--------///----Reina's POV----\\\--------

The fight wasn't anything to worry about, it was just a bit annoying since every missed attack at me ended up hitting the buildings around me. No one was on the street since they knew nothing good would come from a whole platoon coming around, though the people in their homes or shops would shout whenever their property was hit. I did feel a bit bad about that, but i couldn't really do much about that. After the platoon was all taken care of, everyone looked around for the thing that limited our magic.

Eventually, Ava found it and handed it over to Mina. Mina just looked at the blackish gray crystal with a look that said she had no clue what it was she was holding. Eclina ended up seeing it and started to walk over. We saw her and Mina decided to just toss it her way. Eclina easily caught it and just put it on the ground as she looked at it. She didn't seem to know what it was, but she just looked at it for a bit.

(Mina) " Eclina? Do you know what it is? "

(Eclina) " Umm... I think this is supposed to be a crystal that the rifts make before they turn into rifts. But i don't think they were supposed to do this. They're supposed to do the opposite. "

The rest of us knew what she was talking about, and looked at the crystal differently. These kinds of crystals would usually cost a fortune since they would help raise someone's affinity. But now there was one that restricted them? That had to be way more expensive then the normal ones. And even then, the normal crystals were still some of the most hardest resources to find, unless you knew the area and paid attention to any big beasts that just randomly disappear.

(Ava) " What are we going to do with it now? Do we keep it? "

(Endis) " Why wouldn't we keep it? This thing could end up being a lifesaver. "

(Mina) " He's right. We just have to figure out how to use it. "

(Endis) " If only we could ask the guy who- oh wait, we can't. "

(Reina) " I know the assassin isn't coming after me for killing someone important. "

(Endis) " This is this and that is that. "

(Eclina) " What does that mean? "

(Mina) " It just means these are different situations. "

(Eclina) " Ok. "

While me and Endis were just fighting as we usually do, a different group of soldiers started to come our way. We looked at them and started to ready ourselves for another fight, but the captain stopped us this time. It seems that they were the actual guards that served under him. That was relieving, though going through another fight wouldn't have been that much of a hassle. The captain was easily dealing with them and telling them what just happened, leaving us to just do our own thing as they took care of the bodies or the unconcious members of the platoon that came for us.

We didn't really have anything else to do, so we headed back to the mansion area and thought that it was time to listen to auntie Ulderria's message. The front area by the fountain wasn't exactly good since someone might end up seeing her image when we listened to the message. We checked around the mansion, and found a balcony area with a table and a few chairs. It wasn't big enough for all of us, but Espiral could perch himself on the roof so we didn't have to worry about him. Orven would have to be by the back, but that was fine since he could block hte door.

So that was how we positioned ourselves. There was enough room for us to huddle around and listen to the message. So i put the crystal in the middle of the table and made sure to tell Eclina to set up a bubble so the sound didn't get out. Then, the message started playing. Auntie Ulderria didn't seem to change, but she had a serious look that showed the importance of whatever the message was. She was even wearing a bit of armor and seemed ready to head into battle.

(Ulderria) " Hello, Reina and company. Currently, i'm unsure of where you are but i'm hoping you are nowhere near the Everstorm mountain. I've been informed that beasts in the vicinity of the Everstorm mountain are evacuating in droves. The territories in the immediate area have been swarmed by these hoards and some have ended up overrun. Currently, i am working with your father to broadcast this information to all of our territories, however we are unnsure how long it will take so we are forwarding this information to you in hopes you can successfully evacuate.

As of now, we are unsure of the cause, yet from what we've found out it seems this may be temorary. If you all find yourselves anywhere in the immediate area, you must evacuate and find shelter in a secure area. "

And that was it. After she said all of that, the crystal dimmed and the message ended. It was a repeat of what we knew, but the situation of the hoards was something we didn't know. But it made sense. If a massive rift opened there would naturally be a panic where everyone ran. It would be the same for people so why wouldn't it be the same for beasts? We all ended up looking at the crystal, and then to each other, unsure of what to do now.

(Mina) " We're safe where we are... But the people in the area's around the Everstorm... "

After Mina said that, we all just got quiet. We all knew what she meant by that, and started to follow her train of thought. And knowing Mina, we knew here she was going with it.

(Endis) " Hey cous, what are you thinking? "

(Reina) " You know what she's thinking, and you're going to go along with it even though your complaining. "

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(Endis) " Tch. I know but let me actually complain first. "

I just looked at Endis and sighed. He eventually just looked away and rolled his eyes. Mina looked over at me and him so i just smiled and nodded. Endis reluctantly nodded, despite the fact he wasn't against this in the first place. Ava and Orven looked at each other and then back to Mina, nodding like i did. The only one's who didn't seem to understand were Eclina, Espiral and the kids. Though the kids would follow us wherever we went, so we didn't have to worry about them.

(Mina) " Are there no objections? "

No one objected, so Mina stood up and looked at all of us.

(Mina) " Ok. Endis, we need you to go get Orven's shield. Reina, go tell the captain we're leaving sooner then we thought. Ava and Orven, you two head to the guild and get as many supplies you can carry. I'll round up the staff so they know we're leaving. "

(Endis) " Oh c'mon... "

But despite him complaining, he already jumped from the balcony and started running. I left my kid with Mina and jumped off the balcony as i started to run towards the captain's office. It didn't take too long to get there, though when i got there, i found out he wasn't here and was actually somewhere by the jail. I did leave some alive so they probably had to figure out what to do with them. With that in mind, i started running towards the jail to look for him. It took me a while, but i got there in time to see the captain arguing with some haughty looking official.

I didn't know who it was and i didn't really care. I looked at them before shouting to the captain that we were leaving. Their conversation was put on hold as they looked towards me. Too bad i was already on my way back after i saw he heard the message. I dashed back since we were in a rush, and ended up seeing some weird skid marks on the ground. The marks looked weird, and they were going in the same direction i was.

I was curious so i just kept running to see what it was. It didn't even take me too long to find out what it was either. Ahead of me was Endis, dragging behind him and digging into to ground was Orven's tower shield. Normally, Orven could change its shape to make it easier to carry, but Endis wasn't Orven. The shape changing feature was custom made for him and could only be triggered by him, so it would be harder to steal. If the shape changing helped reduce its weight, he'd just carry it everywhere, too bad it didn't.

I kept looking at him dragging the shield and had a thought that i couldn't help but act on. I started to speed up and ended up right next to him. If the people on the street handn't made way due to the gods awful sound the shield made, this would've been a bit harder. But thanks to them, i could run right next to him, look him in the face and smirk as i sped up.

(Endis) " Oh you're going to be like that, huh? "

I heard him, but didn't respond and just kept running. I could tell that annoyed him, and even forced him to speed up to try to catch up to me. It even made the terrible screeching noise, that the shield made, even worse to hear. The street and the people on the street might be going through a hard time, but we were going to leave anyway so i didn't think too much about it. I just kept running with an annoyed Endis trailing behind me.

The run back didn't take long, maybe twenty minutes at the most, but Endis was still struggling with Orven's shield so i ended up helping him so we could get back faster. He might've tried dropping the damn thing on me so i made sure not to be too trusting of him at that time. When we finally made it back, we saw Mina and my kid waiting for us at the front gate. Eclina and Espiral were on the roof but Ava and Orven weren't here yet. Me and Endis dropped Orven's shirld infront of us and just sat on the ground.

(Endis) " I am never carrying this damn thing again! I don't know how he does it. "

(Reina) " You're just a wimp, of course you can't carry it. "

(Endis) " I saw you shaking! You only carried half that weight and you still struggled! If i'm a wimp what does that make you?! "

(Reina) " Ah, the sky looks nice today. "

(Endis) " Don't you change the topic on me! "

(Reina) " Whoa, those clouds are pretty. "

Mina just watched us with a smile on her face. My kid ended up slithering back over to me and climbed up to my shoulder. I kept pretending i didn't hear Endis until Ava and Orven came. Ava was holding some supplies and had some floating behind her while Orven had some crates stacked upon each other, and a few earthen crates trailing behind him. They grouped back with us and Orven grabbed his shield as the rest of us started to sort the stuff they brought. We had food, bandages, medicine and other things that people would need. We were pretty much as ready as we could be on such short notice.

(Mina) " Everyone ready? "

(Endis) " This is as ready as we'll ever be. "

(Mina) " Hmm... Then let's go. "

(Eclina) " This is bye for now, isn't it? "

We didn't notice when, but Eclina was standing behind Mina with a sad look on her face. Espiral was still on the roof but i thought i could see him having the same sad expression as Eclina. I felt bad seeing that, so i walked over to her side and carassed her head.

(Reina) " Yeah. But we've gotta go. "

Eclina was quiet for a bit, and then just closed her eyes and nodded. She was sad but after she reopened her eyes, she looked down at her claws then up at my Siellas. I didn't notice it before, but now that she looked at them, i noticed that her claws seemed to be a little shorter then they were earlier. I was confused, but then i saw something coming towards me that looked like them. Espiral even came off the roof and hovered in front of us.

(Espiral) " Sis asked me to trim her claws... I didn't understand why, but now i do. "

We all heard him so we all just looked at Eclina and saw her smile.

(Eclina) " Your things are like claws, and i don't really use mine that much. They won't even take too long to grow back... So you can use them. "

It took me a second to realize what she meant, but when i did, i just looked at the claws and didn't know what to say. Her claws weren't that much thicker then my Siellas, and it looked like they were trimmed to even match the length mines were. But i realized an issue.

(Reina) " How do i put them on my Siellas? "

I was asking Eclina, but she just turned to look up at Espiral. He blinked a bit and just sighed. He landed behind her and reached his wing out towards me. We already spent some time together, so i had no reason to be on guard against him or stop him. I held them out towards him and then his wing reached my Siellas. I could see and feel them slowly changing as the metal around the claws was being changed. The claws were being hollowed out, making space for hers.

Eclina's claws were then being brought up to mines and were slowly sliding in. Then, i could see part of the metal changing again and being made into small drills that started to dig into the claws. There were a few sparks at first, but they started dying out as they went inside. And after a minute, the drilling was done. After that, they rest of the metal started to enclose around the claws until they were fully covered. Now, the only visual difference were the tips of my claws which were pure black like Eclina's fur.

I opened and closed my hands and i could feel the difference already. My Siellas were a little lighter then usual, and i could feel the claws inside of them. I even felt a bit of connection with them. On a whim i decided to use a bit of darkness, and Eclina's claws responded. The response was quick and i could easily find ways to use it. All in all, my Siellas were way better now then they were a few minutes ago.

I looked up at Espiral and thanked him and then Eclina. But now that everything was done, we really were ready to leave. It was time for us to head to the Everstorm mountain.