They were back in the residential part of town where people walked around, headed to their destinations as the morning grew into afternoon. They spotted a few people out on a jog, nothing demanding like Oliver and Ash’s unhinged morning sprints. There were children out as well, playing and seeking out one level of mischief or the other. The few teenagers not yet Awakened all seemed to filter out towards one side of town.

“Where are they headed?” Zed asked, nodding at two teenagers that were barely seventeen, two girls who giggled as they walked.

“Classes,” Oliver said.

“Isn’t it too early to be forcing kids back to school?” Zed said. “It hasn’t been that long since the apocalypse happened.”

“Second Awakening,” Ash corrected. “Not apocalypse. Besides, even if it was an apocalypse, Heimdall doesn’t think it’s enough reason to allow the kids grow up stupid.”

“School isn’t the only way kids can learn,” Zed said. “There’s still home schooling.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But some of these kids are living with parents that are not theirs. Some of them are either orphans or just have no idea what became of their parents during the second Awakening. School is the best sense of normalcy they get where they can just be another child among the multitude of children.”

“How does that work when parents come to pick them up?”

“They don’t,” Oliver said. “The kids make their way to school on their own and make their way back on their own. It fosters a certain level of equality. I think he would’ve made the children without parents live in their own houses if he believed they could take care of themselves.”

“What of the toddlers?” Zed asked. “Who takes them to school then?”

“The toddlers don’t go to school.”

“Oh. So that’s where home schooling kicks in.”

“Yes.”

Zed paused thoughtfully as they took another street that would lead them home.

“Just out of curiosity,” he said. “Where do they hold their classes?”

“In a different building from the one Ivan kicks your ass in,” Oliver chuckled. “If they held it in the same building no one would learn. The noise you both make when you train can be disturbing.”

“You guys hear us from this far out?” Zed asked, alarmed. “I knew he was hitting me too hard.”

“No, Red,” Ash answered. “Sometimes we stop by to listen in on how you’re doing. We can only hear you from outside the building.”

“Yea,” Oliver said. “It’s usually loud banging and a lot of whining.”

“There’s no banging involved,” Zed said. “There’s crashing and slamming and inhumanity. But no banging. Maybe take out the slamming, too. It didn’t taste right.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Red,” Ash chided. “You know what he meant.”

As they walked, they passed by a few hunters. One of the groups had Imani in it. Her thick hair was still held back in corn rows as Zed remembered and she greeted him with a small wave as they passed each other.

“Zeddicus,” she said.

“Imam,” he returned.

“Oliver,” she greeted, turning to Oliver as they passed, forcing another member of her group to slow down even as the rest continued on their way.

Oliver smiled at her softly. “Imani.”

A member of the group, a fair mage with a sword fastened to his waist frowned at Oliver’s smile.

“Imani,” Ash greeted. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but our team was invited to some small get together at Hillview.”

“Where’s that?” Imani asked.

“That’s the town Jason’s team liaises with,” the mage that had frowned at Oliver’s smile said. “They’re a bit far from here, but it’s not so far to get there if you have the favor of a car.”

Zed sensed a touch of hostility in the man’s voice and stepped forward, offering the man a handshake.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m very sure we haven’t met. I’m Jedidiah.”

The mage turned his frown to him but shook his hand.

“Ned,” he said, giving him a skeptical look. “I thought Ani just called you Zeddicus.”

“It’s an inside joke,” Zed told him, ending the handshake. “Nice to meet you. What my friend was trying to say was that even if the get together might be a simple one in a rundown town, it doesn’t hurt to be careful, so she wanted to invite Imani to come with us.”

“Uhh,” Imani stuttered. “I don’t know if that is—”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, babe,” Ned cut in. “We’ll be playing support, and if nothing happens we can just take it as a simple night out. No harm done. They called it a get together, after all.”

“Good,” Zed said, taking a step back. “The party’s next tomorrow. We’ll be leaving around noon-eve so don’t be late.”

Zed turned, grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and steered his frowning friend away from the meeting. At first, Oliver didn’t budge, watching as Ned pinched Imani’s cheek gently, saying something they couldn’t catch. Eventually, he budged, allowing Zed steer him away, and Ash followed.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“That’s what you wanted, right?” Zed asked Ash as they spotted their house.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You wanted to invite her and her team to join us, just in case something went wrong during the gathering.”

“Yes,” Ash said, uncertain. “I guess.”

“Good. Though I’m not sure there’ll be enough space for us and their entire team. But considering the others didn’t stay for the talk, I take it only Imani and the other guy will be following us.”

“The other guy?”

“The one I shook hands with,” Zed clarified. “I never got his name.”

“Of course you did,” Ash said, confused. “You were the one that asked for it. And it’s pretty much a syllable away from yours. Ned and Zed. There’s no way you’ve forgotten.”

“It is?” Zed mused. “Who woulda thunk it? Anyway, let’s head inside so I can wash up and go get my beating from Ivan. Sometimes I think its personal for him.”

“Then you shouldn’t have stolen his belt buckle,” Ash said, walking ahead of them. “How did you even pull that off in the first place? It’s literally always around his waist.”

“Trade secret,” Zed said with a sly grin. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Ash scoffed, then entered the house. Oliver and Zed hung back as she did.

“So that’s the guy,” Zed said when they were alone.

Oliver nodded.

“Should we be worried about a fight?” Zed asked.

Oliver shook his head. “He wouldn’t try it,” he said. “He’s a category one Rukh and I’m category two. It would be stupid of him. Besides, I don’t think he even knows.”

“Then let’s keep it that way,” Zed said. “And for that to happen, try to stop making googly eyes at his girl when he’s standing right next to her.”

“She’s my girl,” Oliver said with too little conviction.

“When you can say that with more confidence than that, then we’ll talk. Until then, keep the butterflies in your stomach in a cage when they’re around. Good?”

“Yea,” Oliver nodded.

“Good,” Zed said, heading up the stairs. “Now let’s get in, I need a shower.”

“Do you think she knows?” Oliver asked, scared, as he joined Zed up the porch steps. “I mean Ash. Do you think she knows about me and Imani?”

“Maybe,” Zed answered. “I’ve heard a lot about a woman’s intuition but I don’t know if it works the same way with sisters. But if she does, she’s being nice by not talking about it, and cruel by inviting Imani and her boyfriend to come with us.”

“You were the one that invited them, Zed.”

Zed put a thoughtful finger to his lips. “I was, wasn’t I.”

Oliver frowned. “I hope Ivan breaks your bone today.”

“Ha!” Zed barked at Oliver’s back as they entered the house. “Jokes on you. Ivan’s more of a joint dislocating kind of guy than a bone breaker.”

Zed’s steps slowed as he got to the stairs leading up to Oliver’s room.

“That doesn’t make it any better, does it?” he muttered to himself.

A notification popped up in front of him, a reminder of a task he still held off for fear of dying, though the reward was more than enticing.

----------------------------------------

Pending Quest: [Giant Slaying]

An ally has pitched the idea of conquering a beast well beyond your reach and you have taken the idea a bit too seriously.

* Objective: Defeat a Rukh rank enemy 0/1.

* Reward: +600 [Exp].

* Qualification requirement: [Beta rank].

* You meet the qualification for this Quest.

----------------------------------------

Zed held back a sigh. He remembered the quest popping up after Jason had offered the idea of hunting a Rukh and knew for a fact that he hadn’t taken it seriously.

He dismissed the quest with a thought, sending it back to its pending place.

………………………………………………….

Shanine stood with a plastered smile on her face as Madam Shaggy doted over her like a mother hen. There were three other girls in the room but Shanine was the only one without her clothes on. She stood at the center of the room, as naked as the day she was born.

Madam Shaggy surveyed her, taking slow steps around her, seeking any visible blemish or stain.

“What is this?” Madam Shaggy asked, frowning as she grabbed Shanine’s upper arm, peering down at a purple bruise. “What the hell is this?!”

Shanine looked down at the bruise, not that she had to, she was the one with the bruise after all. It was a dark purple against her dark skin, almost unnoticeable. But Madam Shanine was a mage and the rumors that circled around mages made it obvious that very little went past their attention.

“How,” Madam Shaggy hissed, “did this happen?”

Shanine struggled to meet her gaze. “I was out rendering my services to Geoman and he got a bit rough.”

“Geoman,” Madam Shaggy mused. “I don’t remember him.”

“He usually stops by the old rune joint where Elda plays the guitar whenever he’s around,” one of the girls in the room offered. “He usually goes on about how he’s a traveling mage under mage Advar’s protection.”

“That swine that can’t tell the difference between an attribute and a spellform?!” Madam Shaggy hissed. “I should have his tongue for this.”

Shanine kept her silence, despite how much her arm hurt in Madam Shaggy’s grip. Madam Shaggy seemed to have forgotten that she was a mage and Shanine was not. Her grip was growing tighter with her rising anger and her finger was beginning to press down on the bruise. The pain rose with every passing moment and Shanine sucked in a sharp breath in pain.

“So sorry, hun,” Madam Shaggy apologized, releasing her hand. “You should have said something if it was beginning to hurt. You girls remember what I always say. If you don’t like it…”

“…Say it,” they all chorused.

Shanine almost snorted. It was the most hypocritical statement Madam Shaggy had ever taught them. In the beginning they had believed it, thinking perhaps she was nicer than how movies often depicted pimps in desolate worlds in old movies. Sometimes they’d point out something they didn’t like, perhaps a customer a little bit too rough or something a bit uncomfortable, and she would listen. It didn’t take them long to realize the inaccuracy of their beliefs. It wasn’t long before they learnt they could only speak up against the low customers, the detritus of society. Against the high payers and those in power, if they didn’t like it they best shut it.

“I’ll call Joe to get us one of his illusion runes,” Madam Shaggy said, releasing Shanine’s arm. “It will sting after a while, but we only need it for tomorrow night. After that, we can find something for the stinging. Let’s just hope the customers don’t notice it.”

As much as Shanine wanted to go unnoticed in her silence, she couldn’t let any of Joe’s runes near her body, not anymore. The stinging it left when it wore out was always maddening, the last one had put her through a night of crying and begging. Worse, she’d heard runes react better to those close to their awakening and she wasn’t far from hers. The last thing she wanted was for a rune to give her away when she was not ready.

She bowed at the waist to Madam Shaggy almost immediately.

“I can just get some makeup from Janice who works at the store,” she said softly. “I can just use some of it to touch it up. It’ll look as good as new after that. It will be better than having to speak with Joe, and it’ll be less expensive.”

Madam Shaggy touched her cheek, thoughtful.

“And how much will it cost?” she asked.

Four rune-dollars, Shanine thought. It was a steep price for a bit of makeup powder to cover up a barely visible bruise, but as the times were, everything was outrageously expensive.

“She’s a bit nice to me sometimes,” Shanine lied. “So I’m sure she’ll be willing to do it for free.”

“Alright then,” Madam Shaggy nodded. “Just make sure you tip her. One rune-dollar would be good. There are no such things as freebies in this world, and the last thing you want is to feel indebted to someone. Favors cost more than you can ever know.”

Shanine nodded once in obedience.

“Good,” Madam Shaggy said, then swept out of the room with a flair. “Put your clothes back on, hun. And you won’t be going out on any more jobs till after the gala.”

“Yes, Madam Shaggy.”