AA: The Wolf And The Songbird: Of Ruffles Lost
95 updates.
Story summary, rating, warnings, etc. available at the content notes. For other chapters, see the chapter list.
Chapter: Of Ruffles Lost
Chapter Rating: PG
Chapter Summary: Unexpected visitors to Franziska and Adrian's home lead Pearl to think about changes in life.
Previous
2026
February 10, Time
Von Karma - Andrews Residence, Living Room
Germany, Gerecht
"I'm home!"
Pausing to take off her coat and boots, Pearl then grabbed her bag and headed further into the apartment. Before she'd gotten even halfway down the hallway, though, she realised that some of the voices carrying over from the living room were not familiar to her. That was surprising; it was rare that they had guests over. Despite her curiosity, though, she knew better than to go and look; Franziska would not like it if she barged in on a private conversation uninvited.
"Welcome home." Adrian peeked out from the kitchen doorway. "Could you help me a moment? I need to get some things to the living room."
"Ah, sure." Pearl only took a moment to drop her bag into her room before slipping into the kitchen. There was a tray with some tea things laid out, she noted, and another, smaller one with various treats and cookies. "Wow, this is much fancier than usual," she noted. "Who exactly is visiting?"
"Someone I'm quite sure you will know, too. Well, one of them at any rate." Adrian looked almost smug as she handed the smaller tray to Pearl, picking up the tea tray herself. "Now, come on. You know how Franziska hates having to wait, and besides I'd hate to let the tea get cold."
Keeping Franziska from getting annoyed was a noble cause indeed, Pearl decided, trailing after Adrian into the living room. As she got there and saw the mysterious guests, though, she almost dropped the tray in shock. "Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Pearl Fey." Edgeworth turned to look at her with a strange little almost-smile on his face. "I must say, you have changed since the last time I saw you." Perhaps because she had still been in grade school at the time?
"So have you, Mr. Edgeworth." Somehow, Pearl managed to make her way to the coffee table to set the tray down. "You're a lot less ruffly!"
"Less ruffly?" She wasn't sure if he sounded more shocked or amused. "Of all the things that may or may not have changed about me over the years, that's what you choose to focus on?"
"Well, um, it is kind of obvious," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed now. Still, she couldn't help but notice. Her memory of Edgeworth was not the sharpest after the years, but the main thing she did remember was that he'd had a ruffly cravat along the lines of Franziska's bow. Now that was gone, as were his ever-present burgundy jacket and his vest; he only wore a fine, black shirt, a ribbon-like bow and deep red gems at the collar and cuffs the only allowances for his former flamboyancy. "Um, your hair is longer too?" That wasn't supposed to be a question, Pearl.
A sharp burst of laughter drew her attention to the man sitting next to Edgeworth. She hadn't even made much note of him until now, her focus having been on Edgeworth. He almost seemed the exact opposite of the prosecutor; where Edgeworth was still nice and elegant even without his cravat and suit jacket, sitting quite properly in one of the plush couches, this other man had a kind of a wild quality to him, with black leather and embroideries and other such things that made Pearl almost think of gangs. "The kid's got a point, Miles," he laughed. "You are far less ruffly nowadays. Of course," he added, running the tip of his tongue over a fang-like canine, "considering how atrocious your fashion sense was in your teens, any direction away from that is great."
"I'm ever so grateful for your support, darling." Edgeworth sighed, casting a long-suffering glance at his companion before turning his eyes to Pearl again. "Do forgive my manners. Pearl, this is Shi-Long, my husband. Shi-Long, this is Pearl Fey, an old acquaintance and Franziska's little prot￩g￩."
"She is no such thing," Franziska said, her sharp tone enough to startle Pearl. She almost hadn't realised Franziska was sitting on the other couch right across from her so-called little brother; it was not often that Franziska could go such a long time without making a comment. "Sit down, Pearl Fey. Your hovering irritates me."
"Ah, I wouldn't want to intrude." Pearl flushed a bit. She was embarrassed enough about her total lack of manners just now. Things could only get worse if she stayed.
"Nonsense. Franziska, darling, try to behave yourself," Adrian said, her tone perfectly calm as she poured the tea. "Do take a seat, Pearl. You're not intruding. If this were a private conversation unsuitable for your ears, we would hardly be having it in the living room of the household you're a member of."
"Don't mind the wolfman," Franziska snorted, glancing at Shi-Long. "He looks freakish and has little to no tact at times, but unless you've broken the law, he's mostly harmless."
"Mostly?" echoed Pearl even as she did sit down, reaching to pick one of the delicious-looking cookies she'd brought from the kitchen. "Should I worry?"
"Sis here is still a bit bitter about an old incident." Shi-Long rolled his eyes. "So I accused her of murder, big deal. Miles tore that theory apart in a moment, and it's not like I would have arrested her anyway."
"A murder accusation is kind of a big deal," Franziska pointed out. "Though I will admit the circumstances were not quite ordinary." She glanced at Shi-Long. "Which is the sole reason I have not sued you for defamation."
"No, it isn't, it's because you know it would never stand in court," Shi-Long replied with a smirk. "At the time, given the evidence, it was a more than valid theory. Nothing illegal about me doing my job."
"Don't start." Edgeworth sighed, though there was a smile on his lips as he accepted a cup of tea from Adrian, taking a sip from it. "You go through this same debate every single time we drop by."
"You will note I started nothing, darling." Again, the same smirk.
"It takes two to carry on a pointless argument." Edgeworth snorted, though Pearl did spy a tiny smile behind his teacup. "So, Pearl, I hear you're following in Mia Fey's footsteps?"
"Right." Pearl nodded, a bit hesitant. "I want to become a lawyer so I can help people."
"A noble endeavour."
"A foolish notion." Franziska snorted. "Everyone is guilty of something."
"See, Sis, this is what I like about you." Shi-Long smirked. "You declare things like that, and then turn around and get mad at me for simply accusing you of a crime."
"Why, you --!" It was only Adrian's hand on her arm that kept Franziska from reaching for her whip.
"I told you to stop, Shi-Long." Edgeworth sighed. "Of course, I should have known better than expect you to listen."
Pearl leant back in her seat, watching as a peaceful tea time descended into chaos while she gnawed on her cookie. Edgeworth and Adrian both remained calm throughout, though they did seem to grow quite frustrated as their attempts at calming down their respective lovers were entirely in vain.
Maybe, Pearl thought as she ducked out of the way as Franziska unfurled her whip at last, maybe things did change. Maybe life went on, and she grew and the people around her changed and took on new paths, and maybe Edgeworth's hair was longer than before and Gerecht was very different from Kurain and sometimes she cried herself to sleep as she missed her home.
However, as she watched Edgeworth sipping his tea as the leather of the whip sailed mere inches past his face, calm and collected as ever, as Franziska declared what a foolish fool of a fool her brother-in-law truly was, she couldn't help but remember that some things did always stay the same.
And maybe, just maybe, Kurain wasn't the only place on Earth she could truly call her home.
Next
Story summary, rating, warnings, etc. available at the content notes. For other chapters, see the chapter list.
Chapter: Of Ruffles Lost
Chapter Rating: PG
Chapter Summary: Unexpected visitors to Franziska and Adrian's home lead Pearl to think about changes in life.
Previous
2026
February 10, Time
Von Karma - Andrews Residence, Living Room
Germany, Gerecht
"I'm home!"
Pausing to take off her coat and boots, Pearl then grabbed her bag and headed further into the apartment. Before she'd gotten even halfway down the hallway, though, she realised that some of the voices carrying over from the living room were not familiar to her. That was surprising; it was rare that they had guests over. Despite her curiosity, though, she knew better than to go and look; Franziska would not like it if she barged in on a private conversation uninvited.
"Welcome home." Adrian peeked out from the kitchen doorway. "Could you help me a moment? I need to get some things to the living room."
"Ah, sure." Pearl only took a moment to drop her bag into her room before slipping into the kitchen. There was a tray with some tea things laid out, she noted, and another, smaller one with various treats and cookies. "Wow, this is much fancier than usual," she noted. "Who exactly is visiting?"
"Someone I'm quite sure you will know, too. Well, one of them at any rate." Adrian looked almost smug as she handed the smaller tray to Pearl, picking up the tea tray herself. "Now, come on. You know how Franziska hates having to wait, and besides I'd hate to let the tea get cold."
Keeping Franziska from getting annoyed was a noble cause indeed, Pearl decided, trailing after Adrian into the living room. As she got there and saw the mysterious guests, though, she almost dropped the tray in shock. "Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Pearl Fey." Edgeworth turned to look at her with a strange little almost-smile on his face. "I must say, you have changed since the last time I saw you." Perhaps because she had still been in grade school at the time?
"So have you, Mr. Edgeworth." Somehow, Pearl managed to make her way to the coffee table to set the tray down. "You're a lot less ruffly!"
"Less ruffly?" She wasn't sure if he sounded more shocked or amused. "Of all the things that may or may not have changed about me over the years, that's what you choose to focus on?"
"Well, um, it is kind of obvious," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed now. Still, she couldn't help but notice. Her memory of Edgeworth was not the sharpest after the years, but the main thing she did remember was that he'd had a ruffly cravat along the lines of Franziska's bow. Now that was gone, as were his ever-present burgundy jacket and his vest; he only wore a fine, black shirt, a ribbon-like bow and deep red gems at the collar and cuffs the only allowances for his former flamboyancy. "Um, your hair is longer too?" That wasn't supposed to be a question, Pearl.
A sharp burst of laughter drew her attention to the man sitting next to Edgeworth. She hadn't even made much note of him until now, her focus having been on Edgeworth. He almost seemed the exact opposite of the prosecutor; where Edgeworth was still nice and elegant even without his cravat and suit jacket, sitting quite properly in one of the plush couches, this other man had a kind of a wild quality to him, with black leather and embroideries and other such things that made Pearl almost think of gangs. "The kid's got a point, Miles," he laughed. "You are far less ruffly nowadays. Of course," he added, running the tip of his tongue over a fang-like canine, "considering how atrocious your fashion sense was in your teens, any direction away from that is great."
"I'm ever so grateful for your support, darling." Edgeworth sighed, casting a long-suffering glance at his companion before turning his eyes to Pearl again. "Do forgive my manners. Pearl, this is Shi-Long, my husband. Shi-Long, this is Pearl Fey, an old acquaintance and Franziska's little prot￩g￩."
"She is no such thing," Franziska said, her sharp tone enough to startle Pearl. She almost hadn't realised Franziska was sitting on the other couch right across from her so-called little brother; it was not often that Franziska could go such a long time without making a comment. "Sit down, Pearl Fey. Your hovering irritates me."
"Ah, I wouldn't want to intrude." Pearl flushed a bit. She was embarrassed enough about her total lack of manners just now. Things could only get worse if she stayed.
"Nonsense. Franziska, darling, try to behave yourself," Adrian said, her tone perfectly calm as she poured the tea. "Do take a seat, Pearl. You're not intruding. If this were a private conversation unsuitable for your ears, we would hardly be having it in the living room of the household you're a member of."
"Don't mind the wolfman," Franziska snorted, glancing at Shi-Long. "He looks freakish and has little to no tact at times, but unless you've broken the law, he's mostly harmless."
"Mostly?" echoed Pearl even as she did sit down, reaching to pick one of the delicious-looking cookies she'd brought from the kitchen. "Should I worry?"
"Sis here is still a bit bitter about an old incident." Shi-Long rolled his eyes. "So I accused her of murder, big deal. Miles tore that theory apart in a moment, and it's not like I would have arrested her anyway."
"A murder accusation is kind of a big deal," Franziska pointed out. "Though I will admit the circumstances were not quite ordinary." She glanced at Shi-Long. "Which is the sole reason I have not sued you for defamation."
"No, it isn't, it's because you know it would never stand in court," Shi-Long replied with a smirk. "At the time, given the evidence, it was a more than valid theory. Nothing illegal about me doing my job."
"Don't start." Edgeworth sighed, though there was a smile on his lips as he accepted a cup of tea from Adrian, taking a sip from it. "You go through this same debate every single time we drop by."
"You will note I started nothing, darling." Again, the same smirk.
"It takes two to carry on a pointless argument." Edgeworth snorted, though Pearl did spy a tiny smile behind his teacup. "So, Pearl, I hear you're following in Mia Fey's footsteps?"
"Right." Pearl nodded, a bit hesitant. "I want to become a lawyer so I can help people."
"A noble endeavour."
"A foolish notion." Franziska snorted. "Everyone is guilty of something."
"See, Sis, this is what I like about you." Shi-Long smirked. "You declare things like that, and then turn around and get mad at me for simply accusing you of a crime."
"Why, you --!" It was only Adrian's hand on her arm that kept Franziska from reaching for her whip.
"I told you to stop, Shi-Long." Edgeworth sighed. "Of course, I should have known better than expect you to listen."
Pearl leant back in her seat, watching as a peaceful tea time descended into chaos while she gnawed on her cookie. Edgeworth and Adrian both remained calm throughout, though they did seem to grow quite frustrated as their attempts at calming down their respective lovers were entirely in vain.
Maybe, Pearl thought as she ducked out of the way as Franziska unfurled her whip at last, maybe things did change. Maybe life went on, and she grew and the people around her changed and took on new paths, and maybe Edgeworth's hair was longer than before and Gerecht was very different from Kurain and sometimes she cried herself to sleep as she missed her home.
However, as she watched Edgeworth sipping his tea as the leather of the whip sailed mere inches past his face, calm and collected as ever, as Franziska declared what a foolish fool of a fool her brother-in-law truly was, she couldn't help but remember that some things did always stay the same.
And maybe, just maybe, Kurain wasn't the only place on Earth she could truly call her home.
Next