January 24, 2019, 8:06 pm.

Roberts immediately tries to assuage our disgruntled host, "If it's that much of a bother, we can stay at another inn. If you'd be so kind as to direct us, we can be out of your feathers."

The falcon-like bird-person just stares at Roberts with narrowed eyes for a second before shrugging, "two doors down and across the way. Ocean's Breeze."

Demo and I chuckle as Roberts glances back for a second before responding, a small smile on his face, "Unfortunately, they're full."

"Well, looks like old Herv is stuck with you then. It'll be five emgee per night. Each. You're to be out of your rooms between 9 and 11, in the am, every day," our host, Herv, informs us as they close their eyes, dismissing us from their notice.

"Yeh're not big on customer service, are yeh?" Demo asks with a wide grin causing Herv's eyes to snap back open.

"My rooms are clean, safe and secure. You want bootlicking, you're in the wrong town."

"Clean, safe and secure sound excellent. You have a room for each of us?" Roberts interjects before Demo can continue, waving him back. This only causes Demo's grin to grow wider.

"Course. Accept the prompt and the rooms are yours. Your interface'll show the way."

Accepting his terms after our conversation, we all purchase our rooms. But since we're still planning on dinner with the others, we leave instead of going to bed, letting Herv know we're going out. He just grunts in response, still not moving from his bean bag.

When we get back to the Ocean's Breeze, we find a veritable feast laid out, the others already partaking with gusto. Considering Pefe's a K'tharn, it's not surprising that most of the dishes are meat. But not all of them. While there's an entire roast bird, several different types of cubed fish and pork crisps, there are also two different salads. Salads which are mostly leafy greens with only a few pieces of meat mixed in.

As Roberts informs the others we've secured our lodgings, I take a place at the table, noting that Pefe is nowhere to be seen. Once I've grabbed my own food, I reach out to Rufka, letting her know we've arrived in Glimmering Sands.

"This place is interesting. Wish you were here," I tell her as Smoulder hops onto the table, investigating my meal.

"It sounds fun. Definitely better than sneaking around Aethire. They've imposed a curfew for every-user not in the military. It's making everything take twice as long. I swear, it's like they don't want me to get mum out."

I can't help but giggle as I respond, "probably cause they don't."

"Yeah. I mean, what's with that?" she asks. I can practically hear her grin and picture her raising her brows.

"Oh, they're probably just trying to do you a favour. They know how much more awesome she is than you are. They're just trying to give you a chance," I tease while trying a pork crisp.

"How dare you! You think my mum's so great? You haven't even met her! Next, you'll be telling me she's the great Crimson Death!..... Oh, right."

I chuckle as Rufka and I start talking more seriously about her mom. Rufka lets me know that she's making progress but there's something weird going on in the capital.

"It's not just the curfew. Users are missing. A lot of users that I knew five years ago have disappeared," she tells me in a low voice.

"Be careful, okay?" I request, suddenly wishing I'd been able to go with her. Stupid invisibility not working.

"Hey, you know me," Rufka replies immediately.

"Yeah. That's what worries me," I try to tease, but I'm not able to put any weight behind it.

Rufka seems to pick up on my worry because she tries to reassure me, "Seriously Lexi, I'm being careful. No point in doing this, if I end up stuck with mum."

"Good. Hate to say goodbye but I'm almost out of facet," I reply while watching Smoulder incinerate some salad I'd been about to eat. Welp, that's hers now.

"Okay. Night Lexi. Talk to you in the morning?" Rufka asks quietly.

"Definitely. Night," I answer, glad she's asking me to check in more.

The moment the connection ends, Tipan turns to me. "Rufka is doing okay?"

"Yeah. She did mention some trouble though," I answer before filling Tipan in on the details. She listens quietly until I'm finished.

"I'm such a fool. Obviously, it wouldn't just be Ivicka," Tipan mourns.

"Hey. We don't know what's going on yet," I reply, trying to reassure her.

"No. But we can suspect. Curse my fur. If I were any other K'tharn, I could have gone with her."

"Ha. I know how you feel. Pretty hard for me to let her go on her own," I agree, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes. I noticed that you've become close. Is she… special to you?" Tipan asks with a low voice as Smoulder lands on my lap, having had her fill of the feast.

I think for a second before I respond. Obviously Rufka is special to me. But I'm not sure how I feel about telling the others that. I feel like I can trust Tipan though.

She's good people.

Checking around the table, I realize the others are arguing about the appropriate treatment of prisoners. Not really sure how they got on that topic, but they're clearly invested, so I answer Tipan at a barely audible whisper.

"Yeah. She's Vaus-damn special to me."

"Have you told her?" Tipan asks, matching her voice to my own.

"No," I admit grudgingly.

"You should. I've seen the way she looks at you. I'm certain she feels the same way," Tipan informs me.

"Oh. Thank you, Tipan," I reply, squeezing her hand again, "You're a great friend."

Tipan squeezes my hand back. "You're quite welcome, Alexis. It's the least I can do."

Suddenly there's a disturbance from where the others are arguing.

"Yeh'd kill them to save yourself the hassle?" Demo demands, glaring at Beth with cold eyes, his fluffy blue tails all flat against the floor.

"If they've attacked me or mine, yes," Beth admits readily. "I've tried the lenient approach before. It gets people killed."

Josh and Roberts aren't saying anything, but I can understand why no one is rushing to side with Beth.

"Sounds like you're perfect for the system. Kill or enslave all you come across," Demo sneers, jerking himself to his feet while glaring at Beth.

"Now hold on, Demo. Just because I'll shoot an unarmed prisoner, doesn't mean I wander the streets murdering children. There's a difference between those who've brought violence against you and those who haven't," Beth states, her voice growing low and cold as she stands, meeting his glare.

Glancing over at Josh, I see he's turned his eyes down. Beth seems way harsher than Josh's sister was. This can't be easy to hear, especially with them being so close lately.

I watch Beth as she stands there, glaring Demo down. I can't imagine myself killing a helpless prisoner. But when I consider Beth, it doesn't surprise me that she would.

And I know Uthica would. If she thought it would save the life of any of her people. Which I think is what Beth's saying.

Demo doesn't respond. After another few moments, he drops his eyes, sitting down heavily before returning to his meal, pretending to ignore Beth.

In response, Beth stares at the ceiling while muttering several words I don't understand in a harsh manner. Probably curse words. I wonder what language they're in.

"So, I have news from Rufka," I inform them, hoping to dispel the awkwardness.

Beth looks at me as though I've just pulled her out of a pit filled with killer sharks, as I convey my limited intel to the others. After this, we end up discussing possible disguise artifacts we might be able to find in the market. After all, the Lords of the Deep specialize in twilight manipulation. Tipan agrees that if anyone on Akilo can create an item that will allow us to infiltrate the Aetherium undetected, it would be them.

The rest of dinner passes without any significant topics but most of the conversation is carried by Roberts, Tipan and me. Josh being quiet isn't surprising, but tonight Beth and Demo both remain unusually silent.

Their silence holds until Beth says goodbye to us as we leave for the night.

"Hey, Alexis," Beth adds, holding me back as Demo and Roberts walk out the door.

"Yeah, Beth?" I ask, letting the door close as I turn to her.

"You understand, right?" she asks, the furrowed brows an unfamiliar expression on her face as she stares at me. Is she worried?

It takes me seconds longer than it should before I realize she's talking about her argument with Demo earlier. "Yeah. I doubt I could do it, but I understand why, logically, a person would think they have to."

"Good…" she nods, going silent for a second. "Goodnight kid," she adds, rustling my hair affectionately.

"Goodnight," I reply, smiling back at her as Smoulder and I push our way out into the cool night air, joining Roberts and Demo.

We're halfway back to the Falcon's Catch when Demo speaks, "is she always like that?"

"Beth? She can be rather intense at times," Roberts replies.

"Yeah. She's seen a lot," I add, feeling the need to defend Beth.

Demo nods as we approach the front door, "so, not all humans would agree with her then?"

"I'd be inclined to say most wouldn't," Roberts answers as we make our way inside. "I'd certainly object if she attempted such a thing."

Herv watches us move to our rooms as Demo smiles at Roberts, "good. It's awful enough to be trapped in the system. I'd hate it if yeh embraced its dark nature."

"I'm not certain it has anything to do with the system," Roberts replies. They continue talking, walking towards a clearly labelled bathroom. They both offer me a nod and a wave as I say my goodnights.

"Wow. Tonight was kind of intense," I mumble as I inspect my room. It's smaller than Raz's, barely enough room for the bed and me besides. No built-in bathrooms here. Luckily, the bathroom is just down the hall, which I make use of. It's cramped but the shower works. As nice as cleaning myself with my magic is, letting the shower wash over me is cathartic.

Finished with my shower, I plop down on the comfortable bed, that totally makes up for the lack of a bathroom, while I think back over the night.

"Life is weird," I tell Smoulder while staring at the ceiling.

Smoulder doesn't understand my worries. We had good food, we're together and now we get to play. 'What more could I want?' she wonders at me while pushing against my hand.

Laughing, I give her belly rubs and head scritches as she melts under my attention. Then once we're done, I start on tonight's obstacle course.

Tonight, I focus on practicing with water and steel, trying to create unique obstacles while Smoulder dashes about. Eventually, it resembles a waterpark, crammed in to fill most of the small room.

Except Smoulder is trying to avoid going on any of the rides in this particular park.

Once Smoulder's satisfied with her results, she settles on my chest, and we drift off together, the water park glowing lightly in the background.

When I wake the next day, it's with an urgent need. After escaping the mess that was my room, I stumble my way to the shared bathroom at the end of the hall. I end up dancing in place when I discover the closed and locked door. A humming drifts through the door, clearly confirming the rooms occupied status.

Knocking on the door, I hear the expected "just a minute" before Demo pushes his way out through the narrow bathroom door, his tails splaying out behind him majestically.

"Ah. Morning to yeh," he greets, bowing slightly, his eyes glinting mischievously as he stops in the doorway, inhibiting access.

But I push past him with a mumbled morning of my own, his body practically weightless. Seriously, can't people wait until after the bathroom to mess around?

It's only once I'm in the middle of my business that I realize he was too easy to push to the side. Reflecting on my memory, I realize I unconsciously used my wind magic to pick him up and shove him out of the way.

This unconscious use of magic is getting a bit worrying. Is this another effect of my attributes being out of balance? Or is it something else?

When I emerge from the cramped washroom, I'm planning to connect to Rufka when I find Roberts and Demo already waiting in the hall. Before I know it, we're out in the street, on our way to join the others for breakfast as I chat with Rufka. Because, why wait?

Nothing's happened since last night but we still keep chatting. Our conversation continues until our group has almost reached the Ocean's Breeze before I reluctantly wish her goodbye after she lets me know something has come up.

As I'm ending the link, I realize I'm about to step on Demo's tail. Halting myself with a quick combination of earth and wind magic, I glance up at him. Demo still hasn't made a single comment about me pushing him out of the way with my magic. He did grin at me when I emerged from the bathroom, but I've no idea if that meant anything.

As we make our way up the steps, a voice can be heard coming from the other side of the door, speaking in Vausian.

I'm only able to discern the words "thank you. I'd never have found them without you," before the door swings open. A moment later, we find ourselves presented with the incoming back of a boisterous K'tharn as she waves goodbye to someone inside. Her grey and black colouration remind me of a tabby cat.

Just as she's reorienting herself to descend the steps, she plows into Roberts. As she bumps against him, she starts trying to retain her balance by flailing her arms wildly which causes her to throw three carved figurines in the air.

In an impressive display, Roberts not only doesn't stumble, but he also catches the suddenly windmilling K'tharn with one hand while plucking each of her hand-carved figurines out of the air before they can fall.

"Well. This is unanticipated," Roberts notes as the K'tharn stares up at him before turning her attention to the figurines he holds proffered in his hand.

"Oh, thank goodness. Thank you for saving them," she states once she's recovered, gathering the three figurines in her lower hands excitedly.

"I would have been in so much trouble if I'd dropped these," she adds, giving him a quick peck on the cheek

Then, before we can respond, she leaps to the bottom of the stairs racing out of sight as she calls back, "thanks again."

She almost runs into another couple K'tharn making their way down the street since she's turned back while waving at us.

"Yeh okay there?" Demo inquires as Roberts stares after the K'tharn who's disappeared down the street.

"Hmm. Yes. But I think we have a problem," Roberts replies distractedly.

"What? Just cause she bumped into you?" I ask. If we didn't all have magical inventories, I'd wonder if he'd lost his wallet.

Roberts steeples his fingers as he paces in place, "I recognize her. I wasn't sure at first. But now I am. She's the K'tharn who fed Josh and me when we were captured. She's from Ivicka's Flight."

"And if she's here," I reply, gesturing in the direction she ran off.

"Then Ivicka can't be far behind," Roberts agrees.

Here I thought we'd made it away from that oversized K'tharn and her dragon.

Damn.

I was really looking forward to shopping for a new pair of pants.