[Nineteen chapters late: brain storage]
Bai You raised her hand and lightly touched Varesa with her fingertips. "Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"These two necklaces aren't just ordinary necklaces."
Her voice was slow and gentle. "They're a pair. Once we put them on, we can sense each other's emotions."
Varesa froze for a moment. "Sense each other's emotions?"
"Mm." Bai You nodded.
"As long as I focus on the necklace, I can feel it when you're happy, and I can more or less tell when you're sad. And you can tell how I'm doing, too."
Varesa suddenly remembered something-the moment she had put on the necklace, a warmth she couldn't quite describe had indeed washed over her.
Varesa was stunned. She had never seen anything with an effect like that.
Varesa slowly turned back to look at Bai You. Her lips moved, but before she could speak, Bai You spoke again.
"Actually, there's one more function."
"There is?!"
"Teleportation." Bai You gently brushed a fingertip over the gem. "If you wear the one engraved with the other person's likeness,
"you can teleport straight to their side. As long as it's within my power, you can do it no matter how far away they are."
Varesa's mouth fell open and stayed that way for a long while. She looked down at the pale cyan gem around her neck-the one engraved with Bai You's likeness.
Then she looked at the cyan-blue one around Bai You's neck-the one engraved with her own likeness.
That meant that no matter where she was, she could appear at Bai You's side in an instant whenever she wanted.
And the same went for Bai You.
"But there's a limit," Bai You added. "It can only be used three times a day."
Varesa's heart suddenly began to race again. She clutched the necklace, her knuckles turning slightly white, and spoke in a somewhat muffled voice:
"...Why make something so precious? Wouldn't it be a bit of a waste to give me something with such powerful functions??"
Bai You looked at her, her gaze soft, and said quietly, "You're the person closest to me, and these effects are really convenient for everyday life, too."
"More importantly, it's because I don't want to be apart from you." Bai You spoke softly, but every word was clear. "Even if we are apart, I want to know whether you're doing all right, and I want to be able to find you whenever I want."
Varesa's eyes suddenly grew a little hot.
She lowered her head, pressing her fingers tightly against the cold gem, but the skin beneath it was burning hot. After a long while, she finally spoke in a muffled voice, with a barely noticeable tremor:
"...Then I'll treasure it. I promise I won't lose it."
Bai You looked at the flustered Varesa before her, the smile in her eyes slowly spreading like ripples on water.
She said nothing, only reaching out to gently ruffle Varesa's hair.
Varesa stiffened for a moment, then relaxed again.
She didn't pull away. She only kept her head down, the tips of her ears so red they looked ready to bleed.
After a long while, she suddenly raised her head, as if she had made up her mind about something.
"...Bai You."
"Mm?"
"I-I'll sing you a song. That's the little surprise I prepared. I hope you'll like it."
She spoke quickly, as if afraid she might change her mind. "Singing is what I do best, so I have lots of fans in Snezhnaya City, too."
Bai You paused, then smiled. "Sure."
"The acoustics in this little booth aren't that good. Can we go outside? Over by the big shell-that's the best place to sing."
Bai You nodded gently. "Okay."
The two walked out of the booth one after the other, and the light suddenly grew brighter.
Varesa led Bai You back to the edge of the big shell where they had started.
Varesa took a deep breath and pulled Bai You down to sit beside her on the edge of the shell.
She brushed her long hair behind her ear and looked down at the lake. The water reflected her figure and the necklace at her throat, its gem glowing faintly pale cyan.
She was silent for a few seconds, then began to sing.
When the first note rang out, the entire cavern fell silent.
♪ ~~~~ ♫ ~ ~~~♬♪ ~~~~♫ ~~~♬♪ ~~~♫ ~ ~~~♬♪ ~~~♫ ~~~~♬♪ ~~~