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Patreon Pinup Winner!
Patreon Pinup Winner! 
Yui! 
Here we have the public release of Yui's pinup! While we usually stick to the character lore/theme, our animation artist 
Zeranthi created such an extraordinary pinup that I couldn't resist the chance to write a short story for it! 
STORY Karen often skipped classes to wander the forest around Astral Grove, choosing the sounds of nature over her professors. The leaves seemed to whisper secrets, and the mix of pine and wildflowers filled the air. Sunlight slipped through the thick branches, making shifting patterns on the ground. She liked exploring alone and usually returned to the dorms or class with new scrapes and Band-Aids. She would whisper her stories to Ben in the back of class, and that was where Yui first heard about them.
She heard of the stones.
Yui’s ear twitched as she tried to concentrate on magical theory class, her attention faltering when she overheard Karen and Benjamin whispering behind her. Karen had arrived late once more, prompting the professor to reprimand her and send her to the back of the room. Settling into her seat, Karen crossed her arms as Benjamin leaned in to whisper, their conversation drawing Yui’s focus away from the lesson.
“No, no, no, I told you it was like, a stone circle thingy! The trees had told me to stay away because no one ventured down that path anymore, and it had been sealed away for like a million years!”
“A million years? Karen.. I think they were lying to you”
“For what purpose! And anyway, I trotted down there, tail held high and climbed over the wall and found it! But it was just a bunch of boring stones, like the sun was shining pretty through them, but other than that, I don’t know what the fuss was about,” Karen huffed out, crossing her arms. Ben still looked a bit concerned as Yui flicked her ears
Shining stones? Maybe she meant gemstones
As the bell tolled, Yui stood up, gathering her notes a little slower than usual to catch more of the conversation.
“Besides a bunch of stones, they weren’t very exciting to be around. Nature seemed to avoid that place, no trees or even shrubs! I couldn’t even relax because it felt... too quiet even for me, so I barked a lot at the stones and poked them with sticks and carved my name into one!”
“KAREN!”
“WHAT? I had to leave my mark after all! The trees said no one had been there for years and years! Apparently, it was something like an Agharta entrance or something?” she said, walking past Yui down the small stairs of the classroom as Ben followed, still concerned.
"I think you really shouldn’t have done that. What if you get cursed for carving your name in it!”
“Oh pleaseeeee, what are some stones gonna do to a sweet innocent Spanelyte like me!” she said innocently, tossing her long ears behind her head as Yui bristled a little, annoyed.
“Stones are older than us all, Karen! You've got to respect them,” she muttered just loud enough for Karen to hear as she stopped, and Ben also stopped, both turning to face her, and Yui quickly realized she might have let her inner thoughts become outer thoughts.
“Oh, uhm, I mean, I think you were talking about gemstones, Karen, and well, they all have properties and memories and such, and uhm, you really shouldn’t be defacing them and yelling at them,” she quickly stuttered out, embarrassed as Karen rolled her eyes.
“Uh huhhhh, well if you wanna say sorry then YOU go down there and get it off your conscience, miss high and mighty,” Karen chuffed out, spun on the heels of her big boots, and stomped out, Ben giving an apologetic look.
“Don’t listen to her, Yui, she just didn’t like people telling her what's wrong and right... Well, anyone telling her anything to be honest,” as he hurried after her. Yui felt her tail swish, annoyed as it thumped against the desk behind her.
Spanelites, I swear, they were all the same, ugh... but, just because she told me to do it didn’t mean I would
The crisp morning air caused Yui's breath to form puffs of fog in front of her as she stood at the forest's edge. She had chosen her favourite cardigan, layering it over a plaid brown dress, a skirt and an embroidered long-sleeve top. Gripping the brim of her academy witch hat, she gazed into the forest depths. The trees presented the daunting task ahead. With a resolve steeled by determination, she stepped into the comforting embrace of the foliage and began her trek.
Okay, follow Karen's advice from yesterday and see if I could track her bootprints, she thought, looking around. Seeing some pushed-aside branches with a Karen-shaped hole, and her heavy bootprints in the mud, never had Yui been so glad for the girl's stomping attitude. She followed through the forest, climbing over small logs and seeing the ‘destruction’ of Karen's adventuring. She found it much easier than expected to follow the girl’s trail.
“Well, this wasn’t so hard... thank Karen, never thought I would say that.” As she pushed past, she entered a small clearing and immediately saw countless overlapping footprints evidence of Karen's chaotic passage. The tracks spread in every direction, making it impossible for Yui to determine which one to follow. Defeated, she sat back against a tree and stared at the disordered scene before her.
Now what... I couldn’t be too late back to the academy, otherwise I’d get in a lot of trouble, and Karen would never let me live that down. I supposed I should head back. She sighed as she stood up, turning to head back the way she had come, when a soft, sharp tone caught her ear, making her freeze.
A note? A voice? Music?
She listened more as it sounded like crying, or what someone thought crying was, wailing even?
As she followed one of the footprint trails, she closed her eyes, focused on the sound as it grew louder and louder and louder, and a stone wall stopped her in her tracks.
Yui rubbed her nose as she gazed up, seeing an overgrown stone wall that stretched around in a large circle. She peeked around, trying to see if there was a door, but saw the marks of Karen’s climbing showing how she had gotten in. Yui was not going to do what that wild girl did; she was going to take it slow and be insightful.
Okay, they might have sealed it off, but they had something to get in or... out?
She scanned the area, searching for anything that might help her, and soon spotted a large tree growing close to the wall. She rolled up her sleeves and began to climb, although as a Felari, the task demanded considerable effort. Uncertainty is knotting her thoughts. Her hand slipped on the bark, and she scraped her arm, but she continued upward, clawing her way onto a branch. She didn’t dare look down, trembling and avoiding any and all glances down. Once up on the branch, she needed to be on, quietly assessing the distance, and she realised the wall was only a short jump away. Crawling along the branch with her eyes shut, she took slow, deep breaths before opening them again. From her perch, the gemstone circle shone beyond the wall, sunbeams illuminating its alluring beauty. Gathering her courage, she stood on the branch and leapt across.
She landed on the wall, sliding down, gasping and crying out, scrambling to get a grip as she was about to fall, before her shoe stepped on something solid, then the other, and she gazed down, eyes filled with anxiousness, seeing the stone wall had protruded some little stones for her to use.
Stepping stones?
She wasn’t going to waste this miracle and climbed up the wall and onto the other side, gazing down. There was no real way to get down. Yui looked over the edges and saw a Karen-sized dirt shape where she could only guess how Karen had gotten herself down.
The wall vibrated as she saw stone steps slowly form in front of her, descending to the ground. She slowly took a step, then another, and another… as if she were on a royal staircase; she looked like a princess, and, following the soft sound towards the towering gemstones, she finally entered the circle.
“Golly.. these are beautiful and so.. unique”, she had pulled out her journal from her dress and started taking notes and sketches, going from stone to stone, admiring and listening. She had noticed that they seemed not fully awake, as if dormant in a way, sleeping almost, except for one.
The ugly, crude handwriting of Karen's name had been scratched upon the gemstone pillar's surface, like a five-year-old's first drawing. Yui had frowned as the sound from the gem had been the one she heard in the forest.
Poor thing... Let me ease this stain upon you.
She had kneeled, book on the ground as she placed both hands upon the marked gem, closing her eyes and softly humming.
“Sunlight warm, teach me how, Raelin saelun na, Mother stone, steady and true, Daelin so rae lum, Heal, awake. Remember what you were once. before.”
She softly sang out as the stone glowed under her hands, and the other rocks started to glow as well, awakening with power as the wind picked up around her. Her song continued, repeating softly, as the wind flipped her journal, the pages turning rapidly. Yui focused more, pouring her energy and mana into the spell, until the stone glowed fully. Then Yui opened her eyes, seeing the energy around her, the voices all filling her mind. She scrambled to her feet, taking a few steps back, a little anxious, but continued her spell. Her incantation seemed to awaken something, a connection, as the stones echoed the spell's tones.
“Raelin Saelun Na” “Daelin So Rae Lum”
The voices of the stones echoed with her as she felt the wind pick up around her. Then, rising above her, she giggled, enjoying the warmth of the rocks; they welcomed her before the energy fell on her in a soft, glowing blanket that spread from the circle to the wall, like a drop of golden glitter.
A moment passed as the voices all stopped, and Yui saw the glowing mark on the stone slowly fading as the carved mark disappeared, and she smiled softly, pleased with herself.
“You sure got them excited,” an unfamiliar voice interjected. Yui looked around, confused, trying to locate the speaker.
“Behind you, lady” Yui turned.
“Still behind youuu, the voice said again as Yui had clutched her book closer.
“Look, if you are too shy to show yourself, that’s fine, but you don’t need to make me dizzy, she said as a glowing flying creature fluttered into her view, giving her a small gasp.
“Who said anything about being shy? It’s not my fault you can’t see what's in front of you!” it said at her, and Yui bowed a little apologetically before holding her finger out for it to land on.
“Oh- I am very sorry.. uh”
“Arengilla”
“Arengilla.. I am sorry, I was just so caught up in what just happened”
“That’s why I’m here actually, it seems you woke them up, or well had woken them up, which no one has done in a few hundred years, which basically sent me here to make sure nothing bad was happening since the last time that happened was a very tragic day” the creature said in its soft voice as Yui tilted her head.
“Ah, well, you see my friend from school had broken in here and carved her name into one of those gemstones, and I couldn’t bear the thought of a gem being so... defaced, so I decided to come fix it so I could sleep peacefully and not because she told me to do it!” Yui was explaining as the glowing creature just sat on her finger before fluttering off and around her.
“Well, in any case, the stones were very grateful for that and have given you a boon, Miss Yui,” the creature said. Yui felt the same as before, like nothing had changed inside her. She looked at her hands, wondering what mysteries they now held.
“A boon? Wait, how did you know my name?”
“A name is something we can sense just like your family”
“Wait, my family!? What does that mean!”
“Alas, my magic isn’t meant to be out for this long, and I must return”
“Wait, please! Tell me about my family! I have never known anything about them! I have searched for so long. Please, Arengilla!" Yui begged, trying to follow the fluttering creature, her eyes filled with anxious panic as it followed Arengilla to a stone.
“You aren’t meant to know. It is what is foretold. Journey on, Yui. Let our boon guide and protect you.” As Arengilla slipped into the gem and faded, Yui pressed her hands against the gemstone, her eyes filling with tears, and she fell to her knees.
“Please.. “ she felt tears roll down her face as the empty dread of once again being alone, letting out a pained cry, slamming her hand against the stone.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come to fix my vandalism.” Karen's voice intruded upon the hollow ache that gripped her chest. Yui startled, her hands trembling as she hurriedly wiped at the fresh tears on her cheeks. She turned to face the irrepressible Spanelite girl.
“Well, someone had to give a damn, Karen,” she said, sniffing, as Karen was obviously very taken aback by the angry, crying face of the Felari girl.
“Yui? What is going on?”
“Just leave it, Karen, I’ve already cleaned up your mess, and I got...”
“Got what?”
“Nothing.. I’m going back to my dorm before classes start, and I don’t want you anywhere near here again, okay?” Yui turned to Karen, whose tone had turned harsh and pained, before Yui looked down to see a small wooden palette with items for cleaning a stone.
“I thought about what you said yesterday, and maybe you were right about respecting stones and junk, Karen said softly as she looked away, feeling a bit hurt and putting the pale down. “I’ll stay away from this part of the forest in my explorin’... sorry, Yui,” she mumbled, her ears hanging low. Yui wiped her own eyes before sighing and picking up the pail, pushing it into Karen's chest as she looked into the green eyes of the Spanelite girl. Their eyes met for a few moments as Yui held the wooden pail in Karen's chest.
“Don’t be sad and mopey, okay... You at least thought about doing the right thing eventually even if you chose every single thing wrong for gemstone cleaning,” Yui said, giving a small laugh as Karen’s expression changed to one of annoyance.
“HEY, I was trying to help!”
“You were trying to create dangerous chemicals by the looks of it”
“I was following what some dumb book said to do”
“And explode!?” Both of them bickered as they walked toward the wall, with Karen defending herself. At the same time, Yui glanced back at the silent gemstone pillars. Even seemingly silent stones could foster connections that extended beyond the self.
That feeling of warmth.. was that.. belonging? Character's Owned By Icarus Skyhawk and Artwork done by Zee
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Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1440 x 2560px
File Size 3.79 MB
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