Elaine huffed with a tired expression as she finally swept her floor of all of the feathers, left by courtesy of Naomi. Wiping her forehead of sweat with a scented handkerchief, she put her broom and dustpan back in her utility closet. Hearing low moans and turning, Elaine went back over to Scarlett who seemed to be awakening. After what had transpired, she couldn’t help but be a little nervous. With this woman, no one could know what to expect. In spite of it she put on a brave face and pulled a seat up to her bedside. With a wet rag, she wiped any excess sweat away from the poor girl.

”My Goodness, Ms. Scarlett,” she said, ”You certainly gave us all quite the rude awakening this morning. The worst of it seems to be behind us now, so hopefully you’ve pulled through.”

For the moment, silence was the company that Elaine kept, as Scarlett slept soundly - her sleep interrupted only by low, uncharacteristically soft snores. As Elaine monitored her, her Thaumaturgy would battle with her Common Sense, as Scarlett’s body knitted together in an inhuman fashion - fusing flesh and bone to metal. However, it was not so unfamiliar to traditional medicines; lattices of hard plastic, mesh weaves, and steel rods, screws, and plates - all designed to offer foreign aid to the body.

In a twisted way, Scarlett had merely cut out the middleman and designed those medical devices organically. "How," was a question that required vast research.

Though, there was a disquieting noise that ruptured the silence, as Scarlett seemed discomforted by something; either in her sleep or in her mind. Whatever the cause, it was waking her.

...hopefully, her.

Gardner was more or less left speechless at the site of the inner workings of Scarlett’s body. Seeing the ironworks that lined her being; she watched as the shifting gears and rods twist as they repaired the rest of the damage done to her body. Elaine was confident in her abilities to treat wounds of varying origin and degree, but she’d not seen anything quite like Scarlett’s biology. Snapped out of her thoughts as Scarlett seemed to be stirring awake.

With a heaving inhale, she prepped for the worst. ”Are you, Scarlett?”

Eyes snapping open, Scarlett sat up; her scarred arm shifting muscle and twisting flesh, as bone grew and supported the hollow structure of her spear. It leveled at Elaine, as the user’s eyes searched the room, before she swung her legs over the bed, and thudded against the floor; the hollow tube of iron rang out upon impact, before Scarlett managed to right herself - pushing herself to run and slamming her back into a corner.

"Where’d it go!?" she asked, voice a snarl, yet rife with concern. "You stole it in my sleep! Where!?" Scarlett’s shout was punctuated by the ratcheting of a spear; the bladed end appeared from the end of her gun. "I can’t smell it... " Scarlett looked at Elaine, before sniffing the air. "Know-it-all... Jailor... Doctor..." she rattled off, "Different. Different has it."

There was a sudden pop of air, followed by a crash, as the spear slammed into a chair - a distraction to remove Elaine’s attention from her, before Scarlett bolted; running on all fours, albeit sloppily, as she tracked down Naomi by the thready scent left in the halls, mired by the comings and goings of many others.

It would be comical, if not a serious issue of a clearly unhealed Scarlett acting on impulse and Naomi being Naomi.

Elaine, wide-eyed, revealed a scalpel that materialized from her hand. It was an alchemic generated one that contained the essence of light. Elaine opposed violence, especially against a patient, but this was a matter of self-defense. Scarlett’s panicked gibberish denoted to Elaine that she was bewildered that the Makara egg had been taken out of her. ”Your body nearly failed itself in an attempt to incubate that egg, we had to remove it to save both you and it.” She argued. She doubted that Scarlett was in a state of mind to listen to her words, though.

The floor and walls clanked as the metal that was used to support Scarlett’s damaged body impacted with the interior of Elaine’s office. The doctor brandished her scalpel as Scarlett pointed her spear gun at her, prepared to defend her life against her hysterical patient. However, Scarlett would instead shoot a chair with her makeshift weapon as a means of distraction. Scarlett used this opportunity to escape the office, running on all fours like a wild animal. ”Oh Scions, Naomi!!” It was obvious to anyone as to Scarlett’s destination. Aside from the fact she couldn’t have Scarlett running around everywhere in her condition, she felt that Naomi had been through enough today…

She promptly ran out of the room after her, determined to do whatever she could within her power to stop the crazed alchemist. There had to be less tedious ways for a medical professional to spend their morning, she felt…

Scarlett would find, tracking Naomi was no easy task, as the squawking-talking, flighty-walking, conservationist of animal corpses had a serious problem keeping her feathers pinned down. As such, Scarlett was finding false positives in the simple fact that feathers floated - everywhere. Annoyed, she switched gears with the fourth dead end, and sniffed the air for her jailor.

Shavis had been in contact with Naomi - she remembered that much - so the scent of the bird would be stronger on her, and give her a better baseline to follow than errant feathers. Backtracking, Scarlett found Shavis’s scent, and followed it - finding that it paired with Nadia’s, and, shortly down the line, another’s. Another Reaver. The feminine man, to whom Scarlett married a rather jealous sense of beauty to, but shook off.

Her prize was stolen, and she aimed to recover it.

”Why is she going to Nadia’s office?”

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 planning to bolt out of the room once she had the scent much better.

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's 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 its 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. In her monologue rant, she hadn't noticed the injection occur.

"...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.

Scarlett groaned in her sleep, annoyed and discomforted, as Elaine carried her to her new house for the time being. She needed a blood transfusion, steroids, and antibiotics galore. The resident doctor had her work cut out for her, indeed.

As she trekked, Elaine would bypass a woman that smelled of pressed fleece and wild grass at once, armed with a long, ornate bow without a string, and being led by Bellum on something of a tour from the overheard conversation...

"...and, you have collected information on plants that mimic the effects of Miasma, you said?"

Judging from her tone, she'd asked this more than once, and been ignored.

”Oh, those are just some samples we’ve gathered from a few select areas like contaminated forestlands and affected species that the Association were kind enough to share.” Replied the botanist witch. Bellum had finished up in the kitchen after she made a last dish of food for Xashan. She was now meeting with another one of the new recruits: one Lupina, a cross-breed Belua along with her sibling spirit Baast. Bellum was so busy going on about the other aspect of Eon that she didn’t get to Lupina’s original inquiry at first.

”What about those plants in particular caught yer interest, girlie? Those buggers are pretty nasty, don’tcha know?”

"They have a... medicinal use..." Lupina says, as she seemed to be on edge - not overtly so that anyone would notice, but the serene witch of the woods could easily tell she was anxious in a way that spoke of early stage withdrawal.

”Oh, bless yer heart girlie." Bell responded in a sympathetic tone. Bellum was second to none when it came to medical herbs, doubly because hers tended to be magically imbued. However, judging by what she felt from Lupina, she felt that something else was going on beneath the surface.

”You know, before prescribing herbs, a patient first gets a checkup from the medical officer. That's Ms. Elaine, she makes a recommendation based on what's best for your body and I go from there. What's ailing you, little missie?"

"Personal..." Lupina says, not yet fully trusting of Bellum to divulge her motivations in her trial of trying and failing to overcome addiction, "Never mind..."

”Oh, sweetie pie, you can tell me. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can find a better way to fix ya up than using those nasty old miasma samples. Heavens, I can imagine why anyone would want to directly use those things!”

As the pair walked further down the hall, they neared Nadia’s office. The door was closed, but the stench of Scarlett’s magicks and insides still plagued the vicinity. A fact that Lupina, especially, would take note of.

Lupina almost wanted to speak, before she smelled the stink of Miasma that infected Scarlett's bodily fluids, and inhaled deeply; for a moment, her magic flowed differently, as it corrupted on the spot, before it righted itself.

A painful face would marr her moment of serenity, as the hit wasn't good enough or long enough to surmount the withdrawals.

"I need it...." Lupina groaned, struggling against an unseen force to dive into the leftover mess.

”Ugh, now that’s just down right nasty! Smell worse than the booze that crusty old gun geek’s addicted to!" Bellum snapped. She hurriedly pushed Lupina past the awful stench. ”Someone’s gonna have to clean that mess up. I’m going to petition Arteus-boy that we hire a janitor for this place! Speaking of which~"

Walking toward a more ornate and larger section of the corridor that broke off from the normal one, Bellum and Lupina had arrived in front of a large double door that was lined with golden serpents around its edges. The doors were a decadent purple color. Above the door was a plaque that read, “Arteus N. Irvin”. ”This here’s the office of the Tower’s admin! Although, the young fella isn’t here right now. Currently away on some business, as he often is… " Bellum sighed a bit. ”He’s quite the ambitious fella, but I often wonder what goes on inside that head of his."

Bellum was so busy talking, she probably didn’t notice at first the strange presence emanating from within the room. Lupina likely did, however…

Lupina groaned, as they came across the room. Unseen behind her bangs, a third eye opened wide, and turned without concern to the pain it caused her - staring at the door with need to know what lies behind, to see who was behind. "Next stop..."

”Well, anywho, I’ll take you to meet the assistant admin, Brunhyldia! We just call her Brun, she’s just the loveliest thang! She’s a sage, wise, and she’s a looker to boot! She’ll formally welcome you in and initiate you into being a new Reaver for Eon. Then, afterwards I’ll whip something up for ya. I’m sure you must be hungry after such a long trip~ "

Bellum then led Lupina away from the room and further down the corridor to their next stop. The feeling of being watching still filled the Belua, but it weakened the further they got from the doors.

Lupina’s breathing evened out, as she followed Bellum. As the portly woman gushed about Brun, she would look over Bellum, herself, and let her gaze linger, before shaking her head. She was thinking with her stomach again. "I am..." she says, "I could do with a nice rump roast..."

"Nn."

"Or, a salad!" Lupina says, "A salad would be lovely."

”Rump roast? Ohoho" Bellum laughed at the statement, not understanding the actual implications. ”It’s funny, another newcomer said something similar while she was giving herself a tour of the Tower. Guess some gals are fans of having a heavier breakfast! Unfortunately, I don’t have any wildebeest or thick hog meat available this morning, but I’ll see what I can whip up for ya!"

They pair would eventually near the meeting room where Brun was. Lupina would likely sense the presence of a certain Fae couple, along with another magus present in the room.

"Who am I meeting," Lupina asks, looking around, her belly grumbling, as she said, "So many people..."

With the Fae couple having made their decision of what quest to take, Bellum would lead Lupina to the mess hall. There, she would happen upon the Beast Whisperer Damian and the lion-like Belua Xashan conversing about something.

”Here we are missy, this here’s the mess hall!" Bellum hummed. ”Honestly, I keep telling that boy to learn some table manners! I swear, youngsters these days!" She complained, glaring at Xashan.

She then turned her attention back to Lupina. ”You just sit tight at any table you’d like and make yourself comfortable, y’hear? There anything you want in particular? You name it, and I’ll cook it! Within reason, ‘course! "

Lupin would nearly pounce a table, “Surprise me! Meat, please!”

The table would thump.

"I mean, a salad, if you could..." Lupina sighed, slumping forward.

”A salad huh? I can get behind that choice! Sit tight, I’ll be back in a jiffy!" Bellum promptly went into the kitchen after that. Lupina would hear the sounds of clanking, chopping, and running water. After a little bit, Bellum would appear before the crossbreed Belua with a large bowl filled to the brim with different vegetables.

”There ya go, dearie! A house special! Enjoy!" She said, her face in a bright beam.

"Behind..." Lupina licked her chops, before shaking her head, and sitting patiently. As Bellum returned, she was done convincing herself that a salad would serve as an acceptable meal. "Sho," she starts, mouth full of green, "Aboot dose pants 'e 'ere tockin' aboot..."

”Now, now, Dearie, no talkin' with yer mouth full!" She said, wagging her finger at Lupina. ”As for those plants, I have them stored in a special environment, below my atelier. Can't exactly have them out in the open for obvious reasons, dontcha know?"

"Hm..." Lupina hummed.

Bellum delightfully watched as Lupina downed the food she had prepared, always happy when people enjoy her cooking. ”Tell me dearie," she said, now a little more serious. ”What’s go you so curious about that nasty batch ‘o plants?"

"Just... need them... is all..." Lupina says, trying to answer without answering. If she recklessly solicited Bellum, there was a chance that she'd report Lupina to whatever higher authority she answered to, and put her to the sword.

”Oh, I…see…" Bellum was silent for a moment, as if pondering to herself. ”I imagine you want to study ‘em, thinking that if you understand ‘em better you’ll also know how to better stave off its effects. That’s why we have ‘em here. But, we’ll worry ‘bout that bridge when we get to it. Why do we get you settled into your room once yer done eatin’? After that, Ms. Brun did mention that there are some quests that are available to undergo as well."

"Is that even something you take on day one," Lupina asks, glad that Bellum horribly misunderstood her need for the plants.

That was the first good thing going for her all day.

After Lupina would finish her brunch, Bellum would take the bowl back into the kitchen and dump it in the sink, where she’d wash it later. Walking past Xashan and Damian who were still conversing about something. Coming back over to Lupina, she’d wipe her hands off with a towel. ”Well, dearie, let me show you to yer room!"

Lupina would follow, confused how she'd even gotten bunk so soon without proving herself. At the same time, she was trying to ignore the dull ache in the center of her forehead. "Will you be my caretaker, then," she asks. "I saw that other woman, Elaine, was it? I saw her carrying that other woman. Or, are they lovers? I'd heard that some women commit such things in places of hostile circumstances. I admit, I do not understand why, but I could see that there is pleasure to derive from another woman. Her tastes. Her smells. Her tactile allure; soft or rough, the uncertainty of," Lupina revealed one of her flaws: she was a motormouth, "Could you? Lie with another woman? A person as welcoming as you, I could see it. Your rotund figure is pleasing to the sto -- studious eyes. Fastidious minds would find it matronly, filling. Definitely kept soft, and well-hewn. And, hands like your, deft in gardens and weeds, would likely be pleasing in certain other gardens, don'tcha think, hm?"

”Caretaker? Oh, dearie I’m just the Tower’s agricultural expert! I mainly use my expertise to help out little Naomi and provide her with my environmental and ecosystem research, in addition to assisting Ms. Elaine with concocting new elixirs and plant-based medications." She giggled a bit at Lupina’s inquiry. She wasn’t honestly prepared for Lupina’s diatribe of what some would call forbidden love, being only to stare at Lupina with a blank expression. ”Umm…best we save such talk for another time dearie. Oh, look! We’ve arrived at yer room!” She responded in a rushed tone, immediately trying to change the conversation.

Having opened the door for her, Lupina would she her room was fully furnished, complete with a bathroom shower, mattress set, dresser drawer and mirror, and a table for general use.

”Well, dearie" Bellum chimed again. ”I’ll go ahead and let you get settled in. For now, your free to talk with Brun if you have any more questions about the Tower and what your plans are moving forward. But, please feel free to make yerself at home, no rush! If there’s anything you need just let me or any other member of the staff know! Although, Ms’ Naomi can be a little anti-social at times…"

The botanist witch lingered at the door for a moment, in case Lupina had anything else she needed to discuss.

"You didn’t answer my question," Lupina says, before she seemed to duck her head for no reason. "....never mind."

”Well, sweetie, we can discuss those bad plants on a later day. Right now, just focus on restin’ up. Think of this place as yer new home, and us, yer family. That’s also the lesson that Arteus instills in all of us. He may be a deal younger than some of us, but we respect him as a leader even so. Well, I believe I’ve prattled on for long enough, I’ll let ya be. Chow!"

The forest witch closed Lupina’s door and left down the halls, likely back to her atelier. Thus, she now had left the dire crossbreed girl to her own devices.

Lupina would hang onto the silence for a few minutes, before throttling the air. "You are so rude! Dummy! Idiot! Moron!" she shouted.

"You are being sloppy," growled a phantasmal wolf head, despite her grip on his muzzle. "Childish, big sister..."

"That’s right! I’m the big sister, Baast! So, you should respect me!" Lupina whined, eyes swollen with big, sheep tears,"Yet, you bully me in public, and make me eat healthy, and BONK ME ON THE HEAD!!!"

"Haaaa...."Baast sighed. "Oh, stop crying. It’s unbecoming of a young woman."

"Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh..." Lupina hiccupped, rubbing her head. "I’m big!"

"Yes, you are," Baast says, wrapping around her, and resting his head on her right shoulder. "My big sister. Silly, as you are. You have made it this far, I can’t deny that," he nuzzled her cheek, "Big... Hrm..."

"Wha?" Lupina tilted her head into his. "Think we can steal a few snippings to grow?"

"I can snake a few," Baast says. "How you will manage to grow them unnoticed is the problem."

"Same as before," Lupina says. "For now, though... I wanna take a bath... I hope they have enough hot water..."

Shedding her clothes, she would retire to the bath, unaware of the eye upon her from an uninvited guest...

Upon a desk, set inside a room, access denied to all but those entrusted with the secrets of Eon Tower, sat a woman of the cloth with her hands upon her blindfolded eyes. Splitting her face, serenity incarnate, was a twisted, crooked smile, as she sat her hands in her lap.

Her name was Maedelyn Eribiss, Divinity, folded, pressed into the fragile form of a Human, like an origami swan yet unfurled.

Idly, she rocked on the desk, a phantom in the magecraft, were she watched the benefactor of her apostles do his due diligence in paperwork, day in, day out. Studying his studious, serious face, as he treated each paper and every stroke like he would end a life for failing to comprehend it 1001%.

It was unsurprising that people followed him.

Perhaps, he was a good side to saddle her aid...

...if he returned soon. Maybe, she’d need to hunt him down herself...

The blindfolded woman sitting on the administrator's desk would suddenly find the large ornate doors of the office swing open, revealing the intern leader standing at the entrance of the room.

"Who are you?" While Brun sounded calm, her underlying tone was anything but. She was furious and highly concerned that someone could infiltrate the Tower without her realizing. It didn't help that she felt an ominous foreboding from the woman.

"You can see me? How curious," Maedelyn says, as she opened a bag of potato chips. "Rare talent."

"You're using some form of mental suggestion to make yourself invisible to those susceptible to it, yes? You'll come to find that I won't fall prey to such things. Now…"

Brun then held out a hand toward the woman, pointing two fingers at her. The woman would find her body surrounded by golden chains, they circled around her but didn't touch her person.

"Those are special chains that sap strength, so don't bother with any funny business. I'll ask again, who are you?"

"Strength," Maedelyn asks, as a potato chip floated to her mouth, "I assume, physical strength. That's very cute. Pretty, too."

"Not sure that'll do much against me."

"What value would chains like those have against someone who clearly holds command over powerful magic?" Brun responded, growing impatient with the woman. "You've still yet to answer my question. Are you here to spy on the Tower, or were you sent to kill someone? Are you from the Church?"

Looking at the woman's attire, it wouldn't be too unfair for her to be taken as a member of the Holy sect. "If you're an inquisitor, the inspection wasn't supposed to happen until later. Explain yourself."

"Acoosing a Goddiss ouf beeng a spy. Ballsee," Maedelyn says, just crunching chips. Swallowing, she rolled her neck, before her blindfold unfurled, exposing the rainbow-hued third eye she possessed, and the two empty holes in her skull. "You ask too many questions, little girl. It draws my ire. Where is Arteus?"

"Now why on Earth would I tell you that?" Brun asked, her face had a neutral expression but it did little to hide her menace. It did break, for a moment, as she gazed at the woman’s otherworldly eye along with her empty sockets. "I’ve never heard of any Church agent possessing such an eye, you’re quite the character, most certainly." Brun then began to tighten the chains around the woman to further restrain her.

"Careful," Maedelyn smirked, "Any tighter, and you're gunna get feedback." Maedelyn opened a new bag of chips, tossing her unfinished bag aside to spill out on the floor. "I don't wanna know what the last chip tastes like. Ruins the majesty of it all, y'know," she asks. "That mystery. That wonderlust. That feeling of not knowing, but wanting to know. It's exhilarating. I never want to lose that feeling..."

Maedelyn crunched a new chip. "Oh! This one is salmon!"" she says, as the unmarked, unbranded, just white bag contained a traditional amount. And, like it's contemporary before it, would be slung away at the quarter mark to be replaced by another, selfsame. "Want the first chip? I don't know what it is. It's so exciting," offered the woman of the cloth, "We can trade, even. Tell me whatever Arteus is, and you can have the whole bag? That's a fair trade, no?"

"No thank you, I try to be particular with what food I put in my mouth." Brun replied, her patience worn thin at this point. "I can see that this is utterly pointless. I will simply retrain and throw you into one of our storage rooms until you feel like cooperating."

With that, the woman with the third eye would find the hand she offered the chip with to be completely covered in golden chains. So would the rest of her body, as Brun then opened a portal using The Void.

"Silly girl..." Maedelyn says, before a hand reached out of the portal, and pulled Brun in -- into the depth of the Void she pretended to command -- into the depth of the pages of a tome more esteemed than life itself. In an instant, Brun would crash into the tile floor of a vast library - in a checkerboard of ivory and obsidian - that spanned for miles around, as wooden bookshelves as tall as skyscrapers and as short as end tables rose and fell into the patterned floor; creating ever-moving, ever-changing, ever-learning sections in dizzying hedge maze of knowledge.

It reeked of that comfortable smell of leather, that aged warmth of wood glue, and the crinkling song of turning pages. Underneath, the smooth scent of graphite lead and wood, as well as the heady thickness of charcoal ink and plastic - pencils and pens, alike, scritch-scratching at papers, transcribing and translating knowledge from ephemeral memory to eternal remembrance.

And, in the center of it all, she sat,the Maiden Abyss, on a pedestal.

{You wanted me in a storage room?}

Her voice carried with ease across the halls, though she did not speak up above a whisper.

It was a library, after all.

The Chaos Witch, caught off guard, was unable to react to the woman pulling her through her own portal no less, being whisked away to an unknown space. She crashed into the floor with a grunt. As she recovered, she held her head up and looked around at her new surroundings. Confusion and bewilderment filled her face as she took in the Non-Euclidean dimension that infinitely stretched out before her. Getting to her feet, she immediately turned to the source of the whisper she heard.

"...Who are you? What…IS this place??"

{Me? I am Knowing. I am Knowledge. I am what is Learned. I am what is Taught. I am all that will be and can be Known. I am both a Font and Abyss of, but above all else, I am a Maiden. The Maiden Abyss. Royal-rank Diverged Divine. First of my kin and ken. You call me Malfested. I take offense, but that is neither here nor there. Are you following, silly, little girl?}

Brun shook her head in disbelief. "What the hell are you even talking about…?" She said in a tired tone. ”Why have you brought me to this place? What even IS the place…?"

{You are awfully unbecoming of a guest, even more than you are a host. First you threaten to shove me in a broom closet, after tying me up with chains, and then you have the audacity to act as if I’ve inconvenienced YOU by turning the tables, instead of showing me the modicum of respect due what your insignificant Race considers a”‘Demon,” even if so-called “Gods” and “Demons” are cut from the same cloth.} The Maiden Abyss closed her book, and suddenly Brun was back in the office.

"Honestly, Humans haven’t learned anything since the Dawn of Time," Maedelyn looked up, her blindfold back on. "From the moment you learned speech, you’ve been nothing but a bunch of back-talking, belligerent bonobos. Hairless apes, throwing stones and words in equal measure. Bowing to false idols, while damning those that made you viable as a species. The ability to speak? Me. The ability to plan? Me. The ability to kill? My cousin, but we had tea that day, so me, I claim that. It’s knowledge, so it's always me. Those Gods your Church supposed to worship were all the happiness when you weren’t so talkative, so demanding, and so needy. The preferred the oo-oo-ah-ah days, and would love if you’d return to monkey, so to speak."

Maedelyn - metaphysically - rolled her eyes. "Haaa... Look, we got off on the wrong foot, so..." she flexed, and shattered the chains that bound like tissue paper, "My name is Maedelyn Eribiss. Clever, right? I thought so. Better than my host name. Natalie Demours. How depressing," she extended her hand for a shake.

Brun blinked twice, simply staring at the woman with a blank expression on her face. She did, however, return the gesture offered by the “woman”. "Brunhyldia Amelia Selini." She responded in kind, giving her name to the person who introduced herself as Madedelyn. "Um, please excuse me, but might I ask why you’ve chosen to enter the Tower currently. And what is it that you want with Arteus?"

"Quite the name," Maedelyn says. "Well, Brun. I’mma call you Brun, and you can call me Mae. Easier than mouthfuls. Mouths are for chips. Speaking of, chip," Maedelyn offered from her bag, yet tested for flavour, before continuing, "It’s really simple. There’s too many players on the Chessboard of Life - too many recklessly promoted Pawns, overburdening the board with Kings and Queens in need of land. The Church. The Association. The Menagerie. The Miasma Cult. The Kingdom of Scenitia. Eon Tower. Even little gangs cropping up. All these players, moving about against and alongside one another in a vast, prolonged game of King of the Hill..." she shook the bag suggestively. "I come bearing an edge for Eon Tower, the newest player on the board. My eyes."

"...I see…" Brun tried to force a friendly smile in order to have the mood remain positive. "You…or, I guess, that other person mentioned that you were divine beings or something of the sort? I understand that the Church and the Association have been in political turmoil behind the scenes for centuries. But, these other entities you’ve spoken of, I’ve never heard of them before. Err…" She looked to the side with hesitation in her eyes, her arms folded.

"You basically want to offer your services to us, in order to make it so that we can perhaps come out on top amongst all of the warring, is this accurate?"

"If that helps you understand, yes," Maedelyn says. "I suppose you aren't wholly incompetent as a secretary. You'll do."

"Secretary…?" Brun uttered "That’s certainly news to me." At this point, Brun found it pertinent not to try and press the issue further, thinking of the well-being of everyone else present in the Tower.

"You said you wanted to know about Arteus’s whereabouts? He is currently investigating the sites of various monster attacks. Recently, a village was completely destroyed and the surrounding area was turned into a miasma wasteland. It was a similar case to one that happened weeks earlier. He may be back later this evening, most likely…"

"Of course, you'd make a brilliant secretary, if you just put that noggin to joggin' and really absorb knowledge," Maedelyn says, "You don't even know the inner machinations of your own landscape. You need to do research, study, and scout. Learn about the other players. Ask yourself, do you know how a member of the Church just waltzed into Eon Tower, a sovereign territory, without word from her home territory nor notice until you," she inquired, "and then, ask yourself further, can anyone you have do that? Can The Association do that? To you? To The Church? Could these rising gangs become new Pawns, awaiting promotion? Think, Brun, think."

"...Yes…quite…" Brun flatly responded, rather drained at this point. "I will certainly…take everything you’ve just said into consideration." Brun began to leave for the door, then turned back to the woman known as Mae. "I imagine that you’ll remain here in Arteus’s office until he returns? Can I also trust that you will do no harm to any of the Tower’s denizens?"

"Tired, dear," Maedelyn asks, placing a hand to her forehead. "You seem warm? Sick?"

Maedelyn tilted her head, before biting into a chip, "Salt and pepper," and returned to sitting on the deck. "I don't have to harm anyone to hurt them. I'm neutral, for now."

Brun gently backed away as Mae placed an unwarranted hand on the witch’s forehead. "I’m quite fine, thank you very much." She said, watching the woman carefully as she returned sitting on Arteus’ desk. She didn’t really understand what Mae meant by her statement, but she’s supposed that means that she’ll play nice, at least for now. Brun exited the room, closing the doors behind her.

"Arteus, you fucking lout." She spat in a very annoyed tone. "I feel like you know that woman. I swear when you return, I’m going to beat your head in with my staff!"

Chucking to herself, Maedelyn placed her hands upon her eyes, and watched her Apostles...

With Leon and Kiff having left the infirmary, all who remained there were its owner Elaine and the scarred Alchemist Scarlett. It seemed that she was once again coming to, she would find Elaine sitting right at her side. This time, however, she was smiling.

”I see you're awake now.” Elaine said. ”That tranquilizer I gave you was strong enough to put down a Wasteland Beast for several hours, but you were only asleep for 15 minutes. You're quite the individual!”

Her somewhat cheerful demeanor was quickly replaced with a more serious one.

”Do you mind if we talk for a moment?”

"You aren’t the first to drug me..." Scarlett groused. "I want my egg back. Nobody said, I couldn’t claim prizes for my troubles," she says, operating between the lines, "As for talk... didn’t we?"

Elaine's expression changed a bit at Scarlett's statement; not the first time, she says?

”Is not as though we take issue with you simply having the egg,” Elaine responded, ”We removed it from you because it was literally killing you.”

”As for before, I'd prefer a talk that was less violent…”

"Ugh..." Scarlett grunted, petulant, unhappy, like a spoiled teenager, not a woman in her early forties. "Fine, whatever, I’m still shaking off the drugs. So, not like I’m going anywhere. Talk."

”Well, to sum it up, I want to know more about you.” Elaine spoke plainly and deliberately. ”I want to know how your body has come into its current state. The Alchemy performed on it is perhaps the most bizarre I've ever seen. I would also like to know what compelled you to put a Makara egg of all things into your womb. I have my suspicions, but I'd rather hear it from you.”

"Bizzare? Rude," Scarlett says, speaking with a twinge of jealousy, as she said, "I didn’t point out whatever you ate to get those hams on your chest."

Elaine might have hit a sore point by sheer LEAP OF LOGIC from the washing board Alchemist.

”Genetics mainly.” Elaine gave a perhaps surprising retort. ”Doing exercises that promote chest, back, and shoulder strength also helps. There are many who'll tell you that eating certain foods will promote breast growth, but this has never been scientifically or clinically proven. Also, no, I don't use Alchemy to improve my appearance, thank you very much!” She said sternly, folding her arms and making a jovial face.

”Moving on from that, again, everyone acknowledges the egg as yours. We're even incubating it as we speak. Of course, you have free roam to check in on it as you please.”

Elaine adjusted her seat and placed her hands in her lap. She felt that hopefully her comment would lighten the mood. ”Forgive me if I sounded rude, that most certainly wasn't my intent. But, aside from that, I feel I answered your concerns. Will you now respond to my inquiries?”

Scarlett grumbled something about “unfair lotteries” and “old people get shafted” before she exhaled sharply from her nose, and seemed to, rather suddenly, compose herself. A flick of the wrist, and she was propped on her left palm; twirling her right hand in the air, as she reclined like one of those Elysian girls so often painted by horny men. In a way, she had an unmistakable beauty to her form; her silhouette was lithe, her arms, legs, and belly were trim, her assets upstairs and downstairs were svelte, conformed and firm, thanks to a very active lifestyle... and yet, her outward beauty was betrayed by her right arm and her left breast; the similarly scarred flesh that ran from her elbow to her fingers, and from her sternum to her cheek.

These flaws and features tied together by the distant, longing expression that she adopted in her neutral pose; undone, yet done up; here, yet there; looking at Elaine, yet beyond her.

Content.

Disquieted.

For a moment, she could be mistaken for a painting; stretched out across the bed, her cloak draped across her skyclad body, pitched at its highest by her crooked knee, resting a bare sole on the other knee. Her silver hair caught the light, and shadowed her third eyes as it fell, and didn’t move again. For just a moment, the artificiality of her body was almost forgotten...

"Ask your questions, then," Scarlett says, breaking the moment - fleeting, ephemeral. "Just be aware: I don’t have to give answers you’ll like."

”Well, I'll ask the former question, as I did before.” Elaine said. ”What exactly has happened to your body? How has it come to be in this state?”

"Human Evolution," Scarlett says. "At least, what I have determined to be the best course of," she says, "Replacing facilities of flesh and blood with redundancies of steel and oil. Ascend Humanity, and evolve beyond. No matter the mortal cost."

”Evolution, is it?” Elaine said. She was a little perplexed by the pose Scarlett had taken, but she made note of the scarred parts of her flesh. ”I've met many magus in the field, and many have different ideas of reaching the pinnacle, some are similar to yours. You're not the first person I've seen who has tried to improve themselves through artificial augmentation.” Elaine gave Scarlett's being another once over.

”Though, I've seen none this extreme. I believe that's enough for now. Now, for my next question: Did you place that egg inside of you because your augmentations prevent your reproductive bits from working?”

"Nope. They work very well. I’ve the ability to asexually reproduce; self-stabilizing biological cloning, if you will," Scarlett says. "It takes less energy to foster - surrogate - a fetus, however. Unfortunately," at this, she frowned, "I cannot say, smuggling an egg with such methods is one I will reattempt without study."

Elaine closed her eyes for a moment, she appeared to be in deep thought. Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked dead into Scarlett.

”Scarlett, you certainly gave some of us quite the morning today. I was afraid you were going to die, and I had no idea how to help you. Thankfully, my friends were able to assist, and now both you and the egg are safe.” Scarlett would perhaps be taken aback by the genuine sincerity of Elaine's words along with her warm smile.

”I would agree that more research on your part is needed. Although, I would much prefer you not undertake that endeavor at all….”

"Death is just an obstacle to evolve beyond," Scarlett says, "I have, in all but the most profound way. I still need a brain and a heart..." Scarlett cast her eyes to the ceiling, as she spread out, bare upon the bed, "If you need to understand how to treat me, you can put me to the knife. You'd not be the first to need to."

Scarlett held still, as she stared unblinkingly, and said, "Don't worry about anesthetics. My body has antitoxins and antibodies for the general gambit. I'll be under for a few minutes, before it wears off. I can deal with the pain - my weapons are worse than any invasive surgery..."

Elaine paused, it seemed she was genuinely pondering on Scarlett's proposal. She'd dealt with plenty of tough guys and gals on the operating table, but Scarlett seemed to be different. She really didn't care either way, as if pain was all she knew.

After a moment, Elaine got up and stood directly over the lying Scarlett. Clasping her hands together, a small flash of light crackled between them. She parted her hands until they were a certain length apart. The crackling light eventually turned into a scalpel, she had transmuted her own surgical instrument.

”You know your body best, Scarlett.” She said. ”I won't take too much of your time. I understand your words, but I don't like the idea of contributing to anymore of your pain. Especially for, admittedly, a partially selfish reason.”

”Now, let's begin.” Elaine gently put the tool to Scarlett's flesh, making a vertical incision across her abdomen. Her dexterity befitted her experience and station, soon the inner workings of Scarlett's biology were on full display. Shifting gears, pitch black oil in the place of blood, and even a bit of sand. She had never seen anything like it!

Scarlett barely flinched, as Elaine spill her open; exploring the inner workings of her transmuted biology from the crude replacement and the refined replication to the transformation of her blood from a watered down substance from birth in her marrow to the thickened, oil-like slurry rife with copper and iron sand.

If not for her hardlight scalpel, Elaine would have been electrocuted or burned by the arcs of lightning that spread from her heart to her lungs and liver, causing contractions that pushed the captured oxygen that was converted into burnable fuel that kept everything running, and kept the filtration organ working overtime to filter and recycle her blood; pushing clean blood back to the heart with oxygen carry potential restored.

It flew in the face of all biology, but... it worked.

In a childish, crude way... it worked.

It also begged the question: how long could it work?

Elaine, despite her youthful appearance, was a seasoned physician and tenured one in her field. However, Scarlett's biology was so astonishing it caused her to pause for a little bit. During her viewing, she noticed something in the crude contraption that was Scarlett's anatomy. There was something odd going on with her heart.

She recalled that Scarlett's biology permitted her a bizarre self-regeneration of sorts, but she saw a scarring on her heart's tissue. The intensity of the scarring fluctuated constantly, as if the healing wasn't working as intended. Elaine's eyes narrowed, drawing a hypothesis: Perhaps the self-repair is working as intended - it's restoring the heart to its original state, meaning she had that condition before she received her regeneration ability.

In that case, the heart could never be healed on its own, and it would eventually fail, even with the augmentations placed on the alchemist's body. If Elaine had to guess, she'd say she only got around twenty years or so. She also figured that Scarlett was painfully aware of this fact more than anyone.

”Scarlett”, she said, ”I'm going to take a sample of your heart tissue for analysis. Please bear with me.” With masterful precision, she took her blessed scalpel and began the process.

"If you so desire," Scarlett says, barely concerned, as if this was truly not her first time under the knife, unanesthetized, and fully cognizant of her surroundings. Her expression, bored. Her tone, apathetic. Her aura, dismissive. "Perhaps, you’ll derive more answers than I have," she would have shrugged, the motion clear in her words, but she knew better than to risk a nick. After all, open heart surgery wasn’t a game to be careless in. "Perhaps, you’ll fail to offer more than stopgaps," she says, "I’m sure we’ll find out."

”Um…” Elaine had to admit, Scarlett's apathy towards being operated on while conscious made her a bit uncomfortable. What she must've been through, the things she endured. It must've been staggering, and it admittedly roused Elaine's curiosity. If only it'd help her learn more about how to work around Scarlett's biology and help her more effectively, it's not like she was unempathetic toward the woman after all.

She gathered an amount that she was satisfied with, watching as the heart was restored to the point it was at before that. She went to grab a petri dish and placed the sample in it, storing it for later use. She then walked back over to Scarlett.

”Scarlett, what is the condition that your heart's been afflicted with? I don't think I've really seen anything like it…”

"You tell me," Scarlett says, putting it plainly in that statement: she didn't know. "Are you done exploring? I’ve plenty of other internal parts, if you want to test your knife," she says, rattling off a simple list, "Kidneys. Intestines. Ovaries. I’m pretty sure, my appendix is still there, too."

”You've already told me the story behind your reproductive system.” Elaine replied. ”And your other organs look to be normal. Well, as normal as your anatomy permits. I presume you've been willing your regeneration to stop itself for the procedure? I believe we're done for today, you can patch yourself up now.”

"Something like that," Scarlett says, lifting her arms, and grabbing the flayed back skin and separated muscle; squeezing her arms close, and triggering a sudden lashing of iron wires from either end, and pulled themselves together. Elaine was treated to the squelching of flesh and cracking of bone, as the surgery was repaired.

"Fuuuucckk..." Scarlett groaned, as she worked herself into a seated position. "I'm only forty-two... feel two score older..."

Elaine would recall that Scarlett's profile had her aged at ten years younger. It prompted the question: why lie?

Elaine watched with both unease and a bit of intrigue as Scarlett's self-repair went to work. With the sounds of flesh and bones she was treated to, Elaine knew that it had to have been painful. She went over to a cabinet, returning with a vial containing a lime-colored substance.

”Hopefully this can spruce you up.” She said, handing her the vial. ”It's a solution that promotes one's metabolism and restores energy. I think it'll work for your body, given what I've come to understand about it.”

"Maybe," Scarlett says, swinging her feet over the bed, and landing on the floor with a *plap~!* before stretching. "Hungry..."

Scratching her silver hair, Scarlett looked over to Elaine, and then scratched her cheek shyly, looking away, as she asked, "I kinda put you through some shit, and I get it, the whole doctor thing, so... I figured... I mean, we get paid here, and I did just finish a mission, so... if you're hungry, too... I could buy you whatever meal it's currently time for, eh?"

Elaine stared at Scarlett for a moment with a look of surprise on her face, blinking a bit. She then smiled, chuckling a bit with a hand on her cheek.

”My. That caught me off guard for a moment, if I'm being honest.” She said. ”I suppose you've certainly kept me busy this morning, for certain! However…”

Elaine's expression became more serious, crossing her arms in front of her. ”While I appreciate and accept your apology, I believe there's someone else you should be apologizing to. Although, to be fair, she owes you an apology too.” The physician felt Scarlett knew who she was referring to.

”As for a meal, I do believe it's nearing lunchtime. But, perhaps we can talk about it after your apology.”

"Apologize? To that patronizing preface to patheticness," Scarlett asks. "Maddening to even consider. To what end should I apologize to anyone that attacks me," she asks, "For what, furthermore, am I apologizing for? Hurting her feelings with the truth? If her theory was so secure, then why could I copy it after one lecture?" Scarlett turned her nose, "Children shouldn’t play at being Adults, any more than lukewarm water should pretend it's boiling."

"That said, if those are the conditions of yours..." Scarlett huffed, her bronze skin taking a hint of red upon her cheek, "Very well. I’ll entertain it."

Elaine honestly didn’t know how to feel about a woman who was perhaps a decade older than her acting in such a reserved and flustered manner. She began giggling, but not too strongly, understanding that perhaps she just didn’t have much experience in dealing with others.

”Come, we’ll go together.” She said softly, again leading them out of her office. They were walking down the familiar path towards Nadia’s study. Elaine imagined that Scarlett’s stomach must be churning right now, which got worse the nearer they got to their destination. ”I understand you don’t think highly of her, Scarlett.” She began. ”But, she isn’t a bad person. I’m sure she’s actually overjoyed that you even attempted to use her principle in the first place. But, she probably has mixed feelings clouding her judgment, what with you two having conflicting ideologies and not making the best first impressions on one another.” Elaine looked down at the floor as they walked for a brief moment. ”She’s not had…the easiest life. Something I’m sure you of all people can relate to.”

"There isn’t anyone alive I can relate to," Scarlett says. "I killed them, after all. That was the cost of Knowledge... my body, my friends, my research..." she looked to the distance, yet looked back in her own mind, "I relate better to the beast behind the feet of Humanity than I do anything else."

"Regardless, I’ll play pretend Human, until my judgment is called. That’s why I’m here..." Scarlett held up her scarred arm, "I’ll fight until I die, and when I am dead, then I will be worthy of being known as a Human."

”Uhh…I’m not sure I really follow…” Elaine said, rather befuddled by Scarlett’s monologue. ”I personally feel you’re as just as human as anyone else, your biology be damned. But, what you said just now, you killed your friends? Your former research team?” They had finally appeared before Nadia’s door.

”Perhaps you can elaborate further later, for now, let’s have a little talk with Ms. Whitsett.” Elaine began to knock on the door. After a few minutes, there was no answer. She knocked again, but still got no answer. ”Nadia, it’s me, Elaine. I have Scarlett with me, and she wants to speak to you about something.” A vocal proclamation received no response either. A tired expression came to Elaine’s face. ”I understand you may be upset, but perhaps we can all benefit from having a little chat. Really, we just want to talk, I promise it’ll only take a few moments of your time!”

After several attempts made with no response, Elaine generated a golden field around her hand and held it to the door, as if analyzing something. After a moment, she released the aura around her hand and let go of the door. She then turned to Scarlett. ”She doesn’t appear to be in her office right now.” She said. ”She’s a rather odd one, so I can’t say for certain where she might have gone.” She held a finger to her chin and gazed upwards.

”Oh well, I suppose we’ll try for later then.” She said, making a shrug. ”I…suppose lunch sounds fine. I imagine that you’re not awfully familiar with the Republic, so I suppose I could show you around. I know a few good places.”

"Sounds like a much more enjoyable time to me," Scarlett says, "I will follow you."

There was a clear release of tension in Scarlett’s voice.

Elaine walked with Scarlett to the Tower’s entrance, eventually reaching the main lobby. ”Let’s see, I know a nice sandwich shop that also has some lovely artisan drinks. Oh! There’s also a diner that has foods from the desert region, they recently just opened and I haven’t had the chance to try it yet. Although, I feel that maybe a hardy gal like you would prefer bar food and a harder beverage. I know of a good tavern that Johannes and Xashan love to frequent.”

As they walked, Elaine wasn’t paying special attention to whether Scarlett was actually listening to her or not, too busy planning their destination for a nice luncheon.

Scarlett was, more so than she expected herself to be. Elaine had a nice voice; smooth, half-melodic, a halfway point between matronly and bedside, yet a hit of nonsense uncommon her age and excitability unbecoming her station. The resident doctor came off as, well, a nice person in the most genuine sense.

As such, it was almost heartbreaking to see the sight of the Mission Board repopulated; new jobs, new opportunities for advancement to her peers, and new possible chances for her to die a Human. Her penance was her service and her service was her mission; there was no ignoring what was asked of her by the omninesient demon in her mind nor the crownless king of the town.

"I'm sorry... duty calls..." Scarlett says, "I do like to drink, beer - drafts, and the like. And, I love sandwiches. Though, my taste is plain: ham and cheese; peanut butter and jelly; a bagel with lox; boring, boring, but delicious," she babbled, as if embarrassed, or, perhaps, hoping she could convince herself to take Elaine out... to be Human... to be normal. Her expression flared for a moment, as she offered a pathetic smile, and held Elaine's hands. "I'll send word, when I'm returning. Make reservations for that new place, and I'll take you there; breakfast; lunch; dinner; doesn't matter. I'm sorry... I have to go..."

Before Elaine could commit the cardinal sin of changing her mind for her, Scarlett would run off to study the missions, and take on one involving some Boar Belua making trouble. Partly, because she was hungry and fresh boar sounded divine, and partly, because it was the first she saw.

She didn't notice the name above hers, due to the fact it was written in another language she didn't have time to translate.

However, she'd learn of her company, once she ran into the Crossbreed Belua who was waiting in the same transport she would be.

”Or, perhaps you’re more adventurous. There is a - ” Elaine stopped mid-sentence, as Scarlett decided it’d be more important to look at the newly posted requests. Although, she did give Elaine some insight into her tastes, which were surprisingly simple. ”Haha, sure, no worries Scarlett. You’re a Reaver after all, and that’s what Reavers do. I’m a little bummed that I’m being denied a nice lunch partner, but I’ll be fine. Perhaps Bellum or even Naomi won’t mind keeping me company.” She said, holding her hips and making a cute pouting face.

Elaine noticed the mission that Scarlett had taken. Before she ran off, Elaine came up behind her and gently tapped her shoulder. ”You know Scarlett, I AM the Tower’s physician. I can give orders whether or not to let you take missions. Under normal circumstances, I’d keep you in the infirmary for a few more days until I feel comfortable with clearing you for leave.” She had an ominous expression on her face during her explanation, but then it quickly turned into a gentle smile. ”But thankfully, you’re a strong woman. I don’t know many people who can shrug off hormone rejection and open heart surgery all in the same day! Fortunately, as well, that mission you’re taking seems to be a pretty easy one. However, I will ask you to take care all the same. So, I suppose I’ll be seeing you later then.”

With a wave farewell, Elaine left Scarlett to her devices, and made her way back to the inner halls of the Tower. While walking back, her eyes were filled with a sudden determination. Scarlett, I want to find out what happened to you. I want to find a way to treat you. I WILL find a way to treat you. She silently said to herself.

Lupina would smell Scarlett before she saw Scarlett.

Baast would sense Scarlett before he saw Scarlett.

Scarlett would feel them before they felt her.

The Eyes of the Beholder, the Contractual Token of the Diverged Divine, Royal-ranked, and only of her name, the Maiden Abyss, was forced open in the meeting of the Keeper of the Left Eye and the Keeper of the Right Eye.

Scarlett Ishval.

Lupina Scarlatina.

"YOU!"

In an instance, a meeting of chance turned into a stand-off.

Flesh stripped from Bone, Metal surged into its place, as an arm became a sword.

Happiness gave way to Sadness, and Sadness gave way to Hatred, as a bowstring drew tight.

A Spirit of Death became manifest in defiance of; piercing the First Law of Life with its lance.

In a neat triangle, Scarlett, Lupina, and Baast met, face-to-face.

"Two-against-one..." Scarlett leveled her sword at Baast, as the Wolf Spirit had her maw wide, allowing a lance of his own shaped and sharpened tongue to be challenged by her meat cleaver. At the same time, she pointed her left arm at Lupina’s bow, and fire surrounded her arm, as a not-so-small Spirit Animal joined the fight, and Milli turned into a flaming pike. "Even, now..."

From high above, watching from her seat, Maedelyn giggled between a handful of potato chips, "How cute! They meet at last!"

"Watch out down there! This party’s getting crazy!"

In an instance, Scarlett was on the offensive - thrusting Milli towards Lupina, while she slashed her sword at Baast. In a second, she was in control of the flow of combat, as Milli reached the bow before the string would release, and the Spirit Animal sliced the Spirit String. At the same time, the sword made from flesh slammed into the lance made from muscle, and dug it into the ground.

A wet squish filled the silence, as Scarlett ripped her arm out of the sword in the stone ground, and released Milli to disguise her charge at Lupina; changing her from a metal snake to a flare of fire that allowed her to land a flying kick on Lupina's face that pushed on her sensitive nose. Recoiling, the Crossbreed Belua was unable to do anything more than be a springboard, as Scarlett kicked off her face, and drove her left palm into Baast; driving the inlaid gem between his ears.

"Milli. Synergize: Hellfire and Shackle," Scarlett says, summoning her from her gem, and using the glove at the Alchemical Gate. As she spawned, Milli was fully ablaze, and her body was a tight coil of chains that looped and buried into the ground - slamming the fellow Spirit into the earth. "Void Access: Granted. Esoinphil." Scarlett says, before firing the harpoon at the bow on the ground, and knocking it into the air. "So weak..."

Scarlett's chain rattled, as she walked over and stood on Lupina's back, catching her now, "Alight, then... let's talk..."

"Sure, we can do that..." Lupina groaned out, "Why don't you just hand me my bow? Show of good faith?"

"If you want it, you'll have to take it," Scarlett says, "But, you already knew that."

"Yeah," Lupina groaned, "I figured you say that..."

Lupina flexed her fingers, and Baast vanished from his prison, and reappeared with the intent to bite Scarlett's head up - thwarted only by her reaction time and ability to make distance. It was enough, however, as Lupina was on her feet. Baast rallied behind her, then merged with her arm, and opened his mouth wide to form the top and bottom of a phantom bow with his left-side fangs, while fashioning a drawing string of magic.

"How long can you maintain that, little girl," Scarlett asks, as she presented Lupina's bow; Milli wound herself around Scarlett's arm, and slither across the unstrung bow to string it with her own magic by using the tip of her left fang and tail as an anchor - both of them copying Lupina on the spot.

"Hard to say. I'd say, I'm just winging it, old lady," Lupina says, returning the subtle jab.

"Hm," Scarlett smirked, as she pulled on Milli's string, and settled a thin harpoon as an arrow.

"Hn," Lupina grunted as she pulled on Baast's string, and formed a similar arrow from her aggravation. "Whatever this is, let's settle it, old lady," she says, "here and now."

"I won't lose to the likes of you, little girl," Scarlett says, taking aim.

”Alright, ladies, that's quite enough. Save all that animosity for the piggies we'll be hunting.” A voice suddenly called out to the fighting magi. Scarlett would suddenly find herself being bound by a powerful sand that wound itself around herself, Lupina and Baast would be subject to something similar. Neither of the combatants would find themselves able to move. At that point, the women would see a familiar face walking up.

”Sorry, but infighting isn't allowed among members of the Tower.” It was Xashan, another veteran member of Eon. ”Especially during a mission. I'm not sure what type of past history or bad blood you have between each other, but I suggest you find a better way to settle your differences.”

"Who the hell do you think you are, boy?!" shouted the trio at Xashan.

”Xashan Vhastia, Reaver of Eon and your senior.” He replied. He used his sand to take Lupina's bow from Scarlett, leaving Mili with nothing to support. ”Hmm, just needs a string, right?” Xashan ran his hand vertically down the side of the bow where the string would be, as one began to be formed where he ran his hand. A newly fastened string had been made on the bow, it shone in the sunlight, which suggested it had a somewhat metallic composition in nature.

”There, good as new.” Xashan said. ”You can have this back if you agree to a more peaceful decorum with your teammate. Will save the violence for those thugs, eh?”

"It doesn't need to be strung," Lupina says, as the bow was snatched back by the phantom of her brother."But, this will make things easier in the future..."

"He isn't one to play with, big sister..." Baast says, defensively winding around her. "He is also our senior, true enough... We should be respectful... to a point," he says, looking at Xashan, "Your station is unproven. It is easy to catch anyone unawares in the heat of combat."

"True enough," Scarlett says, before her stomach practically roared in impatience, "Fortunately, my stomach is bothering me, so I'm going to sate my hunger, first. Will finish this another day, little girl."

"We can finish this today, old lady, just you -- " Lupina's threat was cut short as her stomach deeply growled from discontent. "Fine," she blushed, "I accept your rain check."

”Sheesh, that's quite the rumbling. " Xashan said. ”Your hunger probably wouldn't be so awful if you didn't empty out your guts during breakfast, still a little pissed about that by the way." He sneered.

He crossed his arms and held his head down for a moment, as if thinking of something. His head then rose, showing a confident smirk. ”Tell ya what, I'll treat you ladies to some grub after the mission's over. That is if you gals play nice and not cause anymore trouble."

"Make that now, and you have a deal," Scarlett says.

"Same," Lupina agreed.

And, with the terms and conditions rewritten for him, Xashan would find his arms captured, and himself being dragged towards whatever food that the twosome were sniffing out.