Luni, noticing my tears, and my being lost in thought, touches my bicep and leans in to ask, “How ya doin’ Reggie?”

I’m so flummoxed with all we’ve learned so far on Rayileklia that my only response for the moment is, “Oy vey.”

Luni, undaunted, asks again, “I said, how ya doin’ Reggie?”

I shake my head slowly as I answer, “In that case, my answer is double oy vey. So the answer that I say to ‘How ya doin’ Reggie,’ is oy vey, oy vey.”

She leans in conspiratorially, “I know you’ve got this, no matter how high, or how low. Wherever you’re needed, that’s where you’ll go. You’ll grab your staves and swords, and do that hero thing. Hey, hey, listen to me. I’m sure of it, look me in the eyes. I’m sure you’ll do that hero thing just fine. It doesn’t matter what planet we’re on. You’re my hero, always have been, always will be.”

My brain has several BSOD moments. When I recover, I do meet Luni’s gaze. After staring Luni in the eyes, seeing the warmth of the smile on her face, her desire to cheer me up and center me, I remember why I gave her the nickname of My Anchor. I can’t help but smile.

I hazard asking, “Lil’s going to choose to go to Hidden Heart aren’t they? They’re probably already in the process of leaving, maybe just waiting for you. Do you think they’ll hate me for choosing to go to Autumn Brook?”

Luni kisses me tenderly, “Lil will never truly hate you. I think neither of you are ready to be there for each other right now. Lil needs someone right now though, truly, they need me. I’m sure that when you’re finally ready, you’ll come find us, and Lil will be ready too. I know you’ll find us, whatever happens, wherever any of us end up, I’m sure of it. But um, still, maybe, um, please, promise me you will?”

I try to fight the smile I experience at Luni’s sudden meekness, “Of course I promise you Lu, my beloved Luni, absolutely. Apparently, not even death can keep us apart.”

We both chuckle lightly, completely ignoring the fact that we’re not the only beings in the room, because to us, at this tiny fraction of a moment, the other is the only being in the world that exists. The spell breaks after too short a moment, without private accelerated thinkspace we only have such short, ephemeral moments of wistful gazing. Luni clambers off of me, and heads out the south side of Daffodil’s home. I’m sure she spends eight minutes to summon the shop stall to her inventory before she heads out to track down Lil. Daffodil begins to ask a question, but the tears in my eyes and my shaking head prevent her from voicing whatever it was.

I hear Lucky let loose a howl, and he makes a ruckus as he dashes back and forth, sloshing mud, seemingly torn between staying with us, or following Luni to follow Lil. After a while, the slosh of Lucky’s mad dash gets further and further. He apparently eventually came to a conclusion. It makes sense, he spent the last few months alone with Lil, and Luni is kind of his mother in a weird sense.

Of course Teuila doesn’t take her ‘Little Sis’ leaving without bidding us farewell, sitting down. She stands and walks to me to check on me. When she’s sure I’m not in a panic episode, she steps out of the hut and begins shouting after Lu and Lil. Calling them butts for leaving without saying goodbye.

Shortly after, the sound of a leathery flap as Lil brakes their glide can be heard, as well as Luni’s soft, slightly nervous giggle, and Lucky’s sloshing. I perk back up from my saddened stupor. Could I dare hope that maybe we’re not splitting up after all? Unlikely. It’s more likely that they just had to come back to say goodbye. I look to Daffodil who nods and gives me the shoo gesture.

I can hear Teuila berating Lil and Lu who nervously chuckle with chagrin. I exit Daffodil’s home to wave to the two of them. Lil shoos Teuila out of the way to approach me.

Lil states, “Look Rej, I’m, I’m still mad. I need some time. We gave up everything, we thought we could never come back. I thought we were finished, that maybe you and Lu made some mistakes about us maybe having a future. I was fine with that. But now, with all this? I didn’t get to vent while we were still alive. I didn’t get revenge on Mat, and maybe you’re right, maybe I’m the only one stopping me. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt that he’s out there, getting away with everything, never having to face the ones he hurt, never having to apologize. It’s not fair. Mega unfair, mega mega mega unfair.”

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I begin to apologize, but Lil cuts me off, “I’m not finished. It wasn’t fair of me to turn things around on you, but that just shows us that I need time to deal with these feelings. You have to be a hero, you have to answer every call for help, I get it. I’m not ready to be that dragon yet though. Not after what we just went through. I trust you though. I trust that if you find a way back to our family, you’ll come find us first. You won’t abandon us here pal. Right Reggie buddy?”

I nod, gulping and choking on my saliva, trying not to cough in Lil’s face, “Hak, koff, glp. Of, of course Lil. I don’t even want us to be apart at all. I can’t imagine leaving you stranded on another planet. That would feel awful. I love you so much buddy. I missed you so badly for all those months, and I’m so sorry that I got to reunite with our family when you didn’t. A lot of things haven’t been fair to you, and I want you to take the time you need. I, I just, I just wish I could be there for you while you took it.”

Lil nods while chewing on their own tongue, “Hm, mhm. Me too Reggie, me too. We’re okay though. Just be careful out there. You aren’t the ultra magic superhero anymore. And even if you were, Lu says it was killing you near the end.” Lil turns to Teuila, “Hey, um, It’s-a-secret. I lub you buddy. Sorry it looked like I was going to take off. I wouldn’t though. Y’know?”

Teuila rubs her eyes, perhaps hiding tears, “I know, my dorky big dragbutt, I know. I was just upset about us splitting up. Just when we got back together. Sorry I yelled at you guys. Sorry to you too Lu. Words ya too dragbutt. Take care of her, okay? And you too, hunter mutt, you protect them both, okay Lucky? You be good, you listen to Lu and Lil.”

Lucky barks in reply and runs a swift circle, before panting with his tongue hanging out happily. I’m still surprised he suffers no effect from the acid rain, even with as mild as the drizzle is. I scratch Lucky’s muzzle and hug his large head momentarily. I’m really the only one affected by the acid I guess. I’m grateful that Luni and Teuila have hydrophobic fur, and that Lil’s scales aren’t sensitive to the acid.

Luni leaps into Teuila’s arms for one last tight hug, nuzzling her “Big Sis’s” cheek roughly, and Lil hugs all of us with their wings. I think Luni whispers some things to Teuila, but I can’t hear over the pitter patter and slosh of the rain and mud. After too brief a time, the embrace ends, Luni climbs atop Lil, and Lil leaps into a low glide just a short ways off the ground. Lucky chases after, baying with joy or pride. I hear Luni strike up a tune on her harp for the first time since arriving in Rayileklia. It’s a sad, lilting dirge of parting. It’s a sweet sorrow. Luni’s tears falling are somehow visible against the rain, clear crystalline droplets of her sadness painted against the murky nothingness of everything else.

Teuila and I stand there, soaking in the ever-present stinging rains. It’s hard to tell, but it’s likely that both of us are silently crying, our tears mixing with the rain upon our faces. I sigh several times over a few minutes before walking to Teuila to wrap one arm about her. I guide us back inside Daffodil’s home.

Daffodil bids us welcome, and surmises, “Six travelers, new to our world, now down to two? I’d always thought of Noirdivinhoz as a sort of gateway of partings, but I’m sad to see your little band so divided. I am sorry friends. Do you wish to see the Aasimovian burial ma uka?”

As curious as I would be, I’m devoid of most emotion. I’ve no desires right now. I just want to let the numbness wash over me for a while. I vaguely hear Teuila answering for us, but I’m barely present in my own mind at the moment. I know Te doesn’t want us to be separated ever again. She probably also knows how curious I would be about something like this normally, or maybe she’s worried that we’ll end up in another draconic lich situation. It seems like we might be following Daffodil Tarquin back into Noirdivinhoz, but the scenery blends together as time passes for me.

It’s almost like no time passes at all as I realize I’m now face to face with an animate body of the, now deceased, assassin known as Aces. The body seems to peer around purposefully. It then picks a direction, and begins walking. I believe it is heading north by northwest along the mountainside. Daffodil smiles and waves at the body, though it doesn’t acknowledge her, or either of us, in any way. Aces isn’t in that body. So their soul must have passed on, right? It should be safe. It was their last wish, I think. Unless more things happened after those dreams.

Daffodil’s question rouses me from my reverie, “You said you have no Luma Tulipa in, what was it, Kansas? The sun plants that keep Rayileklia warm and lit?”

Hm, Kansas, the Earth one, probably does have sunflowers, but not literal ones like these. I can tell Teuila is trying to parse whether Daffodil said Can’Z’aas too quickly, or Kansas. I’d probably laugh about the scrutiny at any other time. Right now though? I’m more caught up in worrying about Luni, Lucky, and Lil. I’m also slightly wondering, just slightly, if the recently animated corpse is going to try to finish the job that Aces took when they were alive. It’s probably a lot easier to beat a soul-stealer when you don’t have a soul to worry about being stolen.

Teuila nudges me roughly with her elbow, reminding me that I was asked a question.

Startled from my reverie, I respond, “Oh, right, correct. Though we had some miraculous plants that my memories say were the stuff of fantasy as well, oaks as tall as mountains, stuff like that. I’m sorry, I’m not really here right now, I’m --.”

Teuila interrupts me, saying, “Yeah spootbutt, you’re a million miles away. It’s so obvious. Are you going to be okay?”

I flash Teuila a weak smile, “You’re by my side, aren’t you?”

Te raises an eyebrow, “Duh, dork.”

I stifle a chuckle, “I was hoping your answer would include the word yes, so I could say, then there’s your answer. But, yeah. It’ll take a bit, but I just have to keep reminding myself that we’ll see one another again at some point. Just gotta make it until then. Probably easier to do that if I’m not trapped in my own head. I love you Teuila, thank you for standing by me, despite all the difficulties my choices force on us.”

Te oscillates slightly, then slugs me in the shoulder playfully, “Come on butterdink, cut it out, you’re gonna make me blush. I’ll be your Wings, through thick and thin. Even if I don’t have all of my crazy awesome powers on demand. We were fighting a war against an infinite horde back home. Anything on this world has to be a piece of cake compared to that, right?”