It was... "Beautiful." Madeline whispered, finishing my thought.

Where before every individual feather had transformed into individual crystals, they now seemed to one mesmerizing whole. A gradient of orange flowed down from the charm's gemstone eyes like tears seeking to stain its throat with the ruby color of its namesake. The black obsidian that its skull and bill had transformed into were stark reliefs for the features of the bird as its wings had tucked away, leaving the charm looking like a lifelike rendition of the hummingbird tucking its wings for a dive. Its grey-colored not-feathers curled, locking the Item to its position beside the Amulet of the Tortoise.

With the differences in their color the necklace looked oddly unbalanced, as if a gradient of color was missing things between the drab beige of the Earth Amplifier and the vivid plumage of the Air Amplifier. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but smile. I had at least part of an answer for what the rare Materials could produce. A clear boundary to what the higher rarity Mana-Shards-turned-Items could also produce.

"It has a second Trait?" Marie questioned. Despite how much Madeline probably appreciated the gemmed Item, it was the woodshaper that could actually see the information provided by the Implant.

"Indeed," I said, running my hand over the smooth surface of the Charm. I found it suspicious how identical in size it was to the neighboring Amulet, but it was nothing to complain about. "I imagine it is a feature thanks to its innate magic."

"What does it do?" Madeline asked, notebook once more in hand.

"I'll have to have a word with Sarah about getting you an Implant if your parents are okay with it," I said, getting eager nods from the dwarfess before I answered her question with action; I didn't know what it did, but why not find out?

The moment I redonned my Amplitude necklace, I willed some mana into the Charm. Immediately, a headache only slightly lighter than my previous one threw my balance out the window. To make things worse I got to feel the effects of a boosted Refinement Attribute as my thoughts and intent grew 'sharp' for lack of a better word. If before I had big monstrous coal trains of thought that had been derailed thanks to the loss of Containment, I now had jumbo jets crashing into the earth at speed.

Despite that, my Perception allowed me to watch as the Charm released itself from my necklace only to hover in the air right before my face as if it was alive. The drain on my mana was noticeable, which was unusual for a Q3 Item, but considering it was running a complex, secondary, Trait it seemed fair. When I shifted in search of the stool that had supported me through my previous headache, the Charm followed equidistant from my face the whole time.

"It hovers? That seems kind of lame," Madeline noted.

"Why don't you take a closer look? I'm not quite sure how--" I cut off as the intent of my words got packaged and sent right to the Item. I wasn't sure if I'd have even noticed if my Refinement wasn't artificially raised, but I could almost see the crystal construct react before zipping to hover before the dwarfess. With a yelp, she fell over only to be caught by Blobby and sat beside the woodshaper already using him as a seat.

"Traitor," I grumbled, glancing towards the shelves my bulk had destroyed.

"Can I?" Madeline asked, reaching a hand towards the Charm.

"Sure," I said with a shrug.

Once more I felt that packaging of intent, and the Charm landed on Madeline's hand before returning to its actual Charm form. The drain on my mana disappeared simultaneously, which I then realized I'd been somehow projecting to the Charm from a distance, before my brain got the scrambled eggs treatment again. I'd only been hungover once in my sheltered life, and the after effects of Refinement and Containment were giving alcohol a run for its money.

At some point while I rubbed at my temple, Adeline rushed into the room. Her eyes scanned everyone present and spotted the destroyed shelving before sighing. She reprimanded her daughter for doing 'too good of a job' soundproofing the workshop area. Apparently, she'd been on her way to get us for supper and the only reason the woman had rushed to the back was because there were spiderweb fractures on the outside of the building from where I'd collided with the wall. I didn't think the Charm had struck me with enough force for that, but it was possible Tremor Frame had extracted its own toll on the wall. When I checked it through with a deliberate vibrosense flick, I could see fractures spreading an alarming distance.

While Adeline finally noticed the products we'd produced she switched her tune, joining the other two girls in admiring the three Items we'd crafted. With them distracted, I used a flash of and to weld the stone building back together. The ease, and lack of strain, that restraining my costly Skill and my Amplified Skill was a reminder of how far I'd come. The effort it had taken to make a five-prong dummy out of was a whisper compared to what I'd done and yet it had taken seconds.

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"If it's okay, Adeline, I think I could use some grub," I said, drawing the girls from their excitement. When your stomach has only had ground up bugs for lunch and you've been working for hours, the moment someone mentions real food a beast is awoken. As if to emphasize that point, my stomach gurgled loud enough to echo in the small room. Hiding a small smile, Adeline nodded.

"Of course! There is a mess hall in the off west wing of the tower. Let's get you situated, and I'm sure we might find your father there Maddy," Adeline said gently. The prospect of seeing her father had the dwarfess on her feet in a moment.

"Here you are Master Ronan," she said, bowing her head slightly. She'd been reaching forward with her hand to give me the Charm back. Instead, a burst of umber light escaped her fingers before the crystal construct took to the air and once more slammed into my chest. Slightly less painfully, but bruising anyhow. Madeline looked distraught, clearly not having intended to use the Translocation Trait on the Item, but I blamed the thing more than I ever did her.

Grimacing, I let out a chuckle to reassure her while I rubbed at the bruise-within-a-bruise. The follow up impact had actually managed to deal one percent Health damage to me. Our group made its way out of the shop all discussing different aspects of what they'd learned. Adeline listened eagerly, taking discreet notes just as her daughter reviewed her own hefty stack of paper. Their focus diverged, one on the making and the other on the selling, but it was funny to see where the young dwarfess had gotten her habits.

When we eventually made it to the mess hall, it looked much like the cafeteria floor down in the Bunker. Rows of wooden tables with stone stools instead of hard plastic, but the joy of its inhabitants was clear. There were a few tired faces amidst the defenders-- there had been more than one call for defense against the storm's elementals through the afternoon-- but they were upbeat. Older humans helped to maintain the kitchens with their skills and Traits while the younger Fallen struggled against the surface threats with their budding magics. While there hadn't been a great divide between Fallen and non-Fallen, I could feel the differences between them vanishing by the day as they were unified with purpose. That Sarah kept everyone in line certainly helped that.

We'd hardly made it through the double doors of the mess hall when we were spotted by an exceedingly tall man. He rushed forward, sweeping up Madeline as if she weighed nothing and giving her a twirl. The girl tried to appear embarrassed by the motion, but I spotted a smile on her face even as she swat at who I assumed was her father. When he leaned down to kiss Adeline, I got the confirmation I needed.

Marie excused herself, having spotted her mother talking to someone in the kitchen area, and taking a Blobite with her. I sent my slime companion a glance, but it just wiggled incomprehensibly. I knew it was smarter than that, but I also wasn't its keeper. If it wanted to spend some time with the young woodshaper then I would be the asshole if I directed him away from that. While me and Blobby had our little aside, the crafter family finally remembered that I was standing right there.

"My apologies!" The tall man said, bowing his head and reaching out a hand to shake firmly. "I'm John Davis. Maddy has told me a whole lot about you! Not to mention your role in getting this handy piece of technology."

The man tapped the back of his neck, clearly indicating his Implant. Not particularly ready for the praise, I brushed it off by praising Madeline's efforts with Infusion Artisanry and that was all the redirection the two crafters needed from each other. The young dwarfess immediately jumped into a recounting of what our little trio had been working on that afternoon. John seemed shaken, in all honesty, by the amount of information the girl was pumping out.

"I'll get us some food," Adeline chuckled, shaking her head. "We'd be more than happy to share dinner with you Mr. Terrigan."

"Oh, that's alright," I said, scratching at the back of my head. It was at that moment that I became distinctly aware of just how badly I probably smelled and how disheveled I was. Most of the time I looked one shade away from being homeless since most of my defenses came in the form of and my clothes were for modesty's sake. After getting thrown off a tower, half drowned in mud, dried, rained on, dried and rained on again -- without pointing to the dozens of tears and holes on my cargo pants and simple once-white t-shirt -- I was solidly in bum-land. My only saving grace was the haircut Jolene had left me with, which still looked stylish despite how wet it was.

"Nonsense!" John shouted, apparently having retained enough social awareness to reel me in. He threw an arm over my shoulder, a feat in and of itself thanks to my size, before leading me towards a nearby free table. "It would be our honor to spend some time with such a distinguished crafter. That said crafter made my daughter cry with joy goes quadruple, let me tell you. Please, sit sit! From what Maddy was telling me, your handy crafting wasn't the only thing that took up your day?"

It was extremely forward, but also sincere. I'd gotten used to the strange distance that formed between the surface survivors and 'The Vanguard' title they'd given me. It wasn't present with my friends, I knew, but it wasn't a comfort like the Davis Family was showing. This was a family united in its wholesomeness and entirely embracing of its little quirks. It clenched my chest more than the fear of death from falling off the weather tower had. I didn't even pay attention to what Adeline brought back as the four of us exchanged stories. I learned a bit about the old world while they tried to wrap their heads around what it was like to live in a concrete box.

I hope... Dad is doing okay, I thought. I'd been so busy that thoughts of the Bunker had been few and far between. Time amidst the artisanal family had pulled at more strings than Pith Thread. A bout of homesickness flowed through me and I was forced to crush it before it could take hold. Where the Bunker needed me wasn't at the camp or putting my feet up in my old room, but at the front. There had to be a shield for families like Madeline, John and Adeline to embrace their passions instead of seek ways of surviving to the next day. I glared at the clouds barely visible with the setting sun.