Rain fell in thick sheets. The light played fitfully through the drops as Necun watched from the open door.

Nickolas was in her arms, stroking her hand lovingly as they stared out into the storm.

“It's very loud.” her bond said, wonder infusing his voice. “You can hear the rain hitting the whole city.”

You really could. She could hear the city groan under the storm's assault. The torrent of water outside their window was a pale reflection of the size of the storm whipping the city. They were sheltered in the couple's block, only a tiny fraction of the rain and wind hitting them directly. Where they weren't buffeted by rain they instead received the flowing remnants of the upper layer's runoff. Water black as pitch dropping down through the cracks.

It was a good reason to stay indoors.

Necun rolled her shoulder, testing the feeling. It was sore, yes, but no longer pained. The last twenty days of rest had been well spent, and the Hunter felt well enough to go on a hunt. She wasn't planning on it, if anything she planned on playing up her weakness until it strained belief. For all the stumbling the Hunter was discovering the freedom of her own household to be strangely soothing.

All she needed to worry about was Nickolas and herself. Once she returned to her duties she would need to balance that with the needs of the clan, and everything would grow in complexity as others joined their household.

For now however everything was perfect, and the Hunter felt like entire cycles of stress was falling away. Necun was happy in a way she had never experienced before, and still woke up each morning turning the new feelings over in her mind. There was a strange giddiness that overcame her each time. Like she was a child testing the weight of a Hunter's axe.

Her bond was amusing himself by watching the few passersby remaining on the street. Men and women who still needed to attend to urgent errands storm or not. The myriad failed attempts to keep dry were always fun to witness.

“That one's coming up fast.” he noted, pointing at a woman in Hunter's armo-

Is that Bycia? Necun's mind reeled, coming to a screeching halt as she processed the woman's presence.

“NECUN! Fool girl!” the older hunter screamed. “Come out here, and bring golden boy! We need you both!”

Locking eyes with Nickolas gave Necun's mind the final push it needed.

“The caravan!” her bond gasped, coming to the same realization.

Without further hesitation she scooped her bond up into her arms and leapt through the door and off the balcony. It was a slight struggle to hold Nickolas with one hand while grasping the side of the building with the other, especially in the downpour, but Necun knew her fellow Hunter wouldn't be screaming for them if it wasn't an urgent necessity.

Bycia was at her side the moment her feet splashed to the ground.

“We need to move.” the older woman growled. “Golden boy's Knight friend is dying.”

The senior Hunter was dashing away before Necun could think of a salient question. She scrambled to keep up instead, awkwardly transferring Nickolas to her back as she sloshed through the nearly empty street.

By they time they had cleared the dense sprawl of the city only one question hummed in her mind.

**********

What happened to Molly. Nickolas wondered with icy fear running in his veins.

The Mage clung to Necun's back as they rushed towards the caravan. With the rain pushed into his face with each long stride he had elected to shut his eyes tight. In a transitory state of sudden jerking movements and ever present cool water flowing like a river across his body he ran through the possibilities.

Stolen story; please report.

If she was wounded by a beast they wouldn't send for him. Nickolas was many things but he was no healer, Marious was far more qualified.

Something the Medicine Man couldn't handle, such as an unfamiliar poison, would instead be passed to one of the resident healing circles of the clan.

Why call for him instead?

He couldn't fathom it. Nickolas was a War Mage, a killer, not trained to save anyone's life unless it could be done with an excess of lightning and fire.

Unless she asked for me, and the orcs know she's beyond saving. the grim thought emerged.

Nickolas stomped the thought into dust. Molly was many things, killable wasn't one of them. They had grown up together and in that time Nickolas had watched his friend mold herself into an invincible warrior. There was no beast in the Green that could place more than a superficial wound on her. Doubly so with the Hunters at her back.

As they rushed passed whipping plants tortured by the wind Nickolas's mind kept swirling in the same circle. Molly couldn't be dying. Why would he be needed unless she was? Why would Bycia lie?

Over and over and over until Necun came to a stop in front of a stopped cart. He hadn't even noticed their arrival at the caravan.

“She's in there.” Bycia said.

He could see that as he cracked open his eyes. Molly was lying on a bed of soft cloth, sweat was dripping down her brow. Processing what he was looking at was difficult for Nickolas, it was just so wrong. She wasn't meant to look this weak.

Every heartbeat that passed more details filtered through the horror clouding the Mage's mind. Molly's body appeared fully whole and intact. No blood stained the blanket she was wrapped in.

And yet she looked like a strong push would kill her.

Her skin was too pale, her eyes were bloodshot and ringed in dark purple bruise like bags. Hair hanging in strands splayed out behind her. As he watched she raised a shaking hand, pushing the blanket to the side as she tried to rise.

“You're alive.” the Knight whispered in a creaking voice.

Nickolas opened his mouth, but found he couldn't manage to raise his voice to speak. Instead he just stood, staring at his friend in her crippled state, and wondered what could have done this.

“Her aura shattered after you left.” Marious said, patting Nickolas on the shoulder as he passed and hopped into the cart. “I've been tending to her while we made for the city. Glad we arrived in time it was getting close.”

A shattered aura. I made sense, fit with what he was seeing. Back home he had seen the aftermath of an aura breaking from cowardice in battle, or more tragically losing their husbands who they had anchored their auras around. Some found their way out, reforming around a new concept or cause, devoting themselves enough to recover before they grew too weak to move. It took more time with others, long spans of struggle as they spiraled in their misery.

Others never made it through, dying as their body grew too weak to support itself. It was a bad way to pass, one not discussed in polite circles.

Nickolas would never, even if asked directly, considered Molly at risk for such an ailment. Yet here he was, watching his friend approach death because her aura couldn't hold itself together.

What happened? Nickolas wondered. Why did she...why did her aura do this?

Marious was offering the Knight a tincture in a glass vial. Molly ignored the Medicine Man, focused entirely on Nickolas.

“You made it back to the city?” her voice had an edge to it now, sharp and brittle all at once.

“I did.” he said, voice suddenly emerging. “Necun and I made it back fine. It was a little rough but nothing serious.”

And like that his friend sagged back, or perhaps collapsed would be more accurate. Marious shot forward, catching the woman by the shoulder and pushing the tincture to her lips, pouring the acrid smelling contents into the Knight's mouth. She came up gasping and sputtering, shaking her head with sudden strength.

“She's stabilizing I think.” Marious proudly declared. “That would have killed her otherwise.”

Molly's resulting whimper indicated she might have wished for the other option, but the Knight was at the very least moving more.

“Nothing is physically wrong, nothing I can fix anyway.” Marious said, putting the vial away. “Given the likely cause of her shattered aura I recommend she stay around you for a while Nickolas. I'll visit daily to monitor her condition.”

Stay around him?

Likely cause?

Leaving without her caused her aura to shatter. Nickolas realized with dawning horror, the bottom dropping out of his stomach.

“I'll make room in the apartment.” Necun sighed. “We have the room.”

Even with his mind whirling, Nickolas recognized that his wife probably wished that wasn't the case.

It seemed their vacation had come to an end.