I’d managed to dress myself in a leather armour facsimile by now, which looked quite convincing if I did say so myself. The daggers I’d bought now sat in their sheathes, strapped to the side of my chest to the left and right. I’d practiced with them a little in my room, setting up a wooden board against the wall where I’d thrown one after the other.

I’d stopped when Numen had walked in on one session, nearly walking straight into one of my blades. “What are you doing?” She asked quizzically, staring at the board. “Aren’t you worried you might miss?” She said, cocking her head.

“At this distance?” I asked, sitting across the room. “I’m just testing the balance, I do like these.” I confessed. “Should’ve picked them up a long time ago. But I guess you’re right, wouldn’t want to be leaving any marks or blemishes in the room, it’s not really mine after all.” I sheathed the blade I’d readied, standing up and moving towards the board. “Why are you here?” I asked. “Why do you even have a key?” I wondered, tugging on the base of the blade to pull it free.

“I didn’t use a key.” She said with a shrug. I paused, turning to look at her with an arched eyebrow. She gave me a grin, but didn’t volunteer information. “I just came in to talk a little.” She said.

“And you couldn’t be bothered to knock?” I asked, a hint of sarcasm and amusement to my tone. I looked out the window at the darkened streets, then my eyes drifted onto the shaper. “From your reaction I assume you’ve seen it before?” I asked.

A set of elementals had been born there already, it being almost time for them to leave. Numen stared at the device. “How did you get this?” She asked, seemingly ignoring me. I arched an eyebrow, remaining silent, watching her. Something’s off about this whole thing… I thought to myself.

[It’s not exactly as though your friend has just subtly admitted to breaking into your room and spying on your work, not to mention ignoring you.] Page noted. It really was starting to understand sarcasm well… I wondered if that was my influence, or if it had simply developed it on its own. I shook my head internally, had something else to focus on right now. I palmed my throwing knife, uncertain.

She seemed sad somehow, but at the same time, she was in my room, and acting strangely enough… Delving didn’t tell me anything useful, except maybe conflicting emotions. It’s actually kind of funny that emotional turmoil is actually visible as actual… turmoil? But it’s not really helpful for me to figure out what’s going on… “You remember when I first came down to find you?” She asked.

I nodded. That had been… almost two years ago? I drew my eyebrows together. “It was after I’d fought an ogre… The one that killed Maria’s father.” She turned her head towards me then, holding my gaze. “The girl I had under my wing for the sum total of two missions.” I said. Gesturing towards the first floor.

“Oh.” She said, looking back at the device. “Is that why you wanted to stay with them so much?” She asked, eyes trailing along the wisps that sometimes leaked from the elementals.

“No, I learned of it later. You know me better than to think that that’s the main reason.” I said, guardedly. “What is this about exactly?” I asked. “You’re actually worrying me quite a bit…” I said.

“I don’t like how you’re never around.” She said. I opened my mouth to speak, but she pressed on. “At most we just meet once in a while and you keep going on all these things on your own.” I shut up at that. It wasn’t exactly a wrong observation, but there was more to this wasn’t there? “When I’d first heard of you I was kind of curious, they called me an irregular, but… I’d never really felt it you know? It’s just a word, we weren’t friends, or even colleagues, just a random group of people.”

I cocked my head. “That’s par the course isn’t it? After all, the name isn’t a designation, merely a description.” She shrugged, walking over to take a seat on the chair by the desk. “I’ll warn you now, don’t touch that.” I said. “I can’t be certain what effects that might have considering Aerathi souls.”

“It’s always something isn’t it?” She said. “I just wish… I just wish we could all spend more time together, like actual friends.” I arched an eyebrow at that. Huh. Friends… I couldn’t say the idea never occurred to me, but rather… weren’t we friends? “You’re never around, you just play along with them when you do.” She said. “With Rince, with me.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, drawing my eyebrows together. “We…” I paused. I’d been here before, when I was just fourteen. We’d moved away… and I’d fallen out of contact with the few friends I had. I’d wondered then if we had been friends, come up short on the answer to that. “I guess I’m not really that good at making friends.” I said, smiling wanly.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Would you be ours then?” Numen asked. “If I were to ask would you be mine? Someone I could talk to… someone to trust.”

I stared, for a long, long while. She shifted her feet. “Sorry.” I said. “It’s just, I can’t even begin to say how… Hmm, I guess I started out wrong here. It would be a pleasure.” I said. Another pause. “That must have taken a lot to say…” I forced out, then groaned. “I’m not helping am I?”

She nervously laughed, and I stood up, walking over to the desk. “What is it?” She asked, as I approached the shaper. Well then, maybe I was wrong? I started on the last few procedures, letting the elementals disconnect from it. They swirled up, and I crossed my fingers. I surreptitiously moved my hand to the side of my waist, Shifting it down into the Magic plane, and stirred the magic, trying to pulse it gently. It shifted, but nowhere near uniform. I sighed. Well that’s not going to work.

Numen watched the elementals as they floated off, shifting out of her seat to stand just a little further. “That certainly helps the awkwardness doesn’t it?” I asked, giving a small grin. The elementals opened their eyes, shifting into an upright position and standing in mid-air. I gestured to them out the window. I still wasn’t sure what I could do to help out. But mercifully they zipped away, disappearing into the night sky. “I realize I should probably bring them out of the city first…” I said.

“They’re beautiful.” She breathed, sitting back down onto the chair. “Just magic given form, to fly far, far away from here.” There’s a story to it isn’t there? I thought to myself. I guess for so many people to take to the road, despite the dangers, there’s bound to be many. She sighed.

“Why did you come here?” I asked again, settling onto the bed, sheathing my throwing dagger. “If it was just to talk you would’ve just knocked… Wouldn’t you?” I asked, looking at her face. She held my gaze, giving a weak smirk.

“I did… want to talk.” Numen said, turning on her seat to face me. “I knew you were awake because of the thumping that kept sounding into my room.” I frowned. My bad… I thought sheepishly. “And I’ve wanted to ask that for a long time.”

“Not too many friends then.” I observed. “Other than Sel I guess?” I asked.

“Yeah, kind of…” She said. “I’m not good at making friends.” I’ll say… I think to myself, reminded of her abrupt manner with others. I don’t suppose she’ll actually explain that though. I think to myself. “So… I really wanted to ask you. Why are you all trying to set me up with Rince?”

I laughed. “You noticed that?” She gave me a pout and a glare. “Sorry, sorry. That’s not the only reason I swear it. Your skills do complement each other well, and to be perfectly honest you do have about the same amounts of experience and doing that doesn’t require us to break up Frejr and Qent.” I paused. “Barring me, but I suppose I have experience with a different kind of fight.”

“That’s another thing. You keep dropping all those hints and I’m just dying to know what you mean.” She said. “Seriously. Military but without training for mages, obvious skill, but nobody’s even heard of you before. Magic armour that no one’s ever heard of, and now the aether dagger?” She snorted. “One day it’d be nice if you could tell me about it, it’s probably quite the story isn’t it?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I guess. But only if you believe me.” I started setting up the shaper again. “I got this from… an Aerathi soul copy?” I said, the words sounding strange to say aloud. “It seems we might be late in getting aid from them this time, if at all.” I frowned. “Seems they’re as prone to vices as the rest of us.”

“When you’re done with that could I ask you to stay with us?” Numen asked. “Just you know, to do jobs, talk, sing?” She looked to me.

“So long as it isn’t that terrible ditty that Rince and Qent were singing that night they got smashed.” I said with a laugh. “Have they ever been that drunk again?” I asked.

“They’ve been close.” Numen said, a smirk stretching across her face. “But I’m not telling you about it until you come back.” She said, standing from the chair. “Good night.”

I shut the door behind her, then locked it again. Staring at the keyhole. “I should jam it with something next time…” I said under my breath. If she was able to get in, who knew who else could. I suppose in a way I had been pretty naïve to believe that the lock would keep people out. Hell, I used to pick locks as a hobby, and it wasn’t as though this was a tough lock to deal with.

In any case, the elementals were coming along, I predicted they’d have a large enough army in about a week or two. We were pushing them back now, but both were slowly running out of steam. There were no more relentless assaults, no more day and night battles. I settled for putting a chair under the doorknob, and went to sleep.

I left the room the next day dressed in the armour I had made. A short, mottled cloak settled over my shoulders from the leftover material. “I’m ready.” I said to Cale, who was waiting for me below. “When would you like to leave?” I asked.

“Kael!” Someone shouted. Both I and Cale reflexively turned towards the source. Maria walked up to me. “You’re back!” She exclaimed. “Are you alright? They said you had to go on for even longer than you were supposed to. Did you manage?”

I smirked. “I’m fine.” I said. “I believe I owe you three a drink? Cale, think we can delay until I get them something?” I asked. He nodded. “Great, let’s take a seat and you can tell me how your missions went huh?” I grinned.

Mulia joined us a short while after, dire wolves trailing beside her. “Guess they’ve taken a liking to you.” I said with a slight emphasis and the barest hint of a smile, which she returned. “Take a seat, have you learned what kind of liquor you like yet?” I asked. “We could always try some of that mead if you’re not sure.”

“That would be nice. It has been very busy lately, and not easy either.” She said with a sigh. “I would like to talk…”