“I don’t care how experienced you say he is, I am not willing to trust the health of my daughter to a set of children!” Duke Rubire raised his hand as though he were about to strike Luca.

Veximarl was hesitant to argue with the Duke. He could attempt to “reassure” him by stating that he had apprenticed under several different witch doctors since childhood. That information would no doubt do anything but worsen their situation.

“I am simply doing the examination,” he muttered. “I am only to check her vitals before reporting my findings to the doctor. We will be doing nothing in terms of actual treatment.” Veximarl then let out a nervous laugh as Rubire raised his hand at him next.

The Duke gave both of them a stink eye. He then took a step back once he realized that there was something off about Veximarl’s eyes. “Silence, mutant… Do not dare to lay your hands on my daughter. I am going to find your supervisor and have a word with him immediately.” He then stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

This wasn’t an ideal situation for Veximarl either. Vincent’s father, Kurtis Highland, hadn’t been in the best of moods. Neither of his children were speaking to him since his wife had chosen to disown their daughter. Now Rubire had shown up demanding that an entire floor of the hospital be closed off for his use.

There was a celebration at the core entrance today. Though clerics had been posted at Outcore, Doctor Highland was expecting a rush of core residents to come in for checkups and treatments. He had not the time or the spice for Rubire’s whims. Especially when Miss Rubire’s medical records were located in the other hospital.

In order to stall for time, Doctor Highland had sent in the two temporary members of staff to stall the Duke. This way, he could make a show that the hospital needed a larger grant in order to function properly, while at the same time buying himself the time needed for someone to run off and get the medical records. He trusted that Luca and Veximarl would be able to handle the task.

Veximarl wondered if it was possible to set up an archive like they had at Braytons. Such conveniences had so many beneficial advantages. But then he remembered that outlanders seemed wary of even simple things like the letters the core used. His hopes for a better medical care system dropped in an instant.

“Should we at least speak with Miss Rubire personally?” He asked Luca.

“Are you sure that’s wise? He called you a mutant.” And he would no doubt have them banished from Carapace if he found out either of them attempted anything.

Veximarl shook his head. “I’m certain that we’ll be expected to provide our diagnose regardless of what the outcome of that argument is.”

They entered the room and together asked the Duke’s daughter, Judy Rubire, a series of questions about her health. Veximarl put his hand to the side of her neck and checked her vitals. She had been feeling light-headed since this morning and had trouble standing on her own. Her main concern was miasma sickness, and if it would somehow hurt the baby.

Veximarl smiled at her confidently before ushering Luca outside the room. “We are in the midst of an emergency and I am in dire need of advice.”

“Go on,” said Luca with a gesture of his hand.

“I believe her placenta has separated from her womb. She is now bleeding internally. There isn’t much time for us to begin treatment, but neither of us are surgeons. I am also uncertain if we will be able to save both her and the child.”

“Report to the nearest doctor,” stated Luca. “I’ll do what I can to slow down the bleeding.”

Veximarl nodded and left the room quickly. Doctor Highland would be on the first floor. It was still early in the day, and he would likely be adjusting the staff schedules. A buzzing rumbled within his pocket. They had gotten a letter for Luca in the event of a medical emergency, and Veximarl checked it as he raced down the stairs, worried that there might not be time to fetch a surgeon after all.

It was from Gwyn. She was waiting downstairs with the sword. Their plan was to pass it to Chickadee when he stopped by in the afternoon. Unfortunately, now was not the time for that. He debated on having her go to Chickadee directly, but the mage was busy with Horsetalon Squad duties.

Most of the Grimstone members were in the area. Though he was hesitant to message any of them. “Ah! Doctor Highland!” He waved his hand in order to get his attention. “We have a placenta abruption on floor three!”

He would send out a message after the current emergency. Maybe Zaniyah would be up for sword transport. Though she seemed hesitant to leave the estate. Veximarl couldn’t figure out why, as she always spoke of loving her work, but today she just seemed… Frightened.

She had a good reason to be.

“What we’e ya thinkin’?!” Dodo Tuma’s voice echoed like thunder. “Ya ‘an off with a boy an’ a’mozt got yazelf ki’ed! I ‘aized ya ta have p’ide in yaself and ya th’ow it awh away on a whim!” The man smacked her on the back of the head, not hard, but firmly enough to get her attention. It was still harder than the blows Stonetoe would give her. “Are ya lizten’ ta me?!”

“Y-yes, sir.” Zaniyah rubbed at the back of her head.

“Go apo’ogize to ya motha!”

Zaniyah begrudgingly stood up and entered the next room over where Zoe was nervously twiddling her thumbs about. The woman immediately straightened up and smiled for a brief moment. Then they both awkwardly avoided each other’s gazes until Zaniyah chose to speak up.

“... Sorry, mom,” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh! Don’t worry about it.” She walked over and gave her daughter a tight squeeze. “I always told you to follow your heart. It’s not like you were running away from me, and even if you were, you would always be my daughter. I know that I would see you again someday.

The only horrid people here are Vincent’s family… And when I say Vincent’s terrible family, I don’t mean his sister. Philomena seems quite lovely and Zynn is rather fond of her.” The woman put a hand on her own cheek. “By the core, this situation is so complicated.”

“Yeah, about that…” Zaniyah had a pang of guilt inside of her. “I mean, not about the Highland family, I don’t want to talk about them, I meant us, and uhm… I’ve been... And this, well, you know? It’s not easy to say or anything, but I’ve been thinking a lot about dad? Like, a lot a lot?”

Zoe gave a brief smile again and then gestured to a chair, taking one for herself as Zaniyah sat down. “What happened between myself and your father, or any of your brother’s fathers, was a brief but happy accident. Well, not exactly brief in some cases, but certainly happy. Even so, I would never want you to be as reckless as I was in my youth. Being a young mother isn’t easy and I was fortunate to-”

“No, mom!” Zaniyah held up her hands in shock. “I’m not pregnant!” … Was she? Wait... She blanked out for a moment before shaking her head. “Listen, I meant that I’ve been… I don’t know. Maybe I might want to talk to him again? About stuff? I haven’t decided yet.”

The woman let out a sigh of relief. “That’s fine, Zani. Do you know how to contact him?”

“Sort of. At least, I know where his son is. Well, I suppose he’s actually my brother, and I guess I can… Wow, that’s complicated, but I guess I would have to ask him to help me out? Even if it’s very, very complicated?”

Zaniyah nodded her head. Unless she could find a way around him to contact her father, which would be preferable, she didn’t have a choice but to be like… Hello. I’m your sister. I have a lot of brothers, but you’re the only brother with a different mother. So, what’s new with you? Aside from me?

“I hope it goes well for you... Of course, let me know if it goes badly as well!” Zoe waved her hands about. “I want to know everything that happened!”

Zaniyah looked down at her hands as she fumbled them together. “And that’s really an okay thing to do? That’s not going to be me turning my back on the family or anything?”

“No! Of course not, dear! If anything, it’s just expanding on the family you already have! Especially now that you have another brother that you’ve already met!” She knelt down in front of Zaniyah and grasped her hands tightly. “Real love and family isn’t about having to make a choice between two things that you care about. Not as long as neither of them is hurting anyone or yourself. There is always room for more love.”

“... Mom…”

Zaniyah began to cry. She fell to her knees so she could wrap her mother up in a hug. The two bawled and clung to each other while Alton stood awkwardly in the corner of the room. He rubbed at his arm and looked awkwardly off to the side.

Alton had been here the whole time, only saying a word or two to Zoe. Being quiet and in the corner was fine, but he didn’t sign up for watching a drama unfold. A strained expression crossed his features.

“We shouldn’t keep Chi waiting,” he muttered in a harsh tone.

“Of course!” Zoe wiped the tears from her face and started to do the same to Zaniyah. “You’re a grown woman and you have important work to do! Don’t worry if you still want to talk. Miss Iofea invited me over for dinner tonight, so we’ll have plenty of time.”

They were supposed to meet with Horsetalon Squad by the core entrance and Alton had taken the day off from his duties to make sure both Chi and Zaniyah were doing alright. Trewarne had gone ahead to meet with the rest of his unit. There was a limited amount of time for them to catch up.

It was limited by how much patience Chickadee had left for his situation. Grimstone members were the only ones who ever seemed to remember if he was standing around. Others often forgot that he was nearby. It was moments like these, when he was stuck in an alleyway with Naiov and Anais, that his lack of presence came with a serious price.

“Are you certain you’re feeling up for work, my dove?” Naiov planted a series of nibbles to Anais’ wrist. “Would you like it if I took you back to my room and gave you a massage? Lightning magic does wonders to loosen the muscles and ease the pain.”

“I-I’m not sure if that’s wise. We’re supposed to be waiting for Sir Trewarne here while Sir Pegasus finds out why the Duke is late.” They were supposed to be assigned as his guards today. Anais winced as Naiov took off her glasses. “I can’t see without those!”

“They’re in my way.”

Naiov pinned her to the wall and started to kiss her ravenously while she let out small whimpers for help. Her hand waved in Chickadee’s direction for a moment before she relented. She began to cling onto to Naiov’s robes tightly out of both joy and embarrassment.

Chickadee kept his back turned to the pair as he rolled his eyes. He was used to being around couples by now, but they at least had the respect to be decent about their public displays of affection. There were mere moments remaining before he was set on yanking the snow off the nearby roof and onto their heads.

“No, wait, n-not there… Please, Mister Furrow! W-wait! I’m not comfortable with this!”

Snapping around with his arm held out, flames formed around Chickadee’s hand as he glared in Naiov’s direction. He was surprised to see that Anais had crumpled to her knees with Naiov kneeling next to her. She was muttering to herself while she clutched onto the sides of her head. The flames disappeared from Chickadee’s hand as he rushed over to see what the matter was.

“I don’t understand... Who is hungry?” Naiov leaned in closer so he could hear her. “Did I frightened you? Speak up so I can make sense of what you’re saying.” He tilted his ear towards her. “Who is coming?”

Chickadee was filled with alarm. “Tainted?” Anais managed a nod. Sometimes she could sense them, but it was rare. Now her senses were being overwhelmed by their presence.

“We’re in the center of the city,” said Naiov as Anais buried herself into his robes. “Don’t be stupid. The core entrance has been sealed off and we’ve been stuck doing rounds there each morning and night to prove there hasn’t been any activity. Stop freaking out because you can’t handle me.”

A scream followed by panic shouts echoed throughout the crowds in the streets. Chickadee covered his ears as his own senses were being overtaken by stones crying out warnings of danger. He stumbled backward and pressed his back against the wall to keep his balance.

“Furrow.” The blacksmith glanced at Naiov.

He had felt something as well. Naiov’s eye ticked slightly as his hair rose up slightly from building static. A deep breath was taken in order to calm his initial attempt of flight or fight.

“We’ll push our way through and meet up with Pegasus and Trenchall,” ordered Naiov.

Chickadee shook his head. “Anais. Hide inside a building.” He slid the case off his back so he could pull his cane free. Naiov followed his lead and started to strap his blades onto his forearms. “Follow Trewarne’s emergency plan. Survey area. Create escape routes for civilians. Use birds to spread messages and locate other squad knights.”

“Right...” Trewarne was more experienced with the movements of tainted beasts, and mages were at a disadvantage when fighting them. “Anais, give Pegasus our plan and position first,” said Naiov.

Due to the nature of the danger of tainted beasts, mages had been downgraded from first line fighters to support roles. Their first priority was to ensure the public’s safety. There wasn’t time to wait for orders, thus they found themselves having to use their own wits and judgment during this emergency.

Zaniyah was finding herself in a similar position as she heard the first scream. “What’s that?”

Alton tilted his head and closed his eyes for a moment. “Something’s off.” He couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but there was almost a distinct sound to it that he couldn’t quite make out. “Something magical. Go on ahead.”

“Catch up when you can!” Zaniyah ran off at a much faster speed than Alton could ever hope to manage.

As a melee fighter, she was much more adept at handling herself against this type of threat, even if neither knew what that threat was yet. Alton watched her sprint away before he started to jog after her. He kept searching for a clue as to what was happening while listening for some trace of what that sound could be.

The sight of something dark yet pale in the corner of his eye made him stop and duck into an alleyway. Semira was speaking calmly with Lydia, who waved at Alton as he approached. Alton gave them both a nod.

“Part of the barrier built over the core has collapsed and a wave of tainted beasts are climbing through,” Lydia quickly explained.

“Thanks… Semira, I need to go help Zan, but we are having a talk after this,” he muttered. This was a terrible time to find her, but he wasn’t going to allow innocents to be injured while he loitered around for polite conversation.

Semira went to grab his arm, but her fingers moved through him. The cold sensation was enough to give him pause. Lydia had tried to poke at him before to no avail, but the chilled burning sensation that Semira left behind was more than a little concerning.

Regardless, Semira attempted to remain composed. “Do not allow yourself to become lost among the crowd. I need you to champion a more important mission. Where is the heart?”

“I think it’s with Vex? He said he was going to drop it off at Chi’s family store.”

The two women glanced at each other. Lydia then shrugged. “If it’s with Vex, it could possibly work? It’s not the best scenario, but it’s better than nothing.”

Semira tsked at the idea. “Go fetch the heart and bring it to Sybil. Know that the beasts will be drawn to its location. Either she needs to activate it or you and my son must find a way to do so. Do you understand?” Alton shook his head. He really didn’t. “Stop procrastinating and run!”

Alton growled under his breath and started to jog towards the hospital. He never expected either of them to give proper instructions but this was beyond ridiculous. A moment of pause was given as he heard that disconcerting yet indistinguishable cry again. No matter how useless those two were, it didn’t matter. If the beasts were drawn to the heart, he would have to get to it first.