Nothing.

Sitting in the middle of an abandoned shopping center, I tried to find my focus.

The pink skin and ridges along my body became as still and calm as an untouched body of water. I couldn't take deep breaths to enter that state of mind anymore. With this body, it wasn't that simple. I needed a new entry point. A new way to find that peace.

The metallic body I now called my own slumped. The sharp ends of my legs scraped against the dusty tiles beneath me as they sprawled out, cutting lines through the untouched dust in their wake.

Before I could work, I had to relax. I had to let myself fall into that state of mind. I had to find 'the zone'.

The [Sensory Zone] retracted, a bubble of sight that shrank inwards towards my form. The damp walls dotted with thin pockets of moss hiding from sight and the lonely escalator begging for use disappeared from my vision. Even the objects I planned to work with, each laid out neatly on the ground before me, slowly disappeared. Only my body remained, a brain-like mass of pink skin and ridges. In time, even that faded.

My sense of sight and touch vanished, rendering me nothing but an active mind in an empty nothingness.

It was the closest I could get to 'closing my eyes', but I had no equivalent to taking a deep breath. Now, I just needed to think. To let my thoughts wander, and follow wherever they decided to take me.

Metal, glass bottles, red and blue glowing potions, plastic handles, acid, charged Selarium, firewood, and the salvaged bronze chunks of cheetah.

I waited, letting my mind's eye wander over each piece in the hope that something would spark within, but no inspiration found me.

It wasn't an expansive toolbox, but it was all I had to work with. The metal could be fashioned into hooks, or springs, or places. I knew I could create a firing mechanism with them. Would it be worth creating a catapult to fire the acid from? No... it wouldn't be as efficient as throwing them, or flinging them from a telekinetically controlled plate of metal. I didn't know what the potions could do either, and the bronze pieces from the cheetah were likely enchanted. They'd be harder to mold and shape into a new form.

The bubble of my awareness flickered back to life. I expanded it again, flooding the mech with my senses. I rose to my feet, letting out a reluctant, internal sigh.

I couldn't think of anything to make that my team or I could find useful. I needed inspiration. After all this time, I'd been excited to get to work and flex my magic, and I... couldn't think of anything. Disappointing. I looked around me, at the empty walls covered in grime, hoping inspiration would strike. If I were a character from a comic book, this would be the perfect time for some random object to give me the inspiration I needed.

The moment of rest had brought some relief to my Soul, but it wasn't what I wanted. I had energy that I wanted to burn. I wanted to do something with this free time I'd been given. I needed to.

I cast my awareness around the bubble I'd crafted around myself. The ground was still covered in dust, the walls dotted with grime and moss. As much as I wanted to get to work, this was hardly a good environment to do it. Compared to the forge or the clean, sterile room of the facility, this was laughable.

I felt a sense of relief as an objective formed within me. I needed to find a more suitable spot. Being at the base of the escalator served as a good source for metal, but this didn't feel like a workshop in the slightest. This wasn't just an excuse, it was a necessity.

With practiced ease, my [Telekinesis] and the plates it had soaked into snaked forward, gathering the components of my toolbox back into my compartment. Once everything was back in place, I slotted the panel snugly into place over it, ensuring nothing would fall out.

My body began the trek back upstairs, and the sound of fervent rummaging came to meet me.

My spider-like mech moved to the entrance of 'Tyrian's Threads', an abandoned clothes shop that was currently being raided by a blue man formed from a gelatin-like substance, and a grinning, gibbering Fishman.

Toya had opened a drawer behind the counter, looking through a collection of dusty shirts that had been tucked away. Many of them seemed to be a few sizes too big, or strangely shaped. I presumed they were for races of unusual size or build.

Some of the shirts had small golden pins on the back holding flaps in place. It was a design I was familiar with. Flaps like those were likely for the wings of an Avarian, or the additional legs of an Arachnoid or Jorogumo. There were similar buttoned flaps around the waist for clothes like the ones I'd used to wear, to accommodate my tail.

While Toya was looking through the contents, Fareel walked up behind him, tapping the man on the shoulder.

When I saw the Fishman's current state, my mind ground to a halt. I... I could see he'd found some clothes of his own.

"Did you find something, Faree-"

Toya's head peeked over his shoulder towards the smaller Chimera, and his speech had reached a wall. His expression ran through a range of emotion as he tried to process what he was looking at.

Atop the Fishman's head was a thick black bowler hat, easily three times the size of his head. It covered the top of his finned ears, with his bulging yellow eyes barely visible in the shadow the hat cast over his face. Around his chest-

Toya's hand moved to his mouth, and the typically stoic man struggled to cover up a wide grin.

"What...? What're you wearing...?" the Slime-man stammered out.

The answer to that question was a pink, puffy bra. The garment sagged down around his stomach, even as he tried to pull up the straps to a point where they sat in place. Around his waist was what I could only imagine was a novelty skirt. It reminded me of something one might see in magazines talking about Tropitrail Island. The skirt was formed from interconnected green leaves, connected to a green band that sat around his waist. The Chimera swayed back and forth, letting the skirt wave from side to side, moving even as his hands attempted to settle the bra into place. Unsuccessfully.

Perhaps it had been because of his magic, but it seemed that Fareel had been far more successful at finding clothes than Toya had been.

The man rose to his feet, one hand covering his mouth while the other was planted atop the counter to steady himself before stepping away from the drawer and the half-dancing Fishman. He walked to the entrance, pulling his hands down as he saw me at the entrance, my body quivering in place.

His eyes drifted to the side as he tried to will the smile away. Unsuccessfully.

"[G-good job finding clothes, Toya,]" I said, my awareness still focused entirely on the Fishman, who was in the process of rifling through the drawer Toya had been occupying, gargling softly to himself.

"Thanks," he responded, managing to sound more somber and composed than I'd expected him to. "Fareel's... better at searching than I am."

I thought that would have been because of the Familiars, but I saw none of them in my awareness. I felt silently glad that I hadn't, either. I don't think any of the others would have been thrilled to wear something that their potentially slimy legs had trampled on. I decided to chalk it up to Fareel having a knack for being ridiculous.

Fareel's head shot up, causing the hat on his head to fall forwards. With one webbed hand, he tipped the hat back, looking towards me with a wide grin on his face. He stood, coming out from behind the counter with something in his hands.

It was a long, red ribbon, one that was easily thick enough to wrap around the entire stomach of my old body. It had to have been crafted with a Goliath or someone equally as large in mind.

He hopped out of the store without removing any of the clothes he wore, holding the ribbon upwards.

Toya glanced at the Fishman staring at me, and then back in my direction. I extended my senses outwards, searching for Streiphen. He wasn't in the clothes store, not even in a concealed back room, from what I could tell. Was he looking through a different-

Toya coughed into a fist, and my attention refocused on him.

"I think Fareel wants you to have the ribbon, Yuri."

My awareness shot towards the Fishman, who nodded. The thought that I could have worn the ribbon hadn't even occurred to me. I'd been thinking of looking for a hat earlier, but a ribbon would be easier to wear, and far easier to keep steady atop my form.

Using one of the legs securing my body in place, I reached down towards Fareel, watching as he placed the ribbon in the outstretched limb.

"[Thank you, Fareel,]" I said, not quite sure how I was going to use it. Wrapping it around my body would have been the easiest way to secure it, but I didn't have proper hands to manipulate it. My [Telekinesis] didn't feel as firm around the ribbon as it had around the steel within me. I wasn't sure how I'd tie it either, but I appreciated the sentiment. Maybe I could wrap it around one of my legs.

I kept the ribbon next to my body, wrapping it around a frontal leg as I retracted the limb, allowing it to rejoin the others.

"[Where did Streiphen go?]" I asked, casting my awareness outwards.

Toya began to walk, gesturing towards the 'Pig's Ear Deli', the building where we'd found the cracked wall and the indent of a fist.

"He was hoping to find some food," Toya said, arriving at the entrance. "I told him any food here would have gone off by now, but he wanted to check anyway."

If the deli had anything like a Stasis Box for keeping food fresh, I was certain the owner or a looter would have taken it before the place was abandoned.

"[Streiphen? Are you in there?]" I called out, my [Sensory Zone] pushing outwards.

I found him in the back, shivering as he walked barefoot over a cold stone floor, scouring a dark room filled with empty desks and dangling meat-hooks for anything he could salvage. Even if there was no food to be found, the chains and hooks were something I could definitely make use of.

The door to the back was big, as was the store itself, but it wouldn't accommodate someone of my size.

Toya stepped over shattered tiles, walking past overturned tables and chairs reduced to piles of splinters, heading into the old restaurant. They could serve well as firewood, if nothing else.

"[There are meat hooks in the back, Toya. Do you think you could get them down for me? I can use them as weapons.]"

The man's face stiffened as he arrived at the back door, glancing into the dark chamber beyond. The only light came from the boy himself, a thick emerald glow woven around his form covered in silver threads, acting as a bridge for waving stars drifting along the [Mantle's] surface.

"I can try," he called back to me, even though I could hear him just fine. "These are an Orc [Butcher's] meat hooks. I can try unclipping them, but I won't be able to drag them down by force."

I sent my invisible 'hands' forward, snaking them through the store and into the back room. I could reach the metal joints of the doorway, and from there spread my influence further, but not far enough to reach the hooks.

"[If you can bring them to the entrance of the deli, I should be able to lift them from there.]"

Toya gave a slow nod, leaping up onto one of the tables. The surface had hints of a metallic brown to it, the signs of dried grease or blood that the owner might not have cleaned before his untimely departure. The Slime man tugged down on the hook, testing its strength as his eyes met the dark ceiling above. He jumped onto the chain as it swayed back and forth noisily.

He began to climb as Streiphen walked out from the back, glancing over his shoulder into the darkness. When he turned forward to face us, his eyes had fallen to the floor, shoulders scrunched up tight.

"I couldn't find anything..." he said, despondent.

Before I had a chance to respond, Fareel skipped forward, prodding the boy's head through his long silver hair. The Chimera looked up, getting an eyeful of Fareel's... eccentric fashion sense.

Unlike Toya, Streiphen had no hope of concealing the laughter. His hands went to his mouth in a vain attempt to keep himself together, repressing the giggling as long as he could. That wasn't to say the attempt lasted very long as Fareel danced side to side, causing both the skirt and the bra to sway wildly. The hat fell over the Fishman's eyes, but he seemed to take no notice.

The dam broke, and the boy burst into laughter. I was relieved to see him smiling now, wiping tears from his eyes as he looked past the Fishman and up towards me.

"I'm glad we could find clothes!" Streiphen said, dashing out of the store and back towards the [Tailor's]. I followed Streiphen over with Fareel trailing behind me.

He'd already buried himself in the drawers Toya had found, looking through the clothes that weren't designed for anyone even close to Streiphen's size. From what I'd seen, there weren't any kid's clothes around. Maybe this was a [Tailor] with abilities specialised in making clothes for adults or larger folk, but we could still hope.

"[Did you find anything Streiphen would be able to wear, Fareel?]" I asked, my frame turning more towards the Fishman.

The Chimera shrugged, walking past me into the store and towards the back room. The door was left open, so I expanded my bubble once again, pushing inwards. The desks and hangars looked just as empty and worn as those in the deli. While everything on the hangars had been stripped clean, I saw a wooden crate by the door that had its lid torn off, presumably by Fareel. Within it was an unorganised mess of novelty items and headwear.

With reckless abandon, he began chucking clothes out of the box and onto the dusty floor. I felt my body tremble in rebellion at the sight, but I couldn't do much about it. He was searching through the box for Streiphen's sake.

Neither Streiphen nor Fareel found anything that could fit the smaller Chimera. It seemed like he'd have to settle for oversized clothes or the torn gown he still wore. I'd never been good at resizing clothes, and it certainly hadn't been my family's forte, either. Whenever we'd needed our clothes altered, my parents would ask neighbours, and only if absolutely necessary.

I stepped back away from the storefront, letting my bubble remain at its current size as I wandered down the corridor. The shopping center was dark, drab and lifeless. If it was going to be our base of operation, even if only for a short while, it would be wise to make it more worthy of the role. Within my mech, my telekinetic hands went to work, shaping some of the metal inside.

While steel twisted within the bowels of my mech, I skittered back to the tailor's storefront.

Streiphen was the one wearing the bowler's hat, now, tipped back to the point where the front of the hat pointed towards the ceiling. His hands were fumbling with a black tie as he struggled to figure it out.

"[Could you two bring some clothes out to the entrance?]" I asked. "[The brightest clothes you can find.]"

Streiphen looked up towards me with confusion, not yet understanding the reason behind my request. Fareel didn't seem to know either, but he didn't hesitate for even a second before slipping out of the skirt.

The pair bundled up some of the clothes as Streiphen temporarily forgot about his task. The 'colourful clothes' they'd picked up were mostly ribbons of the same type Fareel had given me, bright shirts and a few hats. As well as a few items not unlike the leafy skirt.

"Will these do?" Streiphen asked, looking up at me as he joined Fareel at the store's entrance, both holding the bundles of clothes up to me.

They would.

The panel on the side of my mech flew off, allowing the collection of small hooks I'd forged within to fly out. The metal ends jabbed into the walls along the arch of the storefront. With some effort, I began to lift the assorted clothes off the ground with [Telekinesis]. The skirt and hats were easy to slip onto the hooks, although securing the shirts by the necks without tearing them wasn't nearly as simple. It wasn't the most creative or gaudy form of decoration, but it was better than nothing.

Streiphen smiled up at the hanging arch of clothes, while Fareel simply stared up at them, confused. No accounting for taste, I supposed.

I stepped back from the storefront, looking at the assortment of hats, scarves, shirts and skirts adorning it. Hanging the way they were, in an arch, reminded me of the clotheslines back home. Back then, clothes pegs had served as a more reliable equivalent to my clumsy hooks, leaving our clothes out to dry in the open breeze.

It made the space feel more like... like home. Strictly speaking, it was a communal base, but... I felt as though this was the right thing to do. When it came to magic, personalisation and identity were important. If this place was to be my workshop, it was as influential to my magic as the-

My body whipped around as the two smaller Chimeras behind me nearly leapt out of their skins in fright. From far behind me, a loud metallic crash rang out. My mind raced to defend us, bringing out plates and pointed metal from within the mech.

Once my awareness had detected the source of the sound, I relaxed.

"[It wasn't an enemy,]" I told the two Chimeras, as both looked up towards me. My metallic legs carried me forward towards the [Butcher's]. I saw Toya struggle with the end of a metal hook, pulling it and the chain behind it out from the back.

"[Are you alright?]" I asked, reaching a metallic leg forward, stretching to touch the end of the hook. Once I made contact, the [Telekinesis] spread, and I could control the hook and chain as easily as anything else, lifting it towards me. "[You didn't hurt yourself while pulling it down, did you?]"

The man's expression softened, but his eyes were clouded. He shook his head.

"No... I'm fine. Do you want me to get the others?" Toya asked, jerking a thumb back towards the store room.

"[If it's no trouble...]" I responded. "[If you need to rest before you bring them down, then do. We need to be in top shape in case of attack, and I wouldn't want you to be exhausted because of an errand.]"

Toya reached up, rubbing his shoulder experimentally as I pulled the chain up onto my mech.

"No, I can manage. This body doesn't get tired in the same way my old one did."

"Do you need any help?" Streiphen asked as Toya turned around to return to the storeroom. I didn't see how Streiphen could help, if his physique revealed anything about his physical ability. He didn't seem like the type that could drag those massive chains around.

"I'll be fine," Toya assured him, disappearing into the room beyond.

I happily reversed, stepping backwards along the tiled floor while making sure not to trample the smaller Chimeras in the process.

"[I'm going to get back to work, now,]" I told them. My mind's eye was on the clothesline. "[Thank you both for your help.]"

Fareel grinned, a wide, toothy expression that stood in stark contrast to Streiphen's small smile.

"Y-you're welcome, Miss Yuri. If you need our help again, let us know!"

Silently, I mulled over the idea as my awareness swung around me, taking in all the details I could. The clothesline once again stood in stark contrast to all else around me. It was important. I just knew it.

"[We... If this shopping center will serve as our base for the foreseeable future, we should make it ours,]" I told them, beginning the walk back to the escalator. "[Make it a place you can be comfortable living in. If... if you don't plan on doing anything else, then that's something worth doing.]"

I didn't want to distract them anymore. I'd leave them to their work. I took a few steps down the escalator, stopping halfway.

With each step down, I felt a greater sense of unease build within me. It wasn't an unease that made me believe I would be in danger if I were to go down, but an unease in my heart that told me I was doing something wrong. The base of the escalator was logically the best spot to conduct my work, but the thought of doing that filled me with dread.

I couldn't turn around while standing on the escalator. There wasn't enough space. With some effort, I reversed, climbing back up to the first floor while the front of my mass faced forward.

The feeling of dread subsided, even if I couldn't tell why, exactly. If I didn't conduct my work in the best possible spot, then I wouldn't be able to get into the zone. That was what I thought, even if my feelings disagreed. My emotions were getting in the way of my focus.

Instead, I sat down at the far end of the first floor, in a spot where the shops were in clear view.

The panel on my body drifted off, allowing me to splay the contents of my toolbox out in front of me. I couldn't help but think this was wrong. The parts I'd collected were on full display to any of the others, should they come out and look. I'd grown used to doing my work in private, with nobody else around. That was how I liked doing things.

No matter what I thought, the action of placing piece after piece of metal on the ground in front of me failed to summon that feeling of dread I'd had on the escalator. I couldn't help but think of it as strange. Wrong and unnatural. I didn't want to go against the habit I'd formed, but my emotions were standing in the way of that tradition.

My legs sprawled out around my body, relaxed.

My Soul responded to my call, even if I couldn't make sense of what was happening. My [Ignite] flared to life, molding a piece of metal.

Wasn't this the wrong way to work? I had some tools to use, but I didn't have a real workshop. Back home, I'd been able to use the basement as my own personal den. Down there, I'd stored all the pieces I'd scavenged from the market and the waste my parents hadn't made use of.

Coming hand in hand with the thought, melancholy pervaded my heart as I mourned. What had become of my workshop now? Had it been picked clean and turned into something else? Turned into something different altogether? It was one of the few places I'd felt even relatively close to the life I'd lost, other than my room.

None of those places had truly found that sweet spot in my heart, that spot where I could truly call it 'home'.

My [Telekinesis] worked on its own, reaching for the piece on the back of my mech, the useless piece of scrap that had been worn away during my first 'victory' against the acidic Chimera.

I felt my mind drift further and further from my task.

The small 'workshop' I'd owned wasn't anything special. Compared to my parents' forge in the center of the Addersbrook square, it was underequipped. But... it didn't need to be as good as theirs. It wasn't the workshop of someone seeking the profession, but that of a hobbyist. It was exactly what it needed to be.

Whenever my parents had gotten too warm, their scales would dry up, becoming flaky. The house was often cold because of that. Windows would be left open, letting the forest breeze drift into our home. It brought an appealing, natural scent with it, but it wasn't worth the exchange.

In the basement, a place that was exclusively mine, I didn't have to worry. My scales would get dry too, but they weren't as susceptible as theirs. Whenever the house got too cold for me to bear, I'd journey down to the basement to work. I'd owned a heater, a gift I'd gotten on my fifteenth birthday. Having it anywhere else in the house could have made my parents upset, so I'd kept it in the basement. It had always kept the space warm, warm enough that I wouldn't ever have to worry about the cold.

My mind smiled at the memory. I could almost feel the warmth of the heater, even now. I remember rubbing my hands together as I held them up to the enchanted box.

There'd been a window in that basement, too. A small, narrow one, near the ceiling. Whenever the heat had gotten a little too much to bear, I'd leave it open to let the warmth out.

One time, an intruder had invaded my workshop. Not my parents, nor a common [Burglar], but a Street Snail. The sight of it had stunned me. Around Addersbrook, they'd usually stayed within the confines of the forest. Contrary to their names, it wasn't often one would see them lurking around the town.

I'd come down the stairs to my workshop, flicked on the light bulb with a satisfying click of the switch, and found them. It had been a snail, bigger than the common variety, with the tip of its shell coming up past my knee. It was one with a turquoise body and a thick, dark grey shell with a spiral pattern. It had left a thick trail of slime in its wake, dirtying my workshop. I knew I needed to get rid of it, but the thought of carrying it away was daunting.

I turned the heater on, knowing it wouldn't stay. I didn't want to dry it to death, so I'd kept the heat low, only funneling small portions of Aera through the runes. Once it started climbing back up the wall, I went upstairs for some of the damp wipes my parents occasionally used when they didn't have time to fully wash their scales. Cleaning up the slime had been a time consuming job, but one that I'd felt proud of, afterwards. It seemed stupid in hindsight, but it felt like I'd been defending my workshop. Protecting it.

My thoughts drifted to the snail themselves, and the easy life it must live. They can eat just about anything, never had anywhere to rush to, and could always carry their homes on their backs. The thought of being able to carry one's home, a protective shell that was always there for them, was a comforting one. It was a thought that almost made me feel jealous of the simple snail. With the strange body and the mucus it excreted, were we even that different? I couldn't help but think-

"Yuri!" a voice called out, cutting deeply through the memory that had become so vivid that I'd gotten lost in it. It felt as though I'd nearly been standing there, in the workshop. "I'm done pulling down the meat hooks, have you seen..."

I refocused, pulling my awareness back from deep within me. I helped guide it to the surface, looking forward towards the man who'd addressed me.

Toya's eyes were wide, his shoulders slack, and his face a mask of shock.

"How did you...? It hasn't even been that long..."

What was he so shocked about? I began to take in my surroundings, and the feeling of shock and awe he must have been experiencing found me, too.

More than before, my body felt warm. The cold, dank air of the underground shopping center had been replaced, filled with a mildly hot breeze that permeated the space.

To my left was a box of metal, four thick grates carved into the top of the hollow structure. On the front was a glowing red symbol of fire, one with a spiral pattern in the center. Even with my warped senses, I could feel the warm air rising from within the artefact, all without a single bit of steam or smoke.

Light bulbs that had been reformed from broken shards hung from metal hooks suspended from the ceiling. I noticed that there were more light bulbs than there should be. While I'd only taken four or five from the surrounding shops, over ten of them dotted the ceiling above us. I could see minor cracks in my handiwork, but it was enough evidence for me to tell what I'd done. Through [Ignite], I'd melted the glass back together. All of the bulbs stood together, working as one to bathe my 'workshop' in a light green glow.

As warm as the air felt, there was a chill permeating my body. Moving my awareness back to myself, I found that my mass had been encased in a shell of metal, one that felt light and easy to remove, more like a thin bronze hat than anything else.

Using my [Telekinesis], I pulled it off of my form, shivering in place as the warm air served to ward away the cold. It was a little heavier than I'd expected it to be. Its surface was covered in ridges and spirals, much like the shell of a Street Snail.

I placed the shell on the ground next to me. I decided to place it face down, not wanting the mucus clinging to the inside to stain the floor. Some of the cheetah's back and legs had been melted down and reused to make it. A spoil of war.

On the front of the mech, I saw where the faithful metal plate had gone. The one I'd first reached for, that had eaten through acid to protect me and disable my enemy.

Using many other pieces of metal to support it, the sheet had been melted into the front of my mech. Unlike every other piece of work my [Creative Process] had given birth to, this had no obvious practical purpose. Ridges had been carved into the surface of the new protrusion, its shape warped and distorted by metal and heat. The surface was covered in canyons, long dips that wound its way around the center. It was surrounded by thinner pieces, jutting outwards around it, as if to protect the interior.

More than anything else I'd crafted in the past while, the grey steel rose with the burnt innermost petals and bronze leaves surrounding it caught both my and Toya's eye.

The man approached the makeshift heater, crouching down to press a hand against the surface. He didn't recoil or pull his hand away. His expression was wide-eyed and wondrous, but I had no way of knowing what lay beneath the surface. He was my... teammate, for lack of a better word, and I needed to get to know him, even if socialising was far from my forte.

"[What do you think?]" I asked, rising to my feet to lean down towards him and the heater. "[Useful, isn't it? I wasn't sure what I'd make when I began, but I'm glad I ended up being productive with my time.]"

"I thought you'd make weapons," he murmured, before getting to his feet.

Weapons...?

"[I can mould the chains into a blade, if you want. We have plenty of steel to-]"

"No!" he blurted out, shaking his head. "No, no, that's not what I meant. Just... good job, Yuri. This all looks... useful."

What was he thinking? I might need to get Sigura's help to figure him out. While Streiphen and Fareel seemed like open books, Toya was more difficult to piece together. The Varani part of me saw where he was coming from. He'd been expecting more conventional weaponry, hadn't he? It made sense, since I'd told the group I could arm them if we needed to defend ourselves.

I leaned back, reaching out with my [Telekinetic Zone], grabbing an assortment of unused metal.

"[I plan on arming everyone, just in case. I don't want anyone to be caught unawares by adventurers or the Watch, if they become hostile to us. Do you have a preference of weapon, Toya?]"

I could see his shoulders tense, his eyes slamming shut. He rose to his feet, moving away from the heater.

"Staff... I'll just have a staff, Yuri," he responded stiffly.

Had I said something wrong? The wise decision was to give everyone the tools needed to defend themselves, but his tone suggested I'd said something to bother him. Or... was this his way of being more business-like? Perhaps he'd shucked off his wonder and gotten into a better state of mind for this sort of thing. I could respect that, should it be the case.

A staff would be easy to make, too. Simple. Within my zone, I could easily determine his bodily proportions and create a staff accordingly. Making a staff with some sort of additional function might be best. One that could retract into itself and unfold, maybe? There was plenty of metal to experiment with. If that was the path I wanted to take, I could reach it.

I began rolling and smoothing out a length of metal as two blurry blobs of heat entered my awareness.

One began to run as the other trailed behind. Streiphen's wide, starry eyes and open mouth rushed into my bubble, his gaze darting all over my makeshift workshop.

"Woah..." Streiphen cooed, looking up at the emerald bulbs hanging above me, his face blanketed in the light.

"[How did you two do? Did you manage to make the place seem more like a proper base?]"

I rose to my feet, slowly stepping around the assorted pieces of metal I wasn't currently working with. If Toya had left the chains by the entrance of that restaurant, bringing them to my workshop right away was the efficient move. If someone needed to explore the back room again, they'd only be in the way. As I walked past the trio of Chimeras looking over my own work, I heard Fareel began to snicker.

When my bubble peered deeper along the abandoned shopping center, I saw that it was now populated. Not by people, but with mannequins.

For those few minutes I'd been hard at work, Streiphen and Fareel had been, too. The entrances to stores were littered with mannequins that had been dressed with the clothes Fareel had stumbled upon. They'd taken the clothes line idea I'd had and made something new from it.

Standing at the entrance to Tyrian's Threads, an Arachnoid spoke with a Minotaur. One, a hulking, muscular figure with bracelets, ribbons and bands wrapped around each horn, and the other with a mess of scarves wrapped around and between each of the six long legs protruding from its back.

Others with more Human-like proportions were more properly dressed. As I extended my [Telekinesis] onto and into the three metallic chains and hooks at the entrance of the Pig's Ear Deli, I saw a cluster of three Humans staring at the cracked wall. By the looks of things, the mannequins could be posed, too. Each were wearing vastly different coats and hats that didn't seem to fit the rest of their ensembles.

One tourist with a straw hat and a green jacket decorated with white palm trees had both hands up against their cheeks, fingers splayed apart. The mannequin didn't have a face or a mouth, but I could nearly imagine an expression of shock.

They stood next to a man with one hand on his hip and another at his chin, pondering over the wall as if it were some sort of expressive art piece. They wore a dark suit jacket, a white shirt and a tie, sporting a dapper appearance alongside the black bowler hat Fareel had been wearing earlier. The impression the man's attire left was dampened by the hula skirt around their waist.

The final mannequin of the trio was far more lazily designed. They wore a pair of black jogging shorts, and had a puffy pink bra strewn over their head, covering the front of their face. Their chest seemed to puff outwards, with both hands proudly placed on their hips.

Even if it wasn't in the way I'd pictured it, the two had worked to make the base more... ours? It had more life to it than it had when we'd arrived. Between my workshop and the mannequins, it felt more... relaxed.

The metal chains rose from the floor, waving through the air like the limbs of a puppet before landing securely on the front of my mech. Between these and the makeshift 'shell' I'd crafted myself, I felt much more secure in my ability to defend myself. All the while, I'd been letting my subconscious take over the crafting job. By the time I'd returned to the three Chimeras sitting around the heater, the metal staff had been finished.

I returned to my spot, curling my legs around myself. I coiled the chains up neatly before handing the staff to Toya. He seemed surprised to see it, leaning back slightly as it entered his vision. Then again, I had poked the end of it right over his shoulder. Perhaps I should've given him some warning before doing that.

"[Here you go, Toya. Excellent work with the... erm, decorating, you two.]"

Fareel began to giggle again, a sound that reminded me more of a person gargling water in front of a sink than a laugh. I'd been getting better at not being immediately concerned or worried for his safety when he started doing that.

Streiphen's smile was so wide and bright that one could swear he'd just won a grand prize for some competition. The thought warmed me to my core.

"Thank you, Miss Yuri!" he chirped, wrapping both arms around himself. "Mr. Fareel and I wish to explore the area and gather more materials for the base!"

Toya was still gripping the staff, looking over the smoothly reformed metal with a mild look of shock. He glanced back towards the restaurant, and I felt my core tighten.

"Is this necessary?" he asked. "We should be arming ourselves, not dressing mannequins. If we get too attached to this place, it'll be harder to bring ourselves to leave when we're done with it."

My heart sank at the thought, and my response came quickly.

"[It is. Having a more lived-in space will help me focus my magic more accurately,]" I replied, not certain whether or not that was the case. "[Personalising our living space is key. If we hope to survive together, it's important that we get to know one another.]"

That was the foundation of both a good interpersonal and business relationship, after all.

Toya frowned, one eyebrow raised as he turned back to look at me. His expression was still inscrutable, one I couldn't pick the fine details from. His eyes turned back towards the heater, and his shoulders slumped.

"Alright," the man nodded, getting to his feet. One hand gripped the staff tightly, looking down towards the others. "I'm coming with you two. I don't want either of you getting hurt in case we run into trouble."

Streiphen smiled warmly, nodding enthusiastically as he hopped to his feet.

"We will be in your care, Mr. Toya!"

Fareel got to his feet, scratching his side as he squinted up at the bulbs once again.

"[Gather whatever you can carry,]" I told them. "[If you bring me more glass, I might be able to craft extra bulbs for the rest of the base.]"

"We'll do what we can," Toya nodded. "Will you be safe here on your own, Yuri? If you can, make some traps, or a way of spotting intruders before they spot you."

I doubted there would be any intruders checking out a place like this, but I nodded.

"[I'll try,]" I assured him.

"Be careful, Miss Yuri!" Streiphen called out, waving to me as he walked away.

"[You too, Streiphen,]" I responded, already thinking of the traps I could make.

If I thinned out the metal, I could make tripwires. It wouldn't be the most sophisticated trap, but it could give me the edge in a combat situation. If I had time, I could try and create metal plates that could detect pressure. I possessed several Skills that mimicked the properties of Sensory Magic. Even some of my Spells seemed to have sensory effects attached to them, if the sense of 'touch' within my [Telekinesis] was any indicator. I doubted a pressure pad was out of my reach.

As my [Telekinesis] went to work on whatever it was doing, I thought back, reaching for a memory I could use as inspiration. Needless to say, our house wasn't an ancient ruin or a [Necromancer's] hidden dungeon. We didn't have any pressure plates or concealed traps in our house I could draw from. To find inspiration, I'd need to get creative.

Would it be better if I were to take it in steps? The thought brought with it a sense of relief. This was a task I could break down into objectives.

The first step was to create a pressure pad, one that could detect the sensation of 'touch'. If I had that, I could hook traps up to it later. A wide plate that would send that sensory information to something else, serving as a trigger for the trap.

Since I didn't have any traps yet, I'd need something else for the 'touch' to go to. Maybe I could try to send the touch to one of the artefacts I'd created. A switch that could turn the lights on and off? As the thought entered my mind, I realised there wasn't anyone else here, and I could see just fine in the dark.

Now that it had come to my attention, I decided to turn the lights off. The center was thrust into darkness. It seemed eerier now, even if I could still see perfectly fine. The last thing I wanted to do was plunge myself into a headache from overexertion.

Instead of the artefacts, could I use something else? Maybe the plate would cause a piece of metal next to it to rattle? Or I could make the plate itself a hollow box, one that shook a ball within when stepped on? That seemed less like a magical effect, and more like a-

The thought clicked in my brain, and I felt myself enter the zone before I'd even finished the thought.

My [Telekinesis] went to work, and I smiled internally at the thought. Our house didn't have any traps or pressure pads, but it did have a welcome mat. A few of the stores around town had bells, ones that hung above the door and rang out with a musical chime whenever someone came inside. I could feel it, and knew that it would be perfect. That was the memory my magic was latching onto.

It wasn't long before I felt my Soul calm down. When my awareness extended beyond my body, I found a rectangular metal plate and a small bell resting atop it. I didn't have any knowledge of music, so I could only hope the sound the bell made wouldn't be horrifically out of tune. Someone returning to the base only to be greeted with a grating chime wouldn't have been the intended effect.

My [Telekinesis] extended into both, raising them from the ground. The plate felt heavier than it should have been, given the size. I took that as a good sign. It meant that the enchantment had taken.

Rising to my feet, I made my way to the steps leading out of our base. Moonlight shined down on the steps, casting them in a silver white glow. I placed the plate at the bottom of the stairwell. While the plate wasn't as wide as the steps, I could always alter its dimensions later, should I need to. Using one of my metal hooks, I linked it through a circular hole atop the bell. After securing it in the wall above, I took a step back.

With a single sharp leg, I gingerly pressed down on the plate.

Clang!

The bell didn't sound as melodic or welcoming as I'd hoped. It wobbled from side to side above me, as though unsure where to go. At least it worked.

I turned around, walking back towards my spot. Maybe the others would be able to steal a bell from one of the many shops lining the street. That would solve the problem without me needing to research bells or how to make them sound right.

In the dark, I planted myself down on the stone floor, surrounded by my assorted tools and materials. The chains on my mech rattled noisily as I settled.

The next step was to figure out another mechanism. Another trap, something like a protruding spike- no, no. Too harsh. A metal plate? Even that could cause serious damage to someone if swung fast enough. I felt myself smile at the thought of what else I could use. Maybe a mechanism to swing one of the mannequins into someone wouldn't be as dangerous. There were plenty of options at my disposal, but finding one that wouldn't be lethal was the trick. All I needed to do was follow the steps and objectives I'd laid out before myself, and it would work out. I'd figure out a path to-

Clang! Clang!

Two feet. The others wouldn't be back yet, so I could only assume Sigura had come back from her run. I winced internally at the sound, hoping it wouldn't bother her sensitive hearing too much. Relief flooded my form as my skin jiggled slightly atop the mech. A small part of me had worried that she wouldn't make it back. Either because she had gotten lost, or because she hadn't wanted-

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Four feet. Had the trio of Chimeras returned already? Maybe they'd intended to bring one of the potions with them, just in case. I lifted it up with my [Telekinesis], preparing myself to hand it to them as they appeared. I was glad that my teammates were so eager to prepare themselves. It meant we were on a similar wavelength, and I'd gotten closer to understanding-

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

My heart dropped.