Year 4256
2nd day of the month of Olfaccium
Morning

Chres eyed the giant man towering beside him. On the one hand, he was glad to have someone else here to help him search for Sil. The man served as a distraction. A distraction from his thoughts and inner worries. On the other hand, Chres had no desire to form any kind of deeper relationship with Týfurkh or the others. The closer Chres got with the rest, the more likely he would be to stick around longer. In the end, he wanted nothing more than for this whole thing to be over and done with. The sooner he finished in this town, the sooner he could move on to getting himself kill without a guilty conscience holding him back.

Frowning, Chres lowered his gaze towards the ground. Why had Týfurkh asked to join him anyway? The man had been quite peeved with Sil's insults regarding him the day before. Chres barely even knew the man. So to be honest, the man's actions didn't make much sense to Chres.

Chres tightened the cloak around him. The cloak was a different one from the cloak they had been given the night before. In fact, each of them had been provided with such a cloak to be used when traveling outside the tunnels. Chres couldn't help but find their generosity suspicious, but wasn't about to complain. The cloak was dry after all.

The cloak came with many pockets, including one where they could tuck away one of the Crystal Jade Candles that the group had been able to snag during the day the inn burned down. So long as the crystal jade candle stayed tucked away within the shade of the cloak, its glow would protect them from the prying eyes of the Sightless. And should its protection fail? Well... Chres and the rest had already seen what a single broken crystal jade candle could do to the cult. This time, Chres did not intend to leave safety without one.

It had taken a while to find one of those cloaks that was an appropriate fit for Týfurkh and in fact one could very well argue if it was such at all, but they had insisted on him wearing one so vigorously that it seemed almost suspicious. It was a useful piece of clothing with all of its pockets, but the pactmaker also hoped that it was just that.

Standing next to Chres, Týfurkh did some final checks on his crossbow. Maybe going without it would have made him less obvious, but just in case things would go wrong he'd still feel better with it. Luckily they were two, so that meant two sets of eyes to be on the lookout for both cultists and their actual goals. These were Sil and one, preferably two horses. He was happy to have Chres around not only because of that, but also because the man would make him feel a bit less lonely in the ravaged city. Going without any sort of company would have been a straight contradiction to any statement he had made towards DB some hours earlier anyway.

"Are you ready? If so then let's head out right away. I'd suggest making the search for Sil our highest priority. Do you have any idea where your companion might be?"

Chres looked to Týfurkh. Why? Why did he care? Was he working an angle here?

It had been a bit of a hassle just for the two of them to leave the tunnels. The tunnels had no indication that helped them identify where they were. In the end the two of them had to ask for assistance from one of the slaves. The two were then given a guide and led an exit.

Chres shook his head to the man's question. "She won't respond to any of my prodding." He said. "So the only lead we've got is to check where we've been." He nodded up ahead. "Starting with the safe house we stayed at the night the Inn burned down."

The building seemed dark and abandoned. Much like it did the night they came there. Chres opened the door and called out Sil's name, but received no response. Frowning, Chres began scouting out the rooms.

"You say Sil is our highest priority... are you implying we have other priorities?" Chres glanced over his back towards the tall man. "May I ask what exactly you're out here looking for?"

"I wouldn't call it a real priority compared to seeking Sil, but I have been planning on returning to the nation of hearing and making a report about the abrupt change in my previous journey once there is the opportunity. Therefore I need to gather some supplies in the city and, if it's possible, something to ride on."

Chres cocked his head to the side curiously. Report? To whom?

Týfurkh wondered if Chres would see any problem with that plan, but continued searching through the various parts of the building as well. A few minutes later it was time to summarize the humble results: "There's no living being here. I suppose you've been unlucky finding anything as well? Then... if backtracking correctly, the next stop would be the belltower. However we'd also have to follow the path we took from there to here in order to do things right."

The way the pactmakers had taken from said location to the safehouse had been a rather hurried walk, so at least for Týfurkh remembering the details about it was quite a bit of a challenge. "I think we came through that narrow alley over there. Where was the last time you have seen Sil?"

"The bell tower..." Chres said uneasily.

They would need to tread lightly. Was it even safe to go back to the tower? No... probably not. Perhaps they could pay some kids to scout out the place.

Chres motioned to the exit. "Perhaps this time we should take the long way there..." He said.

They left the building in silence. Chres rubbing his chin in thought. Týfurkh seemed to be on the optimistic side. Talking like they would live through this. Chres wasn't sure he shared the man's optimism.

"The Nation of Hearing, huh?" Chres said making conversation. "Never pinned you as a scholarly type, though I suppose not everyone there is a scholar." Chres chuckled at that. "Must have quite the story to have come all the way over here."

"Maybe you'd be a little surprised if you knew more about me." Týfurkh smirked slightly, looking at Chres to see his first reaction for a moment before continuing: "No, just kidding. I wouldn't consider myself to be anyone particular. I did have a task however when I tried to take a rest in this town, and that task has been disrupted by what is going on here and now I find myself in an entirely different situation. I simply feel obliged to inform those I'm working with about the fact that there will be delays at least, maybe even complete cancellation."

Chres nodded. He suspected many in the group felt the same. We all seem to have different objectives. He thought.

Silently, Týfurkh agreed with taking the long way. It would take a lot longer and expose them on the streets for a longer time span as well, but rushing right into the hot zone again would be murderous. Also going the long route would make their search for Sil more thorough. The man started going onwards, thinking that the route he took would make clear that he agreed with Chres' opinion.

"Not everyone in the Nation Of Hearing is a scholar indeed. I'd not even say that everyone in the Nation Of Hearing can... well... listen carefully and with respect. However we value diplomacy a little bit more I guess and personally I hope that what the group of people I'm along with is working on will make a significant improvement on that."

"Sounds like every other place I know, just with its own quirks." Chres said. "I've been to the capital a few times, you know? Can't say I was much of a fan. Go out for a drink and then you'll suddenly meet someone giving you a 10 minute long lecture explaining why and how you're a menace to society."

Chres smiled sadly. Those days are over though. He thought touching his flask full of water. Now, I only dare drink water.

Týfurkh was dangerously close to an outburst of laughter that, given his size, would have had quite the potential to trigger some unwanted attention. He tried his best to contain it, but a distinct chuckle still was noticeable. It was not the first time for him to be told that the people of the Nation Of Hearing had a potential of being... excessively talkative. He was very, very far away from interpreting this as any kind of insult though. "Well I guess every nation has its own quirks. Someone of a certain other nation maybe would have used the ten minutes to draw a sketch about your future self after it, full of booze, just accidentally stumbled into a cesspool?"

Chres smiled. "Yes," He agreed. "I suppose someone of another nation would."

So far their journey into the town was uneventful, but that didn't make it any less spooky. If one knew how places like this normally looked like it was easy to notice that something wasn't alright. Týfurkh listened to the few songs of birds that could be heard, but they too were not filled with so much joy as they ought to be.

"Maybe you should try the waters of Syefjalla?" Syefjalla was a town located close to a rather active, but non so volatile vulcano. "The ubiquitous deposits of freshly frozen lava, gases raising from the underground and heat give the ground water a rather unique taste there. Mix that with the process of beer making and the result is quite interesting."

"Interesting? In what way?" Chres asked.

"There's a sulfurous, bitter-sweet taste to it and you can feel gases tingling on your tongue when they come out of the liquid. Some people also swear that they could feel some kind of mineralic residue on their teeth afterwards, but personally I would doubt that for the lack of personal experience. It's also not always the same, depending on how and where the vulcano was active by the time the water was extracted."

Chres smiled. "I see." He said. "Seems like you're a scholar afterall."

They continued on much like that. Making small talk here and there. Eventually, they made their way back to the opening with the tower. Carely they looked out into the open trying to see if the cult was near.

"Problem is, we have no way of knowing who's with The Cult and who is not." He said to Týfurkh. "Perhaps it would be best to ask around... Maybe even pay someone to take a look."

"Pay someone? Sounds like an unconventional but good idea. The only problem I see with it is that we can't even be sure if the one we pay is of a neutral party or not. Still... probably better than going in there ourselves."

Týfurkh glanced around the corner. It seemed that either the fighting had remained inside the tower after their departure or that a profound cleanup had already been done: no bodies, no blood stains and no dropped weapons were to be seen from where they were.

"I suggest we use some cover story when asking around. That bell coming down must have made an awful sound even outside of the building, so what if we pretend wondering what has happened and ask for the general state of affairs? Just to get a rough idea of what's going on."

Chres nodded. It sounded like a plan to him.

The two of them circled the area, stopping people here and there. They all gave the same general story with the occasional outlandish detail here. Some claimed that a group of thugs had stopped at the tower and vandalized the area. Others said it was the cult attacking an innocent group of bystanders.

Interestingly enough one of the tales even appeared to be about Sil. The man claimed a giant familiar with wings flew to the tower singing and dancing between the raindrops. During her dance, she accidentally kicked the bell and sent it crashing down on a group of cultists. Of course the same man then proceeded to tell them that he was the real King of Sight and that the current King was an impostor who stole his identity. Chres tried steering the conversation back to Sil, but unfortunately the man seemed dead set on shifting towards birds. Apparently birds knew all the secrets of the world because their eyes were so sharp that they could see the difference between truth and lies. Not only that, Týfurkh and Chres were in luck! For the man had an incredible ability allowing him to birds too!

“I can prove it!” He said. “All I need is two gold coins!”

Chres rubbed his forehead and sighed as they walked away from the clearing with the tower. "Well that was a waste of time." He said. "We might as well hit up the market square next. We can take care of your business there while we are at it."

”If the situation would be less serious I’d say it was a pretty good piece of amusement -- until the moment he tried to lure gold coins out of our pockets, of course…” Týfurkh shook his head slightly, wondering if what the cult was doing had other effects than the obvious ones as well. Coming across a few people other than standard was completely normal, but that last weirdo certainly had the potential to top everything.

The market square was a few blocks away from the belltower, a few minutes walk at ordinary speed perhaps. ”I wouldn’t be surprised if the traders there are greedy and want coins for answers, but let’s see.” Týfurkh fumbled around in his pockets, searching for what money he actually had left. ”If you see a horse with light brown fur and a small dent in its left ear chances are pretty good it’s the one I’ve lost.”

The marketplace was rectangular-shaped, spanning across the length of about half a dozen buildings in one and another three in the other direction. There was quite a bunch of more or less small stalls present and even more people roaming around them, but overall things were far from exhausting the space available. ”Shall we stay together or shall I go left and you go right?”

"Together.” Chres said. "I’ll keep look out while you barter with the merchants. Stay away from the food stalls though. We learned yesterday that they have Cultists supporters there.”

Cultists in the food stalls? Hopefully those cultists would only be there, Týfurkh thought while already being tempted to answer his own question with an answer he couldn’t prefer. Trying to recognize those stalls ahead in time and skipping them, he got to work and started talking. Many of the merchants proved anything but helpful with regard to either task, but one told a story about a strange silvery feathered bird that had followed him through the night. “It watched from afar,” he claimed, "Leering at me intently. ‘Leave me alone!’ I shouted at it. It raised its head as if amused. With a flap of its wings it seemed to transform. Smaller and smaller it became. All the while its figure growing grotesque... appendages sprouting from its side. The finally it shrank to the point where I could no longer ever see where it had gone. It could be right here, even now! A familiar for sure, I tell you!”

Týfurkh glanced over towards Chres, wondering if the hint sounded credible enough for him to follow it. Chres merely glanced back and shrugged. It was shaped like a bird afterall.

Then, more in the distance, Týfurkh saw something else: A certain creature with hooves and a large dent in one of its ears. A cart was attached to it as it was going to be loaded with the items of a stall being packed again. The giant hurried towards it, knowing that time was of the essence now.

At first there was gentle and very modest inquiry, an attempt to tell the true story why he had lost his mount while omitting those parts that included fighting with cultists. Then Týfurkh listed quite a bunch of the less obvious properties of his horse which only a previous owner could know about without close inspection, but was met with hard-to-beat arguments ranging from ‘You could have had a look at it by chance at some point before!’ to ‘And ? You lost it, I found it. Now it’s mine!’.

A steady crescendo in each of the men’s volume and a deal which included Týfurkh having to unload the cart again and to pay some coin for his own property, Týfurkh’s mood was anything but good when he returned to Chres: ”This is ridiculous! I now have essentially bought the horse almost twice!” Turning his head around once more to the man at the stall he yelled at him furiously: ”And I don’t have a fat ass that shouldn’t sit on that thing, but you are someone who wouldn’t have stood a chance in a fight against me!” Týfurkh was brooding somewhat as he returned to Chres’ side.

Chres simply smiled. "Well...” He said. "I guess that makes it twice as special.”

He glanced over at the beast and idly wondered how the poor thing ever managed to carry the giant in the first place.

“-raving about puddles, I tell you!” A man exclaimed to his companion nearby. Chres’ head perked up. “She was drawing on the ground, rambling about puddles. Big puddles, small puddles, sky puddles-”

“Sky puddles?” The man’s companion interrupted. He raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Excuse me, Sir” Chres heard himself say. "Who said this?”

The man and his companion looked up at Chres. They seemed surprised to hear some stranger take interest in their conversation.

“Some crazy, lost familiar up by where the docks-” The man started, but Chres was already off in a sprint.

I’ve been so foolish. He thought. Of course she was at the Dockside View! The inn where this whole mess started! But that place burnt down to the ground... Why is she there now?

Týfurkh only saw the back of Chres as the man was already about to disappear in a narrow sideway. What had the other man said? The Docks? Sil being there didn’t make that much sense to him, but who was he to know much about Chres’ familiar? Anyway, if he didn’t want to lose the other man in a network of streets he hardly knew much about, he’d have to follow quickly.

Týfurkh was pretty used to drawing attention and making people turn their heads in order to stare at him, but that was on foot. Him riding down the street at speed brought the entire thing to a somewhat new level, but at least there weren’t that many people out there he’d have to worry about in terms of an emergency stop.

”Chres?” he called out to the front of him. ”Stop, please! I’m confident there are faster ways than you running like a madman! Need a ride?”

Chres glanced behind him as if surprised. Týfurkh? Right. In his haste, he left the man behind. Chres slowed to a walk. The giant was right. All he was doing right now was drawing attention to them.

Chres nodded to the giant and climbed the man’s mount. While getting on the horse, the creature whined as if displeased by the extra weight. Chres couldn’t help but feel sorry for the animal. With his size, armor and accessories, Týfurkh must have weighed quite a bit.

There wasn’t much room atop the horse, but Chres made the best of it that he could.

”The Dockside View.” Chres said. ”The inn we stayed at which the cult burnt to the ground. It is the only other place we’ve been to that we haven’t checked.”

Týfurkh felt more sorry for Chres as he felt for the horse. The latter had been the giant’s companion for quite a while by now and thus was used to carrying an extreme burden, but he wasn’t so sure about the former feeling comfortable given what little space was left on the saddle.

Still it was safe to say that the additional weight didn’t make them any faster, but only the contrary. However it was still faster than going by foot and saved precious stamina just in case things would become ugly. Týfurkh struggled a bit to remember where the Dockside View was, but ultimately he turned to the right and made the mount going.

”If Sil likes water then the Dockside View sounds like a logical place to go. Do you have any idea what might have caused your familiar to disappear in the first place ? Any ongoing dispute or so perhaps ?”

Týfurkh hoped that the cult wouldn’t be present at the docks. A place where ships could make port and bring in supplies and relief forces sounded like an attractive place to take a hold of though… at least if he would have been to lead them.

”I suggest we go in from the smallest alley we can find. I don’t trust the overall calmness here…”

Chres nodded. ”I… I don’t know why she left. She said she has to know, but she never said what she had to know.”

He shook his head. ”I keep wondering if it is because of me.” He said. ”Maybe if I tried to understand her better… to actually know her... ”

Chres sighed. ”I never asked for a familiar.” He said. ”Perhaps she’s just picked up on that… She was something just given to me… A gift… from my wife... ”

Chres looked down at his ring. He had taken to playing with the accessory again. Twisting it around his finger.

”Do you have any family?” He found himself asking. ”Anybody waiting for you back at home?”

”Technically yes, I do have family. A rather extensive one actually, even though I only really know those relatives closest to me. However…” A rather odd pause ensued. ”We aren’t exactly on good terms. Not anymore with my father at least. He never truly accepted that I decided to join the Order Of Canor instead of doing all the sowing and ploughing for the rest of my life and he’s still somewhat angry at me for that. I hope that they’re alright though, haven’t seen them in quite a while.”

Týfurkh had reached the end of his speech, taking a few moments to look at the road ahead and to continue navigating them through the maze of streets and sideways. Since Chres was sitting behind him he couldn’t see what he was doing, only hear what he was saying.

”In case you’re wondering, the Order Of Canor is the entity I’m working for and which has taught me those magic tricks. And you? How did you get here?”

”The Order of Candor.” Chres repeated. ”Never heard of them. You say they taught you how to wield your magical abilities?”

Chres thought of that for a moment, before shaking his head. ”I… I sort of wandered here.” Chres said slowly. ”I came here looking for a means to… rest.”

It wasn’t a lie, though it was a misdirection. Chres had come here hope to find a suitable means for him to die.

”Yes, they did so. It actually was one of their members who helped me out in a bit of a helpless moment using his abilities when I had first contact with them. He said I’d have talent, so I considered it and ultimately joined them. Guess I was lucky…”

Aside from that, Týfurkh felt rather inconclusive about what to make out of Chres’ response. It sounded quite a bit like one of those answers when there was more behind it, but Týfurkh felt that it might not be the best moment to start digging while they were searching for the familiar Chres had lost.

The location they were heading for came closer no moment too soon as it seemed that the horse was about to give out beneath the two men’s combined weight. When Týfurkh dismounted, the sheer relief was almost palpable. ”So I guess there’s more than enough of a burned down mess here to keep us busy for a while. Shall we just walk along and see what we can find ?”

Chres nodded silently. The place was what one would expect of a building put to the flame. There wasn’t much left of the place sadly. A few walls survived here and there. Broken glass where the windows had been. Plates of metal that had survived the flames...

”Sil?” Chres called out hesitantly. He took care of where he stepped. Testing his footing in surviving floorboards that looked dubious at best.

Chres placed his hand against the remains of a doorway. ”Sil, you there?”

As if in response, the building creaked audibly. Chres jumped back as a pile of rubble tore a hole through the flooring on which he last stood.

Sucking in a breath, Chres stared at the gap in the floor that could have been him.

”That could have been bad...” He said, waving away the debris that clouded up around him. ”Perhaps coming here wasn’t such a good-”

Chres words trailed off. As the debris began to clear, He could make out a faint green light coming from the remains of the basement below.

”Sil!” He shouted. He reacted without thinking, summoning his stored body heat and Weaving it into a slide that dropped into the pit below. Without a thought for his own safety, he slid down the heat construct and into the ruins below.

”Sil!” Chres called out again as his feet landed on the ground below. Immediately he took off. ”What’s wrong? Why did you come all the way-”

Chres’s pace slowed. The glow he had seen… It hadn’t been her. Chres knelt to the ground and pulled out a crystal jade candle sticking out from the rubble. He stared as the candle glowed dimly in the shade the basement provided.

Týfurkh heard something coming down and turned his head to that direction, only to see a gaping hole in the floor without knowing what had caused it. Chres was still standing there, looking a little bit shocked. The next moment however, after Týfurkh had turned away only to be attracted again by another suspicious sound, the man was gone.

A voice was heard, somewhat muffled by what was left of the floor beneath his feet. It was Chres calling out for Sil, enthusiastically at first but not so much soon later. ”Did you find her ?” Týfurkh asked through the hole below, unable to clearly identify the object that was emitting that dim light through all the dust.

”Shall I come down ?”

”No...” Chres said. ”Just a crystal jade candle.”

He pocketed the candle and looked up to the giant man. ”I don’t think she’s here.” He said. ”Just another false lead.”

It took some time to get out of the ruined building’s lower floor. Mostly because Chres decided it would be wise to exit with more care than when he entered. Once below the opening from where he had slid down, Chres raised his foot as if stepping onto higher ground. As his foot lowered, he quickly Weaved a small foothold to rest his foot on. Then, pushing off the foothold, he repeated the process with his other foot. The effect made it appear as if Chres was climbing an invisible staircase, when in actuality, he was just making small heat constructs to act as platforms off the ground.

”We spent enough time chasing the wind…” Chres said grimly, after climbing out of the hole. ”Let’s head back.”

---

Their route home led them east, along Shimmer Lake’s bank. They decided to not risk cutting straight through the city, closer to territory patrolled by the cult. Týfurkh had taken to riding his horse back, while Chres had preferred sticking to his own two feet. He kept up with the horse’s slow trot, his hand absently petting the horse’s side. His mind, however, dallied.

Chres stared northward, rather than straight ahead. His eyes taking in the beauty that was Shimmer Lake. The docks and boats may have burned away, but the lake remained as pristine as ever. Its surface reflected the distorted green sun’s light in such a way that would bring a painter to tears.

It felt strange to not hear Sil’s excitement at seeing a ‘puddle’ so massive. His year of companionship with her had affected him far more than he knew. If only-

”Don’t you see?! It all makes sense now! The puddles are all connected!”

Chres’ head perked up. Was that Sil’s voice?

”Sky puddles, ground puddles, the yellow puddles you humans make- They’re all one! All puddles are connected! EVERYTHING is a puddle!”

Yes… yes that definitely was Sil! Chres looked ahead to where a bemused crowd had gathered around the tiny familiar.

”It’s her...” Chres heard himself say. Strange how every other time that thought had led him to rush into action. This time, however, he found himself standing there from shock and surprise.

”You know… at some point you need to explain to me why Sil is all about ‘puddles’...”

Chres simply shook his head. ”In all honesty, I don’t even know.” He sighed.

Týfurkh felt happy for Chres to have found his familiar again, but he also knew that this feeling might only be a fraction of what his companion was experiencing right now. He himself had never had a familiar, even though he had played with the thought a bit in the past. He also had never been able to figure out what kind of familiar would be best for both of them.

Carefully, Týfurkh approached the crowd. He did want the crowd to dissipate, but he didn’t want to trigger that so fast that Sil would be in any danger of getting trampled. Slowly he rode closer and then continued on fool. He didn’t know how Sil would react to him, so he directed his steps more towards the people in order to… start nudging them. Gently.

”I followed them as they fell from the sky, you see? They eat each other, just like sky puffs. Little by little they get bigger until they become giant ground puddles like this one here!”

Chres shook his head and followed the giant’s lead. The people he nudged aside gave him an annoyed look.

”We are all the same you see?” Sil continued. ”Humans eat puddles too! Why? Because they are puddles! It’s why humans leak puddles, bleed puddles, spit puddles- You’re all just living puddle-skins, eating skinless puddles so that you can become bigger puddles.” She emphasized her point by patting the stomach of one of the larger bystanders.

By this point Chres had made it to the edge of the crowd. ”Sil!” He hissed.

”Animals, you ask? Yes they are puddles too! Fish? Puddles. Plants? Puddles! Octavapoo? Yes, he’s definitely a puddle.”

”Sil!” Chres said more urgently.

”But what about me? What kind of puddle am I? Well you see-”

”Sil!” This time Chres said his name loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sil’s head jerked up in hesitation. Slowly, she looked to Chres.

”Chres?” She said.

”Sil… what are you doing here?”

”I-” She started, but she cut off the rest of her sentence. Her eyes widening almost as if in fear.

”N-no… I can’t…” There was a tremble in her words. Was that actual fear in her voice?

A spike of concern rose in Chres’ chest. He carefully took a step forward. ”Sil, it’s okay.” He said soothingly. ”Talk to me, Sil.”

”I can’t…” She whispered. Her form hovering away from Chres’ advances.

”Help me understand what’s wrong.”

”I can’t!” She said more insistently.

”Why?” He asked, doing his best to keep the frustration out of his voice.

”Because I don’t know!” Sil shouted back. ”Because I never know! Because I never-”

Her words trailed off. She hung her had towards the ground. Hand raised between her chest. There was a troubled look on her face. A look so foriegn yet familiar. A look which roused the memories deep inside.

”Because…” She repeated. Her voice softer this time. ”Because I never seem to know...”

Then it clicked. She had finally come to realize the thing that made her different. The thing about her that others could tell instantly. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what was wrong. It was that she had come to realize that she didn’t understand the world like everyone else.
”Oh, Sil...” He said. His words were a mere whisper. He felt his heart go out to her. What must it feel like to suddenly realize that your mental capacity was not up to par with everyone else’s?

”Why?” She asked despondently. ”Why is it that I don’t know?”

”I-” Chres said hesitantly. ”I don’t think I have an answer for that.”

”But you always seem to know...” She replied.

”It may seem that way, but I think you’ll find that I know about as much as anybody else.”

”You mean anybody else, aside from me.”

Chres frowned at her words. ”What happened, Sil? What happened in the tower.”

”I- I don’t know. Everything was so bright and colorful. Then, suddenly, it was like my eyes opened. Noeyes wasn’t playing with Lynx... he was hurting him. And there I was just prancing along like… like...”

Sil furrowed her brow, as if trying to remember something. ”You see… this is what happens… I don’t even remember what we were talking about!”

”Sil-”

”I thought if I tried to focus… focus for once on actually knowing something, then it might make it better. So I followed the puddles. I tried to get to know the puddles… But in the end...”

Sil looked up to the onlooking crowd. They had taken to whispering and pointing at both Chres and Sil.

”Puddles, Chres… What nonsense was I even saying to these people?”

He looked from them to her. ”Come on, Sil.” Ches said in a comforting voice. ”Let’s go home.”

He lay a finger beneath her form. She looked to it with hesitation. Then with a despondent nod, she took a seat upon his finger.
”Show’s over, people.” He said to the gossiping crowd.

Most of the crowd dispersed, though not without some disappointed groans. A few people lingered, but they too left as they realized that Chres had no intention of staying.

With a nod to Týfurkh. They headed on their way back.

The first several minutes were done so in silence. Chres’ mind a whirlpool of questions and concerns. Sil’s perhaps the same. But as they made their way away from the lake, Chres opened his mouth to speak.

”You know,” Chres started. ”There are things you know which I wish I knew half as well as you did.”

Sil gave Chres a skeptical look. ”Yeah,” She said. ”Like what?”

”You know how to have fun.” Sil gave Chres a frown.

”I’m serious!” Chres said defensively. ”Without you around, I would sulk so much that the rest of the world would probably just lock me away so I wouldn’t go around dampening the atmosphere! You, Sil, know how to make every day interesting.”

”Is that… Is that a good thing?” She asked in an honest tone.

”For someone like me, yes.” He said with a nod.

”But there are so many other things I don’t understand.”

”And that is absolutely okay.”

”Why?”

”Because nobody is capable of understanding everything. Because some people are better at understanding certain things more than others. It's okay to not understand things, so long as your heart is in the right place and you keep that lovely smile of yours on that face.”

Sil smiled softly. Her eyes wandering over to Týfurkh’s horse. ”You know what?” She asked.

”What?” Chres replied.

”I think Metalman was big enough without the donkey.”

”That’s a horse, Sil.” Týfurkh replied while avoiding to sound like a teacher. He felt happy for Chris finally having found his familiar, even though he could not make much sense out of the latter’s strict preferences for… puddles. ”And that’s only armor. I’m not actually made out of metal. Luckily!” Him made out of metal… how much worse would everyday life be that way?

”Will you promise me not to run away that soon again? Finding you was quite a bit of an effort and a dangerous one as well.” he asked friendly, clearly hoping for only one kind of response.

”’Not Metalman’ asks Sil a question...” Sil said to herself while raising a finger to her lips. ”I proooomise…-” She paused mid-sentence. Tilting her head to the side, she looked as if she were deep in thought. ”-nothing.” She finished with a grin.

Giggling to herself, Sil fluttered over to the horse. ”Good donkey.” She said patting the horse on the head.

Chres looked to Týfurkh and shrugged. You couldn’t win every battle he supposed. With a soft smile he glanced back at Sil. She had perched herself atop the horse’s head and began humming happily to herself.

She seemed like her normal self… but what had that all been about? He had never seen Sil act so serious before. So… aware… except… except on the nights when the shadows seemed darkest. Those nights were he serious had considered finally taking out his cord of rope and wrapping it around his neck. The thought made him shiver.

Was Sil changing or had something triggered this behavior? Chres shook his head. What was the point? He no longer had the means to get the answers to these questions. Chres had seen to that himself.

A darkness hovered over Chres. A darkness he had hoped would lessen upon finding Sil.

Oh Chres... Chres thought to himself. Ever always the fool...

Year 4256
3nd day of the month of Olfaccium
Morning

“Why hello Mr. Spider! You look like you could use a new home!” Sil said, prodding one of the many spiders she found making its home in the caves.

The spider coiled back from her touch. Obviously it found the prospects of a new home quite exciting!

“Well aren’t you lucky,” Sil continued, “because I’ve got just the pair of pants for you!”

She poked the spider again, causing it to quickly scuttle to the top of its web.

“Don’t worry!” Sil said. “No need to rush! You’ve got plenty of time to pack!” Sil leaned in close to the spider. “You see,” She whispered. “I can’t move you yet. Not without my little sister, Akai. There’s too many of you spiders for me to move by myself after all. I’m going to need her help so that I move all of you into Octavapoo’s pan-”

“What?” Lynx interjected.

By all means, he should’ve heard what was being said even from twice as far, but his brain had automatically blocked her words. Sil’s voice had that effect on him. Analyzing her tone could have helped, but the venn diagram of her inside voice, her outside voice, and her secretive voice was a circle.

“What are you doing here, Sil?”

Sil yelped, jumping visibly in mid-air. She spun on her heels. Her hands hidden behind her back “Me?!” She said defensively. “What about you? Just what are you doing here?”

The desperate attempt to change the subject would have been noted immediately by the average person. Lynx was not the average person.

“The underground chambers were unbearable,” he said, too busy defending himself to connect the dots. “You are also a familiar. There is no point in surrounding ourselves with luxuries that we cannot enjoy.” Being in enclosed spaces for too long had also reminded him of his days in captivity, not that he would admit that to anyone.

The realization hit him too late.

“You are plotting something.”

“Silly Lynx.” Sil said. “Always using fake words.” She giggled as she fluttered down to Lynx’s level.

“Hey!” She spouted excitedly. “Did you hear we’re getting a little sister?!”

He puffed out his chest slightly, staring her down out of habit. “Little sister? What is that supposed to mean?”

He connected the dots late. Again.

“Wait a minute! Do not imply that we are related!”

“Not related? Pshh.” She gave Lynx a dismissive wave. ”I'm a familiar with you. You're a familiar with me... See? Related.”

Had he been a human man, he would’ve grit his teeth. Instead, he only narrowed his feline eyes. “And I thought you were unable to spout little quips like that. You really are a fairy.” He paced around, looking for any sign of this so-called little sister. “Well, where is she?”

”Hm?” Sil hummed. She put her hand on her forehead as if shading her eyes from the sun. She looked left. She looked back at Lynx and shrugged while humming the words ‘I don’t know’.

”Icesarina, just said I was going to be her biiiiiiiiiig sister. She said she was going to pick her up today too. So that must mean our new sister must be really, really small.”

It was odd to hear things like that, to remember that they were products, made and picked up by humans. “Another familiar, small.” He paused, muttering to himself. “Karina. Why would she want a familiar?” She really didn’t seem like the type. It was more likely she wanted something that would assist her in combat or mobility than entertainment, from what he knew of her. Those kinds of familiars were a lot less aggravating, at least.

”It's probably because she just wanted us to have a little sister.” Sil replied in very matter-of-factly fashion.

“In the middle of a war?” he asked.

”Does it matter?” Sil asked. ”We’re getting a little sister! Aren’t you just a little excited?”

“No.” The response came automatically.

“Unless… this familiar can fight. Neither of us were created with that purpose in mind.”

”Fight?” Sil repeated. ”You fight though… I-” Sil hesitated, her cheer slowly becoming concerning. Almost as if something had just occurred to her. ”I’ve seen you fight… Haven’t I?”

”You have. But that was not why I was created. Why we were created. In my case specifically, I was meant to be an ornament for a wealthy family.

Ornament. It was the word Octavio used to describe him when they’d first met, and it had stuck with him. He’d always found it more insulting than any attacks made on his animal characteristics or attempts to fit in with human society, because at least the people who had said those things were acknowledging him. “Ornament” was a complete and total dismissal, one that established him as something that wasn’t disrespected because it didn’t have the capacity to be seen or heard in the first place.

”You, as a fairy, were created to serve as entertainment. I cannot imagine you in a castle surrounded by fragile objects, however.” The mental image made his head cock in amusement.

”But I’m not a fairy. I’m Sil” Sil said. ”And you aren’t a very good ornament, you know? Afterall, you won’t break if I kick you… I think...”

Sil looked to Lynx, curiously. A single finger placed on her lip. Slowly, she fluttered up to Lynx’s snout and, without warning, slammed the sole of her foot in-between the poor familiar’s nostrils.

Sil gave a satisfied nod. ”Nope!” She exclaimed. ”Definitely not a good ornament.”

Lynx shook his head, irritated more than anything else. “I thought you had improved at least a little bit.” His front claw twitched. “Unfortunate.”

The claw etched parallel streaks across the dirt ground. “Dirty tricks like that work, but only once. We are going to have to acquire some sort of combat familiar to improve our odds. Take it from someone who has survived with them.” His mouth twitched oddly, not used to the colloquial phrase. He could test out language like this around someone like her without having to worry, he realized.

Sil sighed ”What we really need is a silly little sister to soften you up.” She said. ”All this talk about fighting...”

Sil gave Lynx a serious look. ”Back then… you changed when you started fighting… You became… scary...” She hesitated a bit before continuing. ”Or maybe you didn’t change… Maybe fighting Lynx is the real Lynx, and boring Lynx is just you covering it up...”

She said it with a bluntness that reminded him of the way children spoke, before society had taught them that pointing things out was bad. Lynx knew exactly what she was referring to, and as his free claw struggled to find ground, the memories stirred in his “mind” in an unpleasant miasma that served to remind him how unnatural his existence was. Pain was good, he had come to realize. It was the body signalling what was wrong to its host, what needed mending or rest. When it came to sensations like this as a familiar, defined by a tangle of strange emotions that threatened to unravel his ability to think clearly, the pain of an animal was what he yearned for the most.

“I…” he began, “I was overcome by instinct. Or to be clearer, the instinct that my creators imbued me with. Who- no, what I was destined to be and what, who I have become are both me. It is a contradiction...”

His mind returned to normal, and he began to think of the others, the outbursts of emotion that cracked past their fronts.

“...but that is what most makes me human.”

Sil frowned. Trying her best to understand. Why was understanding so hard? ”I… I don’t understand...” She said deflatedly.

”Chres told me it’s okay not to know… Not to... understand…” She lowered her head, arms hugging herself. ”But back then… now... it doesn’t feel okay...”

She looked up to Lynx, a troubled look on her face. It was very unlike Sil. Yet, just as quickly as it had come, her expression began to fade.

”You know, I’m glad you’re okay.” She said, a soft smile appearing on her face. ”Even if you do always act like you’ve got a puddle up your butt.”

She giggled to herself softly and fluttered high enough to perch herself atop Lynx’s head.

Lynx fell to the ground in a janky movement that had more in common with an animal than a person. He rolled once and stared at her with even more disappointment than before, yet didn’t get back up.

“Not understanding things is a fundamental- an important part of being human, I think. Before I rescued Octavio I lived in a castle alongside scholars, and all of them were obsessed with knowing more about the world. At first, I could not understand their conversations, but through my errors came knowledge. I can be okay because I can always extract something of value from a failure.” Then, with a haughty touch he added, “That is something many humans are unable to understand.”

Having fallen off of Lynx’s head after he rolled, she picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off.

”I see... I have to fail in order to learn…” Sil said nodding at Lynx’s statement. ”So then the reason I understand so little is because I must be really bad at making mistakes!”

He stifled a laugh. “That way of thinking is itself a mistake.”

”It is?” Sil said with a tilt of the head. ”Well, good! I must be getting better at learning then!”

As tempting as it was to supplement his thoughts with ramblings about humility and maturity, he didn’t think Sil was the appropriate student, nor him the proper teacher for that sort of thing. “What of all the broken vases you have left in your wake? Surely that must be a mistake to you, in some fashion.”

Parties weren’t parties until someone’s fairy familiar broke something, after all.

”Silly Lynx.” Sil replied with a dismissal wave. Her wings began to flutter, lifting her back off the ground. ”One day, I’m going to have to teach you about a little something called ‘art’.”

He chuffed. Art was one of those concepts in life he never understood, no matter how many books he read on theory nor how many rants from Octavio he listened to about the prestige of theater. To humans, even familiars themselves were art. He looked at Sil.

He didn’t get it.

Sil giggled softly to herself, and circled once around Lynx before coming to a halt a hand’s length from his snout. She gave the familiar a curious look as she raise a finger to her lip.

”Say, Lynx...” She started. ”What is your first memory?”

His thoughts shifted, but the difficulty remained.

“That is a question I am unable to answer. My infancy, if you could call it that, was spent trapped in a castle. All of my days there were indistinguishable from one another.”

Trying to single out any one memory prior to his escape felt like trying to decipher a single image from a kaleidoscope. Or understand art in general, for that matter.

“What about you? What was your early life like?”

”Mine?” Sil tilted her head to the side as if surprised to have the question pushed back on to herself.

”My first memory?” She looked towards the ceiling, humming in thought.

”Puddles...” She said. ”Puddles everywhere… They fell from the sky… they flowed across the ground… they rolled down Chres’ cheeks… It… It was beautiful.” She said as if romanticizing the experience.

”I…” began Lynx. It dawned on him what she meant, and the words caught in his throat.

”I remember gasping in awe, and dancing between puddles as they fell. ‘No...’, It was the first word Chres said to me. Such an odd way to greet a new friend. I nearly took it as my name. ‘No...’ He said again. ‘I killed you… why… why did you give me this gift?’ Such a weird one that Chres is… Said I looked just like her.”

Intelligence had always been a prickly subject for him, especially the topic of social cues. But much to his horror, the pieces were falling into place in front of him. Killing was an unfortunate part of their new lives, but the last person he’d have expected to partake in it before this had started was Chres.

“Chres… had killed someone?” was all he could say.

”Hmm?” She hummed, head tilted to the side.

”Killed someone? … Yeah, I guess so... Weird, huh?” She gave Lynx a smile and a shrug, as if nothing was wrong.

She gasped shortly after, pointing to something behind Lynx. ”Look! Another spider!” Sil zipped past Lynx excitedly, towards the aforementioned spider.

Lynx let out a brief yowl and dove to avoid the fairy. It had been startling enough to make him even more uneasy.

“During our first encounters, he had displayed a desire to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Is that the reason why?” Conversation wasn’t his strong suit, and he was feeling increasingly out of his comfort zone. This was a job for Octavio, not him.

“Wait, what are you planning on doing with that spider?!”

”Art.” Sil answered while poking at the spider. ”Oh my! You’re a lively one, aren’t you?”

Brief memories of Octavio explaining the convoluted and nonsensical plots to his favorite plays flashed in his mind. “That makes sense, I suppose. As long as you do not begin to claim that crushing a spider is a metaphor for poverty or romantic tension or something to that degree.”

”Whatever that means.” Sil said, mostly ignoring him.Then to herself she said, ”Crush it? Must be the beastly side of Lynx showing its head again.”

”Huh!?” he chuffed, “I am showing my studies, actually! My understanding of art is limited, but even I can notice that violence is always the answer when it comes to appeasing critics of the arts. If you are serious about this, that is.” Despite his attempts to present himself as mature at all times, Lynx was getting carried away by once more.

”Oooooooh Lynx, I haven’t been more serious about a thing in my life!” Sil said with a smile. ”Now shoo, shoo. This soon to be big sister has work to do!”

The thought of Sil’s art being appraised puzzled him. What would humans, with their unfathomable standards say? Would they claim it strummed their heartstrings as they did when consuming every other piece of media that had copious amounts of violence and heartbreak?

“I do not trust you Sil, although I must admit I am eager to see if you have the artistic capability required to impress a human.” He turned to leave, but stopped briefly. “Do not forget my advice. It is very important.”

And so Lynx walked across the horizon, his thoughts complex and critical of the humanities, unaware that this had all been a ploy to put spiders in someone’s pants.

Year 4256
3nd day of the month of Olfaccium
Evening

Chres sat outside, sitting on the ground and staring at the distortion's strange night sky. After hearing the news from Karina's squad, he needed to get some air to think. The Nation of Touch's Army was about to march seeking revenge for the Emperor's sister.

He took a sip of flavored water from his flask and shook his head. What was the world coming to?

A series of footsteps could be heard approaching Chres. It was the man that everyone had been referring to as DB. He had been wandering around and decided to pay Chres a visit once he saw Chres.

He’d squat down next to Chres and look at him. He’d ask, “Hey. So what’s your drink of choice in that flask? As for me, I managed to grab myself a bottle of some wine and refilled my gourds with it.”

“Hmm?” Chres hummed. He blinked twice and paid a glance at his company.

DB sat beside him. The man without a name. Drink of choice? Chres wondered to himself, only to realize DB must have been referring to the flask in his hand. Oh right.

“Ale.” He said, with an amused smile. Chres was curious to see if the man would catch on.

“Ale? That’s a terrible lie, or I met some sort of pervert. I can’t imagine anyone without anything wrong with them liking flat beer.” The man would reply as he pulled the cork off the gourd which then dangled from a string.

“At least it’s cheap.” He said. “Sometimes, I go a little crazy and add a bit of lemon juice to spice things up.” He smiled to himself, amused with the facade.

Chres took a sip from his flask and winced. “Aaah,” He exhaled. “Deliciously flat.”

He looked over the man’s gourd. “Where’d you get the wine from?” He asked.

“As for me, I’ve stolen some drinks from the cultists and our generous ‘friends’ here.”

Chres chuckled softly. Then with a sigh he stared up at the distorted night sky.

“Things are about to heat up. I can’t imagine this town not getting destroyed in the battle that’s about to happen. It’s a shame that the people will be scattered, and this branch of the cult won’t be completely crushed.”

Chres nodded, his smile fading. He had hoped Karina would be their way out of this mess. He had hoped they wouldn’t need to fight. It had been a fool’s hope. War was coming to them. Running away was not an option. At least for now...

“That might not happen if we win… The scattering of the people, that is. The people here are a resource to the Nation of Touch. If we succeed in killing the seed... if we succeed in driving out the Cult, the Nation of Touch will be here to pick up the pieces. Things will return to normal eventually… or rather a new normal.”

The man would take a swig of the wine. He mulled over what Chres had said. “Perhaps… That’s if we can kill the seed before the army starts torching things. There are multiple layers to these cultists. The lowest are those who have been convinced to join the cult and the magic is now corrupting and controlling them beyond indoctrination. Then we have the ones who might be lost due to more corruption. And at top we have those sightless who are either deeply warped by the corruption of this distortion or are spawned from it.

“I feel sorry for the recent converts. Their mistake will be punished harshly as despite being the most salvageable of the group, they’re also gonna be the most expendable. How many do you think they’ll send to stop or stall us from killing the seed, the same seed that will render them useless. I see the more elite of them being used to add power, but ultimately the important ones will try and escape.

“I simply wish to have these people freed without clogging the streets with their bodies on the way to it. As well as keeping from too many of their higher ups from escaping here. And I’ve been thinking about it since we left the clocktower.”

”A man of the people?” Chres said. He followed his words with another swig. ”You surprise me. I can honestly say I didn’t have you pinned as such… Well, you’re a better man than me then.

”I’ve been doing my damnedest to decouple myself from this town’s plight, else I fear it will lock a shackle around my wrist.” Chres frowned, his gaze lowering towards the flask.

”I’m no hero.” He said, an itch crawling up his neck. ”Nor do I want to be a hero... To be honest, I’m not even sure what I want anymore.”

Did he deserve to be punished? Did he deserve death? What did Chres deserve? He didn’t know. He couldn’t know. Not until he found out why.

”DB. Short for Dirty Bastard, I believe The Being said. It is a curious title, that.”

Chres eyed the man they called ‘DB’. Eyebrow arched and accompanied by a subtle smirk.

“I guess you could say that. I didn’t come for what you’d call a fancy background. So I can see myself in them and falling prey to the cult’s shining words. And it also doesn’t sit right with me to treat them like they’re nobodies.” He said as he drank.

“As for my ‘name’ it’s not even a title so much as what others have yelled at me as an insult. I guess it’s his joke; getting everyone to call me DB, which is such a nonsense name. But I guess with everything that’s been happening no one’s gotten around to asking my real name. It’s Jen Gibre, by the way.” He’d say continuing from where he left off.

”Jen Gibre, huh? Well now… Definitely a better name than Dirty Bastard if I do say so myself.” Chres smiled to Jen. ”So Jen, is this a habit of yours? Going around helping the people you see falling victim to the powerful?”

“Truthfully, I’m more of a wanderer. It just happens that my current affairs concerns the cult. So doing anything to weaken them isn’t really me going out of my way to do something. In fact it behooves both me and the rest of you guys. And what about you? What were you supposed to be doing before getting pulled into this?” Jen would respond.

Chres raised his brow as Jen’s explanation seemed to clicked. A grudge against the cult might explain why Jen had always been eager to pick a fight with the cult in the past.

”Me?” Chres asked as he stared down at his drink. ”You mean aside from search for mundane ways to end my life?” Lowering his drink, Chres sighed. ”You know… I honestly don’t know...”

He looked to the stars and frowned. ”I’ve spent the last year beating myself up over the death of someone I held dear… but now I’m beginning to wonder if all that self hatred was even deserved… You see, things didn’t end between us on the best of terms. Vows were broken. Trust forsaken… It is a side to this that I’ve been ignoring for quite some. Now, I wonder if it is something worth looking into...”

Chres blinked, and shook his head. He looked Jen and smiled. ”I’m sorry. You got me rambling.” He said. “Must be from all the crazy that’s been happening… or maybe just the ale going to my head.”

”That’s fine. Not surprised you’re troubled by something. With what the being said and the look in your eyes is more than enough to suggest something.” He’d say.

Chres nodded. “So,” He said, trying to change the topic, “what sort of ‘current affairs’ has a wanderer like you going after the cult?”

“It’s a story, but one better told with more company and drinks. For now I’ll keep it simple. I’m taking care of some loose ends and doing a repayment of sorts. Although… I don’t think I’ll be as easily free as I think I will.” Jen would answer.

Chres raised his brow, curious. ”Sounds more vague than simple.” Looking ahead, he took a sip from his flask and said, ”Stories best told with company and drinks are either adventurous, hilarious or...” Chres eyed the man beside him. ”...depressing.”

“Don’t know if I’d call it depressing, but it’s still not a happy one.” He’d reply as he ruminated on the emphasis Chres put on depressing. It wasn’t exactly the most subtle of hints. He wondered if whatever he was feeling was pushing him to drop these hints in finally sharing his secret.

He was going to try his luck and inquire. He figured if they were all gonna be traveling together for however long it might not be a bad thing to open up to each other? Besides, he had some morbid curiosity about what exactly what this man was hinting at. “So, would you mind sharing what went wrong with this person you cared for?”

Chres’s back stiffened at Jen’s question. ”I-” He stuttered. ”she-” Looking down at the flask in his hand, Chres stared wide eyed into his past. With a swallow, he offered his flask over to Jen. He no longer was in the mood for another sip.

”She… she had been sleeping with another man...” Chres said at last. ”I... I found out and then… then I...” The words got caught in his throat. They stayed there, threatening to strangle him.

He lowered his head and shut his eyes. A battle raged on inside him. Emotions so powerful, they nearly overwhelmed him. Then finally, released in quiet exhale, Chres spoke weakly. ”And then... I killed her...”

Jen felt shock rumble through his body at this revelation. His eyes narrowed as he spoke, ”You know somehow I’m not surprised by this given how you’ve been hinting at something horrible. And yet, I’m still shocked…”

Chres opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ground. Familiar emotions swelled inside him. Regret and remorse... though, something was different this time. Something new from having heard the words from his own lips. From having told someone else who he had put in effort to know.

Shame… that was new…

”I should go...” He whispered. He rose from his seat, not bothering to retrieve his flask.

”Thank you, Jen…” He said. ”For the company, that is.”

“No problem? Well that’s one hell of way of putting my own problem in perspective. Anyway it’s been-” Jen stopped speaking. Chres had already begun to leave. He must not have been looking for a response. Jen stayed a while longer as he became engrossed with his own past memories. Still, he’d have his own fill of solace and would rise to leave.

Before he left, he’d notice the flask left behind by Chres. He figured that man might want it back after leaving it behind. Out of curiosity however, he’d undo the lid and inspect it. Just as he thought, it wasn’t any type of booze at all. Which meant that confession was done sober. Jen would leave in thought at what happened. In the distance, cool wind picked up and wove throughout the sleeping town. Its howl, a song of sorrow.

Year 4256
3nd day of the month of Olfaccium
Evening

The entire group gathered after Karina and Chres returned to deliver the news. War was coming two days from now, and they needed to prepare. With Karina, came her new Familiar Akai and her fellow soldiers, who delivered the message to the group themselves.

As they finished talking, the group slowly began to break away from each other. Chres went outside to get some air to think. Sil, meanwhile, spent her time zipping around the room chasing a strange silver fly she had found resting on the common room walls.

An air of authority followed Lynx, all three feet of him, as he almost marched towards Akai. He had seen what Sil was like when it came to combat situations, and he had been through enough of them himself to know that being a professional distraction wasn’t good enough. The hard gaze that came out of his eyes wasn’t one of disapproval, but rather one of tense anticipation.

“Greetings,” he stated. “What is your purpose?”

Just like always, Akai was simply following Karina, hearing what she had to say to the group about the recent events. When she was finished, the group began to break away and go to do their own things. When Akai was about to follow Karina, she saw with the corner of her eyes when a large black feline walking towards her with a rather dignified stride. What caught her attention though was his stare as he approached her, making Akai immediately stop and look at him, raising an eyebrow almost as if anticipating words as harsh as his stare.

"Hey there, kitty." Akai said with a teasing grin.

"My purpose?" She asked, laughing, obviously at the manner how the feline was speaking.

"Oh, I'm just here to have some fun. My owner is quite an... interesting person and this group isn't that far behind either." Akai said looking at the few other members who were still in her field of vision before going to do their own things.

Lynx circled her, eyes trailing from his new party member to the old ones. It was easy to tell when his eyes were on Sil from their flickering from one side of the room to the next. “I understand what you mean,” he said, hiding his disapproval of the fairy’s hijinks. “This is a group of people formed by a third party, so there is a definite, er, variety in terms of motivations.” It was embarrassing to compare Octavio and his wish to just survive with everyone’s higher ambitions.

“I ask your purpose because we are in the middle of a conflict at the moment.” He turned his head towards the humans, who were currently engaged in spirited conversation. “How much did Karina tell you about our situation?” The nobler part of him didn’t want to state the obvious, but he also wanted to avoid revealing too much, if it was the case.

Aiko couldn't help but let out a mischievous smirk when Lynx mentioned that the group indeed had a 'variety' of different reasons and motivations. In fact, that was what made everything even more interesting. Aiko was certain that not everyone would be really happy with what would happen in two more days. That said, it was undeniable that they didn't have many options other than accept Karina and the Military of Touch's intervention.

"Hm... She did tell me most of it. Including her surprisingly high position in the Military of Touch. There might be a few details I'm not aware of but I'm sure I know the overall situation." Akai said, thinking.

"The fun part is that no matter what everyone thinks, I know very well that Karina will have things done her way. One way or another. Besides... There's not much you guys can do against the Military of Touch… Or Karina herself." Akai said with a chuckle and a provocative grin. It was clear to Lynx that she was indeed finding all that situation rather amusing.

“The opposite is true as well.” They had about as much freedom as that silver fly, at the end of the day. “We are all limited in terms of how we can deal with one another. It is because of those restrictions that some of us have come to develop what some would consider a friendship with one another.”

The words dripped with disapproval. He once read about the kinds of unbreakable bonds that formed between prisoners, but was never convinced by the way novels romanticized them. It always seemed like a sort of mutual desperation to him. He didn’t use either term to describe how he felt towards his companions. As hesitant as he was to befriend others, there was a certain pleasure to be had in knowing he was partaking in something humans normally did.

Sil zipped between the two familiars still chasing after her prey. Sil giggled while the fly buzzed angrily as it did its best to stay ahead. As Sil began to close in on her target, the fly zipped downwards suddenly to avoid colliding with a table. Sil, of course, had been far too focused on catching the fly to notice and collided head first with the piece of furniture and let out a loud ‘Ooof’.

Sil fell to the floor, giving the fly the chance it needed to escape. It quickly zipped out of the group’s shared living space and away into the corridors that made the underground maze.

”Hey! No fair!” Sil called after it, while waving a fist in anger.

"Friendship, camaraderie... Call it whatever you want, it's still fun watching them interact with one another. This situation surely created bonds, but they originate out of pure necessity. It's unavoidable that they will be broken sooner or later once another opportunity arises or the situation that created such desperation passes. One example of that is Karina's position. Not everyone here probably agrees with the war." Akai said with a chuckle and an amused expression.

He paused for a moment at her response. Too many conversations with a fairy familiar and a man who spoke like he stood in front of a crowd had left him unprepared for a straightforward, solid answer. The tension in his body vanished far faster than he would’ve liked.

The moment she finished speaking though, the noise of something hitting the furniture, followed by a loud 'Oof' interrupted them. Turning her attention towards where the sound came, she would see Sill falling on the floor as the fly she was running after used that moment to flee as fast as it could to the corridors. Seeing such scene, Akai couldn't help but to laugh as she looked at Sil.

"It seems the fly was faster than you this time." she said with a chuckle.

"Anyways, I'm sure it will come back for a rematch, I wouldn't go after it if I were you. It seems to be awfully easy for one to lose themselves in those corridors." she said, approaching Sil, who was waving her fist towards the fly, protesting in anger due to it's 'unfair' tactics.

”Not me!” Sil said. ”I have a great sense of direction!”

“Are-“ he stopped. Sil had been the one to exit the chambers seemingly effortlessly during her search for fun. “You do. That worries me more, for some reason.”

”Probably because you’re a big ol’ worry puss.” Sil said. ”No worries though! That’s why I’m here! To help you learn how to relax.”

"Does she?!" Akai asked, surprised when Lynx confirmed that Sil indeed had a good sense of direction.

"I mean... I would have expected for Lynx to have a good sense of direction but Sil? That is surprising!" Akai said, laughing.

"Well, Chres would probably be worried sick if you went into the tunnels though..." Akai mentioned as she looked at Sil.

"Still, Sil is right on one thing, Lynx. Relaxing is indeed necessary. You should worry a bit less and just have fun!" she finished with a smile.

Had he been human, he would have scoffed. Instead, the lynx familiar’s mouth moved in an odd way that showed the difficulties that came with trying to emulate human facial expressions as a feline.

“Fun. That is not something worth focusing on when in a life or death situation. I will have fun once this is all over.” He paused. “Or when I can appreciate something like a warm meal.”

Sil sighed. ”See what I mean?” She said to Akai. ”Little kitty here, ever the grump.”

Akai couldn't help but roll her eyes upon hearing Lynx's words. Surprisingly enough, Lynn wasn't really exaggerating.

"You're right, Sil... He's no fun at all..." Akai said looking to Sil before turning towards Lynx.

"There is always fun to be had if you know where to look for it. And if you don't find any... You just need to create some... Right, Sil?" Akai said with a mischievous expression.

Lynx gulped. He recognized the feeling that crept up on him as what well spoken humans referred to as “intuition”, and the rest as “the suspicion that things were going to hell”.

Sil looked to Akai. Head at a slant. Finger to her lips. ”Are you implying we should find someone to push off a cliff?” Sil asked. By the look on her face, she seemed to be asking a genuine question.

”And just how did you arrive at that conclusion?” he asked incredulously.

”What other conclusion is there?” Sil asked back with a shrug.

Despite Syl's rather grim suggestion, Lynx would be alarmed to see Akai stopping to think about it for a moment, before she finally answered.

"Hm... We wouldn't be able to see the reaction of whoever we pushed down the cliff so I don't think it would be that fun... Besides, the mess afterwards wouldn't be exactly nice..." Akai said, in a matter-of-fact way.

"Personally, it is quite interesting how much chaos can be made just by whispering a few words to the right people. Humans always have the most intriguing and fun reactions to stuff." she finished with a mischievous giggle.

In truth he had been expecting and even desiring a familiar capable of violence, one who could excel where him and Sil could not. Registering the edge to Akai’s words had the opposite effect on him, however. The adage of “be careful what you wish for” ran through his mind with every extra syllable of her giggle.

”Hmmmmmmmmm...” Sil hummed. Suddenly a wicked grin appeared on her face ”I think I know just the thing!”

She zipped off, only to stop a few meters away. ”Akai!” Sil shouted behind her to get Akai’s attention. Sil made a series of hand gestures, that looked utterly ridiculous, while adding in a few nods of the head in Lynx’s direction. With a wink and a thumbs up she zipped off yet again to somewhere outside the room.

Akai was amused with the expression Lynx had when he heard her words but Sil interrupted her when she suddenly said that she had an idea, which made Akai look at her with a surprised expression and a rather mischievous smile.

"A fun idea? Oh please do share." Akai said with a chuckle as she looked at Sil.

Akai watched Sil zipping away and looked at the gestures she was trying to make when she called her. Even though she wasn't able to understand anything by the gestures she made, she was still curious about the idea Sil had. Assuming that it was something that Lynx couldn't hear, seeing as how Sil nodded towards him a few times in a not-so-discreet manner, she soon followed her outside of the room.

Were it not for the atmosphere in the room, Lynx would have been more alert. Instead, he took Sil’s disappearance as his cue to listen to the other’s conversations. It was to his disappointment that none of them were particularly interesting. Sparing a glance back at Akai, he noticed she was gone.

Sil hovered excitedly as she Akai met her outside the living quarters. ”You see that little guy over there?” Sil asked, pointing to a nearby spider. ”This little guy is one of many little spiders looking to move into our boring brother’s favorite pair of pants. Problem is, Lynx here has outsmarted our little friends.”

Sil paused, looking left and right before hovering in close for a whisper. ”You see,” She continued. ”Lnyx doesn’t wear pants.” Sil fluttered back an inch and giggled at the thought.
She looked to make sure Lynx wasn’t listening before continuing ”Isn’t it horrible? What kind of monster, must Lynx be to deny our adorable spider friends a new place to live?’ Well, yes, Lynx might be a monster -A furry little monster that doesn’t understand the meaning of fun- but you see, he has forgotten one little detail… Lynx might not wear pants, but I know a certain Octavapoo who does...”

Akai started listening to Sil with a curious expression, raising an eyebrow and nodding when Sil mentioned the spider. Even though she was just beginning to explain what she had in mind, Akai couldn't help but let out a mischievous smile as she did so. She was sure that Lynx wouldn't like the idea one bit given how boring he was.

"Oh, I see where you are going..." Akai said with a chuckle and a mischievous smirk.

"And I like it! Oh it will be priceless to see his expression when he finds out, Both Lynx and Octavio." Akai said, laughing, clearly enjoying the idea.

"What do you have in mind, my little accomplice?" Akai asked Sil in a conspiratory tone as she got closer to her.

”Hmmmmm...” Sil hummed as she placed her finger to her lip in thought. ”Well… Lynx can’t know what we are doing, right? So maybe we could use some kind of distractionation?” She said.

Looking to Akai, her eyes lit up with glee. ”Ooooooooo! I know! What if you tossed a bucket full of puddle onto him?! Yeah yeah, that’s it! Just do that for ten or so minutes. There will be so much puddle, he wouldn’t even know what to do with himself!”

What a lucky Lynx he would be! Sil thought to herself. How come nobody ever splashes me with puddle?

Akai heard Sil's suggestion with an interested expression. It was true that Lynx probably wouldn't agree with that small prank so a distraction could help their little plan. That said, Akai knew that Lynx wasn't an idiot and would immediately realize that they were up to something if she simply threw water on him.

"Hm... Lynx might be boring but he is still pretty smart. I do have an idea to distract him though. Since he is so serious, a serious talk will probably distract him enough so you can do your part." Akai said with a mischievous smile.

"When you're done though, please give me a signal. I reeeeally want to see both Octavio and Lynx's expressions when they find out." Akai finished, laughing.

A talk? Sil thought that sounded like a good idea too, though it was nowhere near as brilliant as tossing puddles over Lynx’s head. Regardless, she suspected it would do the trick.

With a nod of the head and wink, Sil zipped off to find her spiders.

With Sil off to gather the spiders, Akai went back to Lynx, getting closer to him.

He flashed the same uninterested expression that most took to be judgemental in appearance. This time however, he truly was bored out of his mind, hesitant to engage in any conversations out of an odd sort of weariness that blurred the line between the physical and psychological.

"Sil is quite... energetic, isn't she? It's almost strange on how boring you can be despite having to deal with such a tireless little thing like her." Akai said to Lynx with a smirk, teasing him.

"That said, when Sil was talking about the tunnels though, it made me think... Who exactly is these guys that are letting us stay here?" Akai asked, her expression quickly becoming a serious one.

"I mean... I know I got here recently but... Secret underground tunnels under the city, some very shady people... They do sound exactly like the type that would be best friends with those crazy cultist guys... At least from what I've heard Karina and the others talking about..." Akai said, looking around.

“Boring?” he asked. “It is simply what I do. Typically, I sit and listen, and Octavio talks. He acts, and I prevent anything disastrous. He fights directly, and I skulk. It is an unintentional strategy, but it works.” While Akai had learned of their party on a surface level, it had occurred to Lynx that she might not know some of the finer dynamics present. It felt nice to participate in a conversation with no ulterior motives and nothing to do with Syl.

“I understand you may not trust the people who assist us, but we need each other for our mutual survival. They are stronger than us, as well…” he warned.

Even though she was indeed trying to distract Lynx, the fact that what she was saying was indeed something that genuinely made a few members of the group worried would make it even more likely for Lynx to believe she was being serious.

Akai listened to Lynx's reply with an amused expression. His behavior wasn't a reflection of his owner's but it was almost as if it was affected by it. It was an interesting insight on how Lynx and Octavio worked together as a party and maybe an interesting for her to think herself regarding how she would interact with her owner.

"How sweet, you two complete each other!" Akai said with a teasing grin.

"Regarding that..." She said, replying as he mentioned that the people who were helping them, the shady ones inside the tunnels were stronger than them.

"I can see why we would need any help we can get, seeing the situation we're in but... There is a difference in having more resources and being stronger, you know..." Akai said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Lynx.

If he had the ability to raise an eyebrow, he would have done so sharply. Instead, the feline’s head twisted by a fraction.

"That said... Thinking about all this a bit better, it is but another reason for them to not try anything funny with us right now. They wouldn't be crazy to make enemies of us and have to deal with both the cult and our group..." Akai said, with a thoughtful expression.

Sil zipped in and around the room stopping directly behind Lynx. Hovering behind Lynx, she alternated from waving to Akai and pointing at the spider in her hand as if to say, ‘Hey hey! Look, I got one!’ Then, flying Octavio’s room, she planted the spider then sped off to go find more.

Lynx’s eyes shifted their focus from Akai to nothing in particular, as if looking through her while in thought. “You are new to this group, and yet you are already beginning to have seditious thoughts,” he said, as if scolding her. “Our origins as strangers continue to define our interactions with one another, even after our various conflicts. Cooperation, organization, the unspoken bond between warriors repeated endlessly through books of every kind… whatever you consider strength, there is still much more to be learned.”

Akai chuckled as she heard Lynx's scolding. Just like Sil said, sometimes he worried too much about things. In this case, he was finding a problem where there wasn't one.

"Seditious? Oh no. I am merely stating the obvious, kitty." Akai said with a mocking grin.

"It is exactly why we are strangers that I'm saying what I did. Each one of us is playing to our strengths. Our group has power, they have resources. We need their resources, they need our power. It is exactly this interaction that prevents us from betraying one another. At least one of us is deemed... no longer necessary to the other, that is." Akai said with a rather ominous smirk.

"Cooperation, organization and this so called 'bond' you speak of... All of them are dictated by our personal interests. Both individually and as a group. Our group was formed when our priorities became similar. At least our immediate goal, that is, to survive and escape. It is exactly the same as why the Kharu group won't betray us. We need each other, at least for our immediate goals. Betraying one another, for whatever reason would be completely illogical and would do nothing to help each one of us to attain our personal goals." she continued.

"You see? Deep down, it's all about our own personal interests. There is no 'bond', nobody is helping each other just because they are 'good people'. There is no such thing as a 'good samaritan', or in another words... 'Nothing is ever free'." Akai said with a smirk.

"Regarding what you said about strength... We have a few people in our group that can fight very well, a person with an incredibly troublesome and disruptive magic and all the other abilities our group has. We are clearly a threat for anyone looking to fight against us. Not only directly, but indirectly as well, or have you forgotten Karina is a strategist? Even the cult showed us that by prioritizing our capture... We are a threat to them. Therefore, for this and many other reasons, we can consider that our group is indeed... strong. Compared to the Kharu-Natjer group, even though we might lack in resources, we have something they don't have. The ability to oppose the cult. To fight." Akai said, walking around Lynx,as she continued speaking.

"Oh and talking about strength... It should be quite obvious that I'm not exactly the muscle-headed type to think that physical strength or violence are a solution to everything. In fact, it should be clear that I do love to do exactly the opposite. Cunning, strategy, the power of words, deception... There are a lot of other things that can be considered 'strength'... And each one of those, are most effective when used in a specific situation or manner. Just like the resources they have." Akai said, stopping in front of Lynx again as she gave a light flick on his nose.

Truth be told, even though that started merely as a distraction, she was actually enjoying such talk, but just like what she said to Lynx, behind every single action, there is a personal interest. Something motivating it... And it was no different for Akai herself.

As she spoke, Sil made multiple trips in and out of the room. During each trip, she made a point of stopping and giving Akai a wave, wink, or thumbs up. Sometimes, she would stop right before entering Octavio’s room. Other times directly behind Lynx. Once she even stopped directly outside Lynx’s peripheral view and mocked him by sticking out her tongue and raising her upper eyelid with a finger.

Lynx let out a tired sigh that sounded a bit like a hiss. Her way of thinking was confident in a way his internal monologue almost never was. Karina was a strategist, not a man with too many daggers and a couple of illusions that could only just get them out of trouble, so it made sense.
“Being open about having ideas like that is dangerous. I agree with them, but I am hesitant to take some of them into consideration. A future where a disruption within our ranks leads to doom would be something I would prefer to avoid.”

Sil had landed comfortably atop Akai’s shoulder and gave her a solid thumbs up. Clearly she had finished with her task.

While she was speaking, Akai noticed how Sil made multiple trips, zipping around the room as she entered and exited Octavio's room. Sometimes even stopping and mocking Lynx before going back to her task, which made Akai have to hold herself to not chuckle and smile at that.

After she finished talking, Akai couldn't help but let out a mischievous smirk as she heard Lynx saying how having ideas like that was dangerous. Indeed, some of them weren't exactly pleasant to think about but they were still possibilities which were worth taking in consideration.

"Oho~ Isn't the fact that they were my ideas the reason for them being dangerous?" Akai said with a laugh and a mischievous grin just as she noticed Sil landing on her shoulder, giving her a thumbs up.

"It was an interesting talk, Lynx. I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy it that much." Akai said, as she gave a small wink to Sil.

"Talking about dangerous ideas... I think it's time for me to start thinking about some. I do have a reputation to maintain, you know?" Akai said, with a chuckle and a mischievous wink to Lynx before she walked away.

He assumed the wink was for him and thought little of it. She was trying to get a rise out of him, not in the same, mostly unintentional way Sil did, but in a more calculated manner. If that was her intention, then he decided that she had succeeded. After a few small stretches, he wandered off for a walk, the conversation having left him with a feeling of dread.

With her and Sil's small prank ready, they only needed to wait to watch Octavio's reaction to it.

---

Buzz buzz buzz, when the silvery fly. Left right right left. The tiny insect wove throughout the cavern’s corridors. Its body glinting in the crystal jade light. Slowly but surely, it made its way to the outer edges of the tunnels until finally it caught a glimpse of its destination ahead. A wooden door guarded by a pair of slaves.

It landed on the door frame and inched its way through a crack spewing light from the chamber beyond. With one final push, it made its way past the crack only to then stop in and clean its antennae.

A man sat quietly in the chamber, reading a book by a burning hearth. The fly looked to the man as it rubbed its front two legs together. Pausing only after the man stirred. He raised his gaze towards the fly, a smile crossing his lips. Marking his page, he closed the book and placed it by his side.

”Done with your rounds for the night?” The Kharu-Natjer asked.

The fly buzzed, taking off towards the man. Its form beginning to shift and grow. The fly’s mouth began to curve curved and sharpen as small bumps took form along its body and protrude outward. Its mid and front legs merged together. Widening and combining with its wings. Its hindlegs sprouted claws. Its eyes turned glassy and beady.

Talon perched himself comfortably atop the Kharu-Natjer’s shoulder. Raising his left wing, he began nuzzling at his recently transformed feathers underneath.

“The… guests keep secrets from you.” Talon said, lowering his wing.

”Course they do.” The Kharu-Natjer said with a chuckle. ”I would be surprised if they didn’t.”

“Disrespectful.” Talon remarked with a click of his beak.

”Talon, my familiar, you seem to think that even a glance in my direction should be considered a slight.”

“And it should be!” Talon snapped defiantly. “You should earn nothing but praise for the labors you perform to stamp out this world’s imperfections!”

The Kharu-Natjer frowned, eyeing Talon as if studying him. ”I seek not praise, familiar. I merely seek what’s best for my people.” The bird ruffled and smoothed his feathers. Talon often took issue with the Kharu-Natjer’s disinterest in worship.

”Now then,” The Kharu-Natjer began. ”what’s this about our new friends keeping secrets from me?”

Talon fluttered over to a nearby perch designed specifically for him. He flapped his wings thrice in quick succession before settling down.

”The army of touch marches. They plan to attack two days from now. The girl is to open the gates for them.”

”Ah.” The Kharu-Natjer said, rubbing his chin in thought. ”Been wondering when they would make their move. I presume Karina received word from those scouts she returned here with earlier?”

Talon nodded. “There’s more.” He said. “Malkev, the girl revealed her identity to him. She plots to turn him to their side.”

”That’s of no concern to me.” The Kharu-Natjer said with a wave. ”I have little interest in what Malkev does after we take our leave of this city.”

“So we are leaving then?” The bird asked.

”Of course!” The Kharu-Natjer replied. ”We’ve played our part here. We hid those requiring hiding. Fed those we deemed needing feeding. And helped Malkev stir the townsfolk who need stirring. All that’s left is to be there to guide our friends before the attack, which we will be noticeably absent from. With the army of touch on the move, they need no further help from us here.”

Talon almost seemed to shrug. As always, he seemed indifferent about the plight of others.

“I think Svephreay has caught onto my other form.” Talon said after a moment of silence.

The Kharu-Natjer frowned. ”Pity.” He said. ”That is unfortunate.”

“You should kill her now.” Talon warned. “You let her get away with too much.”

”We will kill her in time.” The Kharu-Natjer said as he reached for his book. ”Just like we did with the one before her. For now, though, she’s still useful to us.”

Talon narrowed his eyes at the words but kept his comments to himself. He had learned long ago not to second guess his master. Instead, he took to preening his silvery feathers. It was a necessary action for one such as Talon. After all, when in servitude for a man such as the Kharu-Natjer, a familiar should always look his best.