It took quite some time to get herself back under control. Despite the strong emotions running through her Vuthe felt far more relaxed afterwards. And for the first time in a long time she felt good after crying. Before it had always just been trying to get some of the tension out before carrying on with the same burdens, now? She was relieved and happy.

While Vuthe and Scythe got themselves back together the rest of the Savart family present had some smalltalk, just some random things that Vuthe didn’t pay too much attention to.

“Fucking hell…”, Scythe said quietly in Amnellal, “This feels almost like a damn dream. Like I’mma wake up back on Amnellium and realise this was just some fucked up drug induced dream from another near overdose.”

Startled, Vuthe looked at her twin. She knew that Scythe was not aversed to taking drugs, she mentioned it often enough for Vuthe to realise it was a common thing with her, but she had never mentioned anything about overdosing. What kind of stuff did she have to take to overdose as a dragon?

Truth be told that fanned the flame of worry inside Vuthe once more, not wanting to lose Scythe despite their still shaky friendship. They weren’t antagonistic to each other, but their own experiences were in the way for a true friendship and stuff like this was the reason.

“You had that happen before?”, she asked Scythe in the same language.

“Twice. First one was when we first got down to the lowroads. Second was when we got back to the lowroads. Ever since then we had become more frugal, but with just how much shit is mixed into the stuff there there is always a risk. Don’t worry too much about it, at this point I think I would need to inhale literal tons of the stuff. All the upgrades made me pretty much immune to it.”

“That’s something I don’t quite get. You said you were experimented on before you escaped and fought Amnellium ever since. Outside of your physical development there shouldn’t have been too much difference, no?”, Vuthe asked with genuine curiosity.

“Eh… Kinda. We got turned into Cyborgs in the lab, but a lot of the implant upgrades and software patches came after. They basically turned our bodies into a Framework and over time we could upgrade ourselves with some shit we stole from Amnellium. Not professionally installed, but shit, we managed just fine like this.”

“I know you don’t wanna hear it, but you should ask Archangel. I know the two of you aren’t exactly friends and I don’t blame you, I don’t know your history. But if we wanna move forward, having her help you fix your installations or whatever could be helpful. I’ll be there to make sure she doesn’t do funny business, if she agrees. Sound fair?”

Scythe scowled, but shook her head a moment later, “I’ll think about it. I trust you more than her, but I still don’t trust you completely.”

Vuthe just shrugged, it was the best she could hope for. Finally turning her focus back to the people with them she noticed they were looking at the twins with interest, but were continuing their own conversation.

Eventually Scarlet looked at them. “Feeling better?”

Scythe and Vuthe nodded in tandem.

“Not gonna lie… I’m feeling awesome. Makes me wanna hop over and say Hi, but I guess we should make it a more formal event and shit. Although I’m still a little uneasy with the idea of actually meeting them again. It’s nice to know they’re alive, but I have no clue how they will react…”, Scythe mumbled only barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it too much. We’ll see when the time comes. For now it might be time to get off our asses and actually work for a change, eh? Although that can wait for tomorrow, right now I just wanna stay here for a little longer”, Vuthe said with a smirk, elbowing her twin slightly.

“Did you just compliment yourself by complimenting me?”

“Maybe?”, Vuthe said with a small giggle.

Scarlet smiled at them both, “You certainly act different then usual”, she remarked, although from the tone in her voice she didn’t mind it.

“Truth be told, right now I feel like I can take on the world. One of my biggest worries just vanished and the rest feel so small in comparison”, she took a deep breath, “Maybe that's just my way of dealing with this… entire thing. I’m not used to feeling so… unworried. So happy. The last time I did was so long ago, if ever, that I can’t even remember it. And my memory is damn good. I kinda just wanna run around like a little girl in glee. But at the same time, the world around me hasn’t changed. And while I don’t think being overly worried will help, I also don’t think I should let this get to my head and lose sight of other things.”

Scarlet nodded sagely, but didn’t comment.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what was life like before you vanished?”, Martin spoke up with a small smile. He was obviously curious about the twins but also didn’t want to start another blunder.

Vuthe smiled warmly at him, despite the unpleasant memories that came up in response considering her circumstances.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember much from before being a slave. So I can’t tell you much. I have a general idea of how my life was, I knew I wasn’t unhappy, I was going to school, I had a nice family, and the area we lived in wasn’t a bad one, but that’s about it. If shown I can point out if I was somewhere before, but most names and faces have long since vanished. I know I was once Rin Savart, but this Rin Savart is no longer around, at least not in me. It was part of the reason I asked Scarlet to call me Vuthe. A person is made from their memories, and I lost most of mine. I feel like I would sully the name of Rin Savart, not even mentioning the atrocities I commited over there”, she explained before emptying her drink in quite the unlady like manner and refilling it from her own stocks.

As she finished Scythe spoke up, looking thoughtful, “I guess I remember more. As she said I, or uh… we? I guess, we weren’t unhappy. Life was pretty good for us. Mom and dad had enough money for us to be comfortable, although we didn’t have much more than most others I’d guess. I can’t say for sure. I was pretty much into books and other media. I was never the most sociable person, but I can recall having some friends, although most of them were just school friends. There…. I think there was one other person who I had been better friends with, but I can’t seem to be able to recall their name and face. I knew we hung out much more than the others, and we loved to read together. It’s not the only thing I can’t recall though, for example I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what I wanted to do later in life. Not sure what else I am missing.”

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Scarlet laughed and then shook her head, “That you would forget your crush, he would be devastated!”

Both Vuthe and Scythe looked at her in alarm, “What?!”, they asked at the same time.

“The guy you can’t recall was Lucifer. Lanky and skinny, tall but not very impressive looking. Geek through and through. I remember you first telling me that you didn’t even know he was a guy at all! Ha, that was one hell of a conversation. Anyways, you two were pretty thick and I was almost certain you’d ask him out eventually. He was a bit of a coward and socially awkward so I don’t think he would ever have asked you in turn. And before you ask, I don’t know much about him. After you vanished and couldn’t be found we lost contact. I have met him only once ever since, he came by shortly after my twentieth birthday and asked for help. Apparently he got into some trouble because of the company he worked for and didn’t have anywhere to sleep, so he asked me and I allowed him to be around for a couple days. Helmut was pretty chill with him and they hung out for a while, but once he found a place of his own I never saw him since. Probably could try and find him if you wanted to, although I’m not sure how much good it would do. Probably has family now.”

That produced a long silence in the room, in which both Vuthe and Scythe tried to recall any of it. Vuthe didn’t have any luck, her memory far too jumbled but after a while Scythe spoke up.

“While I can’t recall much about him I think the name rings a bell, but it’s all unclear. Maybe I’ll seek him out eventually if only to let him know I am alive.”

Vuthe nodded to that statement, she couldn’t remember him but if she got the chance she would love to tell him she was fine too.

“If I may?”, a voice came from Vuthe’s shadow, startling everyone except the dragoness in question.

“Yes, Vixus?”, she asked and the form of the living shadow appeared next to her, kneeling.

“I may be able to give you a lead into the direction of the person in question, your Majesty. While I haven’t found anything concrete, I am currently working on finding out everything this world knows about your vanishing and while most people who tried to look into it are doing so because of the companies they work for, some individuals have tried so on their own. I am unaware of any details as I do not know your previous acquaintances, but would it not be possible for one that was quite close to you to try and find out more?”

Vuthe thought for a moment, then nodded, “Yes. Although, I don’t think he knew about the magical world. Or did he?”, she asked Scarlet.

Her sister just shrugged, “Not as far as I am aware. Maybe he does, but we didn’t interact much, so I couldn’t tell you. Maybe Helmut could tell you more, but he won’t be back until next month.”

Helmut was Scarlet’s husband and the father of Martin. She knew intellectually of his existence, but hadn’t had the chance to meet him yet. Apparently he was a doctor employed by the KISS medical department and even despite his advanced age, he was just a year younger than Scarlet, he never was one to stop working. While not quite as committed as his Wife, he was fascinated by the medical applications of magic and was apparently working on some kind of magical deaging technology, even if Vuthe found it doubtful that Earth mages could get anywhere close to that. Then again, she had been surprised before, so maybe she shouldn’t belittle them too much. While magic on earth was “young”, it may have been around longer than she realised, and even then, humanity was quite good when it came to scientific advancements, especially ever since they entered the information age.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Jonathan, “Uhm… Excuse me, but who is that?”, he asked, pointing at Vixus.

“Ah, sorry. Vixus Umbara is one of my children, the only one still alive as far as I know”, Vuthe explained with a smile, “They are… secretive. So I don’t always know when they are around. I might be an ancient dragon, but even I can’t sense everything, especially not from someone specialised in stealth and covert actions. Vixus, these two are Martin and Jonathan. Treat them well, okay?”

“As you wish, your Majesty”, Vixus said before getting up and bowing to the two men, “It is a genuine pleasure to meet the family of my progenitor. Should you require aid, simply ask and I shall endeavour to aid you as much as I can.”

Both Martin and Jonathan looked a little uncertain, but nodded regardless.

“Likewise. Although I doubt some random restaurant manager could be of much help”, Martin replied with a nervous chuckle.

However, he was quite surprised when Vixus spoke again, “You might be underestimating the importance of the small folk. No society can survive without the people managing the smaller things, and anyone who is capable of such a feat should be treated with respect. Why, most of my work requires the aid of such people, although most don’t know it. I personally have visited your establishment a few times, and while I had to accept that the food this world produces is leagues and bounds behind what I am used to, your establishment seemed to treat all its employees and customers with respect. Otherwise I might have had to do something about it.”

“Vixus!”, Vuthe said sharply, her tone suddenly as cold as ice as she excluded her authority of a Queen, “Do not threaten or lay hands on my family or their businesses. I will kill you myself if you do, are we clear?”

Immediately Vixus fell to one knee before her, “Of course, your Majesty. My sincerest apologies.”

As expected, Martin, Jonathan, and Scarlet looked alarmed, but Vuthe just sighed, rubbed her face, then spoke, “Good. I know you want to help me, but I don’t appreciate you going around and trying to change the world for me. Don’t lose sight of your mission over things like that, okay?”

Vixus nodded and Vuthe turned to look at her family once more, a wry smile on her face, “Apologies for their behaviour. Things… worked a lot differently in Satien. And while they are very smart, they are quite… rigid and stubborn. Anyways, Vixus will probably be around you, they like to keep an eye on people important to me, if only so they can keep me informed. I know they do things their own way and don’t always tell me the full truth, but they are trustworthy and loyal. So if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask.”

Martin studied Vixus silently, obviously lost in thought. He seemed to have some kind of internal struggle regarding the living shadow, but didn’t voice it.

Jonathan on the other hand, while alarmed, looked intrigued. “If I may ask, what exactly are you, Vixus?”

It took the living shadow a moment to respond, “I am often referred to as a living shadow. My nature is multifarious and ever changing. However, I shall not say more on the topic, it is paramount to my work if I remain as anonymous as possible. What I can tell you is that I might not always appear before you like this, as I said, I am ever changing.”

Truth be told, Vuthe was quite surprised Vixus even said this much. She had needed to ask quite a few times before Vixus revealed more about themselves. She was pretty certain that part of it was that Vixus liked being an unknown, however.

The questions continued until way into the evening, at which point all humans were pretty tipsy, and Vuthe and Scythe decided to call it a day. They would return in the next few days to meet Martin’s wife Rebecca, but until then they had some things to attend to. First up, politics. Then, trying to get New Thelvadore done. And hopefully, they had some time to go out drinking by themselves with their friends, if only to experience the city a little more.

Vuthe silently mused that maybe the order in which these things could be handled might shift a little. A stroll through the city sounded like just the thing to enjoy with her friends before they returned back to work.