"You've been quiet, Violet. What are you thinking about?"

Daire breathed. Voice low and concerned. Violet had remained mostly in silence since their trip to Miss Leecy's and it worried Daire, thinking back to how he shouted at her. It came from a good place but the way he expressed it was wrong.

Violet was sitting on the cart, stroking pebbles. A concentrated look about her. Introspective.

"I-I don't know... where I am going."

Her voice was soft but clearly audible, clipping with a hidden emotion.

Daire peered down at her tiny form with a frown.

The constant rolling of the cart and the backdropped bustle of traffic moved to the forfront of their minds. The scents churning into a confusing mess that aggravated the senses. Daire searched through the miasma of passivity for active words. Every time the words came close, he would focus on a new sensation. The itchness of his new pants. The feel of the cobblestone in his new shoes. The cool breeze running through his hair.

Unconsious distraction. He was trying to run away from a potential bad conversation before it even started.

In his search for words, his eyes met Emmy's unique yellow pupils. There was a semblance of understanding. Emmy understood, moving further up to give the two some space.

Daire inhaled and forced himself to ask with the only words he had.

"What do you mean?"

It was a careful prodding.

Violet was still staring into space. And as she slowly started speaking, Daire realized he didn't need any words.

"What am I supposed to do? I never thought about what I should be doing. I don't have any goals or things I want to accomplish. I feel... lost.

A small pause.

"There is a better word for it. I know it... Um. Hold on. Apathy? No. Not quite. Maybe melancholy mixed with powerlessness? I don't want to be useless, but I don't know what I want to be. After we save Iris, what do I do? Just go back to reading in my tree? Is that really all I can do? But there isn't anything in particular I want to do either!"

Violet started to pick up her pace.

"Should I be doing something? Training? Training how, and for what specifically? Fighting? Should I try to practice lightning? So I can smite my enemies? Hah! What enemies? I don't want to hurt people. Even bad people..."

Pebbles squirmed under Violet's constant stroking.

"What am I meant to do? Start farming? Build buildings? Make art? For what? For who? For what purpose? What am I supposed to do!"

Pebbles hopped away.

The duo was silent. The idle street chatter fading in once again. A child crying and mother consoling them. A street crier yelled out about special remedies. The clinking of guards armor as they passed by on patrol. The tiny hops of the remaining rabbits caged up.

"It's normal. Not to know."

Daire whispered.

"It's normal to feel the way you do. I feel it all the time."

Daire stopped Trinket, halting traffic. He crouched so he could be face to face with Violet. Her eyes sparkled with an unknown depth but felt so cold and lonely.

"We live in moments. We aren't meant to plan out our entire lives. We're much simpler creatures."

Using his eyes, he led's Violet's gaze down to his own feet.

"We just take one step..."

Daire tapped his foot.

"At a time."

Another tap.

Violet's eyes held only confusion. Daire found it easy to laugh.

"Come, try it."

Violet took Daire's offered finger in her hand. Daire led her to the stony ground. Cobblestone. To Violet, the edge between bricks would seem like an impossible chasm. Her immidiate solution would be to fly. But life doesn't just let you fly by unabated. Even before the great divides, before you could reach the other side, before you could even begin to contemplate how you would surpass such a great boundary, you need to tread over the countless potholes, divets, bumps, and obstacles.

Looking at it from above oversimplified it. You take it for granted.

But standing at the edge where the world seems to fall off can be crippling.

Daire's didn't have to think on his words, because the answer wasn't in the air or around him. They came from inside him. They were a part of who he was.

"My mother always told me if I lose my way, just to look at my feet."

Daire put his feet together. He motioned for Violet to do the same, which she did.

"Take a step."

Daire stepped over a crack in the stonework. Violet examined the enormous gap, looked up to Daire, and then back down to the valley in the pavement.

The fear. It wasn't a fear of heights, because Violet could fly. It was something different. More primal.

The fear of failure.

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Seeing Daire taking another step, away from her, a new fear sprouting. More powerful and instrincic to her core.

The fear of getting left behind.

Backing up, she ran toward the edge of the crevasse and leaped. She found herself in the air without the aid of magic. Her momentum carried her forward and up until it didn't.

Seeing she barely made it a quarter way, she felt the fear push at her chest. Then she pushed it away, lighting up with vibrant magic.

Landing on the other side with half a grunt and half a sigh, she looked up at Daire with expectation.

She'd used magic.

Of course she used magic!

Why couldn't she? She could do this much, so why shouldn't she?

Daire's eyes crinkled.

"Another."

Daire took a step. Violet looked at the distance he traveled, perturbed by his gargantuan strides.

Instead of dwelling, she ran up to the next jump and crossed it as easily as the first.

"Again."

Daire stepped. Violet leaped.

"Over here."

Daire sidestepped. Violet turned, vaulting over.

"Not fast enough!"

Daire sped up, taking two steps. Violet smiled slyly, shining brilliantly, crackling with power. She strode together with giants.

The crowd parted. A man was laughing loudly while jumping across the street. A tiny purple streak could be seen trailing after him, occasionally passing him, only to be overtaken again. The passerby's who paid enough attention could hear joyous giggling.

A small green frog hopped after her, enjoying the game.

An enormous bear pulling a cart was making a ruckus as it bounced from place to place. Jostling the contents of the cart and the many hoppity creature within.

Behind the bear were several small forms who ran after, waving their arms, chortling. Parents bumped into each other, trying to catch their wayward children.

=

Violet was still panting as Daire apologized to a herd of aggrieved parents; the children too fascinated by Trinket to notice her. She was beaming from ear to ear. Unable to remember how she got here. Soot perfumed the air. There was a glow coming from the building they arrived at.

Is this the smithy?

Violet knew they were heading in this direction but had lost track of what they were doing along the way.

"I'm very sorry; it won't happen again."

Violet looked over to see Daire bowing to a retreating family of beastkin. When the parents backs were turned, he made a silly gesture to the kids. They responded in kind, giggling. The parents turned back only to see Daire's bowing head.

When they were gone, Violet's exuberant expression reflected Daire's.

Rested an hand casually on his sword, leaning his weight to one side, Daire smiled toothily.

"That was fun, no?"

Violet gave an excited nod, flying up to Daire's height. She felt liberated! She was still uncertain about her future but realized it didn't have to be decided right now. There was time, and she only had to take one step at a time.

"The man you want to talk to inside is Dom. He runs the forge. He fixed my dagger last week."

Emmy's words signaled the end of Violet's trance. She couldn't remember where Emmy had been the past few minutes. The lamia seemed much more relaxed, no longer hiding behind her shoulders.

"Well? Let's meet this Dom character."

=

"This 'ere is crude work. Who made this thing? A fire golem?

Daire's face was blank.

"The metal is old and rusted. It's covered in grease and smells like chicken. You didn't actually cook with this thing, did you?

Daire's face was blank.

"Any decent smith could make this in a few hours, with twice the sturdiness and thrice the cleanliness. You made this, didn't ye? Didn't your momma tell you not to play with fire?"

Daire's face was still blank.

"Idgit."

His face was unreadable, but inside, Daire was roiling.

He is Scottish! SCOTTISH!

Daire was desperately trying to keep himself from doubling over. A dwarf! He finally met a dwarf, and he actually had a Scottish accent. A deep one. It was too good. Daire felt complete.

Dom is four foot nine. A soiled black bandana wrapped the top of his head. His skin is bronze. His scruffy beard is as red as magma. His biceps are thicker than Daire's thighs.

Despite the inner turmoil, Daire answered by waving his bandaged arm.

"Lesson learned. That's why I came to a professional. I need a second piece just like this one. I have leftover scrap metal you can use, but it's probably you'd prefer higher quality stuff. Can I order a rush job?"

"Oh, look at ye fancy pants, tryin' to use fancy words. Well, I'll have ya know that it is "probable" that you won't have it tonight. I have too many orders to fill. If you want to rush it, you can have it tomorrow."

"I thought any decent smith could make one of these in a few hours?"

"Don't get smart, boy! You aren't the only one who needs tools. If ye came this morning, I might have done something for ya, but you ask to rush it in an hour when I'm already backlogged. You have yer head in the clouds."

Daire held up both hands in surrender.

"Tomorrow is more than adequate. I just hoped. That's all. How much to have it ready by sunset tomorrow?"

Dom squinted his eyes, licking his lips.

"5 gold, and you'll have her by tomorrow."

Daire winced internally, but he knew never to haggle with a dwarf.

"Deal."

Daire handed the man the gold, along with a sketch of the grill. It was a crude blueprint with dimensions illustrated on it. He was cooking tonight, so he couldn't leave the grill in Dom's hands.

Dom took the gold with a wave of his hand and examined the document. He narrowed his eyes, suspcious, silent for a long moment. Rolling it back up, he addressed Daire.

"Unnecessary, but appreciated. Is there anything else you need?"

Daire thought for a moment and then shoved a hand into his pants pocket. He pulled out a small black pitted sphere about the size of a golf ball.

Violet tilted her head at the object.

"I was hoping you would have a clue as to what this is since you work with metals. It's not a metal, but I've never seen this type of... rock before. It feels warm. Or at least it did."

The pitted black rock he found under Big Boulder used to be warm to the touch but now lay cold. It was disconcerting and Daire didn't know why.

"It seems special in some way. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Dom sniffed. He took the rock in a grubby palm and turned it, holding it up. Sniffing again, he tossed it back. Daire fumbled.

"Heh, just a rock. Not ore. It looks like there was magic stored inside once, but it's gone."

Daire internally deflated as he held the rock. He hoped it was more.

"Is it possible to store magic in it again?"

"Meh, you could, but it wouldn't hold anything more than a drop. Rocks aren't magic. Unless they're old."

"So it's just an old rock?"

"Yup."

Daire twirled the rock between his fingers.

"Is there anyone who would know more?"

"Bah. There's no one who makes a living identifying rocks. You can ask others, but they will just give you the same answer."

Dom looked sour.

"Alright. Thank you for your time. That's all I had."

"Hrmph."

Dom grunted and turned. Conversation over.

Violet had another questioning look, but Daire had an answer ready.

"With the blueprint, hopefully, the quality of street cooking will go up in Milton. An act of goodwill."

"If everyone cooks the way you do, it would change the world."

Daire scoffed at the notion.

"I don't think it's that big, but I hope it will change Milton for the better. Once people catch on to its use, that is."

Violet shook her head, thinking it a much bigger deal.

"What about the rock then?"

"Oh, this? I found it under Big Boulder. I thought it was special. I still do."

Violet tilted her head again.

"It's just a rock, isn't it?"

"Maybe..."

He thought it held more importance.

Well... Even if it doesn't, I'll hold on to it. Keep my hands busy.

He found it was a lot of fun to move it between his fingers like a coin. Better than just shoving his hands in his pockets.

So with one hand twirling an ugly rock and the other resting old his sword, Daire turned to Emmy.

"That's everything for today. There are a few more places I want to visit tomorrow. Would you be willing to accompany us again?"

Emmy was startled for a moment, then looked aside, trying to think about her plans and if it would be worth it to do this job another day.

"You don't have to decide right now. We'll go set up the stall, and I'll treat you to a good meal. I got all the ingredients, and I figured out how to make the meat less smokey, there was also-"

"I'll do it!"

Emmy's tail was erect.

"I- Okay then. How many servings do you want?"

Emmy drooled.

Violet drooled.

Trinket drooled.