I don’t know how much time passes. I don’t even realize it’s light out when Cragscar departs. Something shakes me and I gasp, panic flying through me for a few seconds before I consciously recognize what’s going on.

“Hey! Hey, Vita!” a familiar voice calls, worry heavy in her voice.

“L-Lyn?” I ask, tears I never realized I was shedding falling down my face.

Immediately, the thief pulls me in for a hug, holding me tight. She’s warm, both in body and in soul. I feel it as she holds me, both strong and soft as it pulses inside her. It’s much, much larger than any other soul I’ve touched before. Even though she’s alive, I feel it as she holds me.

“Yeah. It’s me, Vita, I’m right here.”

I’m shivering and numb, eyes bloodshot and drooping. I was… there had been…!

“Lyn, I… I did something and… Lyn, I...”

“Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, we’ll figure it out. But we won’t talk about it up here, okay? Let’s get you downstairs, okay Vita?”

I finally manage to register the rest of the room. The kids of the shack are sitting and standing around me, looking concerned. A few of them have their little hands grasping parts of Lyn’s clothes for support.

“...You okay, big sis?” one of them murmurs. “You wouldn’t get up. We had to find Lyn. You kept—”

It wasn’t truly there. I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t hear it, I couldn’t feel it, for it was not real in the way I understand reality. It went through the floor like an illusion, through the earth, through a dozen other islands deep below… but not through me. With my new senses, I knew the false thing, and it knew me. It grasped my body, winding around me, twisting with the sort of bored curiosity which one might roll lint between their fingers. But this was no person, and the chill touch of its idle violations did not distract from its true purpose. A soul was found, a soul was taken, and my soft friend died in my arms as the thing slithered back into the nothingness whence it came…

“Vita!” Lyn calls, shaking me again. “Hey! Stay with me! You’re okay! I’ve got you, you’re okay. Calm down, honey. Breathe slow. Slow, Vita.”

Oh. I had been hyperventilating. I try to focus my attention on Lyn’s words as best I can, calming my breathing. In, out. In, out.

“That's right. That’s a good girl. You’re safe, kiddo.”

“...M’not a kiddo,” I manage to murmur. Lyn laughs.

“Ey, there you are! You back with me, Vita?”

I nod slowly, blinking to clear my mind. I am back. I am here. I certainly am not safe, though.

“...Yeah. Sorry.”

“You got nothing to apologize for, honey.” Lyn gives me another quick squeeze and stands up. “You gonna be okay now? I’ve gotta get back to what I do.”

I swallow, choking out the next bit.

“Y-yeah. Um, Lyn? I think there might be something.”

She puffs out her cheeks, looking nervous.

“Okay, Vita, is it like an immediate danger thing, or can this wait for a few hours? I really gotta go.”

Oh. Of course she’s busy. Right. I don’t want her to go, I feel like I am about to burst into tears again or worse. Yet… what could she do if it came back? Nothing. Not a damn thing. So she may as well go.

“It can wait.”

“Okay. Perfect,” she says, nodding quickly. “Kids, Vita is allowed down below by herself. The rest of you are not allowed down there with her. Head down if you need to… practice or something, Vita. But do not do anything unless you are sure it’s safe, okay?”

I nod.

“Okay.”

“Good girl. See you later, kiddos!”

Lyn turns and rushes out of the door at crazy speeds, leaving me with the other orphans. Letting out a shaky breath, I fumble around with my covers and eventually find poor, poor Rosco. I give him a cataclysmic hugger-squeezer, cuddling him hard and rocking him left and right a few times before finally letting go and hiding him back in the wad of clothes that serves as his nest. Maybe some other time, Rosco, you will live.

"M'not a kiddo," one of the other orphans says in a mocking imitation of my voice.

The rest of them burst into laughter, prompting a heavy blush. Tossing my blankets at the offending brat, I get up and promptly decide to take a walk. To clear my head of the horrifying eldritch friend murder, obviously. Not because I’m embarrassed.

The many winding, maze-like alleyways are easy enough to find a place to get lost in. Not lost-lost; I know this city well. Mentally lost, with the rhythm of my feet on the stone guiding my thoughts to wherever they may go. Yesterday doesn’t feel real, but it is. That power is still inside me, and I still have to decide what I’m going to do with it.

I have no answers for that yet, but at least the walk is nice. It’s been a long, long time since I actually wanted to walk anywhere; being constantly malnourished did not exactly make moving an appealing activity. I’m still pretty full from yesterday, though; whatever slop that healer gave me to eat was incredible. That stuff by itself almost made murdering Grig worth it. ...Hmm. Maybe it’s best not to think that way.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Shunk.

A familiar sound catches my ear, ever so softly. A dangerous sound, the kind street rats like me quickly learn to avoid. It’s the sound of a blade sliding into flesh, probably just a block away. I should definitely turn the heck around and... hold on. I feel something. Someone just died.

...It would be a shame to let the soul go to waste, right?

Before I really even get why I’m doing it, I start sneaking over to the alleyway. Was this a stupid idea? Probably. But there's a soul over there! I want it, damnit!

That's not even freaky necromancer instinct, though there might be a bit of that involved. Eating souls is how I get stronger. Getting stronger is how I get food. I’m so tired of being trodden on, of starving all the time. I have to take a few risks and pull myself up somehow.

I get to the alleyway, peeking one eye out from behind the corner. Three men are at the far end of the street, one of them lying with his back on the ground, clearly dead. The other two stand over him, a short, roundish man that isn’t quite as fat as Grig but looks like he’s aiming for it, and a tall, skinny man wiping down a wooden dagger with a cloth. Both are dressed in grubby old clothing, clearly not the owners of anything particularly expensive.

Unfortunately, their eyes are sharper than their weapons. The fat man spots me immediately.

"...Shit," he grumbles. "There's a kid, Squigs."

‘Shit’ sounds about right, yeah. They’re pretty far away, but I couldn't outrun Grig so I probably can’t lose these two either. I just wanted to sneak up and take the soul after they left!

"...I didn't see anything," I squeak at them both.

"Uh-huh. Well how about you get out here so we can see you," the tall guy apparently named ‘Squigs’ answers. His voice sounds greasy, like I’ll need to wash off just for talking to him.

"...I don't wanna. You're gonna stab me."

Squigs chuckles and shakes his head.

"No, no, nothing like that. We just need to make sure you're not gonna talk to the guards. Right, Frigs?"

The shorter man nods.

"I promise, kid. It'll be fine. Here, I got some food for you if you behave."

I scowl. Liars. All the criminals say that. No one gives food away for free except Lyn. The shorter man sounds a lot nicer than the greasy tall guy, but there’s still an edge to his words that’s sharper than his dagger.

"...M'not gonna tell nobody. I steal stuff too. Fuck the guards."

The pair of them grin.

"Please, little miss. We're not some common thieves. We don't steal." Squigs says.

"Stole his life," I correct, pointing at the corpse.

Frigs laughs at that.

"She's got you there, Squigs! But seriously, little girl, you're gonna have to come here or things are gonna go poorly for you."

I swallow and nod, stepping into the alley completely. I have to be ready. They might be honest… but more likely, they’re just getting me close to shank the witness. I refuse to be another nameless corpse in this alley. Power moves its way into my hands, ready to rip out a soul if they come for me. They have knives, and they seem to be professional killers. This isn’t going to be a drawn-out beatdown like with Grig; I have one shot and one shot only. Surprise is the only option. Kill one, animate him... maybe animate both corpses if I can get to them. I can’t let them escape after using necromancy... better to kill the thin one first, then, he looks faster.

I approach slowly, avoiding their gaze like the meek little kid they thought I was. Yet I can’t help but be a bit tense; for all I know, this could be the end. No. I will not die. I’ll get them first. I keep my gaze locked on their hands, ready to move the instant they...

"...This kid," Squigs murmurs to his companion.

"Yes," Frigs agrees. "The streets make them hard, I suppose. We're really not going to hurt you, little miss. I just want to get a good look at you. Could you take your hood off, please?"

Shit. I’m not in range to touch them yet. I really, really hope they’re honest. Warily, I do as instructed.

"Mmm," Frigs hums. "I believe you."

He pulls some kind of fried nugget out of his dirty coat and tosses it towards me. I catch it on instinct. It smells good. Then he turns and picks up the body, throwing it over his shoulder. The soul stays where it is when the body moves, I note.

"If you want more food, you can come with us. Otherwise... have a pleasant day, little miss."

"M'not little," I mumble, already biting down on the treat. It's some juicy meat thing, and it's utterly delicious.

He smiles and nods politely, then the two of them turn to leave. I let them, content to finish off my tasty meal. As good as it is, I certainly don’t want to follow the two murderers. Shit, they could be professional assassins for all I know. Besides… I still have something to collect here.

Once they're gone, I carefully reach down and grab the human soul. It’s a little worrying that this is the treat I’m looking forward to more. As tempting as it is to chow down on this immediately, though, I pull the soul into my arm for now, storing it safely. There are a few things I want to try with it.

Quickly vacating the area, I wander my way back to the shack, wordlessly ignoring the other orphans and head down to the secret space below. I sit down and get comfy. I have another human soul. Before I do anything too crazy with it, I want to be able to ask the person in it for permission.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work super well. First, I try to just... think at it. That doesn't seem to help. The soul doesn't react when I talk out loud, either. So I start getting creative, moving the stranger's soul and my soul around in my body so they touch a bit, but still... nothing. I spend a full frustrating hour on this, and by the end I’m pretty sure I’m gonna need to stick this in a body that can talk if I want to talk with it. Which kind of defeats the point if they end up as subservient as Grig! “Hey, can I subject the very essence of your being to the darkest of all blasphemies?” “Yes, Vita! Of course, Vita! Anything for you, Vita!” It makes me shudder to think about.

Frowning, I give up. I store the soul for later, though. There are a few other things I want to test, I’ll just need either Lyn or another corpse first.

I close my eyes and get back to meditating. I have another item on the agenda: soul sensing. I can feel souls pretty easily when they're floating around outside a body, but I can't feel anything from a living soul unless I touch the person. This is annoying and I bet I can do better.

If Rowan is right, Lyn can sense the relative power of a living soul without touching anybody, and I should be able to as well. I try to focus on that sense I get when in contact with someone, trying to reach out and feel the life in the orphans up above me... but agh, it's just no dice! What am I missing?

Heading back up the ladder, I convince one of the kids to sit still for me. I place my hand on his neck, feeling his soul... such a tiny, paltry thing it is, even smaller than mine before I devoured Grig. Black with freckles of white, like drops of die in water. I move my hand, putting it on the back of his shirt. I can still sense the soul through the fabric, though it’s certainly harder. As I pull my hand farther and farther away, it rapidly gets more and more difficult to sense anything. An inch away and I start sweating from the strain of concentration. Two inches, and I can’t feel the soul anymore, no matter how hard I try. Ugh! What am I missing? What does Lyn have that I don’t?

A substantially larger soul, for one.

...Maybe that’s it. Maybe not. I still have things I want this second soul for, first, so unfortunately there will be no eating yet. Instead, it’s time to go Rowan-hunting.