"She did all that earlier today?" Valgud asked, stroking his beard. "And that electromagnet scrap?"

"Indeed," Mina said. And now I've somehow managed to befriend the Volcatia Scipio. How ever did my life arrive at this point?

After the exhilarating, terrifying, bewildering, exhausting events of the race, they'd spent hours hopping around the city using some technique of the older woman's that she continually described as Don't Worry About It when asked.

It was fun.

It was more fun than Mina had imagined was possible for a person to have.

She smiled as she recalled it. Truly the Stadalites have the right of it. Even on the occasions in which I managed to persuade Vol to allow us to linger while we ate, her admirers only wished to toast our victories. It's a simple place, and one I imagine I'll enjoy.

Once they were 'celebrated out', as Carl had termed it, they'd returned to her workshop, where she'd requested Vol return at a later time. She'd wished to be selfish on one final occasion. Once Carl had promised that he'd return to his family after resting for the night, they'd sat together at her workbench, just as they'd done the first night they'd arrived. She'd brought out her sketches and schematics, and they'd spoken about them at length, with Carl interrupting on occasion to share some manner of insight or another Dad Joke.

Carl had seemed even more exhausted than she'd been, and his increasingly frequent yawns had spread swiftly to her. With reluctance she'd begged off to sleep in order that he might be well rested when he returned to his world on the morrow, which he referred to as 'logging out'.

The hug they'd shared then had been the best yet. True, it lacked the immediate impact of emotion that the hug she'd gotten after the race had borne, in which Carl had squeezed her tightly and told her he was proud of her while she cried happy tears into his chest. Instead, however, it seemed…

Natural, would perhaps be the word she might use to describe it.

As though it was a completely mundane act.

Perhaps he might return, perhaps not, but in either case—

"Vol watches the Protector's tail. Does she desire a fight with the Protector?" Jungrathol asked.

"Nah, nobody would be crazy enough to want a fight like that," Valgud scoffed. "Famous gladiator or not." He looked around. "Think they'll be gone much longer? Didn't exactly come tonight expectin' to just be standing here."

"I've no idea," Mina said. "At least this location is warmer than where we've been gathering previously. Even with spells to warm me, I was feeling somewhat chilled simply from seeing so much snow and ice."

Valgud turned to frown at her. "You were using spells to heat yourself? I was freezin' my beard off," he grumbled.

"I'd thought your attire was quite appropriate for those conditions!" Mina said, beginning to giggle. "Besides, was it not you who'd complained just recently of his hatred for magic?"

"Better than having to brush ice out of my beard."

"Perhaps if you'd spent less time laying about on the ground in an inebriated state, you'd not have needed to take such measures."

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"Sounding like you're criticizin' my dwarven nature again," Valgud said. He produced a small flask from somewhere near his hip and started working the cap free. "Makin' me anxious." He grinned a little as he tipped the container up over his mouth.

Mina laughed. "You're incorrigible."

"So you're a racing champion to the humans now," Valgud said. He returned the flask to its previous spot and crossed his arms. "Proved me thoroughly wrong about your hybrid engine idea. Beard's long enough that I'll admit it. What are you going to do next?"

What shall I do next, indeed? Mina returned once more to the matter she'd been considering for the majority of the night. If Carl's no longer…

The idea was terrifying, but less than it'd been when she'd considered it on previous occasions. Emma's surely no longer any manner of threat without the backing of her husband. The Stadalites don't particularly care for Chars, though it seems, thankfully, that I'm an exception given my racing prowess. I could continue to race, I suppose?

Mina imagined what her life might be like several years into the future if she followed that path. She'd perhaps have won many races over that period of time. Surely she'd be well known. A true Queen of Racing, with her own subjects and small kingdom on the racetrack. Vol, her friend, would perhaps remain in the city as well. She might even gain new friends. But…

She pressed her lips together. I'd wished to race partly as a dream when I was trapped within that wretched castle. It was an impossibility that I never imagined I'd manage to achieve. Then Carl put a name to the concept, and it was suddenly so real! But it was a dream that became real only with his aid.

With his caring.

Is there any sense in pursuing it without him? It's not as though any other drivers possess steamcars which might challenge mine. Perhaps over time I'd become as Vol did, too apathetic and tired to enjoy it. I—

"If you're lookin' for something new, you'll always be welcome in Khir Turuhm," Valgud interrupted. "Can work on your ideas—even the magic ones, though you'll wanna keep those away from the dwarves who're less modern than me—and you'd have all the smartest among us to teach you about controlled lightning or anything else that lights your forge. Get you your own home, maybe a small space in one of my 'shops…"

Mina blinked. "That's…awfully generous of you to offer, Valgud. I'd imagined dwarves would be somewhat more hostiles towards humans after… Well, you know."

The dwarf looked away and thumbed his mustache. "Might've given some of them a few scraps about you when I got back. Can't say much about other humans, but you'll always be welcome with us if I've got a say in it."

Mina felt again the same warmth in her chest that she'd been feeling with increasing frequency ever since she'd left Isemeine Charus behind. She stepped over to him and hugged his head to herself. "Thank you, Valgud," she said quietly. "You're a true friend if ever I've had one."

Valgud patted her back awkwardly with one hand. "Don't be gettin' sentimental while the both of us are still sober."

She drew away with a smile. "We wouldn't want that, would we." She reached back and adjusted her hair tie absently. "Perhaps I will? Onyxfell is quite nice, but I've not felt that it's truly home. You've said Vol would be welcomed in Khir Turuhm, so…"

A portal appeared, and Vol hopped through, noticeably wearing an entirely different outfit. "That took fucking forever," she grumbled.

"You've done it?" Mina asked, tilting to the side to look past her.

An older woman of the same height as Vol, with blonde, curly hair and wearing a simple set of blue trousers and a blouse stepped through the portal, and her blue eyes immediately fixed on Mina. Her left hand, bearing a thin, golden band along one finger, went to her mouth, and she gasped. "Mina?" she said in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes?" Mina said reflexively.

The woman's eyes began to water. She stepped forward quickly and gathered Mina into a firm, unyielding embrace, stroking the girl's hair and rubbing her back. "It's okay," she whispered after a brief sniffle. "It's okay. You're safe now."

What… Mina didn't understand what was happening, but she felt a sudden, deep agony welling up from within her, demanding to be set free. She fought it, but her eyes were already stinging. "What's…"

"You're okay now," the woman whispered, sniffling again as she tightened her embrace. "Nobody's ever going to hurt you again. Ever. I promise."

Mina sniffled. Her hands rose up in an instinctive manner, clutching at the front of the woman's blouse.

Without any understanding of what was happening or why, she buried her head into the woman's chest and began to wail as tears poured from her eyes.