It was later in the day when they both woke up. Kiresula and Mayana went downstairs and drank a herbal tea. They had planned to visit some Glitchlings to understand more about Kiresula’s new species, but as they were preparing to get ready, a visitor arrived. It was a Glitchling who introduced himself as Kshi.

Kiresula arrived just at the moment where she heard the name: “Hello Kshi, I am Kiresula. This is my wife Mayana. Please come in! Can I offer something to you? Tea? Snacks?”

Kshi nodded: “I guess, I don’t want to stress your hospitality too much.”

They went to the sitting room and sat down, Kiresula quickly bringing the tea and the snacks from the kitchen. “Please, enjoy!” She poured the tea for the group, trying not to show how heavy the teapot felt to her now.

Kshi happily drank. “I am surprised that you have not yet chosen your Glitchling name. Most people do so because they had become a new person. They commonly use the letters that are readable in the new name that [System] provided. For me it was easy as the letters in my name are K, x, and i.”

Kiresula shrugged: “Just k and x don’t make a good name. If you add the letters in the class as q and z, it’s more of chaos.”

“It’s not a decision to make right now, but many people feel helped by it.” Kshi said, “Anyways, I am here to represent the Rainbow House. I understand how much community is worth. We are very much a group of members supporting each other. Many Glitchlings have no other place to go and so we offer a place to sleep, food, even a place to contribute to society by labour. But even for those who stay with the family, we have social groups of Glitchlings. Like a knitting group and a choir. We know that the [Cleric]s of the Church of the [System] thinks that our continued existence is anathema, but we disagree. We are not sure why the [System] decided to bless us with our new form, but it allowed us a new chance, a new lease on life.”

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Kiresula did her best not to roll her eyes: “A new lease without any chance of progression, you mean? I mean, I am glad that I didn’t die and, I guess that I am now immune to broken magic, but it still feels… unfair.”

Kshi smiled softly: “I understand your concerns. Maybe, you want to come to our social groups to understand how we feel and how we cope with the situation.”

Kiresula made a vague noise that was supposed to mean noncommittal and betrayed her feeling that Kshi had lost his marbles. Or started to believe his own lies to himself to make him feel better.

Kshi seemed unfazed. He handed Kiresula an envelope with a quixotic symbol, which at a second glance was three quartes of a circle and the remaining quarter of a square. “This explains things for you. If anything is unclear, we are just outside of the city walls to the west. Please do not hesitate to happen by.”

Mayana asked: “You live outside of the city? How come?”

Kshi looked said: “The Church of the [System] is not in favour of us, which is why we don’t settle in town. I would assume that a [Cleric] had already visited.”

Mayana shook her head: “Not yet.”

Kshi responded: “Expect them today, maybe tomorrow. They have strong opinions on us. They want us to be non-people. I will not deign to spread their reasoning with repetition. I will just state that we vehemently disagree. The Rainbow House is not political, but when our sheer existence is deemed wrong, even a simple mutual support organisation is deemed sinful. Unfortunately, they succeeded a few times in eroding existing support systems. Previously supportive families kicked out their Glitchling members. The fear of social exclusion runs deep.”

Kiresula looked at the others in slight fear. “Thank you for telling me.”

They chatted for a while but Kshi had to leave, which he did with small but methodical steps.

Kiresula finished getting washed and dressed into street clothes. She then opened the envelope and read it. Kshi’s writing was angular and small. The ink was red and it seemed to more vibrant than most things. Vibrant like Kshi’s skin. The text read: “Hello, I am glad that you found things out regarding your condition. Please be aware that the use of your skills within city limits will get you into more trouble than it’s worth. Yours, Kshi”

Kiresula gulped.