-Astrid-

This was Serious Business.

Astrid could tell because Dad was livid. Astrid had been alive more than a month, but Dad had only ever gotten mad once, when the System had tried to level Mum. She still wasn’t sure what that was about, actually, but she knew it had been Serious Business.

And Serious Business meant gloves-off, no-bars-held, anything-goes fighting. Vicious, bloodthirsty. Straight for the throat.

So, these delvers?

They were getting wrecked.

Astrid heard them enter her Boss Room. Mum and Dad had made it for her when they remodeled. It was bigger than the entrance hall and had a lake instead of a floor. When they’d made it, Astrid had thought the boulders placed as stepping-stones were too big to really challenge delvers, but hearing the delvers had changed her mind.

They were twice the size of the previous delvers, and three times as tough. Astrid swallowed anxiously, remembering her view of the last few minutes. The Fae were still respawning, and out of the whole Snake-Worm Pack, only Sneaky remained. There was the Slime Corps, but Mum wanted to keep them in reserve.

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The shorter one, who used a sword, walked up to the water’s edge, followed by the tall magical one with the Dodo.

Astrid swam under the ledge they were standing under.

Mouth sounds—wait. Astrid leaned into her connection with Mum, worming her way into the Universal Translation skill.

“I’ll go @(*%8—” Astrid squinted as the first one spoke, the skill slippery in her mind. She’d tried this a couple of times with Organize Servants but the categorizations hadn’t lasted.

The tall delver responded with more mouth sounds. A headache smacked at Astrid, so she gave up trying to listen in.

[Sneaky, hide under the Inner Court entrance. Jump them if they get too close.]

He twitched his tongue in recognition, doing as she asked.

Above her, the delvers finished talking. Not-tall delver started, hopping easily from the ledge to the first boulder.

Astrid hesitated. Should she try to separate the two? While she hesitated, the second followed the first. They now occupied a boulder each and neither showed difficulty keeping their feet.

Her heart pounded in her throat. She’d let them make the first move. That wasn’t the plan. It was her Boss Room. What if she failed again? What even was her plan--

[Astrid.]

She jolted as Dad spoke to her privately. [Yeah?]

[You can do this.]

He believed in her. She could feel it through their bond.

It calmed her.

[Okay.]

Gritting her mandibles, she pushed her doubts aside.

It didn’t matter who made the first move.

What did matter?

Who made the finishing one.