Reial blinked as he awoke on the comfy waiting room sofa. He didn’t recall when he fell asleep, just that their waiting was beginning to drag on. What was taking her so long?

“Perhaps she went to go pay the Convention a quick visit?” Linithesis suggested.

“And leave us like this?” Reial questioned back.

Linithesis hummed. “I’m sure she has her reasons.”

That’s what made Reial worry. She was personable, and although they had only met her two days ago, he had enjoyed what little time they had spent together. Was it not the same for her? Were they not pleasant to be around? He hadn’t said anything wrong, had he?

“Relax, Reial. You worry too much.”

“But what if-”

“She hasn’t.”

Reial squirmed in his seat. How was the Pneuma so certain all the time? It was as if he did know everything, despite claiming he didn’t. For all he knew, Linithesis could be Solvaylius. He could possibly even see into the future.

“I am not Solvaylius, and I cannot see into the future. You have the wrong Pneuma for that,” Linithesis interjected.

“Wrong Pneuma?” Reial said. “What do you mean?”

“Ah, yes, it’s been a while now, hasn’t it?”

Reial frowned. “Don’t be vague with me, Linithesis.”

“Me? Vague? I’m flattered. If you must know, man, like us, was created for the sole purpose of self-discovery and growth. Perfection, to put it simply. However, we were not all created equally, for we would be nothing but clones. We were to seek ourselves in different forms, and although your kind was built somewhat similarly, our abilities were more limited, yet far more enhanced. Think it of like Veil Striding, except every Pneuma is a specialist in their own right.”

“That’s still rather vague.”

“Aren’t you happy with any answer I can give you?”

“Kinda. When it helps anyway.”

Linithesis made a clicking sound. “If only there was a way to quell your overactive thoughts.”

The sound of a groaning door interrupted Reial’s thoughts. He turned to find Zariya stepping into the room, holding a small yet well-furnished enclosure with running water. Inside, he spotted Yusjek roaming around, dipping into the shallow stream before he climbed on top of a small mossy rock. Beneath the enclosure was a small cube with a distinctive four curved angle. An Essence-based battery.

“Yusjek!” Charette cried, shooting up from her seat.

Reial’s heart warmed as she approached Zariya with a wide, excited smile. He couldn’t think of a better expression that fit her.

Charette examined the enclosure, which was roughly the size of a briefcase. “Where did you get this?”

“At a veterinarian. After all that happened, I took the liberty of having him checked out. And aside from some nausea, he’s doing fine.” Zariya lifted the enclosure up to her head and smiled. “To be honest, I was somewhat surprised that he didn’t try and run away from me. Most of my pets do that after seeing, you know.”

Reial watched as Yusjek climbed down from his mossy rock to face her. He tapped one of his forelegs against the sturdy glass window, leaving a slimy imprint. What was he trying to convey? An emotion? A thought? Perhaps he couldn’t speak, but weren’t all beings capable of thought? Be it rational or not.

Something sparked inside of Reial’s mind as Yusjek stared at Zariya. A raw, unquestionable voice. Home. Light sparked from the salamander, dim as it may be, Reial still saw it.

Was he the only one capable of hearing those voices? Of seeing that light. No one seemed to be bothered by them, so why only him?

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Charette said.

“Don’t be. I also made a quick stop at the convention to see if they had a spare battery lying around.”

“What for?”

“To filter the water without direct means. I wasn’t certain if you knew how, so I went and acquired a pre-programmed battery that does the work for you. Just give it some Essence and there!”

Charette beamed. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I had a hard time telling myself that. I know it won’t make up for losing your drog, but I wanted to give you something that could bring you a bit of happiness.” Zariya turned to Reial with a sad smile. “I know how it feels to lose a precious companion.”

Reial winced. Yet another person to feel sorry for him.

“What time is it?” Charette asked.

“Around two in the afternoon.”

Reial’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean to tell me that we’ve been in this room for six hours?”

“More like asleep for four out of those six.” Charette corrected.

A speck of concern emanated from Zariya’s being like the dying flicker of a bulb. What was on her mind? The answer soon became apparent to them. “So…what’re your plans now?” She inquired.

“Going after the Courser.” Charette answered

“We’re going to get our drog back. Strider or not.” Reial finished.

Zariya gaped at them. After all, what hope did they have of besting someone who was easily able to defeat them? Her concern was well warranted, but weren’t expectations meant to be defied? The world, Pneumas, Striders, they were all proof of this. It was the one absolute truth Reial believed.

Zariya managed to shake herself out of her stupor as she began stuttering. “B-But, you’re only children! What if you’re hurt? Who’ll be there for you? Shouldn’t you be telling your parents about what happened?”

“We’ll be fine, Zariya,” Charette reassured.

“I can’t condone you two going out on your own without adult supervision” She argued.

“Zariya, you’re not my mother.”

“Someone has to be! I don’t want you or your brother getting in trouble again because you thought it would be a good idea to tear a street off its foundation.”

Reial blinked. There were many situations that could never be accounted for, this was one of them. He didn’t know whether he should be worried, or completely terrified.

“I can’t promise that it won’t happen again.” Charette continued. “We are fighting a Veil Strider.”

“What if he decides to wipe the town you’re in then?”

Charette blinked. “I’m certain he won’t.”

“You never know that!”

Reial suppressed a giggle. “Zariya, I think you might be overreacting.”

Stolen story; please report.

“And I think you aren’t thinking at all! Do you even know what you’re going up against?”

“Yes,” They said simultaneously.

“And you’re completely okay with that?”

They nodded.

Zariya pinched the bridge of her nose with her odd hand and let out an exasperated sigh. While her frustration saddened Reial, he was equally happy knowing she cared enough to get mad at them. She wasn’t pretending to be nice to them because her parents employed her. The connection they shared was all a matter of chance. Perhaps that’s why he cherished what little they had because it was what he managed to accomplish by himself.

Reial felt a twinge at the back of his head as a mental image of someone standing at the doorway popped into his mind. It was Kaval. He turned to greet him, which must have surprised the man as he jumped partway through his greeting.

Kaval grinned sheepishly. “Right, forgot ye wur a Strider. Probably shouldn’t have bin eavesdropping on your chat then.”

Reial shrugged it off. “Did you need something?”

“Aye, it was aboot yet situation.”

Kaval stepped inside the room, however this time, he wasn’t followed by Marish. His hair nearly scraped the ceiling as he steadily approached them. Reial knew that the Thrasmanish were tall, but he had never seen one up close before. Hyvas, he’s a giant!

“What about it?” Charette asked him.

“It’s never a pretty thing losing someone ye love. A lot o' fowk tend tae fall intae despair. Y’know, hoping that things'll eventually git better. But sittin` aroond never accomplishes much.”

“It’s better than chasing after a drognapping thief that can hurt them.” Zariya argued.

“What’s th' difference between bein' hurt now, 'n' choosing not tae be later? Ah know things might not be pleasant but daein' nothing dae mair harm than good. Can ye really live wi' that regret?”

Zariya frowned. “Kaval, you aren’t being very helpful right now.”

“A’m trying tae be.”

She sighed. “I know, I know.”

Reial shared a look with Charette. Whatever it was that Kaval wanted, Zariya didn’t seem to approve of it. It made him wonder what it was that he was going to suggest.

He didn’t want to be rude and leave them to their own devices, but the Courser wasn’t going to wait for them. Would it not be wiser to scoop Charette up and Stride after him? Then what? Where would they go? Who would they even ask for information? They didn’t know anyone here.

That left them in an awkward position. If they mindlessly wandered Yusanik, they would waste more time than if they had searched for clues. Being an experienced Strider also meant that the Courser could potentially move around state to state in a matter of minutes. No, they needed some sort of clue to help them in their quest. The more Reial thought about it, the more he became convinced that returning to the scene of the crime would unveil hidden answers.

As Kaval and Zariya continued their exchange, Reial examined the Absent Integrator on his wrist. There was an air of age about the device, and though the silver didn’t appear tarnished, he knew that appearances could be deceiving. His medallion was similar in that regard. Eight years later and the gold and silver medallion hadn’t faded with color or chipped.

What secrets did they hide? Were their stories happy, or sad? Was their creation spontaneous, or were they handcrafted with love and affection? Were they insignificant, or valuable?

“You’re thinking an awful lot about a bracelet, you know that, right?” Linithesis said.

Reial blushed. “Sorry, it just makes me wonder.”

“About where it came from?”

He nodded. “I try not to think about it much, or really anything I own. It would make me sound like some spoiled brat, wouldn’t it?”

“Perhaps.”

“You’re not going to lecture me about forgoing my material possessions like some old-blooded Thírian, are you?”

Linithesis snorted. “Why would I? Enjoy what you have in this life. It doesn’t make your being anymore ‘cleaner’ or ‘wiser’, it’s a lifestyle choice. Not a sentence. Who you are isn’t defined by what you own.”

The Pneuma’s words simmered in Reial’s mind like a whistling tea kettle. Linithesis always knew what to say, but was that because of his past experiences, or his particular abilities? Abilities that operated beyond Reial’s comprehension.

That being, that remnant of stardust. It was something grand, a burning reminder of what existed inside everyone, or rather, what everyone was.

“The way that I see,” Reial began. “Is it because of you?”

The Pneuma made a clicking sound. “Yes.”

“What does it mean?”

“Why give you an answer you already know?”

“I just want to be sure.”

Linithesis hummed hesitantly. “If I must. Our beings, everything that has made us the way we are, every single event and experience, is bare before your eyes. Pain, suffering, joy, grief, exhilaration, ecstasy. None of it can be masked, as it is beyond a realm that only we can reach.”

“But what does it do?”

“It grants us the power to utterly destroy someone from the inside-out or heal them.”

Reial wrinkled his nose. He didn’t understand how that could be. Linithesis’s being felt so warm and harmless, like the most devastating effect it could cause was temporarily blinding him with its light.

“Be wise with it. A star can encourage growth, yet it can also destroy. They are a force of nature. In that sense, so are we.”

Reial shivered. A force of nature was unpredictable, it didn’t have control over its actions. That wasn’t the same case for him, was it?

He withdrew from the conversation with a new weight on his shoulders. Maybe Linithesis was just trying to scare him from using those powers so he wouldn’t use too much of his Essence. That is, if they even required Essence.

When he once again became fully conscious of where he was, he found Zariya and Kaval silently looking to Charette for answers. She glanced thoughtfully at her feet before nodding, causing Zariya to sigh and Kaval to smile. Then, the dragoon turned to look at him.

“What aboot ye, Rail? Would ye mynd if Ah helped?” Kaval asked.

“Umm, sure? For what?”

“Getting your drog back.”

Reial blinked. “You want to help us get our drog back? But we just met yesterday. Not even that, you also interrogated us-”

Charette elbowed him sharply in the ribs, prompting him to yelp.

Kaval frowned. “Mandatory procedure. A lot o’ jobs have ‘em. Helping is also a' a part o' th' job, but A’m not daein' it cuz I have tae, but because I want tae, Rail. Yer drog means a lot tae ye, doesn’t he?”

Reial reluctantly nodded. “Yes, he does.”

“Then let me help ye. If not as a bein' o' th' social law, then as a person.”

There it was again, that caring act of his. The smile, the words he used, it almost tricked Reial into believing that someone this kind could exist. However, he knew that Kaval had something to gain from doing his job. Not that it mattered to him. If he had someone who could aid them on this occasion, then he would be an idiot for rejecting his help.

“Fine,” Reial relented. “We’ll accept your help.”

Kaval beamed at him. The way he smiled reminded him of Charette. Bright, jovial, and good-natured. How did one learn to smile like that? “Great! Let’s heid up on tae th' branch sae we kin fly out o' 'ere!”

His thickly accented words slammed into Reial like a falling building. He could decipher about half of them before they slurred together in his mind. Is this how they all talk? He wondered. Linithesis chuckled at the thought, his piping laughter like the pleasant notes of a flute.

***

The thundering of wings echoed throughout the flight deck as Reial watched dozens of dragons lift off. He had passed through it the other day, but because of his mood, he had failed to notice just how spacious it was for an enclosed room. Mounds of hay and mossy vegetation lay atop the cool stone floor, providing a soft padding for both dragoons and mounts. Stables of varying sizes were kept to the edges of the room, away from the entrance and doorways that led down to the tower.

It was comfy, unlike that of the white barren rooms. Reial wondered why they hadn’t put in as much effort when designing the interior of the spire as they did with this.

A wet, slimy pressure clambered up his right arm, stealing his attention from the silvery dragon he was admiring. It was Yusjek. The salamander stared at him with its intelligent dark eyes. Almost seemingly past him.

“He missed you.” Charette chirped.

“How do you know?”

She shrugged. “Just a feeling.”

He watched as the salamander turned its head then climbed down to his open palm. “I wonder if he misses Scorch too.”

Charette smiled sadly. “I bet he does.”

Yusjek dipped its head, as to what, Reial didn’t know. He knew traveling with the salamander would be difficult, especially with the new enclosure Zariya bought. It was convenient, but not optimal if they were to chase after a Strider. They couldn’t carry that briefcase-sized box everywhere. Then there was his fear of the enclosure being blown away by a windstorm. He didn’t want Charette feeling upset at another loss.

What else could he do though? He couldn’t just tell her to leave Yusjek behind, that would be heartless of him. If him being around made her happy, wasn’t that enough for him?

Reial handed Yusjek back to Charette, who in turn handed him to Zariya. She rested the salamander in his enclosure, watching as he submerged himself in the shallow stream. It wasn’t Scorch, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be as important as Scorch to someone else.

“Zariya?” Charette called.

“Hmm?”

“You like Yusjek, don’t you?”

“I would say so. Veilbacks are some of my favorite critters.”

“Well, would you mind keeping after him?”

“What?”

“I might be asking too much of you, but I don’t want to put Yusjek in any danger. Not like Scorch. Please, you’re the only person I trust enough to care after him.”

Zariya blinked. “Are-Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

A heavy silence blanketed them as Zariya contemplated her request. Reial was stunned. Charette shared the same sentiments as him. He was afraid that bringing it up would make him sound thoughtless, but even she knew that lugging the salamander around wasn’t the best idea.

“I…yes, then. I’ll take care of him. I don’t think I get in nearly enough trouble like you two, but I’ll be sure to provide for him.” Zariya scratched her cheek nervously with her odd hand. “I’m not sure if Yusjek will like me, so I hope he isn’t too bitter about this.”

Charette smiled ruefully. “Thank you, Zariya.” She knelt down and gently pet Yusjek with a finger. “We won’t keep you waiting for long, okay?”

Yusjek whipped his knife-like tail out of the water and patted her finger in return.

“We’ll get Scorch back, I promise.”

Reial turned away from the scene and gazed at the endless expanse of clouds in the sky. He may not have had much time to bond with Yusjek but hearing the way Charette’s voice cracked when she wished him farewell made his heartache. Perhaps in another time, they could’ve grown closer to him. Maybe then it could make him happy. What a time that would be. The wistful thought echoed.