{Xhez}

As she and Rin stood amongst these strangers, the sprite felt uncomfortable.

After seeing those other humans who'd captured her mother, seeing more humans dressed just like them, in the same ragged armor, was... unsettling. It served not just as a reminder of what they'd done to Vortell, but of what Xhez had done to them in return.

Maybe the memory sprites had wasn't always a blessing.

Focusing on the current moment, however, Xhez looked around and was surprised to find Varyn amongst the adventurers. The wolf-eared boy glanced over at Xhez, giving her a slightly sour expression, though Xhez didn't let that get to her. That was how he looked the last time she'd seen him. Xhez wondered if he ever showed a different expression than that.

She ignored the conversation Rin was having and walked over to the boy, who was sitting on the grass, cross-legged.

"Hi!" Xhez greeted him with a beaming smile.

Varyn sighed. He lifted his eyes to meet Xhez's and quietly said:

"Hello."

"It is good to see you here!" Xhez responded. "You are here for the mission, are you not?"

"Isn't that obvious?" His tone sounded quite bitter, for some reason.

"I see! We will be working together, then!"

Despite the fact that Xhez made a point of ignoring the others, she and Varyn were still in their presence. As such, that declaration was heard by all of them.

For some reason, after listening to her say that they cast a few strange looks at Rin, who just smiled wryly in return.

"My sister's pretty capable," Rin stated with a slightly nervous tone. "She's a mage. She'll help us out a lot. Trust me."

Those words warmed Xhez's spirit. It did not look like it had the same effect on the others, however. Seth, who looked as imposing and bulky as ever, clicked his tongue.

"If you wanna get your little sis killed, that's not on us. Just tell her not to get in our way," he barked out.

"As callously as he put it, I'm afraid I have to agree," one of the strangers said. A tall man with a thick mustache, carrying a pair of axes on his back and wearing some rusted metal armor. "What was your name again?"

"I'm Rin, and, um, that's Xhez."

"Right, Rin. Look, if you believe in her skills that's fine, but, we're going to be fighting for our lives in there. We likely won't be able to spare any time to look after her. Are you alright with that?"

"You won't need to," Rin promised. "She can handle herself."

The man smiled.

"Then our worries are irrelevant. It is a pleasure to meet you both, by the way. My name's Dominic. That's Jane over there," he pointed at a woman with curly brown hair, wearing some strange black robes, "Carter, our only archer, it seems," he added, pointing at a bald-headed man with a bow on his back, wearing leather, "and Allison. A healer," he concluded, pointing at a woman whose face was covered by an exceptionally big hat, tilted down as she sat on a boulder, keeping her head low. She wore robes that resembled Jane's, though hers were white. "It seems you know the others, right?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Though he asked that question to Rin, one of Rin's classmates responded. A woman Xhez remembered was named Alea. She didn't know her well but, based on what she said next, Xhez felt she perhaps didn't want to.

"Yep. Don't expect much out of her, by the way. She's not even using a weapon."

Rin looked about as offended as Xhez felt right now, as someone who had seen the woman in action.

"Excuse me?" Rin asked.

"Just cause Maria's training you doesn't mean you're her. Just saying."

At this point, Rin looked more surprised than anything else.

"If you want to know what to expect out of me, how about I show you? Right now."

"Yeah?" Alea asked, smirking back. "I'd love that. Gotta warn you though, gonna be hard to fight those orcs with broken hands."

"Okay, okay, settle down," Dominic said, putting his hands up and stepping between them. "We're here to work together. Don't antagonize each other."

"Are you kidding me? She was the one who-"

"It's okay," Dominic cut her off. "Just chill out."

That only seemed to make Rin even more frustrated. As Rin glared at Alea, Xhez caught the green-haired woman sticking her tongue out at Rin, through her smirk.

[Is she getting enjoyment from making Rin angry? Why? Humans will never cease to be strange to me, will they?]

"We're still waiting for one more person to join the team," Dominic declared. "As soon as the last adventurer arrives, we'll get started. We'll fight those ugly bastards, beat them, and get paid. As a team, alright?"

No one voiced any disagreement. The man gave a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Let's hope it doesn't take long," he added quietly.

"Xhez."

The voice that called out to the sprite belonged to Varyn. She turned toward him, finding that the boy had walked a short distance away from the others.

He gestured for Xhez to walk over to him.

"Yes?" Xhez was curious to see what he wanted.

"Why are you actually here?" He suddenly asked. She hadn't expected such a question. What did that even mean?

"Uhm, to help Rin with the mission."

She couldn't help but be confused. She had a hard time finding another reason for being there. If it wasn't for this mission, and Rin's lack of funds for her studies, Xhez would have preferred to be in the library right now, researching more spellsigns.

"Is that what you want, though?" Varyn asked.

"Well, yes." Xhez's statement almost sounded like a question. "I do not think I understand what you are asking. Why else would I be here?"

Varyn sighed.

"Isn't Rin just using you?"

It seemed like there was still a lot Xhez didn't understand about society. This last question was just as confusing as everything else she'd heard so far. Xhez answered the only way she could think to do so.

"I... No? I mean, I am not an object to be 'used'."

"I know that," Varyn responded. "Does Rin see it that way, though?"

When Varyn asked that, finally, Xhez felt like she could make some sense out of this conversation. Though, it was still perplexing to hear that.

"I believe so. She is my friend."

Varyn shook his head.

Raising his eyes to meet hers, Xhez suddenly felt his Spirit grow darker.

"I don't know what you two have been through to make you think that, but... Just a word of advice, Xhez. Humans aren't known for making friends with people like us. You and I, we're freaks to them. You know that, right?"

His words stung Xhez's heart, though there was a grain of truth to them. What Xhez said next, however, she felt was also true.

"Not to all of them."

"Hmph," Varyn huffed and walked away, only turning back toward Xhez to say one more thing before he went back to the others, "if you really feel like that, then fine. But, if you start to doubt that at any point, you should just leave her. I don't know what she's giving you in return, but it can't be worth risking your life like this."

Xhez was left alone at that point. His words danced in her mind for a moment, before she pushed them out, holding a single hand up to her chest.

[Of course, you do not. You probably have not felt it. Or, maybe you have, but just not from a human.] She replied in her thoughts. [The feelings she has caused to bloom within me... They are worth risking my life for. I know it.]

Having determined that, Xhez walked back to the group.

She couldn't say she was fond of humans as a whole, especially not right now while the emotional wounds caused by seeing her tortured mother were still fresh, but she adored Rin.

Maybe, she could even say...

"I..."

"Xhez?"

Rin's voice shook Xhez out of those thoughts.

"Y-Yes?"

"Are you alright? Rin asked. "You look kinda dazed."

"I- yes, yes," she replied, taken out of those thoughts.

The realization she'd just made couldn't be ignored, but, right now, Xhez needed to focus. She could think about this later.

"I am fine."