"I was literally just saying I needed to head over there myself, and before I even get a chance to pack, a letter from them lands right in my hands?"
Having just arrived back in Chernobog, Jeanne stood holding the envelope, staring down at it with a tangled swirl of mixed feelings.
She had barely set foot inside the city today when Talulah stepped out and handed her the missive. The sight of it had caught Jeanne completely off guard—a formal letter sent directly from Laterano?
"Is it something major?" Talulah asked, watching the strange look on Jeanne's face. This was the first time she had seen Laterano reach out to Jeanne through formal correspondence like this; usually, they relied on long-distance calls.
"It's about a pressing matter, though I don't know all the specifics yet," Jeanne replied with a slight shake of her head. She could already guess what Laterano wanted to talk about, but she wondered if this was a direct plea for assistance from that old Pope.
Seeing Jeanne's hesitation, Talulah held her tongue, sitting down quietly to wait while Jeanne unsealed the envelope and went through it. Her instincts told her that whatever was written inside was far from a minor issue.
Jeanne drew a deep breath and opened the envelope with a heavy heart. She carefully read through every single line without skipping a word, letting out a long, audible sigh of relief once she reached the very end.
"Well? What does it say?" Talulah asked, unable to mask her curiosity any longer as she leaned in.
"Nothing too dire. It's just a request for me to make a trip back to Laterano," Jeanne answered, her tension visibly draining away. "It seems the situation hasn't spiraled into an immediate catastrophe just yet."
"So what is this all about? Keeping me in the dark like this is giving me anxiety!" Talulah pressed, eyeing her intently. Spill it—did you end up meeting another dragon out there?
"Are you sure you want to know?" Jeanne teased with a warm grin. "You're already overwhelmed trying to keep Chernobog running smoothly. If I drop this on you, you might end up too stressed to eat."
"Since when has a little trouble scared me off?" Talulah retorted. She knew this was no small matter, but she had no intention of staying in the dark.
She hated the thought of Jeanne rushing around to extinguish world-ending fires while she sat back completely clueless, able only to wait for news. She wanted to stand by her side and share the burden.
"Alright, since you're so determined, I'll fill you in. Just don't let it keep you awake at night!" Jeanne smiled, a touch of mischief gleaming in her eyes.
Seeing that mischievous smile, Talulah felt a bad premonition. Whenever Jeanne showed that face, it meant she was looking forward to watching her reaction.
Without further delay, Jeanne laid out the details regarding the Seaborn, watching Talulah's face slowly drain of color until her expression turned completely stiff.
"I see... So it's something that terrifying!" Talulah said with a rigid, expressionless face, trying her best to sound detached, as if discussing a routine hazard.
"Stop acting tough! Look at your hand—the water cup is shaking so much it's practically rattling!" Jeanne burst out laughing. "Where did all that calm posture go?"
"I... fine! That sounds utterly horrifying, okay?!" Talulah set the water cup down with a clatter and stood up, slamming her hands on the desk. "How is it that every time you step out the door, you bring back news that the world might be coming to an end?!"
"Take it easy, take it easy!" Jeanne replied smoothly. "Ursus has its share of Collapsals, doesn't it? What makes you think other nations wouldn't have their own ancient horrors? We just happen to be learning about them now."
In truth, Jeanne wasn't nearly as calm as she appeared—she was simply doing her best not to look flustered in front of Talulah.
"You... actually have a point," Talulah muttered, deflating slightly. The wilderness was rife with hidden horrors, and Terra was a deeply perilous world.
Still, staying calm after hearing something so monstrous was far easier said than done.
"Relax, relax. Things haven't reached a breaking point yet," Jeanne reassured her, gently patting the Draco's shoulder. "If the sky were truly falling today, the Pope wouldn't have sent a simple letter. So don't go scaring yourself to death!"
Talulah's stiff expression softened a fraction, though a storm of uneasy thoughts continued to churn beneath the surface. She managed to force a faint, tight smile.
"Don't worry," Jeanne added, gazing out the window at the sky. "If the sky falls, the taller folks will be there to hold it up."
"I'm not exactly short myself," Talulah grumbled softly under her breath, falling quiet as she sat back down, silently pondering what she could do to prepare.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Kashchey was listening in from the shadows, picking up intelligence that left even him quietly shaken.
He wasn't entirely ignorant of the creatures known as the Seaborn, but Ursus had rarely crossed paths with ocean entities, leaving his knowledge vague at best.
However, for Jeanne to draw a direct comparison between these creatures and the Collapsals spoke volumes about their threat level. It seemed Ursus would need to keep a very close eye on Iberian affairs moving forward.
Kashchey pondered the implications in silence. As an entity whose entire existence was built around self-preservation and survival, the thought of a second Great Silence wiping out civilization filled him with genuine unease. He decided he needed to find someone who actually had the power to do something about this.
How that individual would react was none of his concern—his only task was to ring the alarm bell before it was too late.
"Alright, stop overthinking it," Jeanne said, breaking the heavy silence as she noticed Talulah still looking lost in thought. "The more you dwell on it, the more tangled your mind will get. Your focus right now should be on managing Chernobog and Reunion. Leave the world-ending threats to us tall folks!"
"I know," Talulah sighed, resting her chin on the desk. "It's just... dropping a massive bomb like that on me takes a moment to digest. Give me a minute to collect myself."
"That's the spirit!" Jeanne smiled, reaching over to pat Talulah on the head.
"Hey! Don't mess with my hair!" Talulah flicked her tail to swat Jeanne's hand away, but Jeanne casually dodged the tail whip and kept right on patting her head.
"Nope~" Jeanne teased cheerfully.
The playful banter lightened the heavy mood in the room, helping ease the lingering dread in Talulah's chest.
"By the way, how are things going with Reunion?" Jeanne asked, shifting the subject. She knew her upcoming trip meant she might be away for a while.
"Things are moving along nicely," Talulah reported, sitting up straight. "Everyone is working hard to build up the city and offer aid to displaced Infected across the region. Those who didn't want to stay in Chernobog have already been safely escorted to other settlements. But now, Infected from every direction are reaching out to us for help. We're practically working round the clock just to keep up."
Talulah let out a helpless sigh—such was the price of growing fame.
"Don't worry about those daily affairs. The team and I will handle them properly," Talulah added, looking Jeanne dead in the eye. "You just focus on dealing with that potential apocalypse!"