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Over the years, the stillness and fresh air of Anser had become less of a disturbance and more of a comfort.

Anser felt the winds around her, saw the way the star in the sky had painted the ground below in a red glow that was unfamiliar to Earth, heard the quiet, smelled the fresh wheatgrasses and plant life around her. She breathed. Her shoulders relaxed.

For a few moments, while wearing her uniform, she didn't immediately feel on the offensive.

Her steps trod forward, wandering through the grasses as she explored where the teleportation had landed her this time. The places never quite seemed to be consistent the longer she had explored, and she realized the depths of the meaning of her brother once saying that Anser the planet was bound to be considerably larger than Encke the Comet or any of the wonders he had ever been to. Even in all of her visits, she was entirely uncertain if she had even scraped the surface. And yet, she felt like she was starting to understand.

There were no one united people on the planet Anser, the people split into varying tribes and nomadic settlements. They wandered, not staying in any one place with any permanence, ready to pick up and go at a moment's notice if the gargantuan decided that it was now their home, instead. The climate was about as variant as the planet was large; she had been in warm settlements like the one she was in now as much as she had ended up in colder settlements on mountain ranges she could see at a far distance. But there was no native hostility. Sure, people were people, even if they were Anserian in origin. Sometimes, the varying societies would need someone to settle a dispute between them.

It seemed that responsibility had fallen on Anser.

Anser, who she had only been recently able to trace to an origin point.

She had seen plenty of memories with her within them, plenty of memories featuring the person who had carried her name in her past life in the forefront - but there had always been an implication that Anser was one of the few who often did not pick up and go, one settlement on top of a hill where the nomads would occasionally stay if they needed her long-term attention, only herself and some of her closest companions. Anser would go to the civilizations individually as needed.

And as Anser continued her steps through where her planet had found fit to place her, she realized she was coming up on something that looked much more permanent than the occasional remnants she came across.

A set of homes, well-defended, though nature had quickly taken so much of what was there, even of these permanent settlements. Wood consumed by vines. Animal skins that had faded to time, leaving only wide holes. One home that stood strong, still untouched, as if preserved in time.

Her home.

Again.

She pushed the door open.

Rirvia.

Anser heard it again on the wind once she stepped outside, and as she traced down the source, she swore the day became evening and the light of the red sun found itself replaced by the light of oil lanterns.

"Leaders. Thank you for coming."

"We have heard you are ready to take on your position as Sailor Anser." One of the leaders faced her, an elder man with severe features that made Rirvia think of a hermit or a wizened old wizard of another world. "Are you certain with this? The task that is ahead of you will not be easy."

"I appreciate your concern." Rirvia knew she needed to put off a confident face despite the dangers in front of her, and she shimmied her shoulders to show that. The leader that addressed her seemed to believe her well enough, though it was still met with some suspicion by another. She stepped forward, looking into Rirvia's soul with severe eyes like gems that made her worried she was going to be cut by a gem sword. "But I am ready."

"Aren't you significantly young for this role?"

"I have trained for decades."

"Most past Ansers have not taken on their position in full until they are at least in adulthood. You are still an adolescent, living with your mother. I do not blame you for your eagerness. I, too, took on this position young. But I was too young."

Anser felt herself bristle.

Too young.

Perhaps in an echo of her self from her past, Anser found herself blowing off all of the too young assumptions that came with her youth, and started to calculate how she would perform the seemingly impossible task. She didn't care what some people from the past thought. She didn't care what people from the present thought, what people in the Negaverse insisted on every time she tried to face them. She was not an adult, but she had experiences that went far beyond most of the people she talked to, and she was unafraid to use them in their fullest capacity.

She spat at the ground and moved forward.

Time to find the dead.

She kept low to the ground because a memory she had on the path told her she should. She kept her eyes peeled because it felt like a necessity. Kept listening for the name of the last Anser rattling around her brain, kept looking for signs that she was doing the right thing or performing the right actions, or tracking down the right villain. Well, not a villain. She guessed this wasn't a Chaos creature. Considering it was a dead creature, villain was probably the wrong word for what she was attempting to trace down--

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when she saw something in front of her, what looked to be an ancient, faded note with a seal of some sort on it, next to a blade that had likely seen better days before rust got to it.

She blinked.

Anser sat back inside one of the footprints, taking the knife and taking the note in her hands. She undid the seal and pulled it open.

... As if she should have expected to be able to read that. It was in chicken scratch.

... Or maybe goose scratch.

Anser smirked as if amused by her own joke. Carefully, she refolded the letter-

Rirvia,

I made this blade special and left it on your route. I think this will be your route, anyway. Saw some prints coming this way. Anyway, don't tell me I never did anything for you. No one should have seen me put this here, considering that I placed it here before your hunt even started...

I hope you find use in it. It's the fine craftsmanship of the Iodeorynn. After all, I was the one who made it. And I am the best of our craftsmen.

I can just picture you rolling your eyes right now. I hope you are.

I'll see you once you take on the mantle of Sailor Anser, my friend.

All the best, your friend,
Eavion

Eavion?

Something told her that Anser had used this weapon before.

Perhaps it would be of use now.

She came back to her feet, folding up the letter and putting it in her subspace pocket. The knife, though, stayed with her. She tore at a piece of her uniform, coming up with one of the feathered bits of her skirt. She used that to fashion a small strap around her wrist, placing the blade there for quick and secure access. Tested withdrawing and putting it back a few times to make sure she wouldn't knick herself in the process. But what was she afraid of? There was no one here. No one for her to worry about taking her out if she didn't have the knife in the proper position.

Right. It was just herself, her memories, the wind, the grass, and the giant footprints which seemed to be coming to a slowing and a stop toward this clearing.

... A stop?

If that was the case, where had the creature gone?

There it was.

Asleep.

To believe it would be so easy. Anser walked up to where the bones had laid, greeted with a small pile that had been put aside a thousand years ago of pieces that would not be useful for their purposes, arranged in such a way that they were respected like a monument.

At the top, there was a single bone.

Its neck.

If she were to take it down in this manner, it was best to go for the option that would give her the quickest resolution and the quickest possible end to its suffering. She watched the way the neck moved with breath. Watched the way the creature shifted, the way it occasionally jumped when she got a step closer.

This would have to do.

Was she about to slit the throat of a bone?

Too bad there wasn't an actual creature here.

Or someone like Metallia, perhaps.

Best act now, before anything questioned her.

Before it awoke.

Anser lept forward, slashing the knife across the bone.

The creature didn't even get a chance to yell with how quickly Rirvia had slid over its body, one clean cut all that was necessary.

When she landed on the other side, she felt the flare of that magic again.

Saw a light.

Saw the light that was emanating from her.

And let out a joyous laugh, falling against the ground.

"Rirvia, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom--"

"Our Sailor Anser, mediator, leader, our elite. I look forward to working with you on a future hunt."