Another side effect of my burnout was the diminished effectiveness of my link with my tame animals. In some moments, it was even entirely cut off. Or at least the sensory part. Dime was hunting far away and I could only get a faint mental ping of his whereabouts. At least Penny was behaving like a horse. She was almost jumping out of her pen at the prospect of going out for a ride.

"Whoa, girl! Good girl, Honey Cake! I know I should've come to visit but there was so much going on I forgot! Sorry! Will you forget me, Honey Cake? Yes? Now stand still so I can put the saddle blankets over your back!"

She was skittish. Penny couldn't stay still long enough for me to put the blankets that would cushion the boiled leather saddle and I could swear that if I had some Ritalin in my first aid kit I'd give her some.

"You know what? Fine, let's ride. But if you drop me, I'll keep you penned for one week! Did you hear me, Honey Cake?" The mare nodded. I pulled a bunch of her hair and jumped over her. "Open up, Aristunn. I don't think she'll keep still any longer."

The eunuch chief guard opened the pen and the horse bolted out. I felt as if a rodeo was about to start. Penny buckled, reared and dashed for the gate.

"Open the gate!" I shouted.

Lipit-Ea and Atta-Li were at the gate and recognized what was happening immediately. They pushed the heavy wooden doors and Penny went past, scraping one of my knees on the iron frame of the gate. It ripped my pants and stung, but I ignored it. I had another problem: I was riding bareback and I had to keep myself from falling off my horse.

She galloped down the street, making the guards of the other noble and wealthy estates raise an eyebrow. I went past my own gate and could swear there were some scavengers inside. Penny reached the end of the road and entered the city streets proper, trotting, jumping and dodging traffic by a hair's breadth.

I heard shouts of 'mad horse' and improved my repertoire of curses in modern Akkadian by a score. Penny went west, running out through the gates and into the snaking road that went around the farms.

I had no choice but to keep riding, bouncing and hitting some sensitive parts over the mare's spine. I knew I would get some serious saddle sores from all this horsing around. At least she was keeping to the road as she went up and down and around the farms. I could swear that my first reform in the food production industry would be to make these roads straight.

Hello, another world. Meet the grid road system. Because you can't be modern until you get stuck in traffic.

My ride wasn't that bad if I could crack bad jokes while I was shaking on my ride. We approached the Aerie and I thought about all the nice ores and water goblins below and it felt like an eternity since I climbed out of that hole on top of the mountain. It was only a week. Penny ran past the Aerie and into the woods.

It was then that I felt a mental ping. Dime was in distress. Was this the reason the mare was so anxious to get here? To help her avian bond-partner? That was so sweet of her!

She went through the forest and I had to crouch to avoid the branches. I was only partially successful. And then I saw what was the cause of Dime's distress.

The eagle was fighting a bobcat. Or a lynx. It had a dense shiny silvery fur, long tufted ears, and a strong set of back legs. I think it was a lynx but don't quote me on that. Regardless of what feline species that critter was, I had no idea why this fight was still ongoing. None of the combatants seemed wounded. Dime would dive, using wind magic to enhance his speed and try to do a fly-by attack. While the silver cat would use its powerful hind legs to jump and twist mid-air to dodge the eagle's claws. Then it quickly rearranged itself and jumped after the sky-lord. The cat jumped some twenty meters up, I swear.

Why were they fighting? Who started the fight? Should I assist Dime? Shout some instructions to him? I didn't bring my white and red balls though.

I watched the exchange happen for another four times before I noticed that the reason none of them was wounded was that both of them were too good at evading and too dumb to try anything but the same attack over and over. Swoop, strike, dodge, pounce, miss. Unfortunately for the bird, it had to keep flying up and down, while the cat could just lay still on the treetop waiting to pounce. It was obvious who was going to run out of stamina first, and I couldn't have that outcome.

So I decided to interfere to the detriment of the local wildlife. It was totally justified as Dime was a tame animal, even though not domesticated, and mine. I had a right to self-defense and that cat was going to have to go find another meal. I got down and went to the pine tree where the cat was on.

"Go away, bad kitty!" I threw a rock at him.

The rock pathetically reached only halfway up the pine tree. My girly arms were surely not powerful enough to reach the cat some ten-ish meters above. My only choice was to climb the tree. And so I did. I started climbing and after a few meters, I heard the cat hissing at me. I kept climbing.

Dime used the distraction to draw first blood. He ripped open a gash along the cat's back as his talon dug deep into the feline's fur and flesh underneath. The cat growled in fury but kept an eye on the bird and another on me.

I reached more than halfway up, the number of branches that could hold my weight diminishing. The cat was growling, looking at me with the scruff all ruffled up. I shook the branch it was on and the cat was forced to relocate. I could see its red blood staining the tree branches as he moved along. I hoped it would just go away but it didn't.

Feeling overconfident, Dime dove again to peck one of the cat's eyes. He knew it was a match point as he folded his wings almost entirely and dove like a ballistic missile. I jumped to another branch and then tried to change trees to keep the cat in my range.

And then the cat decided that it had enough of being harassed from both below and above, The cat leaped to what seemed in its mind the path of least resistance. Past me. The sight of a cat the size of a large dog pouncing from above at you with its fangs and claws bare was enough for me to lose my grip and footing. I crashed down the tree limbs splendidly, de-limbing the tree and crashing down on the rocky ground. Somehow it didn't hurt as much as it should and I definitely felt some cushioning effect and a rush of upward wind.

Then my musings on the strange phenomenon were interrupted as I was showered by resin, leaves, sticks, and sap.

Reeling from the pain, I looked around and saw the cat drop next to me, paying attention up to see where Dime would come from. I jumped and grabbed its hind leg, causing the feline to jump and hiss at me. I reached with another hand and wrapped on the other side around its belly.

"It's fine, nobody will hurt you. Let me see your wound," I cooed.

That was the moment of truth. Either that cat was an animal and would be affected by my animal friendship boon or it was a monster and would attack me. If it were a monster, I'd have to kill it. I mentally sent an order to keep my pets at bay.

The lynx raised a paw, claws exposed. I was ready to release its leg and summon the combat knife to stab its belly.

"C'mon, don't be a monster!" I mumbled.

The cat withdrew its claws and lowered its paw. Then it gave me the kitty eyes. I stared at it and it meekly mewled. This was suspicious. Very suspicious. Dime landed on a tree branch next to us and cawed. Penny approached. The lynx tilted its head and met Dime's eyes, but I couldn't sense fear or hostility from the feline. And only annoyance from Dime. It was as if...

"Bloodstone, what happened? Why are you here out in the middle of nowhere fighting this cat?"

I got a mix of emotions and some mental images through our bond. It also came with faint pangs of headache. Yesterday, Dime was out here hunting near his old nest when this cat snatched and robbed his prey. Angered, Dime went after the thief and the fight went on. He got this far without even thinking, so absorbed in the fight he was. They stopped for the night but resumed in the morning. The cat showed up to taunt and goad him even further away.

I put it aside for a while to check my own condition. My bruises and scratches were taking longer to heal. My magic power remained at half-full. It solidified the theory that I was leaking magic because of the burnout and that my healing only used the surplus magic if the wounds were past a critical point. It was like the amount of magic for healing could be determined by a formula.

MH = RR - L - U

MH - Magic Healing rate for non-critical wounds

RR - Recovery Rate for magical energy.

L - Leak

U - Upkeep.

In the state I was, still suffering from burnout, RR was greatly diminished while L was very big.

Which might mean I screwed up today. I should've waited for the whole day. I could also feel that my available magic decrease by small but measurable amounts for every branch I hit and another larger quantity when I hit the ground. And there was a considerable drain now that Dime was within link distance again.

I had a hunch that this cat was trying to separate Dime from me? For what reason? Was I being too paranoid to think that this cute and fluffy pussy was conspiring against me? Speaking of which, his fur is so soft and delicate and fluffy! I must pet it!

"Meow!"

It winced. I checked it and the wound on its back reopened.

"Who do you work for? Tell me and I'll treat your wound. Lie to me, and Bloodstone there will eat you."

Dime liked the idea of eating the cat if only to spite it. The cat tilted its head and purred. It stretched its neck and rubbed its fluffy head on my arm.

"Flattery will get you... nowhere. No. Don't try to look cute!"

I could see its fur was not entirely silvery. It had some white spots that splashed like paint drops or the craters on the moon. The cat whimpered, begged, mewled.

I wanted to use my first aid kit. There were some butterfly stitches to close its skin. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to get an item that big in my condition. While I mused, the cat pawed and tried to play with my headphones, still looped around my neck.

"No. Don't touch this, it isn't a toy."

The cat withdrew its paw and kept staring at me. I felt some intelligence behind those slitted eyes. Dime was extremely irritated that I was petting the cat and he was exhausted. I checked the wound across its back and it was a shallow gash. The cat would be scarred but its life wasn't endangered.

I put the critter on the ground. "Off you go. Don't pester Bloodstone again. This is your last chance."

The cat ran to hide behind some trees as Dime opened his wings and screeched. I blocked his dive with my body and caught the bird as it slammed into my chest.

"Okay, you won. Now stop struggling, Bloodstone!"

Dime calmed down and folded its wings. I cradled him and checked for any sign of the cat. I saw him far away from some five trees across, peeking from behind a trunk. I mentally called Penny, and after some gymnastics, got back on the mare with the bird in my hands.

"Let's go back, slowly this time. You did well, Honey Cake! You brought me to rescue Bloodstone! Lead on, girl."

Penny walked back to the road and paced herself on the way back. When I say paced herself I mean a fast canter, as the mare somehow became tireless after we bonded. Or maybe it was because her body became a pristine version of herself, just like my healing boon said. And there was another thing. I was tireless as well. I didn't make the connection before because I bonded with Penny since day 2, but I could remember all the exercise I did at the training grounds of the garrison ages ago, and my trekking through the mine tunnels.

I knew my bonded pets gained some of my boons. If I assumed it was reciprocal, it meant I gained a tirelessness trait from Penny once we bonded. And what about Dime? I remembered the fall from the tree. How I felt a cushioning effect before I hit the ground. Brandon told me sky-lords could use wind magic and I saw Dime deflect arrows and do aerial stunts a bird of his size shouldn't be able to do, including flying indoors where he couldn't use his whole wingspan.

Did it mean I had Dime's innate wind magic? Further investigation and a consultation with my favorite magical expert were required. It wasn't time for that though.

I had to focus on getting to madam Cloe's atelier. I returned to the city and the image of a woman, bruised and disheveled, wearing pants, riding a horse bareback and cradling a big eagle on her lap drew a lot of necks and some shouts. I ignored them, relieved that Penny had at least slowed down.

Soon we approached Cloe's shop and I checked the surrounding area. It was a nice street, three removed from the central market and one that had a lot of shops. I could see some security guards wandering around the street and I wondered if they were watching business in particular or the whole street. I spotted my carriage outside. Shamash and Kani-Kasu were manning the vehicle as footman and driver, respectively. They turned when they heard Penny's hooves approaching from behind.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" I asked them.

"Sandra!" Shamash smiled, "There you are. Aristunn and Zuska are inside, we already unloaded your fabrics."

I nodded. "Okay. Can you keep an eye on these two? Bloodstone needs to rest, I'm locking him inside the carriage. I need a pole to let him perch on, or he'll claw the upholstery."

With some effort, we tied a broomstick to the carriage benches and I left Dime inside the vehicle. The poor eagle was so tired it didn't complain. Penny stood there, next to her horse friends, probably bragging about her timely rescue. Yeah, right. Jokes aside, I entered the atelier.

Several mannequins sported what went for the latest fashion trends in the city of Es-Kina. Embroidered tunics, geometric-pattern sashes and scarves, bleached togas, and long dresses. At the back of the shop, I saw first the spools of silk fabric and then Aristunn, Zuska, and Cloe.

"Ah, Sandra, welcome!" Cloe turned to greet me. "What happened? You are wounded and your clothes! Your hair!"

She came to me and pulled on my clothes, my hair, and checked my wounds.

"Don't worry. I'll be as good as new tomorrow. Even my clothes will be repaired soon. I had to go save my stupid eagle from becoming cat food. You see, there was this silver-colored cat that was taunting Bloodstone..."

I told them an abridged version of the story.

"Well, this can't stay like this. Come, my dear, let's get you changed. Mister Aristunn, do you mind?"

The eunuch got a bit embarrassed from being singled out. He recovered and nodded. "No. I'll wait outside. Excuse me, milady."

I made eye contact with Zuska. What I wanted to know was why she came, but I was afraid of broaching the subject and offending her. "Did you like the dresses?"

"Yes, very. Sandra, I'm sorry I pressured Aristunn into bringing me and I might have lied to him about you want me here, but I couldn't come! I want to become an apprentice to madam Cloe. If you let me."

I grinned. "You don't need to lie to get what you want. Why can't you just ask? As for becoming Cloe's apprentice, you should ask her, not me."

Zuska protested, "But you are my ma--"

She stopped talking when I frowned at her. "Didn't your sister explain already? I'm nobody's master. I'm your guardian. Employer, once we find a useful job you can perform. Zuska, you are already fourteen. I want you to finish your education first."

I turned around to ask the person herself. "Now, Cloe, what do you think? Do you even want to get an apprentice?"

The seamstress smiled at me. "It depends. I saw all those lovely bolts of silk you brought and now I'm wondering how many clothes are you ordering. If your order is too big, I'll need someone to help me."

I chuckled. Naughty merchant. I tapped my chin. "I don't know if I can pay for that many clothes. You see, I'm a bit short on coins."

That was a blatant lie. Cloe knew it was a lie but she played along. It was all part of the merchant game. Those back and forths, the theatrical negotiation. With Abil-Kisu I could avoid it because he knew and recognized my alien status. And he knew that better deals were on their way so if he stiffs me on some shoddy fancy glass bottle, he'll miss later on. We were both aware of that.

"Well, if you let me have some of the silk and the scraps to use on my own pieces, I can offset some of the costs."

"But that would give you an incentive to be wasteful with the fabric," I replied. "And I have no idea how much fabric a dress uses. Maybe it is a lot."

Cloe pretended to be offended. "I wouldn't dare steal from you. What if I take this girl of yours and the first thing I teach her is how to measure the fabric needed for a project?"

"Did you decide to take Zuska as an apprentice?"

It went back and forth for a couple more rounds and we finally settled on having Cloe use all the silk to make outfits for me with Zuska as her apprentice. The girl would have to move in and live with Cloe. I hoped Arwia wouldn't mind.

"I'll show you what kind of clothes I want," I told Cloe and prepared to endure the headache from calling my phone.

I used to play a dress-up game that was popular with the girls back in Japan. You would buy outfits through a gacha system and then combine them to do fashion duels. There were a lot of fancy medieval and fantasy clothes I'd love to wear. And there was no better opportunity to do that than right then. I fired the app and the splash screen from the developers was soon followed with the following message:

Request failed

Network failure, please connect to the internet and try again.

[Retry]

Cloe was staring at the splash screen.

"What a fancy painting! I've never seen anything like that! And these girls are so elegant! If only there wasn't this white square covering part of their outfits!"

It was the picture of a princess' bedroom, with drapes, a fancy vanity, some books and toys and jewelry strewn across the floor. Two other girls were helping the main character of the game, sitting in front of the vanity, get ready for another dress-up contest.

I'd spent quite some cash on that game. Don't judge me. Gachas are addictive. I'd also worked hard to get most of the in-game content. But now, without the allegedly ubiquitous internet, all that effort was worth nothing.

Maybe I could rip off the images from the cache and the APK of the game.

After my very unladylike bout of anger, I remembered I had some screenshots from some particular combinations I liked very much. I showed them to Cloe and the eyes of the seamstress sparkled so much I had to summon my sunglasses. No, not really. I exaggerated a bit.

She took some pieces of high-quality vellum and a feather pen and started to copy the screenshots' outfits. Zuska was watching closely, trying her best to learn what she could. I showed Cloe how to browse the photos and walked away to give them space. I went for a stroll through the shop to check what she had for sale. I found several dresses that looked really nice. She had some in dyed cotton. They looked really nice and had a European feel, differently from the clothes I usually see that have that Egyptian or Middle-Eastern influence.

They don't have a rigorous winter, I think their winter is just a slightly less hot season as they don't even know what real snow is. It shows in their choices of clothing. The fabrics are light but sturdy. They are not meant to keep the heat, they are meant to ventilate and cool the body. They use mostly linen, seldom wool. Cotton is a premium material and silk is a luxury fabric. That Cloe was willing to work for scraps of silk shows how valuable it was.

I tagged a dozen gowns and dresses I liked. The cotton was rough but still softer than the linen. Like many of their plants, they did not domesticate them. The genetic improvements that came with the centuries of selective breeding of the plants were missing.

"Sandra!" I heard Cloe calling me. I went to see what it was and she was tapping the phone. "Your magic tablet went dark. I can't get it to work."

I could see the half-finished drawing of a very complex outfit. She got to the steampunk collection and girl did these game artists go nuts on the details. Zuska was fanning the other parchments to accelerate the drying of the ink. Every surface of the atelier where a sheet of vellum could be placed on had one.

"That's fine. It shuts down the screen after a while," I told her and unlocked the phone again. I let her finish the steampunk design and put the phone on my breast pocket. "Cloe, I want to purchase some dresses from the front. Could you tell me how much they are?"

I bought the dresses and she packed them for me in a wooden crate. I went outside to call Aristunn to load it on the carriage for me. Then I paid Cloe after she finished tallying my tab. Expensive but worth it.

"Oh, thank you so much, Sandra! I will start working on your new clothes immediately!"

We shook hands and I went outside. Zuska came behind me, silent as a mourner. I found Shamash. "Shamash, you are staying here to guard madam Cloe and Zuska. I'll send another guard to keep you company through the night and then two others to relieve you in the morning."

Shamash was the closest thing to an elf that this world had to offer. I remember his introduction, he was part of the forest people near the capital when agricultural expansion forced him and his brethren into slavery. He bowed.

"As you wish, milady," He said curtly and then went to stand guard next to the door.

I turned around and faced Zuska. I put my hand on the girl's shoulder. "You stay here and help your new mentor. I won't say master because you have none. I'll send your things with the guards in the morning and talk to Arwia. Follow your dreams with your chin up, Zuska. And become a splendid seamstress."

She sniffled. "Thank you, Sandra."

I giggled and hugged her. "Don't thank me yet. I expect to make you craft a lot of clothes for me later on." Then I gently pushed her to go to Cloe's side. "Cloe, please tell me later how much Zuska's tuition will cost me. And please teach her well."

The seamstress waved. "I will, Sandra!"

I went around the carriage and patted Penny's neck. "Kani-Kasu, Shamash, please take me home. Honey Cake, you come along with us. No, no. I can't ride you. That's your fault for not letting me put the saddle on. I need to rest my... Just go home."

I boarded the carriage and Dime just opened an eye to see who was coming before twisting his neck, nesting his beak under his wing and returning to sleep. The trip back was uneventful. After I got down from the carriage carrying Dime, I checked the sun's position. One hour to nightfall.

I went to my room and put the bird on its perch stand. "I'll have Belle bring some scrap meat for you later. Stay there, you hear me!"

After leaving Dime where he would be able to rest, I went to the stables. Penny deserved a brushing and a sugar cube. I hadn't sugar cubes so she would have to make do with a good brush. I could feel that she was happy. Going out and running wild was good for her but not as good for me. "Next time you won't get out without a saddle," I declared.

I was about to finish when one of Abil-Kisu's servants found me.

"Lady Rinaldi, honorable Abil-Kisu asked to inform you that dinner will be served a little past sunset. He asked if you are ready."

Oh, I'd promised to sing for his guests. I went back to my room and found that Aristunn had put the crate with the dresses there. I opened them and checked to see what I would wear. I settled for a dark brown long gown that had a crisscrossing string in the front to work like a corset. Its neckline was high and the sleeves were puffy on the shoulders and it looked lovely. I remembered Cloe explaining to me why this one was so expensive.

"This dress was dipped four times, that's why it has such a rich color," She told me.

Today I learned that their clothes had to be dipped in the dye bath more than once to make the color set. Four dips meant spending four times as many dyes. I slipped out of my dirty and scraped explorer clothes and into the gown. I could put the gold jewelry, it would stand out against the brown gown but I didn't dare try to summon them. I didn't put on makeup for the same reason. So I just put on the titanium heels and was ready to go. I left the headphones and the phone in the room and had to carry the iPod in my hand. I would use it in karaoke mode to provide musical accompaniment.

I entered the tent and saw Abil-Kisu and his guests. Lu-Ninurta, Bero-Mabii, priest of Tarhun and some merchants and crafters. The host clapped when he saw me.

"Oh, there she is. My guest of honor. Lady Rinaldi, how lovely you are today. Your shoes especially, they are divine!"

And all the eyes went to my feet. I didn't hide them. Coming to this world made me bolder.

"I thank you, honorable Abil-Kisu. Gentlemen, our esteemed host asked me to sing for you tonight. I'll sing a couple songs from my world before dinner if that's okay with you."

I bowed and the merchants clapped her hands in approval. I went to the middle of the tent, breaking protocol and stepping on the carpet with my shoes. After Abil-Kisu compliments, it was his fault. I checked the iPod and selected the first song. I ended up with Adele's 'I set fire to the rain'.

I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames

Well, it felt something died

'Cause I knew that that was

The last time, the last time

For some really weird and freaking reason singing the song made me keep Brandon's image in my head. It made me feel really sad, as if it was a premonition. I shook my head to dismiss those silly thoughts. Everything was fine, right?

Wishing to end it with something that wouldn't make me spend the night awake worrying, I picked one of the songs I learned during my music lessons. Golden Slumber, the folk version, not the Beatles one.

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,

Smiles await you when you rise.

Sleep,

pretty baby,

Do not cry,

And I will sing a lullaby.

Cares you know not,

Therefore sleep,

While over you a watch I'll keep.

Sleep,

pretty darling,

Do not cry,

And I will sing a lullaby.

I finished, turned the iPod off and bowed. The audience clapped and Abil-Kisu called for me.

"Marvelous, milady Rinaldi. Truly music from another world! Sit next to me. Let's eat."

I took off my shoes and walked around to sit next to Abil-Kisu. Dinner was served and I noticed how hungry I was, after the afternoon adventure I had.