"I still can't get over how different your System Shop is," Brigit said with a yawn as she watched Kira scroll rapidly through pages of produce. She was woken in a hurry by a panicking Kira, who lost all confidence in her cooking ability after burning a pancake to a blackened crisp while she was busy fretting about what else to make for breakfast. "Most Shops only have lower Rank raw crafting materials, basic potions, ordinary weapons and armor, Skill or Spell books, and basic survival supplies like canned food and emergency blankets. But look at this, you've even got groceries!"

"Groceries appeared once I was Attuned," Kira said, pulling out an entire armful of fruit from the Shop. "They were just, like, snacks before. And music, and movies, and TV and stuff. Wish I could buy furniture..."

"Why not just make furniture?"

Kira froze, pointing at Brigit with a shocked expression. "You-!"

"What? Was that offensive?!"

"No, you're brilliant! I can just make furniture!"

Brigit started laughing at the sheer awe on the human's face. "You're a Geomancer, you can make anything you want."

"Holy shit..." Kira whispered, her eyes wide. Clearly, she'd never considered that before. She made little figurines sometimes, and pushed and played with stone like it was clay, but Brigit had yet to see her make anything tangible or permanent.

Maybe it hadn't occurred to her yet?

"I don't know about Geomancers, but earth-based Mages and Artificers and whatnot make a living building things for people. Everything from chairs and bathtubs to houses and magic towers. Cities all have their walls built, fortified, and maintained exclusively by earth magic users." Brigit smiled, stifling another yawn behind her hand. When Kira finished washing the fruit she grabbed from the Shop, Brigit took out a knife and started carefully slicing the fruit into similarly sized chunks.

"I dunno why I never thought of that," Kira muttered, pouring measured dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisking them together.

"To be fair, you've been very busy these past couple months."

"True." The human let out a sigh, her blue eyes holding a sadness far beyond her meager years.

Brigit mentally kicked herself for bringing up something that would naturally make the girl sad, and instead directed the conversation toward breakfast plans. "What are we making again?"

"Fruit crepes, fruit tarts, spicy spinach and seasoned rice omelet rolls, bacon and cheese quiche cups with green onion garnish, buttered croissants, and grilled ham slices. Also smoked salmon, white rice, and miso soup because I miss having that for breakfast."

"No pancakes?"

"Pancakes are cursed."

"Crepes aren't?"

"Friendship with pancakes has ended. Crepes are new best friend. Also, crepes with homemade cream are really awesome."

"That's true. It's a lot of food though."

"I eat a lot. So does Ailsa. I dunno about her grandpa, but I'm making a lot just in case."

"Should we wake up Ribbon for help?"

"She was up late doing marksman practice with Simon," Kira sighed, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She was an early riser, but cooking at five in the morning was a bit much even for her. Brigit paused in slicing the fruit to put on a kettle for morning tea, and started the small coffee maker sitting on the counter.

"Coffee and tea for both of us, huh?"

"Yeah. Sorr- thanks," Kira quickly corrected herself when she caught Brigit's glare out of the corner of her eyes. The Drakke had been trying to get her to stop apologizing for needing or requesting help. It was better to thank people for being considerate, than it was to apologize without being at fault.

"I didn't know you could cook," Brigit said as Kira rapidly whipped powdered sugar and heavy cream into stiff peaks. "You have a surprisingly refined repertoire."

"Only some things. Dahlia and Matt taught me a little. Two of my siblings. I uh, work best with recipes? I'm not good at, mm. Improvising. Substitutions. If I don't have the right ingredients or tools, I get... confused. So it can be frustrating."

"That's understandable. Cooking is complicated. I think baking is easier, since it's precise measurements, but with cooking there's things like, a 'pinch' here and a 'dash' there and 'season to taste', right?"

"Exactly! 'Feel the flavor'. What does that mean?!" Kira pulled a face, and Brigit laughed.

"I can usually tell by smell, unless the food is really strongly seasoned. Or I have a cold. But that's through lots of experience, I think. I enjoy cooking, so I cook every day when I'm able to."

"Thank you for your sacrifice."

"It's not a sacrifice if I enjoy it!"

"Disagree. Mm... Snack-rifice."

"Fruit's all sliced, want me to turn some into a glaze for your tarts?"

"Yes please. Peach jelly, orange liqueur over there."

"The System let you buy liquor?!"

"Liqueur! And only small amounts. For cooking."

"I'm putting some in my coffee."

"Mm-kay."

"Lemon and honey in your tea?"

"Yeah. Ginger too."

"Ginger?"

"For my tummy."

"Nervous?"

"So much."

Brigit chuckled, adding a few spoonfuls of jelly and a bit of liqueur to a small sauce pot. Making a glaze was simple, just boiling a jelly down with either water or liqueur until it was smooth enough to be brushed over a dish. Tarts required some refrigeration, so it was one of the first dishes on the list to be completed before they started cooking other things. "You'll be fine, Kira. He's the one who wants to meet you."

"Exactly! Must be crazy. I'm boring. And weird. Somehow both."

"I don't think you're either of those things."

"Big disagree. I dunno what he thinks I'll be."

"And you're worried about unspoken expectations?"

"It's confusing. And scary. What if he hates me?"

"What if he doesn't?"

"Foreign concept. Everyone hates me eventually."

"Kira!" Brigit spoke sternly, turning down the heat on the glaze to level a glare at the human girl. She realized, after a moment, that Kira was shaking slightly as she worked, keeping her head down to avoid looking at Brigit.

"Sorry." Kira whispered. She looked more horrified at the fact that she'd spoken aloud, rather than ashamed of what she'd said.

"You don't really think that?" Brigit asked gently, and Kira shook her head after a moment's hesitation.

"Just... Nervous. Harder to ignore... bad thoughts."

"So you do think it, then."

"Only sometimes."

Brigit pressed her lips together, suppressing a sigh in case the girl misunderstood its origins. A pang stabbed at her heart, sharp as a blade and twice as painful. "For what it's worth, I think you're a delight. So does Ribbon, and Ailsa."

Kira was silent for a long moment. Then her lips curled halfway into a wry smile, and she briefly met Brigit's gaze before returning to the crepe batter. "Thanks."

Kira inhaled slowly, deeply, until her lungs felt fit to rip from the effort of containing all the air she forced into them. Then she exhaled in one burst, so quickly spots danced in her vision.

She preferred not to think. When dark thoughts bogged her down, it was usually in moments of great weakness, after stress and exhaustion wore away her resolute emotional walls. At night, in the dark, when the whisper of flickering shadows resembled the hiss of rustling sheets, or the creak of settling floorboards echoed once familiar footsteps.

Having a moment of weakness during the day, even if it was early morning, was troubling.

"I'm tired," Kira said aloud, speaking into her empty dorm. Brigit had excused herself once breakfast had finished cooking while taking with her a plate of treats. Ailsa and her grandfather had yet to arrive, and Ribbon was probably still asleep.

Compared to the vast silence pressing on her shoulders, Kira's voice felt small and pitiful.

Weak.

Kira clenched her fists and closed her eyes. She felt the ember of her grimoire nestled comfortably in her chest, thrumming alongside the beat of her heart.

Physically she knew she was strong for her level. Her stats made her scary even to her own teammates! She even took on a Boss monster by herself!

But inside she still felt weak.

"What can I do... To feel... strong?" she whispered, hot tears stinging at the corners of her eyes.

Unfortunately, the grimoire didn't answer. It just gave a soft pulse of energy that made her fingertips tingle for a second.

Suddenly, Kira remembered her sister Michelle.

Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Michelle was over six and a half feet tall in heels, with wavy golden blonde hair cascading all the way down her back. Once upon a time she'd cried in Kira's arms about being so tall, standing out so much as a trans girl who already stood out enough. Yet in a short amount of time Michelle had somehow found a new confidence, and Kira had asked how she'd done it.

Michelle turned to wink at her, her flawless eyeliner making Kira feel a mixture of awe and envy. "Fake it 'til you make it, sis," she'd said. "Looking confident is the key to feeling confident. Once you feel confident, you can be confident. So, fake it. Fake it until you fool yourself, then you can fool the world."

Kira smiled to herself, Michelle's voice strong and pure in her memories. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and sat up straight. "Okay."