For a small woman, she stood her ground against a big bad Grimm without a batting an eye. Eventually, I let her strong-arm me into creating something fit for the noble court. I did wrangle her ambition into keeping it simple and functional.

Eventually, she finished her measurements and packed her equipment.

"When will you be meeting with his Majesty?" she asked as she headed for the door.

I sat on the bed, mentally exhausted, and shrugged. "No idea, from the sounds of it, a few hours."

"Very well. I shall return in two hours' time. We'll fit you and make any necessary adjustments afterward," she said with a glare. "I expect there shall be none."

"Uhm, that's rather quick. Are you sure?"

If looks could kill, she'd have eaten me alive.

She pushed up her glasses and raised her chin. "I am good at my job. I do not question you and your ability to hunt monsters, so please, do not question mine."

And before I could even apologize, she promptly left and shut the door behind her. I stared and groaned. I could handle corpses, exploding bandits, and enthralled elementals, but somehow, the woman had fought harder than all of them combined.

At least I got what I wanted. A good hour of distraction. Now what? Hide in here or head out and try to talk to the others?

Hiding was safe, and I doubted Devon or Alice would think it weird if I wanted some alone time.

Of course, just as I settled into the idea of being able to relax, knocking loosened my door. It swung open to reveal a narrow-eyed Alice. She looked clean, her hair shining with a luster that could only come from shampoo.

She didn't wait and stepped into the room. I tracked her movements; she avoided stepping on the carpet where shrapnel from the destroyed furniture still littered the ground.

"Hello to you too. Didn't Nareid stop by and get your measurements?" I asked.

Alice plopped onto the bed, and I hid my frown.

"She did," she said. She scowled and leaned her head against the bedpost. "She took my measurements, asked what level of harshness I'd be subjecting myself to, and left with a promise to return in two hours. She grumbled about unappreciative clients while stomping away."

I chuckled. "Interesting lady. I guess nobles are an uppity bunch; I bet she has a lot of practice dealing with grumpy people."

"Implying I'm grumpy?"

Yeesh.

"No, not really. Maybe last night."

Alice's shoulders dropped. "Sorry."

"Yeah well, I don't blame you. I don't think I share the same problem with being kept safe as you do, but I can understand it. Did he explain what it is to you?"

She closed her eyes. "Yes. I confronted him after you left. I…am conflicted."

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"You know," I said as I leaned back and let the bed consume me. "You've opened up a lot since we first met. Though, you're still incredibly honest and straightforward. If you're conflicted, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"You've changed too. Maybe it's the stats, or the confidence of surviving each hunt. But the Cain I first met wouldn't have stood between us, stopping a fight. You've grown a backbone."

Out of all the conversations I had expected, it wasn't this. It came out of nowhere. But it was a nice honest conversation. And it made me feel like a piece of crap for not telling her about Garret's theory.

I sat up and stretched. "So. What did he tell you about the Blood Harvest?"

"Every two hundred years, the planets align, creating a ritual circle. The mana in the worlds increases for a single day. Several monsters wake up, others go insane, and more are born. We perform our own ritual and force the monsters to come to our world shard and then fight."

"That's it?"

"Yes. What else would there be?"

"Wait, hold up. World shard? Is the Warren not on one of the seven planets?"

"No, did Astra not explain this?" she asked. "We exist in a separated space; it's why the Warren is our home, a safe haven that can't be tracked."

"No. No, I did not know this. See, this is why I want some downtime when we return. I should know this, but I don't."

"Maybe, but at least you can hunt. There are a few other pups; you met one, Proltus, who was still waiting for his mentor to return to Warren. You're stronger than him now. And now I know why Devon was against him undergoing the ritual."

That was comforting to a small degree.

"How long has he been a pup?"

"Four months before you. Not that long. But he has been with us for over two years. Rescued from a revenant that murdered half the village. He fought it off with mana-infused ash."

"Yet he tried to ambush us, why?"

She shrugged. "No idea. I didn't ask."

And there's the Alice I know.

Comforting silence elapsed. Considering we had two hours left, I grabbed my satchel and pulled out the scroll before tossing it over.

And then my jaw dropped as it bounced off a grey, semi-transparent barrier about the size of a dinner plate. The barrier cracked and crumbled, leaving Alice to clutch her hand as it spasmed.

"Hey! You did the incantation!"

She held up her twitching fingers. "Not entirely. The size is wrong, and it shouldn't break so easily."

I sighed. "What made it work?"

"The intent. And some minor changes to my mental image. The scroll says to imagine it like a shield, a barrier to block. It always felt off. So instead, I pictured it as a hardened chunk of ice, a solid piece of crystal to protect me from harm."

"That's impressive. I don't think that'll work for me. My mana is diametrically opposed to anything cold." I paused. "Wait! I didn't hear an incantation! How?"

A grin formed and she quickly supressed it. "I was surprised, too. I can conjure a stronger barrier if I say the incantation, though. I think it has to do with my mental image shifting it closer to my intrinsic skill."

I smiled and joined her on the bed. We spent the next couple of hours silently practicing together. I grumbled at her success with the skill in only a few instances. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the lava-like mana to comply. At least for a time, it was nice to take my mind off something and focus without the emotions clouding my thoughts.

***

Nareid delivered the final set of clothes and harumphed before leaving the manor. I shared a shrugwith Alice, but she shook her head. She reached across the table and held up a black dress. Simple, yet the skirt extended past her knees and had a few ruffles along its waist.

I held out my axe, and she took it to a different table and promptly chopped several inches off the bottom.

While she modified her clothes, I held up a dark-grey hoodie. It was a little different than usual, the arms and stomach being reinforced with black leather hidden behind a thick fabric to cover it. I changed into the new pair of pants and undergarments, marveling at the soft feel while donning the new boots. Steel-plated, surprising, considering I didn't ask for it, but Nareid knew her stuff.

Even Devon had new rags. He pinched at the black leather jacket and held out his leg, where the matching black pants with silver embroidery and boots fit snugly on his limbs.

Someone knocked on the door and Devon opened it to reveal Marcus standing at attention.

"Excuse me, Grimms. His Majesty is ready to see you now."

Devon threw on his cloak and waited for Alice to finish cinching her much shorter dress with a silver belt.

"We're ready. Show us the way," he replied.

The guard bowed and marched down the hall.