{-Casrane-}

She jerked, heart racing, breath quick but unsteady.

Calm down. She needed to remind herself that it was alright. She took a deep breath, noting how she was in the same familiar surroundings she’d technically always been in—a simple office, one barely big enough for the two of them. And she’d succeeded in immediately catching the attention of the man at the desk, who went to her so quickly it was clear that she was the only thing in the room he really cared about.

“Cassidy, are you alright?” It would almost be admirable, how readily he seemed to call Rachel to tell her to take care of his work, if there wasn’t a very real justification for it.

She vigorously nodded and hoped he’d actually believe her. She’d calmed herself down, at least, quick enough that perhaps he could see that it wasn’t really a problem. “Something just startled me a little, that’s it…”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I promise.”

Her father was no less convinced, but at least he still took her at her word. He walked back to his desk. “Let me know if anything changes. Finish up what you’re doing—we’re going to be leaving in an hour or so.”

She once again nodded to show her understanding. She waited a moment longer, for when he sat back down and began working again, to see if perhaps he’d end up asking her why or what she’d been doing. But he never said anything else, so she chose not to question it and returned to the game.

…

“She’s okay, right?”

“She still hasn’t woken up yet…”

“Yeah, I’m fairly confident she’s fine. As soon as both of you back up a little so that she has some room to breathe.”

Still, the fourth voice only somewhat held the kind of care that the others did. “Kaerio, should I talk to Iris about the damage you cost me and how you almost got killed?”

“How was I supposed to know the Rune Reactivation Project would make something like that go after us?”

Casrane willed her eyes open then. There was a lingering sense of… something, even if it had never been real to begin with, and she’d gone in and out of the game since then. After a moment, she sat up, too, which succeeded in catching everyone’s attention. It seemed like both of the twins were going to get closer, before remembering Kaerio’s words, and staying where they were.

“That was terrifying,” Myr remarked with a worried frown.

Llewel’s expression was harder to read, but that didn’t mean what he said lost any of its meaning. “Don’t do that again.”

Somehow, and partially acknowledging it didn’t make it look any better, Casrane let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think that would happen and I just kind of froze instead of doing anything…” She glanced around at each of them and realized the unfamiliar surroundings. “Where did we end up going..?”

“I gathered you all back into the boat and, somehow, managed to get to another port near the city without that thing interrupting us,” Ilias explained simply. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to push our luck going any further.”

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“If it’s something that the Rune Reactivation Project created—which I’m pretty confident it is—we’re not going to be able to just get rid of it,” Kaerio added. “So pretty much any option we had for sea travel is probably not going to work…”

“Wouldn’t that cause a problem for later, though?” Casrane asked. She was somewhat confused and a bit nervous, given the fact she was almost certain that they were supposed to be fighting it. “Whenever we next need to travel out there?”

He thought about it, then shook his head. “They brought that out there because they knew that we were trying to leave Kehnore. They’ve done stuff like that before, and I don’t think they have enough resources to keep doing it. Eventually they’re going to need to put it back… and, maybe, I can work out something to make them do it a little quicker…” It seemed to be something that brought along deep contemplation, so at least that was seeming to lead to something else important. “I’d have to give it a lot more thought.”

“Shouldn’t we see if we can try, at the very least?” she offered hesitantly. She was conflicted between making sure they did what they needed to and not seeming like she wanted to actively put all of them in danger.

She thought she had this whole thing planned out, but it looked like there was a lot more that changed than what she thought there would be. She simply made a promise to herself then that she wouldn’t dwell on it too deeply, and that she’d never regret what she was doing.

“I think it’s worth investigating, at least a little,” Ilias said. “I never saw the thing, but if it’s a mechanical creature, it’s possible that it isn’t restricted to water. I’m certainly not suggesting that we try to face off against it, but it’ll be better to be somewhat confident in where its abilities lie.”

Kaerio considered it, then nodded. “Maybe we’ll be able to figure out where it came from or if there’s any better way to indirectly stop it. We’ll be able to know exactly what options we have.” Casrane nodded and was getting up to follow them, until he sternly shook his head. “You should stay here. It’s just checking out our options—we’ll be able to handle it without you.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Llewel offered. She considered it a bad thing that she couldn’t tell the reasons behind it.

Myr frowned. “Then shouldn’t I—”

He gave her a small but reassuring smile. “I trust that Kaerio will watch you. He’s right—he’s never given me any reason to think otherwise. I’m sure you’ll all be fine.”

It looked like she might’ve thought to argue, or perhaps get some kind of true answer, but she simply nodded. She mumbled something to him before following Kaerio and Ilias back outside.

Llewel waited a little bit longer to mention why he’d suggested this. “I’m not sure if the others realized it or not, but… you left for a couple of minutes.”

“Sometimes I have to leave for a little bit,” Casrane responded, half aware that it hardly answered the underlying questions. “I already told both of you that.”

“You didn’t do any of the things you normally did before leaving. You just… left.”

“The whole situation startled me a little, that’s all. There’s nothing else that you need to worry about. I don’t think something like that is going to happen again.”

“And what if it does?” It was a possibility he clearly didn’t want to consider, but one that made its way to the front of his mind nonetheless. “What can we do then, if you’re not able to be with us?”

“I’m going to stay with you until the end of this. I promise.”

His silence proved that it wasn’t the only thing on his mind. “You keep leaving more frequently and for longer. Last time you said that there wasn’t anything worth worrying about, but…”

“Would it make you feel better, if you knew where I was going all the time?”

He nodded.

“My dad and I are visiting my mom at her work. We usually lose track of time while we’re there, but it’s always alright in the end. We almost always return home together.” It wasn’t a lie. In a very broad, extremely technical sense…

“I still don’t believe you,” he mumbled. “Are you sure staying with us is really something you can promise..?”

“I’m sure of it. I’m not going to leave you alone.”

They had enough to worry over and think about in their own little world. She didn’t need to drag them into the complicated parts of hers.