"Skyler?" Mom exclaims, worry in her voice, eyes wide and brow creased. "What happened to you?"

"Training ended early," I answer. "An island that's never been a problem for me apparently has this quirky thing with the spawn rate that causes it to increase the more you kill, and to make it more difficult. Resulted in me reaching Level 10, but I'm sure I'd have reached at least Level 15 if Sara didn't save us from them."

"If you had killed them," Sara says.

"Yeah," I point at Sara. "If I had managed to kill them."

"What happened?" Mom asks, then looks at Sara. "He's never this subdued, even after sustaining pretty severe injuries. Normally, he'd be excitedly telling me his version of events, not stating things so plainly."

"I'm not entirely sure," Sara tells her. "I managed to show up in time to rescue them, took them to another island for safety, helped treat his wounds, left to retrieve his boat, and when I returned, Skyler was… like this."

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Finn kissed me. Like, whoa. That wasn't my first kiss, and it definitely wasn't the best kiss, but it was still something. Maybe it's Finn's quieter personality that has me surprised over it, him being that bold really is a surprise. Or would it be a more timid personality? I guess it's probably both.

Finn pokes my left arm, and I look over at him. Convincing him to heal himself was pretty easy, though I feel bad for it. All I had to do was mention that we had to go through town while looking worse for the wear and that it was okay to be selfish and use his powers for himself.

While I do feel bad about using his low confidence or whatever against him, it was also for the better. If Finn actually did walk through town all battered and bruised, any look he received would only make him feel worse about himself once he realized they were looking at his state.

As for me looking like I've rolled down a worgarv's back, that's something people here are used to. They know that it's a sign of training – and that we came out alive and probably stronger and better for it.

That's how things are with adventurers. Real ones, anyway. I'm going to assume most of the 'fake' ones Sara mentioned don't really grow from harsher training. But us real ones learn from what happened to us, and it's something Finn needs to learn on his own, not be told.

Dad taught me that, but not with his words. I also had more confidence than Finn did.

"Skyler?" Finn asks, and I realize he was asking me something while I was admiring how cute he is.

"Yeah?"

"You're making a face like you're in a lot of pain," he says. "And putting all your weight on your good leg."

"Hm?" I assess my balance and realize that I am putting my weight on my good leg. "Oh, my bone-flesh is hurting again."

"Your what?" Mom asks.

"My bone flesh," I tell her. "Sara said that it looked like my bones were healing as fast as my flesh, despite being bones. It's super-weird. I've never really hurt my bones before, other than those times I broke my bones and Dad gave me those pain potions I thought were actually for healing my bones faster. Apparently, my bones just heal really fast and those were just pain potions. Did you know that Dad always flavored them like wizarva berries? He knows I like the taste, but I could never get to where they grow. Maybe now that I'm actually gaining Levels, I can finally make my way to them."

"He's coming back," Mom mutters.

"Wizarva berries?" Sara asks as I look out the window to see who Mom's talking about, but there's no one coming.

"Yeah," I look at her. "They're these really delicious berries that grow on only three islands, by the waterfalls on them. Actually, they technically grow in the waterfalls. Or out of them? It's weird. Dad took me to one of the spots once, but that was the only time I was ever there. They're very sweet, and their flavor is pretty unique. They look kind of like blueberries, but they were about half as much bigger than the biggest one I'd ever seen and purple in color rather than blue. Their juice was the same color, though. Eating too many always made me feel tingly. Dad sometimes made pies out of them for me. Or tarts. Mom's not good at baking."

"You talk a lot," Sara tells me.

"I get that a lot."

"I also know what wizarva berries are," she tells me. "You guys have three spots that grow them?"

"Yeah, but they're hard to get to," I look at Finn. "Let's go hunting for them once we're Level 25."

"We should go take a bath first," Finn's voice is quieter. "We're both covered in dirt and stuff, and you'll need help with your back again."

"Yeah, sure," I say. "Thanks. Mom, we're going to go take a bath so that we can get me cleaned up. We'll need to replace my bandages after, though."

"You know where they are," Mom tells me.

"Alright."

I lead Finn to where the bandages and stuff are, then lead Finn to the bathing room. After I get the hot water going, we strip down and start washing up. Finn has to help with more than my back, because we discover that I actually can't take care of my wounded leg properly.

While my left arm can reach it fine… my right can't and trying to twist enough so that I can handle it fully with my left arm informs me that I probably hurt something in my torso that [Heal] wasn't fixing. Maybe if I try moving my leg like-nope! Definitely not! How about-

"Stop," Finn gives me a look of mild annoyance. "You're going to pull your stitches doing that."

"And because you're trying to apply salve."

"That, too," he nods.

Finn finishes applying the salve, then climbs into the bath. I would soak in the bath, too, just to let the hot water soothe the soreness in my body, but doing that isn't the best of ideas. Not before the stitched-up wounds actually close up more.

He lets out a sigh of satisfaction at the feeling of the bath, while I'm left just letting the heat of the steam seep into my body. It's not as good, but it will have to do. Only half a minute passes before Finn lets out another sigh. When a third one comes not even half a minute later, I know he's doing it on purpose just to tease me.

"Skyler?" Finn eventually asks.

"Finn?"

"You mentioned a friend earlier," he says. "You said he's your favorite male?"

"Kyron?"

"Yeah, him," he says. "How did you two meet? Was he like me and Sara, someone you were just showing around?"

"Not the first time," I say. "This other guy paid me to show him around. Tried raping me, Kyron saw what was going on, went to rescue me, realized that they both made the same mistake most people make."

"What's that?"

"Judging someone's combat ability on their age," I answer. "They look at me and think 'oh, he's just a kid, he can't fight an adult'. Thing is, I've had over a decade of training in martial arts and using a sword. Age does not equal experience. It gives more time for it, sure, but it doesn't equal it and doesn't mean someone doesn't have it. In addition, how much someone trains can vary, as well as a natural affinity, dedication, et cetera. A ten-year-old who's trained for five years might be better than a thirty-year-old who's trained for twenty."

"So you kicked the guy's ass?" Finn asks.

"No, I stabbed him with my knife," I answer. "In the dick. That's what Dad told me to do."

Finn chuckles in response to that.

"I didn't realize Dad hadn't meant literally."

Finn snorts.

"After we finished dealing with the guards," I say. "Kyron asked if he could see my moves. I showed him some of the fighting stuff Dad taught me, then he showed me some of the style that he'd learned. The next day, Dad and I went out to the islands with him, and he taught me a bunch of things, and I taught him some things. Some of it is gymnastics."

"Gymnastics?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Flips and stuff. It's pretty fun. Kyron started learning gymnastics the same age I started learning martial arts. He started learning martial arts when he was ten, but that's not relevant. Apparently, the skybeast he's on has these gymnastic competitions. From what I'd heard from some of the other people from his skybeast, he was one of the best as a kid, but stopped competing when he was thirteen. He's really flexible, too. I didn't know it was possible to fold your body in half with your head between your legs near the crotch. It was actually really freaky, the first time I saw it, so he took me to a contortionist show on his skybeast. Now that was freaky. Though not as freaky as this thing Dad and I saw on the way back here that night. All those gymnasts and contortionists there, and yet not enough adventurers dedicated to keeping monsters around town cleared up. Man that was freaky!"

"What was it?" Finn asks.

"Well," I say. "I thought it was some sort of mutated toad. When Kyron's skybeast matched up with ours a year and a half later, I brought it up to him, and he said it was his neighbor's dog. If that was a dog, then I'm a hippo."

"What's a hippo?"

"You don't know what hippos are?"

"I've never heard of them before."

"Even in all your travels?"

"Even in all my travels."

That is insane. He's been on a bunch of skybeasts, but none of them have had hippos?

"I'm totally showing you the hippos while you're here," I tell him.

"Okay."

"We look nothing alike, by the way."

"Huh?"

"Me and hippos."

"Yeah, I kind of figured," he chuckles.

I lie down on the floor, and then two of us just relax after that. From my glances at Finn, he's all talked out. The way he's sitting in the bath is kind of amusing. He's submerged himself so that only his nose and up are out of the water. At least, he was when I looked at him before lying down. All I can see from my position are his ears. Considering the position of his ears, I don't think he's moved-they just sank down.

I suppose he's decided to submerge himself completely. About half a minute passes before Finn's ears return to view, only slightly darker than before. Getting wet has a different effect on white hair than blond hair. Blond hair gets darker when wet, with certain types of blond getting a ton more darker than others.

His hair, on the other hand, is still very definitely white. Or at least, his ears are. How do they feel when wet? Mine feel weird.

"Are you playing with your ears?" Finn asks, and I look over to see him peering at me from over the edge of the tub.

"They feel different when wet."

"Yes, skin tends to do that."

Snorting, I sit up and examine him. He's still sitting in that position even after I've sat up, and it's kind of cute.

"And they say I'm childish."

"Huh?"

Oops. I guess that was a mutter instead of thought.

"Nothing," I smile at him. "Are you hungry? I can smell dinner."

Finn sniffs the air a little, trying to catch the smell. The steam and scents in here is masking the smell, and only with the Perception I've gained from my Levels through Warp have allowed me to pick out the smell. His wolfish senses are probably only barely enough to smell it.

"My stomach's been rumbling for ten minutes," he tells me.

"Let's go eat," I tell him, then sigh. "And face the music."

"What music?" He asks as he gets out of the tub.

"Mom now knows I've had a Crystal for a few years, and I was keeping it a secret from her despite my desire to set off on a journey to find the Crystern."

"Right," he mumbles as I stand, hissing as I put weight on my leg again. "That music."

Finn and I dry off and pull on our nightshirts, then return to the main room of the house, where Mom is putting out bowls of stew. She didn't have any cooking before we went to go wash up, so I'm assuming it was a quicker one than the ones she leaves on for hours, sometimes all day. There's also bread, cheese, some berries, and the usual ale.

We take our seats and dig in to the food, Mom asking us about our adventure. I happily tell her everything that happened, Finn sometimes adding something I missed or thought irrelevant, like when he got bitten by a snake earlier.

"But I cut its head off right after!" I add.

"And then chased me with it," Finn adds.

"I was just carrying it! You just happened to be in front of me!"

"I was supposed to be behind you!"

"Yeah, but that was where the bear was!"

"I'm glad you're back to normal," Mom tells me. "Seeing you so subdued had me worried. Are you feeling better now? It sounds like you and Finn got into a tight spot during training."

"Yeah, we're fine," I tell her. "I plan on taking him back out for more training just as soon as my leg's healed up. My arm's not as bad as it looks. Oh! But I do need new bracers, mine are definitely done for."

"I saw that," Mom nods. "When I collected your clothes to see if they worth repairing, I saw the damage to them, especially the left one."

"You normally have more time to make them," I tell her. "Since I let you know in advance. Do you know how long it will be before I get new ones?"

"Didn't I give you two pairs when I gave you those?" She asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "That was the second pair."

"What happened to the first?"

"Okay, so, before you get mad," I say. "Know that it was partially an accident."

"This is gonna be good," Mom mutters.

"So about two years ago," I tell the audience of Finn, Mom, and Sara. "I fell into this pit of acid-"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Mom exclaims.

"Well, I thought it was a pit of acid," I say. "Turns out, it was just a bunch of slimes that were… I'm not actually sure what they were doing. But they were all in some pit. Which is weird, 'cause there hadn't been a pit there two weeks before. And it was covered. Disguised. I mean, I'd noticed it, but since Kyle doesn't go to that island, I figured I'd probably done that just to mess with myself. I do that sometimes and then forget about it because of other things that happened."

"How often does that happen?" Finn asks.

"Oh, I do that all the time," I tell him. "I do sometimes remember in time. That's why I stopped making them all traps, and some of them were just to goof with me in case I remembered I put a trap there.

"Anyway!" I continue the story. "So I stepped on what I thought was just me goofing with myself, only to fall into the pit. While I was being kissed by the slimes-"

"You mean damaged by their acidic properties?" Mom asks as Finn chuckles.

"That works," I nod. "I realized that I had not, in fact, made the pit. And that it was so weird there were so many slimes hanging out in the pit, especially because slimes don't actually live on or spawn on that island. Did you know that if a monster spawn is left alive long enough, it turns into a real monster, and therefore doesn't fade away?"

"Yes," Mom says. "I was aware of that. The time required depends on the type of monster and how powerful it is."

"Yeah," I say. "That's not relevant to the story of what happened to the first pair of bracers. So as I was wondering who put the pit there, how the slimes got to that island, and what they were all doing there, I saw something falling down toward the pit.

"It was another slime," I say. "And it was falling into the pit. Not jumping, it came straight down. At least, that's how it looked. So I was trying to get out of the slime pit – which is really difficult, by the way, since you can't really swim in slimes – and nearly passed out 'cause I couldn't breathe."

"How did you manage to get out of the pit?" Sara asks.

I pop a berry into my mouth and wait until after I've finished chewing and swallowing it to continue the story.

"So I finally manage to get out of the pit," I say. "And am just staring down at it, wondering the same questions I'd already had about it. Then I got attacked by this killer squirrel with super sharp teeth and it bit onto my wrist. Then a bunch more attacked me. Since my clothes – bracers included – had all been weakened by the hour and a half I was trying to get out of the acidic touch of the slimes, they were kind of damaged badly in that."

"Squirrels broke your bracers?"

"Oh, no, they were still usable," I say. "So after I finished killing the squirrels, I threw them all into the slime pit and watched them get dissolved. I also started getting changed, and a wild boar attacked me. I was wearing only the bracers and my necklace, which, now that I think about it, can take quite a lot of damage, can't it?"

"Focus, Sky," Mom says.

"The sky was very lovely today."

"Skyler," Finn mutters.

"Right," I say. "Okay, so while I was butt-naked, some boar decided to charge me from behind and send me right back into the slime pit! The boar, being a boar, it didn't quite stop its charge in time and fell into the pit, too. I managed to use it to get out, and then I walked away from the pit to take a good, long scrub in the sea, get the slime off. Only I realized as I started scrubbing that scrubbing skin that's been burned by slime acid for over an hour wasn't actually the best idea."

"I can imagine," Mom says.

"Yeah," I say. "So I finished carefully getting all the slime off, which isn't that easy, and then I realized that the slime had actually stuck to me. Isn't it supposed to shloop back to the slime once it's severed? And not separate on its own? And the slime was hardening, too, which I realized was probably some special power from the slimes.

"After I finished," I continue. "I'd pulled some stuff out of my Inventory and was getting dressed. I'd just gotten my shorts and belt on and was getting ready to pull on a fresh shirt when I noticed something in the sand. I bent over to pull it out, and discovered it was a snake with two heads. One bit my left wrist, the other bit my right.

"While I was busy shaking those off," I say. "And trying to retrieve my sword, since I'd brought it with me and it was sitting on the beach, I discovered that the snake knew how to catch fire. It wasn't from that island, either. It was from the island with the fire slimes. And that's how my first pair from the pair of pairs of bracers."

Finn, Mom, and Sara are all giving me incredulous looks. Why are they giving me those looks?

"What?" I ask. "You guys wanted to know how they got destroyed. Do you know how Dad did what he did to make my necklace so resilient? If so, you should probably do that for the next pair, so that they're tough enough to resist the damage of slime acid. Please?"

"I'll do that," Mom says. "Making something resistant to that much acid damage isn't a thing normally done for-how did you survive being in slime acid for that long?"

"I told you, the slimes were only kissing me."

"That's not how it works," Sara says. "Contact with slimes is acidic."

"Then the answer is 'cause I'm awesome."

"Nightshirt off," Mom says.

"But then I'd be naked."

Nightshirts are just tunics, and they reach down to the knees. There's no need to wear pants with them on, the only real differences are whether or not you wear a belt with them and how light or heavy it is. Nightshirts are lighter, to be more comfortable to sleep in than a thicker and heavier tunic.

"Go put on pants, then," Mom says. "I want to check something."

"Can I finish eating first?" I point to my food.

"That's your third bowl," Finn mutters.

"Yeah, it's delicious and I'm hungry," I nod.

"Alright," Mom says. "I'll wait until you do."

Since I know Mom won't explain why she wants to see my chest (maybe it's my back?), I decide to finish eating dinner. After I do, I head upstairs and pull on some pants and pull off my shirt, then return downstairs.

"Let me check something," Mom has me sit down as she stands in front of me.

She examines my chest for a few moments, then reaches forward and traces something on it. A moment later, a violet-and-silver mark appears on my chest. It's not the one that appeared on me in the nightmare, but a different rune on my sternum where the one in the nightmare was. This one resembles a sort of bubble with three smaller bubbles attached to it, all at the top of the bigger one.

Just like in the nightmare, lines spread out from the rune, covering my body in the same way the ones in the nightmare did.

"Whoa," Finn says.

"Dad," Mom murmurs, keeping her finger where she'd finished tracing.

Did she just confuse me with her dad? What do I look like, an old man?

"Uh, no, I'm your son, Skyler."

"Is that a protective sigil?" Sara asks. "A Crysterish mark?"

"Crysterish?" I ask.

"Supposedly of the Crystern," Sara explains. "No one knows what the actual ancient language is, just that it appears in a few ruins from the age of the Ancients. It's similar to the language of the Ancients, but far more potent. I've seen that mark before, it's their sigil for protection. If a place has it, it's impossible to enter. How is it on Skyler? How is that even possible? How did you make it appear?"

"There are a lot of questions," Mom says. "But I'll only answer a few. Skyler, I wasn't calling you my father. No, he must have put this on you when he died. It explains how you survived the slimes' acid for that long."

"Your dad could use the ancient runes?" Sara asks. "On a person?"

"Yes," Mom answers. "It comes with twenty-seven protections from death. Skyler is down to three."

"Didn't Grandpa die when I was a baby?" I ask.

"Yes," Mom answers. "He must have known you were going to be wild even then. I suppose the fact that you once somehow managed to get out of your cradle and on top of his bed all on your own when you were three weeks old might have hinted at it. Your father and grandfather were out, and I was taking a nap. We still haven't figured out how you did that."

"Even as a baby, you were wild," Finn comments.

"You have no idea," Mom chuckles. "Twenty-four protections used already."

"How does it work?" Sara asks as Mom begins examining the markings. "And why aren't you removing your hand?"

"The marks will fade within a few seconds after if she does," I say.

"How did you know that?" Mom asks.

"I guessed," I answer. "And my latest nightmare of Dad's death had him put a Crystal in me with a rune and the marks faded after a few seconds. Maybe that was me remembering Grandpa doing this and my nightmare took that as part of it? The dream had a bubble barrier around me, Dad had used one in the fight."

"I see," Mom says. "Do your nightmares vary much?"

"Sometimes," I shrug. "That one had the most variations. There was one time, the statue sicked a bunch of stone wolves on me and Dad battered them to death with an invisible palm."

Mom starts to say something, then shakes her head and returns to examining the markings.

"You're right," she says. "Your mind probably used your father's barrier and added in stuff from when Dad placed the protection on you into your nightmare, to explain how you survived. The protection rune that Dad placed prevents any harm over a certain amount. If it's from sustained damage, the protection use continues until the harm is done."

Mom finishes her examination, then pulls her hand away from my chest. A few seconds later, the marks fade away.

"Twenty-four uses," Mom shakes her head.

"So I get three more life-saves?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers. "And now that you know about them, Sky, please don't try using them up as fast as possible, especially since you want to set off on a journey to find the Crystern."

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "I gotta be careful. I'll just keep being me and-"

"Skyler, you being you is exactly what's caused you to use up twenty-four protections against actual death."

"Yeah, but I'm an adventurer now," I say. "So I'm also tougher. I reached Level 10 today."

Mom sighs as she rubs her temples, and Finn just smiles at me while Sara just shakes her head. What? It's true.

"The rune will fade," Mom tells me. "Once you reach maturity. It varies from person to person, and will probably be anywhere from sixteen to nineteen years of age."

"Or when I receive lethal injuries three more times."

"Or that," she says. "Please be careful, Skyler."

"I'm always careful."

"I have hundreds of stories to contest that."

"What were monsters from other islands doing on that island?" Sara asks. "That sounds concerning."

"There was an eagle bringing them over."

Three pairs of eyes give me incredulous looks.

"I killed it," I say. "Don't worry, I also got rid of the slime pit."

"How?" Sara asks.

"I set it on fire."

"That works."

"How did the pit form?" Finn asks.

"Yeah, I never did figure that one out," I say. "Nor why it happened to look like ground that had been covered, especially since the eagle was still picking up slimes to drop in it."

That was really confusing, and I spent the next week and a half trying to figure out who or what dig the pit and why it happened to be covered at that particular time. Unfortunately, I never did figure out what happened there.

"Well!" I say. "I really need to get some sleep after what happened early. Might help my leg heal faster, too. I'm heading to bed now."

"No," Mom says as Finn helps me to my feet. "You're just wanting to avoid things."

"Avoid what?" I ask. "I hurt my leg, and it is nearing bedtime. We rested on the island longer than we expected."

"Skyler…"

Sighing, I go to sit back down.

"No need," Mom says. "It will be quick. You don't randomly have the power to sense Crystals, Skyler. You inherited it from both of us."

"But I kept it in my Inventory," I say. "I can't sense in there."

"Yeah," Mom says. "I can't, either. Your dad, on the other hand, could. He let me know that you had it the first day you came back with it. And yes, I know why you didn't tell me, why you wanted to delay leaving, Sky. I do appreciate it, but I've told you before that it's not necessary."

"Oh."

"Yeah," she says.

"Well!" I say. "That's great news! Sleep time! Finn! Are you joining me?"

"Yeah," Finn answers.

"Night, Mom," I say. "Night, Sara."

"Night, boys," Mom and Sara say in unison.

As Finn and I settle reach my room, we hear Sara ask Mom for more information about the Crysterish protection and how it was applied. Sadly, Mom tells Sara that it's probably a good idea to head out of town so that we don't overhear what she will share with the elf.

"That's a bummer," I sigh.

"Yeah," Finn sighs. "I was hoping to find out."

"We should follow them!"

"No," Finn shakes his head. "Sara would know we're following, and your leg needs healing."

"Yeah," I change into my nightshirt. "That part's sad. Want to sleep in my bed? It's much more comfortable than the floor."

"Um…"

"Too fast?" I ask, noting how red his cheeks turned. "My bed really is more comfortable than the floor. It's big enough for both of us and I like snuggling."

Finn thinks for a few moments, then climbs up onto my bed, and I join him on it. We do have to lie on our sides, but that's okay because Finn decides to snuggle me from behind. Probably because I'm shorter.

This is cozy.

"Finn?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" I ask, and when he doesn't answer for a few moments, I decide to add some stuff. "You don't have to answer right away, Finn. If you decide to be, though, that means lots of snuggles, hand-holding, and kisses."

Finn's response is in the form of his tail. It's thumping against the bed a little, though he doesn't say anything. He probably will need time to come up with his answer. That's fine, though, and I won't stop him from cuddles if he wants them.

Actually, he's really good at this. I find myself falling asleep really fast in his arms.

"Night, Finn."

"Night, Sky."