Saiya with too many tails [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMgqPbS2D_Pw5hz7vvfBJWem3-JeyzmT6QmazCzri5VHnbeOgfJh7oZ7cc4G5ZkGFFUg8Jh9r8TPTkcg7Y2fJwn38iDM_0dPWZrZy6XL9qgITlwkXXOTbDDIJdLdJrY2KRdhW5PlNR6Bml6eyZPdHe9=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]

Once the new vessel Captain Clisson bonded to was on its way, they made impressive time while staying much closer to the shore than before. What they thought would take them a fortnight instead took only half that, and it looked like they would arrive in time for Winter’s Break.

Luckily, the weather stayed fair, and Saiya didn’t get so sick this time. Rayna tried her best to tamp down her own emotions, too, while they were on the ship, not wanting to burden her sister even more with her worries and fear. She had lost it a bit at first when Saiya had come so close to death, and she couldn’t let that fear override her judgment now.

It didn’t help when Uriel’s bead cracked at the same time on their bracelets when they finally became in range of the first barrier enchantment into the city. Rayna could only comfort her sister by repeating the same words she had when King’s bead broke. They had to still be alive; it was just the bracelets breaking. That was all. They couldn’t be dead. Perhaps if she kept repeating it, they would both eventually believe it.

When the towering city of Serenydi came into view, Rayna was struck with her own sense of wonder. While she had read about the city of luxury before, she had never actually seen it in person and it was even more impressive than the texts had led her to believe.

The feeling of sailing through the rings of protective barriers was a slight annoyance to her ears, and she found herself rubbing at them with the weird magic humming her perception picked up. Meanwhile, Saiya was less affected due to not unlocking any kind of ability to sense magic yet. It wasn’t a debilitating noise at all, just… unpleasant for some reason. She vaguely wondered if there was some kind of discordant feature to them that was meant to mess with other types of magic trying to pass through.

When they passed the final barrier, their vessel was approached by an Emerald Caste dock worker who flew over on bat-like wings and spoke with the Captain briefly. She assumed they were gaining information about their purpose and anticipated length of stay. While explaining who they were and why they were here, Captain Clisson lifted the magic key she had worn around her neck that allowed them to even pass through the barriers in the first place. After explaining how they were supposed to be the previously scheduled arrival of the Victor’s Tribute before its untimely demise, the worker merely wrote more notes and directed them towards another location.

From the outside, this new dock looked like a large floating warehouse big enough to house a couple of giant frigates. However, the magic inside was much more sophisticated as they took their turn to enter. The building itself seemed to take over, guiding the boat into its intended location, allowing it to disembark onto the dock. Then, it was encased in a force shield and lowered into the water, where it would be magically housed until needed again.

Once the group left the docking district, the Captain turned to address them gruffly once more, “This be the end of our time together. I’ll be writing to the House Wayland that ye mentioned to get the rest of me reparations, but I’ll not be travelin’ with ye further.”

She pointed towards one of the street signs that hung above a grand arch over glittering stone steps curving upwards, “The AOA building is located on the twentieth tier towards the center of the city. Ye should be able to follow the signs there. Otherwise, ye can head to the main arrival pier down that ways where a map can be found.”

“We can’t read those,” Rayna piped up with growing annoyance, “What language is that even?”

“Nightish,” the Captain said with a raised eyebrow, “An elvish dialect, which most of the city’s inhabitants are comprised of. Ye mean to tell me ye came here without even knowing the language?”

“Our friends were meant to be our translators,” Saiya said softly, “There weren’t extra copies of the Knowledge Tome for sale where we were, and we didn’t have the time to learn.”

“Well, it looks like ye’ll be learnin’ as ye go now. Good luck, you two, and you’ll have to forgive me for sayin’ that I hope we don’t meet again,” she finished gruffly before waving them off and taking what remained of her crew in a different direction from the stairs.

Rayna looked at her sister hesitantly, and Saiya held her hand for comfort as they both took a deep breath. She then asked, “Bet on the Captain’s terrible directions or try the map that’s likely written in a foreign language?”

“We can try the map first to get our bearings and then try the Captain’s directions,” Saiya suggested. “I honestly think I’d rather try to find an inn or some shop that sells Nightish Knowledge Tomes.”

“I’m not sure we have enough money on us for that. Do you think it’ll be more or less expensive than the one King bought in Tulimeir?”

“I would hope cheaper since most of them are made here, but with this being an Emerald Caste economy, I’m not sure what to really expect yet. Remember how we thought some things were just insanely priced in Tulimeir compared to Epa Toivo? And other things were the opposite? We won’t really know until we get a handle on what the supply and demand is like here, I think.”

“So, first step is the map, and hopefully that’ll point us to some way to translate?”

Saiya nodded, and Rayna took another unnecessary but helpful breath as she adjusted course and headed for the arrival pier that the Captain had pointed towards.

It was easy to spot the map she had mentioned once it came into view. It actually towered above the crowd, who all seemed to be taller than them. They had needed to get used to the height difference when they first found themselves surrounded by the taller cinderen in Tulimeir, but the elves here weren’t much better.

Rayna was grateful for the few inches she had gained upon ascending to Sapphire and already couldn’t wait to hit Emerald and hopefully gain a few more. She hated feeling so much shorter than those around her.

Luckily, there weren’t that many people on the pier currently, as the last of the group going back to the mainland had just finished boarding the most recent ferry.

As they walked up closer to the triangular pillar that had a heavily illusioned map on each side, Rayna began touching runes and weird elvish symbols at random. “Come on! There’s gotta be a translation button, right? Do they really expect everyone who comes here to have pre-learned Nightish?”

When the map started suddenly making noises at her, speaking in an unfamiliar lilting language, she yelled back at it in frustration, “I don’t understand what you’re saying! Speak Trade Pyrinese like a normal person!”

Saiya chuckled at her and calmly teased, “It’s not a person, Ray. That’s a map that I don’t believe can understand you.”

“Rayna?!” a familiar voice yelled at them, and they both turned in relief at seeing Phoenix running towards them. She had been so focused on the stupid map that she hadn’t felt the directional sense return but now that she focused on it, she felt certain that the person before her was actually her friend who had somehow survived being eaten.

----------------------------------------

Phoenix had barely spoken coherently to Zevan as she quickly said she had to go but that she would return quickly with friends and begged her to wait. She wasn’t sure the stranger would since it was a completely insane request made by an obviously unhinged person.

Luckily, she didn’t need to remember exactly which way she had come because her bracelet was leading her. As she stood near the top of the stairs that they had first gone up and scanned the sparse crowd, it was Rayna’s voice that drew her attention back to the map, “I don’t understand what you’re saying! Speak Trade Pyrinese like a normal person!”

Phoenix’s heart leaped into her throat as she called out, “Rayna?!” She practically launched herself off the stairs towards her friends, who both turned to her with smiles and relief.

“Phoenix! Oh, thank the gods, you’re here and not back in Tulimeir! Get over here and translate!” Rayna yelled back as Saiya was already bolting towards her, wrapping her into a tight hug that she briefly feared the voxen might accidentally kill her with, it was so tight.

She wasn’t sure if she should have been offended by the seeming lack of worry the bard had for finding her alive, then realized that she was the only one that none of them actually needed to worry about surviving.

“I’m so glad to see you again! Are you all okay? What about Dazien, Uriel, and Camilla? Do you know what happened to them? Their beads broke, and I’ve been so worried. Did they break for you, too?” Phoenix ended up asking in a rush. Then she quickly added, “Actually, can we walk and talk? I told Zevan I’d be right back, and I really want them to show me where the Pyrin Postal Service is rather than rely on my terrible sense of direction.”

“Yes, don’t know, no, yes, and yes,” Rayna replied with a grin, “And who’s Zevan?”

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“I am,” a scratchy voice behind Phoenix said, and she turned to see the gemite watching her in amusement. “We met on the ferry, and I didn’t want to leave a lost child wandering the city alone.”

Rayna snorted a laugh. “Well, thank you for making sure she didn’t trip and accidentally blow something up.”

Zevan raised a metallic brow at her and asked, “Should I have made sure to declare you as an explosive back at the customs gate?”

Phoenix blushed slightly and said, “Well, they said explosive items, not persons or powers, so I figured it would be fine.”

“Don’t you have my backpack in your collection?” Rayna asked her.

“Yeah— oh right, you probably want your clothes, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but I’m pretty sure that scroll you made me is still in there,” the bard pointed out and Phoenix froze, realizing she had accidentally smuggled an explosive into the city.

“I’m sure it’ll be fiiiiine,” she reiterated. “I’ll just keep it in there, and nobody will accidentally explode.”

“Should I be worried about hanging around you?” Zevan asked, but the smile on her face made it clear she was teasing.

“Probably,” Rayna replied in her stead. “Trouble follows her everywhere. So, which way to the PPS? Are you hoping to send a letter home or something?”

“Yeah, I made one for Patricia and Everin explaining what happened and that I finally arrived at the city. I had promised Pati I would write when I arrived either way.”

“I recommended her finding some new clothes first, though,” Zevan interjected. “If you’re both Sandstep Voxen from Epa Toivo, judging from your coloration and accents, then you should be more comfortable in the clothing they have here than this heavy wool atrocity,” she added while gesturing up and down Phoenix’s dress.

“Hey, you agreed it was pretty.”

“For the wintery mainland, sure, when there’s like five meters of snow on the ground.”

Rayna and Saiya both chuckled that time and Phoenix couldn’t help rolling her eyes and finally conceding the point, “I get it. I’m literally overdressed. Why don’t we go back to that little shop and I’ll get that dress I liked? Then you can show us where the PPS is, and I’ll stop bothering you. You mentioned you had your own people to meet up with.”

Zevan shrugged, “Sure, but I’m not on a tight schedule or anything. They weren’t exactly sure when to expect me anyways.”

“Then how about we change, drop off the letters, then we can buy you a meal as thanks for helping Phoenix?” Saiya suggested.

The gemite grinned and gave her another raised brow, “Is that her name? She had been playing it cautiously and hadn’t told me yet. Good to finally replace the nickname I had in my head.”

“Please tell me what that was,” Rayna requested with a huge smile that Phoenix instantly dreaded and made her own request.

“Please don’t.”

“Maybe I’ll tell you after breakfast,” Zevan practically threatened her.

Saiya glanced back at the sky and asked, “It’s a bit late for breakfast, isn’t it?”

“Night Elves are apparently nocturnal,” Phoenix supplied with a sigh. “That’s going to take a little getting used to, but it’s not much different from our normal hunting shifts during the blood moon.”

“That’s the spirit,” Zevan replied, then gestured back towards the stairs. “Come on, you all can catch up as we go. I’m looking forward to that meal now and know a great place.”

The group made their way back through the shiny streets of Serenydi as they talked. Rayna did most of the talking as she recounted them washing ashore and the Captain being a complete jerk to them the whole way. She took an exceedingly long time to explain her solo fight with a Dire Porcutor that she couldn’t loot. Even wondering if it was possible to make it back in time to find and loot the body now that they could use Phoenix’s portal to jump back to the staging dock each night.

Phoenix wasn’t entirely against doing something like that since she wanted to be able to portal-hop back to Tulimeir eventually anyway, but there was no way she would be doing that before seeking out their missing party members.

Saiya and Rayna both seemed thrilled about the cute dress she had picked out, and they helped her look around quickly for some matching gloves or bracelets to help her hide her Oathbond. She had a few cuff-style bracelets already that she could use, but they were mostly gold that she thought would clash a bit with the shimmery iridescence of the dress.

Rayna picked out an orange outfit that basically looked like a halloween genie costume to Phoenix. It was basically a bikini with sheer fabric billowing out to create completely impractical sleeves over the arms and legs.

Saiya simply picked out a white dress that didn’t start until well past her shoulders, but it did have long sleeves, and the front part fell almost to the floor, but the side had large slits going way up to her hips. Her fluffy tails helped cover a lot, though, and Phoenix had been happy to help show the healer how close she was to getting that fourth tail Rayna beat her to.

Name: Saiya Dewsong

Species: Voxen (Sandstep)

Caste: Sapphire 4

Attributes

Strength (Water): Sapphire 5

Agility (Balance): Sapphire 5

Fortitude (Life): Sapphire 5

Mind (Song): Sapphire 5

Magic (Tranquil Healer): Sapphire 4

Natural Talents

Fantasia Attunement

Healing Heart

Wellspring Attunement

Nomadic Heart

Tails of Power

Titles

Survivor

Orphan

Clan Leader

Slayer

Adventurer

Aspects

Song

* Accompanion (Utility Passive)

* Crescendo - Sapphire 4 (25%)

* Sonorous Shield (Class) - Sapphire 6 (3%)

Balance

* Meditative Guide (Boon Passive)

* Boon of the Balanced - Sapphire 6 (17%)

* Harmonize (Class) - Sapphire 4 (53%)

Life

* Empathic Life (Perception Passive)

* Heal Life - Sapphire 6 (87%)

* Refreshed (Class) - Sapphire 5 (32%)

Water

* Call of the Sea (Familiar Passive)

* Cleansing Stream - Sapphire 6 (66%)

* Rain of Life (Class) - Sapphire 4 (71%)

Tranquil Healer (Class)

* Soothing Soul (Aura Passive)

* Restful Retreat - Sapphire 5 (10%)

* Restored Foundation (Class) - Sapphire 4 (1%)

“Just need to get one of your Tranquil Healer abilities up another level, and you’ll be Sapphire 5,” Phoenix happily informed. She looked back at the rest of the clothes in the shop before they went to pay and glanced up where she knew the little bird on her head was to ask, “By the way, Ren, did you need new clothes?”

The others gave her a confused look, but the little bird cheeped twice, and Phoenix wondered if Tala had told Ren about how they had communicated before. Either way she assumed if Ren wanted clothing, they would just transform and say so.

She quickly paid for what they currently wore, then followed Zevan over a few more shops to the Pyrin Postal Service. Luckily, the PPS wasn’t busy, and she was quickly able to go to the counter, where she saw her first Avian. The person was basically an anthropomorphic parrot the size of a human, but there was no way she could make out any kind of gender for the oversized bird. They had arms and torsos like a human, but from the knees down and the neck up it was all bird, with a pair of wings sprouting from their shoulder blades along with a back skirt of long tail feathers.

She did her best to describe the people the letters needed to go to instead of just the locations she thought they were in. Apparently, the PPS actually cared about finding the right person rather than the place when the existence of addresses was questionable at best.

Once the four of them sat to eat actual sustenance and finish catching up with what had happened after they had been separated, Phoenix introduced the person who had saved her life.

“A bird saved you?” Rayna asked, looking up warily at the tiny green creature nestled atop Phoenix’s hair.

She laughed and shook her head. “Yes and no, Ren is a shapeshifter,” she explained, then tried glancing up, “Mind showing them, Ren?”

A moment later the daekin flapped their wings a few times and shifted in the booth next to Phoenix, obviously eager to tuck into a meal of their own.

Saiya spoke up first with a soft smile. “Thank you for helping her, Ren. I’m sorry to ask, but what are your pronouns? I can’t tell from the way you present.”

The daekin tilted their head to the side in slight confusion that reminded Phoenix of a puppy. “Ren does not understand question.”

The healer’s look of amusement increased as she clarified, “Are you a boy or a girl? Maybe a kosper or tuzosper? Or maybe something else I’m unfamiliar with?”

The shapeshifter shrugged. “Ren is a Ren. Not boy or girl, or else.”

“Okay, so will just ‘they’ work when referring to you?” Phoenix offered, knowing that was a popular way back on earth for some of her friends to be referred by when “he” or “she” just didn’t fit. It was also what she knew most kosper like Veldrix went by after Dazien helped explain those other recognized genders in this world to her.

The daekin seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then nodded and responded simply, “Okay with this, Ren is.”

“So, Ren,” Rayna interjected with a grin as she asked, “How many times did Phoenix drop a meteor while you traveled?”

“Hold up, what do you mean by ‘meteor’?” Zevan interjected.

Phoenix rolled her eyes as she began, “Really, it wasn’t that—”

“Thirty-two,” Ren answered promptly with a slight shudder.

Rayna gave Phoenix a flat look. “That’s more than once a day.”

“Well, it’s only an hour cooldown, and we were in the middle of nowhere…”

“So many sad trees…” Ren forlornly said before perking up when plates of food arrived, and the others couldn’t help their laughter.