Storm had arrived in Evergreen the very next day to help out with planning, training, and whatever else they needed for the mission. Of course, before he started doing any of that, he demanded his reward for the day. As this was a day that Jazz decided to stay with Soral, the cat was present and displeased with Storm’s haughty attitude.

Jazz had reacted oddly to the cousin situation, choosing to follow one cousin or another on the various days. It was hard to say exactly why he chose who he chose, but he chose Mr. Dehd Lee a lot. Soral suspected he was even more snack motivated than Storm was. Perhaps that was where the sense of rivalry came from.

Out of curiosity, Soral tried to eavesdrop a little on Jazz’s thoughts. It was his first time trying it on an animal, but Soral had spoken to a kitica before. Jazz probably had conscious thoughts he could listen to.

‘-annoying leech.’

He caught the tail end of a thought as Jazz glared at the smug silver haired assassin. Perhaps because of their bond, Soral could feel the emotions behind the thought as well. Mostly annoyance with a tinge of jealousy. In some attempt to ease the young kitica’s frustration, Soral picked him up and held him in his arms. The immediate purr that resulted was satisfying.

‘See, fake feline? I will always be the favorite.’

Jazz also seemed quite satisfied in his own way. Soral decided to leave his thoughts for the time being. Sometimes it was better not to know. Storm was either oblivious to the cat’s insults or ignoring them entirely. Once he finished his faerutil of the day, he spoke.

“Have you decided yet on teams? I’m fine with this mission taking forever, but I can’t stand making no progress at all.”

“Only sort of,” Soral admitted, “I will lead the rescue team and Ruena will lead the combat team. I don’t really think any more bait or distractions are necessary.”

Jazz suddenly let out a sharp and demanding meow, turning his head to gaze directly into Soral’s eyes. Since Soral didn’t speak cat there was only one way to find out what he wanted. Given the timing, he had a bad feeling about this.

‘Let me join,’ Jazz demanded, ‘I want to ruin it. I want revenge.’

“You want revenge on Gero?” Soral asked, “For what?”

‘He stole you from me,’ Jazz answered, ‘He hunted us and ruined our peace.’

“Are you seriously considering letting your pet cat join the mission?” Storm asked incredulously, “Surely you realize a magical creature like him will be a prime target there.”

“Isn’t that why you are the bait?” Soral asked, “You are also a prime target.”

“I can fight back,” Storm argued.

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‘I can too,’ Jazz defended, not that Storm could hear it.

What Storm could hear, however, was the rumbling of the earth beneath them as magic flowed from the feline in question. The rumbling grew stronger, and eventually a giant isopod burst through the surface. It was about the size of a wolf, with a shiny black shell glimmering in the sunlight. A… pill bug?

Before Soral even had time to question what was happening, Storm burst into action, reaching out and using his power to turn the bug to crystilium. Normally, when a living being was turned to crystilium, or any solid substance, they died. Unfortunately for Storm, in his haste, the power only extended to the shell creating a new kind of creature.

Despite the fact that it now had the strongest armor of any bug in existence, the giant pill bug just curled into a ball, exposing all of the facets of its newly beautified outer casing. Seeing this, Storm relaxed.

“Was this meant to be some kind of attack?” he asked.

“I think so,” Soral confirmed.

Jazz buried his head into Soral’s arm, mortified. Whatever he had been trying to do, it clearly wasn’t that.

“Does it listen?” Storm asked, taken by curiosity. He lightly poked the large ball, causing it to shift ever so slightly. In its ball form, it looked like some kind of ancient artifact jewel rather than an unfortunate isopod that had just had a very eventful day.

“Does it?” Soral asked Jazz.

Jazz unburied his head for a moment to look at the tightly clenched ball. The pill bug slowly unfurled at his command, and moved to scuttle right back down the hole it had emerged from. Jazz seemed determined to send the source of his humiliation as far away as possible.

Storm watched the creature leave with an expression of mild disappointment. “I suppose it does. A pity. It might have made a better bait than me, being so passive.”

In this sense, Storm definitely intended for there to be a trap attached. Soral took a moment to use his own magic to repair the hole that was left. He was glad he had moved his pocket storage room to Mr. Mischief’s castle. He could already imagine the giant creature burrowing right into it and making a mess of things.

“I think taking Jazz along is a good idea,” Soral decided, “He deserves a chance to take a crack at Gero, and I am sure Gero isn’t keeping any pill bugs in the basement.”

“So you intend to make me pet sit?” Storm asked, “I demand an extra payment if I manage to bring him back to you intact.”

“Alright,” Soral agreed.

Since he would only get the extra reward if he was successful, that meant Storm would actually try to protect Jazz. That eased a lot of his concerns for bringing the cat along. Whether it was just more fluff or actual size, Jazz seemed to be growing up nicely. His white fur was still wonderfully soft to the touch, though.

“Back to those teams,” Storm pressed, finally bringing them back to the original topic, “I recommend one more person to join in the combat. You should be enough for rescue as long as they have your back.”

One more? Howler claimed he was dangerous, but Soral had never actually seen the Wolf in combat. He hadn’t officially recruited the twins yet, and he didn’t want to make it seem like he was using them for this mission to ditch them later. That left Rosalie. She was fairly strong, and she and Ruena worked well together. She was probably the best choice.

“I have someone in mind,” Soral decided, “Where exactly is this passage of yours, anyway?”

“The kingdom of Valen,” Storm told him.

Valen, that sounded familiar, but Soral couldn’t put his finger on it. He would have to ask Ruena later. She was good at keeping track of these sorts of things.

He didn’t have to wait long for his answer as Ruena joined them. “Valen?” she clarified, looking at Storm in disbelieve, “I know you have their silver hair, but Valen has never been welcoming to visitors.”

“They are welcoming to anyone who has enough money and an interest in their particular style of magic,” Storm corrected, “It just so happens that most of those sorts of people aren’t on your side of the law.”

“What kind of magic?” Soral asked.

Storm smiled. “Valen are good at two things, both of which are fairly frowned upon. Soul magic, and shadow magic.”

Shadow magic was easy enough to understand, but what was soul magic? Judging by Ruena’s expression it wasn’t a good thing.

Ruena pitched in to answer his unasked question. “Both magics are used to control, manipulate, and torment people. Shadow magic controls people’s bodies and plays tricks on their minds. Soul magic… It usually involves curses and contracts that are bound to the very soul of their victims.”

Soral understood why they were frequented by assassins and other criminals now. Was going there really a good idea.

“Are you sure this path is safe?” he asked Storm.

“The Valen won’t hurt you without good reason,” Storm assured, “Especially not if you are with me.”