The two of them walked out of the shop lightened of stones and carrying many more items than they’d been originally looking for. Rive had bought more than three ropes, explaining to Seren that braiding them together would strengthen how much they could hold, and if one strand snapped, then the other two would still be there.

Seren’s contribution during this whole shopping trip had been to check over the food Rive wanted to bring back—dried goods were best to make sure their rations would stretch further—and they had picked some of the more flavorful foods so the pieces weren’t bland. Other than that, though, her biggest contribution had been buying all the books in the shop.

“All of them?” Zeisad had said, looking from Seren’s eyes to the shelves, then back again. “Are you sure? That’s at least fifteen books.”

“Yes,” she’d answered. “As my engineer said, I enjoy reading, and your collection is entirely new to me.”

That part wasn’t true, actually. Two of the books had been duplicates, but she could use them as bargaining items later on, as she’d learned from Captain Juji. Better to get them now, while they were available, and it didn’t cost them too much. In fact, it lightened them of the local currency, so it was a win-win.

Seren stopped as she and Rive arrived back at the main slope of the town.

“Where did Tairdi go?”

“And Vachlan.” Rive was peering around as well, but the darkness seemed even greater than before, even with a few lights lit nearby. Neither of them could see anything, or anyone else, but Seren heard muttered voices echoing off of the rocks.

“That sounds like them, but there’s so many echoes.”

Rive took a step in each direction, closed their eyes, and listened intently.

“I think,” they said, taking a further step to the left and cocking their head. “They might be in this direction?”

She waited for a few seconds, and when there was a sharp bark of words, she nodded to Rive.

“I think you’re right.” She sighed. If Tairdi and Vachlan were friends, and deep down Vachlan knew why Tairdi didn’t lie, then why couldn’t they at least get along? Did she blame xem for the same thing the shopkeeper did? “We can at least go check it out.”

Rive led the way and Seren kept close behind them. This far down in the depths meant that there was still far too little light for her to really see things, and after having several missteps during the trip, she was more than happy to let someone else take the lead at this point.

As they made their way across rocks and up into a narrow alleyway that dimmed the light of the area, Seren picked out the hulking shape of Tairdi, but couldn’t see Vachlan.

“Hey there!” Rive called out, striding forward. They slapped Tairdi on the back and the echoes added to the noises. “What’s new?”

Seren moved past Rive and Tairdi, and that’s when she could see a bit of Vachlan. Hearing her wasn’t the problem.

“How dare you tell me what I should do or not?” she said, the tone of her voice dripping with disdain. “You didn’t do this for my parents, or anyone else down here. Why me? Why now?”

Tairdi’s voice was low and xyr words were clipped.

“I have my reasons. You do not have to understand them, but if my actions are so rare, then don’t you think you should pay attention?” Xe threw xyr hands up to defend xemself against a wing. “Fine. Don’t listen. As one person, I can only do so much.”

“Did I ask you to do anything for me?” Vachlan yelled back, her tail lashing far enough out to the side that it smacked up against Seren’s leg. “Take your offer and save it for someone else; I’m leaving with them, and it doesn’t matter if they’ll keep me as a crew member or toss me into the nearest city. Either way, I don’t need your permission!”

“Um...” Seren sucked in a breath as they both turned to stare at her. “I’m not sure what you think is going to happen to her on our ship, but I’d like her to be, and remain, part of the crew. She’s not going to be dropped off or abandoned, I promise.”

“Ha!” Vachlan stuck a feather under Tairdi’s nose. “Or is there something you want to say about what you’ve seen?”

It took a few seconds, but Seren realized the bearkin was shaking xyr head.

“I’ve seen the future, and I already know there is no way to change it.” Xyr voice dropped to an almost inaudible murmur. “That's all I can do…keep us on our paths.”

“Tairdi.” Seren’s voice was clear. “If Vachlan joining our crew will only hurt her, say something now and I will rescind the offer.”

There was a squawk of surprise, and then the sound of a beak clacking shut. Tairdi let out a heavy sigh. A step forward allowed xem to place a paw on Seren’s head.

“No. Going with you is her best option.”

“Then why did it sound like you didn’t want her to come with us?” asked Rive. “Back in the store—”

“I’ve changed my mind.” There was something else to xyr tone, though Seren couldn’t place it. Frustration, sadness. Maybe dread? She honestly wasn’t sure since the only two people she’d had enough practice on to understand their tone were her parents. She didn’t have a strong enough bond with Tairdi to know how xyr voice sounded when xe was trying not to cry, or how xyr sounded immediately after injuring themselves.

Thinking about it, she didn’t know that much about Rive, either. And Vachlan would be a whole new person to get to know as well. The idea settled on her shoulders, and its added weight was staggering. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to go back home, pull her bed cover over her, and only worry about three people.

“Captain?”

Rive’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I was... thinking about something.”

And wishing the feeling of having new friends wasn’t so overwhelming, but that was something she was going to keep very close to her chest. “Right now, we’ve finished our shopping. Are we rejoining you and heading back up?”

Tairdi shifted on their feet.

“That’s your decision. I’m done here.” Xe opened xyr mouth, raised a finger, and then shut it again. Without another sound, xe turned away from Vachlan and the others and started lumbering up the main road, dropping to all fours to go faster.

“I’ll take tonight as a packing night.” Vachlan preened her feathers. “And if neither one of you is down here by noon tomorrow, then I’ll come up to the surface and see what’s going on.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’ll go up with Captain Serri, but I’d like to stay the night with you. That way we can make sure we’re leaving together on time tomorrow.” offered Rive. “Now that I know what I can buy in Zeisad’s store and how much coin we have left, I want to look at the ship and see if there’s anything else we’ll need.”

Seren nodded. “I’m going to go up then, and see if I can wriggle out what was worrying Tairdi.”

“Better you than us,” Rive said, shaking their head. “I mean, I don’t mind asking xem, but you’ve got more patience than I do and Vachlan’s not talking to xem at all. Nicely, that is.”

“See you tomorrow then, since you’ll probably have left the ship by the time I get back.”

Rive pinned her with a shrewd look. “That long spent just ‘talking,’ huh? I’m on to you, captain. We’re going to return to the ship tomorrow and it’s going to be filled with borrowed books, isn’t it?”

She smiled and shook her head, even though her brain pointed out that if she could take or buy books off of Tairdi, they wouldn’t be thought of as borrowed.

Vachlan took a few seconds to make sure they knew the way back, and the feeling that this was the right decision grew in Seren’s chest when the winged woman merely clacked her beak at Rive when they asked if there was any other “up” they could confuse it with.

The actual climb upwards was in silence. Rive, she was sure, was already thinking about the ship’s design and planning upgrades or changes they could make. As for herself, she realized she was imagining arguments and points in her head, what Tairdi might say in response, or even just to misdirect her from questions xe didn’t want to answer.

Her hair flew around her face the closer they got to the opening. It hadn’t been a problem before, which made her wonder about the weather patterns in the area, but now there were gusts of wind pushing them back into Azmar, strong enough that Rive put themselves in front of her as a shield.

“Are you going to be able to make it to the library?” they shouted over the noise.

“I will,” she said, giving several exaggerated nods. “See you tomorrow!”

They split at the path, and the hit from the wind was worse than she’d imagined it. Step by step, Seren forced her feet to move forward, and as soon as there was a hideaway from the wind, she took it.

It was a crevice a little over two-thirds of the way to the library, and it allowed her to catch her breath.

“Come on, this is just like being out during the summer storms at home,” she said, putting a test hand out. The blast felt as if she was getting a high five from it. “Except that father never let you out during them. In fact, dad was the only one who could walk around the island during those times, and he said he didn’t control the winds at all.”

Understanding now exactly how strong they must have been, she wondered how he’d been able to make it around without splatting up against a tree. Or four.

“Okay, out we go.” She caught a small glimpse of the stars and continued staggering up to the door, sparing only a brief thought that she wished she could take a break and watch them for a bit.

The arch loomed before her, and she wished there was a bell to ring nearby. Instead, she walked in and bounced off of Tairdi, who was standing inside.

“Haven’t you done enough for your time here?” xe asked, his tone slightly exasperated. “I can’t remember the last time I had so many emotions running rampant.”

“I think we need to talk,” she replied instead. “In addition to that, I’d like to see any books that you’re getting rid of.”

“We don’t give away books,” xe said, moving aside so she could come in. “This is a library.”

“That’s true, but since this is your library, you could always make an exception for me.” She smiled up at xem and received a view of fangs.

“Doubtful.”

“Can we sit and have some more tea?” She was already heading to the area, leaving xem to follow her; it was one of her father’s tricks. Pretend that the other person was doing what you wanted, and more often than not, they’d start actually doing it. She’d fallen for it too many times to count before realizing what he’d been doing.

“Um, yes. I can make another cup. If I remember correctly, you enjoy sweet ones.” Xyr longer legs made it easier for her to be left behind, which wasn’t ideal when trying to put someone off their guard. Xe disappeared into the back again while she took a seat, and then there were the sounds of tea making. “With your company here again, I take it you will pay off your landing fee?”

“Yes, landing fee and your dowsing fee.” She took the coin out of the purse and began counting it out on the table. When xe finally came out—with, she noticed, a completely different tea and set up than before—she was ready to slide it over.

“Another lesson,” Tairdi said when xe sat down on a stone bench across from her. “When you have to pay someone for different services, don’t give over one lump sum. Beings who have a stretched definition of honesty will take your single payment and only apply it to one fee, usually the lowest one.”

“What? How can they possibly get away with something like that?”

“Because then,” Tairdi continued with a smile, “they will explain that you didn’t mention which payment it was for and that you must have left so quickly that they couldn’t give you your change.”

Seren let her anger out with a controlled breath. “Right. I know you will not do that to me, but here’s the payment that I, the captain of the Picotree Drop, owe you for landing, and here’s the payment that I, Captain Seren, owe you for dowsing.”

Xe took a few moments to sort through the coins, and when he concluded aloud that both payments were correct, he took out a small safe.

“Visiting other places means they might not take the same currency as you have on you, so it’s better to deal with smaller coins than bigger ones. I have a safe here you can look through and swap anything you want out.”

“Thank you,” she said, already looking through what xe had. “I had other things that I wanted to ask you, besides this.”

“I know.” Xe looked down at her, then picked at one of the bigger coins in her stash. “You’ll want to trade this.”

“What is going on with you and Vachlan?”

“We... have a long past together, and it hasn’t always been good for either of us. She told you what I saw, or more precisely, what I didn’t see, yes?”

Seren nodded.

“There are other things I know, and they’re the type that if I tell others, the pain will only spread. There are some points which are fixed and nothing I can do will change them.” Xe smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. “I’m caught in one of those points right now. No matter how much I struggle and want to break free, I can only watch.”

“Is that why you’ve been so secretive? And lied to me when we first got here?” She caught xyr eye. “I remember you told me all the feathered beings you knew weren’t able to fly, yet it looks as if Vachlan can. That’s lying.”

Xe looked away from her, staring at something behind her, either the wall or a shelf of books.

“It’s not. She won’t fly when living down below, and that’s how I know her.”

“And now you’ve just admitted that she’ll be able to fly once she leaves.” Seren bit her bottom lip. “Like I said down below, if keeping Vachlan here will make sure she stays safe, then I’ll do that. But you have to trust me.”

Tairdi let out a laugh that echoed around the room. “You have no idea how much I’m already trusting you. My conclusive answer to this is that she needs to go with you. All of my actions, all of what I’ve seen… It involves me.”

“So, all this time, you want to keep her here because it’ll help you?” A weird feeling shot through her body when looking at xem. “I don’t understand. Won’t she be hurt if she does that?”

Tairdi nodded.

“And to help yourself,” continued Seren, horror in her voice, “you’re willing to let her suffer as well?”

Slower, so very glacial compared to the last one. Xe nodded again.

“That’s just wrong!”

“I. Know. That!” Xe growled, and the prey part of Seren’s brain alerted her to the fact that something larger, heavier, and armed with sharp teeth and claws was angry at her.

Tairdi had been helpful in getting the ship situated, had introduced them to Vachlan even if xe didn’t want her to leave, and except for one lie—though her dad had always told her it was one lie found out and more quietly existing—xe had been kind and helpful.

“Yelling at me because you are upset doesn’t help,” she finally said, looking at her clasped hands on the table. “I think we both should drink our tea.”

Xe smiled a bit at that, then gestured at the tray. “I made a crisp honey pink winter tea.”

“I’ve never heard of that one.”

“Crisp honey is the name for when bees gather pollen from a joerfine plant during the summer. The leaves, it’s said, are so crispy that touching one will make it fall apart.”

“Okay, and a pink winter?”

“When there’s a blood moon in the night sky.”

Seren looked down at the tray again, nervous. “Tairdi...this seems to be a very expensive tea if it occurs that rarely. Why are you drinking it with me?”

“Because this moment of time will only be in the world twice. Once as we sit here, and the second time a memory within us.” Tairdi poured her cup. “I hope we can have tea again, but for now, I will take joy knowing that we will share this tea.”