When Yuriko woke up, the odd pressure was gone. She rubbed the sleep off her eyes, and threw off her blankets only to be greeted by an annoyed yelp.

“Oh, sorry Hunter Cat,” she yawned.

She was back in the shelter with Millie, Maryn, and Ishika. As she rubbed the sleep off her eyes, she recalled what happened after they ran away from the Chaos Lord.

When they arrived at Bellton Hold, they were made to wait an hour before being brought to an officer--from the insignia, an Agminis Decanus. He listened impatiently to the others’ reports, directed them to another area, and then gave her a strange look.

“You’re from Sharom, why are you outside of a shelter?” he asked dubiously.

“I felt the need to help. One of the first year Agaza cadets came up to our shelter and warned us of Wyldlings. I decided to help warn, wound up at the lower levels and encountered…” Yuriko relayed her experiences as quickly as possible. She mentioned the battleground she found, the awakened beast she inadvertently tracked and the Hunter she killed.

“You killed a Hunter? Alone? A novice?”

“Here.” Yuriko fished out the kerchief with the shard.

“You sure you didn’t just come across a dead one?”

“Would anyone who managed to kill a Hunter just leave the shard behind?” Yuirko asked sharply.

“Aye, you’ve got a point there. Apologies, I just find it, er, strange how a first-year cadet such as you...you’re an Apprentice? Anyway, a first-year killing a Hunter. Remarkable.”

Yuriko shook her head. “Not the first one I’ve fought, not even the second. I’m from Faron’s Crossing and a Wyldling Wave happened a Season ago and I’d fought there.”

“I...see. Hmmm.” He picked up the shard gingerly and scribbled on his crystal screen. “This one is about five HiJins. The bounty for this is fifteen hundred Sovereigns. I’ll note this down in the report, please have it exchanged with the treasury later.”

“Thank you.”

“You may return to your shelter. We appreciate your efforts but please refrain from entering a battle zone. You are a civilian and the reserves have not been called to order. This is your first infraction, so I will let you off with a warning.”

Yuriko couldn’t help but frown, “But I just wanted to help!”

“Indeed, and you could have easily been part of the casualties. Your foray into the tunnels means that if you were injured, you would have no support. You’ve no gear, no safeguards, and no backup.” He shook his head. “All citizens of the Empire are allowed to defend themselves but do not go beyond self-defence. Dismissed.”

Yuriko grunted in annoyance but didn’t comment further. She walked out of the room and saw her friends just outside. Yuriko returned Krystal’s side-blade, then apologized to Heron for losing his.

“No problem,” Heron shrugged. “I mostly use the spear anyway. I’ll probably get it back once all of this is over anyway. I’ll file a request. I’m more concerned about you. You broke another one.”

“Yeah.” Yuriko sighed. “Couldn’t be helped. That Chaos Lord’s carapace was unexpectedly tough.”

“So what now?”

“I was told to return to the shelter.”

“Ah, we’re to rest and wait for the rest of our squad before being reassigned. Take care, please.”

Krystal showed her the tunnel map so she wouldn’t get lost. None of them could accompany her, of course, so Yuriko waved goodbye and made her way back to the upper levels, following the path back to that first tunnel hub. There, she found a small team of legionnaires keeping watch. For that matter, every hundred paces or so, there was a pair of grim-faced men and women, holding their weapons ready in one hand, and a messenger crane perched on their shoulders, ready to deploy at the merest hint of trouble.

The slightly open door with the broken panel was being inspected by a couple of Animatechnicians. One of them held a fountain pen in hand, though the nib didn't dispense regular ink. Instead, a glimmering black substance that drew in ambient Chaos flowed out. The door was slightly more ajar now.

“Excuse me, I need to pass,” she said politely, though both of them still jumped in surprise.

“Swarm fodder girl, make some noise when you walk!”

Yuriko just shrugged.

“Ahem, well, go ahead.” He removed the pen from the panel, causing it to power down. The gap was wide enough that she didn’t have to go through it on her side.

Afterwards, it was quite easy to return to her shelter, though she had to pound on the door for a good ten minutes before somebody let her in. The moment she did, her cat came galloping up to her, meowing furiously. He leapt up, clawing his way o her shoulder, and started rubbing his side all over her cheeks and hair.

“Alright, already. I’m back,” she laughed, feeling a bit mollified. She was still annoyed by the legionnaire’s rebuke though. Why would they deny help when they clearly needed it? If she hadn’t been there when they confronted the Chaos Lord, she was sure that would have ended far worse.

Once that crossed her mind, she felt her frustrations well up and occupy her thoughts. Still, she pushed those thoughts aside, at least for now. She didn’t see the other Faronners near the door as she closed and locked it behind her. The girl who let her in had a nervous tick on her eye but that could be simply from the sudden increase in ambient Chaos.

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The shelter’s runescript actively sucked away the excess Chaos, using it to power the lights, and the heat regulation. The shelter’s ambient Chaos was about the same as a normal day’s, though the brief window when she entered raised it enough that it was quite obvious and brought discomfort.

It was evening and her tummy started rumbling. She stroked Hunter Kitty's head and he started purring loudly next to her ear. It was quite soothing.

She found Maryn and the others where she left her backpack. Millie and Maryn were asleep, while Ishika had a vacant look in her eyes. She didn’t react until Yuriko sat down beside her and nudged her shoulder.

“Oh!” Ishika gasped, shaking her head. “You’re back. And safe.”

“Yes, how are you feeling?”

“Just a little lightheaded but I’m fine.”

She obviously wasn’t but since Yuriko didn’t really know what to do, she just nodded along. Instead, she dug into her bag and fished out a ration bar, along with the bottle of Rumiga City Mix, sprinkled it on the bar and ate quickly. She drank water from the canteen, emptying it in one go. Afterwards, she tossed her litter in a bin, refilled her canteen at the water fountain, broke out her bedroll, and settled down to rest.

Her Animus reserves had dwindled to a twentieth by now, but she also felt somewhat…sore…in places she didn’t know she had. Her hand was numb, her legs a bit shaky, and her breathing grew a bit laboured. Using Recovery didn’t seem to help, and when she envisioned her Anima, she saw it.

There were black spots in her Anima, corresponding to the aches and pains her physical body felt. The distilled Chaos revolved around her core and even as she looked, one of them pulled away and smacked into the darkness, banishing a bit of it.

“Anima strain?”

Was this it? Was this how she was supposed to train her Anima without trying to improve her Facet? Just weather the weight of a Chaos storm without using her Field? She didn’t feel the need to do so since her body adapted quickly to the change in the environment, though she couldn’t ignore the fact that everybody else outside had their Field on.

Other than that, she just kept her sword dance circulating the entire time. Normally, she would only begin doing that when battle was imminent, but down here, it was never certain when a fight would start.

So two ways to strain. Judging from how much darkness each mote of distilled Chaos banished, she would need about fifty more from her current tally to heal her entire Anima.

Yuriko yawned. It wasn’t that late but she was dead tired. Better hold off thinking about such profound things when her mind was fresh. With that, she cuddled Hunter Kitty Cat and slept.

Which led to the circumstances of the next morning, wherein the cat had struggled out of her death grip but settled on top of her belly while she slept.

“Good morning!” She yawned as she walked up to her friends.

“Oh, Yuri, when did you come back?” Millie had a cup of tea in hand and a pot on a tray beside her. With more cups. Maryn and Ishika were still in their bedrolls.

The runescript on the ceiling was no longer glowing.

“Oh, yeah, I think the storm’s over,” Mille said.

“Really?” Yuriko sat up, completely displacing the purring cat who meowed in protest. “Oh, finally. I know it’s only been a day but I’d like to see the sun again.”

“Yeah, well, we haven’t received the clearance to return above yet. Here, have some tea.” Millie handed her a cup on a saucer.

“Thanks.”

Millie’s tea was black and slightly bitter but Yuriko found it pleasant enough. After finishing the cup, she got up, grabbed her toiletries and did her morning ablutions, sans bathing of course. The facility did not include a bathing area, after all, but there was just enough space to wash her face and maybe wipe down the rest of her body. By the time she finished, there was enough space in the kitchenette for her to have some breakfast.

“Let’s make stew!” Millie said, carrying with her several ration bars, assorted spices that weren’t the premixed varieties, a pot of water, and a ladle.

“Here,” Yuriko grinned, handing over her ration bar. “Want some extra spices?”

“Nah, these will do.”

Half an hour later and there was a mouthwatering aroma coming from Millie’s station. A few minutes after, she gave the three of them bowls of porridge garnished with spring onions and strips of jerky.

Yuriko polished off her meal quickly, then sat looking wistfully at the emptied pot. Millie chuckled and said, “Well, I’ll make more for lunch.”

Yuriko scratched the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly. Maryn and Ishika had their spirits restored by the good food, comforting company, and the general warmth of the room. The murmur of conversation rose and fell like waves. Some of the girls were doing some stretching, though the majority were reading textbooks or chatting.

Speaking of books, Yuriko hadn’t touched the single one she brought over. Er, there should be a short examination as soon as the storm’s aftermath is resolved. She took out the Essential Runescript for the Neophyte Scribe and started her efforts at memorization.

She was at it for about half an hour before she grew dizzy and had to put the book down.

“I thought it was just that book,” Yuriko muttered. The letters became fuzzy after a while and only after she rested her eyes did it return to normal. There were no tricks to the book this time, no hidden runescript that she could see. Well, this wasn’t the first time she’d had trouble reading, especially if the words were too close together. With a sigh, she put down the book. She’d memorised a couple of runes, just enough to write a campfire runescript sequence. Well, that would have to do.

She traced the runes on the floor with her finger and dust, then checked the book. Looked identical. Well, on to the next thing. She moved on to gather distilled Chaos but with her being in the shelter, the ambient Chaos was thin compared to the outside. Still, she managed a couple of motes before her Anima protested the abuse. It manifested as a twinge of pain and even more numbness.

There wasn’t enough space to practice her sword dances and she had a feeling that if she trained her Animus manipulation techniques, it would only increase the strain. She needed to let her Anima recover and strengthen before she repeated the exercise, otherwise, the results would run counter to what she wanted.

With nothing else to do, she sighed and looked for her friends. Hunter Kitty had wandered off sometime past to look for food. He’d turned his nose up at the proffered porridge but accepted a raw chunk of ration bar. Still, he must be driven by his instincts since Yuriko spotted him at a corner stalking a spider.

“Ah, when can we leave?” Maryn moaned when Yuriko found her and the others.

They were seated atop their bedrolls playing cat’s cradle. Maryn had a triple sunburst pattern, Ishika a cross-hatched bridge. Millie had the most complex netting of the three, which looked like a bridge with sunburst patterns in between.

“Oh, Yuri! Join us?” Millie asked brightly. “Can’t read or meditate, huh?”

“No, I’ve got a headache,” Yuriko said ruefully.

“Well, here.” Millie handed over a long piece of string.

Yuriko sat with her heels tucked under her legs, spread her skirts to cover her knees and accepted the string, knotting it to form a loop. She hadn’t played cat’s cradle in a long while, mainly because she sucked at it so badly that anybody who looked at her creations would snort, giggle, and laugh out loud.

“Show me how you did that!” she demanded.

“Alright, alright, here!”

Maybe her efforts with braiding her Animus strands would translate to this game enough so she’d actually form something good.

Well, after about an hour of playing, she realised one thing. Cat’s Cradle was a ridiculous, time-wasting game.

By late afternoon, they were all more than ready to leave, but it wasn’t until dusk that they received word that they could return to the surface. The next couple of days would be for cleaning and repairs. But, finally, the ordeals caused by the unusually strong storm were over.