It was nice to not be afraid of hurting Caste anymore.

The sudden raid in Jefu that they had heard about was settled in less than an hour. Caste still seemed a bit worried about it, but Keoni’s training seemed to keep his mind off of it.

“Noahkup.” Caste ordered, and Keoni shot into her ready stance.

“Zovin.” On his cue, Keoni readied herself as he ran forward, immediately swinging to hit her.

Keoni deflected his shot, aiming for one of her own. Caste ducked, charging up a burst of light magic in his hand. Keoni readied herself for whatever he was planning to do with it.

The burst formed into a dagger, from where Caste stood up, holding the dagger, ready to strike.

He didn’t hesitate, shooting straight for her neck. To distract him, she used her quarterstaff to hit him in the gut.

She wasn’t fast enough, as Caste caught her quarterstaff, and stopped the dagger an inch from her neck.

“Kopud.” Caste said, sheathing his dagger and stepping back, letting go of her staff.

Keoni relaxed, dissolving her weapon.

“Remember: the quarterstaff is used for stunning. It should not be going slow enough for me to grab it out of your hands. If someone does do that, you need to deform it immediately and regenerate a new one.”

“Yes, Caste.” She responded. It was easier to just listen to his advice, as she had quickly learned that he could fight with basically any weapon he could think of, and better than anyone whom Keoni had met before.

“Noahkup. Zovin.” This time, Caste didn’t make anything. That meant…

Just go with your gut, and you’ll be fine. A lot of this is gut, anyway.

An orb came flying toward her, and Keoni knocked it away from her face.

The impact took a bit of her strength away, but she kept deflecting whatever Caste fired at her, backing away to give herself more space.

After five or six, she released her staff, catching one and launching it back at Caste.

He dodged it, then said “Kopud.” He stopped the fight, then thrust his hand out towards where the sphere had gone flying out to the horizon. It took Keoni a split second to realize it was coming back.

“Don’t want that to hit anybody.” He laughed. Once it was almost back, he looked over at Ryley. “Catch.”

Ryley yipped as it came hurtling to him, so caught up in his book he didn’t realize Caste wouldn’t hit him. Caste stopped the light a foot away from Ryley’s face, leaving the red deer looking like it was the end of his days.

Keoni laughed as Caste pulled it back to himself, making it vanish in his hand. Ryley scowled at them.

“I thought that was going to kill me.” He said genuinely. “My heart rate… oh Trin.” Ryley panted.

“Didn’t Qaye give you a Rune that made you invulnerable to those anyway?” Keoni asked.

Ryley rubbed his forehead. “You forget things like that when your life’s on the line, Keoni.”

At the mention, Keoni rubbed the Rune Qaye had given her. It still hadn’t done anything that Keoni noticed. The Rune Kaedin was ever-strengthening though, helping out with almost everything. Though Kaedin wasn’t a Defender, they knew some valuable things to keep in mind while fighting. From the Kaedin Keoni had met by the Runes of Trin, it seemed much, much different, but she didn’t mind.

“Ah, I assumed he did.” Caste spoke. “Seems how I tried to wake you up yesterday with the easiest trick in the book.”

“I was dreaming that I knew every language in the whole world! You can’t wake me from a dream like that.” Ryley put his hands on his hips. The book in his lap closed on him, and he yelped again, trying to save it.

Keoni giggled, turning to Caste again. “I want to see what happens if you go full Defender on me. Just so I’m at least aware of what I could face.”

“You think you could last more than 5 seconds.” Caste snorted.

“What no- I never sa-”

Caste smirked, tilting his head. “You choose my weapon, and count us off.”

“Your weapon is no magic whatsoever.” Keoni immediately said.

“Now how’s that fair?” Caste objected. Keoni cut him off.

“Noahkup.” Keoni ordered, entertained by how Caste listened and straightened himself out.

“Zovin.” Caste ran towards her before she even finished the word. She conformed her quarterstaff, aiming for a blow on his head to stun him.

Caste moved out of the way and slid onto the ground, where he struck her shins with his feet, swiping her to the ground.

Startled, Keoni dropped her weapon. Caste grabbed it and accelerated her fall onto the - luckily, very soft - dirt by pushing her down. He held the staff pointed straight at her neck.

“Ok, I get your point,” Keoni said, reaching up to push it away from her. It didn’t budge, and neither did Caste.

Oh. “Kopud.” He handed her staff back and got off her, jumping to his feet.

“I think my point is proven.” Caste brushed the dirt off his knees.

“One more time.” Keoni got up, catching her breath. Ryley offered her some water, which she gladly took.

“Remember what I said.” He started them off after returning to his position.

Keoni went for him first. He made his own staff just like hers. Keoni felt she was quicker at making her own weapon now, and it was almost getting more and more familiar to her.

Caste knocked back her blow, and she reeled back, keeping her posture strong and readying herself to strike again.

He deflected her next shot, forcing her into a lock. She quickly slid out of it, pushing her staff forward, dislocating his, then whipping it around and stopping inches away from his head.

A blow there would hurt horribly had she not stopped.

“Kopud.” He said, “But don’t move, just look down at your side.”

She glanced down to see where he too, had stopped himself from bashing her ribs. Once she had seen it, Caste withdrew.

“I’d call that a draw, then.”

Caste nodded. “Both of us would be in serious pain. Do you think you’re ready to learn another move?”

Keoni rubbed her back. “I think I need a rest.” She’d enjoyed the past 30 minutes, but a lot of them were very physically demanding and her body wanted her to stop.

“Go ahead.” He sat down on the hill next to Ryley, then laid down.

Keoni also sat down, looking at the horizon where nothing but pink grass extended. It was a lot like the outskirts of Everton, with meadows and trees in the distance.

And if she looked up from here, she could see a cloud that never moved. As it turned out, it was Finx itself. Caste had mentioned that at night, it glowed blue. Other than that, the orange sky was completely clear as the sky-blue sun as it started to set.

She saw someone approaching ahead of her. They vanished and reappeared much closer in a puff of blue particles.

They did it again one more time, this time just under the hill so Keoni couldn’t see them. As they walked over it, she saw Qaye’s face.

She waved, and he waved back as he covered the rest of the hill.

“Tonpe.” He said, making both Ryley look up from his book and Caste sit up again.

Ryley grinned. “U veex mpoujako.”

Qaye nodded. “I got caught up with a lot of things going on in Jefu. It’s good to stop by and say hello, though.”

“Always the right thing to do, Qaye,” Caste stood up and greeted him.

“And I heard about what happened, Keoni. I’m sorry you had to experience that so early on.”

“How did you hear about it?” She asked, curious. She hoped it wasn’t a widespread rumor. If that was the case, she’d never talk to people again just to avoid the subject.

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“Poww. He’s one of my students. He saw the whole thing happen and came to me, feeling horrible.” Qaye sat down on the ground in front of them, surprisingly with no trouble for his Physical age.

“That was Poww?” Caste started. “I didn’t know he was still alive.” He sighed. “Geez, that sounds so wrong in Physcia.”

“Yeah it does.” Ryley said, not adding anything else.

“Poww got lucky within the day of his death; he was able to find a host that quickly.” Qaye shook his head. “That’s not what I came here for. I just wanted to make sure both your Runes haven’t exploded and Caste hasn’t traumatized you.”

“Rude.” Caste snorted, wrinkling his snout.

Thinking about Poww, Keoni’s thoughts trailed back to the Cognate’s reaction to Kaedin.

Or how odd Kaedin has been changing.

“Can you look at the Rune Kaedin made me?” Keoni asked, pulling it out of her bag. She handed it to Qaye.

Qaye took it, although he shook his head, to her surprise. “Only you and Kaedin can directly access this Rune. That’s the way Kaedin wanted me to design it.” He brushed his thumb on the stone. “I can clean it, and check for any scratches that could affect it negatively, but there’s nothing more I can really do.”

He turned it over, inspecting the backside carefully. “Is there anything wrong with it?”

“I’m… not sure. The Rune Kaedin just seems to have a mind of its own, constantly changing its mind on things it said weeks ago.”

“You’ll have to ask Kaedin on that one, if you ever see them.” He turned it over again. “There’s no damage. Would you like me to just lace it?”

Keoni assumed he meant putting it onto a necklace. She nodded.

He immediately pulled out his bag, withdrawing a small case with the pin from earlier, holding it in his hand and puncturing the stone like it was fabric.

He put the needle back after burning a hole right through the tip of the Rune. “Any color string preference?” Keoni still didn’t - and probably never would - understand how that little pin worked.

“Gray’s fine.”

He pulled out a gray string from his bag and threaded it through, cutting the end and getting up to fit the necklace around Keoni. It hung a little loosely, but she could tell he did so to allow her to press it to her head.

“This is adjustable,” he said. “In case it’s a bit too loose for your liking.”

“Thank you, Qaye.” She said before she could remind herself he didn’t really understand what it meant.

“Ryley? How’s the one I gave you working?”

Ryley stared at Qaye, mesmerized. “How do you roll your r’s so… naturally?”

Caste laughed before Qaye responded. “I can’t help it.”

He sighed, answering Qaye’s question. “It’s good; Caste said it works.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He glanced at Keoni, then at Caste. “I’d like to see you two do another practice battle. I want to see how you’ve improved, Keoni.”

“Oh, no pressure.” Keoni stood up, her legs stiff. She stretched her back.

“He’s trained for a long time. I will tell you, he’s not good with-”

“Shhhh. Qaye. Don’t.”

“Well, now she knows you have a weakness, and given how much Pivth favors her, she’s going to guess it.”

He can’t control something so far away yet tethered to him, like his immense fear o-

“You’re not good with flails, right?” The feeling cut away from her before it could finish speaking about Caste’s fear. Though now, Keoni would've liked to know it. What would it be?

“Qaye, why did you do that?”

Qaye didn’t respond. He instead sat down next to Ryley. “I’ll count you in.”

Caste’s face creased with worry. “I hate to ruin the mood, but I’ll hurt you if I use a weapon I’m not properly trained with.”

“I understand.” Keoni said. She stopped herself from making a side joke after hearing the sincerity in his voice.

“Noahkup!” Caste stood up tall, and Keoni mirrored him. “Zovin!”

Keoni went for the first surprise, conforming her familiar quarterstaff and going for his head before it even finished forming.

Caste moved out of the way, allowing Keoni to return back to her ready stance. He still had his hands behind his back.

As she swung for another blow, he pulled out his arms and revealed a shortsword, blocking her swipe and kicking her back. She defended herself as he went to stab her.

She could tell he’d made the blade dull, so even if he did hit her, it wouldn’t hurt. Still, this battle was meant to be taken seriously. In real combat, her opponent would not dull the blade.

Another swing with her quarterstaff disrupted Caste’s rhythm of striking, allowing her to take the upper hand and fend him away. Every move he tried to make, she discontinued. After just a moment longer, she landed a blow on his wrist, knocking his shortsword out of his hand. It clattered to the ground, leaving Caste defenseless.

Taking advantage of disarming him, Keoni went for a blow on his head.

Caste caught the staff, moving away. Quicky, she pulled it away from him by dissolving it then immediately reconfiguring its shape. He swooped down, grabbing his shortsword off the ground. Keoni tried cutting him off, but he was a little faster than her. He was able to come up and try to push her back again.

A little tired, Keoni wasn’t able to hold him off, and he ended the practice battle with her pinned.

They both dissolved their weapons.

“That is not the result from one week of training. That’s not possible.” Qaye said, shocked and in disbelief.

Caste smiled. “You learn better when your brain isn’t full of past life memories.”

“Either way.” Qaye nodded vigorously. “You’re already better than most Cognates.”

Keoni knew she was blushing. “I’m nowhere near close to the level Caste is at.”

“Don’t compare yourself to him. He’s spent thousands of years training. Ever since Trin was around.”

Caste changed the subject off of him, clearly shy of the praise too. “Tell me what happened in Jefu last week.”

Qaye fidgeted with his own hands. “The Quuarks have been invading Jefu almost every week, it seems. The raids used to be them trying to burn Jefu, or take Cognates, but now their focus seems more to survey, and scare us. They still do take people, but not as often.” He glanced guiltily up at Caste before continuing. “This time around, they got a hold of three Cognates under the age of eighteen, who’ve not recovered from cleansing. Once the Defenders got there, they were able to save a lot of people who’d been captured, but the Quuarks ran away.”

“It’s clear they’re targeting Jefu to grab Cognates who don’t know who the Quuarks are, and possibly trying to find someone who doesn’t understand what could happen if they let the Quuarks through.” Caste immediately added.

Qaye’s face creased with worry. “That’s just evil.”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Ryley spoke up. “Caste… how long has the Quuark organization been around?”

The Mir-Cognate tilted his head, thinking aloud. “I was around fifty, died at eighty, so that times the wait time plus… I’d guess… fifty years. It started as propaganda, then Mir-Hunting became commonplace around twenty years ago.”

“Wouldn’t that mean they’ve gained a lot of followers, and workers?” Keoni knew the exact thought that came to his mind after that: Like my dad?

“They pay their workers extremely well, to lure plenty of people into their whole operation. Lots of them get brainwashed and blackmailed, so there are even some workers that have been working for the fifty years they’ve been around.” Caste explained. “Anyone who tries to escape is usually killed. As for their followers… Anyone who believes the propaganda or hates Mir-Cognates can consider themselves already allied.”

Keoni wasn’t about to admit that before she met Caste, she’d believed quite a lot of it. Things were said like ‘Mir-Cognates were the cause of the breakout of the Bubonic Plague. Notice how they are immune and we are not.” Or “Mir-Cognates have special abilities that we can’t begin to comprehend. They use these for evil.” and then it would be followed with a picture, sometimes as gory as dozens of bloody corpses in piles, and some green-furred tribrid would be standing on top with a look of malice and hatred in its face.

And it was portraying someone as innocent as Qaye as a monster. Keoni glanced at him, and though he had this weird pink color in his fur, he was worried, and disturbed. He wasn’t savage. Caste, too, hadn’t attacked Keoni at all while he was around. Even in the practice battles in training, he was gentle, alwaying helping her up off the ground and asking if she needed a break.

Having false facts placed against you, and being pushed away like that, is way more difficult than it had been shown to be. These were her friends that many people misunderstood and hated.

“I wish it was able to resolve itself without our interaction, like most historical events, but that’s likely not going to be the case in this situation.” Qaye rubbed his temples. “Usually Mir-Cognates burrow down and let the Physical World handle their own wars and conflicts, which is what our people started doing. But it’s not working.”

“The High Council is split down the middle, isn’t it?” Caste asked.

“Only Tivt Enipok Lann is unconvinced now. Ruka was able to talk some sense into Tivt Enipok Apon. Nobody knows how.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Caste sighed. “She told the High Council.”

“Told the High Council what?”

Caste realized what he had said. “Oh. Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Qaye gave him a confused glance before speaking. “Okay… Well, I should probably get back to Jefu. I’ve been given a month off starting next week, and I need to prepare for that.”

“Be safe then,” Caste bowed, and Qaye stood up, returning it.

Keoni and Ryley both waved to him as he vanished.

“Teach me that please.” Keoni said before she could stop herself.

She’d never heard Caste giggle, but his laugh was pretty close. “It’s called Jmoox. All you have to do is focus all your energy on the location you want to go to.”

Keoni spotted a black flower growing not too far from them. She focused herself and all her magic she’d become more and more familiar with.

“Now leap forward.”

She did so, and felt with amazement as she lunged forward and reappeared right next to the blossoming, black flower. He should’ve mentioned how easy they would be.

Caste appeared next to her. “You’ll tire out if you use it a ton, like most magic. I also advise only using it to get away from dangerous situations or travel quickly.”

“Is this how you got into my apartment the first time?” She asked. His answer was a simple nod.

He returned to their area, and Keoni followed, grateful the trick was much easier than it looked.

A quiet, almost peaceful moment passed. The sound of wind and the whisper of light magic touched her ears. The pink grass wavered and swayed, almost like a river on land. A few trees dotted the land, but for the most part, it was deserted and quiet. In the distance, the rolling hills turned to mountains, much like the mountain range miles from Everton. They weren’t tall enough for snow.

A flash of light, not light magic, drew her eyes to the clouds. A few seconds later, she could hear thunder. They hadn’t quite covered the setting sun yet, but they were about to.

Caste noticed. “Let's head back so we don’t get drenched.”

Keoni agreed, and Caste dropped the three of them into Limbo, starting to walk in the black expanse.

Limbo keeps everything balanced. Keoni reminded herself as they kept moving. She spotted a few Mir-Cognates giving them weary looks. At least they didn’t try to stop Keoni and Ryley from staying in Limbo.

It was a bit of walking, but they finally got back. Keoni immediately went to her kitchen, looking for something to eat.

Ryley followed her, while Caste sat down and leaned back. He looked pretty exhausted.

Keoni offered him a glass of water, which he took and thanked her. He hadn’t really been a burden while staying with her at all. Whenever he prepared himself food, it was usually a full meal for Keoni as well. She had to remind herself a few times that he had lived a long time in the exact same town as her, and knew several life skills that she didn’t quite yet.

Caste suddenly stood up and ran to the window, looking outside on the street. Before Keoni could ask what, he whipped around. “Get down!” He whispered loudly.

Keoni dropped to the floor, pulling Ryley down with her. The Mir-Cognate in front of her was trembling, holding his head near his horns.

It was then, and only then, that she heard a loud booooom!! that shook the whole apartment, shattering the windows.

Keoni ducked, clutching her head as the glass rain fell onto her.