Destiny held fast to Tristan’s hand as Yanni and Ravyn led the march to…wherever they planned on going next. Ravyn spoke her ideas so rapidly and Yanni would nod her head as if in agreement, but she wore a perplexed expression all the while.

Well, at least I’m not the only one who feels that way around Ravyn.

Tristan slowed his pace, and Destiny lagged behind with him. Lara glanced over her shoulder, shrugged, then skipped to catch up to Yanni.

“Are you really feeling better?” Tristan murmured.

“Yes, thank you,” Destiny replied quickly. When Lara had asked her if she wanted to return home, every nerve in her body had screamed, ‘Yes!’ But the thought of leaving Tristan behind… She glanced at their entwined hands. No, this was where she should be.

“I’ve been worried about you, Destiny. That I’m asking too much of you.”

A sad smile crept across her mouth. “It’s not that. I…” Heat gathered in her cheeks, and she flushed.

Tristan lowered his voice. “You can tell me. We’ve always told each other everything, remember?”

Her blush deepened and the sways of her tail matched her speeding heartbeat. “I-I know.” Tristan had always been her best friend. Besides Lara, there was no one else in Nyarlea who knew her better.

Trust him or go home. Are you really going to screw this up?

Destiny chewed her lower lip. “Well, it’s just that I want to help you so badly.” She hissed in air, then let her confession out in one quick run of words. “I don’t want to hold you back.”

Tristan considered her words for some time. “What makes you think you hold me back?”

“Because. I’m not smart like Ravyn, or as good in combat as Zahra, and I can’t talk to the Elements like Lara,” Destiny admitted. The boulder-sized mound of anxiety she’d carried with her since they’d arrived on San Island began to fall apart pebble by pebble. “I wasn’t very helpful on Ichi Island, and I haven’t helped here. A better Party member would have contributed something to your meeting with Emberlynn, not crumble like a sugar cube in tea.”

He chuckled, and she averted her gaze. She hadn’t meant to be funny. That was the best analogy you could come up with?

But he pulled her closer so that their shoulders touched. “I think you’re intelligent, capable, and terrifying in a fight.” He scratched the back of his neck—a new gesture Destiny believed he’d picked up from Matt. “The thing is, you’re still the only person I feel like I can be myself around. We can just talk without expectations or judgments or hidden motivations. And that is worth more to me than Stats, or Skills, or all the Bells in the world.”

Destiny’s jaw dropped, and she scrambled for her reply. Was she really deserving of such kind words from Tristan? Surely, he’d meant them for someone else.

Before she could compose a coherent sentence, Ravyn’s brash call pierced her thoughts. “Hey! You two coming or not?”

“We’ll talk more later, okay?” Tristan murmured. Destiny nodded, and he released her hand before jogging to catch up with the others.

Destiny took a moment to compose her breathing and smooth her skirts. To be worth so much in his eyes… She shook her head and hastened her steps.

“Hm. Earth likes this house,” Lara noted. “He says the foundations sound like him.”

They stood on the doorstep of another building that shared a very similar structure to the surrounding dwellings, with geometric shapes and hanging lattices. Cloth lanterns with bright streamers flanked the doorway, and a silver tiger statue stood poised to protect its home.

Yanni blinked. “Does Earth have an opinion of me?”

“Earth doesn’t think much of anyone.” Lara shrugged. “Actually, he liked Ichi quite a bit—”

“Mou ii! We’re burning daylight, ladies!” Ravyn pushed Yanni aside and triggered the ringing stone.

“Please f-forgive me,” Yanni muttered.

Yanni was difficult to read. Her expressions and mannerisms took such drastic shifts that Destiny couldn’t decide if the young woman was uncomfortable or unfeeling. As she tried to discern what Yanni was feeling in that moment, the curious paper door slid to the side.

How do they expect paper doors to weather the rain? Destiny had tried to steal a whiff of the material at Yukari’s house, but the familiar scents of Alchemy were absent. If they were coated in a chemical, it wasn’t one Destiny recognized.

“Yanni? Goodness, it’s been an age since I saw you last.” A woman with deep-set wrinkles and silver streaks in her jet-black mane greeted Yanni with a bow. Her ankle-length, intricately embroidered sleeves brushed the ground, then retracted as she straightened. “And, Saoirse’s Blessing, Ravyn? Is that you?”

“Yes. Hello, Miss Chinatsu.” Ravyn crossed her arms over her chest and heaved a sigh. “Kuso, it’s gonna be like this everywhere, isn’t it—”

Ravyn’s thought was interrupted by a strident smack! Chinatsu moved with a speed far beyond what her age would suggest and what Destiny would have imagined her sleeves to allow.

“How dare you leave your mother to fend for herself? Do you understand what you’ve done?” Chinatsu’s calm greeting turned turbulent, and spittle flared from her mouth.

Ravyn’s lips pulled into a long, thin line as Ball Gag screamed profanities from her shoulder.

“TOUCH HER AGAIN AND I’LL RIP YOUR EYES OUT! SQUAWWWK!”

“Bally. Hush.” The bird quieted, though his chest puffed, and he raised his wings. Ravyn narrowed her gaze at Chinatsu. Her fiery tone turned to ice as she dropped her arms to her sides. “We’re not here to chit-chat about Zhuli politics, Chinatsu.”

Tristan stepped forward. “Please pardon the intrusion, Miss Chinatsu, but this is quite urgent.”

The old woman gasped. “It can’t be. Is Cailu dead?” Chinatsu looked from Tristan to Ravyn. “Did you bring him to ruin as well?”

Destiny gaped. Ravyn could be…a lot to handle, but certainly she didn’t deserve so much hatred.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Ball squawked words that Destiny had never heard before. Ravyn scooped his talons onto her hand and launched him into the air. He flapped away, singing more strings of angry profanities as Ravyn ran her fingers through her hair.

“Cailu’s fine. My sister’s fine,” Ravyn snapped. “Now, would you shut up and listen to them?”

Yanni tapped her fingertips together in a rhythmic fashion. “Miss Chinatsu, please. Ravyn has been nothing but forthcoming since her return, and I would be honored to tell you what has transpired at a later date. But I am worried for Karaka,” she said, calling Chinatsu’s attention back to herself. “Have you seen her as of late?”

Chinatsu’s demeanor softened when she addressed Yanni. As if she was turning from a petulant child to a dear companion. The sudden shift was very much like Celestia’s changes in her mood. Destiny shivered. “Not for a few weeks, at least. I’d assumed she moved away from Zhuli like the others.”

“The others?” Tristan asked.

“Yes.” Chinatsu shot a furious glance toward Ravyn. “Not all of Zhuli’s citizens are content in knowing the next in line to Emberlynn’s empire is a kitten.”

Ravyn clenched her fists, and her ears flattened. “Where the hell else are they going to go on San Island? Shulan? That city’s gone to shit. Binh Lai? I can’t see Yukari living in a shack like that—”

“Stop this. Both of you,” Tristan said sharply, startling Destiny. He so rarely demanded anything that hearing his voice take on such a stern tone was jarring. “Do you know where Karaka would have gone? Did she have plans to open a new restaurant?”

Chinatsu chewed her lip, then shook her head. “I don’t know where any of them went. I pray to the goddess somewhere better. Zhuli is my birthplace and will serve as my casket.”

“She would have told me,” Yanni muttered. “I remember. It was raining. She needed a friend to talk to, and she served me my favorite dumplings and poja tea. Karaka promised she would tell me if she decided to leave Zhuli.”

Tristan placed a hand on Yanni’s shoulder. She looked at it with wide eyes and straightened her posture. “Thank you, Chinatsu. We’ll keep looking,” he said.

“Will you leave us again, Ravyn? Abandon the home that raised you?” Chinatsu’s shrill voice returned.

Lara nodded at, well, something, then snaked her arm through Ravyn’s. “Let’s go, Ravyn. Fire says she isn’t going to stop anytime soon.”

Destiny watched as Ravyn let herself be led away by Lara. Snapping back to attention, Destiny curtsied to the uproarious old woman, and she and Yanni hurried to their group.

“Who the fuck does she think she is?” Ravyn snarled. “How dare she?”

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks of you, Ravyn. And what you decide to do with your family’s estate is your own battle. But right now, we need to help Yanni find her friend,” Tristan said, gesturing to a blanched Yanni.

You’ve changed, Tristan.

Ravyn frowned and raised an arm. Ball swooped down from the sky and perched on her forearm with more choice grumbles before sidling up to her shoulder and caressing her face with his beak.

They paused on the road once they were out of shouting distance of Chinatsu. Her striking Ravyn still rang in Destiny’s ears, teasing memories of the school from carefully buried recesses.

No. It’s over. I have to focus.

“Yanni, is there anywhere you can think of that Karaka would have gone? Friends? Family?” Tristan asked.

“She had many customers but very few friends. She once told me that her mother passed seven years ago.” Yanni paused and touched her chin. After a moment, she nodded. “I helped her build a small remembrance shrine five years and twenty three days ago. The trees were blossoming and we picked yellow flowers.”

“Wow. That’s quite a memory,” Destiny remarked.

Yanni blinked, and pink tinged her face. “Thank you. Karaka’s life was in Zhuli. I truly believe she would have told me if she were leaving.”

“Then let’s start there. Maybe we can find something in the restaurant,” Tristan suggested.

“Hopefully, more than rotten fish,” Ravyn grumbled.

“Ah, Ravyn. Fire is proud of you. He’s begging me to tell you,” Lara said. “Hm? Why not? Well, yes, I…but you are begging!”

Ravyn unhooked her arm from Lara’s and stormed off in the direction of the restaurant. “Okay. That’s enough. Let’s go.”

The journey back to Karaka’s restaurant was much faster than their trip to Chinatsu’s house. And much less pleasant. Destiny hoped she could hold Tristan’s hand again soon.

Yanni slid the door to the side without resistance, and the acrid smell of rotting fish assaulted Destiny’s nostrils. She wrinkled her nose—she’d smelled far more potent alchemical ingredients—but Tristan’s complexion took on a green tint.

“Tristan? Are you okay?” Destiny asked.

He waved his hand with a weak smile and stepped inside. “I’ll be okay. Just, uh, reminds me of home. I’ll get used to it.”

Home? Destiny had seen Tristan’s home in the mirror. It didn’t seem like somewhere with the smell of rotting fish, but she didn’t wish to pry. She hummed a reply and crossed the threshold.

The welcome room was a dining hall with ten circular tables that were very low to the ground. Instead of traditional chairs, five plush green pillows framed each table. Three of the four walls were covered in bright paintings that spanned from one corner to the other. Flowering trees, running rivers, kites high in the sky, and colorful fish.

“Sumi-e,” Tristan murmured as he gazed at the artwork. “I recognize that style. It’s beautiful.”

“Karaka painted them herself. My friend is a woman of many talents,” Yanni explained.

“I’ll check the kitchen,” Ravyn said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. She didn’t wait for confirmation before she vanished down a dark hallway.

“I will look in Karaka’s quarters,” Yanni offered.

“Wind says to go with you.” Lara scrunched her brow, then added, “Jeez, you should be a little more trusting.”

“Y-yes.” Yanni’s eyes flickered between Lara and Tristan.

“Destiny and I will start here, then,” Tristan said. “We’ll come find you if anything turns up.”

“Understood. And Tristan… Thank you.” Yanni bowed at the neck. “This way, then, Lara.”

Once they had disappeared, the tense air alleviated and Destiny exhaled. “I hope we can help Yanni.”

“Me, too.” Tristan moved to the far corner of the dining room. “Let’s start on opposite ends?”

“Sure!” Destiny replied with more excitement than she intended. She turned away so Tristan couldn’t see her blush and shuffled to the other corner of the room. “What is it that I’m looking for?” she called over her shoulder.

“Anything that seems out of place. A note, a [Cat Pack], signs of a fight. Something that would explain where Karaka went,” Tristan said. He knelt and his head vanished behind one of the tables.

Destiny followed suit, crouching on all fours and peering underneath the tables. Beyond a layer of dust that had built up over time, the floors were clean. She wiped one finger over the tiles and found that they’d been freshly waxed before the grime had a chance to build. A stray napkin had snuck its way into the connection between the base and the center brace, but otherwise, Karaka had kept a tidy restaurant.

“Hm. Tristan, I don’t see—” Destiny shuffled out from under the third table, but her words were cut short by the sight of a thin, black tendril that crawled along the bottom of the wall.

“Destiny?”

“Sorry, one moment.” She crawled to the wall and leaned forward. At first, she was certain that her eyes were playing tricks on her—the way it waved and moved nearly matched the mural behind it. However, tiny white flowers sprouted from the tendril every few handspans. She reached forward and pinched it. It was a vine. “Tristan, this could be a San Island custom, but I’ve never seen a plant like this before.”

Tristan crossed the room and knelt next to her. He squinted his eyes and poked at one of the flowers. “Even so, why grow it so out of the way? Wouldn’t you want to put it on display?”

“Well, since Karaka studied [Cooking], it could be an ingredient that required certain conditions. A number of plants in Alchemy are like that, too. However, this looks less like a plant used for ingredients and more like a weed.” Destiny shook her head. “It’s probably nothing. But I’d like to take a little bit of it and find out its use. I’ve never seen a black vine before.”

“Oh. Sure. Do you have a knife?”

Destiny nodded and extracted a paring knife from her [Cat Pack]. “I always keep one on me.” She pinched the vine between two fingers and brought the sharpened edge below it. “I never know when I can make a few more potions!” she added brightly, then cut upward.

Hiss!

The noise startled them both. A viscous red liquid poured from the incision onto Destiny’s hand, and she shrieked with surprise.

The vine was bleeding.

image [https://i.imgur.com/AjRAxMX.png]