The goblins kept practically forcing food and drink at the adventures as they enjoyed the celebrations.

Like the celebration itself, the food was simple. It was primarily spiced meat cooked on skewers with some form of flatbread and a few sauces to go with it. The Lians-thrak meat had the texture somewhere between poultry and fish, though it got a bit too chewy after it cooled.

The goblins also had mead, which Levi was grateful to drink. He needed something to not feel like himself for a minute. Something to slow his brain down. Something to at least slow the mental barrage of self-inflicted blows that came from within him almost constantly.

He sat at the outskirts of the celebration staring out over the water by himself. He'd excused himself when everything had gotten too much. Maddy and David had wandered off together. Joe was talking with the Shaman and the Chief, probably going over more details about the goblins leaving the Realms. Paige had run off with Sombo.

Levi kept thinking about how to handle things with Paige. Crippling doubt had settled in after their conversation on the barge. Doubt and guilt. The truth was, there wasn't a whole lot to their relationship. She'd had a crush, and he found her attractive. Then they'd gone through some hard things together. Other than only one real day spent just between the two of them, there just wasn't much there.

Their entire relationship, whatever that was, consisted of physical attraction, maybe some loneliness, and the trauma they shared. Sure, they'd had a good day together when they'd went fishing. But he didn't really know her, and she damned sure didn't know him. He really didn't even know himself that well, honestly.

That knowledge had set in hard when Paige had mentioned him being hard to read. He couldn't even be honest enough to acknowledge that.

And taahey were about to be traveling alone together as soon as they left the portal. Was that a good idea? Would it be fair to put her in a position to become more attached to him? What if he let her down? What if he didn't deserve her feelings, but she felt them anyway because of the situation?

He kicked himself in the ass for kissing her the way he had earlier. It hadn't been planned. It was entirely spur of the moment, but he'd done it because he felt like it could shut down her arguing so he could get through to her. It had worked but the kiss had gotten a little more intense than he'd intended.

He downed his mead in one drink and stood. He needed to talk to her. He needed to at least tell her the truth. He knew that meant putting a wall between them and that it was sending a lot of mixed signals. But better now than later.

-----

Paige was playing 'hide and seek' with several wolves, including Sombo. And she was having a blast. They were having a blast, too.

They'd been skeptical when she'd first explained the game. They were all too confident in their ability to smell and hear to be convinced that they could hide from each other. It wasn't until Paige explained that the seeker also had to catch a hider to win that they began to see it as interesting. Once she'd told them that they could also relocate hiding spots or run before the seeker found them, the wolves were all in. It became a game of hunter against hunter.

The only problem they'd had starting the game was that the wolves didn't know how to count. They'd settled that by making the seeker run from the base, which they'd made the kennels, to the shore.

The kennels housed puppies and younger wolves that were too untrained to roam. The kennels smelled too much like wolf to allow as a hiding spot, according to the wolves. So they'd made it the base instead.

Paige had spent a while playing with the puppies there, and they were cute, but her class and Beastspeak Skill made them boring and annoying, honestly. It was like trying to have a conversation with a bunch of toddlers that kept yapping about wanting food. So, instead, she'd thought up the game with the older wolves.

And the game was on.

Paige stared down from her perch on one of the fully wooden structures. Sombo was the seeker this round, and he stood sniffing at the air below her. She kept her breathing steady and slow, but a grin was spread across her face.

"I know you're around here, human. I can smell you. I can smell that crow, too. If either of you move, I will hear you." Sombo's tongue hung from his mouth as he panted, and his tail wagged a steady back and forth.

Paige slowly pulled out the pebble she'd pocketed earlier and carefully, using her thumb, flicked it as far as she could toward another wolf she knew was hiding in that direction. It went farther than she'd expected with her enhanced physical ability, reaching nearly fifty meters away. Sombo took the bait and sprinted toward that direction.

She immediately began quitely shimmying from the building, but she waited until she could barely hear Sombo's footfalls before quitely dropping to the ground.

She turned and sprinted towards the kennels, knowing Sombo was much faster than her. She put everything she had into her rather thick, too thick in her opinion, thighs.

It only took a moment for Sombo to notice her. "I knew you weren't over there! You're a cheating fox! But I am going to catch you anyway," Sombo howled at her.

He was already closing in fast. She could hear his paw pads slapping the ground as he chased her. Despite how hard she was pushing herself and that she had to breathe deeply to keep up her pace, Paige was smiling. She could make it. Two more turns. She was quicker at taking turns than the wolf. Then she'd be at the base.

But Sombo was pushing hard, too. "I'm going to catch you this time," he snarled.

Paige was pretty sure he was taking the last few games in which he hadn't caught her a little too personally.

She rounded the first corner and stared down a long stretch between apatchas and other small buildings. He'd catch up here, but if she could just push, there was only one more turn and then only half as far to reach the base. But he was closing in fast.

Sombo growled without words, and she knew he was right behind her. She pushed harder. The turn was almost in reach. Sombo snapped his jaws at the hem her sheath, and she felt his breath.

Then she grabbed a torch pole buried deeply at the corner of an apatcha, using it to change her direction, and made the last turn. But she knew it was too late. Sombo would catch up before she could reach the base.

And then someone stepped directly in front of her from a side path. With Catlike Reflexes active, she responded immediately, flipping over the person and continuing her mad dash with a nimble landing. Halfway through her flip, she realized the person had been Levi.

She heard an 'oof' as Sombo plowed into Levi, or over him. It bought her just enough time to slap the main gate to the kennels.

"Safe," Paige said as she turned to see both an unhappy Sombo and an unhappy Levi.

"You cheated. You had the short human man get in my way," Sombo declared.

"Hey! Levi isn't short. Technically, he's average height. And I didn't ask him to get in the way. I would have ran into him myself if my reflexes were as slow as yours are. You're just a sore loser," Paige retorted.

"Wait, did the goblins' wolf just call me short? Man, that kind of stings," Levi said as he dusted himself off.

Sombo growled and huffed. "Maybe you didn't cheat. But it was still not fair."

Out of the dark, another wolf suddenly lept and touched his paw to the kennel gate. "You lost the prey you could have caught because you were worried about the fox that got away," the older wolf growled.

Sombo suddenly tensed, fur standing on end, twisting his body at the various points of approach to the kennel. After a moment, his ear twitched, and he took off down one of the paths.

Immediately after he was gone, another younger wolf came from the dark, pushing his paws against the kennel gate. "Sucker," he growled.

Paige turned to Levi, "Hey Levi. Want to play hide and seek?"

Levi couldn't help but think she was still gorgeous, even as sweaty and disheveled as she was. For a moment, he almost backed out of talking to her. All of him hated that he felt like he needed to do it. But just enough of him knew it was something he had to do anyway.

"Hey... I was actually hoping we could go for a talk and walk--I mean... go for a walk and talk." Levi face went a little pink as he stumbled over his words, but he kept his face serious.

"Yeah, sure," Paige answered, eyebrows furrowed.

----

Levi led Paige to the shore of the island before he said a word. When they finally made it to the edge, where the water lapped at the grassy bank, he sighed deeply. He didn't know where to start.

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"Just say what you have to say. Spit it out already," Paige said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I-I... it just occurred to me we don't know each other. I mean, whatever we have going on... it has nothing to do with that. And, I'm not sure it is a good idea."

"So? You think I need to know you to be interested in you?" Paige asked levelly.

"I mean, that's... yeah, that's kind of the idea of how things work."

"You really are an idiot sometimes." Paige plopped herself down on the bank and stretched her legs out. "I just think you're cute. You've mostly been nice. Not just to me, but everyone. I like you, whether I know you or not. That's the reason I want to get to know you more. Why are you making it complicated?"

Levi slowly sat down next to her. "Because I know you've kind of had a crush on me. But you don't even know me. Plus, your class is affecting you. And I haven't even been able to really be open with you." Levi grabbed his hair with both hands and lightly tugged in frustration. "And then I kissed you like that. Then, later on the barge, I just lied to you when you were talking about the way I smelled. I couldn't be straight with you."

Paige laughed. "Yep. That's all true." She laid back and propped her arms under her head. "Have you considered that it is just a crush, and even I know that? You act like I'm falling in love with you. Yes, I think you're attractive, and I've been super horny. But even if my class is affecting me, I've adjusted. Plus, my class is who I am now, anyway. It is me, even if it is a new me. And I'm happy about that."

Paige paused for a second and then added one last thought. "And I do like who you are as a person, too."

"You don't even know me," Levi mumbled quitely.

"Nah. I do. I don't know your past or what you've been through. That's true. But I know who you are. You're the guy who lets other people interrupt you patiently when you were the one talking, even when half the time I wish you didn't and it bugs the shit out of me. But you'll speak up when it is more important than yourself.

You're the guy who was afraid to fight Eric's men, and then Eric himself. But you did it anyway. And you made sure he didn't hurt me. You gave more than you had. You could have died. You think about other people more than you do yourself, and you think that somehow means they don't care about you either. And sometimes, like now, I want to slap you for that. You don't know yourself and think that means no one else sees you."

Levi didn't have a good response to that, so he went with his last line of defense. "Look, I know I'm not a terrible person, I know that now more than I ever have... but I'm pretty sure I'm too old for you."

Paige laughed. "I wasn't joking when I said I like my men older, so that's on me."

"But..." Levi began to say something, but he couldn't think of what to say.

Paige sat up abruptly. "Look. If you aren't interested in me... whatever, fine. I can always go find another older guy to bang. But if you're just trying to protect me from yourself or something dumb like that, fuck you. You're not giving me enough credit for being able to take care of myself. Don't do that. I can make my own decisions."

Levi sighed again, deeper. He felt like he couldn't win. Yet, another part of him felt like she was making sure he didn't make himself lose. She was stopping him from self-sabotage. And that felt good, despite it ruining the plans he'd had for the conversation.

"I'm just afraid that if we're traveling alone together, maybe you'll get attached to me when I really don't deserve it, just because of the situation."

Paige shook her head. "That's not your job, Levi. Look, you told me what you were worried about... maybe that is kind of noble or some shit, even if I know you are worried over nothing. You warned me, and maybe that is something you were right to do. But that's it. You're trying to make the decision for me. Don't. That WILL piss me off. And remember, my class is Untamable Beastfriend. You don't have a chance in hell of controlling me one way or another."

They were both quiet for a long time after that. Levi's head spun. Paige just watched the water and waited.

Finally, Levi spoke. "I had a pretty bad childhood." His voice came out levelly, sounding 'matter of fact.'

"Yeah, I figured," Paige replied, matching his tone.

"When I upgraded my core, Rick was there. Rick was my version of the entity from the interview. But... this Rick was different. Less grand, more personal. It was more of a feeling than anything I can explain. I think it was the spirit that is inside me. Maybe Mr. Stowe is inside you.

But that's not the important part.

Rick told me that I barely survived the core upgrade because I had no 'ideal' to guide the upgrade. He actually said my identity was a shitty sculpture made out of the shattered pieces of paper thin glass. It was a reality check."

"Maybe you just need something hot to blow on that ego a little bit, melt that sculpture solid." Paige said with a smirk.

"Ha. Ha. I'm serious. It kind of shook me a little. I almost died, because I'm just that fucked up."

Paige huffed, disappointed her attempt to distract Levi hadn't worked. "I'm not even sure what you mean by 'ideal.' But yeah, I can kind of see how that would bother you. How did you get through it?"

Levi opened his mouth, already thinking of some bullshit answer. Then he stopped himself and told her the only truth he could in that moment. "I'd rather not talk about it. Not yet... But to explain, an 'ideal' is kind of a perfect concept that you can completely live by. It kind of gets ingrained into you when you upgrade your core. It becomes something about you that can never change."

"I'll never understand a thing about the meditation and core business, but I'm really glad you didn't die," Paige said.

"You know, that's the second time you've told me that. I really hope nearly dying doesn't become something that happens all the time."

Paige laughed. "So, what? Do you want to talk about your childhood or something?"

Levi shook his head. "Nah. And that's not me dodging it because I don't want to open up. I used to talk about it every chance I had. Blamed everything on it. Took me a long time to realize it wasn't getting me anywhere. I made early adulthood pretty fucked up, too, doing that.

Once I started taking responsibility for my bullshit, things started getting better. But it took a long time for me to really understand that no matter what happened to me, I am the only one responsible for my own actions."

"Hey, that sounds like a pretty good ideal, for the next time you need one." Paige shrugged. Then she jumped up. "Come on. Let's go do something fun."

"Fun like what?"

"Like tattoos. A few of the goblins are tattooing near the bonfire. Not sure how, but they are fast."

Paige grabbed his arm and dragged him along without waiting for him to agree.

---

There were five goblins giving tattoos, but four were occupied. They were all in different stages of applying tattoos.

Their method of applying the tattoos was unlike anything Levi had seen. First, they applied some thick, tar-like, red paint in the design of the tattoo. They let that sit for a while, at least 30 minutes. While one goblin waited for their tattoo design to sit on their skin, the tattoo artist would spend that time painting the next person.

Once the paint had sat long enough, the tattoo artist would peel the painted material off. It looked similar to one of those face masks you spread out and let dry. Levi was suddenly happy about the fact he'd never had a lot of body hair.

After it was peeled off, the skin where the paint had dried would be welted up, like it was suffering from an allergic reaction.

Then, a small amount of some kind of black power was pressed into the welt, where it began to spread rapidly on its own. As it traveled across the welted area, the inflammation would ease, and an almost black, dark blue tattoo would begin to form. Over the course of minutes, a tattoo at least the size of Levi's hand would form.

As it spread, it also produced more black powder, which Levi thought was odd. He couldn't help but notice that it always seemed to produce far more than was used. The tattoo artist would hold a thin piece of leather beneath the falling black particles, catching them. Once the tattoo was finished, he'd pour the black particles back into a clay jar sealed with a lid.

Levi thought the entire thing looked a little dubious.

Paige nudged him in the ribs. "You better be thinking about what tattoo you want."

"I'm thinking about how much of a bad idea this is," Levi responded.

"Hey, you can't back out now, you agreed."

"I didn't agree to shit," Levi argued. "Letting you drag me here was not, in any way, me saying 'Yeah, a weird tattoo that starts with an apparent skin infection and ends with some unknown, seemingly living powder entering your skin sounds like a great idea.'"

"Oh, stop being a baby. A lot of goblins have these tattoos, and they're all fine," Paige said with a shrug.

"We're not goblins!"

"If you get a tattoo, I'll make out with you later," Paige said with a mischievous smile.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "You'll make out with me either way."

"True. But I won't be nearly as handsy if you don't get the tattoo." Paige waggled her eyebrows.

Levi smiled. Then he let out a small laugh. "Fine. Fine, I'll do it. But I want to know how this works."

Levi walked over to question the goblin tattooist who didn't have a 'client,' but Paige pushed him out of the way.

"Ask questions while he gives me a tattoo." Paige addressed the tattoo artist. "Hey, how do I pay you for a tattoo? I don't really have money, but I may have a few things to trade. I have some healing potions... uh, maybe... you ever hear of coffee?" Paige asked, pulling two vials from her pack.

The goblin looked confused for a moment and then responded. "No trade. Just give. Is fun, no?"

"So you're just giving tattoos for free? Just because it is fun?" Levi asked.

"Yes. Because is fun. What want, Spirit-bonded?"

"Can you do crow wings across my back and shoulders? I want to do it for the first beast friends I ever made," Paige answered.

"Yes, can do. Sit."

After Paige sat and moved her hair out of the way, the goblin got to work with his paint brush.

"What is that?" Levi pointed at the thick red paint.

"Uh. Is. What word? Is pungis." The goblin replied.

"Pungis? I don't know what that is." Levi responded.

The goblin sat his paint brush down. "Maybe wrong word. Uh..." The goblins eyes lit up, and he pointed at his foot. "Maybe not pungis. Is like foot pungis."

"Foot fungis? That stuff is a skin fungis?" Levi asked in horror.

The goblin smiled. "Yes. That word. Fungis." Then the goblin went back to work applying the fungis paint to Paige's back and shoulders.

Paige hadn't even flinched at the goblin's explanation, and just waited for the goblin to finish.

"How does that not bother you?" Levi asked Paige.

"Why would it? They use fungis in antibiotics, and we eat fungis, too."

"Yeah, but that's a skin fungis," Levi argued.

"Worst case scenario, Grace can make me something to cure it. She already made me a dewormer," Paige said nonchalantly.

"Okay..." Levi thought for a moment. "Hey goblin, what is that black powder stuff you put on after?"

The goblin looked at Levi with an offended glare and tapped his chest with his free hand. "Name Toma-gira." The goblin let his glare linger for a moment before continuing. "Black stuff tiny, tiny bug. Eat fungis. Grow more. Leave poop. Poop stain skin."

Before Levi protested, Paige spoke up. "Just get a damned tattoo. And stop asking questions. Fuck.'

Levi decided to take her suggestion on not asking questions.

In the end, he'd gotten the outline of a slithering snake up his arm and onto his shoulder, with a huge dragonfly hovering over the top of the snake. The dragonfly had a broken wing.

He hadn't known exactly what to get at first. Then he thought he should get a tattoo for someone he wanted to remember and honor. Someone who had always been kind to him. The only person who came to mind immediately was his stepdad's father, Pawpaw Vernon.

Pawpaw Vernon had been backwoods like all of his stepdad's family, but he was always kind to Levi. He was half Native American and spoke of his Choctaw mother often to Levi. And for whatever reason, he'd nicknamed Levi 'Snake Doctor.'

As a child, Levi had never even asked what it meant, just happy to be a kid, seen not heard, with a really cool nickname. When Pawpaw Vernon died, it had finally occurred to Levi that he'd never asked. Fortunately, it only took one google search to find out it meant 'dragonfly' based on old Native American myths.

He was happy with his choice, even though the actual tattoo itself was less than awe-inspiring.

Page was thrilled with her tattoo, however.

"Ah, miss, I think that's just lovely. And you did that for us lowly crows? Better than that plain skin you had, meaning no offense," the crow squawked from a nearby perch. "Fitting right in with the gang, now, aye. The boys will be right tickled to see it."

Friendship With Crows Has Increased. New Traits Unlocked.