“Sir, we’ve just got word of a prospective case sent by one of Baron merchants.”

“Of course we did, just my luck.”

“Should I get Investigator Vett on it, sir?”

“No good, I just sent Vett out on a 2-week investigation.”

“Ah, then Investigator Lockheart?”

“Berda would have my hide if I got him involved.”

“Are you going to be handling this yourself, sir? We’re short staffed as it is.”

“No, no, my wife would kill me if I took a case. I…hm, I have an idea.”

-A conversation between Investigator Rayn Barnaby and Chief Investigator Clark Nopaly

----------------------------------------

“Ugh.”

Waking up was a bitch and a half, only made worse by the pangs of headache knocking on my skull’s backdoor. What the fuck had Coco dragged my sorry ass out to yesterday?

‘Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it, Molly. It’s unprofessional.’

I opened my eyes a crack so I could roll them. Coco’s high-pitched, irreverent voice really wasn’t the balm my aching mind and body had been looking for. And the lilting tone she said the word ‘unprofessional’ with was really the nail on the head regarding her feelings on the matter.

‘Don’t worry, girlie, she didn’t do anything I’d regret.’

Yeah, Frank, that certainly relieved any worries I had.

As my spirits chuckled at my poor morning, I rolled over and flinched as I felt something else in bed with me. My hand sluggishly felt up the large, gangly object, trying to dissect the details of what random piece of shit Coco had fallen asleep with last night.

It felt kind of…fleshy?

And then it, no, she moaned and I was filled with shame, not helped by the sudden laughter from the fucking peanut gallery.

I jumped up, barely managing to not fall off my cramped bed, “Oh, uh…shit.”

‘Do ya like her, Molly?’

‘Her’ was a larger woman, all muscles and curves. Tanned skin that seemed to bask in the sunlight from the lone stray window my apartment had and dark red hair that came down to her shoulders.

Before I could deal with the rush of blood flooding my cheeks, and Coco’s stupidity, the woman began to stir and groan, my touch having woken her up.

“Ah, good morning, dear!” The woman flexed as she leaned up, her entire body rippling with muscles that I really hadn’t understood the complexity until exactly that moment.

‘Yeah, Coco definitely didn’t do anything I’d regret.’

I blinked, trying to get my mind back on straight, “Ah, good morning.”

She opened her brilliant blue eyes to look at me, tilting her head, “Shall we start the morning correctly, dear?”

She let the rest of the covers fall from her form and I became distinctly aware that Coco hadn’t exactly worn clothes to bed last night.

I took a step back, “Ok, uh, no. I’m going to put on clothes and make breakfast. You can…”

Leave? Go away? Go find some other stranger to call ‘dear’ in that really undeserved, warm way?

‘Nooo! Don’t be mean to Zarna! She’s great!’

I flinched at Coco’s screech. How had she gotten so close to someone a single night, anyway?

‘You don’t understand the closeness that comes from a night of shared drinking. Also…have you seen how tall she is?’

“Molly, are you ok? You seem disturbed, dear.”

Knocked out of my thoughts, I stared at the abs standing in front of me and slowly bent my head back to meet Zarna’s gaze, “Holy shit, you’re tall.”

‘Right!?’

‘Eh, she’s fine, but I like ‘em short.’

Zarna smiled toothily, “Yes, I believe you said something like that last night.”

She was a good two heads taller than me, which was crazy, but I shook it off quickly. If I let myself get wow’d by everyone who could plop their chin on top of my head, I was gonna have problems.

“Ok,” I held up a hand, “First, you need clothes, uh, this…ok, second, I am not the same girl you…shared a bed with last night.”

Zarna stroked her chin, looking faintly amused, “Interesting notion, do you know where this girl ran off to?”

Yeah, she’s inching her way back to a lonely afterlife.

‘Hey!’

Groaning, I motioned her to follow me, “Look, just put some clothes on and I’ll explain.”

As Zarna’s amusement was mixed thoroughly with a cup of confusion, she began to pick apart the mounds of clothes left lying around my cramped bedroom.

Whatever wouldn’t fit her, she threw at me. Except, of course, for the oversized shirt that distinctly smelled like her and was obviously not mine.

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The large woman blushed, “Please?”

‘Do it! Yes, yes!’

I grumbled and put on the shirt, ignoring how warm and comfortable it was, before heading to the kitchen to start the day off with how every day should start off.

With coffee.

----------------------------------------

Zarna, for all of her strength and height, could pull off adorably confused with ease. Not that I was particularly interested, of course.

‘Hah, yeah right.’

Ignoring Coco, I coughed, “Ok, so, let me figure out how to start all of this off, ok? Ok.”

I’d said ‘ok’ way too many times in the last half-hour. I wanted to take my nervous tick out back and shoot it.

With some scrambled eggs and some dried meat for breakfast, I’d done my best to be a good host, even if I hadn’t exactly intended to be one. Which kind of hurt, honestly, because I’m pretty sure I was down to my last few silvers.

‘Yeah, uh, you might want to find a job soon! Sorry!’

Oh yeah, Coco had gone out last night. I didn’t dare check my savings.

I refocused on the woman in front of me inhaling breakfast, “Ok, hey, uh, Zarna? So here’s the deal.”

She looked up at me, chewing a bit of meat.

“Like I said, I’m not the girl from last night,” It was always hard trying to figure out the explanation for this, “Basically, last night was a side-effect of my Class.”

She swallowed, “Your Class? You said your Class was Potion Hound last night.”

“That isn’t my Class. That’s…Coco’s Class.”

“Coco?”

“The different girl.”

“That looked exactly like you?” I got the feeling that I was losing Zarna.

I hesitated, before nodding, “Yeah, basically. I’m a Medium, a Rare Class. Basically, I get help from spirits I've, uh, bonded with and they get to...be alive again for a while, sometimes.”

It was the simplest version I had been able to grind this explanation down to. Somehow, giving it to a pretty girl was a lot more difficult than it was to give to guards holding me for a bar fight.

‘That Hitch guy absolutely fucking deserved the beating I gave him and you know it.’

I did not, in fact, know it, Frank. I didn’t know anything my spirits got up to except when the consequences crashed through my window. Whether he deserved it or not, Hitch had cost me a fortune in replacing that window.

Zarna stroked her chin, “That sounds like a difficult Class, Molly. So, the girl I met last night…”

“One of my spirits, Coco the Potion Hound.”

‘Hey Zarna! I love you!’

“She says hello.”

Zarna smiled, looking pleasantly surprised, before taking a sip of her coffee, “Hello Coco! Well, I was not expecting this after last night! Do you have other spirits?”

I blushed, “Uh, a guy named Frank?”

Was this happening? I’d been interrogated a lot, but I’d never felt this warm and pleasant during one. Most people would be a lot more frustrated right now, well, uh, from my experience at least. The whole ‘spirit’ explanation fell flat for most people who wanted to know why I’d done something crazy or obscene.

At least my Spirit Debt was out now. I think Frank still had some debt over me, but he saved his for nights out with his old buddies. A lot more predictable for my schedule than Coco ever let herself be.

‘Predictable is boring! You need some spice in your life! Like Zarna!’

Said spice stroked her chin, “Amazing. Stratum is certainly an interesting city!”

“Oh? You’re new here?” I took a second look at her clothing and it seemed local at least. At least from the same area?

Zarna gave a short nod, “Yes, well, I received a job offer after some time on the road. It required me to settle down for the time being.”

A traveler? Looking at how built she was, I assumed she was used to more mercenary work. A long-term job offer ruled out a former organization, most likely at least. Was her Class centered around combat? I couldn’t imagine her having something like Farm Girl or Money Bags.

She quirked an eyebrow, “You have a curious gaze, Molly.”

Coughing, forcing myself to stop analyzing the poor woman, I waved my hands, “Uh, ok, sorry. I just, ok, well…I was just, uh, curious about your Class, what kind of work brought you here.”

Zarna’s amused expression only grew, “Ah, Molly, quite the question! Still, I don’t mind sharing, well, sharing again.”

Damnit Coco!

‘You never asked!’

“My Class is Behemoth, a Rare Class like yours.” She didn’t go into detail about what kind of work that Class had gotten her involved in, but I wasn’t going to pry.

Because, uh, wow. Behemoth wasn’t a huge deal, ok, well, it was a ‘huge’ deal, but it wasn’t exceptional. It, uh, just made a lot of sense.

I took another look at Zarna’s stature.

Yeah, it made a lot of sense.

“So, Molly, what kind of work are you involved in?” Zarna had finished her breakfast by this point and I was pretty sure I noticed her nabbing some of my bacon. I, uh, was fine with that. Waking up with a stranger in my bed had kicked my appetite to the curb.

I scratched the back of my head, feeling the tangles of the unruly mop that grew on my head, “I…”

I stopped. What did I even do these days? Odd jobs, finding lost cats, scrounging for money on the street and trying to keep this dingy apartment clean. Fuck, Frank brought in more money from his poker nights than I was right now.

I shrugged, “Ok, well, uh, I guess I don’t do anything right now. I was, uh, employed a while back but they…thought I should find a different profession.”

That was a nice way of putting it. Could I really blame them? I felt my spirits trying to comfort me, which was ironic seeing that they hadn’t exactly helped me keep my job.

“Oh Molly,” The sympathy in Zarna’s voice stung, “I'm sorry to hear that.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spill everything I had to this woman I had just met, but I wasn’t exactly flush with friends. Honestly, it was nice just having someone in my apartment, even if the circumstances were embarrassing as fuck.

“It was a month or so ago, nothing serious. I, uh, just jumping from job to job, handling little issues the best I can.”

My companion nodded, but before she could say anything else, I heard a knock on my door that rattled it against the weak wooden frame it was set in.

“Molly! There’s a letter for ya!”

I sent an apologetic look to the poor woman who’d had the politeness to sit down and listen to my shitty sob story before I rushed over to the door, anxiety building up in my chest.

‘It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!’

‘Maybe Evante finally sent that money he owes me?’

I really hoped it was the latter, I’d already dealt with one of Coco’s shenanigans today, I didn’t have it in me to handle another one!

Opening the door, I looked up at my landlord, “Uh, a letter?”

Nikos Calverd was a bastard, but he was efficient and didn’t waste a second handing me the letter, “Came in last night, from the Continental Investigator Agency.”

I stared down at the letter, the lip emblazoned with the telltale golden eye symbol of the CIA. I looked up to ask Nikos a question, but he was already down the hall delivering the rest of the morning mail.

I gazed back down at the letter.

‘Open it! Maybe they remembered how cool you are!’

‘Or maybe a late bill from some of the shit we broke?’

“Molly?” Zarna’s voice cut through the clamor of my spirits and the daze that I’d settled into seeing my old organization’s symbol.

I opened the letter, ignoring Zarna for the moment, and read through the first few lines of the official looking notice.

My gasp was echoed by my spirits, each of us entirely taken off guard.

Zarna’s warm hand fell on my shoulder gently, “Molly, is everything ok?”

I looked up at the kind giantess that had somehow become the only person, outside of the dead people in my brain, to share the news with.

“I…I have a job!”