She finished drying her curls as she walked out of the bathroom to see Xylas looking squeaky clean in new clothing. She must have looked as confused as she felt because he immediately explained that he can use his flames to cleanse himself, so he never really has a reason to shower. She made a gagging noise while Alyson snorted. “You sound like a twelve-year-old boy that uses any excuse to get out of bathing.” He nudged her and she busted out laughing and Viri’s heart warmed at the image of them getting along so well. She shook off her sappiness and looked at Alyson.
“Okay Als, let’s hear what plans you have so far.” Alyson bit her lip before responding. “It’s only one plan, but I believe it might be our best option.” Viri sat on the sofa beside her and waited for her to continue her explanation. Alyson took a deep breath. “Okay. We’ve been trying to be all incognito and find ways to sneak in undetected, but I believe we should take a straightforward approach. Xylas should ask to hold a meeting on our behalf and introduce us to them and let them all hold a discussion and get their feelings out. I wouldn’t feel right sneaking around and I definitely wouldn’t feel right barging into someone else’s home, let alone a sacred temple, and fighting our way through to the gem. Plus, I don’t want to end up with my mane on fire from either an Ifrit or an untrained Asai child. No offense Vi-vi.” Viri just shrugged. She was right. Alyson went on, “And even if they’re old and stuffy, there’s no denying that you have to smell like a direct descendant of Anzel if a baby Ifrit like Xylas can pick up on it, and all we have to do is help convince them of that.” She blew out a breath to let them know she was finished.
Viri looked at Xylas. “You know them best. Do you think it’ll work?” He sat and rubbed his chin and thought aloud. “I’d rather go in without fighting if we can help it, seeing as how we’re grossly outnumbered. Plus, you do smell like Anzel slapped me in the face, but we’d still have to be very convincing to get the elders to even consider it for a second.” He stopped talking and looked out the window, lost in thought. Viri gave him space to continue thinking. After all, she didn’t have anything else to offer up. All their plans to steal a glance were incredibly dangerous.
After a few minutes of silence, Xylas spoke again. “It’s probably our best option, and if it doesn’t work and you guys want to try to fight your way through, I'll go down fighting with you.” Viri held up her hands for him to stop talking. “No one is going to go down doing anything, because what started as a trip to collect a jewel for answers and a large commission check will not end with Alyson’s or my face on milk cartons as missing in action because we’re in an unmarked grave with a rogue Ifrit.” She smiled at them, and they smiled back and quietly agreed.
Xylas said he’d be back in a few and walked outside of the cottage. Viri scooted closer to Alyson and laid her head in her lap. Alyson played in Viri’s hair, and she moaned. “You’re no better than a dog.” Viri smiled to herself. “Says the pet pony.” Alyson chuckled and they sat there in content silence as Alyson continued playing with her curls.
She was almost asleep when Xylas came back into the cottage holding up several skinned creatures he’d caught from around the marsh. She was caught between gazing at his smile and gagging at whatever he’d just killed. Alyson opted to make extra loud gagging noises. Xylas gave the most offended look he could muster up. “So, you two are okay with not having meat on what’s possibly the last night of our lives?” Viri rolled her eyes as she sat up. “No one is dying,” she asserted. “But we should probably still eat the meat just in case. Just don’t ever tell me what it is because nothing in this marsh sounds normal.” Alyson sighed. “I don’t even eat meat, but I’ll help you guys cook if you agree to tell me what it is so that I can opt to tell her what she’s eaten on a random day of my choosing.” Viri smacked Alyson’s leg, who grinned wickedly at her in return and Xylas just chuckled to himself.
The three of them got to work making dinner and decided to sit around the living room when it was time to eat. Viri and Alyson told Xylas about various childhood stories and Alyson just had to throw in Viri’s past relationship mishaps, which he seemed a little too interested in. She wanted to punch them both, but she knew the lightheartedness of the night was exactly what they needed before enacting their plan. Somehow, she and Xylas ended up sitting next to each other on the sofa and Alyson stole glances at them from the loveseat. She tried to ignore both her and the heat that kept stirring every time Xylas rubbed his knuckles against her thigh. She was grateful when he finally suggested that they get some rest before the big day tomorrow – if only so that she didn’t have to deal with Alyson making smooching faces when he wasn’t looking.
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As Xylas settled outside, she and Alyson pulled out the sofa bed again and snuggled up under the covers. Alyson found her hand and held it for a few seconds before whispering, “You may have forced me to be your friend after saving me from those bullies, but you have become my heart since then. I hope tomorrow comes with a peaceful success, but if it doesn’t, we’ll make it out together. Then we’ll sort out your truth together as well. We won’t die tomorrow because we’ve planned out our whole lives together since we were little, and we still have a whole lot of life to live. Plus, you owe me a wild-ass bachelorette trip because this one has had too many bugs and not enough baths. So, we’ll walk out of that building together, no matter what happens, and we’ll figure out the rest later.” Viri wiped tears from her cheeks that she didn’t even realize had formed and squeezed Alyson’s hand. “I love you, you overgrown pony.” Alyson squeezed back. “I love you too, fire buzzard.” They chuckled and scooted closer to each other to sleep.
Alyson was snoring within minutes while she stared up at the ceiling, running through sparring drills in her head to keep her calm. She missed her mom, even if she’d lied to her. She was still the most important person to her, and even though she was still so pissed at her, she knew that her mother only ever did anything out of a need to protect her. Thinking about her mom made her think about Anzel. She couldn’t have imagined her mom hooking up with an Asai, but Xylas did say that they had human forms. Maybe he seduced her and left. She gagged internally at the thought of her mom hooking up with anyone, let alone Anzel. Speaking of Anzel, she hadn’t dreamt of him since her realization that it was him appearing to her. She rolled her eyes in the darkness. Of course, he’d disappear when she could actually use him. She decided that staying awake and being angsty would only cause trouble for tomorrow, so she went back to imagining sparring drills until she fell asleep.
They all woke up at sunrise and began getting ready in silence. After Viri finished braiding her hair and Alyson threw hers up in a ponytail, Xylas walked to the kitchen and asked, “Are either of you trained for battle?” Viri snorted. “Since I could walk.” She strapped her two daggers on her while Alyson flipped her ponytail and said, “Same.” Xylas seemed impressed. “Good.” He flipped several floorboards over to showcase a plethora of weapons stashed underneath. He held his hands out towards them. “Take what you want and strap up.” There was an array of guns, axes, swords, nunchucks, and other weapons. She picked up a sword with a large ruby in its hilt and strapped it across her back. She also picked up some throwing stars and tucked them away. Alyson picked up an axe and two guns while Xylas only picked up a few knives before closing the floorboards.
“Will any of this kill an Ifrit?” Viri couldn’t help but wonder if the weapons were a little pointless. She wasn’t going to put them back, but she at least wanted to have an idea of what they were up against. Xylas made sure his knives were secured before saying, “It’d be close to impossible to kill them with a few injuries from any of these weapons, but they can at least slow them down if necessary.” The three of them stared at each other in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she cleared her throat and looked both Alyson and Xylas in the eyes. “I’m not doing any heartfelt goodbyes because we’re going to make it out just fine. Seeing this stone will be just the tip of the iceberg in me finding out who I am, and I need you both alive and willing to be dragged on further expeditions to help.” They both smiled at her. Alyson nodded and Xylas winked. She held her hands out and they took her hands in theirs to form a small circle. Alyson grinned wide and asked, “Do we all get to yell ‘go team’ and break on the count of three?” Viri rolled her eyes at her. “You’ve been watching too many cheerleading shows.” Alyson gave her a fake pout and she sighed while Xylas chuckled. She begrudgingly agreed and they all chanted and let go of each other after the count of three.