I must have dozed off on the way back to the guild hall. I yawned as I stretched out on the bed, glad to find myself back in my human form.

Shuffling over to my wardrobe, I grabbed a cotton towel and after staring at the dozen outfits Jezebel had given me in thanks for improving her cosmetics; I decided on a pair of dark woolen trousers and a short-sleeved purple blouse with a front-lacing corset vest. Wearing a vest had been strange at first, even more so the fancier corseted ones Jezebel made, but it seemed to be that everyone wore leather outerwear over their clothing, though the style tended to differ.

After making use of the showers located in the bathroom down the hall from my room, I tossed my wet towel and my dirty leather armor into my laundry bag, heading towards the bathroom door which opened to reveal a woman with pale blonde, almost platinum, colored hair, white furred ears and three white tails.

“Good morning.” Yuki said softly, stopping to hold the door open for me.

“Good morning, Yuki.” I replied, smiling in thanks as I slipped past her out of the room and tossed the bag with my dirty items into the laundry chute outside the door.

“Your hair is damp. Are you still struggling to expel heat through your fur?” the older Kitsune observed.

“I have been practicing. I’m just too tired to try this morning,” I told her, while fighting back a yawn.

“Even if you are tired, you must at least make the attempt.” Yuki advised.

Closing my eyes, I focused on my inner fire, pushing the heat outward through my hair and fur. As I did so, steam began rising in small clouds from my hair, ears, and tail, which became dry in a matter of seconds.

“Well done. Your control has improved. You managed it without a single flame appearing. Keep practicing and soon you will be able to form your first wisp core.” The other Kitsune advised.

“Were you able to talk to Lena?” I asked, glancing down at the floor as the sound from the main room of the guild hall rose in volume.

Shouts and mocking laughter reached my ears, but I could not make out what was said by those below. Though, considering it was time for the morning meal, someone was likely sharing an amusing tale from one of their adventures the previous day or night.

“Mm, I did. She was reluctant to reveal the nature of her wisps at first, but has agreed to disclose the information in an exchange. Lena wishes to create an explosive poison pellet, but lacks the knowledge or ability to do so. If you can assist her in this, she will assist you in turn. As the co-leader of the Silver Arrow guild, and a very strong assassin, keeping a good relationship with her will be a great benefit. We are lucky that our guilds have a long-standing alliance from our time in Avalon. Lena did not say when she will visit, but I suspect it will be soon. Do not be surprised if she suddenly appears in your lab or room with a blade to your throat. She will want to begin your interactions with the upper hand.”

“A poison pellet?” I mused. “That is certainly possible, I’ve already got plans to make some smoke bombs.”

“If you can create a small sample of what you will be able to produce, it would be to your benefit as it will allow you to skip over the initial stage of Lena doubting your abilities.” Yuki suggested, patting my shoulder. “Now that Darius is back, I will need to leave. I shall return in a few days, after which we will visit the livestock auctions to find you a mount. Let us hope we can find you one suitable before the end of the coming week when you leave for Valonia.”

“Thank you, Yuki. Have a safe hunt.” I told the blond Kitsune, who nodded with a smile before disappearing into the bathroom.

After returning to my own room to gather my bag and my wagasa, which was leaning against the wall, I made my way down to the main hall, where breakfast was being served. Moving to the table where the kitchen staff had piled up food trays, I grabbed a tray and joined the line of people waiting to be served.

“Morning, Kadia,” Taurie greeted as she placed four strips of bacon onto my tray with a smile.

“Hi, Taurie, can I have a packed lunch please? I’ll be eating in my lab.” I informed the girl, who nodded.

“I will bring it to your table. Lunch is a choice of rabbit stew or spicy chicken and rice.”

“Chicken, I’ll take the chicken.” I said quickly, cringing at the memory of the previous day's bunny massacre.

Leaving the serving line, I scanned the tables for a place to sit. I hated eating in the main hall. It always felt like I was back in school with everyone clustered around in their friend groups.

Resigning myself to eating with strangers who might pester me with questions and requests for tinctures, I headed for a nearby table with an empty seat, only making it halfway across the room when a voice called my name.

Looking up and seeing Darius waving at me to a table where he sat with five others, I hesitated for a second before walking over.

As I reached the table, the group with Darius all stood and left. As they passed me, I noticed that Nolin, the dwarf who’d called himself the Eternia guilds forge master, was in the group which appeared to be made up of different crafters. Jezebel, who was in charge of the clothier and seamstresses, was also in the group and gave me a friendly smile as she moved to join another table with her apprentices.

“Sit, we’ll talk while you eat.” Darius said, indicating the spot across from him as he flipped through the pages of what looked to be an accounting book.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked cautiously, glancing down at my plate of eggs, bacon, and thickly-cut toast.

“I want you to teach a member of the guild to craft the basic salves and tinctures, so we can move the production of those items to the kitchen. They are a basic daily need, and with what I can see here in Bron’s sale records, the demand for them in the guild is high. No one is buying any outside the guild anymore and Bron wants us to begin shipping bulk amounts to the other halls. I don’t want you spending all your time making basic items like these, which is why I want you to train Taurie to make them. According to Bron, she has been helping you in the lab daily with preparing the ingredients so she already has an understanding of what needs to be done.”

“I can do that,” I agreed, relaxing as I realized I wasn’t in trouble for anything.

“Good, Taurie will report to your lab daily until you feel she has an understanding of the process.”

“She already knows how to prepare all the ingredients used. I just need to give her the recipes I’ve modified from the Potioneer’s guide and she should be able to complete them without much guidance. But, using the kitchen isn’t a good idea, some parts of the plants used are poisonous, and there could be a risk of contamination.” I told him, and he nodded.

“I’m having one of the kitchen's storerooms converted to a workspace, and we’ll allocate one of the new fire stones there after the hunt. Speaking of firestones, I spoke with Nolin this morning about his uncooperative behavior regarding your commissioning tools. There should be no issues requesting items from the smiths in the future. I intended to pass the job of making the tools you need onto them, but Markion made a rather spectacular entrance earlier, so he can do it.”

“He’s back?” I asked, putting down my fork.

“Yes, he removed the dress before entering the hall, but it appears he did not notice the makeup. It caused quite a ruckus. I don’t think he’ll hear the end of this incident for quite some time.” The guild leader said with a wry smile.

“Do you think he’ll know it was Noctus who put him in the dress?”

“I do now.” Markion growled from behind me, causing me to let out a startled squeak. How did he sneak up on me? He’s massive. I should have heard his hooves clomping on the floor.

The Minotaur sat beside me, taking up all the remaining room on the bench seat that was meant to fit four. Shuffling to the side, I bit my lip as I peaked at him from the corner of my eye. What should I say? Do I ask what happened? Do I want to know?

“Darius, mind giving us a moment? I need to talk with my sister.” Markion said.

“Of course,” Darius replied, picking up the books and paperwork he had spread on the table.

When the guild leader left, I pushed my tray away, my appetite having fled with the arrival of my brother.

“Mr. Davis asked me to let you know he was informed the settlement money was transferred to Gaia corp yesterday, and that due to the restrictions on gold transfers you will be contacted by a Gaia corp representative to discuss how you will be paid.” Markion began, skipping over any pleasantries, which I was grateful for. “The settlement Davis accepted was thirty million all up, though the greedy fucker took a million for himself in fees.”

“Are you okay? You were gone for days.” I said softly, trying to read the expression on his face, which was extremely difficult considering his inhumane features.

“I am fine, it was a rough few days, but I’m good now. I got yanked out of my capsule by some government agents who were crawling all over the house like ants getting into every nook and cranny. They took me to the Department of Digital Life and tossed me in a cell for a few hours before bringing me into a room for questioning. Thankfully Davis showed up to play the part of my lawyer.” He informed me, and I made a mental note to thank Davis for looking after Marcus the next time we spoke.

“After about twenty minutes of questioning, they opened the door and basically told me to get lost.” Markion’s words faltered and he let out a sigh, his large shoulders slumping as he grabbed my tray, pulling it towards himself.

“The accounts were frozen?” I asked, shocked that he’d just been left out on the streets with no money or place to go. Why didn’t Davis help him? He should have withdrawn money from my trust or done something to make sure Marcus had somewhere to stay.

“Yeah, once the trials were over, most of the family's assets were seized to pay back the company, but they left both our trusts alone. I was able to get my personal items from home and some of your things I was able to save. I’m staying in a capsule hotel at the moment.” he informed me, shaking his head with a sigh.

“What’s happening with the house? Did they take that too?”

“Yeah, it’s being foreclosed on,” Markion said as he stuffed a strip of bacon into his mouth.

“What’s happening with the company? Have you spoken to anyone there?” I asked, wondering who would take over now. I knew Markion wouldn’t, nor was he qualified too.

“Do you remember Dr. Carlson?"

"Yes, he worked with my mother. He is the head of the development and research department,” I answered. I’d spent the last few summers interning under him at the company, so it was a little difficult to forget him.

“I spoke to him yesterday, he’s pretty torn up about everything. We talked for a bit, and I think I’m going to sell my company shares to him. He’s currently acting as temporary chairman, but with the addition of my shares, he should have enough to secure the position. He seems to know what he is doing and will run the company better than I ever could. Not that I want to run it." Markion said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. “Did Davis tell you what charges the Greenes’ are facing?”

“The Greenes?” I murmured questioningly. Why was he calling them that?

“They don’t deserve to be called parents,” my brother spat, lips curling back over his teeth in a sneer.

“No, no they don’t, and he told me the charges.”

“Yeah, well, it got rushed through court. Lots of people want this to go away from what your lawyer said. They were found guilty on all accounts, and received a life sentence to be served in one of the food plantations.”

I nodded, already knowing where they would end up. Davis and I had discussed my preference regarding the manner in which the pair would serve out their sentences. In my eyes, working in one of the hydroponic food plantations would be the worst kind of punishment for them.

Danica had never worked a day in her life, and my father was a businessman who’d inherited the company from his own father. The term labor was an unfamiliar one where they were concerned.