Homecoming, Off Seers, Shower
A winged man knelt before a humanoid wearing a red suit, with a purple glowing core attached to his/her chest (like Iron Man's core), similar to the one we seen from afar standing on the shoulder of the flame clock levnis during the battle. The suit covered all his/her features, including his/her face, and the only exposed features is the yellow-orange sharp eyes, as if (s)he had the eyes of a jaguar, locking on to a prey. The winged man raised his head to look at him.
Behind the winged man, we saw soldiers lined up, including Noah and his team.
The red-suit humanoid turned from looking at the winged man, to the other direction. There were also soldiers lined facing him, the winged man, and Noah and the other soldiers. They stand on both sides, with a middle alleyway, which he walked till near its end, then turn left and give way to a winged woman. It's the woman we saw inside the castle whom gave embryo fertilizers! She wore a silver-white mask, silver hair spreaded around, with the hair in front of her chest curled forward.
Lanz: "Whoa! Even the Queen's come out!"
"So that's Her Majesty, huh?" Eunie was awestruck.
"Wow... I've never seen her before..." Behind them stood Joran and Noah, where Joran expressed his excitement.
Noah was thinking of something else, he just agreed like an automatic responder: "Hmm..."
The Queen step forward and walk the central alleyway, and stop before the winged man. The winged man was still knelt, one leg on the floor, another bent; one hand on his bent leg, another fist on the floor. The soldiers beside the alleyway hold up their flutes, bring it to their lips, and the homecoming melody filled the air in unison.
Noah had lots of questions. We can't know what he thought, but he was focusing on a guy in particular. The guys had yellow long hair, tied to a loose ponytail behind. He is one of the choir team, currently holding his black flute and playing it. We saw logo that represent how much terms they had back of his palm. The logo composed of 5 diamonds, each diamond had a smaller diamond within; so a double-decked diamond. One of the diamond lay in the central, while the other four lay north, east, south, and west of the central. The diamond on the east and west had an extra line cutting through the diamonds, parallel to the north-south diamonds. The western diamond and line, plus the central diamond, was still red; while the other 3 diamonds and lines already greyed out. He hadn't got much time left. We haven't saw Eunie's or Noah's, but on young Lanz, it's located on his chin, which is mostly red, signifying he was still young then.
While Noah was thinking, the Queen held both her hands up into the air, as if to embrace the winged guy. Yellow specks of particles suddenly appeared from his body, to which he looked at them; perhaps realizing it's time, held his hands up into the sky and looked up, to see the last of the world before his time. As we focused our attention on the red-suit humanoid, (s)he probably is thinking something else, though behind the mask, we can't know for sure.
"So cool!" gasped Joran.
Lanz held both of his palms into fists, "I heard the stories, but this is just wild!" Then, in a lighter tone, "That's gonna be me someday! Just you try and stop me! You guys, too. You're totally making it with me!" Pointing towards Joran and the others.
"Of course!" Eunie replied.
"Uhm..." Joran was hesitating.
"And you, Noah! Right?!" Lanz looked towards Noah. Noah was still in his world, responded without acknowledging, "Huh? Sure..." Perhaps coming back from his world, he realized his tone wasn't firm enough: "Yeah, you bet." One could see some seeds planted in him, waiting to germinate.
Our lives came from the Queen, and we all lived for a chance to take part in the Homecoming. The chance... to return to the Queen's embrace. Carrying out 10 years of service, fighting. That was our whole world. Nobody ever thought to question it. Until that day...
Probably referring the guy whom Noah looked up to.
Back in the battlefield. Noah was playing the flute, similar melody to those of homecoming. Previously red particles floating in the sky turned blue. Husks, Agnes or Keves, glowed blue, emanating more blue particles as the melody hummed. Kevesi levnises drove over Agnus' soldiers husks. Kevesi soldiers stepped on their torso, careful not on step on their hands and legs or they would lose balance easily. Most were yawning, looking down, exhausted. Flying levnises, after loaded the soldiers, changed to flying form, retracted their ground support, and blasted off into the air. The flame clock levnises had already gone, not seen anywhere. All except Noah's team, whom waited for Noah as he played the melody.
Lanz sat where he was, Eunie, the other guy, and the green nopon stood. As he completed and stuffed his flute into his back pocket, he looked down from his vantage point, reminisced for all soldiers. Some Kevesi were so badly injured their colleagues had their arms over their shoulder, helping them walk.
"Do you have to?" Lanz sounded, not looking at Noah.
Noah: "Huh?"
"You shouldn't be sending those guys off like that."
"What? Why not?"
"Why are you like this, Noah? It's Agnus! Our enemy?"
"Well, yeah... They don't have an off-seer, though. To send them."
Eunie sniped back, "Yep. They all bit the dust, thanks to us."
"So what?" Lanz shrugged.
"Look, there's no rule not to." Noah tried to explain. Lanz wasn't about to hear his explanation anyways.
"Then, what, you're just gonna... keep going? I don't get you, Noah."
"I know we're putting our lives on the line. But still..."
Eunie had enough of his explanation, "Yeah, yeah, we get it already.'Friend or foe, someone has to lay them to rest.'" She speak words Noah had spoken before, in a deeper voice to imitate, while trod-ing up towards him, stopping to stand by his side. "'For that is my role as an off-seer.' Right?!" With the last word, she knocked his chest with her elbow.
Noah turned and looked at her: "Uh... Is my voice that deep?" More concerned about the imitation than the content, huh?
Eunie wasn't impressed, hands on her waist, looking up at him. "Shut it, you. I wasn't trying to be anyone specific." Then, changed the topic, "Right, I've had about enough of all this depressing crap. Let's head back and hit the showers. I'm all gunked up with blood and sweat."
She walked off, eyeing her elbows where blood and sweat stained. Lanz stood up. The last of the levnises had already roll off or flew off. Lanz, looking them off, complained, "Uhh... Bye, transport. Guess we'd missed it again..."
Eunie eyes wide opened as she took two steps forward, as if trying to retain the levnises, complaining, "Oh... bollocks! Ugh, Noah always does this! How many times is it we've had to walk home now?!" Then, they walked off.
Noah took a final look at the battlefield by himself, still had many questions in his head, before turning and joined the team.
Translator's note on the environment: Between this battlefield region and where their colony was, was called Everblight Plain. It was located in the Aetia Region. The roads between the two locations was filled with relatively weak monsters, like "bunnits," rabbits white, brown, or black, with a mace attached to the tip of their tails; or "wisp," which are wasp-like creatures, where the "night wisp" glow in the dark while the morning ones don't, and other insectoids and animals.
(Upon arrival at the colony)
The flame clock levnis parked in the middle of the colony. Around it, rectangular bunker camps made of metal roofs were set up; they are the barracks. Below it from a distance, we saw a cloth tent covering many tables, probably the canteen. There were also some barrels of unknown use, to the right of the canteen. To its right, another metal bunker structure, the shower. It was evening, street-lights holding with very long fluorescent filament stood, itself emanating yellow-orange hue against the yellow-orange light from the setting sun.
"Ah, made it back at last. What a hike!" Good old Lanz.
The green nopon speak, and we finally know his name: "Such long walkings tough on legs of Riku... Riku totally popped."
Noah turned to look at the flame clock levnis: "It was a massive battle, but we don't seem to have taken too many injuries, fortunately."
To which Lanz replied, "Yeah, well, I guess that's the upside of going against a low-rank, no-mark colony like that."
Eunie: "On the flipside, we didn't manage to fill up the Flame Clock all that much..."
The last guy whom shot when Noah first blocked and signaled to Lanz, slightly dark skin, with his hair stripped with rolls, named Mwamba. "Ah, it's all for the best. At least we've all come back in one piece."
Noah: "I agree. And anyway, we should be all right on that front, for the time being."
Riku: "Noah, talking out here just waste time. How about friends move chatter into bath."
"Good thinking! Let's do that." Slow response, Eunie...
Translator's note on environment: Each colony had their names. Kevesi colonies used the numbering system, so Noah's colony is Colony 9 (which they're currently at). On the other hand, Agnian colonies used the alphabetical system, e.g. Colony Alpha (A).
Inside the shower.
Men and women shared the same shower room, without cover. Nopon too! All stripped themselves naked, of course. Mist from hot water greatly reduced the proximity of our vision, reaching Noah's chest. Noah turned off the knob to the shower, water stopped splashing out the shower head.
Noah turned and walked towards a shared spa, putting one feet before the other. To his front left, Eunie was already in the spa, leaning her back onto the walls, her hands on the wall1. "Ahhh" Noah sighed. Feels refreshing. We could also see nopons in the pool; floating and swimming around.
"Say... You know how you became an off-seer... after what happened...?" Eunie began the conversation, slightly bending forward towards Noah, concentrating her attention.
"Hm?" Noah took a more relaxing stance, curved his back more until his shoulders were immersed in the waters. "Uh... I guess, yeah..."
Memories: Flames rolled all around, Joran standing in the middle. Rocks came tumbling down around him. One can't read his facial emotions, which they seem neutral; no desperation, no smiles either. As more boulders came smashing down, he was buried alive.
"Does it... still hurt?" Eunie prompt.
Noah turned his head and looked at her, then looked up, changing his posture while he speak: "No... I can't say I'm totally over it... but I'm getting there. I've sent... so many of our comrades. A lot's happened." 2
"Both for me... and those sent on." He recalled the first homecoming they've seen, the focus was the yellow-haired guy.
"Mmm." Eunie dipped her body lower, her chin touching the water surface. Noah turned to face another direction, changing the subject, "Anyway, worry about him."
Lanz was showering next to Mwamba. Something on his right shoulder seemed to pissed him off, while Mwamba was offering his help. He smiled back and rejected as if nothing happened, and they chatted a bit.
Noah: "Poor guy. Pushes himself too hard."
Eunie: "What can we do. He's been like this for ages."
Memories: Flames surrounded, young Lanz running towards Joran, Noah held his left arms with both hands, tugged him out of the flames. Lanz stretches his right arm, eyes wide opened, trying to reach Joran, mumbling "No! No!" all the time. Pebbles fell in front of him.
Eunie, putting her arms behind her head, shut her eyes: "He never got to apologize. So... You know..."
Lanz seemed to be done with showering, showing up behind Noah: "Hm? You guys talking about the battle?" Then, putting his feet and lower himself into the water beside Noah, "Don't worry about the bonus points... 'cause I'll have nabbed 'em all!"
That rigid change of subject must've interruped Eunie's reminiscing moments. She stood up and look, her body slightly leaned forward, at Lanz, "Er... the snuff you on about? I'll have you know I clocked up a fair bit more!"
Lanz didn't agree, and was probably emotionally hijacked, also stood up and face Eunie, her hands waving and pointing at himself, "Oh, yeah, sure. I'm the one who took the heavy off its hinges. They give you loads of points."
"Ooh, big deal!" Eunie walked up to him slowly, cutting him. "If that heal had come a few seconds later, you'd be sleeping in the dirt!"
Lanz: "Uh, yeah, no, uh-uh... That was part of the plan. You couldn't tell? I just felt like giving you the credit. But don't worry, you can thank me later."
Noah watched the drama for a while and wasn't interested in getting involved, sliding slightly away from the center point of conflict, and look up through the small window at the top of the shower bunker. Through it, stars of varying brightness paste themselves against the dark sky, illuminated dimly by the remaining sunlight. Seen from outside, two waterfalls fall from a ledge to the right of the colony, the ledge protruding, making a horn shape, while other protrudes irregularly. Few clouds covered a small portion of the stars.
Eunie: "Huh? You're a right muppet, Lanz..."
Finishing their shower (and quarrel), Noah walked up to the team, the last to finish dressing up. Lanz, with his hands behind his heads, yawned. "All right then! Off to bed with me."
Eunie agreed, turning to face Noah, "Yeah... All that walking's really done a number on me!"
Noah felt awkward, scratching the back of his neck, "I'm sorry..."
Eunie already forgave him, knowing he wouldn't have changed his mind anyways, "Hehe! Come on, let's go!"
"Yeah!"
"Meh meh!" And they walked off to bed.
Footnotes:
1: or floor
2: Riku was swimming in the distance on the spa. (Didn't want to put this in as it disturbs the flow)