“Where are we going now?” Krystal asked idly. Occupied with her thoughts, Yuriko started and nearly dropped Fri’Avgi, though she tightened her grip on the cross-guard. Krystal gaped at her. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing, I’m just, uhm, a bit lost in thought.”

“Oh. So, where are we going? Back home? Lunch? I am getting a bit hungry, you know. For that matter, aren’t you? I seem to remember you eating more than three boys during our, er, stay in the forest.”

Yuriko rolled her eyes. “I’m not that hungry. Or that gluttonous.” Grrggle! “Well, now I am,” she sighed.

“Right, right,” Krystal snickered.

“Anyway, I wanted to see Orrin and Braden.”

“Hohoh, Heron will be disappointed,” Krystal murmured though Yuriko heard her anyway.

“Why would he be disappointed?”

Krystal shook her head. “Anyway, I’m not sure if Braden has been discharged already. He woke up before you did.”

“Excuse me,” Yuriko called out to an attendant who was about to walk past them.

The young man did a double-take, eyes drawn first, to the humongous sword Yuriko carried, then second, to her face. “Yes?”

“Do you know where Braden Foster’s room is?”

“Foster…Foster, hmmm,” The man tapped his lips in thought, “I’m not sure there is a Foster currently in recovery. Why don’t you ask at the Attendant’s Station?”

“Thank you, can you direct me to it?”

“It’s fine, Yuri, I know where that is,” Krystal interjected.

“Oh, thank you, then.” Yuriko nodded to the attendant who gave them a short bow.

Krystal led them through a series of hallway intersections and a couple of minutes later, they were at the reception area that led to the Temple wards.

Yuriko relished this chance to walk around inside the Temple. The only times she had been here, aside from during the Atavism Ritual, had been during sermons and history lessons. She had stopped going when her Da had started training her in earnest a couple of years ago.

Elder Ramus’ sermons were often stories about the Shattering some three thousand years ago. There were very little written records on that time period and Yuriko half suspected that most of what was said were embellished tales if not outright myths. The Empire had only been founded after the Shattering and the fact that it had lasted this long was only because of the Empress who had witnessed the Shattering and moved to safeguard as many people as she could that, in turn, became the seed of the Eternal Empire of the Righteous Order.

The Empress wasn’t interested in spreading knowledge about the Shattering and the events that led to it, stating officially that people were better off not knowing.

The reception area was a chamber that was five paces to a side. The attendants sat behind an L-shaped desk that was about chest high to Yuriko. The two attendants were attired in blue robes, though they were open at the front revealing more casual attire. If not for the Temple’s temperature control runescript, those clothes would have been sweltering.

“Hi, could you direct us to Braden Foster’s recovery room?” Krystal asked in a cheery voice.

“Certainly.” One of the attendants answered with a cool smile. He glanced down at something, a crystal tablet, Yuriko thought, then, “Mr. Foster had already been discharged earlier this morning.”

“Oh, thank you,” Yuriko nodded.

“Our pleasure.”

“Well, where to then?” Krystal asked after the two of them moved on.

“I remember they were staying in the Homestead Inn,” Yuriko answered, “from their letters before.”

“And where’s that?”

“Foreign District.”

“Oh. Are you sure you want to walk there? The Circuit Tram is not in service!” Krystal whined.

Yuriko sniffed and side-eyed her friend. “We walked for what must have been leagues in the forest and you don’t want to walk in town? At least the sidewalks are easier to travel on than those animal trails!”

“Ugh.”

“Well, come on then,” Yuriko said. “But let’s drop by my home first. I don’t want to carry this all across town.”

When they left the Temple, Yuriko slung the greatsword over her shoulder in a high carry, wondering why she had to bring it along. The Tribunus barely looked at it.

Nobody was home when they got there. She forgot her house keys, so she simply palmed the panel beside the front door and channelled her Animus into it. The door unlocked a moment later. Krystal sat on the sofa in the living room while Yuriko brought her weapon upstairs and left it in her room. She picked up her key, bronze with a small jade sphere in the middle of the handle, and pocketed it.

“I really would rather not walk all the way to the Foreign District on an empty stomach,” Krystal protested when Yuriko came downstairs.

“I’ll make some lunch then,” Yuriko said. “Please send a messenger crane to the twins.”

“I’m sure they’d rather receive a letter from you,” Krystal muttered.

“Would you rather do the cooking?”

“Fine, fine. I’ll write.”

Yuriko snorted and picked up some ham, sliced it and tossed them into a pan. The stove was heated via an induction coil, powered by the solar panels on the roof, and jump-started by Yuriko’s Animus. She toasted some bread in another pan, pulled out the household’s supply of lavan juice from the cooler, and plopped the pitcher on the table.

“I’ll grab some lettuce outside,” Yuriko announced, “mind the ham, please.”

“You sure you want to leave me alone with the food?” Krystal asked while she poured juice into a tumbler.

“I’ll bite you if you eat the ham before it’s done.”

“Ooh, how scary.”

“Whatever.”

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The vegetable garden in the backyard was a separate fenced off area. Yuriko looked inside the shed first but only saw some potatoes. She plucked some mature-looking lettuce leaves from the soil and headed back inside. Krystal was turning the ham in the pan, a pair of tongs in one hand and a tumbler of lavan in the other.

A quick rinse and the greens were ready. She constructed a couple of sandwiches, putting some mayonnaise and a slice of cheese on hers while she added mustard for Krystal.

“Make me more sandwiches!” Krystal exclaimed after she finished.

Yuriko sniffed in derision but she placed a few more slices of ham on the pan. She was still hungry herself.

When they were done, a messenger crane flew in and landed in front of Krystal. She tapped the head and watched the folder paper unfold. “Ah, they are at the Homestead Inn and would be delighted to have afternoon tea with us.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Once they were done, Krystal helped with the dishes. Afterwards, Yuriko did a few of her chores, dusting the shelves and cabinets, while Krystal sent another messenger crane out. “Need to tell Mum where I’ll be.”

“Right,” Yuriko muttered. She penned a note and stuck it on the corkboard beside the cupboard. That was where the siblings left notices on where they were. Rami was with his friends and Kato with his “special” friend. Marron’s space indicated he was still at the Watchtower but would return home on the thirty-eighth which was tomorrow.

She grabbed a parasol then locked the door behind them, pressing her palm on the panel and using the key to turn the locking mechanism. The panel would only unlock the door for members of the Davar family whose Animus traces were registered on the panel. The lock and key were there in case they were low on Animus.

Krystal used the parasol to shade them from the glare of the afternoon sun but Yuriko didn't really need it. They walked down the streets, most people were sensibly indoors at this hour, but they saw the odd pedestrian. Mostly militiamen, Yuriko noted. Their uniforms were crumpled, damaged, or stained.

The two of them snapped a salute whenever they encountered one and that didn't fail to bring a smile to their faces. One stopped and asked them where they were headed.

"To a friend," Yuriko replied, "who was wounded during the Wave. He's mostly recovered but I haven't seen them since last week."

"Lucky chap." The youngish looking man clicked his tongue. "Hah, if only the rest of us would have the Commander's beautiful daughter visit us when we're wounded," he said with a wink.

Yuriko gave a dry laugh. "The Temple attendants would be a better visitor. They could actually help the wounded recover."

"Yes, but not much for morale-boosting, aren't they. You two take care now." With a wave, they went their separate ways.

Once they were reasonably out of earshot, Krystal snorted in annoyance.

"Krys?"

"Nothing."

Yuriko's eyes narrowed a bit since her friend didn't look like she wanted to elaborate, she left it at that. A couple of blocks later, they were at the Farmer's Market.

The stalls were mostly empty, today wasn't market day after all. But there were a few who had sacks of wheat grains, baskets of eggs, or bushels of lavan berries, displayed on tables. Despite the hour, there were buyers. Mostly legionnaires, from their uniforms.

Crossing the Market, they came upon a young woman their age, a tiny slip of a girl who had been part of their Atavism Ritual but hadn't continued with the training camp

"Ashley!" Krystal waved. "How are things with you?”

“Oh, hi Krystal, Yuriko.” Ashley sighed. There were bags under her eyes, and her fingers were covered in bandages. “Not so well, honestly.”

They lingered under the shade of the Gin family’s market stall. Most of their wares were grain in woven baskets, some melons, and barley.

“What’s the damage?” Yuriko asked carefully.

“Far too much,” Ashley grumbled. “Not even our collective Facets could save more than half of the damaged crops. I’m not sure how we would survive the coming Seasons without having to apply for a loan. Bread and flour would have to be imported from across the Zarek, I think. Or maybe from down south.”

“Famine?” Krystal asked worriedly.

“Of course not.” Ashley shook her head. “Prices may rise but there will always be food. We lost a lot of coins though. Haaah. Sometimes I envy those of you who awakened more combative Heritages. Well, only sometimes.”

Yuriko and Krystal glanced at each other awkwardly. Ashley didn’t really want to talk, Yuriko thought. “Well, better harvest next year, I hope.”

“Only if the swarmlings leave us alone. But we farmfolk will never give up!”

As they walked away, Yuriko asked Krystal, “Are there still swarmlings around town?”

Krystal nodded. “The Wave is receding but there were so many swarmlings that escaped the Gemheart’s reach that the council announced a bounty.”

“Oh?”

Krystal glanced at her, “You want to hunt?”

“Better than doing nothing.”

“Not alone.”

Yuriko hesitated.

“Yuri.”

“Of course not, ehehehe.”

“I’ll let the others now. We’ll do this tomorrow.” Krystal said firmly.

“That’s fine.”

The two of them crossed the bridge over the Caradec River. The Foreign District didn’t survive the Wave unscathed. One in every two houses were either rubble or badly damaged. People looked more wary on this side of the river. Yuriko noticed some people staring at her and Krystal longer than usual. She met their gazes when she could, though most just stared at her eyes with no expression before looking away.

Thankfully the Homestead Inn wasn’t too far from the bridge. In less than five minutes they were pushing through the wooden doors and into the common area. The contrast between the warmth of the outside air and cool temperature inside made Krystal moan in pleasure.

The common room had about a dozen round tables that could seat four people each. About half of the tables were occupied, though not to capacity. The proprietor was behind a counter reading a pocketbook though he looked up when they entered. Before he could say anything though, Yuriko spotted Orrin and his twin brother, Braden, at a corner table.

“Yuri, Krystal!” Orrin waved happily.

With a nod to the innkeeper, the two girls made their way to that table after Krystal folded the parasol and left it on the stand.

Yuriko observed Braden curiously. He looked thinner and was a bit pale. He smiled brightly at her, and there was an intensity behind his stare that wasn’t there before. Orrin stood up when they came near, while Braden remained seated.

“Your pardon,” he said, “I’m still feeling a bit weak-kneed.”

“Oh, don’t get up,” Krystal said, waving to Orrin to sit down while she and Yuriko sat down.

“How are you?” Yuriko asked Braden.

The boy shrugged. “As well as could be after getting stabbed in the back. I’ll live, and more importantly, I’ll recover.”

“That’s good. I was worried when I saw you in the woods.”

Braden smiled a bit more fiercely this time. “Well, if only we were on the same team, this wouldn’t have happened.” He chuckled. “The only reason I was there was because I was worried over Orrin here.”

“Yet you’re the one who got laid out,” Orrin observed.

“Yeah, rub it in, would you.”

Yuriko smiled with some relief. She’d only known the twins for four weeks, three if she discounted the time she was in a coma but they were quite endearing.

“Speaking of, how are you feeling, Yuri?” Orrin asked, “Last we knew you were still unconscious, and well, looking at you now it seemed as if nothing’s happened.”

Yuriko shrugged. “I’m fine. In fact, I feel better than ever. Only my Anima was wounded and it has since healed wonderfully.”

The innkeeper walked up to them by then and Orrin ordered a tea set with assorted snacks. A few minutes later, he returned with a tray. The porcelain teapot and the cups were white with blue maze patterns on it and was accompanied by a small platter of bite-sized sandwiches, scones, and little tarts with fruits.

Yuriko poured tea for everyone. She brought the cup under her nose and inhaled the aroma before taking a small sip. Krystal, on the other hand, went straight for the tarts.

“Zarek Mountain tea leaves,” Braden noted idly. “A good enough blend, I suppose. Though I prefer mine with some honey.”

After they finished a cup, Orrin refilled and they chatted idly for a while.

“So,” Braden began, “now that the training camp is finished, I suppose you two will head over to Rumiga City for the preliminary examinations?”

“”Hmm, yes,” Yuriko answered. “I hope to enter Agaza Academy.”

“Ahh, the one for military and martial arts.” Braden nodded. “I hoped to enter Aneurin Academy, for trade.”

“Sharom for me, probably,” Orrin said, “I’d like to become a Rune Scrivener.”

“Interesting,” Krystal said. “Well, all four academies are located in close proximity to each other so there’s no doubt we’d still see each other often.”

“To a good school year then,” Braden said, lifting his cup to a small toast. “I should be back to optimal condition by then.”

“Hmm.” Yuriko tapped the table rhythmically with her fingers. “Tomorrow, Krystal and I will join the bounty hunt for swarmlings. I wanted to invite the two of you to join us.”

Braden’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, hmmm. I accept.”

Orrin nodded his agreement.

“Are you sure?” She looked at Braden’s hands which were trembling ever so slightly.

“Yes.” Braden nodded with gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“Alright. See you boys tomorrow then.”

They finished their tea and snacks. Afterwards, the two girls left for the Central District, escorted by the twins, at least until the bridge.

They made it to Krystal’s home just before the sun set on the western mists. Yuriko gave her friend a hug and brisk-walked home.

Rami and Kato were already there, and after a quiet dinner and a hot bath, Yuriko prepared herself for another session with the Golden Silhouette. She won’t stop trying to communicate until her questions are answered. No matter how long it took.