Harmoni sat very still.

Internally, she was taking it better than Fleck expected. She wasn’t freaking out like she had when he asked about retrieving her memories, or when they saw Wyss Village.

‘Wait? You’re not planning to ignore this too, are you?’

‘No.’

Harmnoni still didn’t think she wanted her memories. But with magic in the mix, that was a little messier. She’d have to look into it. And she would, but not right now.

Harmoni took a deep breath and stood up.

Today, she wanted to have a good time with Cooper. And she wanted to get some rest tonight so she could get back to work tomorrow. Later she could look for information at the library, and ask Rial. He was the only one who used magic that she was particularly close to. In the meantime, she was going to put it out of her mind.

“Thank you,” she told the elf woman. “I should get going now.”

She turned, and headed back to the table Cooper and the dragons were at.

He and Harmoni did enjoy the rest of the day. They went to a stage. People were putting on plays with the aid of magic, or showing off displays of their power. Harmoni paid to get her shoes magically rejuvenated. They’d been getting a bit worn. Cooper got an enchanted pair of gloves that he could actually put on his hands without the metal on his right hand ripping through them. He was planning to go back the next day as well. Apparently he wanted to go look at more books.

“Can you afford more books?” Harmoni asked with a tilt of her head.

“No!” Cooper cheerfully told her. He got a bit more subdued as he continued. “Or, probably not. If I’m really lucky, maybe I can trade some of my alchemy work for a book. But I mostly just want to make a note of books I can look for later. Get the titles and authors while there’s the chance.”

Harmoni nodded. That made more sense.

They reached the edge of the courtyard and parted ways, heading home.

Moon waved her tail good-bye. Fleck made a noise like a bark after her, then bounced after Harmoni. Part of it was that he still had energy. He hadn’t gotten the exercise Moon had, training at the ice rink. But also, his shoulder had started itching partway through the day. He was trying not to scratch.

Harmoni frowned. Was that normal? It sounded more significant than any little itch or scratch Fleck had gotten before.

Fleck wasn’t sure. He’d have to look into it.

‘But don’t think you’re off the hook. You can look into your memories and I can look into my shoulder at the same time,’ he told her. Assuming his problem didn’t solve itself.

Harmoni sighed. Ah, a problem solving itself sounded nice. But apparently it was a bit much to ask for.

Well, they better get home.

~~~

It was a week later, on their next full day off, that Harmoni and Fleck went to visit Suzan and Glimmer.

The plan had originally been to look into Harmoni’s memories first. But both of Fleck’s shoulders itched now, and he actually had looked into it.

'It's not like I've been doing nothing this whole time,' Harmoni thought. She'd been going to the library in the afternoon to look for books on magic. She'd also tried to subtly ask about it with someone at the magic symposium, since that was still up, but it was hard to subtly ask about magical memory loss.

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Anyway. Aqua didn’t know what was wrong.

So they were going to see if Glimmer could be any more help. Maybe there were better places to turn, but Fleck also wanted to see his sister. Two birds, as the humans said. If she couldn't help, he'd go back to the dragon caves, ask his guardians growing up.

This time, the two of them weren’t getting a ride. They were walking across the desert. Possibly an odd choice, but they’d left early in the morning. There would be plenty of time to spend with the other two, and Glimmer would probably give them a ride back.

They’d probably be sleepy. Most of their waking time was night, but they didn’t follow a strict schedule like most people in Xentron City. Clocks were a suggestion, and they’d be happy to see Fleck and Harmoni.

Harmoni smiled faintly. That reassurance did make her feel better. She would’ve visited them at night, but it didn’t seem feasible.

Then she slowed. They were about halfway between Xentron City and the small town Suzan and Glimmer lived in. And something seemed different. The wind blew more frequently, and harder, bringing sand up against her legs.

Fleck hopped onto his hind legs, tail against the ground. He sniffed the air. Yeah, they were about to have a bigger problem. He could smell sand on the ground, but also in the air, and the clouds. A sandstorm was coming.

‘Are you sure?’ Harmoni thought.

“Have I ever been wrong before?” Fleck asked, distressed enough he said it out loud instead of in his head.

He wasn’t, typically. And Harmoni knew that. She’d asked more out of surprise, and fear, than any skepticism.

They had to get out of here. They were out in open desert. Harmoni started running.

Fleck ran after her, but he had his doubts. There wasn’t time to get to Glimmer and Suzan.

Harmoni knew that. It wasn’t the goal. The goal was just to find something for shelter, instead of the flat expanse they were currently in.

The sand was whipping up higher around them, scratching against Harmoni’s legs and making it harder to move. But she could see something ahead, on their right. A rocky outcrop.

It was a good thing she spotted it when she did. Enough sand soon filled the air, it would’ve been impossible to see. Harmoni had a hand in front of her face, eyelids fluttering. Fleck wrapped his tail around her pant leg, and led her forward. He knew where they were going. He’d seen it, and could still smell the rocks in the distance.

Harmoni gave up on keeping her eyes open.

Fleck had a second, clear lid to help with that. Not that he could see much even with his eyes open right now.

She covered her face with both hands to stop the sand from getting into her nose. She couldn’t see, she could only feel sand, and hear the wind. It was awful. And then, just as abruptly, it was over. They’d gotten to the rocky cliff, and out of the direct line of the sand.

Harmoni drew in a few gasping breaths, and rubbed at her eyes and mouth.

“And what do you think you’re doing here?”

Harmoni froze. She knew that gurgling voice.

Fleck could smell it too. He hadn’t been able to before, barely able to smell more than the sand, and focused on getting them to safety.

Harmoni opened her eyes. It seemed the cliffside they’d been aiming for had been tall enough to have a cave in it. That was where they were now.

Could barely call it a cave. It was so dry, and based on smell, it didn’t go back very far.

Harmoni slowly turned away from the entrance, and towards the voice. Not that she needed to. She knew who it was.

Sure enough, there was Evin, standing over her with his arms crossed. While she couldn’t make out his face, she got the distinct impression he was glaring.

“I just-” Harmoni coughed. “I just wanted to get out of the storm.”

“Oh. Oh right. You live in Xentron City, and just happened to get shelter where I live, in the middle of nowhere, instead? You’re just here for revenge. You want to rob me, don’t you? Admit it!”

Evin jabbed a slimy finger at her. Harmoni just stared at him for a moment, not sure how to respond to something so . . . audacious.

“We don’t all think like you,” she said.

“Most people do, and that includes you,” Evin boldly claimed. “You’re awful!”

Harmoni’s breath came up short, and the word rang in her ears for a moment, at the expense of everything else.

She was brought back out by Fleck standing between her and Evin. Evin had his hand reached out partway, and he started to reach around Fleck.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Harmoni said.

Evin paused.

This was important. She shouldn't get distracted. Harmoni focused back in on him, trying to make eye contact where she guessed his eyes were. “If you do that, Fleck is going to bite. I think he’d like to take a few of your fingers off.”

She knew all of this was correct.

“He couldn’t do any damage to me before,” Evin sneered. “Why would he now?”

“If you believed he was harmless, you wouldn’t stop and argue with me,” Harmoni told him.

They both stared at each other for a moment.

Fleck was pretty sure Evin was glaring. Harmoni’s face was full of less hatred, but no less intense.

“Kicking us out would risk Fleck fighting you, and guarantee you don’t get anything more from us,” Harmoni finally said. “I know you don’t want us to stay here for free, and neither of us are inclined to give you anything. But if we leave, the low odds change to zero, assuming Fleck doesn’t hurt you.”

That would make the odds . . . negative.

“So? What’s it going to be?”