Dorothy pulled herself up out of the river and up onto a large rock near the dock. During her time underwater, the sun had begun to set and was already touching the horizon. She flopped onto her back and watched the sky turn from shades of orange and pink to purples and deep blues. The first hints of Lana, the smallest of her world’s three moons, were already taking shape in the evening sky.

As an Automata, Dorothy didn’t feel exhaustion per say, but her mana levels were still quite low from the recent activity. As she lay still on her back, her body absorbed the mana from the environment around her. According to her system status screen, she would be fully charged back up in about 10 minutes.

“How’d you do?” came a gruff voice from above her.

Dorothy looked over at the dock nearby and saw the old turtle squatting down to sit on the edge. She held up the ink milking device and then let it flop back down next to her.

“Success!” she said proudly, though wearily.

“Ah nice, I’m guessing it didn’t go too smoothly though. You don’t usually see an Auto look pooped.”

Dorothy told him about getting attacked by the weird eel and then fighting the shocktopus and its strange behavior after it had hit her with a lightning attack.

“Aah,” the turtle said knowingly. “That eel. I can see you’re still covered by its slime a bit. Be sure to fully wash that stuff off of you or anyone that touches you will fall in love with you for a while.”

“WHAAAT??” Dorothy said incredulously, sitting up and snapping her head in the old guy’s direction.

“Ha ha ha ha!” he laughed. “That’s what’s called an amore eel. They wrap their prey and exude a thick slime that has a mild toxin that makes its prey fall in love with them to keep them from trying to escape.”

“Well, it did seem pretty confused when it was squeezing me,” Dorothy said, thoughtfully.

“Yeah, so I bet that probably saved you from the shocktopus. It zapped you then went to grab you to rip you apart or something and touched the slime. The effect is only temporary though and not too strong but was probably enough to stop it from trying to further hurt you.”

“Wow, I guess I really lucked out then.”

“Yeah, sounds like it,” he said as he extended a hand to her to help pull her up onto the dock.

Dorothy accepted his hand and climbed up. The sun had nearly slipped completely away for the day and soon the stars would be coming out. Mama might be getting worried.

“Are you all finished work for the day?” Dorothy asked.

“Eh... almost. Well, there’s still a bit left for these lazy river rats to get and I can’t go home till they’re done.”

“Oh, are you the foreman?”

“Today I guess I am. My usual dock foreman is molting or something. I’m Kawataro, owner of the River Trading & Trust shipping company.”

“Owner?? But you’re so shabby!” Dorothy said before she could catch herself. Her eyes went wide and she slapped her hands to her mouth before apologizing.

Kawataro just gave her a full bellied laugh. “Shabby, eh? Bah, I don’t care about any of that fancy stuff. I mean, I get dolled up when I have to, but I’d rather have the salt and the waves any day.”

Dorothy couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction. “You’re a strange old turtle. My name is Dorothy, I’m a rank E Adventurer.”

“Heh, maybe, maybe. Dorothy eh? You wouldn’t happen to be the Automata that helped us out on the river bank earlier today would you? With that cabbage troll infestation?”

“Oh! Yes, that was me and my friend Charlotte.”

“I see, I see. Well thanks again. The cabbage trolls set up their mother plant, or whatever it’s called, right on the river bank and start sucking up all the nutrients and such while releasing a toxin into the water that kills off all the fish and critters living near it. I guess so that they become food for the plant.”

“I had no idea!” Dorothy marveled.

“For those of us that live on the river, it’s not a great thing to have around.”

“No, I wouldn’t think so. I’m glad it’s gone then. Thank you for the bonus! Fran at the guild told me that the shipping company gave us an extra reward.”

“My pleasure. Say, if you ever need some extra work, come see me. Don't worry, I won’t make you work as a battery.”

“Thank you Kawataro,” Dorothy said, giving him a little bow. “I better get back to the ink shop before they close.”

Kawataro gave Dorothy a wink and headed off to go yell some more at the workers while Dorothy ran back to the ink shop. Most of the shop workers had already gone home for the night and they were closing up, but Anahita was still there. She was sitting on a table, playing with an illusion stone. The stone was in the shape of a disk with intricate runes carved into it, and was similar to the ones that Dorothy had seen the cat brothers at the guild playing with. This one had the illusion of a baby fire drake sitting on it, happily eating a comically large chunk of meat.

“You like playing Battle Beasts too?” Dorothy asked.

Anahita looked up, surprised and embarrassed before shutting off the illusion and looking away. “Um, no. Not really... I mean... it’s a game for kids, right?”

“I don’t know about that. I mean, I’ve seen big tough guys at the guild fighting each other with dungeon teams before,” Dorothy offered, remembering when she first met Josh and Jake.

“Do, um... Do you like Battle Beasts?” Anahita asked, hesitantly.

“I’ve never gotten into dungeon team battles, but I have a couple. I haven’t messed with them since I got sick though... Let me think... I’ve got... the uncommon Forest Sage Centaur... the Fire Elf... oh, it’s the archer one, so it’s a common... and the rare Void Wraith... I also have one that I haven’t hatched yet. I’d gotten it for my birthday but then I got really sick and wasn’t able to play with it.”

Anahita’s eyes got big, taking on a gleam, and she grabbed Dorothy’s hands, much to the surprise and shock of Dorothy.

“Oh, the Void Wraith!” Anahita exclaimed. “I have the complete Void series from the second wave! That’s a great one! The Forest Sage is pretty good too but not as good as the Forest Bard, if you know how to use it, but then it is just an uncommon and the Bard is a rare. What wave is the unhatched one? What do you think it is? I wonder if you got something good—”

Dorothy laughed and pulled her hands back. “I don’t know Anahita, I guess it’s been nearly two seasons since I first got sick... I don’t know what wave it is or anything.”

“No! Right! Of course not!” Anahita blurted out, turning a dark shade of maroon. “Um! Right, so the ink, yeah? Were you able to get it?”

Dorothy handed over the ink milker thing. “Yup, though it was a bit tougher than I thought it was going to be. I got zapped pretty good.”

“Ohmigosh! Are you okay? The shocktopus is usually more curious than combative.”

“Well... there were babies, about a dozen or so of them. They were adorable though...”

“I wish I could have seen them, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Anahita said, giving Dorothy a hug.

“No, wait!” Dorothy yelled, trying to pull back, but it was too late.

“Dorothy... I know we just met today... but I think I’m in love with you...” Anahita said in an intoxicated sort of voice, squeezing Dorothy tighter in her embrace.

“I’m so sorry!” Dorothy cried. “We need to get this stuff washed off right away! Anahita, we need to get to the showers.”

“The showers? Together? That’s so bold, but... if it’s with you, I don’t mind.”

Dorothy pursed her lips and walked awkwardly to the locker room with Anahita hanging on her. They got to the showers and Dorothy went straight into the hot water without bothering to strip anything off of herself or Anahita and got to work scrubbing away all of the eel slime. Once the slime had been completely removed, it only took a couple of minutes for Anahita to recover from the toxin’s effects. She apologized profusely and her whole body had turned the color of a strawberry frog. Dorothy wasn’t mad though and tried to console Anahita, letting her know that it was all her own fault for not getting the slime cleaned off right away or warning Anahita of it.

Once they were fully cleaned and dressed, Anahita explained that the raw ink would need processing before it could be sold for use in printers, and that the process would take overnight. The ink milker thing had collected 4 jars worth of raw ink so Dorothy was paid a gold for her efforts and the SideQuest was cleared. She promised to return the next day to pick up the ink for Mike, as well as to find her unhatched Battle Beast illusion stone and inform Anahita of what she ended up getting.

By the time that Dorothy got home, the sky was completely dark and the stars had come out. Lana was leading the way across the sky, with her sister moons trailing behind. Lana was the smallest and slowest to cross the sky though and would get overtaken by Rido, the largest, at the 22nd bell; and then Moora, the fastest, at the 25th bell marking the beginning of the next day. It was a bit past the 18th bell when Dorothy walked through the door. Mama was rummaging through the frost chest, looking for ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Papa was looking over some documents, but he quickly put them away when he saw Dorothy.

“Ah, there’s my little Dot! Where ya been?” he asked. “I thought you were going to come back to the guild to pick up another ReQuest. You been shopin’ this whole time?”

“Sorry Papa, I did do some shopping, but then I had to run an errand in exchange for an upgrade... which then led to a SideQuest... It’s been a long day...”

“I bet, you’ve been goin’ non stop since first light.”

“Well... when you don’t eat or sleep, you gotta keep busy, I guess.”

“There may be some truth to that, but don’t go over doin’ it little Dot.”

“Yes Papa. Hey Mama, did you start dinner yet?”

“Oh now she ‘members her mama. Not like I bin sittin’ a’ home waitin’ an’ worryin’.”

“Mama! You weren’t really worrying, were you? I told you I might pick up an afternoon quest, plus I’m made of some tough stuff,” Dorothy banged a fist against her chest with a loud, metallic tong sound, for emphasis.

“Dat may be da case, but as ya Mama it mi job ti worry ‘bout ye, yah? When ya fahda git home an dint see ya, what mi ti tink?”

“Sorry Mama, I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

Mama let out a long sigh. “I know mi love... it juss...” Mama collapsed to the floor and hid her face for a moment, sobbing softly.

Dorothy and Papa rushed over to her and held her until she could compose herself. Dorothy felt horribly guilty and would have been a mess of tears and snot herself, if she was physically capable of it. Instead, her body twitched and shook as it tried to process the emotional overload without any sort of outlet. Papa easily scooped Mama up in his strong arms and carried her like a princess over to the small chaise by the fireplace and laid her down. Then he gently draped a blanket over her and walked back to the kitchen to squat down next to Dorothy.

“Is Mama okay?” Dorothy asked, still shaking.

“She’s fine, don’t worry my little Dot. Your Mama... well, she’s been worried about you for a long time now, worried that we were going to lose you to that sickness. And then you had to get converted into this automata body... Your Mama and me, well, we had a pretty bad run-in with some Automata back in the old days so that might be part of it too. She tries not to let you see it, and hides it away but that much worry can be pretty exhausting. She just needs to rest for a bit.”

“Papa... am, am I bad?”

“What? No, no of course not little Dot,” he said, wrapping his arm around her and holding her tightly.

Eventually, Dorothy’s shaking stopped and she sat for a while letting her Papa hold her. It was different than when Mama hugged her. It was warm, comforting, and made her feel safe in a way that had nothing to do with the physical act. Dorothy realized that Papa was enfusing his hug with mana and actually pushing his thoughts and feelings into her. Dorothy sat up surprised and looked at him.

“Papa, you’re feeding your mana into me?” she asked, confused.

Papa smiled and gently stroked her hair. “Good, I was hoping that would work.”

“What was that? It felt all warm and cozy... like I could actually, really feel you and not just whatever my sensors are telling me.”

“Well... I’m a little embarrassed to be honest.”

“Just tell me!” she pleaded.

“You know I used to be an Adventurer, right?”

“A rank S I think?”

“Double S, anyway, I have a skill called [Killing Intent]. It works by infusing your mana with your emotions, usually your anger or wrath, your desire to destroy something. Then the skill kicks in and that feeling is magnified and radiated out at your target and they feel that emotion pushing directly into their soul. It’s used for intimidation. I just used it to push feelings of love and peace to you.”

“You... you used a skill called Killing Intent on your own daughter...”

“Hey, a skill is a skill. You don’t get to be double S by only thinking about things in the way they were originally intended or designed.”

“I guess that’s true... still...”

Papa shuttered like a cold chill ran down his spine and looked over at the chaise that he’d left Mama on. Mama was glaring at him and Dorothy suspected that she had the [Killing Intent] skill herself and was now using it on Papa. The icy grip of death that had taken hold of Papa’s soul let up and he slumped in a cold sweat as Mama ran over to Dorothy and wrapped her arms around her. This time, beyond the strong embrace and the pressure from her mother’s strong, S ranked archer arms, came a tidal wave of blinding heat and white light smothering Dorothy and threatening to overwhelm all of her systems.

Dorothy tapped at her mother’s arms. “Mama... I can’t... breath...”

Mama released Dorothy, looking dumbstruck. “But, but... Automata don’ breath.”

Dorothy grasped at her chest and looked at Mama, “I can’t explain it... I just suddenly felt like I was being smothered all at once by the sun...”

“Mi sorry, love. Guess I still need ti learn ti hol’ back a bit.” She then kissed Papa on the forehead. “Thank yi fah figurin’ we can use da skill dat way.”

Papa laughed and kissed her back. “So, what are we gonna do about some dinner?”

“Oh!” Dorothy shouted. “If you haven’t started anything yet, on my SideQuest I found a Rock Lobster, a Diamond Crab, and some Glock Shrimp.”

“Well dat settles dat!” Mama yelled, jumping up. She then started rooting through the cupboards. “Where mi crab pot at?”

“I saw it out back!” Papa yelled, jumping up and running off.

“Dorothy, fetch mi deh horseradish an’ meh dried coconut!” Mama shouted as she started tossing spices onto the table.

Few things got Dorothy’s parents as excited as shellfish. The next thirty minutes was a blur of activity as various cooking herbs, cabbage leaves, and rice were tossed into the giant pot along with some wine. The lobster, and shrimp were put into the pot, and covered with salt and her secret blend of spices. Mama then covered the pot and set it onto her stove. While the lobster and shrimp soaked in the spices and wine, she focused her attention on the diamond crab. Diamond crabs, like the rock lobster, were covered in mineral deposits and had actual rock formations growing from their armored shells.

The rock lobster’s shell would be softened enough at the joints for a knife to get in thanks to the wine, but a diamond crab was much tougher. The diamond plating was nearly impossible to break, even at the joints, only a master class blade would be able to get through.

“Stridah,” Mama called, “git ya—”

“Already got it Sugar Plum,” Papa said nonchalantly. Across his shoulders rested a massive “hero sword”.

“Yah know what... less take dis out back...” Mama cautioned.

“Good idea,” Papa agreed.

They headed out the back door and Dorothy watched curiously as Mama set the crab in the center of a small stone plinth in the middle of their small courtyard and backed away to the doorway where Dorothy was standing. She then pulled Dorothy in a ways and they both peaked their heads around to watch. Papa began chuckling to himself as he hefted the massive sword with ease. Papa dropped into a combat ready stance and readied the hero sword.

He started chanting a looping spell and glowing energy poured from his eyes as tendrils of blue flames danced across the blade. Papa sucked in a big breath as he charged his attack. With a war cry of “Become DELICIOUS!” Papa shot forward with explosive force, light and flame trailing in his wake. He slashed and cross-slashed at the diamond encrusted shell of the crab, figure-eight-ing his war blade as sparks and flashes of light burst into the night. With a final cry and a thunderous slash, he brought the massive blade down, splitting the stone plinth the crab sat on into neatly divided sections.

A glowing mist dissolved into the air as Dorothy and Mama cautiously stepped out into the courtyard. The diamond crab had been perfectly cut in half and sectioned so that each leg could be individually picked up and contained a chunk of the inner crab meat. The shell along each leg had been sliced in such a way that with minimal effort it could easily be opened up like a chest. Mama scooped up all of the crab pieces and rushed back to the kitchen with them.

“That was SO COOL!” Dorothy yelled. “I’ve never even seen an attack like that! So precise! So powerful!”

“Well, you know...” Papa gestured vaguely, “I’ll probably pay for that later. My recovery isn’t what it used to be... but it’ll be worth it for that crab you got us.” he gave her a wink and patted her head before heading back into the house.

Dorothy followed Papa into the kitchen to see Mama standing in front of the stove with waves of heat and fire magic rolling off of her as she channeled her magic into the large crab pot. The intense heat flash boiled away all of the wine in the pot, infusing the flavors of the wine, herbs, and spices into the meat. Mama lifted the lid off of the pot and a fragrant fog filled the small kitchen. As it dissipated, Papa was already drooling and sitting at the table with his utensils at the ready.

Mama expertly removed the shell from the lobster with an enchanted hunting knife and plated the meat with some of the rice from the pot. The rock formations on the shell weren’t valuable at all, being common ore, but they would be great for adding flavor to a seafood stock later. The shrimp were shelled, deveined, dredged in chickiepoo milk and breaded using the dried coconut. She then air fried the shrimps in an instant with her fire magic and set them in a spicy sauce made from tomatoes and horseradish.

Papa tore into the lobster and rice, tears streaming from his face. Dorothy laughed at his reactions, but was overjoyed to see her family this happy about what she’d caught for them. She didn’t see the crab though and thought it would have been in the pot with the others. Mama had sat down to eat as well and was enjoying the spicy, coconut toasted shrimps. With each bite, she would close her eyes and take a deep breath before chewing and going for another bite.

When the lobster and the shrimps were gone, Mama got up and went to the frost chest and retrieved the diamond crab. The cut portions had been set in ice and Dorothy could see tiny ice crystals had formed within the meat. The body meat had taken on a mousse like texture that reminded Dorothy of iced cream. She wondered if the meat was sweet like iced cream or if it had a savory flavor. Papa took a leg and carefully cracked it open and scooped out the meat with a small spoon.

“What does that taste like?” Dorothy asked.

“You want some little Dot?” Papa replied, holding out a spoonful of the frosty meat.

“Not really, just curious.”

Papa put the spoon in his mouth and hummed a happy tune before answering. “Well... if I had to compare it to something... I’d say it’s similar to red bean cream with heavily salted caramel.”

“That... doesn’t sound like a combination that I’d be interested in...” Dorothy said, wincing a bit.

“It’s clearly an adult flavor. Children don’t get it.” Papa said smugly.

Mama laughed and took another leg for herself, giving Dorothy a warm smile.

On the one hand, Dorothy missed being able to take part in the joy that her parents were feeling regarding the food. Her sensors told her about the ingredients used and such but none of it was good or bad; just data. On the other hand, she wasn’t particularly fond of shellfish before she got sick. So instead she just sat happily and watched as her parents enjoyed themselves. It was during this time that Dorothy discovered that she could take “snapshots” of the things she saw and took several of her parents stuffing their faces with expressions of bliss.