"See! Everything's done!" Eternia proudly exclaimed. "The wallpaper here is also a bit messy but in the kitchen no guest will see it."
"Whoa! All the holes are gone! It looks great!" Sinistra was roundabout enthused. "I can't believe how fast you got that done! You're as quick as a ninja!"
Suddenly something completely unexpected happened. The air in the kitchen seemed to burn and when Sinistra looked back she almost scared herself to death. Eternia's face showed a frightening expression. Her eyes burned and her lips were a tight line.
"Who are you?!" she hissed.
Sinistra stumbled a step back. "I... what? I... what did I say?!"
When she saw the panic in the elementalist's eyes Eternia regained her cool, but very, very slowly.
"Never say that again."
"What shall I never say again? Please..."
Eternia looked at her lurkingly. Finally she said: "How fast I am. Never say it again. And never tell anybody else you said it."
"Eternia, you frighten me", Sinistra pleaded. She shivered.
The blonde kept staring at her and the anger faded from her face very slowly. Finally she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sinistra. It wasn't my intention to grow angry like this. Please calm down."
"But what did I..."
"It's nothing", Eternia appeased her in a much sharper voice than planned. "I... I just can't stand being compared to a ninja, okay."
"Huh?" Sinistra was perplex. "That was what upset you so much? But what about it is so terrible?"
"I will not explain that to you, just accept it, okay. Never call me that again and never call me that if talking to others!"
"Okay..."
"I have to take care of the mess here now. Maybe you can clean up in the livingroom, I'll follow later and help you with the furniture."
Sinistra understood the hint all too well and quickly left the kitchen.
When she was gone Eternia tried to regain her composure. 'How could she know that? Is she a spy?!'
She pondered about it. That clumsy person who kept falling over her own feet was supposed to...? No, that was highly unlikely. To be precise, it was laughable, even. If Sinistra was one of them they would not have tried to undercut her secretly. They would have lifted their masks openly and without any regret made her responsible for her failure.
'Oh geez! I acted so dumb! That was totally over the top and now I even have to make Sinistra forget about it!" Eternia grimaced. 'I guess I have no other choice - I have to be super-nice to her for a while so she cools down again. She looked as if she was close to having a stroke!'
The young woman sighed and started to roll up the foil. Her only defense to herself for this mess was that it had been a very long, very exhausting day.
Sinistra fled into the livingroom and slumped onto the sofa right away, since her knees were shivering.
"Oh my! What did I do?!" she wondered in desparation. "I must have commited a terrible faux pas to make Eternia angry like that! I just wanted to praise her!"
Lost in thought she played with the stones on her bodice. "Should I have compared her to lightning instead? No, perhaps she doesn't like that, either... Do ninjas have such a bad reputation around here? Did I insult her? Or is she simply... mad?"
The thought startled Sinistra and so she blocked it right away. Okay, Eternia was a bit awkward but she had also shown her helpful side several times today and did a lot. Sinistra couldn't believe that she would get that angry without a reason. She tried to remember whether she had read anything about ninja in the city guide she had bought before her move to Dolltopia, but she couldn't recall them being mentioned in any way.
"Hmm... No, I don't think 'ninja' is an insult here", she finally conluded. "But what is it, then? Oh!" An idea shot through her head when she remembered how young Eternia was. Both of them were about the same age and Sinistra could still remember her time at the academy vividly. "Perhaps she was teased at school? If she was as quick and silent with things back then too, perhaps the other children used the word 'ninja' to insult her!"
The elementalist still flinched when thinking back of what she had to hear on the schoolyard.
"Oh my! That must be it! Some old wound from her childhood and I just re-opened it!"
She was terribly embarrassed. Just how embarrassed was Eternia to refuse to even talk about it?! Surely she was feeling bad because she lost her composure.
"I will pretend nothing has happened and will be extra friendly towards Eternia!"
Sie inhaled deeply and stood up.
Shortly after both women ran into each other in the livingroom. Each smiled at the other in the most friendly way.
"Oh, Eternia! I just finished cleaning! Now we can move in our items", Sinistra said and smiled from one ear to the other in a way that almost spooked Eternia out. "Uhm... I'm about done with the foil in the kitchen too, just have to throw it all in the trash quickly. The floor is also mopped, but we still have to clean the rest..." Eternia was cautious but tried to keep her voice casual.
"No problem, we'll get that done too!"
"Err... is everything alright? I'm very sorry about what happened..." Eternia was contrite.
Sinistra smiled even broader. "Sure! Forgiven and forgotten! Everyone has a bad moment now and then! And I will never adress you like that ever again, promise!"
"Then I promise to never yell at you again like that. That wasn't okay."
"There's paint dripping onto the freshly cleaned floor."
"Oh, sorry! I guess I'll rather take this out now..."
"Yes."
When they brought the last few pieces of furniture back into the livingroom the tension was finally gone.
"Are you sure the table isn't too heavy for you?" Sinistra asked. "We could have carried it together."
"Nope, no problem. It's easier to handle alone. I'm just... strong as a bear." Eternia winked.
'Oh! So she doesn't have a general problem with analogies, but really just with ninjas! Good to know that!' The elementalist was relieved.
Dolltopia 0011 <- # -> Dolltopia 0013