Lying in wait, like a proper beast of prey, Scarlett lazily tapped her tail against the scattered veins of jagged iron that leaked from her form and built up into the complex gates of Alchemy and Gladr. To an outsider, her tapping would appear to be that of a well-fed, oversized kitten - no more concerned with the world around her, beyond the passage of time; and, with her eyes closed, and breathing relaxed, this could be believed to be true. However, if one would dare a closer inspection, they would find her third eye was flicking around its ocular space in sharp, almost mechanical movements, as if searching for something.

Brilliantly and dutifully, Herne had surmised the properties of the erected rituals, and coaxed Hector into pouring dozens of eyes through for Scarlett to, unknown to any involved, use as eyes - same as she had planned to do with Milli, before her prey came to her. Now, she was scanning through their eyes with each raise and fall of her tail, until she spied something of interest. Money was of no interest, nor rewards, for the alchemist; an inexhaustible supply of pure iron could be bled from her, as if she were her own veritable "goose that laid the golden eggs".

No, her reward was to be more substantive than mere cash and gratitude. It would come of the swamp, which had taxed her much in time and resources, so she wanted some compensation of an equal value.

And, she found it.

Suddenly, she was on her feet - well, hands and feet - and looking towards her self-proclaimed prize. Babysitting Hector, neither Lapis not Shavis were in position to stop her, as she dug her claws into the wooden floor, and threw herself forward - leading with her large claw, as she powered through the muck and guck of the swamp floor. She moved nimbly, despite - or, perhaps, in spite of - the weighty gauntlet she "wore", as Milli navigated the canopy above.

Normally, a meager grass snake in size, the little lady ignited her internal forge, and increased her size to that of a boa constrictor; her task was simply to remove obstacles, which were any lingering Makara and any of Herne's demi-familiar in the immediate area.

No witnesses.

For her reward, Scarlett had chosen to abide by the Laws of Equivalent Exchange...

"Time. Resources. Labor. Equally, I take from you, what you took from me..." Scarlett claimed, as she sat before a clutch of baseball-sized, oblong spheres: Makara eggs.

Taking an egg, she took the nearby water, and removed her sports bra to create a basin to separate the murky water into an isolated source; iron lines spread over the cloth, as she used basic alchemy to remove the impurities and leave herself with clean water to wash the egg with. Once free of straw, dirt, and other particulate contaminants, Scarlett would leave it to drain, as she looked around with her third eye - no for another prize, but knowledge, as the iris changed color.

She had a fair grasp on all the principles of the Six Magicka, but no practice in any but Alchemy - whoever, the old adage, "fake it until you make it," still held true, and she knew enough about Thaumaturgy to operate on herself without dramatically compromising her system. Taking her claw, Lymphocyte, she opened an incision into her abdomen, and exercised her extreme control over her healing factor and iron-laden blood to staple open the wound. Summoning Milli over, Scarlett operated by using her eyes as her own, and working in reverse directions, as she exposed her womb...

...before performing the world's first, and likely only, reverse, transpecies cesarean section.

After all was said and done, and all wounds were sealed, Scarlett would strip off her bottoms, and slam Lymphocyte into the shoreline, and spread the iron out to form a large basin, into which Milli would dive into, and turn the water within into shimmering water as she swam around, while it purified into clean bathing water.

A cover story for when Shavis or Shadar inevitably caught up with her, since she was exposing her scent for the Belua and her Familiar to smell.

”You are one difficult person to understand Scarlett. And one who disappears way too frequently.”

Shavis had to leave the pair of Hector and Lapis to deal with the village and their overall success in the mission in favor of searching for their missing black horse and ace in the hole. Following her scent through the bog was both nauseating and terrifying easy, she had practically memorized Scarlett’s scent at some point in her life. So much so that she didn’t even need to rely on Shadar who padded behind her with light interest. He always had been put off by the alchemist, more out of curiosity than any ill intent.

She took in the sight of Milli swimming around a basin of clean water. Something Scarlett had asked the familiar to purify, most likely. The Belua ran a hand through her hair, heaving out a deep sigh. ”That’s such a pleasant sight to see after that radioactive waste area.” The mere thought of it brought the smell back full force and she had to swallow the bile that she had fought so hard to keep down since earlier. Come on, she couldn’t stop acting cool now of all times.

”So what? You left the group to take a bath or something. We all stink, you should have just done it back at the Tower.” Shavis shrugged. ”Then again, we didn’t exactly go in and… uh, take a feast on a mercenary.”

"Come to put me back on my leash," Scarlett asks, as she held a cloth of reeds, alchemically spun into fabric, and a small bar of a hardened, golden substance; it looked like sap, yet soap. "Quite the unhappy thought, that."

”I’ve come to take you back with us… you know, back home?” Shavis argued but there was no bite in her remark. She patted her familiar’s head as he settled down beside her, warily eyeing the surrounding as if expecting something to pop out at any time.

"Home, huh," Scarlett asks, before washing her face; her third eye closing, before it was washed - as soon as the cloth passed, it snapped back open to watch Shavis, even as she presented no threat. "That tower isn’t a home for me. It’s a prison. Erected to sentence me, and those like me..." Scarlett says, tilting her head, as if looking at Shavis curiously, "I wonder, if we will be punished for failing? What do you think?"

Scarlett seemed strangely open... perhaps, it was because Shavis was her keeper, or was it because they were among the silence and privacy of the outdoors? Either way, her guard was down by choice, so it seemed.

Shavis tilted her head, seemingly mulling Scarlett’s question in her head before shrugging. ”I dunno. I mean, mages like us are always rewarded for achieving great strides. No offense to your research or anything but if this Tower is your prison, then shouldn’t it be restricting your movement more? As far as I can see, theyre letting you do whatever you wanted.” Though, then again, it had only been a short amount of time since they had entered the Reavers.

”Why do you ask anyway? Off doing some illegal and something potentially life-altering and dangerous again?”

"Hm," Scarlett answered, vaguely. "A prison can allow house arrest," she smirked, indicating that was a joke. "The water is nice, if you care to clean off. I am about done, myself."

”You haven’t answered my question…” Shavis said before stepping forward, crouching down to dip her fingers into the basin. ”I think I’ll take a quick wash. Lapis and Hector will probably be a little upset if we take too long.”

The water was blissfully warm thanks to Milli. "Catch," Scarlett offers, tossing the cloth and soap. "Join in Shadar. Even you need a bath."

Milli hisses, as she twirled in the water like a child, and puffed smoke from her scales, before waving at her fellow Spirit Animal.

Shavis quickly grabbed both items before stripping off her clothes and laying it down next to the arguably drier ground and began to wash herself off. It was a pleasant aroma, thankfully, and she did greatly appreciate having a break from the headache-inducing smell of the swamp. ”Alchemists sure do like making wonders. You’re like a portable bath.” She joked with a light chuckle.

Shadar padded over, dipping his nose first into the water and stared at Milli. He began to pace around the ground before tentatively entering the water to wash off the residue of the battle, residue he seemed to share upon exiting his infusion with his master.

"Bath. Kitchen. Bedroom. Alchemists are simply invaluable," Scarlett says.

Excitedly, Milli swooshed around Shadar, and wrapped around his body; back-to-belly, twice-around, before resting her head in his mane. He was super-warm, and fluffy. Scarlett snickered, as she free-falled onto her back, and rinsed off with the impact and splash.

“Psh, yeah. Imagine having almost everything at the end of your fingertips at any time.” Shavis leaned back against the basin’s edge, letting out a sigh as warmth seemed to envelop her. Hot springs in the middle of this place? Apparently more likely than you think. “I just learned how to break things. You’d get along well with my friend. Research-focused and all.”

Shadar let out a grunt as Milli began to wrap around him, not seemingly all too happy with the contact. An exact opposite of his hyperactive and physically affectionate master. Still, he stood his ground and didn’t quite shake her off.

"Hm. Sounds interesting," Scarlett says. "In due time, mayhaps. I’m not fond of socializing."

As Shadar was the opposite of Shavis, so, too, was Milli the opposite of Scarlett - affectionate and huggy, happy to nap where she was.

”Clearly. You could stand to be a little nicer to people.” She scoffed, waving her hand idly. ”I’ve learned not to take offense ‘cause I got thick skin and a thicker head. Same can’t be said for like… everyone else.”

The familiar let out another grunt as Milli seemed to fall asleep wrapped around him. He elected to now ignore her and began to swim around the water, feeling a bit more delighted at the exercise. It wasn’t very often that the Belua and her familiar were assigned to anywhere with clean water and time to swim in it.

"You have shown as such," Scarlett says. "Question is: Why were you assigned my case, aside from the obvious advantages you and Shadar have over me."

”Ask your handler that, not me.” She responded with a shrug. ”I was bored and decided to agree but I don’t know why I was chosen. They couldn’t have possibly known we’re going to be both Reavers at that time.”

"Maybe," Scarlett says. "Never assume Unknowns," she says, standing up. "Better get back to it. I’d hate to keep Little Miss Clown Hat and the Old Man waiting..."

Scarlett reached up to recall Milli, before noticing her sleeping on Shadar. "Such a trusting, little thing..." she chuckled, "I wonder, if that the fault of her Summoner, or myself," Shavis would notice an almost uncharacteristic playfulness to the tone of her question, as she said, "I could see that airhead summoning a Spirit that’s equally as head-empty as her."

”Mm.” It was clear that Shavis didn’t exactly understand what Scarlett was getting at. After all, in terms of brains and brawn— Shavis was all brawn. Still, she stood up and dried herself off and put on her clothes. ”I can already hear her fuming at our absence. I feel bad for her, having to see you at your… worst immediately and not gradually like I did.”

She recalled Shadar who walked back to her, keeping the other’s familiar attached to him. ”Got a little friend did you?” He seemed to glare at her, snorting out a huff but didn’t say anything. Shavis looked back at Scarlett. ”Her Summoner? Isn’t she yours?”

"Nope," Scarlett says, holding up the gauntlet and the gem embedded into it by Childes’s handiwork. "That airhead Nadia did," she says, "I’m just bumming off her work, since I don’t have much talent in anything beyond Alchemy. Such was my sacrifice..."

”Geez, no wonder she’s so friendly.” The Belua commented. ”Hey, to be fair, your Alchemy is pretty unique. I don’t think anyone’s ever done what you’re doing.” She paused for a moment as she slipped on her gauntlets, feeling more at ease with its familiar weight. ”I don’t think anyone’s been crazy enough to try.”

"Nobody should be pushed towards the limits of needing to try..." Scarlett says, wading to the shoreline. "They’d be better off dying, then suffering my curse..."

Shavis wondered if she should pry while Scarlett seemed to be open about answering her questions for once. But deep down, she’s pretty sure she already knows the answer. After all, she had seen it happen time and time again. The consequences of erudition. ”How strong of you, to continue down that path then.”

"I have no choice," Scarlett says. "In any case, I’m not one to dwell on the past," she says, "I think, I’ll walk ahead, though. That loser isn’t sitting well on my stomach..."

Shavis nodded without much thought about Scarlett’s decisions in life. She was free to do whatever she wanted for all Shavis could care. As long as it didn’t end up with any of the other Reavers injured, then she didn’t really have to lift a finger to stop it. ”That’s why you shouldn’t eat random things. You don’t know where that guy has been!” She admonished jokingly. Oh, how far has she fallen to be able to joke about her companion— charge?— eating a living, sentient being.

But introspection was never Shavis’s good trait and as such she let it go. A problem for another time or a problem for another person. ”I’ll follow behind then.”

Scarlett would pad through the swamp on her bare feet, and passed the village gate she’d left before. Wordlessly, she passed by Lapis and Hector, and back to the carriage - collecting her cloak from within - and starting back towards Eon Tower.

She meant it literally, she was going to walk ahead.

Seeing Shavis and Scarlett finally appear from within the swamp, Lapis cupped her hands to her mouth and called out to them. ”Where have you guys been all this time, I thought some Makara had gotten to you!” Scarlett would leave her question unanswered, it seemed, as she ignored the reptilian Belua completely. Walking past her, she opened the door to the carriage and fetched her cloak from inside. She then started back walking in the direction they came from, back to the Tower. Lapis’s expression became even more perplexed, still unable to understand the actions of the alchemist.

”Your ‘friend’ is very strange, Ms. Shavis. Does she truly intend to just walk back to the Tower? What would be the point of not taking the carriage?” She said to the feline warrior. ”Also, you two smell rather nice, did you take a bath in the lake water or something?” She inquired. ”I guess you couldn’t wait before you got back to Eon, huh? I don’t blame you, if I couldn’t clean myself on the go, I’d do the same thing!”

Looking back at Scarlett, her eyes narrowed, as if she felt that something was amiss. ”I sense that she appears to be on guard, as if she’s hiding something. I can tell that she’s used more of her alchemy on herself. What exactly was that woman doing back in the swamp?

Unlike her charge, Shavis immediately turned towards Lapis with a bright smile and a wave. ”Here and there.” She responded vaguely with a shrug. She watched as Scarlett moved forward to collect her things and began her long trek back to the Tower on foot. ”Using the caririage would be faster you know!” She pointed out with a shout. ”Just stay put in the carriage, we’re probably gonna wrap up soon!”

She turned back to Lapis, a smile still on her lips as the latter questioned Scarlett’s odd behavior. ”I really do think she is. She’s the kind of person to do it her way.” Her way being vague considering something else seemed to be plaguing Scarlett’s head. Still, Shavis wasn’t about to restrict her freedom too much just because she’s unorthodox and doesn’t operate within the set moral limits of the world. Her tail flicked when Lapis pointed out their relatively cleaner appearance. ”Yeah, we did. It was just a short bath but it did wonders. And you’re lucky you can hose yourself down, smelling like you just came out of a radioactive sewer canal is the worst!” She complained with a huff, bringing her fingers to pinch her nose to emphasize.

Shavis shrugged, moving her hand to rub the back of her neck. ”Dunno. When I got to her, she was already in the middle of bathing. Far as I know, that’s the only thing she did.” She glanced back at Scarlett. ”Think she did something then?”

Scarlett didn't halt in her step towards the horizon, as she continued. She just rubbed her stomach; her body was unhappy with its new parasite and its requirements. However, she wasn't parting with her prize...

"Just even moving..."

It didn't matter, as she steeled herself, and carried on her march into darkness and nightmare; Eon Tower standing as her lighthouse in the far-off distance...

“Mmm, so this is the main city. Not bad.” A voice spoke from a farmer’s wagon as it pulled through the town gate. While nowhere near as luxurious as a Noble’s carriage, it was surprisingly comfortable compared to what most were used to.

“Aye, laddie. Can’t get much better than the main city. Though I’d watch meself round those Magus folk, worse than some merchants I tells ye.” The driver spoke up in reply, an older stout barrel of a man, long in beard but not unkindly. “Y’sure ye want to dropped here lad? Wouldn’t be nothing to take ye to the tower.”

The passenger shook his head, smiling as the wagon came to a stop. “It’ll be fine, you’ve done more than enough giving me room and board last night. I loved your stories and your wife cooked a mean stew, too.”

That got a laugh from the driver. “Hah! Aaahh, she’ll be glad to hear that lad. And sides, ye were great company yourself, helped my chickens but good. Well, here be yer stop then. You take care laddie.”

“Same to you O’Connah.” Jumping down with his pack, the man reached into a pouch, taking out a small bag and tossing it to the farmer. “Here, to show a bit of appreciation.”

Hearing the jingle the moment it landed in his hand, O’Connah shook his head. “Nah lad, ye don’t need te pay me, sides by the weight it be too much!”

The man simply smiled, adjusting a strap on his bag. “Keep it, you can use it to get that cow you’ve been wanting, sides, your wife’s expecting soon right? So don’t worry about it, I can make my way by.”

O’Connah shook his head after a moment, pocketing the coin with an appreciative smile. “Yer a strange lad, but a good one. Me wife and I will pray for ye, Damian. May the 6 protect ye.”

“Same to you both O’Connah.” Standing aside Damian watched as O’Connah guided the wagon around, turning down a side street for the farmer’s market. Letting out a breath, Damian started making his own way.

“Alright, now let’s see what all the hubbub was about…”

As the young photographer made his way through the city streets, he would no doubt feel a particular presence following him. His first obvious reaction would to be an alert, and if necessary, prepare for an evening bout. However, he would also likely sense that there was no hostility behind the signature he felt, although it felt quite unlike anything he's ever encountered before.

Feeling an immense, harmonized flow of blessed energy and the void, Damian would quickly turn to see a mature, but young looking woman with crimson eyes and long silver hair. She wore an elaborate white and blue dress, and had feathered ornaments on the sides of her head. She looked like some sort of fashionista or goddess icon.

"Damian Florestas, I presume?" She said in a soothing voice. "Good Evening to you. I trust your journey to Morgenröte went with no issues?" She walked a bit closer to Damian to get a better look at him.

Damian would notice that her eyes seemed to be glowing with a peculiar hue in the evening shade, signifying the deep magic that swelled within her slender frame. "I'm glad you accepted our invitation to join Eon. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Brunhyldia Amelia Selini, and I serve an administrative role at Eon alongside Arteus. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, making a polite bow.

"Do believe our conversation should be carried elsewhere. Allow me to guide us to the Tower." Holding out her hand, a violet orb began to form in it. The emission soon grew large enough to where it completely engulfed both of them, and Damian would find himself within a shroud of darkness. After a few moments, the shroud would vanish, and the freelancer would suddenly find himself in front of a large tower. Ornate and archaic in design, this must've been the Eon Tower he heard so much about.

"I welcome you to Eon Tower, Damian. It's getting a bit late, so I apologize for the lack of proper onboarding. But, if you'd just follow me inside, we'll get you settled in."

The man waved off her worries. “No need for apologies, Madame Brunhyldia, works a bit better this way.” Following her inside Damian kept aware of himself despite gazing about.

“I will say before anything else that I’ve still yet to decide whether to join or not. Arteus' latest letter spoke of discussing the details before I make the final choice.”

Smiling warmly at Damian's flexibility, Brun motioned for him to follow as the large doors of the Tower opened. Upon entering, he would immediately be brought before the expansive interior of the structure. It was truly something to take in, with the various artifacts and contraptions on display it seemed as though the Tower was larger on the inside than on the outside.

"In regards to the finer points of the invitation, it basically involves what you're role here will be as a member of the Tower. How that will affect your daily routine moving forward and what the staff will expect of you during your time here. Before we delve any further, do you have any questions at this point?"

"I do. Beyond our work outside the tower and all that includes, what exactly are you expecting from your recruits?"

Beginning with a warm smile, Brun turned to Damian's question, her eyes still glowing with a crimson hue.

"Well, Damian, to answer your question...that honestly depends on you." She paused for a moment, in case of Damian's reaction.

"Arteus and I understand that the people we take under our wing are individuals at the end of the day. Ones with their own hopes and desires. What we expect from you is to be able to use this Tower as a means of accomplishing said desires. Whether it'd be becoming a renowned researcher, making a breakthrough in medical magics, creating the newest state of the art magitek products, or even simply being the strongest magus you can be." She said, giggling to herself a bit before continuing. "So, Damian, whatever your dreams may be, we do hope that our facility can at least be some sort of stepping stone on your way to that dream."

Damian stared at the woman as she spoke, waiting for her to finish before speaking. "So, instead of merely making a team of noteworthiness to showcase some of the ideas Arteus had in creating this tower and organization, it's to create an environment to further collude the various walks of life directly in the face of the old ways and shake up the quo's." Nodding a bit to himself Damian soon smirked. "Bold, but smart. We need more moves that like in the world today. Here's hoping it spreads."
"So, how large of a group do you have, currently? Heard by the grapevine that the tower had acquired some new recruits?"

"Goodness, you certainly are a sharp one Damian. It's easy to see why Arteus was so impressed by you." She said, "Arteus, that man, he's quite the capricious one when he wants to be. He's difficult to read, but he always seems to have plans in motion."

"As for our new recruits, we indeed have several. Including the two young witches native to this city a young Fae rouge joined us, as well as a Fae couple. I believe they've already returned to the Tower by now. I must say those two show such promise; They defeated a legion of monsters and a greater abomination on their first mission!"

Walking along with Damian around a decorated corridor, the hallway had a homely feel to it. He probably would be able to guess these were the living quarters. "I will say that Ruecian and Rozemyne were with them during that mission, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. There's also a young bard who's quite skilled with Thaumaturgic tunes, played via his lyre. I rather like his style, but...I sense a bit of darkness in his heart to be honest." Brun said, her tone becoming a bit somber at that point.

"There's also a young Belua girl who's quite the energetic spark, along with her tiger summon! You might like her. There's also a young noble from Flugell, he's quite the talented sniper. Though, I'm afraid he hasn't yet fully acclimated to life with traditional magi, so he might be a little hard to get along with haha. And then there's..."

Brun began to trail off a bit, as if reluctant to speak on the next person of interest. "The other recruit is perhaps the most estranged, and...wild we'll say. She's an alchemist who also specializes in the use of void. She seems to have a scarred past, Arteus himself seems to have more details, but he won't speak much on it. Also, hera use of alchemist involves transmuting her own body in very interesting ways. She's rather hard to peg." Eventually, they appeared in front of a door, Damian would see that beside the door was a plaque with his name etched on it.

“Here we are, this will be your living quarters at the Tower. Fully furnished and accommodated.” Brun said. “Of course, you’re still free to ask me any more questions you may have.”

Hmm, already assured I’ll be staying. Confident, ain’t she? Thinking to himself, a hum was his outward response.

“Where there are no doubt other questions that could be asked, there is only one that I feel would be appropriate at the current moment.” Without hesitation he grabs the handle, opens the door and waltzes in. Turning about to look at Brun, with enough room in the doorway to look inviting, he smiles gently. “Would the kind lady before me be interested in a warm cup of tea before she turns in for the night?”

Though she squinted at him, Brun still held a smile on her face at Damian’s invitation. “I suppose I could stay for a moment.” She said, chuckling.

Brun took a seat at the provided table in the room, gently pulling to the edge. Adjusting her dress, she then placed her hands on her lap, then looked to the Tower’s soon-to-be new recruit.

“So, was there still something you were still unsure about?”

“Unsure of? No.” Closing the door behind him Damian sat his pack down at the table, rummaging into it, soon pulling out…a proper tea set?

“Merely needing time to experience things here before making the practical decision.” Cups soon followed along with a number of canisters. Soon, all manner of items had been pulled from the bag and more followed!

“Do you have a preference on which kind of tea you enjoy most?”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m fairly certain that all of the recruits will have returned to the Tower by late tonight. As well, some of the other senior field reavers will have returned by tomorrow morning. At that point, you can experience a more routine day at the Tower first hand.” Brun said. She looked with a bit of interest as Damian pulled out different bits of cupware and containers. It continued until a fully complete tea set was laid before her on the table.

“I generally prefer black thai tea with a bit of cinnamon, but I’m fine with whatever you have available my good sir.”

“Not to worry, Miss Brun. I can easily accommodate your tastes.” Reaching inside the pack once more, a tin large enough to fit comfortably in the palm of his hand was pulled out, marked with brown and red outlines. The moment he opened it, the scent of black thai tea soon filled the room.

It didn’t take long for the tea to be made; boiling the water and steeping the leaves and broken cinnamon sticks. Sooner than one might think, a fresh cup was placed before the woman, hot steam rising almost lazily into the air. A small dab of milk was added to his own cup before turning to Brun.

“Give it a moment to cool, milady, but I do believe it will be to your liking.” The smirk on his face was confident, but not arrogantly so. Merely fully assured that Brun would enjoy what he brewed for her. Closing his eyes he took a slow, long whiff from his cup, exhaling and visibly relaxed. “Would you like a dash of milk or sugar, my dear?”

The Chaos Witch had to admit, the aroma coming from the tea was quite pleasing. She too, felt her mind at ease after taking a small whiff of the scent of thai that began to fill the room. “A little bit of sugar would be nice, thank you.” She responded. She stared into the cup for a moment; the expression she wore on her face would suggest that she was pondering something.

“You know, Damian. Arteus did inform me a bit of your history. I understand that you’re quite the accomplished photographer. You’ve quite the catalog of beasts and landscapes under your belt, I presume?” She said, “Although, I also understand that for certain reasons, you usually have to keep a, shall we say, low profile of sorts?”

After she felt that it cooled off enough, Brun took her first sip of the tea. A warm smile would confirm to Damian how she felt about the taste. “I do apologize if that’s too touchy of a subject to go over right now. We can talk about something else if you’d like, and I’d hate to spoil the mood and sour the taste of the tea.”

Outwardly, the man didn’t flinch, merely looked at the witch. Yet for the smallest of moments, despite the short distance between them the woman would feel as if they were miles apart. Closing his eyes and taking a sip, the feeling ended. “Everyone has their story, Miss Brun, as I’m sure you yourself have experienced learning to master both faith and the void together. Same goes for one of your recruits, a young girl who got a bit too close to the void and paid the price for it, correct?”

"That's true indeed, Damian." She responded. She paused for a moment, noticing the change in Damian's demeanor. “She’s paid the price, for sure. But, she’s decided that instead of wallowing in despair, she’s chosen to take steps and make an effort to make her fate her own, molding it into something of value. Something of which I hope she’ll understand that we’re willing to help with.” Taking another sip of her tea, she smiled and decided to try and lighten the mood.

“This tea is delicious. No doubt it comes from experience. I don’t sense any magic imbued in it either! I could go into a bit of detail in regards to the road I walked in order to master two principles that are completely opposite of one another, but we’d be here all night haha!”

Hearing that the man chuckled, a small but wry smile on his face. “Mayhaps, and yet-” He took another sip. “Spending the night with a distinguished woman such as yourself to hear such a tale is an attractive thought all its own. Should our schedules align, perhaps we could set a date for such? An afternoon that is calm of breeze yet warm as the kettle prepares many a cup for two souls?”

“Heehee, perhaps when time permits, I’ll take you up on that offer. For now, I think it’s time I took my leave and let you get settled in. I’ll see you and everyone else in the morning. Good night Damian.” Finishing the last bit of her tea, Brunhyldia pushed out from the table and stood up. The last sight of her Damian saw for the night was her walking out of the door, closing it behind her. He would likely see her, along with the other members of the Tower, first thing in the morning.

As he stated before, they seemed fairly confident that he would deign to become a full-fledged member of Eon. One had to wonder if that was just overconfidence, or if there was a specific reason. Perhaps Damian would be left with a feeling that Brun knew more of Damian’s…situation than she let on. Perhaps the chief of staff who was currently absent knew more. Either way, the young magus would find out soon enough…

Offering Brun a nod Damian watched as she left, keeping his seat for a time after the door had closed.

The room descended to silence, broken only by the sound of the kettle going of once more. After making another cup he moved to the window, sipping in contemplation.

Quite confident, aren't they? Well, no matter. We'll simply see how things play out tomorrow. Wasn't the first time a job had a slow start before it built up speed, wouldn't be the last. Guess he would simply have to wait till tomorrow before making any further judgements...

"Doggone mages and their doggone crazy, shapeshifting woman and their doggone tiger woman and their doggone gun doctor and their doggone dragon mage girl..."

Despite Scarlett and the Makara dining on his flesh, Keith was somehow fully restored. Albeit, naked and wearing only a wooden barrel to protect his modesty. It was fortunate he found his headwear still intact and immediately put it on, the mercenary has yet to meet someone who did not revolt at his visage. Right now, he was combing the Makara corpses for pieces of his previous attire. He had several more sets at home, but making them wasn't exactly easy or cheap. Indeed, each scrap he found counted into making a new one.

"And doggone their stupid familiars too. Maybe I should invest in anti-familiar weaponry and gadgets..."

As the mercenary groaned while collecting scattered remains of his torn apart attire. He would sense presences that carried an ominous wind with them. Keith would turn to find a few cloaked figures standing before him. Their faces were shrouded by their hoods, but the merc seemed to be familiar with them nonetheless. One of them stepped forward and addressed him directly. Their voice sounded distorted and modulated, giving it a very unnatural tone to it.

”Sellsword, why are you still parading around here in this swamp? Your mission was not supposed to take this long, and you were to return to us once done. The Mistress has more need of your services. Said the hooded individual. He then appeared to inspect Keith for a moment.

”It seems you’ve run into some…complications during your time here? I certainly hope this setback hasn’t compromised our state of affairs.”

“Hell yeah, I ran into some complications!” Keith replied. “Someone actually called the cops on me! And by ‘cops’, I mean some mages. A whole team of them. There was this tiger girl and then there was this woman who drank some of the waste… I think they were some mages from one of them Towers or something.” The mercenary continued. “Real tough guys, I tell you what.”

“But don’t worry, they think I’m just some merc dumping magical trash. They didn’t even inquire about the nobles who hired me!” Keith cheerfully said. “Although, that may be because the Makara were all over us…”

“Regardless, our secrets’ are safe and we can continue with no problems.” The mercenary assured, while still naked in a barrel. “Now then, what’s the Mistress got for me?”

”You are lucky that this team appears to be inexperienced then.” Replied the figure. ”You said they were from one of the towers? I can’t imagine the Association so readily dispatching aid to an area as remote as this. Unless…” They paused a moment, thinking to themselves. ”That Irvin bastard…” He uttered. ”Damn, if they were with him, he’s no doubt caught wind of us!”

The figure displayed visible distress and rage at the revelation. ”We must inform her of this.” Said another cloaked figure. ”He’s interference will no doubt cause a great many problems”

”We will worry about that later. For now, the Mistress has a new assignment for you, sellsword." Said the original figure. ”She needs you to deal with a matter in the Holy Kingdom. With that damned serpent poking around, we may have to rework our objectives.”

“Holy Kingdom, huh? I might look outta place there with all my black drip, but sure, I’ll be there. Tell the Mistress that I’m ready to receive any order anytime.” Keith nodded. “Speaking of my drip, do you guys mind helping search for my clothes inside these things? Shouldn’t be too hard…”

”I still do not and don’t care to understand your strange dialect, sellsword. But, don’t concern yourself with your garments. The Mistress has some new clothing available to you. You are fortunate that she has taken such a liking to you…”

With that, the cloaked figure opened a violet portal before the group, then motioned for Keith and the others to enter it behind him. After entering through, they all vanished in a single flash of purple light. While it appeared to be some sort of void magic, it left an oddly dark energy along with it.

The trip back to the Eon Tower was uneventful. Einer played a peaceful, sleepy song all the while to help his comrades relax. He had no further comment regarding the previous quest, not even remarking that he was aware that the anti-magic orb was most likely... acquired, rather than destroyed as Evelyn claimed. And since neither he nor the Star Witch has it, the choices were very much narrowed down.

Upon getting to the Tower, Einer would greet anyone at the entrance and lobby before making for the library. The day was not over and it was better to get started. Einer began looking for volumes on the different ways to cast spells from the other Principles besides his own Thaumaturgy.

~

As far as Leon is concerned, this mission was almost in the wraps. Despite his usual blank expression, he can't help but feel bad about keeping the orb a secret from the other promising reavers beside him on the way to the tower. The peaceful song Einer is singing puts his mind at ease and gives him clarity to persist his deal with the collector.

What they don't know can't hurt them, right? It was strictly business for him.

~

Upon returning to the library, trailing after Einer entered. He met up with Kiff, signaling his arrival with a long whistle.

"A debt paid, as per our contract"He revealed the chipped orb in his tiny little palm.

"It got dented on the way we retrieved it, but fear not, it is still in working order" Leon told a white lie. The missing piece was imbued in one of his daggers.

"I don't know what you will do with it, but that is not of my concern. In any case, I'm sure you heard the rumors that the magitech management is a real P.O.S and the mutiny that follows." Leon sighed.

"I haven't told mr. Donovan yet. but i would do the same if i'm put in that peculiar position if i'm being honest."

~

Evelyn rode back to Eon in much the same fashion as the others. The trip was uneventful, but it couldn’t be described as quiet. With the quest now complete and things settling down, Eve’s exhaustion had finally caught up with her and she had fallen asleep on the ride back. Her snoring was irritatingly loud, and all passengers would be subject to it without mercy.

When they eventually reached the Republic, a bump on the road caused the vehicle to shake a bit, which caused the witch to awaken with a sudden yelp. ”Wah?! What’s goin- Are there more brigands?!” She said, looking around with a bit of shock. She would calm down as she looked out the window and saw Eon Tower coming into view. ”Oh, we’re back?” She said, letting out a little sigh of relief. Exiting the vehicle, Evelyn would also promptly enter through the large doors. She wondered if Lapis had returned from her mission by now? At any rate, she’d catch up with her in the morning. RIght now, it was time to crash.

”See you guys tomorrow. You know, that mission was kinda fun, all things considered. Maybe we should do it again sometime!” She said to Einer and Leon as they all went their separate ways.

–

As Einer and Leon made their way into the library, they would see Kiff organizing a few documents and scribbling something on a parchment at his desk in the far back of the room. He was a bit perplexed at the sudden sound of a whistle filling the room. Putting down the pen, he looked up and noticed the two reavers. ”Hello there, gents! I was just about to turn in for the night after I finished up some business.” He said in a candid and welcoming tone. ”I imagine Ms. Eve turned in for the night already, I also trust that today’s mission went well? ”

Kiff would get his answer, as Leon walked up to him and spoke of a debt being repaid. He handed him the orb he had pocketed during the battle. ”Oh?” Kiff’s face lit up with mischievous delight at the gift he received. ”So this is what the Loghren sect had in the works for the past few months. I believe this to be their mana disruption device, halting the flow of mana in its vicinity. That, of course, prevents sorcery and magitek from being used.” He mused. ”Yes, I’ve heard rumors about the unrest that went on at the plant, that Joseff fellow’s got some rumors circling around about him. Some of them pretty nasty depending on where you ask.”

He inspected the orb, immediately noticing the chip before Leon even pointed it out. He looked Leon in the eyes for a moment, making a smirk. ”Ah, that’s fine.” He said. ”In our line of work, accidents tend to happen from time to time.” He placed the orb in a drawer in his desk, then clasped his fingers together. ”Sometimes, those little mishaps just get swept under the rug.” He said, winking at the young Fae. The inflection in his tone was rather telling of something.

At the mention of Donovan’s name, Kiff rubbed his chin and sat back in his chair. His demeanor was still cool and collected. ”Oh, I wouldn’t be considered with such a thing. Donovan finding anything out should be the least of your worries. At any rate, you again have my thanks for keeping your end of the bargain. I shall keep mine as well, of course, so you can stay tuned for that. If there was nothing else, would you be turning in for the night? If you need something, I can be of help after all.”

He looked over at Einer, who was busy rummaging through various tomes of spellcasting. ”My offer extends to you as well, Einer. I see you eyeing various spellbooks. Looking to add some new abilities to your repertoire?”

~

A beaten and charred figure could be seen limping in the outstretches of the wasteland just outside a townsend. The man wore armor, or whatever was left of it at this point. A large part of what covered his torso had been completely obliterated, and the cloak that he wore over it showed jaggedness and burn marks that confirmed that his wardrobe was damaged in a recent skirmish. Part of his face was visible through his broken mask, revealing a single gray eye that was filled with venom and desperation. After some time, he arrived at the foot of the town. Taking it at face value, it could barely qualify as one; The buildings were decrepit and hollowed out, and the streets were mainly empty. Loud laughing could be heard as he neared a roofless building that had a flickering light, signifying a fire had been lit. The laughter was the only other sound through the small village, save for the eerie sound of whistling wind.

Within the damaged building sat a large group of warriors, consisting completely of belua of different species. That sat around the fire, surrounded by supplies and perhaps what appeared to be spoils of battle. They drank and chewed meat, though the type couldn’t be identified. The portions had a peculiar shape to them. The laughter had stopped as they noticed the injured man enter the interior. Some looked at him with blank expressions, while others looked on with perplexity. None spoke however, and they seemed to be offended by the man’s very presence, as if he had soured the mood of their recreation. The silence was soon broken by a hardy laugh that came further back from the crowd.

”By the fucking Six, Julian, the hell happened to you, haha?!” The voice came from a reptilian belua who was sitting on some sort of large, lizard-like beast. His belua features were extortionate, lined with scarlett scales that ended in jags. His eyes were so piercing that they could cause a dragon’s heart to stop. He sat on his steed, towering above all of the other members, as he looked at the man known now as Julian with amusement. He jumped down from the creature to meet with Julian at eye level.

”Kinich…” He uttered with labored breath, ”The mission failed, we were decimated by a trio of magi hired by the wretch Josef!”

”Oh? Well, no shit, boyo.” Kinich replied coldly ”Winners don’t usually come running back half dead with their manhood castrated.” His joke at the man’s expense had caused the rest of the men to break their silence and explode in laughter once again. After a little bit, Kinich would try and calm them down, wanting to continue to speak to the defeated man. The rowdiness began to test his patience at a certain point. ”I said shut the fuck up ya damn clowns!! He spat, his voice echoing louder than the large cracks his stomp had created in the ground before them. The rumbling his foot caused signified his tremendous strength, even causing Julian to topple over. Needless to say, his men instantly shut their mouths with sheepish whimpers. His beast rustled a bit at its master’s outburst, but was ultimately unfazed. ”Now then, ya mentioned somethin’ about there being three magi that done you lot in?”

”Ngh, yes.” Julian said, slowly getting back on his feet. ”They were from this place called Eon. I never heard of it…

Kinich’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing that name.

”It was a knife-eared fae boy who was good with acrobatics and dagger throwing. He was the one that took the anti-magic orb. There was also a dainty boy who tried to fight us using brass knuckles, but I saw that he was able to use Thaumaturgic spells. But, the main issue was this young witch girl…”

”A young witch girl, you say?” Kinich said, oddly intrigued. ”Tell me, was this girl a reptile belua, with soft human features and her name was Lapis?”

”I’m not sure what her name was, but I know she was a human, not beastfolk Julian replied. ”She wielded immense magical energy in the form of star blasts, it was here that destroyed my force! She held us in place with the Void as well!”

”Hmm, I see.” He said, rubbing his scaly chin. ”Guess they must call this fate then” Julian seemed confused by Kinich’s reaction, but he knew better than to question the scarlet belua.

”Uh, Kinich.” Julian started again ”We’ll need to devise a plan to deal with these magi, they’re no jo-

”Boyo…” Kinich cut him off. ”There’s no need for you to worry about that. Your part’s over.

”Wh-What do yo-” That was all Julian was able to utter before Kinich bit out his jugular in a breath’s moment. The bite was accompanied by an instant smoldering and distinct smell of cooking flesh. A pained scream along with a thud marked his end, and Julian’s lifeless body laid motionless on the floor. Some flesh dangled from Kinich’s jaws and blood dripped down onto the floor from his mouth. He promptly spit it out, making a dissatisfied groan at the taste. ”Filthy.” He said, spitting on the corpse. Walking over to one of his men, he snatched the bottle of drink they were holding. Then, walking back over to the man, he emptied the contents on the carcass.

”Enjoy some booze on your trip to the Spectral Realm, wretch.” He said. ”Had the gull to come crawling back to me empty-handed, fucking human. After the bottle’s contents were emptied, he threw it at the body, shattering it upon impact.

”Alright you little shits! He said, addressing his men. ”We’ve wasted enough time here, let’s head out! Our payers won't be too happy losing out on those weapons, but I got another plan!

”What do we do with the body, boss? An avian belua said.

”Toss it with all the others.” Kinich said.

Hopping back on his steed, Kinich began leading the force out of the building and onto their next destination. As he did, the avian belua did as he was instructed and picked up the smoking body, carefully not touching the bite wound, and tossed it out of a window hole in the back of the building. Upon looking at the outside, one could see a large number of bodies littering the ground, all of them in a similar state to Julian’s.

It was the dead of night on a once quiet plain, but instead of the gentle sounds of grass rustling and insect chirping, it was plagued by screams of anguish and fright. They were mainly drowned out, however, by an unholy roar. A decently sized village laid decimated within the plainside, survivors were in a panic and ran wherever they could in mostly vain attempts to avoid the onslaught. Fires crackled and tore through homes and other structures as the streets were littered with miasma beasts. The beasts felled anyone who was unlucky enough to run across them, or weren’t able to get away in time.

At the center of the senseless slaughter was a large, disgusting looking beast with countless tendrils flailing around it in a violent fashion. It appeared to be the same beast that attacked another region a few weeks prior. No one was able to track its movements, so its appearance here may well as be a shock.

The main difference is that the creature is now much larger than before. Originally being the size of a large terrestrial mammal, it not was the size of a large temple, nearly towering over the buildings around it. And, there were no magus around to stave off its attack. It is possible that its appearance here was so sudden and abrupt that no one had time to react or prepare for it.

If it continues on, the entire countryside in this region will likely be swallowed up in miasma.

"So this is what the Reavers do in their spare time when they're not beating monsters and criminals. Fine, beats doing nothing, I suppose."

Leon said in an unenthusiastic manner. Seemingly reluctant to take Kiff's request mainly because he's not a book guy himself. He has doubts whether or not he is qualified for the task. He feels like this is something any esteemed fae scholar would do.

And Secondly, that suspicious disclaimer of "don’t ask me how I got it!" Kiff just dropped. The rogue fae has enough street smarts to know it's a term used for something "illegally obtained" or stolen in his profession. Normally anything with that disclaimer has nothing good will come out of it at the end of his experience.

His eyes drift toward the strange book in question. A black grimoire with strange markings on the front. Blindfolded faces screaming out of the surface of its cover. A tortured soul for display. It was certainly unsettling. Like his mind will descend into madness the longer he stares at it.

" .... "

As soon as Leon touched the tome, he spaced out and heard a disembodied voice mumbling in his ear. It was muffled and obscure like a windy draft passing through.

"Huh, Did you say something?" Leon immediately asks Kiff, alarmed about that haunting presence that lingered in his head a few moments ago.

The collector shrugged and didn't respond.

"I could have sworn I heard something."Leon shakes his head.

Not pondering on that awkward exchange. The fae rogue decided to take the book and isolate himself behind a shelf in the countless rows of the library.

For hours, Leon has studied the grimoire. He tried cross-referencing with other books but to no avail. These ancient texts are extremely unique even through the eyes of a veteran scholar.

His research has come to an end when he flips a suspiciously blank page. What is strange about this was it was fresh and new, unlike the rest of the context of this worn-out tome.

To his surprise, the text comes to life, and begins to write on its own. The text crawled in and began to form words that the Fae rogue could understand.

"This is where your story begins/ends, are you ready to see the grim future? I'll guide you."

Curiosity got to the rogue fae and decided to flip the page without knowing the consequences of his actions.

The moment that he flips the page, his mind goes blank. His vision got instantly bombarded with a surmountable amount of divination of the future, all coming crashing down on his mind. Like the tyrannical Belua who is coming for Evelyn or the gluttonous monster that roams the prairie.

It was all a blur. Every vision he saw was played on fast forward. He didn't have the time to process each event.

It was too much information for his little fae mind to handle.

His mana was completely drained. His body dropped from where he stood.

The esper fae passed out on the library floor with the cursed book at hand.

Shit~ where am I? It's one of those cursed books huh? figures..

Leon woke up in another world, much less similar to the Eon's library. The only difference was that it was completely trashed like a hurricane came through. Glasses and countless books were scattered everywhere. It was dim and had no power whatsoever. small low-ranking monsters crawling everywhere in the shadows.

The walls were filled with holes and were vandalized with big red letters like:

"The reavers were wrong", "Arteus lied", "FAILURE", and other graffiti that has hateful notes towards the organization.

He walks cautiously around the once beacon of knowledge reduced to nothing more than a run-down palace.

"Kiff? Evelyn? Einer? Anybody there?" His screams echo through the hallowed halls of the library but to no avail.

Leon found himself inside the artifact repository just like before. It was a complete mess just like the rest of the library. He noticed the artifacts displayed there were completely replaced by signature weapons of each of the reavers he had the pleasure of working with. Like Evelyn's ridiculously large staff or Einer's knuckle dusters and elegant harp. Along with the broken statues commemorating his fallen comrades.

"Okay, you stupid tome, show’s over. I know this isn't real. Once I wake up, I'll have the pleasure of burning you in the furnace!" Leon snarled and was in complete denial, enraged on what he saw, drawing his daggers in retaliation.

”Aaa….” Leon would be snapped out of his rage for a moment, noticing a faint whimper off to the side in the shadows. Upon closer inspection, he’d be horrified to find the source: a gravely wounded Evelyn. She was covered in wounds, which were lined with the corrupting effects of miasma. Pale blue veins were visible all over her skin as she struggled to breathe. ”L-Leon… I-It hurts…” She said weakly.

It was clear that the lesser creatures that were roaming around the desecrated library had gotten to her; In her current state it was doubtful she could be saved. ”Leon…I’m sorry. I just wanted to be strong…like them…” She was barely able to lift her hand off of the ground, pointing at some of the broken statues of the more seasoned magi, notably Rue and Roze.

”Leon, it feels like my body…is eating itself…” She uttered, whimpering. ”I don’t want to die… Please, help…me.” The effect the miasma had on her held too strongly, and her life began to fade from her eyes.

Leon may not have much time to process or perhaps mourn Eve’s current state, as some larger monsters began to make their way toward them…

It's heartbreaking really. Whether the grimoire is playing tricks with his head or this is a cruel joke the Scion wishes to impose upon the future. Seeing a grieving soul and the feeling of dread shared with others is always an unpleasant experience to bear.

Me too Miss Evelyn. Me too. I wish I was stronger. I wish I'd seen this coming. I should've been prepared. I hated it. Hope is not enough in this situation. Leon thought to himself.

The voices in Leon's head grew stronger as the enemies drew closer. Whispers of the unknown began to speak to him. His vision becomes impaired. His eyes became heavy. His body was unable to move from the shear strain. So much so that he drops his dagger on the floor from fatigue. Unable to focus as the monster began to circle them.

Just like the book's previous owner. The grimoire feeds off the boy's desire to change the future so badly. That he would do anything to prevent his messed up future from ever happening.

His intentions are pure. An easy way to corrupt one's soul.

My chest. My mind. I feel something is taking over me. I wasn't able to do anything. What lousy timing.

Man.. What a lame ending. passing out in between and getting eaten by low-tier monsters. freezing out when it matters the most. Well, at least Miss Evelyn wasn't able to see this pathetic display i'm putting out.

If only I could have prevented this... If only..

The rogue fae slowly opens his eyes and wakes up in the tower's infirmary, Lying motionless on a wooden bed, noticing the strange markings around his body. These tattoos are similar to scribbles from the cursed grimoire. Almost waking up as a different person. An indication something has bonded with him.

Leon would awaken in one of the infirmary beds, and would notice Elaine sitting by his bedside. She looked at him with concerned eyes, but he would notice something else coming from them - exhaustion, frustration, and a bit of bewilderment. If he felt like it, he could just read some of her thoughts of course to get more of a story. Leon could tell that she was eyeing the tattoos that now lined the Fae boy’s body.

”I’ve found myself putting in many hours of work this morning.” She said, making a small sigh. ”Your name is Leon, yes? I don’t believe I’ve had a chance to give you a physical since you’ve been here, but I imagine that those strange markings weren't always there?” Elaine looked as if she was at her limit. ”Dammit Kiff, now you’re making trouble? That’s another staff member I’ll need to have a chat with. I have half a mind to just involve Brun in this…”

”Hey now, don’t try to paint me out as a villain. I’m innocent!” Leon would hear a familiar voice enter the room, one Kiff Luther. ”You gave me quite teh scare there, friend!”

”Kiff, what did you do to this boy?” She spoke to the librarian like a disappointed mother would to her child.

”I didn’t do anything! One moment he opens the tome I gave him and starts to read its contents, the next he stops responding to me and goes into a weird trance. He apologized to little Eve, I think, and then he just passed out after that…”

”Mmhm. What was the tome you gave to him?” Elaine said.

”Uhh… The one that was a part of my special collection. The grimoire with all the twisted faces, hehe…” Kiff answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

”Kiff, sometimes I really want to hurt you. You realize this, correct?”

”Uh, I’m really sorry?”
Elaine made another sigh and turned back to Leon. ”Whatever. Leon, thankfully there doesn’t seem to be anything physically wrong with you, although you seem to be suffering from intense mental exhaustion. Of course, there’s the new glowing body art. How are you feeling right now?”

Aside from the stern yet motherly care of this cute nurse at his bedside, named Elaine, and the questionable show of concern of Kiff, who is obviously there to do some damage control which is endangering the life of a fellow reaver just to save his own skin.

The rogue fae is feeling better already. He doesn't feel exhausted or any signs of fatigue.

You know what? I'm feeling more than okay. I'm feeling great! I feel like I can see the world from a different perspective! I can even unravel any mysteries in the world of Veylnostica! both the past and the future!

That is what Leon would say if they only knew the infinite flow of dark esper energy coursing in his tattoos.

"I'm fine, thanks. It's my fault for trusting Kiff. I knew the consequences so that one is on me." Leon jest, trying to lighten the mood.

'Get rid of her' for a brief second, a cold whisper passes through Leon's ears. A piece of advice that he can't ignore for some reason.

Leon notices Elaine has been scanning him thoroughly ever since he got here. He can see the reflection of her emotions through her eyes, he can hear her thoughts directly, saying that a certain witch of chaos should be involved about his condition. A famous witch who specializes in binding and exorcizing corruption.

And we don't want that. No, not when the rogue fae is feeling on top of the world right now whatever it is bonded with him. He has to do something.

"Ehem, I know it's your job, but it's rude to stare you know," Leon said, looking all flustered. Immediately covering his bare top with a blanket.

"Look I'm perfectly fine, I can assure you." Leon bolted out of his bed and got dressed up, covering the scribbles around his limbs and chest.

"See, i can walk on my own two feet!" Leon stood up, bouncing on his toes to prove he wasn't sick anymore.

"I'll make it up to you Mrs. Elaine, I swear,” He said, briefly holding her hands, with a suave roguish smile that is enough to persuade even the toughest of hearts.

“and Kiff you'll take care of the hospital bills, ya?" He said in a rush, patting Kiff on the back..

"Again thanks for nurturing me back." Leon hastily makes it to the exit and dismisses himself from prying Alchemist and Kiff. shutting the door on his way out.

The man gave the two a small shrug at their comments, letting their slight jabbing merely roll off him. Before he could reply however, a scene ensued with one member giving a most…vitriol of reactions to the idle chatter mentioning her.

The man had kept an ear out the moment he entered the mess hall, but he had assumed it was merely banter after a mission, now though…

“Well, she seems….welcoming, this morning.” Passing the two men a glance as the Fae pair leave the room, lines soon cover Damian’s arm.

”Tursiops truncatus.” Tapping his own nose the man taps the shoulder of each person still at the table. They would soon find that they couldn’t smell the stench most foul anymore!

“Forgive me for suddenly butting in, but I figured you could use a hand. Are you alright?” They would all see the lines quickly fade from his arm….

The group was stunned into utter silence as to Scarlett’s actions just now. Having overheard their gossip, which she apparently took offense to, Scarlett decided to ruin everyone’s meal by making a meal of her own. One that consisted entirely of her own muck, an entire bucket of it no less…

Ruecian, Xashan, and Lapis had to use all of their willpower to keep themselves from gagging on the spot, Roze had a look on her face that was a mix of shock and as if she just caught ill, Evelyn couldn’t even bring herself to look in the direction of the bucket. Xashan’s eyes filled with fury as Scarlett winked back at the group before leaving the mess hall. ”What in the malfested hell?!” He said in anger and confusion. ”Is this how you’re training the new recruits, scale-bag?”

”As if, you dirt-covered furball.”” Ruecian quickly snapped back. ”If I were crazy enough to go near that bucket, I’d pinned her to the ground and make her swallow the whole godsdamn mess.”

”Ugh, Scions above, someone get rid of it!!” Evelyn exclaimed. ”It’s too early for this crap!!”

As the group attempted to process what just happened, Damian walked up and, with lines appearing on his arm, wisped up some kind of spell that caused them to lose their sense of smell. At least, in regards to Scarlett’s foul concoction. ”Hey!” Eve said. ”Well, that certainly is better.”

”That’s some interesting spell you just casted.” Roze said, ”Though, I’m not quite sure how you achieved it. The only divination I think that could fall under is perhaps…mind?”

”It’s certainly appreciated nonetheless, Mr. Damian, was it?” Lapis chimed in. ”No one appreciates how sensitive the nose of a belua is…”

”Damn straight!” Xashan said. ”Damian, was it? Keep that up, and I’m sure we’ll work well together!”

The man chuckles. “Heh, I’m sure. And you’re all welcome.” Turning to Roze he gave a small nod.

“The spell I used falls under Galdr, believe it or not Miss. It’ll last for about 10 minutes before you get your sense of smell back. Before that though, this table needs to be cleaned up and that girl needs to do it.” Blowing out a light breath, his arms crossed themselves as he gained a more pensive look, gazing towards the door.

“Even if she’s suffering some kind of pain thanks to her last mission, the way she acted wasn’t right. Still, I’m wondering what hit her though…”

”Galdr you say?” Roze said, somewhat impressed. ”I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that. I don’t know of many spirits or supernatural contracts that affect a person’s sense of smell. But, it’s certainly welcome!”

”Can we worry about that later??” Eve whined. ”Let’s focus on getting that literal bucket of shit as far away from here as possible! Ugh!!”

Rue while everyone spoke, Rue froze the top of the bucket, ensuring that none of the contents spilled out anywhere. ”There we go. That should do just fine.”

”Hey Lap” Eve said. ”Why don’t you have Hachi toss that thing out of the window? Who knows when that chick will be back.”

”No way, you dare you suggest I put poor little Hachi anywhere near that muck!” Lapis snapped.

”Eve, why don’t you just throw it out with your levitation. You can get rid of it without being near it! Xashan chimed in.

Evelyn’s irritated expression grew even larger at Xashan’s suggestion, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t make sense. With a reluctant sigh, she held out a hand and it began to glow a deep purple. A purple shroud then enveloped the pot; wielding it like a puppet and its master, Eve carefully moved the floating pot until it reached the edge of a nearby window. It was then promptly tossed out, where it fell down the cliff and out of view.

”See, look at what happens when you actually use your head Eve!” Xashan said, sneering to himself.

”You wanna be tossed out to, furball?!” Eve snapped back in retort.

”Still, though, she had been acting weird ever since we got back from the swamp. ” Lapis said. ”I could sense she used some more of her altering alchemy on herself, but I felt something else on her as well. Something that was…foreign.”

”Sounds like she just may have botched a spell.” Eve said.

”Maybe…”

“While that would explain some things, it wouldn’t explain some of her movements. The slight slouch and her gait too…” The man had noticed the slight bit of slouch from Scarlett, as if she were having bad cramps. Cramps in that area. As a man Damian knew even proposing that this entire event could be linked to that monthly time for women was a grave he was not willing to dig, so he kept it to himself.

Still, all the signs pointed to something amiss. The fact that something foreign could be sensed from her… It did point to some possibilities, but he simply didn’t have all the clues yet to make a definitive conclusion. So shaking his head he turned back to the table.

“In any case, now that the muck has been removed, is there anyone still hungry? It didn’t seem like anyone was able to get their fill just yet.”

”I don’t think anyone could have much of an appetite after that…” Lapis said. The others had expressions on their faces that signified that they were in agreement. Well, except Xashan.

”I probably could.” He said. ”I’ll be back in a minute, gonna go see Bellum.” He then promptly walked off into the kitchen.

”I swear, all that ass thinks about is food and fighting…” Rue jested.

”That aside,” Roze interjected. ”Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Damian. What made you decide to join Eon? What type of talents do you possess?”

“Talents? Heh, alright.” As if his lack of smelling things didn’t bother him, Damian grabbed a thankfully clean apple and bit right in, leaning against one of the other tables so everyone could see him.

“Well, for starters I use Gandr as you just witnessed. Of course, it is a little different.” He proceeds to take another bite, taking his time chewing as he waits for the inevitable question….

”Different you say?” Roze replied. ”A better question would be in what way?”

”Yeah, tell us, Mr. Cool Guy.” Eve said in a mocking tone. ”Mistress Selini mentioned that you were a beast whisperer or something. So, like, you talk to animals or something?”

“Or something, yeah.” There was an amused smile as he took another bite from the apple. Pushing himself from the table he turned, walking towards…one of the walls?

“Lacerta gecko” He then… placed his foot on the wall-and started to climb-no! He was walking, casually even! “Every animal in the world has a power all their own.” Up the wall and onto the ceiling before gazing at the others.

“So long as I know of them and call upon them, I can use those powers too. All the power of the animal kingdom right at your fingertips. That ‘cool’ enough for you, Miss Mocker?” There was a far too smug-like grin on his face as he looked at them, taking another bite from the sweet apple in his hand.

”Oho?” Ruecian was somewhat intrigued by Damian’s display. ”So you’re able to take on some of the natural abilities of beast spirits you make a pact with?”

Eve pouted, annoyed at Damian’s witty retort and display of his sorcery. ”Hmph! It’s not THAT impressive, I can do the same thing with The Void!” She snapped.

”That is a nice ability Mr. Damian. I know I certainly can’t sprout a bunch of tentacles like Hachigan can. Probably for the best, since that would be weird…” Lapis said.

”Still…” Roze said inquisitively. ”I’m quite curious as to how your ability caused us to lose our sense of smell.”

“That’s quite simple, really. Felis catus.” Without warning the man suddenly dropped from the ceiling! Before anyone could react however, Damian twisted in the air, rightening himself as if by instinct!

It was like he turned himself into a cat!

Dusting his pants after landing, he smiled, lines of light fading from his form. “I simply chose an animal that doesn’t have a sense of smell then imparted that aspect temporarily upon all of you.” With a loud crunch he finished the last part of the apple, tossing it over his shoulder where it landed in the trash bin without trouble.

“It’s similar to any regular buffing spell, really. That being said, I don’t take on any of the physical characteristics of the animals I call upon, so no cat ears sprouting off the top of my head any time soon, young miss.”

”Oh? I see, so we don’t have to worry about you suddenly growing extra limbs or eyes then?” Lapis said in a jovial tone.

”Ah, that’s the trick then, that’s quite a clever ability. Looks like we don’t have to worry about having a drastic change in appearance either, whenever he uses the magic on us!” Roze chimed in after.

Eve squinted at Damian, her face contorted into a fierce pout. ”Not sure how I like the idea of having the aspects of some random animal imprinted on me suddenly. I appreciate taking care of that smell, but do I even want to know what animal you used?”

”Relax Eve.” Lapis said, calming her friend. ”If it makes you feel better, animals that can’t smell include a few marine mammals and even butterflies.”

”Heh. You’d look cute with a dolphin tail or a pair of butterfly wings.” Ruecian said with a jabbing smirk. At his statement Evelyn blushed for a moment, turning away in a flushed spaz.

”Rue, hush! Honestly…” She weakly uttered out. Her reaction caused Lapis and Roze to giggle a bit.

”That all aside, I believe you also said that you were a photographer, Damian?” Roze said as she reeled the conversation back. ”No doubt you must’ve cataloged a large number of species, having a large repertoire to draw from as choices in your spellcasting.”

“That would be correct, miss Roze I take it?” Offering her a nod the man continued. “Animals and beasts of all shapes and sizes, like the Bottlenose Dolphin which I used to cancel our sense of smell. I’ve been traveling the world the last couple of years, from mountains to deserts to jungles and oceans. I know of hundreds of animals yet there could be thousands more to discover!” His voice took on a brighter, more excited tone.

“To find and learn about them, to explore this world we all share…” He chuckled. “Tis a more simple pleasure perhaps, but it is one I thoroughly enjoy.” Snagging another piece of fruit Damian looked about the group. “So, what do you all plan to do this morning?”

Roze held a finger to her mouth, as if pondering for a moment. ”I personally didn’t have any plans for the moment, we’re in a reprieve of sorts, waiting on more requests to come across our desk. Along with whatever Master Arteus will have in store for us upon his return.”

Evelyn got up and stretched out a bit, making a satisfied moan. ”I’ll probably just relax while I have the chance.”

”You sure you just wanna laze around, Eve? Mistress Brun will chew you out if you shirk your training again.” Lapis warned her.

”She won’t need to after I’m done with you.” Ruecian said, his gaze sharpening at Eve.

”Ugh, can’t a girl rest? I still haven’t quite recovered from the last mission!” She whined.

”Well Damian, you’re free to explore the Tower in this interim.” Roze interjected. ”I imagine you’ll keep yourself busy until Arteus returns?”

The four reavers got up from their seats and began walking out of the mess hall. Around the same time, Xashan emerged from the kitchen with a large plate of food. ”Hey, where’s everyone going?” He said in a confused tone.

Damian gave the man a small shrug, smiling. “Lost their appetite earlier, so they’re heading off to either relax, train, or just keep themselves busy in the meantime.” Taking a seat the man gestured to the spot across from him.

“You’re one of the main senior staff like Brun and Ruecian, I take it?”

Xashan looked at Damian for a moment, taking a moment to chew a piece of sausage before addressing the question. ”Not really a staff member.” He responded, his voice half muffled by the meat he was gnawing on. ”I don’t handle the paperwork and processes that keep the tower running. Rue and I are part of the muscle that handle requests, and we more or less joined for our own purposes. But, yeah, I was already a veteran Reaver before joining.”

He took a swig of orange juice after he finished speaking, making a satisfied sigh.

Shavis couldn’t help but whistle under her breath as Lapis recounted what had transpired in the mission with her friends and brother. She wasn’t exactly lying and everyone’s reactions were perfectly understandable. However, she stole a glance at Scarlett who seemed to be worse for wear since they had come back from the mission. it’s not like she’ll just let that go without getting the final word in.

Another belua had entered the scene and soon followed by Lady Selini who had another newcomer with her, Damian— a Beast Whisperer. An Esper like Lapis then? Shavis’s curiosity wouldn’t be sated until much later as she went on to talk about how there will be an Inquisitor from the church who would be visiting for an inspection. Well then, maybe it would be better if they would be sent off to a week-long mission to avoid any contact with this Inquisitor.

”You hear that Scarlett? You better be—” Before she could finish teasing the mad alchemist, Scarlett had swiftly stood up and defiled the meals of the people in Lapis’s table and the pot. As Scarlett walked away, Shavis couldn’t help but close her eyes to prepare herself for another round of questioning about the woman’s behavior.

Or she could just not do that.

Shavis stood up from her seat, sent Lapis an apologetic look and a hint that maybe they could talk later, and then headed off to return her own bowl to the cleaning area before making her way to follow Scarlett.

”Yo, Scarlett!” Shavis called out once she spotted the alchemist. ”I’m not here to really reprimand you or anything but that wasn’t cool. I was planning to get a second serving too.” She huffed, obviously in jest as she matched Scarlett’s stride.

Scarlett turned her nose, and continued on; crunching away at her apple. However, there was a clear and obvious limp in her step. Something was ailing her, but her pride was staving her from speaking on the matter. Shavis knew well, Scarlett was fully reliant on her natural, well unnatural, healing factor, but she was limping towards the medical area.

Maybe, something more than her body could handle was going on, and could better explain her attitude...

The Belua curiously followed, wondering why she didn’t even get a single scathing comment or joking response. When she thought she was worse for wear earlier in breakfast, now it was in full view. Scarlett seemed to actually be injured in some way— and that was out of the ordinary. Scarlett could simply heal her injuries with no problem even without the help of other mages, a trait Shavis could say she was envious of.

”Hey, hey, are you alright? Is the indigestion really that serious?” She asked, looking back to the hallway they were moving through. ”Oh. Are you heading off towards Naomi to get checked out?”

Scarlett grunted, before she turned herself towards Elaine's neck of the woods, so to speak. As she did, her limp drifted her towards the wall, and ended up using it to brace herself as she carried on. Her nails dragged, as she forced herself to march, before she paused , and wavered forward; dry heaving, as if trying to evacuate her stomach, but nothing was left to purge beyond blood and bile.

Still no response aside from a worrying event. As Scarlett’s gait wavered, almost falling over if not for the wall she had braced herself against, Shavis quickly moved forward. ”Alright, yeah, you’re not walking all the way there alone. Come on, let me help.” She said but hovered, careful not to enter Scarlett’s personal space without permission lest she end up triggering something else coming out and having to deal with it. Still, Shavis didn’t seem like she’d take ‘no’ as an answer anyway.

Scarlett grunted, trying to shove her off, but she was done. As a result, the slap was a swat, and the swat was that of a sick kitten. Shavis would need to react quickly, as Scarlett collapsed in her direction; sweating and breathing labored. Her body was definitely in the process of breaking a high fever, and needed the attention of someone with medical experience.

Wow. She really was going through it, huh? As Scarlett fell forward, Shavis was quick to move and catch her. Maybe it was thanks to her physical might or perhaps Scarlett really was just as light as she seemed but Shavis was more than capable of lifting her with no problem. She maneuvered the alchemist onto her back and made her way down the hallway. Surely she was right in the presumption that she was headed to Naomi, right? Or… Elaine? Maybe she should have spent more time actually speaking with the staff instead of just memorizing their names.

Still, she headed to the more familiar of the two to her which was Naomi who had specially requested the quest they had just gone on. Once she arrived in front of Naomi’s office, she knocked on the door and idly waited in front of it as if there was no urgency in what was happening on her back.

Hearing a sudden knock on her office door, Schuller jumped up a bit in surprise. She still wasn’t used to getting sudden visitors. She’d have to start making it so that people would have to schedule an appointment before just showing up. Taking a munch out of a piece of toast and the cup of coffee she was sipping on, she reluctantly made her way to the door and slowly began to open it. She greeted her guests in her usual deadpan tone.

”Good morning, hopefully there’s something that I ca-” Naomi cut her sentence short, and looked at the pair of Shavis and Scarlett with a stupefying gaze. She saw the tigress belua carrying the scarred alchemist on her back, and immediately saw the critical condition that the latter was in. Her breathing was extremely labored and she looked like she was about to pass out, her face writhed in pain.

”Umm…I think you guys are some of the new recruits. Don’t, uh, think we’ve met before/” She stuttered out. ”Your friend, there, uh, doesn’t…look too good…”

”Yeah, good morning. Or… not so good morning. Anyway, yeah, Shavis, nice to meet you.” She responded before adjusting her grip on Scarlett, feeling her slip just a little bit. “And yeah, she almost passed out a few minutes back. She’s been like this since we came back from that makara quest so I was just wondering if you would be able to know something about this? Like… if Makaras had some hidden ability to poison their victims or a weird defense mechanism for whoever ate them?”

Having been reminded of the quest at ZoHo Marsh, various emotions swirled up within Naomi. Mainly because she had heard the details of the mission from the report, details of Scarlett’s actions. On one hand, she had decided to make a meal out of some of the local wildlife. On the other, it was thanks in part to her and Lapis that the beasts were able to be calm and the swamp was cleaned of toxins, balancing the ecosystem once again.
”No, they do not.” Naomi said, finally answering Shavis’s question after a moment. ”Their species rely on bite force and lightning energy to fell their prey. Perhaps her reaction is due to her body simply rejecting the blood and gore she haphazardly ingested? Like a nasty allergic reaction?”

Shavis looked over to the alchemist before turning back to Naomi. ”So it actually might be a bad case of indigestion?” She muttered in almost disbelief. Scarlett had begun to smell different ever since then and maybe it was because the makara and the mercenary she consumed was causing her body to reject the meatI? ”Well, uh, how do we fix it? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure her being sick is making her extra snappy.”

”Scions help me…” Naomi said, holding a hand on her forehead. ”It’s too damn early in the morning for this. Look, guys, I’m gonna be frank with you: I’m not a doctor, I’m a magical beast taxonomist and wildlife preserver. What you probably need is to pay a visit to Ms. Elaine. I’m sure SHE’LL be of much better help in this case.” She looked over at Scarlett again, noting her deteriorating condition.

”Although, I will say this. Judging off her current state, I doubt whatever’s causing her condition is something as simple as indigestion…” Stepping out of her room for a moment, she went out into the hall with them and looked down toward the direction of the medical officer’s room. ”I believe that Scarlett already knows where Ms. Elaine’s office is, but just in case, it’s down that way. You’ll see her name by the door, can’t miss it.”

Scarlett roused herself enough to peer over Shavis's shoulder, drooling blood and glaring, as she all but spat out, "Karaage Veterinarian..." before dropping her head, and passing out. "Zzz... Zzzzz... Nnn... Zzz..."

”Awesome, will keep that in mind.” Shavis tilted her head when Scarlett seemed to wake up, wondering what she meant with what she just mumbled before shrugging. ”Thanks for the help, Ms. Naomi!” Despite the tone of which Naomi had referred them over to their doctor, Shavis seemed entirely unbothered. Just as much as she wasn’t bothered to have Scarlett’s drool mixed with blood— or was it blood mixed with drool?— dripping down her shoulder and staining her own coat.

She marched down the hall before stopping in front of the room with Elaine’s name on it. Well, here’s to hoping that the doctor was in. She raised a fist, knocked on the door three times before taking a step back.

The knocking disrupted Scarlett for a moment. Long enough for Shavis to really consider, this was the closest to Scarlett she'd been since The Institute had foisted the alchemist onto her. More so, this was the first time Scarlett had slept in her direct presence.

Normally, she slept outside - beneath the defensive underside of a house like a dog, or above in a cradle of tree branches like a cat; both adding to her lack of Humanity, despite her stated goals. It had taken months on end to convince Scarlett to step inside - the driving force of that success being a thunderstorm with enough rain and lightning strikes that neither of Scarlett's bedding arrangements were safe. Even Shavis, as ineloquent as she was, was able to talk sense into the feral woman, and get her to face the fact that she would risk drowning or repeated electrocution, if she slept outside.

It was the first in a long trial of domestication, but it seemed those days were halcyon, as Scarlett reverted back to her old, selfish ways without regard to discipline and respect for anything, anyone, or even herself.

It brought to question: could anyone save Scarlett, or did she not want to be saved?

Munching on a danish whilst sipping on a cup of lemon water, Elaine was looking over a few files of differing context. She’d have to remember at some point to bring in each of the new recruits for a physical. She can’t effectively treat them if she doesn’t have a clear understanding of their unique biology. She was stopped in her filing as she heard a knock at her door. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she got up from her seat. ”Coming!” She replied.

She opened the door with a warm smile. ”Good Morning, how can I h- Oh Gods!!” She exclaimed. She held a hand over her mouth to suppress her shock. ”What in the world happened to Scarlett?!” Quickly directing the pair into her office, she promptly closed the door and directed Shavis to lay the alchemist on the bed. She began getting some bottles and packets of medication, preparing a few concoctions.

”Here, drink this!” She was at Scarlett’s side, urging her to down one of the potions she made almost instantly. Elaine could already tell that whatever was wrong with Scarlett, it was causing her body to fail. As she attempted to get Scarlett to drink the potion, she chanted something that caused her hand to glow a golden light. ”Lux quaerite immundus” She ran her hand over her body, apparently attempting to find any impurities in her body that could be causing this.

”How long has she been like this?!” She worriedly asked Shavis.

Shavis shrugged. ”Dunno. Like last night?”

Aside from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, several misplaced pregnancy hormones, a very outta place reptile egg, and an obscenely high blood iron content, Elaine would notice Scarlett was kinda low on sodium.

Probably because she was sweating it out like a racehorse.

Upon her analysis, Elaine’s expression went from one of worry into one of utter perplexity. Standing back for a moment, she took a few minutes to process what she just learned. She walked over to a cabinet, getting out a bottle of something. Taking a syringe, she stuck the needle through the top of the bottle and drew whatever solution was contained into said syringe. She then got a piece of cotton out of a draw and wet it with a bit of alcohol that was on the table, along with getting a bandage. Promptly walking back over to Scarlett, she held her arm, wiped the target for the shot down with the cotton piece and injected the needle straight into her vein, emptying the contents into it. ”She needs saline.” She said, in a calmer tone. After she was finished, she wiped away the blood and applied the bandage. She then looked at Scarlett with eyes that were even more concerned than before.

Shavis was probably wondering by now what exactly Elaine had found while analyzing the alchemist’s body. ”Where in the hell do I even begin?” She bemoaned.

”Ignoring the obvious differences in her biology when compared to a regular human.” She began. ”Likely due to her unique brand of alchemy she performs on herself, I sensed the effects of Galdr magic on her as well. Which was applied very haphazardly I might add.” She said, as if scolding the alchemist. ”But that’s not even the worst of it. Somehow, I fought that contained within her womb is a Scions-damned egg of all things. If I had to guess just based on common sense, it likely belongs to a Makara. Along with that, she’s given herself several out-of-place hormones that her body is rejecting. Hence her failing health.”

”Just what the hell happened on that mission in the swamp?” She grimly asked Shavis, in a way that made it feel like she didn’t really even want to know…

Shavis listened to Elaine’s explanation after she had rushed around for an examination. To say that Shavis was befuddled was an understatement. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Scarlett was currently nursing an egg and that this egg was likely the cause of whatever was happening to Scarlett’s body when Elaine turned her attention back to Shavis to question the happenings of the swamp mission.

Coming back to herself, Shavis relayed the mission from her perspective to Elaine, telling her about the mercenary and the makara. ”I don’t know when she had the time to insert an egg into her womb, Miss Elaine. The only times we left her alone was…” She paused, face scrunching in thought. Could it be…?

”Was she taking a bath back then to make sure I wouldn’t pick up on her sudden change in scent?”

She cast another glance at the alchemist. There really was no way of knowing what was running through Scarlett’s head and why most of her actions were almost directly impacting her body and her mental wellbeing negatively. Scarlett and being open to others never coincided with each other and throughout Shavis’s time as Scarlett’s handler, there was no moment where they actually acted as more than just a business partnership. Not for Shavis’s lack of trying but rather because of Scarlett’s flippant attitude towards the entire thing.

Did the pregnancy hormones finally make her this vulnerable?

”The Galdr magic might be from her telling me about this familiar on loan to her? Not sure what that entire thing was all about.” Not that she ever got a name from Scarlett either but Shavis could haphazard a guess. ”I don’t know what to tell you about the whole egg situation though. Is there some sort of fix for it?”

Scarlett shifted on the table, before she sat up with a, "Blarguh..." and slumped forward; drooling blood as she reset her mental faculties.

Elaine sighed. She didn’t really know what to expect from the new recruits to Eon upon being informed of them by Arteus. Hell, she still didn’t understand the criteria he and Brun use to select candidates! This, this was something that she honestly needed a raise for…

”Gods only know what she was thinking in putting a damned magical beast egg in her womb. The fix is to get the egg out of her!” She then made a face as Scarlett roused to, puking more blood over herself and on the bed. ”Ok, that’s it. I must be honest, this is a bit beyond my scope. Her body has animalistic alterations that are being rejected by her human parts, it’s almost like she wants to be a belua!” She skillfully administers a sedative to keep Scarlett in a drowsy state.

”Bear with me for a moment, I'm going to fetch someone who can assist with this.” She said, promptly walking out of her office and heading down the hall in the direction Shavis and Scarlett came from…

Such a thing wasn't out of the scope of Scarlett's Human Evolutionary Research; if that's what it took, that's what she'd do.

”You’re gonna cut her open and get that egg out?” Shavis asked as a clarification as she turned to her companion who had woken up for a moment and proceeded to puke out more blood. Her nose scrunched as the stench became even more potent. She needed a bath after this. She took off her coat for a moment to keep the drying blood out of her nose as well. Maybe it’ll help. ”Maybe it’s good that her regeneration isn’t as good then. But…”

Elaine, however, continued to speak and Shavis quieted down. Now that was an amusing thought. Scarlett’s intentions and goals had always been beyond her own understanding— but if she wanted to be a belua, then perhaps that meant that Scarlett found something in being her race that was advantageous over simple humans. ”Oh, uh, alright!”

Left alone with a sedated Scarlett, Shavis began to curiously look around the office.

After a little bit, the two reavers would hear loud footsteps coming from back down the halls, from the sound of it there was more than one person. They could also make out talking that grew closer, and neither voice sounded happy.

”M-Ms. Elaine, the only reason I sent them to you was because I’m not a people doctor! I simply thought that your services would be of more help!” Said one voice. It sounded like Naomi’s

”Dearie, normally that’d be true. However, further analysis dictates that both of our services will be needed in this case.” Said the other, which the two would recognize as being Elaine’s.

Elaine returned back into the room, who practically drug Naomi with her. The latter was quite flustered, to the point where several feathers were being shed on the floor. Looking out of the room, it seemed as though there was a trail of down that likely reached all the way back to Naomi’s office. ”Naomi, what my analysis found is that Scarlett decided it would be a good idea to put a Scion-forsaken Makara egg in her womb.” Upon hearing that statement, Naomi naturally had a look of utter disbelief. ”W-What…? But, I don’t even - why??”

”That’s something you’ll have to ask her.” Elaine said, gesturing toward the alchemist sitting on the bed, drowsy from the sedative and covered in her own sick. Naomi covered her nose to cope with the nausea caused by the scent.

”Alright dearie. My alchemy specializes in treating humans, and yours in animals. We’re going to need to work together here on this. However….” She looked at Shavis for a moment. ”Shavis, you mentioned that she had obtained a loaner spirit? I can guess from who. Can I ask you to go get Nadia? Her office is around the corner on the other wing, I feel that we may need her magics in this matter. In the meantime, we’ll take care of Scarlett.”

”This isn’t how I wanted to spend my morning… Naomi groaned.
”Nevermind that now. Analyze the reptilian pheromones she’s placed on herself and see how we can isolate them to lessen the strain on her body.” Elaine responded, as she cleaned the gunk off of Scarlett and administered more saline to her vein.

At the mention of a "loaner spirit" and the reintroduction of a new Saline Drip, Milli had woken up from her slumber - a relatively infantile Spirit Animal, she had one impression of the scene:

Many people were attacking her Mommy, and had hurt her.

As such, she Manifested around Scarlett, and ignited her forge; taking on her flaming boa constrictor form, and hissing at Elaine and Naomi with electric-blue venom dripping from her fangs - assuming they, too, where possessed with the same anger as the Makara.

Shavis idly listened to their back and forth until Elaine had turned back to her to go and get Nadia, the one who had most likely given Scarlett possession over Milli. She raised a hand into a mock salute. ”Yeah, I’ll go grab here. Give me a—” She paused, gaze pulled towards Milli who had awoken from her stasis and manifested to protect Scarlett.

”Yikes.” With that, she turned around and headed for the door. Surely, Elaine and Naomi can deal with that until she got back. ”Good luck. Be back in a bit!”

”Ack?! Making a yelp that sounded more like a squawk, Naomi’s wings clumsy flapped as she jumped back in surprise. She certainly wasn’t expecting Scarlett’s summon to come forth out of its own volition. Elaine maintained a composed state at the situation, though she certainly paid heed to Mili’s dripping fangs. ”You must be the spirit she received from Nadia.” Elaine said. ”But, why do you bare your fangs at us?”

”I-It appears to be a rather infantile wisp at its core.” Naomi chimed in. ”I believe it knows that its current master is in pain, therefore it sees us as a threat, due to our imminent proximity to Scarlett.” Calming down a bit, Naomi maintained a safe distance from the serpentine wisp. ”Unfortunately, galdr magic isn’t my forte, so I have no ways of effectively quelling its rage.” She said, carefully positioning herself behind Elaine.

”Silly girl! I’m in the same position you are right now! Do I look like an invoker to you?!” Elaine said, now in a less composed state.

Milli tested the waters, swaying back and forth between the two women; her attention mostly on Naomi, being a bird of prey, and the most natural threat to her species. Hissing, if you could call the scraping grinding of metal such, Milli released a flame from around her head like a cobra's hood - instinctively seeking to make herself bigger, and therefore more threatening, as she stared down the squawking harpy.

The snake's instinctual tactic seemed to have worked, as Naomi whimpered and tightly clenched Elaine's arm. "If what you say is true, then perhaps we can somehow reason with it to show we mean no harm?" Elaine said. Naomi started to panic a bit as Elaine slowly inched closer to the creature.

"Um, hello there. We're all well aware that your master here is in pain. We don't like her being in pain either, and just want to help, we promise to do everything in our power to make her better if you'll allow us."

Words. Milli swayed toward Elaine's words. They were harder to understand. She didn't speak like Mommy did. But, Milli knew some words.

Pain. Better.

Those were words that, in that order, was a good thing. If the Human ordered those words like that, she was good. Right?

She was getting closer. Milli hissed, flaring up, but... Mommy was hurting. This was very confusing. She didn't like it.

Okay.

Shrinking back, Milli would allow her approach; warily watching...

There was some relief in Elaine as her words seem to reach the little snake. Mili retracted her fangs and lessened her attack stance, allowing Elaine to inch closer. Soon she took her place right beside the alchemist like before. "There, you see, we just want to help." She said comfortingly.

Holding both hands over the droopy Scarlett, Elaine made some kind of hand sign as her hands began ro glow with a golden light. "Lux Velum." With her chant, Mili and Scarlett would feel a blessing of relief wash over them. "That should ease the pain, and assist with healing her human parts. Mili, my associate over there couldn't hurt a fly. She also wants to make her better, won't you allow her near as well?" She gestured over to Naomi, who was still nervous.

"Hopefully, this allows you to isolate and treat her for the foreign pheromones and artificial womb she's made for that egg."

Milli's offensive stance lessened completely, once she was blessed by Elaine's care, and she shrunk back to her little, grass snake self; wrapping around Scarlett's neck, and licking her cheek, as she worked through her fever.

–

Meanwhile, as the two doctors were “dealing” with Mili, Shavis had made her way down the halls and eventually found an open door. She would see a glasses lady humming to herself whilst in a room that was an obvious atelier. The woman appeared to be working on some kind of experiment; Shavis would see the name “Nadia Whitsett” on a plague to the side of the entrance. The woman was so wrapped up in her work, she had yet to notice the tigress standing at the entrance.

Shavis watched for a few seconds as Nadia continued with her experiment, completely oblivious to her presence. A short battle of whether or not she should simply enter or announce her presence and potentially disturb the woman and end up messing her experiment up. Then again, even if she were to silently creep up to the woman, the end result would be the same and might get her into even more trouble.

So she raised her knuckles and knocked against the door. ”Uh, Miss Nadia?” She called out gently. ”We kind of have a problem that might need your expertise…”

Nadia immediately took notice of the knock, seeing Shavis standing in the doorway. Her eyes lit up with seeing a new face potentially interested in her research, but it was cut short after Shavis's explanation.

”Good Morning, you say you need my help with something, what seems to be the problem? Oh, are you having some issue with your summon perhaps?! I have a new theory I'm working on that I'm sure will help~”

She jumped at the chance to shamelessly advertise her synergy concept, despite the fact that Shavis hadn't even explained what the situation was…

Shavis tilted her head, some part of her genuinely curious as to what Nadia had in store. Anything that could help her Galdr magic was greatly appreciated and she was sure her summons felt the same.

"I think we have to shelf that for later. I do want to talk about summons and familiars." Shavis earnestly said before glancing out of the door. She hadn't heard anything too worrying yet so maybe they already had it under control? "You loaned a summon to Scarlett, right? Little snake? Yeah, there's an issue right now with that. 'Cause I'm pretty sure it's trying to attack Miss Elaine and Miss Naomi for being too close." Summon instinct really, Shadar would behave the same way if she was in Scarlett's position. Though, he would know which ones were his allies and which ones weren't.

”Oh. Her…” Instantly, all of the enthusiasm had completely vanished from Nadia’s voice, and she adopted an annoyed squint as her eyebrow twitched. ”What did she do to it? I’m not surprised that she found some way to botch it up, I quickly realized that Galdr was something that she had no talent for.” She said coldly. Putting down the clipboard she was carrying, she began walking toward the entrance where Shavis stood.

She let Shavis into the hall, closing the door behind her. ”You say that Ms. Elaine and Ms. Naomi are involved as well? Not sure why they got mixed up in this, not much they need to do for a mess created by sloppy invocation. That spirit I summoned was little more than a wisp that barely had any sentience, operating mainly on instinct. I presume she’s in Ms. Elaine’s office?”

Walking down the hall, the pair arrived in front of Elaine’s office not long after. She sighed as she opened the door. ”Alright, you impertinent woman, let’s s-” Nadia fell into silence, her eyes veiled by the flare of light on her glasses and mouth agape. She would see a sickly and drowsy Scarlett sitting up on Elain’s patient bed, along with a summoned Mili acting on its own. Seeing Scarlett covered in her own sick was not a pretty sight. Along with her, Elaine seemed to have been able to slightly calm the creature, as she was now attempting to treat whatever was wrong with Scarlett. Naomi was with them as well, though she was shivering with nervousness. Nadia couldn’t understand why Naomi was using her magics, Mili was a spirit and not an animal at the end of the day.

”Uh, what’s going on here?” She flatly asked.

Immediately, Milli's instinctive drive to protect her Mommy's reignited, and she towered over the women once again - a demonstration of the threatening potential of Synergy, when put in the hands of an experienced combatant. The results of her explosive growth would be a few surface burns, but nothing else, as she wasn't designed to breathe the same flame that facilitates her radical growth.

Whatever assertions Nadia had on Scarlett's talents would undoubtedly be cast aside by the clear and present danger, hissing at her for her sudden and loud intrusion; Elaine's and Naomi's hard work to calm her down undone in seconds, and would likely time more effort to reestablish trust, as the infantile wisp could presume they were just distracting her with niceties, so Nadia could arrive and do mean things.

What's more, if Nadia tried to dismiss Milli, she'd find her original link was severed.

Shavis whistled as she watched everything go from a zero to a hundred all over again. If Nadia was the original summoner for Milli, then the snake should have been able to be dismissed by the woman as well without a problem. Yet there they were with Milli reacting negatively to them once again in an attempt to protect her new master.

Milli knew her, at least, and knew that she was a friendly companion to Scarlett. If Nadia wasn’t able to calm her own summon down, Shavis wondered if she would be able to help. Or rather, Milli’s friend. She reached out for Shadar and felt his presence behind her, stalking around to peer at the situation present. She knelt down and patted the tiger’s head. ”You’re friends with her, aren’t you?”

The tiger huffed as he began to move closer to the snake but tried to seem as non-threatening as possible. They were a familiar sight and hopefully, even if she was an infantile spirit, the previously established relations from before would be able to break through some of the tension.

While that was happening, she curiously turned to Nadia. ”So… did your loaned spirit turn into a permanent exchange… or?”

Milli hissed at Nadia, before she noticed Shadar's approach, and swoosh low to glower at him, "St-Stay 'way, Dardar!"

Unable to speak to others, Milli was capable of speaking to her fellow Spirit Animal by necessity of sameness in existence. As such, her scraping hissing translated to a whiny, babyish plea.

"Mommy hurt! Bad lady come! Other lady and bird trick Milli!" Milli fussed, before she looked the three. "S-So... stay 'way, or... Milli will fight you, too!"

Shadar could tell she lacked all the confidence in the world to back that statement up, but children were unpredictable and she was definitely backed into a corner. He'd have to tread carefully.

It was unfortunate how young Milli was and how little she understood about the world around them. These spirits only had one thing in their mind and it was to protect their masters by any means necessary. Despite Milli’s threats, Shadar continued to step forward without changing his own size, allowing the young snake spirit to tower over him.

”Fight me?” He asked in a low tone. It lacked the aggressiveness that would often be found in the tiger’s voice when he dealt with Shavis. ”No one here is eager to fight. These… three that you speak of are allies of our masters. Your master has been injured and was taken here to recover.”

His tucked his tail around him as he sat down, looking up at her. ”If they were to hurt your master, they would not have spent such a long time trying to appease you, don’t you think?”

Milli swayed, but drooped. "But, Bad Lady here! She say, Milli only useful for changing and not being Milli!" she protested, "Other Lady friend with Bad Lady then Other Lady is Other Bad Lady! And, Bird is Bird and Bird eat Milli! So, Milli must fight!"

The words seemed to register slowly in Shadar’s mind. He threw a look at Nadia then at Shavis then back at Milli. ”But… she is your summoner, is she not?” He couldn’t help but ask. Spirits follow the will of their summoners— to think that a spirit could get angry from something their master had said was interesting. ”She—” He gestured at Elaine. ” — is just here to make sure the alchemist doesn’t die from an infection.”

Then he turned to Naomi who seemed to be close to simply bolting. ”And she’s a bird and I’m a tiger so while I’m here, she won’t be able to hurt you.”

Milli seemed to pout, but asked, "Dardar protect Milli from Bird, so Dardar make sure Other Lady is Good Lady not Bad Lady like Bad Lady?"

As she seemed to be accepting Shadar's approach, Milli would shrink back down, and wrap back around Scarlett's neck. His sensitive hearing, at this range, could hear her scale shaking - she was trembling.

She was scared.

Shadar nodded as he padded closer, sitting beside the bed now and keeping himself between Milli and Naomi. ”Yes, I will make sure nothing happens to your master.” He paused, making eye contact with Shavis who raised an eyebrow at him. This time, his speech was also telepathically communicated to her. ”And I doubt my muscle-for-brains master would let anything happen to Scarlett that isn’t for her own good.”

At that, Shavis sputtered out a laugh all of a sudden. ”Wow Shadar, thanks.” She turned to Elaine. ”Milli won’t hurt you guys as long as you don’t hurt Scarlett. And now I’m duty bound by that so…” She shrugged, crossing her arms and eyeing them carefully.

Shadar seemed to have been able to get through to Mili, having calmed the spirit down again. As the scene died down, the others were put at ease. Nadia adjusted her glasses and crossed her arms. ”Goodness, it seems that little wisp has gotten quite attached to you since I lent it out.” She said. ”Especially from someone who doesn’t know the first thing about being an invoker. She named you Mili, yes? Rest assured, we will not harm your master. No, whatever suffering she’ll go through will be only the fault of her own. Now, what exactly is wrong with her?” She asked, turning to Elaine and Naomi.

”During the mission in Zoho, Scarlett had implanted a Makara egg into her womb, using her alchemy to augment her body and apply foreign pheromones in order to properly incubate it.” Elaine responded. Nadia looked at the medical officer with a look of utter disbelief at the statement, shooting a glance at Scarlett for a moment.

”I had the same reaction.” Naomi said. ”I’m here to use my alchemy in order to isolate the pheromones and allow Elaine to properly keep her body from failing itself. But then Mili felt that her master was being threatened.”

”I’m not even going to ask why, and I don’t really care anyway.” Nadia said flatly. ”All we can do is ensure the bond of trust Shadar built is not broken.”

”Quite.” Elaine said. ”Mili, if you’ll allow us, Naomi and I are going to heal your mother now. Please be at ease. Naomi, to me.”

”Umm, right. Here we go… Please don’t eat me, Mili” She weakly squawked.

Drawing closer to Scarlett, Naomi generated an alchemic circle above her body, it had sigils that spun around it. ”Perhaps she had the time to at least somewhat learn and study the biology of the Makara, she’s done the best within her means to assimilate it and streamline it into her reproductive area.” Naomi sighed. ”Which will make it all the more tedious to isolate the foreign parts…”

”Love, just do what you can.” Elaine chimed. ”I’ll be struggling right along with you.” She administered another potion to ease the pain, and it was also full of vitamins that should aid in repairing her metabolism.

Scarlett's eyes turned, as her lips parted in a snarl, and fanged teeth grit together like a rack of knives. It was like something from a horror movie, as the shift of her fingers made a screeching music sting. Her third eye peered from behind her bangs; wide and black, pupil fully dilated, as it seemed to watch the trio at once.

Moving was usually a good thing for patients, and a good sign for doctors, but in this case, the hyper-violent, unpredictable nature of Scarlett would be able to put people on edge.

Mill shifted, licking Scarlett's cheek scar, and nuzzling her. Her eyes focused on the snake, before closing, and returning to rest.

Shavis watched as Naomi began her work. She had always been more attuned to much more combative form of the magical arts— a bruiser through and through with or without both types of magic that she wielded. So she watched with interest, not having much of an input. According to Naomi, she was working on isolating the egg so they can safely remove it? Elaine, on the other hand, was making sure the alchemist wouldn’t keel over and die during this process.

When Scarlett seemed to snap awake, the Belua crossed her arms. Her ears twitched at the sudden sharp noises coming from Scarlett’s movement. Even Shadar stiffened in his position. Shavis took a few steps forward, not too close enough to be a bother but close enough to continue monitoring Scarlett’s progress and make sure she didn’t suddenly leap out of the bed and undo all of the good doctors’ hard work. The young snake spirit seemed to be able to put Scarlett at ease as she returned to slumber.

Scarlett wasn't sleeping; her breathing wasn't rhythmic enough to be. No, no, she was fully awake... she was just being cooperative, if only because Milli was worrying herself.

Shavis knew Scarlett was closer to beasts than humans, but clearly that extended further than simple tolerance.

Her third eye was just watching, drifting from person to person, target to target, as if trying to see through them - to breach the sanctity of their minds as a low-level Espermancer.

”Waah!!" Naomi reeled back, nearly tripping over herself at Scarlett's sudden snarl. She wasn't much a fan of the jagged teeth or the nails she used to shred the bed sheets. ”Sh-She has a third eye??"

Thankfully, Mili was able to settle her down. The fury in her eyes quelled, and she laid back down to rest. "Naomi, we need to focus, this is the most crucial part!" Elaine urged her feathered colleague.

Naomi had succeeded in isolating most of Scarlett's bodily regions that were the most modified with reptilian hormones. As she delved further into this process, Elaine did her best to keep Scarlett's human parts from destroying themselves. Her body was desperately rejecting foreign matter and an incompatible dna strain, which would soon cause it to fail. Naomi applied gene therapy in order to repair the mismatch strains, and thus allow for the egg to be safely removed.

"I wish you all would understand my position here! Okay, I think I've almost got it…"

If all goes as planned, the Makara egg would soon be removed from Scarlett safely. Then, the rest would be up to Elaine to finish repairing the rest of Scarlett's biology.

"I'm understanding..." Scarlett's eyes opened, glaring at the duo as if they were subhuman filth. "I'm fully aware that you are taking from her, a precious prize. How scandalous."

Scarlett grinned, devilishly, before pointing at Naomi. "Handle that with care, or pay with you own..."she says, lowering to point at Naomi's abdomen.

”Try not to threaten your caretakers, Scarlett. It’s bad manners.” Shavis huffed out. Did Scarlett not want the egg to be removed from her body? Or was did she just want the makara egg and thought the best way to incubate it was putting it inside her? The Belua struggled to understand what Scarlett’s angle was on the current situation. And for now, she would defer to the decision and wisdom of their higher ups.

She shifted in her stance. ”The egg’s probably gonna be safe. I’m sure someone here knows how to incubate the damn thing without, you know, shoving it in some other species’ uterus.”

Scarlett chuckled, "Where's the fun in that?"

It was faint, a testament to the momentous mental control being exercised over Scarlett, but Elaine could slightly feel the pull of the foreign invader speaking through Scarlett.

'Can you feel me doctor? A testament to your love of this paltry creature...' Scarlett chuckled into Elaine's mind.

Elaine would feel an unnerving sensation from the third eye fixed on her... as if... someone else was watching her.

At Scarlett's sudden change in voice, Naomi yelped and became bug-eyed. After making an ominous threat while pointing at the researcher's abdomen, Naomi was filled with fear and nausea, having already understood what the threat meant.

"Look! I didn't come here to be an item on a lunch menu! Besides, I'm pretty sure feasting on coworkers violates the Tower's code of conduct!!" Naomi snapped in a panicked tone.

"I don't think that's Scarlett at all, Naomi…" Elaine said in a low tone. She felt a strange presence suddenly peer into her mind, speaking directly to her soul. While Elaine was certainly no esper, her years of dealing with the lifeforce of others allowed to feel something off with Scarlett's essence. She doubted anyone else would be able to sense it, perhaps Shavis or Nadia?

The latter adjusted her glasses and looked on at the scene with a cautious, but intrigued gaze. This is nothing like the mana I felt from her before! She said to herself in an oddly excited tone.

"Who are you?" Elaine asked, still focused on the voice. "Are you some sort of wraith that haunts this woman?"

'Wraith. How uncharitable.' "Scarlett" says. 'Haunting is underappreciative of my talents.'

"Scarlett" turned her third eye to Nadia. "The little Spirit Tamer likes the change of pace," she says, before she scraped her fingers together, "And, don't you fret, Chickadee... Too skinny, too lean... Not tasty..."

Swinging her legs off the bed, "Scarlett" stood up, and passed by Elaine towards Naomi, taking her hands, and passing someone hard and slimy into it. "She will come back for this. Vested, better be your interest in its safety."

"Doctor, do you know how trust falls work," "Scarlett" asks, looking back to Elaine, before whatever was holding her let go.

...the Reaver plunging backwards to the floor.

It was almost an instinctual response on Shavis’s part as a hand darted out to grab the back of Scarlett’s shirt to prevent her from faceplanting straight onto the floor. She let out a whistle as she turned to face Elaine. ”Well, she’s yours now, doc. I think the worst has come to pass.”

If she understood what Scarlett’s darker half actually was, maybe she would have explained what had transpired to them. Unfortunately, she had only heard of it a handful of times from Scarlett herself and the only thing Shavis had to do was make sure that it didn’t make Scarlett hurt anyone they’re allied with. Shavis hadn’t actually had any meaningful interactions with it and, based on what she had just seen, maybe it was for the best to keep it that way.

”Next time she wakes up, hopefully, it’s not gonna be as… threatening as this time.”

The trio of Eon staff could only watch with shock and caution as Scarlett hopped off of the bed as if nothing had been ailing her in the first place, further bewildering them with forbidding words. Naomi jumped back a bit and made a defensive stance as “Scarlett” walked closer to her, ignoring the anxiety plaguing the researcher. Taking her hands, she placed what Naomi quickly realized was the Makara egg in her hand, which was still slimy with bodily fluids. Naomi made a grimace, gritting her teeth with revulsion. ”Eww… You could’ve at least let me put some gloves on first!” Naomi whined.

Making a comment at Elaine, the strange being that was possessing her seemed to have released its hold on Scarlett, plunging the alchemist backwards. However, before Elaine could react, Shavis had caught Scarlett by her shirt, preventing her from falling into Elaine or the floor. Shavis then entrusted Scarlett back into Elaine’s care; the medical officer placed the alchemist back on the bed, ripped sheets and all. ”I’m going to need to replace these sheets…” She moaned to herself.

”That spirit left already?!” Nadia said. ”I wanted to ask it so many questions! It isn’t too far-fetched for spirits to possess people in weakened states, but I’ve never felt a presence like that! It must be a high spirit! I’ve yet to have an opportunity to perform Synergy on one, since Ruecian and Rozemyne aren’t biting right now…”

”It’ll have to wait Nadia…” Elaine said in an annoyed tone. ”Right now, she is MY patient and will need to remain here until I give her a clean bill of health. Perhaps Shavis and Shadar would be willing to participate in your research?”

”Ah yes, Shavis, you’re free now right? Why not follow me back to my office, I promise you won’t be disappointed!” She said, practically dragging the Belua back to her lab. ”Make sure to take good care of that egg, Naomi!” She said to the taxonomist.

”Fuck you, Nadia…” Naomi said under her breath. ”Ahem, that won’t be a problem, as I feel it will be better in my care regardless. I need to first prepare a proper incubation tank that perfectly simulates the environment the egg would be found in. Gods, what a morning…” Naomi complained as she walked back to her office, egg in tow.

”I have half a mind to make Nadia help me clean all of these damn feathers off of my floor.” Elaine said. ”Bless Naomi’s poor heart.” She then turned to Scarlett with a concerned, but somewhat relieved expression. Hopefully the worst of it was over now. ”And I thought I had seen it all…”

Shavis was barely given time to consider Nadia's offer when the researcher had already firmly planted her hand on the Belua's arm and was making her way back to the office. "Guess this is what we're doing now." She muttered as she whistled and Shadar stood up and began to follow the pair out of the room. "Good luck with Scarlett!" She yelled as her parting words before the door closed.

She walked alongside Nadia. "Here I go again, participating in some experiment I know nothing about." Should be fun and hopefully not as dangerous as certain… trials can be. Shavis was more than happy to be an experimental guinea pig if it benefited her but they can be a bit too much if she was thrown into it without warning.

As far as the moment was concerned, it was over. A certain calm before the storm, as Scarlett’s chest rose and fell shallow, rare breaths - as if she were conserving air. Her inner workings were a mess; a tangled weave of iron plates and screws, holding stretches of bone and muscle together; perfectly slung meshes of copper lines blood vessel, weaving in and out of muscle masses, and joining a tight coil around her spine; all to serve as a series of artificial enhancements that bespoke to the reason behind her inhuman flexibility and reaction time.

Elaine could work over her for hours and be no closer to understanding her health or how even her most basic organs functioned, as the extensive experimentation seemed equally as organic as it was clearly inorganic. And yet, she could still find solace in the parts that were still human... still Scarlett’s.

A heart that beat off-rhythm...

Lungs that were still for a moment too long...

A brain that was yet untouched by the iron and copper invasion...

Scarlett was, at least, currently, a true challenge to medical science, as she understood it.

“Nnnrgh...”

And, she was waking up.

Having been forcibly dragged back to her office, Shavis would find herself facing a podium desk in front of a chalkboard. The table itself looked more like a religious altar than anything, and the board was covered in haphazardly written notes and half erased diagrams. Nadia was uncomfortably close to Shavis's side, being able to practically feel her breath on her neck. What Nadia was inspecting with such intensity was Shadar, the belua's faithful summon. She had been secretly eyeing Shadar since he had come into view, and being able to get an up close look had her eyes beaming with glee.

"Incredible!" She sang. "He must be a powerful spirit, capable of complex thought and speech. It never ceases to amaze me the innate talent the Belua folk have with invoking souls!" Nadia then cleared her throat and started to walk back toward the board, appearing to gather herself.

"At any rate, now that I've got you here, allow me to explain my wonderful principle of Synergy!" She said, making little emerald sparkles form around her. She spoke as though she was expecting a round of applause…

"Long story short, the principle of Synergy at this stage involves the usage of alchemic techniques in order to strengthen the abilities of invocation. Of course you may be thinking that it's ludicrous to attempt to combine aspects of two polar opposite magics, but rest assured my meticulous mind has found a way!" She held a hand to her chest while holding her hip with the other, it was easy to tell she was proud of herself to a fault.

"By utilizing certain aspects of spiritual alchemy, one can influence gates in order to grant greater control over the parts of the Spectral Realm that briefly open up during the invoking process." She continued, sighing before continuing. "Honestly, I'm so sagacious it scares even me!"

It never even once occurred to the alchemic invoker if Shavis was even paying attention to her gushing.

Nadia then picked up a wand and pointed it at the Belua reaver. "Any questions so far?"

She was so wrapped up in her explanation, she didn't even notice footsteps coming from just down the hall.

It was almost fascinating how Nadia soldiered on with her explanations even if Shavis could barely follow whatever the researcher was talking about. She tried to keep some sort of personal space with her but she didn’t seem too keen on doing so— likely lost in her own world as she continued to talk about her passion. She seemed to be incredibly interested in Shadar who didn’t seem to reciprocate the interest.

Shavis looked down at Shadar who stared back at her blankly. She swore his eyes had glazed over, likely felt like he didn’t need to listen to whatever the woman was talking about. Lucky him. She turned back to Nadia and really did make an attempt to understand the concept behind it. And yes, maybe she was in a state of disbelief because, as far as she knew, no one had ever attempted to combine Alchemy and Galdr magic before. Far too different schools of magic to even attempt to do so. Until now.

”Gates? I remember Scarlett opening one during our trip to the Marsh where the little snake spirit got the antidote for the Makara.” She recalled. ”Was that just Alchemy?”

After the breakfast in the mess hall, Einer resumed his research in the library. At least, for only a short while. The musician was beginning to feel that this way of searching was fruitless. Perhaps it was time for another approach.

The Eon Tower was full of experts in different fields of magic. Consulting with one could, at least, point Einer in the right direction. The question was who to talk to first? Einer weighed his options as he walked down the halls of the Tower until his eyes laid upon the door of Nadia Whitsett’s office. The bard scarcely remembered her specialties in Galdr and Alchemy. The former being something Einer did not care for, but the latter… could be something.

Einer made the decision to knock on the office’s door. “Miss Whitsett? Are you there? And more importantly, are you available?”

At Shavis' question, Nadia frowned a bit, showing a rather quick sign of displeasure. She held her wand horizontally with both hands and down to her waist. "Well, not quite." Her response to the question held a bit of bitterness. "What Ms. Ishval did was just an unskillful and haphazard attempt on MY principle of Synergy. My guess was that she used Alchemy to combine the available chemicals and concoct an antidote inside of her own body. Then, to apply said antidote to Mili and the other summons, she used Galdr."

Nadia adjusted her glasses and made a huff. "Since she has zero aptitude for spirituality and connection with the Spectral Realm, she must resort to applying alchemic gates to already present souls in order to facilitate the fusion. In this case, it was one that she borrowed from me barely a day ago." It seemed that the more she went on about it, the more irritated she became. "First of all, the act of applying fusion to an already synergized soul takes more and more mana each time it’s done, not to mention you run the risk of draining away the spirit mana unless its essence completely fades. A phenomenon known to many as ‘burnout’."

Before Nadia could go on, her attention was diverted to the knocking she heard at her door. She didn’t recognize the voice, which told her that it was probably another one of the new recruits. "Yes, please feel free to join in the lesson." She said, walking over to the door and opening it. She saw the young slender man, dressed in fancy attire and holding his lyre.

"Hello, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I presume that you, along with Ms. Shavis, are one of the new members of the Eon reavers?"

Her tail flicked at Nadia’s displeasure— for someone who had lent a spirit to Scarlett, she sure didn’t seem very fond of the alchemist. Then again, Shavis couldn’t remember the last person who was saw Scarlett in a positive light. Even she had her own qualms with her charge. Still, she listened. So, the gates were fundamentally different due to the fact that she wasn’t a Galdr mage?

”Alright. Well, how… what… what exactly is the end goal for synergy? You said it would be able to strengthen our invocations.” Shavis paused, turning to Shadar and placing a hand on top of him. A much more powerful familiar? Even she had her own techniques on how to power up herself or Shadar. ”Wouldn’t that concept be limited to mages who have mastery over both Alchemy and Galdr magic?”

Her ears flicked, momentarily distracted by footsteps approaching and stopping by the door and a knock and a question soon followed. It took her a moment to place a name to the voice as Nadia walked over to the door to open it and she was right on target. She turned and gave her fellow newcomer a smile. ”Ey, it’s Einer. What’s up?”

“Ah, Miss Shavis, you are also here.” Einer greeted the Belua back, also with a smile. “If you are not already aware, I must note that Miss Scarlett has… made a mess of sorts in the mess hall.” He added, silently amused at the words. “It was quite amusing, actually. Probably not amusing for the poor one who has to clean it up, though.”

“Indeed, I am one of the new Reavers along with Shavis.” Einer addressed Nadia. “Unlike Shavis, however, I am… not as combat-capable as she and the other Reavers are. I am quite adept in Thaumaturgy, but I’m afraid that is the limit of my abilities.” He explained. “Which is why I came to you. I wish to expand my repertoire so that I may better serve my fellow mages in the Eon Tower.” Einer finally made his request.

Before Nadia could answer the boy’s inquiry, she would soon find her lecture being interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

Elaine ran as fast as her high heels would allow her, continuing her chase after the alchemist who was left in her care. Perhaps it was her maternal instincts at work, or perhaps it was her conditioning as a years-long medical practitioner that compelled her to go after Scarlett on foot. Needless to say, she had trouble keeping up with the woman’s augmented body. She couldn’t prevent Scarlett from barging into the Galdr expert’s office, happening upon Shavis and Einer as well.

Nadia, who was in the middle of a lecture on Synergy, stopped herself and looked at Scarlett with a look of shock and confusion in her eyes.

"Could you stop making my life harder?! Seriously!!"

Scarlett didn't answer Nadia, or even acknowledge her, as she invaded Shavis's personal space with her nose, before bolting out of the room. She had the scent much better, now.

Nadia blinked several times, unsure of what to make of the scene playing out before her. "Uhh…Is this supposed to be your way of saying hello??" As Scarlett sniffing continued, Nadia’s patience grew thinner. With a huff, she began to channel spectral energy around her wand.

”Nadia, wait! She doesn’t mean any harm!” Elaine protested, attempting to stop her colleague from making the situation worse.

”Remove her.]” With a single chat and wave of her wand, she called forth a summoning circle, as it spun and glowed a figure began to emerge from within it. Now fully visible, it was a strange being that was covered in an armor-like exoskeleton, giving it the appearance of a knight. It had a large golden spear attached to it’s back. At Nadia’s command, it began generating a strong gust from the cannon-like organs on its shoulder, which would proceed to blow Scarlett and Elaine back into the hallway. Elaine would be knocked against the wall, with Scarlett being blown on top of her.

With a pained ground, Elaine would struggle to come to. ”Dammit Nadia…Why was I blown out of the room as well…?”

"Self-important parasite..." Scarlett says, "Immunological Response determined," she says, "Eosinophil. Void Access: Thaumaturgy..."

Scarlett suddenly became very hot and wet against Elaine, as she pitched an extreme fever, and her stomach swelled. Equally as suddenly, she would projectile vomit a mass of chains and bile; the puddle spread larger than its own mass, and the chains sank in. Retching, Scarlett would puke the last of the chains up, and slam her transformed arm into her own stomach, before the chains surged forward and ripped apart Nadia's room with a sickening violence.

”Aaack!!” Nadia spazzed and fraught at the site of her office being ravaged by the bile chains generated by Scarlett. Various testing equipment, documents, artifacts, and poor Elaine, while still a bit dazed, also began to panic as she felt the full force of the heat generated by Scarlett’s body along with the horror of being at the center of the alchemist’s body horror. Elaine’s dress was now dripping with the bile that erupted from Scarlett’s innards; her face was writhed with a tired expression of annoyance, as opposed to one of fear and disgust.

”Y-you, how dare you destroy my beautiful office!! Nadia’s face turned from shock to anger. ”A sick woman or no, you’ll pay for this!” She exclaimed, preparing to send her summon for another attack.

”Enough!” Elaine shouted. She felt that she had somewhat of a solid understanding of Scarlett’s biology at this point, so Elaine used her own alchemy to disable the chains that were being expunged, putting an end to their rampage. She then trapped Nadia’s summon within a ball of light to prevent it from pressing further attacks as well. A wide eyed Nadia looked at Elaine as if she was being betrayed.

”Nadia, I apologize for your office, and I promise to assist you in repairing it later. However, as you can see, Scarlett is still not well and needs to come back with me to the infirmary. I beseech you to understand and allow me to deal with our new recruit here. Mr. Einer and Ms. Shavis, I also apologize on behalf of Scarlett as well. I hope you can continue to enjoy Nadia’s lecture in spite of everything.”

Elaine then prepared a sedative, which she made sure to bring with her before leaving her office. It was altered to be more effective, taking Scarlett’s biology fully into account. Unless Scarlett resisted, Elaine planned on dragging a drowsy alchemist back to her office.

"Don't apologize for me to that socially inept and clinically clueless sycophant," Scarlett groused. "Her office is not sovereign territory. I do not need to respect her closed door, if I have need of her services - or someone's therein," she says. "Furthermore, I will not be made the criminal, when I am the victim, and retaliation is due me for being attacked by this airheaded freshman in Common Sense. If anyone is allowed to be offended, it is Shavis for my invasion of her personal spaces to which I will extend my apologies. But I will give nothing to a useless academic that can't even field test her own theories, so she peddles them onto anyone and everyone that will pretend to listen for more than a moment. Furthermore, again..."

Scarlett started to stand, but wobbled and fell to her knees. "My legs... numb... Low on iron... Low on oxygen... Something foreign in my system..." she looked back at Elaine, "You drugged me..."

...and, then, she collapsed.

"...fucking... hate... humans..."

It seemed that Elaine’s new drug worked, as Scarlett fell to her knees and passed out not too long after. The doctor made a sign of relief. ”Forgive me, Scarlett.” She said to the alchemist just before she passed out. She wiped away any access gunk that was on Scarlett’s body, as well as much as she could from her dress. With a hand gesture, Elaine also dispelled the orb of light she had encased Nadia’s summon in.

”Return.” Nadia said, dismissing her armored spirit, it disappeared within a veil of silver light.

”We’ll be taking our leave now, Nadia. I’ll be back later.” Elaine said.

”Yes, do that…” Nadia replied, her tone filled with a multitude of feelings. She looked at the pair with a glare as Elaine drank a serum of some sort. She glowed with a purple flash for a moment, then she carried Scarlett back down to her ward on her back.

Einer, all this while, stood in the corner and hugged it as close as he could during Scarlett’s rampage and ensuing duel with Nadia. His impression of Scarlett was true, she was best enjoyed from afar. Having a front-row seat to her antics was… uncomfortable, to say the least. But more importantly, he bore witness to Scarlett’s abilities. It was not exactly hygienic, but powers were powers and who knew what else she could do.

A few moments after Elaine took Scarlett away, Einer emerged from his metaphorical hole to assess the damage in Nadia’s office. He took out a handkerchief to protect his nose from the… aftermath of Scarlett’s attacks. “My deepest sympathies to you, Miss Nadia. I… suppose you can call upon me if you need any help with your office.” He offered.

“Err, shall we continue our meeting another time? Under a more… pleasant environment?”

Shavis could make every excuse under the sun about why she simply stood there, gaping at the scene before her, but only one of them held true— she really did not want to get involved in that mess. As far as she was concerned, she was hands off Scarlett the moment Elaine said she would handle the rogue alchemist.

She did, however, muster up a laugh and a greeting when Scarlett bounded over to her and took a whiff of her scent. Then it was back to chaos as Nadia tried, emphasis on tried, to get a handle of Scarlett but to no avail. Shavis proceeded to get out of the way of this fight, already mentally preparing a map to get to literally anyone else because she doubted Nadia would be in any mood to teach after Scarlett was done ripping the office to shreds.

So when she was taken away and Einer spoke up, Shavis raised a hand. ”Yeah, uh, same here. If you want a rain check on the lesson, that’s fine with me ‘cause…” She looked around, surveying the damage and internally wincing at how long it’ll take to clean up with or without the help of magic. ”Yeah… I don’t mind at all.”

"Yes. I-I do believe that to be for the best…" She said weakly. As they left the room, Nadia made a sigh as she looked around at her destroyed office. Looking down at the floor in frustration, she raised her hand and channeled a bit of mana into it. "Come." She uttered. She had summoned a tiny, person-like spirit that wore intricate robes. It spoke with odd chimes and hums. "Repair." With that command, the wisp made a high pitched chime and generated a hammer and pick in its hands. Whisking around the room, it began to undo all of the damage that had been done to her study. While it seemed to only be picking and hammering at air, its magic did its work nonetheless. After a little while, Nadia’s office was as good as new. The spirit had returned to its master, jumping and cheerfully humming. It seemed to want praise for a job well done. "Thank you, that will be all." Nadia said in an indifferent tone. The spirit looked confused for a moment, seemingly sensing the foul mood its summoner was in. However, it did as it was told and vanished back to once it came.

Walking over to her reformed desk, Nadia began shuffling a few papers. She began to squeeze them, her face still writhed in ire. Scarlett’s words still rang loudly in her mind. “I will give nothing to a useless academic that can't even field test her own theories, so she peddles them onto anyone and everyone that will pretend to listen for more than a moment.” Biting her lip, she threw the papers to the ground, fluttering around her for a moment before they landed.

"Horror show bitch!" She snapped. "I’ll show you a useless academic!!"

Damian gave the man a small shrug, smiling. “Lost their appetite earlier, so they’re heading off to either relax, train, or just keep themselves busy in the meantime.” Taking a seat the man gestured to the spot across from him.

“You’re one of the main senior staff like Brun and Ruecian, I take it?”

Xashan looked at Damian for a moment, taking a moment to chew a piece of sausage before addressing the question. ”Not really a staff member.” He responded, his voice half muffled by the meat he was gnawing on. ”I don’t handle the paperwork and processes that keep the tower running. Rue and I are part of the muscle that handle requests, and we more or less joined for our own purposes. But, yeah, I was already a veteran Reaver before joining.”

He took a swig of orange juice after he finished speaking, making a satisfied sigh.

“That makes sense. How long have you been working here at the tower?”

”Mghh. Several years now.” Xashan replied, still chewing his food. ”I got here before Rue, his sis, and Eve. Although, the Tower hasn’t actually been around that long.”

“I heard about that, yeah, about how Atreus created a high ranking group and traveled about while this tower was being built.” The man looked pensive for a moment. “What made you decide to join?”

A smirk crept upon Xashan’s face as he finished chewing. Instead of stuffing his face to continue the cycle, he instead got more engaged in the conversation. ”My goodness, asking a lot of questions, aren’t we?” He mused. ”I joined because I thought it was an interesting prospect. Arteus and I are of similar minds: we both have our problems with how the Association sometimes handles things. We value freedom, and are annoyed by the bureaucratic nonsense they love to dabble in.”

Wiping his mouth, his tailing swished back and forth, his face still in a grin. ”I take it you’re still on the fence about joining?” He said. ”Why not? You’ll have all the freedom as if you were still a cowboy, plus you’ll have resources and support at your disposal as if you were a member of an official sect. Well, sort of, we’re still expanding.”

Damian smiles back. ”Perhaps, but like any prospect you have to know whether both sides click. You said it yourself, both you and Arteus were and are of similar minds, that helps speed things up more than most people realize. I learned pretty quickly how to measure compatibility with clientele; it doesn’t matter the amount of resources, funds, or promises one makes, if both sides can’t get along well then the partnership will suffer. That’s why I’ll at least stay for the next while before I make my choice, with how many damn letters he’s sent me over the years I may as well hear him out.”

”Heh, sounds about right. Once you've piqued his interest, he's not letting go until he's got you.” Xashan said, making a chuckle. Looking at Bellum and the new recruit Lupina walk out of the room, Xashan finished his plate and walked over to the kitchen where he threw it in the sink.

After walking back out, he placed a hand on Damian's shoulder before leaving the mess. ”Well, since you're already here, I certainly wouldn't twist yer hand. Not sure when the big guy will be back, but for now you're free to do what you please in the meantime. Feel free to give a holler if ya need anything.”

He leaned in closer for a moment. ”Oh, and, word of advice. Whenever you eat here: Make sure you finish everything on your plate. Otherwise, that portly witch who just walked out will get testy. Trust me, you don't want that. Anyway, see ya!”

With that, the lion Belua Reaver left the mess, leaving Damian to his devices. He was free to explore more of the Tower, or even take a request if he so desired.