescent pattern into the corner of the cloth. The needle tugged the thread awkwardly, leaving behind a sad, lopsided loop.
From above her, a soft chuckle drifted down through the branches.
"You're stabbing it, not sewing it," Shion called, lounging lazily along a thick branch. "Poor fabric. If it could scream, it would."
Seiya's voice joined in from a higher perch. "At this point, I think the cloth's trying to escape." Astra squinted upward, unimpressed. "Keep talking, tree goblins."
Shion smirked. "Not denying it?"
"Oh, I am denying it," she said, holding up her mangled embroidery. "This is modern art. You wouldn't understand."
"Right. Like how you don't understand how thread works," Seiya muttered.
Astra sighed and dropped the cloth onto her lap. "If you both keep troubling me, I'll get mad now."
From the tree, Shion let out a mock gasp. "You mean you're not already mad? Could've fooled me."
Seiya grinned and plucked a few leaves from a nearby branch. "Careful, Shion. If she gets any madder, she might throw stones at us."
With synchronized mischief, both boys tossed the leaves down at her. A couple fluttered onto her head, and they burst into laughter. Astra stood up slowly, brushing off the leaves with narrowed eyes. "You two are asking for it."
"Uh-oh, The mad warrior rises." Shion snorted. "You think I'm scared if you threaten me? This Shion isn't scared of anything."
She pointed straight at Shion. "Says the one who screamed because a rabbit sniffed his foot."
Seiya doubled over laughing, holding onto the branch for balance. "She got you."
"And you," Astra spun on him, "The guy who can't even solve a riddle unless he sacrifices three days, three nights, and every last brain cell he's got." Shion clutched his sides, wheezing. "She got you too!"
"Don't forget the nosebleed he got trying to answer that 'what walks on four legs in the morning' one."
Seiya groaned. "That was years ago!"
Astra smirked, hands on her hips. "Still recovering, huh?"
Shion crossed his arms and huffed. "I'm not scared of rabbits."Seiya chimed in from his perch on the branch. "And I can solve any riddle you throw at me."
Astra raised a brow, unconvinced. "Just accept it and you're terrible at thinking....You lack skills."
Seiya gasped with mock offense. "Coming from the girl who sings like a hiccupping toad. the one whose singing is so bad, I'd rather go deaf than hear her hum another tune. If you start singing, my ears might actually bleed." Shion cackled from above. "He's not wrong."
Astra hands still on her hips, eyes flashing. "Excuse me?! At least I can hit the right notes. You two can't even hit the right answer!"
Seiya tossed another leaf at Astra, still laughing. "You're just mad because you lack skill in stitching and your singing is tragic."
"My singing is not tragic!"
Seiya grinned. "Last time you sang, the window glass cracked, shattered, and three birds flew straight into a tree."
"Probably to get a better listen," Astra snapped, arms crossed.
"Or to escape," Shion added with a smug grin.
Astra's eyes narrowed. "Alright, that's it." She said brushing leaves from her hairs. "If you two geniuses think you're better, I challenge you." Seiya raised a brow. "To what? A singing duel? Please spare our dear lives."
"No." Astra jabbed a finger at him. "A riddle challenge."
Shion gave her a look. "Why should we accept your challenge? What's the gain?"
Astra paused thinking, then smirked. "Alright. Whoever gets the most riddles right wins. And the winners get a reward." Shion and Seiya exchanged glances as she continued,
"We'll make teams. You two are one team. I'll take Seirou."
Seirou, leaning against the other side of the tree still half-asleep, cracked one eye open and sighed. Astra continued, "If my team wins, you both will have to do whatever we say for a whole day. No complaints."
Seiya tilted his head. "And if we win?"
Astra didn't hesitate. "Then we do whatever you say for a day."
Shion smirked and gave a nod. "Alright, fine. Challenge accepted—"
"Wait, wait!" Seiya threw a hand in front of him. "Her team has Seirou! That's not a fair fight! He knows the answer to everything. That's basically cheating! He's a walking library of scrolls!"
Seirou, leaning with his back against the tree trunk, cracked one eye open and gave a slow glance in their direction. "Is that meant to be an insult or a compliment?"
"Both," Shion muttered. "You probably already know every riddle in existence."
"Maybe," Seirou said with a lazy yawn, letting his eyes drift shut again.
"Exactly!" Shion threw up his hands. "That's cheating!"
Astra rolled her eyes. "Then who do I take on my team, huh? The tree? A squirrel?"
Shion grinned and pointed to the side. "Kaen. Take Kaen."
Kaen, who had been quietly sitting nearby, slicing an apple with a long sword, paused mid-cut. His blade froze above the fruit. He turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"…Pardon?"
Shion leaned forward from the branch and waved. "Come here, Kaen! Astra needs you to join her team for the Riddle Challenge!"
Kaen blinked. He pointed at himself with the tip of his sword. "…Me?"
"Yes, you,"
Kaen narrowed his eyes, then shook his head and returned to slicing his apple with exaggerated precision. "No. I'm busy. Practicing to cut apple slices so thin they could pass through sunlight. Don't drag me into your… boredom-born chaos. I'm not coming."
Astra quckily marched toward him. "Kaen, please! I can't take Seirou, and you're the only one left. I need someone with a calm brain, and not two leaves-for-brains like them."
Kaen looked up at her slowly, unamused. "Flattery won't work."
She clasped her hands. "But I have to win, Kaen. They've been teasing me all day. If we lose, I'll be stuck taking orders from them. Do you know how unbearable Seiya is when he wins something?"
"I'm always unbearable," Seiya called from the tree.
"That's not helping your case," Kaen muttered.
Astra leaned closer, lowering her voice. "I'll give you the apple I hid earlier. The sweet one."
Kaen paused, blade still above the apple. He gave her a side glance. "The red one with the golden streaks?"
Astra nodded solemnly. Kaen sighed, stood up, and sheathed his sword. "Fine. But if you lose, don't start blaming me."
At that moment, Seiya and Shion whooped and leapt down from the branches, landing with light thuds on the grass.
"Alright!" Shion stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get this started!" Seiya spun a leaf between his fingers. "So who's first?
They settled in a circle under the tree, teams facing one another like it was a high-stakes council of war. Shion and Seiya on one side smirking, cracking knuckles. Astra and Kaen on the other suspiciously quiet. Just behind them, Seirou lay with his back against the tree trunk, a giant leaf draped lazily over his face.
"Is he even breathing under there?" Seiya whispered, nudging Shion.
"Don't poke the sleeping. It's better if he stays asleep," Shion muttered back.
Astra clapped once. "Alright. Let's start simple." She grinned. "What has to be broken before you can use it?"
Seiya snapped his fingers. "I know this one it's… wait—wait—don't say it…uhh…" His eyes squinted painfully. "A… promise? No… no, a… plate?"
Kaen blinked. "Please don't shout out everything in your head."
"Hold on!" Seiya pressed his fingers to his temples, straining. "It's—"
"An egg," Shion said casually, brushing a fallen leaf off his shoulder.
"YES! That's what I was going to say!" Seiya groaned.
"No, you weren't," Kaen replied.
Astra smirked. "Point to your team. Next."
Shion leaned forward, his voice smooth as silk. "I won't start with something easy." His eyes glinted. "Try this."
"I rise with the moon but vanish by dawn.l sing to the silent, and I dance without form. You'll never touch me, but I'll chill your spine. What am I?"
Astra frowned and tapped her forehead. "It's… fog? No, wait, maybe…" Before she could finish, Kaen's calm voice cut in. "A phantom wind."
Shion gave a slow nod. "Correct."
Astra smirk returned. "Our turn." She glanced at Kaen, who gave a small nod for her to go ahead.
"I drink what the heavens cry, l hold no mouth, yet I dry. I vanish when fire draws near, Yet I thrive in your shadow and fear. What am I?"
Shion furrowed his brows for the first time, repeating the riddle under his breath. Seiya scratched his head hard enough to nearly rip out a chunk of hair.
"Rainwater?" Seiya whispered. "No… too obvious. A drought? No, that doesn't even make sense…"
But then Shion's smirk returned, calm and confident. "Moss."
Astra blinked, then gave a short nod. "Correct."
Shion leaned back casually and gave a small stretch, as if the answer had cost him nothing. Then, with a hint of drama, he launched the next riddle,
"I stand without legs, I howl without breath. I shatter without hands, And my silence brings death. What am I?"
Across from them, Kaen paused thinking .
"A mountain?" Astra whispered. Kaen shook his head slowly. "It howls. That's not it."
Shion's grin turned sly. "Tick, tock…"
"An ancient bell?" Astra muttered, eyes narrowed. "No, no…" suddenly Kaen's gaze sharpened.
"A battlefield."
Shion's smile twitched. "Correct." Seiya dropped his face into his hands with a groan. "We're doomed."
Astra gave him a wicked grin. "Already accepting defeat? We've just begun."she crossed her arms, then glanced at the two boys in the opposite team. "Alright, let's see how clever you really are." She recited the next riddle slowly,
"No heart, no soul, yet I carry dreams. Born from ink, I whisper in streams. Hold me and learn, but burn me, I'm gone. What am I?"
Seiya narrowed his eyes, his brain visibly whirring. "A scroll?" Shion sighed, shaking his head. "No. Too vague."
Kaen remained quiet, arms crossed, watching them in silent.
Shion finally snapped his fingers. "It's a book. A book of prophecies."
"Correct."
Seiya scoffed. "That's just a fancier scroll!"
Kaen shrugged. "Yet not the same."
Seiya glared, and suddenly, a trickle of blood ran from his nose. "Ugh! Again?!" Astra raised an eyebrow. "You've barely used your brain."
"I'ts not because of the riddles!" Seiya complained, holding his sleeve to his face.
"Maybe your brain leaks when it overheats," she muttered. "Shut up!" Seiya snapped, still pressing his sleeve against his nose.
Seiya sniffed, still clutching the bloodied cloth to his nose. "Alright," he said, voice muffled. "It's my turn to ask now."
Shion blinked. "You? You're asking a riddle?"
"Don't look so shocked," Seiya muttered. "I have one. And it's a good one."
He took a deep breath, trying to sound clear despite the nasal tone. "Listen up."
"I die to be born, yet I never decay. From death I rise, in fire crowned, No grave can keep me, no chains confound. In ash I sleep, in brilliant array."
There was a brief silence. Astra tilted her head. Kaen's brows pulled together in quiet focus. Shion chewed on the inside of his cheek.
"Fire?" Astra offered uncertainly. Kaen shook his head. "No. Fire consumes, but doesn't return the same." He rubbed his index against the chain slowly, then his lips parted, about to speak—
"A phoenix!"