Benji doesn't stop talking the entire way to the residential area, though I find that I don't mind. He talks about the others that live down here, mentioning that the minotaurs all live on a lower level because of their status as a clan, and that he thinks I'll like it here.

"It might not be what you're used to, being a Zenithal and all, but I think the apartments are really nice!" He says, all but skipping—which is really amusing to watch because he's at least seven feet tall, acting like he's a smol boy—as he leads me through the area that is remarkably similar in set up to the shopping one. The difference is that it is much, much taller, and there are many more buildings throughout the space. It might as well be a whole neighborhood for all the space that's inside of it. They're also not all crazy clashing colors, which I didn't necessarily mind, but it's less jarring, for sure.

"What do you mean by, 'being a Zenithal and all?'" I ask, still looking around at everything, watching everyone walk by and noticing all the differences from how it is on Earth, but also noticing all the similarities.

As I noticed before, the humans all look very similar to how they looked back on Earth except for the hair colors. There are some people with the same hair colors, for sure, but there's a huge variety of them. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, browns, blacks, purples, pinks, and everything in between. They have different skin colors, yes, and the features are individually different, but there are no discernable races the way they had on Earth. What I mean by that is those with darker skin don't have any strikingly different features than those with lighter skin as they might have on Earth. I wouldn't look at one human here and think African and another and think Spanish and another and think English. Just determinably human.

The Children are the same. Their human forms aren't discernable from the actual humans, though I can tell the difference based on their smell. Their behavior, too, is unique. They walk through the area with a natural confidence and grace that's distinguishable if you look close enough. It's less noticeable than it might be on Earth as a result of most of the people here having some form of magic with which to defend themselves and people just being overall happier. I can smell it in the air. The contentment. It's interesting.

There are other races, too, as I said, some of them I've never encountered and others I do whose appearance is similar enough to how I've seen it depicted on Earth. The humans are definitely not the majority. It seems like there's a pretty even split between everyone as far as I can tell just from what I've seen from Esh so far, outside, upstairs, and down here. There are definitely a lot more people than I was expecting from the small area I'd initially stumbled upon. I also finally notice the phenomenon—which definitely was not present on the upper levels; I verified it after leaving Benji's shop because I hadn't believed I could be that oblivious— of significantly lacking clothing in many of the people here that Benji had mentioned. Mostly in the races with more animal-esque features, but everyone seems to be joining for the most part.

No one treats it as weird, or comments. There is no weird vibe surrounding it, either. It's just an atmosphere of overall comfort and comradery. Community.

Not only is the area upstairs in the main "room" large enough to hold the entirety of the outside town, there seems to be an indeterminate number of floors down into the ground, as well. I'm uncertain of how it would work conceptually, considering there was even a window in Sytoria's office, which would have tripped me up if I had to conceptualize expanding a space like this, but apparently the space being directly accessible to the outside didn't make a difference for Benna. I wonder at what point downward the expansion cuts off, or if it expands to encompass wherever they dig.

The architecture is also both similar and different in many ways. The outside was all roman-esque in structure aside from the plant life covering the outside stone, hanging from arches and the like. In the shopping area, however, buildings were built in all different ways. Gables, flat roof structures, spires, seemingly wooden, log cabins, cottages, oblong structures I couldn't make sense of. In the residential area, it's all square on the outside. Square, featureless stone with windows facing the outside. Every single one has a balcony, as well, though only some of those are accessible by a large window, others are accessible by a door next to the window. I don't know what the purpose of that is.

Some have curtains, some don't. I can see directly into apartments through the incredibly clear glass that seems to have grown across the stone instead of being inserted into it after the fact. There are inground pools of varying sizes, too, on the outskirts of the space. They range from nearly football field size to kiddy pools, and each of them are occupied by families of all different races, comingling with each other. Laughter, smiles, and unabashed joy radiates the space and I find myself smiling as I smell it.

I also smell embarrassment. Benji's embarrassment, I can tell somehow. What could he be embarrassed about?

He'd stopped walking at some point so I have to turn around to look at him. His mouth was open in a way that suggested he was having a hard time searching for words.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Zed, I didn't mean to offend you. I didn't mean anything by it, really. I was just saying that I know that Zenithals all have affinities for Air Essence so you're probably used to open ceilings and seeing the sky and feeling the wind in your feathers."

Oh yeah, I'd actually forgotten I said anything. Damn, I thought these stats were supposed to make it easier to remember things! Have I not fully "come into them" yet, maybe? I don't feel any different, honestly, except in my body. I feel stronger. I feel faster. I feel like a bomb in human-bird form, honestly. It's not an "always active" perception, though I could focus on it if I wanted and really slow down the world around me. I could probably leap from a standstill strong enough to not only go over a building, but land near a pool that's nearly a couple hundred feet away. I crushed a minotaur's wrist like a saltine cracker without even trying. A minotaur that was more than twice my size.

"Oh, no, I wasn't offended at all. I didn't mean to give that impression. I was just curious what you meant is all." I try to give him a reassuring smile, but I have more of a neutral face most of the time so I'm not sure how it comes off. Regardless, Benji is relieved and we continue walking.

"Okay, that's good. I've never met a Zenithal before, like I said. All I know about you guys is that you're super strong, super fast, and descend from the Goddess Zephyria's son, the Great Air Elemental, so you all have an Air affinity."

Surprisingly, it's less than even I know, somehow, and I've been on Ackellia for less than a day.

"We're actually born with two. The second one is what determines the color of our feathers, actually. We'll have an idea of what it probably is before we gain access to the System, so," and I'm bullshitting wholeheartedly when I say this, "we often find our niches in things based on the affinity we're pretty sure we're going to have very young. Mine are silver because I have a Metal affinity."

"Well, that must come in handy when you're Smithing!" Benji says, enraptured. He really does love hearing about other places and people. I'm not even sure he was blinking.

"I actually haven't done any Smithing since I gained access to the System. I was taken from my home not long after," I say, and some of the bitterness I feel seeps into my tone. Benji is apologetic. It's a similar scent to empathetic, but not the same.

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry. So you've never even really used your Spells or Skills, then?"

"I, uh, did once. When I escaped," I say, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. I avoid eye contact with him. I don't really want to see the judgement, for some reason. Not from him.

It doesn't come. Instead, he gets angry. Angry on my behalf, too. It shocks me enough that I do look at him. His tail flicks back and forth sharply, and his fists are clenched. He hadn't even done that when Heruutin had come and insulted him. Now he feels like this over me? And all from one little statement?

Had he really connected with me that much over one little breakdown? Like, dude, if it's this way after one, you might try and live inside me after a few weeks of spending time with me. I'm not exactly the ripest apple in the bushel. I'm the apple at the way bottom of the container that people don't ever really grab because there's always an easier one available, and then they start putting more apples in before they have to eat me, so eventually I start to go bad.

"You okay?" I ask. He looks at me out of the corner of his eyes and smiles, though it's obvious that it's not a real one. He does unclench his fists, though, and calm his tail.

"Yeah, of course. I can imagine it was scary. To be taken from your home like that, not knowing what was happening or where they were taking you or what they were planning on doing with you. Auntie Sytoria said she was looking into it, so she's probably gone out there already. I can ask her if there are any updates later."

"Oh, uh, okay, thank you," I offer. Is he not going to ask what I used my Skills for? Does he not know how I escaped? I actually can't tell if he made the connection or not. Should I say something? Would he think of me differently?

Why do I care, though? I do very much, I can tell, but I don't know why I care so much. All I can think about is the way his fur felt beneath my fingers, and the soft, sad mooing sounds—sounds I definitely shouldn't have found so adorable, right?—he made while he cried. He really needed it. The release. He strikes me as the type of person to put up the happy front for everyone, even while he breaks on the inside.

No one is happy all the time. It's just not possible. Maybe that's why he tries so hard?

"No need to thank me, Zed. It's the least I can do." He responds simply.

Then we've reached the building, apparently. The massive front door, which is also made of featureless stone save for the large white square that adorns the front of it—looking back at the other complexes, I notice there are circles and triangles and ovals and so on—opens easily for Benji as he pushes it inward. There is no knob or anything, so it simply swings in on stone hinges.

Sytoria, if indeed she was the one who designed all this, really outdid herself. Actually, I can just ask. Duh.

"Who built all these buildings? I know Sytoria has some sort of control over stone, but she couldn't possibly have built all this could she?" There are easily a hundred buildings in this space alone, not to mention the ones upstairs and outside. Even with magic, that had to be too much for one person.

"Oh, yeah, of course she did. They called her the Stone Serpent back when she fought for the army. Now that she's a Major, they let her settle down with Benna here in Esh, but she didn't get there by being mediocre, that's for sure. Auntie's super strong. Not just with her magic. She could probably take on everyone in town at once and still come out without a scratch." He obviously really looks up to her, despite not being a fighter himself. He's not that type of person. I wouldn't call him a pacifist, exactly, but he definitely would rather not ever have to throw a punch in his life if he could help it.

"That sounds like an interesting story," I say in a leading manner. Benji doesn't disappoint. He starts talking as we make our way through yet another deceptively large building. Expanded space inside expanded space? I can feel the Essence in the air, somehow, though it's only in the sense that the atmosphere feels thick in a way it hadn't even outside the door. There is a lot of power in this place.

Just how strong was this Benna?

"It really is! She and Benna actually met during the battle that earned her the nickname. She specializes in Stone Essence Spells, which includes the Spell [Terrakinesis] though it works best for her when she's manipulating stone. In fact, she can compress the earth around her to form it herself if there isn't enough of it. It's why there are no support beams holding up the floors despite the millions of tons of the stuff just hanging there seemingly without effort. She compressed it so much that it's its own support."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I had wondered about that," I say. And I had, idly, in a background thought sort of way where it passed through my brain and then disappeared into the void, never to be seen again. "You skipped the story, though."

At this point, we've climbed five flights of stairs. From the outside, I would have said the place was eight floors high, but who knows with the way it's expanded. Why is it expanded if there are only so many apartments? Is each apartment huge or something? That's the only thing that makes sense, to be honest.

"Oh, duh, right. Well, it's not a long story, but she and Benna were on a mission to the Vettins—that's a great big forest on the outskirts of Azlan—because the Kingdom had gotten word of some top secret resource or something. She couldn't tell me exactly what the resource was, though. Anyway, they were ambushed by some wet-work group from Grell, she said— that's one of the kingdoms bordering Azlan, still on the continent, though—and they had to fight their way through like five hundred Yellows and Greens, all there to stop them from accomplishing their mission."

Benji slowly adopts a story-telling tone as he talks. The tone that someone would use when telling a scary story, or a particularly harrowing tale of adventure. Low and mysterious. I can't help but to smile and roll my as he does it, but I remain silent, listening to his recounting of Sytoria's story.

"So they did what anyone would do: they obliterated them. I don't like that it's a necessary part of life, myself. Killing, I mean. I wish nobody had to fight and everybody could get along, and I believe everyone can, but it's going to more than an Overlaw Council to do that. I want to join, one day, actually. Anyway, Auntie made these big stone constructs that resembled serpents with wide mouths and huge teeth and Benna used her magic to expand the space on the inside so that they could hold more people in them. They got all but one of them, but Auntie said it was on purpose. Grell hasn't attempted another ambush since, and everyone her level and under knows of the nickname."

"I think I would have liked to see that go down. That sounds awesome, honestly," I remark. Just seeing the small bits of magic I've already seen is pretty cool, even if I'm not happy with my circumstances. Seeing large scale magic like that? That would be top-tier awesome. Like a real life fantasy novel. I mean, I'm in a real life fantasy novel, I suppose, but it doesn't feel as cool when you're the one in the bad situation. Even if I could kick most people's asses here, full stop.

"The way she tells it is way better, since she was actually there, but she doesn't think she's cool. She just tells it all matter-of-fact like someone would ask about the weather or remark on what you're wearing." He rolls his eyes. "Alright, this is it!"

I was right when I had said there were eight floors. We end up traveling up all eight of them, to the very last door at the end of the long hallway. It's a metallic gray door, though. It resembles steel, though I can tell it's stone. Magic is awesome.

"That's really cool. How did they make the stone look like that?" I ask, running my fingers over the outside. It, too, has no knob, making me wonder how the hell I'm supposed to open and close it. Just push it? Will it lock from the other side?

"I have no clue!" He sounds excited when he says it, though. Like it's the coolest thing in the world. I chuckle. His joy is infectious. Refreshing, actually. "Well, go on! Open it up!" He motions for me to push with his hands, dramatically nodding his head with his eyebrows raised, his ears flopping up and down with the motion. I laugh outright this time and Benji smiles, his joy washing over me again.

I nervously push at the doorway and it does, indeed, open like the door to the apartment complex, silently swinging inward to reveal a huge room. It's gotta be as big as any house I've ever been in just in space alone. It's all bare, with only a large stone table, a few stone chairs, and what are obviously some weapon racks along the wall, but I don't mind that. I immediately love it. It's mine. My space.

I definitely don't have to keep from tearing up. Benji definitely doesn't notice. He also definitely doesn't comment on it.

"Awe, Zed, you're crying!" He definitely doesn't say, nor does he rub my back.

"I really like it," is what I say, eventually. After those minutes where I have no emotional reaction whatsoever externally. Seriously, why would you think that?

Making up stories is a sign of craziness, I tell ya.

"I'm glad! It's bigger than my place, even!" He's smiling so big I can't even see his eyes anymore, rather than just them being closed. The fur on his cheeks has encompassed them. I laugh at the sight.

[So cute.]

Shut up, brain! Don't make this freakin' wierd! I just met him.

[He kind o' likes you, though], my traitorous brain responds in a singsong way. I roll my eyes.

No, he doesn't, I tell it. That smell was just his reaction to seeing me in an outfit he made. Nothing more. We. Just. Met, I insist.

[Sureeeee, because you're definitely not able to distinctly decipher every emotion he's felt since meeting him], it comes back with.

I told you to shh, I think. You're making me feel crazy.

[If the brain speaks, answer it], my brain says back. I scrunch my face up a bit. Did I just make a terrible pun to myself while talking to myself in my own head? "If the brain speaks, answer it?" Did I mean, "If the shoe fits, wear it?" Am I fucking crazy? I have to be at this point.

"Zed?" He's looking at me in a concerned way, his head tilted to one side.

I had ignored him so I could talk to myself. Talk to myself in my head about whether he likes me or not. Because that's a normal thing to do. Gah, I'm embarrassing.

"Sorry, I was kind of zoning there for a second," I say. I'm certainly not going to admit I'm bonkers. He can find that out for himself over time like any normal person who spends time with me eventually would.

"Don't worry about it," he reassures me. "Check out the rest of the place! I can take you shopping if you're up for it after this so you can get furniture. If you're not, you can come stay with me if you want? I can sleep on that couch, or I can just crash on a workbench if you're not comfortable with me staying in the same room as you." He says it casually enough but the anxious excitement he says it with makes my heart beat a bit faster. For some reason. Definitely don't know what that's all about.

"How much time is left before my meeting with Forgemaster Luchyr you're supposed to bring me to?" I ask, instead of answering right away. To make it seem like I'm thinking about it and hadn't immediately decided I would take him up on his offer. He blinks in surprise.

"Uh, like six hours? I think? We were kind of, uh, talking in my shop for a while," he awkwardly smiles, as if in apology.

"Oh, so not that long then. Um, yeah, if you don't mind I'll take you up on your offer?" I say, trying to not sound as nervous as I'm feeling. Why am I so nervous? And my palms are sweaty. And my heart is beating really fast.

I'm not having a panic attack, though.

God damn, brain. I told you to stop being so ridiculous! I just met him! I can't be this infatuated already.

Benji is relieved, and definitely also a bit nervous, but not nearly as much as me. He's excited, though. Really excited. "Awesome! We can hang out longer, then! I don't know what I have for food, but we can stop somewhere and get something to eat before we crash for a few hours. Stats are great for staying up and everything, but you've had a really hard journey. I'm sure you're really tired."

I am. Really tired, that is. I'd already figured it was going to take a while to acclimate to my new body, though I don't remember Aethos saying anything about that. They'd said I have really high stats for my level, but the only way that's shown itself is physically. Maybe the mental ones take a bit of time.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. I could use some sleep. We can get food first, though. I'll defer to your expertise here. I don't know what kind of food you have, I'll admit."

"Cool! We can go to Auntie's restaurant and get some takeout. She goes there after she's done in her office for the day. They make the best food. I'll pay for you!" He offers, the words all but flying out of his mouth. He's so happy I'm actually kind of worried, in a way. I don't think I've ever felt as happy as it smells like he is. It's actually drowning out the real smells around me.

"Yeah, sure. I don't see why not." I've never been on a date before.

Seriously, calm down. Getting wayyyy ahead of yourself here, Zed.

Probably some symptom of another mental illness I didn't realize I had or something. I'm a creepy, obsessed weirdo, too, now or something. Maybe Benji should stay away from me or I'll scare him off by being too clingy.

A wave of sadness hits me suddenly and I try to keep it off my face. I don't want to ruin the mood with my miserable problems. God, I'm pathetic.

"You okay?" Benji asks, stepping closer to me, concern in his tone and his scent. His eyebrows are furrowed and his mouth is turned downward. I go to say yes but it doesn't come out.

"Not really," I say, instead, before I can think better of it, looking down at his feet. I don't know why I can't just be normal for ten seconds around someone else. This is why I spend so much time alone! Because I can't just be normal and not ruin things by being all weird or sad or irritable. Or say the wrong thing. Or, or, or; so many of those.

Benji reaches out and gently places his hand on my arm. Still just as warm as it was earlier. I let him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks.

"I feel like I'm going to ruin this whole thing you've got going on." I gesture vaguely in his direction.

"Huh? What thing?"

"You're so damn happy all the time. I can literally smell it. I am the exact opposite of that, Benji. I don't want to make you sad because of how sad I am," I say, throat thick with emotion. The second time in a few hours that I've had some sort of emotional moment with him. I mean, yeah, I'm going through shitty circumstances, but he doesn't know that. At least, not the extent of them.

"Zed, if my own family can't ruin it when they actively try, you're not going to ruin it without trying, okay?" His voice is gentle, reassuring. Now he's squeezing both arms gently, holding me at arms length. I'm still looking at his feet. His hooves, actually.

"It's a poison. I've seen it happen. Felt it happen. I don't want to make you like me, infect you with all my negative energy."

"Hey, listen, alright? I'm not sure what you mean about smelling and feeling other people's emotions, but I've felt nothing but happy and concerned since I've met you, and you've been sad for a lot of that. Which is understandable as hell considering you were kidnapped and forced to kill a whole bunch of people, Zed. That happened today," he says forcefully, incredulously, like he can't believe what he's hearing. He's still concerned, though. Full of the stuff, really.

"I can smell how you're feeling. It's something Zenithals can do. I thought you knew but I wasn't sure so I didn't tell you. I also didn't tell you about the people I killed because I didn't want you to think of me differently, I guess." I'm not sure why I'm admitting any of this. You couldn't have waterboarded my emotions from me on Earth. It's embarrassing to tell people how you feel. Especially how vulnerable the things I'm feeling make me.

I hate it.

"I don't care about that. Either thing. I have nothing to hide from you. I also don't judge you for doing what you had to do to survive, okay? You went through something terrible and I'm not so naïve that I would judge you for how you responded." I go to clarify that I hadn't done it just to survive but he beats me to the punch there, too.

"Don't tell me you didn't just do it to survive. It may have felt vindicating at the moment but here you are, an emotional wreck, trying your hardest not to cry because you're afraid. You're scared. You didn't enjoy it. I'll eat my own tail before I'll think that's true."

"But what if it is?" I whisper, a tear falling down my cheek. Benji hugs me, pulling me against his chest again. I could get used to this. I probably shouldn't, though. Happiness like this doesn't go to people like me. Sooner or later, I'll ruin it, or someone else will.

"Is it wrong to enjoy being alive? To save yourself from a fate unknowable? So what if you killed them? So what if you enjoyed it? You're a fighter, Zed. They're not going to be the last ones, even if they were the first. You're not on the Path of Peace, and the world isn't going to treat you like you are. I'm not going to hold you to standards I have no right to hold you to, especially because I'm glad you're here and not them. Death is an inescapable thing, especially when there are those out there that would do to others what they were going to do to you."

I can tell he means it. They're not just empty words. He's being so genuine and for some reason it makes me feel even worse. Do I deserve this kind of thing? This kind of thought and concern for my wellbeing? Gods know I don't hold it for myself. Weird, I'd thought of the phrase as "Gods know" that time.

"You're not upset that I didn't tell you I could smell your emotions before?"

"Would you be upset if I didn't tell you when I went to the bathroom?" He asks seriously. I furrow my eyebrows and look up at him in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Since we're supposed to be upset about not disclosing things that our bodies naturally do and all," he supplies, a small smirk lifting the right side of his mouth.

"That's not the same thing," I point out.

"Because I didn't know you could do that but you know I can use the bathroom?" He asks. "You said this was the first time you've met a minotaur, so you didn't know for certain, even if you suspected."

"That's stupid," I say, but a chuckle bubbles up from my chest anyway. Benji smiles in triumph, tail swishing.

"So is what you said. It would be silly of me to get mad at you for something that's natural to you. You shouldn't have to disclose it every time you have a conversation with someone. Besides, like I said, I don't have anything to hide from you." He says again. His voice is soft but it still rumbles through his chest as my ear presses against it. I feel safe here.

"Nothing at all?" I say jokingly.

"Well, we all have to have our secrets but if you want to know when I'm hungry or when I think you're cute, then go for it."

I freeze. Had I heard him right?

"Huh?" Jeez, way to go there, Shakespeare.

Benji's nerves spike but he doesn't let go. Probably since I hadn't moved, either.

"Well, I figured you already knew since you can smell how I feel and everything. It makes no sense to hide it."

"I guess I smelled it back when I tried the outfit on in your shop but I didn't want to read it wrong."

"Has that ever happened before? Reading it wrong?" He asks, genuinely curious.

"Not that I'm aware of, no. The meaning just kind of pops into my brain along with the smell."

"And what do I smell like?"

"Like Summer," slips dreamily out of my mouth. Benji chuckles.

"Summer? That's not an emotion, I'm pretty sure," he replies. I flush.

"You smell happy most of the time. Your happiness smells like Summer," I explain. It's an earthy smell that reminds of the way the sun shines down on the grass on a warm, cloudless day. It smells like freedom and childhood and joy. Safety from the cold, protection from the harsh weather otherwise. Shelter. Warmth. Sunshine. If I could put it in a candle, I would.

"You smell like outside," he says and I snort. He chuckles softly and I follow along. Then we're laughing. Deep and beautiful and cathartic laughs. Laughs that come from our toes. Laughs that dispel the tension of a heavy moment, that release the bad from the body in a way that feels right.

He's still holding me against his body, soft and comfortable and warm, when I manage to stop laughing enough to respond.

"I think you're cute, too."