Chapter 116: Day 163 – Annit

One comfort was that Wildwood Retreat never changed. Even after the war with the mage-kings, even after Blue’s assimilation of the whole country, even after the flush of extra mana density and the accompanying changes to the Wildwood itself, it was the same city as ever. Classers walked through the streets showing off their equipment or Skills, signs and hawkers advertised magical items or services, and people flew through the sky on mounts or magical items or with their own Skills. She stepped outside the house set aside for them, where Blue had set their portal, glancing around by habit.

It was difficult to hide that Shayma was Blue’s representative, and one unfortunate aspect of that was a sort of hero-worship or at least fame, which came with attention both good and bad. There had been some attempts by the higher-tier Classers to extort them, through intimidation or just basic pleading, but Monat had intercepted most of those before they got close, mostly through his agents but once he’d stepped in himself. She wasn’t sure if Shayma had noticed all the individuals or groups that had been stalking them before someone intercepted them but she wouldn’t be surprised. Blue must have, though he seemed content to leave the issue to Monat so long as the city’s leader was making sure no trouble came their way.

Aside from trouble, there were actually a number of people who simply wanted to meet them for the sake of meeting them. Annit wasn’t famous, but Keri was on her way there and Shayma was of course very well known. It was quite the odd experience to have people say hello just for the sake of it, or ask her what it was like to keep the company of a Power. The answer to which was ‘humbling,’ even if the question presumed more about Annit and Blue’s relationship than really existed.

When it came to working with Shayma, it was nearly the same. The girl was an absolute monster for her level, though that had been true even back at level one. Annit had to admit that, if she wanted to, Shayma could probably start going into the Wildwood Tree itself without issue, though she’d have to leave the two of them behind to do it. Keri was amazing for support, but she didn’t quite have the instincts or the Skills for defending herself properly, and Annit of course was crippled.

She was feeling a little less crippled of late, having clawed back some Skill and Class levels, but if it weren’t for Shayma she’d be way out of her depth out even in Wildwood Forest. Blue’s blowgun was still better than any of her alternatives, but it just didn’t have quite the punch she needed to make up for how much her Skills had been reduced. Admittedly, she’d known ever since she got her Class that she would be less powerful than others at her level. [Wind Hunter] was excellent for the southern coast, but it just didn’t have the Skills or weapon selection to punch the way others did even before her Depletion.

It left her feeling a little uncertain, wandering through Wildwood Retreat without Shayma, even knowing both Monat and Blue were there to keep anything from happening. Keri, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any trouble at all. It wasn’t that she didn’t realize the situation, it was just that she was far better at judging people and wasn’t afraid that every random person that looked their way was going to try something. While Keri kept close to her outside the Retreat, it was the other way around inside.

She followed Keri down the street, towing the sled behind her. Since it actually used wind Affinity to hover, she was the only one of them that could control it and she had to admit it was incredibly useful. It was piled with crates and bins that held only a portion of what they’d brought in over the past week and yet was still more than they would have been able to get by themselves in months.

Even though Blue claimed that he wasn’t about to forget them, she didn’t want to trust to his largesse, so she was stockpiling the profits from their trips. Some of it was in Source powder, the de facto currency of Wildwood, and some of it was in minted currency, gold and silver with specific ratios of powdered Source mixed in to prevent counterfeiting. A chunk of it was in actual magic ingredients, the ones that didn’t decay at least. Bone, gems, tanned hide or fur, even some dried roots and mana-saturated jerky.

Not that it was all in one place. There was some in the bank at Wildwood Retreat, some at a holding house in Meil, and some in their own house inside Blue’s mountain. Annit believed in covering her bases and having contingencies, and while Keri didn’t think they’d need it she was in full support of Annit’s efforts. Besides, while it was Annit’s idea, Keri was the one who actually knew where to look for safehouses in cities, and how to negotiate with a bank or a shopkeep.

Annit followed Keri through the delivery door for Keri’s favorite scrimshander, maneuvering the air sled around some rotund Classer with a bright purple squirrel on his shoulder. The man seemed engrossed in the medallion he’d just purchased but she kept an eye on the squirrel to make sure it didn’t try to pilfer from her sled. Even when the owner had the best of intentions, magical animals could be difficult. But nothing happened, and she guided the sled over to the giant stone slab used for drop-off and appraisal.

“Keri! Annit! How are my two favorite hunters?” Mihkelian was some indeterminate sort of kin, tiny and cheerful and wizened, bearing more resemblance to the purple squirrel than any human. He called everyone his favorites and so far as Annit could tell he wasn’t lying.

“Hello, Mike,” Keri told him cheerfully. “We have some more to sell today. Did you finish Annie’s charms?”

“I did indeed!” He turned around to sort through his arrangement of work behind the counter, then bustled out with a little tray. Considering the influx of air, nature, and even some water-Affinity bone that they’d come by of late, as well as the extra money, they’d commissioned some extra equipment for Annit. It was still a far cry from what the truly well-off Classers had, but it at least matched her Affinity. Aside from going to Blue or going to a different continent entirely, there was nothing like that for Keri.

Mihkelian offered the tray to Annit, who took it before the scrimshander forgot that he was carrying it, and examined the charms while Mike tried to peek under the canvas on the sled. The Status for each was written in neat script below each of the five bone figurines, where they dangled from short but finelyi-carved ivory chains.

[Speed Charm – Darthawk]

Slightly increases the speed of wind Affinity Skills.

[Guardian Charm – Loil Tortoise]

Creates a deflecting wind barrier, charging as wind Affinity Skills are used.

[Accuracy Charm – Eireye Cat]

Helps guide wind Affinity skills to their targets.

[Endurance Charm – Stone Scalehoof]

Provides an additional reservoir of Stamina to wind Affinity users.

[Muffling Charm – Tatzlwing]

Reduces noise generated by wind Affinity skills.

Though none of them had immense effects by themselves, and it would take a couple days to properly settle into using them properly, the set all combined together gave her a significant edge. She started to attach the chains of the charms to her armor but found Keri’s fingers there instead. Cheerful blue eyes looked up at her as Keri took over the task of clipping them on one by one.

“They suit you,” Keri said. “Just a little bit of savage,” she added under her breath, tone of voice teasing enough to make Annit flush. Only Keri could bring up the supposedly uncivilized mannerisms of the southern lobe without it being an insult.

“Are these all for me?” Mihkelian said, having pulled off the tarp to reveal cedar bins of tusks and teeth and bone, sorted by affinity. Despite his diminutive height he already had the lid off the topmost in the pile. Keri gave Annit’s hands a squeeze and turned back to Mike.

“If you think you can afford it all,” Keri said with a grin. She bustled over and tapped the bins with her staff. “Wind Affinity, nature Affinity.” Then she pointed to a much smaller box. “Water Affinity, from a Grey Lesktusk lurking in one of the lakes out there.”

“I’ll give you two drams a pound,” Mikhelian said promptly, reaching for the water Affinity box with greedy hands. Keri slapped them away.

“Five drams per pound, and ten drams for all the water Affinity material.”

“Oof, you did warn me about being able to afford it. Three a pound, and six for the water.”

“There’s sixteen pounds there, how about sixty drams for everything, in air Source? You can keep the bins.”

“Mighty generous.” Mikhelian grinned. “I’ll take it. Pleasure doing business with you.” He went behind the counter to measure out the powdered Source while Annit unloaded the bins. Mike was harmless but his aggressive cheer grated on her nerves, especially with the mood that had never quite lifted ever since she’d returned from Duenn. She probably would have snapped at the man if she’d had to deal with him directly.

Thankfully, Keri didn’t prod her to interact, nor did she say anything about Annit’s wariness when they went back outside. She just took Annit’s hand, the one that wasn’t guiding the sled, and accompanied her through the streets of the Retreat. They took the sled back to the small house set aside for them, where Annit opened the safe in the bedroom that held most of their wealth.

“Don’t close it yet,” Keri told her, wrapping her arms about Annit’s waist and peering around her at their small pile of money. “You and I need to go shopping. Get some new clothes.” Annit grimaced. She didn’t really want to go wandering around Wildwood, not more than she had to anyway.

“You can go,” Annit told her. Keri knew Wildwood better than Annit did, it wasn’t like she’d have any issues out there with everyone watching over them.

“Aw, come on, Annie. You can’t stay stuck inside all day.”

“I don’t really need to go shopping,” she told Keri.

“Are you really turning down a date with me?” Keri asked her, hugging tighter. Annit scowled, but she didn’t really mean it. That was just unfair.

“No, I suppose not,” she said, and took some of the currency out of the safe. In a sense they didn’t need to go shopping. Their clothes were still in reasonable enough shape, and between them they were adequately geared. But if Keri asked, she wasn’t going to say no.

“Have you figured out any good way to work toward storm Affinity?” Keri asked, hanging on her arm as they made their way down Main Street.

“It’s been difficult,” she sighed. It galled her especially that Blue could give her storm Affinity, but the price for that was as always just too high. “We may have to ask Shayma about storm-touched items from Blue. The water Affinity charm doesn’t seem to be really affecting my Skills at all.” She reached down to touch the bit of bone attached to her blowgun. “There’s not really much available in storm Affinity around here either.”

“We’ll just keep looking. There’s plenty of time until we have to worry about third tier.”

“I suppose so.” Considering the shortfalls of the [Wind Hunter] Class, Annit was hoping that over time she could move herself toward storm Affinity and evolve her Class into something more potent. She wasn’t quite ready yet to abandon her blowgun, not after however-many years of use, but ultimately there might not be a choice. At least while she was with Shayma there’d be someone to help carry her through the transition. Of course, if she switched to a bow or something she’d probably remain slightly behind for the rest of her life, which would only compound her Depletion issues.

“Oh, c’mon Annie, we’ll find something. Don’t worry about it right now.” Keri poked her side, right where she was ticklish, and Annit couldn’t help a laugh as she pushed away Keri’s hand. “If nothing else we can ask Shayma. I know that Blue has both water and storm.”

“I’d rather not,” Annit said with a grimace. She had nothing against Shayma at all, but she didn’t want to get any deeper in hock to Blue than she already was. Keri gave her a knowing look and dropped the subject, steering them toward a clothier’s shop. Even though she wasn’t too interested in new clothing herself, Annit allowed herself to be towed in that direction, glancing around now and then as the wind muttered in her ears. They had a stalker, which was unfortunately not unusual, but so far he’d kept his distance.

He was still keeping his distance when someone in the dark green livery of Wildwood’s own internal peacekeeping force stepped out of an alley directly in front of him. Annit didn’t recognize the guard in question but she knew there were actually several of them shadowing the two of them, at the edges of perception. Part of her felt guilty about permanently tying up some of Wildwood’s resources, but mostly she was just glad that she didn’t have to deal with it herself. Wildwood had hosted celebrity adventurers before, whether they were foreign nobles or progeny of fifth-tiers, so it wasn’t like this was new to them.

If Monat and the Wildwood Guard weren’t taking care of it, they’d have to rely on themselves and on Blue. Shayma had told her about how Blue had turned the last person to try and mug her into a smoldering crater, and Annit didn’t want to have to deal with that. The attention was bad enough without that kind of spectacle.

They left all that behind as they walked into the shop, with cooler air and the scent of clean and laundered cloth. Annit hadn’t really been paying attention to the specific name of the store, but this one clearly catered to women. Her steps faltered for a moment as she took in the sheer variety of lacy underthings displayed on one wall, but Keri just hauled her onward.

“I’m not really sure…” Annit began, but Keri just grinned at her.

“You can at least look. I’m thinking maybe I get something for me to wear for you.”

“Oh.”

“Besides, you might feel a little bit more like yourself if you dressed up a little.”

“Hmm…” It had been a while, and she’d never admit to it in public, it was nice on the rare occasion she could make Keri’s jaw drop by wearing something lacy and slinky. Of course, everything on display was just to show what could be done. In Wildwood, whoever actually made the clothes likely had a Class and enough Skills to make ordinary clothing in a matter of minutes, with barely any measurements. Indeed, there was already someone angling their way, though not the owner of the shop since the girl couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Clearly not one of the mystic-kin either, since she was too tall.

“How can I help you two?” She asked cheerfully, looking from one to the other.

“We need some casual outfits,” Keri said. “One for each of us, as well as underclothing. Two sets each.” She rattled off extra specifications, and for some reason Annit wasn’t surprised that Keri knew all her sizes and preferences by heart.

“Of course!” The apprentice, since she had to be such, looked from one of them to the other. “What were you thinking of?”

“Oh, maybe you could make a suggestion for the outfits? You’re the expert, after all!” Keri smiled at the girl.

“Perhaps I could suggest a narrow-cut white dress with blue trim for you, ma’am?” She said to Keri, taking in her robe and staff.

“That sounds wonderful.” Keri beamed at her.

“Perhaps for you, something in bright red, or maybe a yellow?” She said looking at Annit’s darker complexion.

“No, Casey,” came an older voice with an accent that made Annit stiffen. “First, she’s not quite dark enough for that, and second, she’s from the southern lobe.” Annit slowly turned to see an elderly woman with classical southern features, but to her relief it wasn’t anyone that looked even vaguely familiar.

“Hello, my dear,” the owner of the shop said, for it was transparently obvious that’s who she was. “I don’t see many people from the old homeland this far north,” she added. “Most of them stop in Ir somewhere.”

“Ma’am,” Annit said cautiously, not sure how to respond to that.

“I won’t ask,” she said conspiratorially. “My own reasons for being here are not exactly something I’d want to admit. Clothing, though! How about a day outfit in the southern style, with surcoat? If you feel like giving me your clan colors, I can even use them.”

Annit blinked. She hadn’t even thought about her clan in years. Not that she was on bad terms with them or anything, it was just that she’d left them behind when she’d come north and hadn’t been back. The tailor noticed her hesitation and held up her hand.

“It’s fine, I understand if you’re not—”

“No, I was just surprised,” Annit cut her off, wanting to move past the awkwardness as quickly as possible. “I can show you.”

“Ohh, I’ve never seen you in a southern outfit,” Keri said excitedly.

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“They’re not that exciting,” Annit told her, following the tailor toward the back of the shop where there were rolls and bolts of cloth waiting on racks. Not too exciting, true, but with winter coming on the surcoat would be nice. Most people thought of the southern lands as warm, which they were, but that didn’t mean much out on the ocean.

She surprised herself by actually remembering the jargon for describing clan colors and patterns. The criss-crossing patterns could be surprisingly elaborate but hers were just greens with a touch of blue. The tailor demonstrated her Skills in a roll of cloth, first tweaking the base color to the proper green and then drawing the colored lines on with a finger until it looked right. Meanwhile, Casey took Keri over to the lingerie wall to pick styles. Even though she was focused on the patterns, the wind brought her Keri’s words and she was very particular about her choices, indeed.

“If you’re satisfied, it’ll be seventeen drams for your clothing, and thirteen for yours,” she said, addressing the second figure to Keri. “There’s a slight discount for uncommon Affinity powders. I’ve already got your measurements,” she added, tapping her left temple. It only made sense she had a Skill to help with that sort of thing. “Casey and I will have it ready for you to pick up in three hours.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Keri said, before Annit could blanch at the price. Not that they couldn’t afford it, it was just that she hadn’t spent any money she hadn’t absolutely needed to for so long it was ingrained habit. Annit nodded, and the tailor offered her hand to shake.

They left the store rather lighter in the pocket but Annit did feel a little better. It had been good to see someone from her old homeland, especially someone who didn’t ask too many questions. Even if she didn’t have any trouble with her old clan, she wasn’t too interested in discussing it with strangers.

“Have you ever thought about going back?” Annit glanced down at Keri. It wasn’t the first time that Keri had asked the question, but the recent events made it more meaningful than wistful.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Shayma might even be able to take us, with that Skill of hers.” Shayma used [Phantasmal Path] constantly, and it was weird every time. “I wouldn’t want to stay; I do like it here better. But it might be nice to get in touch with the old clan again.” It wasn’t particularly unusual for people to head out on boats and not come back for years. Sometimes they ended up making a living wherever they ended up, like Annit had, or wound up taking trips to other continents. Since sailing into the deep ocean required agreements with Leviathans or suicidal confidence, it took quite a bit of time for a round trip.

“I think it’d be nice. I’ve never been, well, anywhere but Nivir and Tarnil.”

“You really aren’t missing as much as you think,” Annit said dryly. One port city was much like another, after all. “Have you ever thought about going back? Just to reach some sort of closure with your family.” Keri leaned in closer, not answering for a moment as she looked around at the Classers passing by.

“Before, I would have said no. We wouldn’t have any way to protect ourselves. I don’t know how hard my family would press at this point, but we’d be relying on them completely and I know they don’t like you. So, no. But…” Keri gestured around vaguely. “Now we’re associated with Blue, and after what he did to their army, I’m pretty sure Nivir isn’t going to do anything to annoy him.”

“Mmm. True, but I wouldn’t want to go there and hope for Blue’s intercession if something comes up.”

“I expect Shayma will be going there eventually,” Keri said, reaching up to touch the primal Source hanging around her neck. “When she does, we’ll have to figure out what we want to do.” Annit glanced down at Keri, who looked uncharacteristically worried, and squeezed her hand.

“That’s not the Keri I know,” Annit chided her. “I would have thought you’d be all for it!” Keri giggled.

“I just don’t want to deal with people yelling at us! Or worse, not yelling. My aunt can be vicious. But it would be nice to see my little brother and sister…” Keri trailed off, shaking her head. “I haven’t seen them since they were tiny, though. I don’t know what they’re like at all.”

“I’m sure they turned out fine,” Annit assured her, though it wasn’t like she knew. Keri’s family wasn’t that bad, though, save for where it came to Annit running away with their daughter.

“I hope so.” Keri’s staff tapped against the stone street as they made their way through the Retreat. “I still feel guilty sometimes!”

“Eh, it’s good for them to not get their way on occasion.” She was of the firm opinion that too many of the more noble types didn’t have enough experience with adversity. That was why they got other people into trouble, even and especially as adventurers.

“I suppose.” Keri nibbled her lower lip, something that always made Annit wince considering Keri’s teeth. She was used to them by now, but her first experience with them was memorable mostly for Annit ending up with a very bloody lip. Of course, neither of them had let that stop them.

They both looked sideways with surprise as an alleyway up ahead suddenly slid shut, stone sealing over the entry.

“Was that...?”

“I’m pretty sure that was Blue,” Annit agreed. “It seems particularly bad today. Or maybe everyone’s just paranoid after the assassination attempt.”

“I don’t blame them! Gods, we have troubles with my family but poor Shayma. Ells and Anells, that sounds like such a mess.”

“It does.” Annit had only vaguely heard of House Anell, since it wasn’t like the southern lobe of the continent was a major trading concern. At least not the east side; she was pretty sure House Anell mostly only landed on the west side of Orn. What she did know was that they were big, mean, and rich enough to pay off the Leviathans and actually trade between continents. “At least it’s not our mess.” Keri nodded, then nudged Annit as they approached the vestibule to a training arena, set off from the main thoroughfare.

“Did you want to go see about learning some other weapon?” She asked. Annit started to object, then nodded reluctantly.

“I should at least see what’s available.” They veered over to climb up the stairs into the first level of the arena, which was sectioned off into different areas with a number of people already training with their instructors. There weren’t any free instructors hanging around, just a man behind a counter with several bound books open. He smiled at them as they approached, sketching a bow.

“Welcome to Tiufen Training Arena. How may I help you?”

“I’m looking to find a weapon type to replace this.” Annit held up her blowgun. “I’m an air Affinity user, but hoping to shift to storm.”

The man gave her a long look, and she stared back. She knew the blowgun wasn’t the most potent weapon, that moving to a higher Affinity was difficult, and that merely changing weapons wouldn’t help. Maybe the reverse.

“Storm, ranged weapons.” He said finally, turning to one of his books and flipping through it. “Most common would be the bow, followed by the javelin. Transitioning from air…” He switched pages. “Water movement Skills would be your best approach. But it’s quite difficult if you’re well into your second tier.”

“I am aware.” It really didn’t sound good. Neither bow nor javelin had much in common with the blowgun, and finding someone to coach her into getting water Affinity into her wind-based movement skills was a lot more difficult than finding someone to teach her a new weapon.

“Did you want to schedule a session with one our trainers?”

“Not at this time, thank you.” Annit said. Keri squeezed her arm but didn’t protest as the two of them turned to leave.

“You should really ask Shayma and Blue,” Keri said. “I know you don’t want to, but if anyone will have an idea to help you change over it’ll be them. Even if Blue himself doesn’t get involved, you know Shayma would help.”

“I suppose so,” she said reluctantly. She still didn’t want to get them involved, but it was true enough that Shayma was their friend and that wasn’t the same as appealing to a Power. They were supposed to meet with Shayma later in the day, so maybe that would be a good time.

They wandered back out, meandering through the streets of the Retreat and occasionally ducking into one store or another. There wasn’t much that they actually bought, other than lunch, but Annit felt maybe a little bit relaxed as time went by and not only did they have no other stalkers, but some Classer’s child stopped Keri to tell her how much he wanted to be a healer when he grew up.

Eventually though, the two of them headed back toward the house the Retreat provided, picking up the new clothes en route. The tailor established the final fit with a Skill, tweaking it to make it perfectly suited for them, and then loaded them into a canvas tote. Annit wasn’t interested in wearing casual clothing in Wildwood, but maybe back in Meil or at their home in Blue’s territory she’d have the chance. When they opened the door, neither of them expected to see that Shayma was already there, sitting in the front room and talking with Blue.

“Yes, I know, but I don’t think — no, that’s what you’d say.” Shayma giggled. “Now, now, it’s not fair to compare tails. Some people don’t even have them!”

She shared a glance with Keri, not wanting to interrupt Shayma, but not really sure they should be eavesdropping. Though if it was really an issue, it wasn’t like Blue didn’t know they were there. Even Shayma probably knew, considering her senses.

“I’ll just save it for later,” Shayma concluded. “Come on in, girls.”

The two of them went through the door into the front room, Keri claiming the tote from her and bearing it off into their room. Annit was left to greet the fox-girl with a nod, feeling a little awkward.

“You’re earlier than I expected,” Annit said, hoping there wasn’t any bad news coming with Shayma arriving so quickly.

“Well, there’s someone that I want you two to consider bringing on the team,” Shayma said, actually looking slightly nervous. Which was in and of itself pretty odd, Shayma seemed confident in almost everything she did. The request wasn’t any less odd, either, since Annit couldn’t think of anyone Shayma had talked about before that would be a good fit for their group.

“Oh? Who is it?” Keri asked as she crossed back into the front room.

“Well…” Shayma seemed a little uncertain. “The issue is, she’s technically a monster, so I didn’t want you to be surprised by that.” Annit blinked. She’d thought that Blue didn’t have any monsters, and besides that, having one on their team was a strange proposition.

“Can you even do that?” Keri said. “I mean, are monsters people? Or…” She seemed as confused as Annit was. “How exactly does that even work?”

“I’m not really certain, but we’re going to try it.” Shayma said, shaking her head. “This one – her name is One-Eye-Green – she’s very young, basically a kid. But she’s nice enough, once you get used to her, and it’s not like she’s going to attack anyone. We’ll have to keep an eye out while we’re in Wildwood though, just to make sure nobody tries going after her.”

“Have you talked to Grandmaster Monat about that?” Annit said, defaulting to a more reasonable and practical question. Even if this was on Blue’s recognizance, it wouldn’t go well unless the head of the Retreat was willing to support it.

“I just came from seeing him. He didn’t think an announcement or anything was necessary, considering that she’s going to be with us, and it’s not like people will be able to see her Status easily. They might just think she’s from one of the distant continents.”

“Where is she from, actually?” Keri asked curiously.

“Somewhere in the Underneath,” Shayma told them. Annit glanced over to Keri, and found that she had no idea what Shayma was talking about either.

“Apparently there are entire civilizations deep, deep underground,” Shayma explained, seeing their confusion. “They have monsters there too, and these ones came to Blue for help.”

“So, this is part of that help?”

“Maybe a bit. I do think she’d make a good addition, though. She’s only level fourteen but she’s a powerful mind-mage and is a lot tougher than any of us at that level.”

“Well I don’t mind meeting her!” Keri said cheerfully. “Where is she?”

“Not here yet, I did want to give you some warning,” Shayma said. “Go ahead and send her over, Blue.”

When Shayma had warned them that One-Eye-Green was a monster, Annit wasn’t really certain what to expect. Maybe something like the mantis-things that Tor Kot had, or a big hulking brute of a thing. Still, she was definitely not expecting what actually appeared — a tall and incredibly gaunt figure covered in greyish scales. It had long, wicked claws and an elongated muzzle full of needle teeth, and as indicated by the name, one green eye and one gold one.

“Hhhhiii.” It said, and Annit couldn’t help taking a step back. There was an odd feeling in the back of her head, difficult to describe as it cocked its head to look at her.

「Hello cute things!」 What echoed inside of her head wasn’t exactly a voice but it was close enough for her to get the sense of it, along with a good dose of excitement and nervousness. The sheer bubbly innocence was so at odds with the way the thing looked that she didn’t know what to think.

“Um. Hello,” Annit said hesitantly.

“Hello there,” Keri said, taking a step closer to Annit, clearly just as nervous as she was. One-Eye-Green looked at them for a moment, not saying anything but Annit could feel the brush of the monster’s mind against hers. It brought forth a sudden flood of memories, like walking into an old and familiar house. But it also jarred loose the truth she’d been doing her best to ignore, of how much less she was now and how unlikely it was that anything would really change. Instantly the world seemed to turn grey, her shoulders sagging from the sudden weight.

「Nooo, cute things can’t be sad.」 Before Annit could really react, she was enfolded in surprisingly strong arms as One-Eye-Green swept her up. 「Hugs will help!」

“Uh…”

“Hugs do help!” Keri, of course, took it in stride as she came closer. “But maybe you shouldn’t just…” She squeaked as One-Eye-Green pulled in her as well, half-squishing the two of them together. Annit was about to object, push back against One-Eye-Green and call on Shayma to get the thing off of them, when that strange tickle in her mind where One-Eye-Green was speaking stirred.

It wasn’t One-Eye-Green she felt, though. Annit had no idea how she knew exactly what she felt, when it was nothing that she’d ever experienced before, but she knew instantly that somehow One-Eye-Green had connected her to Keri. She could feel the warmth and cheerfulness and good humor and underneath all that the iron will that drove her forward.

「Keri?」

「Annie!」 The exclamation wasn’t exactly her name. It was Keri’s thoughts about her, the way she viewed Annit, the admiration for her strength and unyielding integrity. It was such a naked and unreserved blast of emotion that it rocked her back on her feet, but that wasn’t all. Behind that initial burst, there was a vast reservoir of soothing warmth that swept over and through her.

All the doubts and fears she had about her weakness dragging Keri down were washed away, her worries over selfishness and stubbornness drowned forever as she directly felt Keri’s love for her, wrapping about her and holding her close. Annit could barely register anything else as she wrapped her arms about Keri, tears staining her cheeks. The hurt of Depletion hadn’t gone away, and it never would, but somehow knowing, really knowing, that Keri would never abandon her made it seem completely unimportant.

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