"Hi," I said, the word coming out in Standard instead of a growl or snarl. Finally!

"Hey," Vara replied, her eyes as fixed on me as Elira's. "You back?"

"I-It seems so."

"You're not sure, Grey?" Elira might find it odd, but I really wasn't. I didn't change any of my weaves. In fact, I haven't really done anything different to shift back from what I had been trying to do basically since we left Castiana - to calm my mind, ease my heart, and sit in a way that didn’t make my ass sore.

'Seriously! With all the magic and magic tools, hasn't anyone invented suspension?'

Given the pickle I was in, not really something I should be hung up on - but somehow, it was what led me back to being human-ish again. Not the sore ass, no. It was this dumb thought about how I never thought I would actually miss the hard seats on public transport. Or even just the boring routine of riding it to work, chatting with coworkers, grabbing lunch, and then crashing on the couch at night to binge-watch my favorite shows. I pushed so hard to picture myself as human again, even that half-beast I’d turned into on Eleaden - yet what brought me back were those mundane, everyday memories that made me feel human again.

'Did it work the other way around as well?'

Actually, in a way, yes. When turning, I gave in to the beast inside me - or at least that's how I looked at it, when in fact I was leaning back on my beastly instincts - something that made me feel like a beast.

"Grey? Hey, Grey?! You sure you're... you know, back to yourself?" Elira asked, her voice full of doubt and worry.

"Y-Yeah. I mean, t-this is the first time I've shifted back, so..." I muttered, staring - well, focusing through the domain - down at my hands. Then panic hit me, hard. It wasn't because of the blood dried on them, or the lives I took with those hands - again. Of course, that thought alone made my stomach do flips. "I-I can’t cut Sage’s hair without my claws."

"Whose hair?"

"Wait, no way… tss," Vara winced, that grin of hers not slipping. "You gave your tail a name?"

'Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Me and my big mouth!' Why keep it a secret? Why be awkward about it when I spouted it to everyone I met? I know, not true - and a bit exaggerated. It wasn't a secret that could get me killed - or kidnapped. Not like the thing in my belly.

"Y-Yeah, I know, a bit childish, but - I didn't have anyone else in that cellar, so... so yeah, I named my tail, Sage."

As soon as the name left my lips, Vara cracked up, laughter spilling out of her. She paid for it, though, choking on her own breath and letting out these pitiful little whimpers. But that didn't stop the awkwardness from creeping into my face.

"Cut it out, Vara," Elira snapped, her cheeks burning even redder. "It's not funny."

"That's not… that's not..." She tried to stop, if only for the pain the laugh was causing her. "...can you imagine if that was the thing why the mind mages are after you, Korra? 'Tell us the name of your tail, or...,'" she said, putting on a deep, rough voice before breaking character. "I know, stupid."

"Yes, really stupid, Vara. She had a good reason to name her tail."

"Hey, I said...tss... that's not what made me laugh. Besides, what's the deal?"

"What do you mean?"

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'Yeah, what did she mean by that?' It was definitely relieving to hear that the name of my tail wasn't what made her laugh, but was it common? From Ria, I got the impression it wasn't.

"A lot of people name their... well, body parts. I can't tell you the names of all the guys I've slept with, but I can name you the dicks of those who have named them."

"P-Please, don't."

"Oh, come on, El. It's not like guys are the only ones who do that. It's fun." She grinned and gave her boobs a little squeeze.

"Y-you named yours...?" Elira said, her voice trailing off, clearly more flustered than I was. “You never mentioned that!”

“Sure did! Joy and Delight."

"Wait, I thought that those were your friends you hang out with - you know, when you hit the night streets."

Vara flashed a grin. "That’s not wrong."

"Ugh! If you weren’t hurt..." Elira huffed, her cheeks flushing as she balled her fists. "Honestly, it was better when the pain kept your mouth shut."

Her next breath, however, was a deep, calming one.

"Speaking of - are you really all right, Grey? Besides, you know..."

Apart from having a slave collar on my neck and being locked in a cage on top of a wagon hurtling who knows where?

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

"No more growling?" Vara asked, wincing back when her friend gave her a look. "What? El, it was freaky! You saw how she took down those thugs!"

"Y-Yeah, I won’t growl anymore," I reassured her. "It's just when I shift - my vocal cords shift too - I think."

"Good, good. Because now… cough… you can finally tell us what the fuck is going on!"

"Vara!"

"What? Don't tell me you don't want to know what got us into this shit?"

"I do, it's just..."

"It's fine. A-Actually, it is something I want to talk with you about."

"You'd better, or else..." Vara shook her fist at me, swallowing her pain. “… I’ll go around blabbing about your tail.”

"As if you wouldn't otherwise," Elira remarked, but her eyes were locked on me. “So, is it true what you said earlier, Grey? That the mind mage pulling the strings is actually a Cognizant?”

'Did everyone know about the mind mage ranks?'

Once again, I was taken aback by how much that word, that title, scared the hell out of people. That shoelace bitch was certainly strong, dangerous, capable of messing with my mind, but... well, the beast in me caught her off guard. So I guess I didn't face the worst she could do.

Before I spilled anything, though, I couldn't help but look around the cage. "Are you sure they can't hear us?"

Vara grinned. "If they did, I'd look a lot worse now, don't you think?"

"Yeah, right." It was tough to keep my focus with her unleashing a storm of colorful insults on everyone - Ward, Harcon, their families, and even the scalehoofs pulling the wagon. Seriously, they’d need to be saints with the patience of a rock not to snap back.

With the bit of reassurance, I steadied myself and shared my story with those two - about the nightmares I’d been through, my brush with the shoelace bitch, the escape, and some stuff that happened in Castiana. I kept some things to myself, but just like Harcon, they pieced together some of it on their own.

"Fuck my tits! A Hunting Call? In Castiana, seriously?"

“Why didn’t Captain Rayden say anything to us?” Elira said, just as stunned as her friend, hurt even. "I mean, I can see why, but... if she did. Elias and the others... There's more, isn't there, Grey? There must be. She wouldn't risk so much just for a half-Terr'den that can shift without going wild."

"She is NOT a Terr'den, according to what she told us," Vara pointed out, correctly.

"I know, I know. It's just - it just doesn't make sense. Ward himself said they were working for a mind mage, but why would they go to such lengths for - for you?"

Funny enough, Captain Rayden was wondering the same thing before she found out I had a beast core in my belly. That was when she decided it would be better if I didn't fall into the hands of mind mages. Even Harcon was the same. His decision to help us hinged on revealing one thing about me that really made me sick to my cor… bones.

I had to do it, though. I needed to tell them, to ask what to do, and whether to trust him. So, after a couple of deep breaths, a few worried looks, and hitting my mind with [Indomitable Will], I slid over to them and whispered, "D-Dungreen, that asshole, you see, he put - he put a beast core in my belly."

'There, I said it.'

Getting it off my chest felt like a huge weight lifted, and the next words came out way easier.

"I have a beast core - and I can use it, sort of."