Chapter 39 : naming disasters at Ember field

The Sunwhisper mansion was quiet—at least, until Aldah broke it.
“We need a name!” she shouted, standing on one of the velvet chairs as though announcing to a kingdom. Her voice echoed up to the painted ceiling.
Elowen nearly dropped his teacup. “A name?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. " why are you here? And who even invited you ?”
“come on brother, Ryo is allowed to have friends and to bring them over” lady Rose said while playing with Aldah hair.
“after disappearing for a whole month!?” Elowen screamed.
“it was a mission” She slapped him when he started to lose it.
“ whatever the name is for us!” Aldah pointed dramatically at the group scattered around the sitting room. “We can’t just be an unbranded bunch of misfits. Heroes have names. Legends have names. We—”
“Have no manners,” Lara interrupted flatly, sipping her tea.
Andrea, perched by the window, glanced up and smirked. “They are really more entertaining than I expected.”
Aldah ignored them, puffing up her chest. “I propose… The Ember Blades!”
Vix groaned into the sofa cushions. “Sounds like a second-rate adventuring troupe that charges extra for broken furniture.”
“Alright then, wise one,” Aldah shot back. “What would you call us?”
“‘The Hungry and the Sleep-Deprived.’ Accurate. Honest. No false advertising.”
Elowen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Must this… naming circus… happen in my parlor?”
“Yes!” Aldah declared. “For history is being written, Mister sunwhisper, and it demands—”
“Demands silence,” Elowen said, tossing a grape at her forehead.
Kael chuckled into his glass. “Ryo? You’ve been unusually quiet. Any thoughts?”
Ryo fumbled, “Um… maybe… ‘The Couriers of Dawn?’ We carry things. We travel. It sounds… noble?”
Everyone stared.
“You sound like a tragic bard,” Elowen said.
Vix clapped politely. “Ten out of ten for unintentional comedy.”
“Fine! Then how about the greatest name of all: Aldah and the Rest!”
There was a beat of silence. Then Lady Rose, without looking up from her tea, said, “If you put your name first, I will personally throw you out the window.”
Elowen chuckled, “I’d even help her lift you.”
Aldah gasped, clutching his chest. “Treachery! Betrayal! Even among friends—”
Kael cut her off smoothly. “What about something simple. Like ‘Blue Wave.’”
“ already taken idiot” said everybody.
“ sorry”
“the ember couriers” Lara suggested.
This time, silence held differently.
“…Ember courriers,” Ryo repeated softly.
Vix rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. Elowen didn’t insult it. Lady Rose aplaused.
Aldah groaned, flopping dramatically onto the carpet. “Ugh, fine! But when the bards sing about us, don’t blame me if it doesn’t rhyme.”
Elowen grinned. “Oh, I look forward to those songs.”
The Sunwhisper mansion rang with laughter, arguments, and Aldah’s very bad rhyming attempts. Somewhere in that chaos, though, a name finally stuck.
---
Elowen set his cup down with a soft clink. “Ember courriers ,” he murmured again, testing the sound. “It has elegance. Simplicity. A sense of movement. Yes, it is… tolerable.”
“Tolerable?” Aldah sat up like a betrayed dog. “That’s the highest compliment you can give?”
“Would you prefer I call it dreadful?” Elowen countered smoothly.
He rested his chin in his hand with a grin. “If I may, I think we’re overlooking obvious brilliance. ‘The Roseblades.’ Named after my sister, naturally. Everyone would tremble.”
Lady Rose shot him a withering look. “Elowen, if you name them after me, it will sound like I employ couriers.”
“Do you not?” Elowen teased.
Vix snorted, nearly spilling his drink.
Aldah leapt in before Rose’s glare could incinerate her brother. “No, no, no. Forget waves, roses, hunger. We need something bold! Something unforgettable! Like… The Flaming Wolves of Eternal Twilight!”
Ryo blinked. “That’s… a lot of words.”
“Too many words,” Lara added. “No one will remember it, mine his better”
“Yes they will!” Aldah insisted, climbing back onto the chair. “Imagine it sung by bards in taverns—‘The Flaming Wolves of Eternal Twilight delivered through war and mystery’”
“You’ll be out of breath before you finish the sentence,” Vix muttered.
Lady Rose leaned forward, smirking. “I admit, it has… a certain tragic grandeur.”
Elowen, however, had lost her patience. “If you stand on my chair one more time, Aldah, the only thing bards will sing about is your fall from the balcony.”
Aldah immediately hopped down, sulking. “Fine. The Ember couriers it is. But when history remembers us as boring, don’t blame me.”
Kael chuckled, raising his glass. “To the Ember couriers, then.”
“Ember couriers,” Lara echoed, softer but firm.
Ryo hesitated, then smiled faintly. “Ember couriers”
Even Elowen lifted his teacup, and Lady rose—always dramatic—bowed mockingly. “To Ember couriers. May your name echo across Geneva, though hopefully not for scandal.”
“Or property damage,” Elowen added sharply, eyes narrowing at Aldah.
She froze mid-grin. “…Define property damage.”
---
The streets of Ember Field buzzed with morning life. Merchants shouted their wares, children darted between wagons, and the smell of roasted chestnuts mingled with the smoke of blacksmith forges.
“This way!” Aldah declared, marching proudly ahead. Her coin purse jingled like a victory march.
Ryo jogged after her. “Wait—what are we even buying?”
“Essentials,” Aldah said firmly, puffing her chest. “If we’re Ember couriers now, we need style. Matching cloaks, dramatic boots, maybe a banner—”
Lara pinched the bridge of her nose as she trailed behind them. “We came out for supplies. Food, water, tools. Not costumes, and we already belong to Blue wave agency.
“So what ?” Aldah spun around, horrified. “and these aren’t costumes, Lara. They’re symbols of friendship our friendship.” She gestured wildly at the nearest stall, which displayed an array of absurdly colorful scarves.
She threw one around Ryo’s neck before the courier could protest.
Ryo spluttered, the silk nearly choking him. “Aldah—!”
“It brings out your eyes!” Aldah insisted. Then she turned to Lara with a mischievous grin. “And for you…” He snatched a crimson scarf and tried to drape it over her shoulders.
Lara’s hand shot up like a blade, catching the scarf mid-air. Her golden eyes narrowed. “Touch me with that thing and you’ll lose your hand.”
Aldah froze. “...Noted.” she set the scarf back very, very slowly.
Ryo tugged the silk off his neck, glaring. “We’re not wasting money on scarves.”
“Fine, fine,” Aldah said, waving dramatically. “But at least let me choose the food. I have a refined palate.”
Ten minutes later, she staggered out of a stall with an armful of candied nuts, fried bread, and what looked suspiciously like a jug of spiced wine.
Ryo’s jaw dropped. “That’s not supplies, that’s dessert!”
Lara crossed her arms. “At least he remembered the wine for Elowen , We can still sell it to him”
Aldah shoved a candied nut into Ryo’s mouth before he could argue. “There. Sweeten up, courier. Heroes need sugar.”
Ryo chewed reluctantly—and scowled when he realized it was delicious.
Lara sighed, muttering under her breath. “This group will starve before winter at this rate.”
Aldah threw an arm dramatically around Ryo’s shoulders. “Nonsense! With Ember couriers, hunger itself will tremble!”
“You mean our stomachs will,” Lara said flatly.
And so, their “shopping trip” devolved into Aldah parading between stalls like a queen, Ryo trying to salvage their budget, and Lara threatening to stab someone every five minutes. By the time they returned to the mansion, their bags contained exactly three useful items: rope, a whetstone, and—thanks to Aldah—an alarming quantity of candied nuts.