“An extra head, a trio isn’t unheard of, but it’s still rare.”

The same clerk that registered Michal was the one taking my counter ticket for our payout. To make matters better, Lorn was doing her rounds and was peering over the poor girl’s shoulder.

“Payout and a half, you should be able to finish that temple project you were working on with the minions of yours, hm?”

I looked up, nodding, doing my best to stifle my continued spite given we’d talked just the day before and I was already sleep deprived.

“Mhmmm, might spend some time between hunts so we can keep it sealed from the weather.”

Hold it in, ignore the intrusive thoughts.

I sighed, crossing my arms.

“Personal stuff aside, I can’t forget to address this. We’ve got a Skulker within about an eight hour walk of town. I debated having us bed back down after we were ambushed at midnight, but we had a stampede come through the commotion. The Skullker was on the same trail as us, chased the local herd of Brachiosaur until they couldn’t even be heard in the distance.”

Lorn and the clerk both raised a brow as they looked to each other. Lorn leaned over the counter, steadying herself on the clerks shoulder as she did.

“You sure?”

I nodded, rubbing at the curve of my right horn.

“Sure as these are real.”

I tapped the horn.

“Massive bastard, walked damn near over us.”

Lorn nodded, returning to her side of the counter.

“I’ll write up the bounty this afternoon. When was the last time we saw a Skullker this close to town, Elaine? Morussians are fucking everything up, damnit.”

Lorn threw her hands up, nearly yelling as her speech trailed on.

“Fuck it, I’ll just put the Revenants on it. I can’t be bothered with another team loss.”

Another team loss?

“There’s an mia party?”

Lorn looked over after her slip of the tongue.

“Mnnn, no, worse. We received confirmation yesterday afternoon, a team hunting within the mountain pass were mauled something fierce this last week.”

“Damn.”

Lorn nodded.

“That’s for me to worry about, not you. By the by, have you taken a look at the folder yet?”

Of all things, the folder she’d given me slipped my mind. That being said, I still couldn't even force myself to read that file just yet.

“No, I went to sleep and back to work the moment I woke up.”

I kept my tone flat, not wanting her to mistake me for having gotten over what she kept from me. Lorn simply closed her eyes, and spoke.

“When you find the chance, Kiyomi, it will do you good.”

She looked away, assessing the other clerks but had yet to move, before saying something else.

“Keep your ears open as well, we may have work for you and a few other teams in the coming weeks.”

The clerk was counting out the gold due for our reward, tossing the pieces in fives as our conversation grew tense.

“Where to?”

“Francia.”

“We’re not going.’

“Oh?”

Lorn turned back to me in surprise, then corrected her expression as her brows dropped to her eyes.

“When a guild master says they have work for you, Kiyomi, you do not refuse. That is a lesson to be taught, not as a mentor, or parental figure. That is a lesson you will learn.”

For some reason, this was the moment I chose to stand my ground.

“Just as well, the same ‘Guild master’ holds no authority over Higher blood, do they?”

Lorn was taken aback for a second, her jaw dropping slightly, followed by a sneer. The clerk was simply confused, trying to make herself look small as she continued to count.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“What makes you think— The nerve of you– that's a teen for you, its been so long I’d forgotten what a rebellious streak looked like.”

I gritted my teeth, my fists clenching against my better judgment. Neither of us would budge, not one bit. We stood like that for two or three minutes, staring, assessing the built-up tension that I’d suppressed two days before, well and alive in the wrong place.

“Um, miss Kiyomi?”

The clerk called my name, the sound of a cloth pouch being pushed across the counter to me as she did.

“Yes?”

I looked down to the bag, the coin for our hunt, plus the excess kill bonus was packed tightly and bound with twine.

“You should get yourself cleaned up.”

She gestured to my buckler, as well as my entire left side was still splattered with the Stalkers blood.

“Ah, apologies.”

I slowly took the coin pouch in hand before thanking her.

“I will send for you when the mission comes up, Kiyomi. Don’t plan to be out of town after Beryl's birthday.”

“Shove it up your arse, pompous hag.”

I spit back, glaring at Lorn as I turned from the counter.

I've no reason to show goodwill, simply because you acted so polite when you gave me the book. I’m not gonna make it easy for you.

Lorn clenched her teeth as she watched me step away, possibly stuck in between her own confusion of my gall and her urge to keep her decision on what to do sound. It wasn't until I’d begun to take the stairs home that she decided to turn away, muttering something unheard to anyone but herself.

----------------------------------------

Why?! Why did I say that shit! Just keep your fuckin head down! It's your problem now, you don't get a redo of this shit!

I'd leaned my head back against the tile floor of the baths edge, soaking in the warmth of the water as I tried to let my muscles relax.

You can't start shit, not now.

Thunk

The stress, is it getting to me still? Was I wrong, do I just need to take more hunts? Maybe one by myself? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

I slinked down into the water, submerging myself as I held my breath.

I still need to talk to mother, but that’s going to be an event I don’t want to follow through with. Not if its going to jeopardize my mental state even more… but I need to work through it.

I returned to the surface, taking in a deep breath and filling my lungs to capacity before sighing.

I should read the folder, if anything, I’ll have further context to work with here. With the war back home. Bullshit!

I splashed at the water.

It’s not my home! It’s not! You don’t get to believe that, Catan, because you are not her! No matter how much Solah tries to push it… This life isn’t yours, you had one and you threw it away.

I began to spiral for a moment before bringing my breathing under control.

To be given a second chance, that’s probably the cruelest ploy or lie anyone could feed me right now.

I looked at my hands, the water parting as I brought them up, the muddled figure of my body took up the backdrop underneath them. I dropped them into the water, everything being broken apart as I looked back to the ceiling.

It’s all bullshit.

----------------------------------------

“So like this— gaht dayum that hurts, how the fuck does it still manage to nick me?! Shit.”

“That’s dried tissue princess, its not gonna be gentle on your fingers. Especially pulling that weird play style you keep trying to go back to.”

Peter smiled, hunched over his own guitar as i tried to follow along with his instruction for the most part.

“Well, its something older that I’m trying to remember here, something from home.”

I wrestled with my own hand, contorting it in an attempt to mimic one of the cords the dream with Lucas brought back to memory.

“You played before? You never really spoke of it.”

Peter flicked at his own strings as I spent my time own practice time trying to ingrain the cords in my mind.

“Once, a long time ago… I learned off of a friend, but he’s not with me anymore.”

The thrum of the guitar played the two beginning notes of the song I hadn’t heard in a lifetime, at least until Lucas sought to grace my dreams with his admonishment. A small shiver of anxiety ran down to my fingers at the sound, a feeling of fuzziness overwhelming them and delaying my next note. I was doing the same thing as Krakow, biding time, avoiding the only path laid before me like the plague. The next part was reading that damned folder, and I had it in my pack, alongside the damned it all diary.

“Rrrr- fuck.”

I dropped my hand past the strings, strumming each in one stroke of frustration. I held up the hand I was using to hold the strings to the frets, shaking ever so slightly. I grabbed it with the opposite hand.

Just one more thing I both can and can’t escape to.

I furrowed my brows, placing the guitar to the side.

“I don’t think I’m of the right mind to be concentrating on this right now. Either way, Peter, thanks for taking the time to teach me.”

Peter smiled, continuing the tune he managed of his own mood.

“Music helps us work through our feelings, sometimes in ways we can’t easily express through words.”

He nodded to himself.

“For myself and my kin, it got us through our parents passing. For others, it’s a recollection of grand deeds, reliving the glory of a moment.”

A lighter tone took his voice, one seeming unperturbed by my own surly mood.

“And for yourself, I imagine its comfort in the memories you hold close in loss, and some in love?”

I remained silent.

What memories I have of love hurt no less than the ones I have now… love…

resting one of my arms across the instrument’s body as I looked out into the street, a passing dwarf bringing another distraction to mind. I continued to stare at the street, a small sense of peace following as a strange clarity of mind flowed through me.

“Hello? Princessa? Kiyomi? You there?”

A hand waved in front of my face.

“Hm? Wha?”

Peter looked at me with confusion all over his face, a brow raised.

“You stared off for a few minutes there. We’re you tuning me out too?”

Was I tuning him out? What was I doing? I just— lost myself for a second?

I shook my head.

“Sorry, just been without sleep since yesterday morning.”

Peter tilted his head.

“Well, best not settle yourself then. Another spell like that and you may fall asleep in my shop. Why not go home and sleep for now?”

“Can’t, if I try I’ll be up all night and that’s not good for me.”

I stood.

“I actually have something else I could check up on right now. Do you mind if we cut it off here for the day?”

I wasn’t going to shy away from the fact I was displeased, with the tingling in my fingers from the static of repeating the song Lucas played. I gave him an earnest smile, grabbing my bag.

“Go ahead, just remember to practice by yourself from time to time. Too much ‘a break between your efforts and it’ll simply fall out.”

Peter leaned to the side, swinging his hand away from his head.

“Like that attention span of yours.”

“Hardy har.”

I rolled my eyes.

“See you later, Peter, I’m still not gonna let your ingratiating attempts at getting close to me work.”

I plastered the most awkward smirk I could manage while pointing at him, given the back and forth of Peter getting too personal and straight plain talk. He raised his hand, before dropping them and tapping at the guitar.

—————————————————————————————————————

“Listen ya dull bastard, just cause ye can handle the gold inlay like that doesnt mean you should. We’re working with rock here, one tap too hard and its liable to crumble the edges of the engraving!”

“Uh-huh? And mind you whose glorious idea was it to mark the engraving wrap around the piece? Short donkey’s arse, I can’t just melt the gold and pour it like you do with most of your work!”

Callum and Findlay were arguing as they both worked over what I could only presume was the gift for Beryl, the focus for her magic. I was watching for roughly ten or so minutes before I took note of something that glinted in the light on Callum’s ring finger.

I thought he wore that on the string ‘round his neck?

I craned my neck from the entrance's corner, watching as they manipulated the work, slowly pressing gold wire inside engraved paths. But of all things, the progress of Beryl’s gift was of less interest than the short glints of polished silver.

“Damnit, I said to watch the pressure–”

“I am dammit! Shut your hole! Shit!”

Callum dropped the tools he’d been using, fumbling with his apron and producing a cigarette.

Welp, time to step in.

“I thought you said you quit!”

I yelled, jumping around the corner.

“Myr’s tits!”

While Callum held his chest as he stumbled back against the table behind him.

“Kiyomi, holy shit, don’t do that!”