Between flashes of consciousness, Emelri heard frantic voices.

“What happened?” Jacques’s shout cut through the fog. “Nevermind, put her here. Zuri—”

“On it,” they replied calmly, rummaging around with something that Emelri was too out of it to comprehend. “We need to work fast.”

She gasped when the dagger was ripped from her. Another groan escaped her mouth as a tight pressure was applied to the open wound. “I know, I know,” Zuri sympathized, “but it’s better than you bleeding out and dying.”

“How did this happen?” Adrian asked; anxiety clear in his voice.

Whatever answer was given, Emelri didn’t hear it as she faded away again.

Blinking back into reality, Jacques was beside her now, his hands hovering over her glowing green stomach.

Pepin’s soft sobs could be heard somewhere nearby, and she glanced over to see the boy with his face buried in Adrian’s chest. Her vision became clearer as she felt the effects of Jacques’s quick healing already working.

The blond held the young boy, rubbing his back soothingly. “Hey, it’ll be okay, Pep. Zuri is a great medic and Jacques’s magic speeds up the process. She’ll be alright. She’s in good hands.”

He sniffed. “Y-you sure?”

“Yes. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“P-Pep...” she said weakly, and glistening green eyes found her.

“Emi!” Rushing over, he kneeled beside her, taking her hand in his. Thick tears slid down his face. “I was so worried! I thought you’d died.”

Seeing such a wet and pathetic face, a small laugh escaped her lips. “You do cry a lot.”

He laughed despite himself, holding her hand tighter.

Toulou was beside her as well. “How do you feel?"

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she focused on the sensation of the lower left half of her waist. “Hurts, but better than before.”

“Zuri already disinfected it,” Jacques reassured, taking his hands away. The wound still glowed. “You’ll have to be on bedrest for a few days while we tend to you, but you’re going to be just fine.”

She smiled. “Maybe we need actual adults sometimes, huh, Toulou?”

“You got lucky, Emi,” the eldest warned. “You can’t always rely on someone being there for you. You’re reckless. The world is not kind, and you won’t always have someone to heal you after you make a mistake. What would you do if we were on our own, huh? I wouldn’t have been able to heal you properly. Remember: this whole thing,” they gestured around them, “is only temporary.”

The words were harsh, but true. She’d egged on that Spiller just like she’d egged on those two thugs at the market in Elden Town. She couldn’t always be saved last-second.

“I know it’s temporary,” she said softly, swallowing. “I’m really sorry—”

“That’s not entirely true,” Jacques interjected, and her eyes shifted over to the magic user as he stood.

“What?” Toulou asked.

Jacques approached his partner, taking his hand in his own, then sighed. “If you’re in agreement, Sweetheart, I wouldn’t be opposed to the three of them staying here with us. Long term.”

Emelri’s heart stopped, and apparently so did everyone else’s as they gawked at him.

Shocked blue eyes searched his face. “Are you sure? I didn’t force this decision on you, did I?”

He shook his head. “You didn’t, and yes, I’m sure about them staying.” Zuri gave a loud whoop, and Pepin squeezed Emelri’s hand again, grinning broadly. Toulou mostly looked flabbergasted as they continued to stare wordlessly at the man. “I’ve been hesitating so much about this whole thing,” Jacques continued, searching Adrian’s face. “I was thinking only of myself, and I didn’t realize how much it was hurting you and these teenagers. I’m really sorry, Adrian.”

Face melting, he pulled Jacques into a tight hug. “That’s alright,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I overreacted at the tavern.”

Jacques held him in return, something soft and sentimental in his face. “No, you were right. I was forcing decisions on you without talking to you about them first, so don’t apologize.”

He nodded, giving him a peck on the cheek before pulling back and turning to Emelri and the siblings. “So, you three are alright staying here then?”

Pepin released her hand and shot upwards. Rushing over, he hugged Jacques around the middle, causing the man to stiffen. “Thank you, Jacques,” he said softly, gripping him harder.

Jacques’s face flushed. “Okay, okay, but I’m not a babysitter, and I’m certainly not your dad or your parent or whatever, just so we’re clear. Do you three understand?”

~Five Years Later~

“Are you leaving on a water run, Toulou?” Jacques asked, grabbing a heap of pink cloth from the kitchen counter. “Don’t forget your sash.”

The eldest took the clothing from him, wrapping it around their waist. “Thanks, Jacques. It’s just a short run today to the east side of New Minoka. I won’t be doing out-of-town deliveries for a while.” They moved their long black dreads to the side to keep them from getting stuck in the sash as they tied it.

“Still. Be careful. The east side can be rough.”

“Have you eaten already?” Adrian butted in, firing up something on the stove. “Make sure you pack something for a meal later. You keep going without lunch.”

“Yeah, yeah,” they said good naturedly as they filled a bag with supplies. “You both worry too much, and Jacques, I’m the most dangerous thing in this town. Why do you think I’m so good at what I do? Not just anyone can deliver water with all those fucking water thieves around.”

“I still don’t approve of it, but you’ll do what you want anyway no matter what I say.”

“True.”

Emelri came rushing into the room wearing massive red pants that cinched at the ankles and waist, and a white shirt with long puffy sleeves tucked into them. A green cloth belt wrapped around her middle, emphasizing her hips and busty chest, and on her feet were red flats that skidded slightly on the floor as she grabbed a pear from a fruit bowl before snatching her bag off a hook on the wall. Her waist length, straight, white hair was piled up on her head in a twisted bun, and the shell necklace was tucked away beneath her shirt.

“Emi, you can’t keep leaving your shit on the counter,” Jacques scolded, one hand going to his hip.

She rolled her eyes. “No time, Jacques. Zuri will kill me if I’m late to the medical clinic again.”

“And whose fault is that?”

She made a face before sinking her teeth into the fruit.

Toulou waved at the door as they opened it. “I’m off.”

“Have a good day, Toulou,” Adrian called, followed by Jacques chiming in with, “Stay safe.”

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“Will do. Oh.” They quickly walked up to Adrian, giving him a short goodbye kiss on the cheek and a hug before leaving.

As soon as they left, Pepin came into view, slipping and catching himself on the wall.

“Why are you up so late?” Jacques demanded.

“I slept in!” he called out, sprinting into the kitchen and fumbling with an apron hanging on the wall by where Emelri stood.

She blushed slightly when she caught sight of him. He wore a high collared beige shirt with long puffy sleeves under a rust-colored vest, and his mother’s pendant hung around his neck. His voluminous, tightly curled black hair ending just below his ears, bounced as he walked, and she couldn’t help but stare for a moment at the slim shoulders and sharp jawline as he tied the apron around his waist.

“You’re gonna be late to your shift at the tavern,” Jacques warned.

“I know!” He slipped his shoes on and headed for the door. He screeched to a halt, turned, and quickly gave Adrian a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug before leaving in a hurry.

“You need breakfast, Pep—” Jacques began, but the man was out the door already.

“See you later, Adrian,” Emelri said, quickly exchanging her own cheek kiss with him, then hesitating in front of Jacques before going to the door.

“You’re going to clean this up later, right?” the short man demanded, pointing to the counter where an array of her things was sprawled out.

“Bye, now!” she said loudly, and the door slammed behind her.

As silence fell over the house, Adrian and Jacques let out a collective exhale.

❀❀❀

Emelri focused. Every thought narrowed down to the tiny knife she was sliding through bloodied skin. Her patient groaned.

“We’re almost there, Jean,” she said gently. “You’re doing really well. It’s actually really fortunate the bomb shrapnel didn’t get any deeper. Just keep weight off it for the next month, okay?”

The man nodded, beads of sweat clinging to his forehead as she dug out the last piece of foreign material from his leg.

Two other medics stood behind her, one readied with a threaded needle.

“Alchemist girl,” Zuri called, walking over. “Once you’re finished you can leave for the day.”

“You sure? You don’t need me to stay longer?”

“Nope. I’ll be teaching the newbies the rest of today. Besides, Pep is outside the building for you. Shouldn’t keep him waiting too long.”

Glancing up for a second, she caught the wink Zuri gave her and rolled her eyes. She finished cleaning the wound with Zuri’s special sterilization solution, feeling a sudden heat in her cheeks at the thought of seeing the young man.

Getting up, she left the rest to the other two medics. “We’re just friends, practically siblings,” she finally said as she took off her crimson stained apron and followed her superior into the other room where she tossed it into a bin of other dirty aprons.

“Yeah, uh huh. I totally buy that. You two are fucking inseparable.”

“Doesn’t mean anything. Can I take next Monday off for a family thing?” She began scrubbing her hands in a basin using soap and a nearby pitcher of water.

“Sure, but only if you stop lying to yourself about how those emerald eyes make you feel.”

She gave them a look, drying her hands. “See you tomorrow, Zuri.”

As she left, the inventor yelled, “I’m not granting that day off until you admit the truth to yourself!”

“Bye, bye now!” She waved before leaving through a side door.

Walking around the building along a dirt path, she stopped for a moment and inhaled. Exhaling, she took out part of her hair and redid the placement of the pins, then tucked parts of her shirt back in and adjusted the belt around her waist. Biting her lip, she looked down as she pulled out something small and wooden from her pocket.

It was the little bird Pepin had whittled her all those years ago. “I’m not lying to myself, am I, Lya?”

The wooden carving did not reply.

Her mother’s voice came into her head like a sudden bout of sickness, filling her stomach with dread. ‘No daughter of mine will court a non-Alchemist. Besides, who would want a girl who dresses sloppily and eats too much?’ She imagined the cruel laugh. ‘Do you really think anyone would be impressed with you when you’re looking like this?’

Frowning, she shoved the memory away and walked briskly around the building in an attempt to leave the thoughts behind. She immediately spotted Pepin waving at her from across the street. Quickly stuffing the bird back in her pocket, she looked both ways before making her way over to him.

His smile was bright and carefree, and this close, he had a couple inches of height on her. His green eyes did make her feel a certain something, and she hated Zuri for bringing it up.

“Did you wait long?” she asked as they began walking side by side down the street together.

He shook his head, making his curls dance. “Thought we could stop by Andre’s place like we always do. Toulou is already there.”

“Alright! Tradition is tradition. How can we not support Andre’s new restaurant?”

“It’s not really new. He’s had it for two years now.”

“That’s new for a restaurant, especially around here where some of these stores have been around for ten thousand years.”

He laughed, and the sound made her corners lift.

That’s when she noticed something in his left ear. “Hey! You’re wearing the earring we picked out together.” She reached out, lightly touching the silver ring stuck through his lobe with a dangling green crystal hanging off it. “It looks good!”

“Oh, t-thanks.” He looked away. “Your hair looks nice all pinned up like that by the way.”

She willed the sudden heat away from her cheeks. “Well, you know how it gets in the way all the time.”

“I don’t know how you, Toulou, and Adrian deal with hair that long. I don’t see the appeal.”

“Well, not everyone can handle it.”

He grinned, then something crossed his face. “Oh, I didn’t mean your hair doesn’t look beautiful. It does.” He exhaled a flustered sound, then added in a hushed tone, “You know what I’m trying to say.”

She giggled. “Yeah, I do.” Her heart had skipped a little at the compliment, but she quickly pushed the feeling down.

Emelri leaned on the counter, her full tankard of ale sitting untouched next to her as she talked. “It’s sad, not having you and Zuri live at the house anymore, Andre. I swear your presence made dealing with Jacques easier.”

The large black man behind the counter set down a plate of rice, meat in red sauce, and flatbread. He chuckled. “Oh, he driving you crazy?”

She heaved a sigh. “Always.”

“Yeah, he’ll do that. I like having my own living space above the restaurant, and I know Zuri and Huit love their house by the clinic.”

“I think he’s harder on me than the others.”

“Jacques?”

She nodded, and Toulou set down the tankard they’d been drinking from and reached for a flatbread. “Emi, you’re overreacting again,” they said. “Yeah, Jacques can be unreasonable at times, but you two feed off each other’s pride.”

“Excuse me?” she snapped. “What pride?” Pepin snickered at that before dishing himself up some rice, and she turned on him. “What are you giggling at?”

He covered the grin on his face with his hand, the laughter still in his eyes.

“I think it’s a temper thing too,” Toulou added. “You do channel a lot of your anger into your battle axe.”

“Pfft! Now you’re just exaggerating. You make me sound so troubled.”

“You’re still practicing everyday like I taught you, right?” Andre asked, wiping out a glass with a rag as he spoke.

She grinned. “Of course! I’ve been taking good care of Broyeur.”

Toulou snorted into their drink. “Forgot you named it that...”

“Hey, don’t mock me. I worked hard to live up to Broyeur’s brilliance. I trained for months to finally hold such a beauty.”

“Fucking weirdo...”

“Hey!”

She would have said more, when Andre was asking, “Are you keeping up with your exercises too? You need to maintain your upper body strength, or you won’t be able to keep up with that axe.”

Turning her head back to him, she nodded then held her arm over the counter proudly, giving it a good flex. “Check for yourself.”

He chuckled, wrapping a massive hand around her upper arm, making it look miniscule in comparison. “Well, now! You have been training hard.”

“Solid as rock, huh?” she bragged, taking her arm back.

“Yes, and quite a bit of muscle definition there as well. I am a proud teacher.”

“Now I just need to be able to wield it with one hand like you do.”

He laughed. “You do just fine with two hands, and most do not use one.”

“You’re just one giant of a man, Andre,” Toulou concluded, tucking into their drink again. “Emi, are you going to touch your ale, or any food for that matter...?”

She blinked at them, then the tankard, then exclaimed a quick, “Oh, w-whoops!” before taking a small, quick sip.

“You really do talk a lot. Not sure how you and Pep are such good friends.”

“Don’t be an ass, Toulou,” the younger brother said, hitting his sibling on the arm with the back of his hand. Green eyes glanced over at her, and a hint of worry painted them.

She glanced away sheepishly and went for another half sip to show she was drinking it.

“So, then,” Andre cut in. “What have you been up to lately, Pep?”

Pepin pointed to himself questioningly, and Andre nodded with a laugh. “Well, I had a morning shift at Maurice’s today that I was late for.”

“How’s that going? You know you can always work for me if you want. I could use your cooking skills.”

“Mm, I like it over there, plus Maurice is the one that took us in when we were kids.”

“Makes sense.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, his voice raising significantly in volume compared to his usual barely audible tone. “I just got back from Nebrasia a few days ago to see Tony and Madi’s new baby.”

“Haven’t been to Nebrasia in many years. You like it there?”

He nodded enthusiastically.

“Pep won’t shut up about the horses he got to ride,” Emelri said, nudging the young man’s arm. “I’m pretty jealous. Zuri needed me too much at the clinic and Toulou was off on a water run, so just Pep, Jacques, and Adrian went.”

“There’s a black stallion Adrian let me ride,” he said. “We rode so fast, and Nebrasian horses are so much bigger than Venwickin ones.”

She put a hand under her chin. “Yes, you’ve explained so many times already. I’ll come with you next time and then maybe we can ride horses together.”

“I’d like that.” His cheeks flushed but Emelri had blinked away shyly before noticing.

“Yes, I’d like that too.”

There was silence, and Toulou let out a small groan, rolling their eyes. “Anyway, you two, we should probably get going soon before the market closes. Adrian left us with a list of things to buy for dinner. Emi, you need to actually eat first though.”

She blinked at them. “Oh, but I already ate a pear for breakfast.”

“So? That was hours ago.”

“You need to eat big if you want to maintain those arms,” Andre cut in. “We’ve talked about this. How are you supposed to build muscle otherwise?”

“Yes, alright.” She slowly took a small portion of what was left of the meal and Pepin was eyeing her again. It was as if he was waiting to see if she was actually going to eat it.

Under the silent observation, she put the portions in her mouth, feeling ashamed.