The church sure was a lot busier now. Estella was an almost constant source of energy that she seemingly never ran out of. Their newest members of the church very much shifted the dynamics a lot but Lavini had faith that that would stabilize itself one way or another. And then there were the many… many guests that flooded into the church. Since the twins’ transformation was such a public one, being witnessed by a large number of guests, word spread quickly and drew a lot more attention to the church. Some were there to pray and to pay their respects to the long gone goddess of time, some were there just to see the priestesses, and some were even there in the hope that they could perhaps be the next one to transform.

Today, Lavini found herself wandering nervously around the church. There were, after all, a fair amount of things to keep her mind busy. As happy as she was to have become Estella’s mother, she sure could be a handful. And on top of that, it sometimes felt like she and Cassie were kind of caught in the crossfire between Akita and Bridget, and Zexa and Xeza.

But there were more things to consider as well. Estella’s new friend Dawnyte, for instance, who had told them about the upcoming mermaid festival. Or the final trinket they still had in their possession that was supposed to be handed to someone who would be their sixth priestess. Or the fact that she was inevitably going to have to take trips to the past in order to become ‘Orketra Providence’. Or… the fact that Lavini hadn’t seen Cassie all morning. What was up with that?

That’s when something unusual caught Lavini’s eye. As she was walking up the stairs, she saw Zexa walking up and down the hallway… seemingly on her own? The golden keeper of the sundial was clutching her Sol tightly, and she was looking rather nervous about something.

Curiously, Lavini approached Zexa, who seemed quite surprised to see someone there.

“... Zexa?” Lavini asked, frowning slightly.

“...hm?” Zexa murmured. Her eyes were wide as if she had been caught stealing from a cookie jar.

“Uhm… where is Xeza?” Lavini pondered.

Zexa didn’t really say anything in return. Instead, she just pointed at the door to their room.

Lavini raised an eyebrow. “... Are you okay, dear?”

Zexa seemed to clutch her staff even tighter for a moment before speaking up. “Yes, why … be okay?”

Lavini narrowed her eyes then. “Yes, why be okay?” she repeated.

Zexa blushed. “I am trying … I am doing …” she stammered as a frown appeared on her face.

Lavini’s mouth was agape for a moment as she blinked. This was quite possibly the most peculiar conversation that she had had in a very long time. “Uhm… why are you uh… not with your sister?”

“She ripped her … is fixing it … she kicked me … room,” Zexa said, seemingly becoming even more nervous and angry now.

Lavini sighed. She tried her best to puzzle things together but there was just no way to understand what Zexa was saying here. “Are you sure you are alright, Zexa dear?” she said.

“ … that I am …” Zexa started but that’s when she stomped her foot on the ground in anger. “THAT’S … “ she shouted as she opened the door to their room.

“STOP FINISHING” “MY SENTENCES” “WHEN I AM TRYING” “TO TALK ALONE!” came the voices of Zexa Xeza together now.

“GAH! Zexa! Xeza! Please! How do you expect me to fix your dress if you are constantly interrupting me like this!” came Cassiopeia’s voice from inside the room.

When Lavini peaked inside, she could see the twins staring each-other down angrily while Cassie was sitting there at a sewing machine, looking quite annoyed. “Ah… I see,” she chuckled.