“Oh hey an elf! I’m Grix - he/him. You are amazingly amusing Shad. So you know, most Catkin prefer not to be called ‘kitties’ and you really need to work on your telepathy being more private. Nice to meet you as well Night.” I parried back with barely contained amusement. This was a live one. Who knew, maybe they would make it to the Fives. I looked them up and down. And maybe I’d have a great time with Valen in bed if I leaned that way.

“So, wanna join me for an outing, Grix? I gotta hike back to, uhm…Six Trees River something and do a cleansy thing so I can finish a Quest. It’s more fun with company – no offense Night – and you are clearly hanging around looking for excitement,” Shad said while leaning down towards me with a glint of something I couldn’t quite place in their eyes.

I snorted out a laugh after processing the extremely forward and unfiltered content of what they said. “You believe that you could provide me with excitement Shad? That seems like a bit of a stretch. What am I missing?” I asked just in case I was missing something – curiosity and all.

“Sure, reviewing: 1. You are practically dripping with self-importance that comes from well-earned experience and complete boredom, 2. You were snickering, not laughing, snickering at me while hiding behind a,” they paused and moved into the next aisle. Sauntering back to me they continued, “yep, a boot rack. 3. I do have decent hearing if not Experience, and you literally told Valen ‘This should be entertaining at least.’ In summation – you are one bored Catkin and this conversation is probably the epic highlight of your day,” Shad stated, at this point so far into my personal space that a faded whiff of burnt flesh walked across my whiskers and I could see that while their eyes were brown there were also flecks of other colors in there.

Pushing gently with a knuckle on their forehead to reclaim my space, I responded with an understated “Wow.” I glanced at Valen to assess the normality of the situation I found myself in, and her lack of expression told me what it usually did – nothing helpful.

Buying some space to think, I decided assessing the basics would be helpful. “What level are you Shad? What are your primary skills? Main weapon? Do you have a weapon skill yet?” Let’s see if Shad knew that as a Five+ I could know all that with Analyze but hadn’t bothered.

“Sure sure fine. I think like 2, clearly talking, and lemme check,” Shad said as they brought around their backpack. They abruptly sat down on the floor, legs akimbo and promptly dove headfirst into their backpack while rooting around - making me wonder if they would pop the bag’s faded seams with the forcefulness of their search. With no apparent sense of irony, their elbow moved their short sword scabbard out of the way of the bag. I think they may have been muttering to themselves until they popped their head and arm back out of the bag holding a piece of sharpened wood. “Spikes!” they proudly announced.

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“Your primary weapon is a tent stake. Which you are leveling through wood carving I’m certain,” I said while snickering. I patted their booted foot while continuing, “Shad, I think you have a couple dozen Quests yet before I would accompany you on a ‘cleansy thing.’ However, I assure you, should you make it to the 5s, I absolutely would like you to look me up.” I was very sincere about being looked up, and very doubtful they would make it to the 5s, not to mention after only a couple dozen quests.

Shad rolled up to their feet while slinging their pack back to its original location and re-adjusting their scabbard. “Gotcha Grix!” they stated and turned back to Valen. “Last chance for the two outta three deal Valen!!” Valen maintained an even look and didn’t provide a spoken response. “No? My loss! See ya next week," were their parting words as they ambled up to Night to head out into the open street.

I busted out laughing and padded back over to Valen. “How long – how long has this one been on your roster?” I asked while trying to suppress what had turned into chortling at the amazing absurdity of the interaction I had just found myself in.

“They’ve been rostered with me for two months. From what I have gathered so far I think they’ve been in this instance for about six months and a week. I think what you really want to know is that they aren’t exhibiting apex progression, but they also don’t appear profession-bound. I started with Freelance Pathing as you would expect,” Valen paused, raised an eyebrow meaningfully and then continued “It would have been an exciting trip for you to go with them.”

I swallowed my laughter and reviewed what Valen had shared. In my decades of knowing her, she wasn’t very verbose, usually dry and serious when she could be bothered to share words, and often extremely accurate. It’s what made her one of the most sought-after Sentient Guides on Nevahkao by everyone who could afford her. “Exciting how Valen?” I decided to ask.

She adjusted her spectacles, hopped down to her main level counter and tapped her nail on it, clearly debating what to share with me. My ear twitched with suppressed mirth. I liked this game the most. The one where she would gouge out the reality of my soul in the shortest possible path.

Valen blew out a breath that pushed her black bangs to the side of her forehead and stated, “In every instance there are amazing prodigies, overpowered future heroes or creatures that defy the reality that binds us. None of us are anything but supportive side actors in their margins,” she said while maintaining eye contact. Dropping her voice to barely above a whisper, she continued, “But sometimes, sometimes you get to meet someone that you can share a meaningful journey with.” She cleared her throat and finished at a normal tone, “You, in particular, have been waiting for that type of excitement for the past two decades, Grix.”

I grinned, flexed my sheathed claws and purred, “Valen, my friend, please let me know if the patently mediocre Elf makes it to the 5s. Especially since that is the most obviously pretentious thing you have ever said to me!”