The bus quickly arrived at its intended stop, not far from the Irongate Bridge. The five passengers disembarked from the bus, ready to go their own ways.

“So where should we go now? Any suggestions?” “We need to book sleeping reservations, sunset is soon.” “Dinner, I’m starving.” Ryixia paused to consider both suggestions, realizing that Sryine had a very practical idea, but Vwyx had an irrefutable point. All of them were starving, including both hunters. At the mention of food, both hunters stopped and turned back to the girls, generally interested to hear where things were going.

“Sryine, you took care of the bill last time, I’ll get us a solo reservation and you two can upgrade it later. I trust we’re all fine with another night at the Riverside Inn, right? Meanwhile, maybe let's try that cafe again for dinner, probably the easiest option. I’ll just meet you both there.” “Wait, are you sure it’s safe to run back to the Inn all by yourself?” “Relax, I’m not the one who already fell on her face exhausted, and it’s not far away. If anyone shows up and causes problems, pretty sure I can figure something out. If there are any problems, that’s why we got this cell thing, right?” Ryixia wasn’t about to compromise for Sryine, wanting a measure of time to herself and an opportunity to be helpful. She wasn’t exactly feeling as brave as she sounded, hoping that some sleep compulsions would work in her favour about as well as they had before as she left before anyone else could vocalize further complaints, including herself.

“Dinner actually sounds like a good idea. It sounds like you might already have a place in mind too. Would it be a problem if we imposed further and joined you for dinner?” “Uh, probably be fine. Not like it’s a private cafe or anything. I’m kidding, well, no, it’s not private, but I mean it was only your own idea to wander off in the first place. If you’re willing to stick around a while longer, might be nice to have the extra company around.” Dhyinze somehow ended up sounding awkward and yet still doing better than Vwyx when it came to that request. Vwyx was a little distracted at the time, herself worried about Ryixia. Sryine sighed, at a loss for how come everything just took that moment to fall apart in a giant mess, while leading everyone towards the Riverside Cafe.

“Oh, here’s some familiar faces. Oh, and a couple new ones too. Glad you seem to be so inclined to bring me more business.” “Actually, yeah, isn’t this place pretty quiet for a dinner hour?” “Well, honestly, this place can get pretty quiet at almost any hour. I’ve tried my best to inspire people to want to stop by here, but it’s been kinda rough trying to actually keep the customers flowing in a sorta no-name place like this.” Sryine felt a measure of empathy for the storekeeper, herself recalling the times she sat in the square at her village, totally ignored by the others around her as she tried to fulfill the things expected of her. It left her happy to be able to provide some additional business for the struggling cafe.

In light of such considerations, she reflected upon her own past experience. Trying to provide her own measure of use in the square back home had always been futile.. until her gift came into play. Sure, her brother felt it was a poor distraction from things that needed to be done, but such distractions at least drew people in, getting their attention. She recalled the illusions she commanded to promote the services of the village’s newest doctor, dramatic but convincing. This place could probably use the same finesse, something to draw them in and keep them present, as the smells of the cafe filled their lungs. Drawn in by such, not wanting to leave, the next inevitable course would be to place an order. Back then, she had used the pond as a central location to capture everyone’s attention. Transfixed like that, with all eyes on her, the rest was a matter of course. She looked around the room, taking account of the setting available to work with. There was a table located in the back corner of the cafe, sitting right beside an open window. The table itself didn’t even look inviting, she hadn’t noticed it’s existence until that moment. Given it’s position and angle from the door, it might be perfect.

“So, if things are rather quiet, do you think it would be okay for us to bring a bit of life to that corner over there? Nothing truly active, none of us want to make a mess of your fine establishment, just something to keep us otherwise occupied.” “Uh, I guess? As long as there won’t be any unfortunate accidents to clean up, I really don’t see a problem.” “Awesome.” Sryine sat down at the table she had indicated to the shopkeeper. Vwyx and the two hunters generally at a loss for what was going on, standing there still uncertain. The shopkeeper had actually only accepted the proposal due to the presence of the two hunters, almost an insurance in case things did go ugly.

Sryine sat down at the table and started to try and build up an illusion. Following her old patterns, she started with a screen, then started to build up a picture on it. The picture came to life, animating a storybook scene of wild adventure, looking like a classic that would have come from before the Instrumentation Era. Already, Vwyx and the hunters were getting intrigued, wandering over to the table to figure out what Sryine was up to. It was a good sample audience, but without enough momentum to capture the attention of people outside, the story needed sound and texture. Providing the illusionary screen with a complex arrangement of effectively high quality surround sound started having the audio leak out into the streets. Having clashes and footfalls resound as illusionary impulses felt by people nearby gave it an even greater depth of realism. Sryine had a moment of pride flush across her face, before collapsing face-first into the table.

Sryine’s illusions had been captivating and impressive, but all of that high-quality had come at a taxing cost, the overall effect too much for the poor girl to sustain. A couple of hunters had shown up from the bridge to inquire upon all the noise, only to find out that there really wasn’t anything actually going on, the two hunters already present having everything under control. As Sryine pulled her face from the table, disappointment flashing across her face, as Vwyx felt at a loss for any way to lend support. Vwyx herself was impressed at this remarkable display of an illusion, the sound ringing like music to her ears, but failing in its moment of glory. The thoughts reminded her of her own ambitions similar to the field, as she pulled out the unfinished music box from her possessions. The small thing looked impressive too, but could never hold a tune, she could never figure out a way to complete it. The largest issue was going from it’s box, to something that pushed out music, at least sounds similar to what Sryine had produced. Without such, the box was nothing more than a box, like an engine devoid of the remainder of the vehicle.

With that context, her box really did look like a kind of engine, one otherwise devoid of purpose. Most engines are important, they allow the driver to sustain the operation of the entire vehicle on what little stamina a person normally possesses, augmenting the potential to deliver enough performance to power something capable of carrying them over long distances at higher speeds. But without such purpose, even an engine is just a useless box. As she drew this comparison, deeper insight flashed over her. An engine thus enabled a person to do things they couldn’t otherwise achieve on their own.

“This might be a horrible time to be left without any materials on hand.” “Vwyx, what’s wrong, is there something we could help with? Sryine is going to be okay, right?” “Oww, yeah, I’m fine, sorry to worry everyone.” “Spare metal, and probably a few small converters, that’s probably all I would need.” “Really? Whatever for?” Vwyx seemed to have had her turn to lose her sanity, causing Dhyinze to worry. Sryine might have claimed to be fine, but Dhyinze was still lost and concerned. Nuiqhyx however stepped forwards, offering a small bag and a couple of tiny boxes. The bag contained plain metal plates, about a Uyn in length, while the two boxes contained small converters, in a pristine unused black.

“My work makes use of some of that stuff, so I try to keep more than a few spares, why I made sure to pick up a bunch at the mall. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it definitely seems interesting. As long as someone pays me back for the stock, and I get to see what’s going on, I don’t mind lending a hand.” Nuiqhyx in his care-free way stepped in to save the day. Vwyx accepted the offering, taking only two of the plates for her purpose and passing the rest back. Pulling out her melder for the additional support, Vwyx started weaving together a complex network of strands and filters, blending together the black crystals into the mix. The second converter poked its tip outside the top of the box, as metallic grips infused to the wood on both sides of it. Vwyx looked over her work, perplexed as to where even her own inspiration had come up with this design. It had the feeling of a vehicle engine, but then shifted away dramatically from there.

“Sryine, maybe this thing could help you to try that little trick again.” Vwyx placed her new creation before Sryine, surprising her in that moment. Another strange instrument, just where did Vwyx come up with this stuff from? Sryine broke out into laughter, the moment of that irony not lost upon her at all, realizing that her own ideas were almost as perplexing. She couldn’t wait for Ryixia to return, witnessing just what kind of mischief they had gotten into in her absence.

“Thank you, we look forward to your stay.” The receptionist offered Ryixia the key to the room she had just purchased, this time M1-4. That would put them upstairs, fourth room on the right. Nothing was staying constant or consistent, everything being difficult to keep up with. Mostly, she was finding it challenging to keep up with her friends, to find ways to help out, to find even a measure of meaning to her even being there. Vwyx and Sryine seemed to be right at home in all of the chaos, but she was finding it much harder to adjust. Even after such a busy day, they didn’t even have anything concrete to do tomorrow, it would be another impulsive rush towards uncertainty. She knew she had decided to focus on the goals of her friends, giving them an opportunity to immerse themselves in the way of city life, but she couldn’t ignore her own needs in the process. It just didn’t help that she didn’t fully understand what those needs might be.

As she walked back along the streets, she continued to consider her feelings in the process, the moment alone giving her the chance to reflect upon herself. She knew she was upset for two reasons. She was unsettled by not having a plan to follow, a carefully designed path full of things that would become normal and ordinary, predictable. The Inn and Cafe were comforts to her in that regard, places to return to, places she understood. She had booked another one-night stay, uncertain on irregularities such as booking for more days than that, but she generally wanted to find a place she knew she could always return to for some rest. Even if she had the odd quirk of only resting in body, leaving a spectre to wander around, it was still a comfortable kind of rest, one she had need of like any other person.

Beyond that, she was also concerned with exactly how much she could help out, a need she felt there instinctually. Even considering the odd features of her strange nature, it felt like she simply wasn’t able to do very much, when compared to her friends. Her gift was rather simple, to adjust the physical ability of those around her, excluding herself. This even allowed her to provide a measure of healing. Meanwhile, the others had this and more, their gift not even being the full outreach of their potential. Vwyx’s gift was similar to her own, just working on objects instead, allowing the creation of various simple crafts. She had expanded upon that gift, not only for the repairs it seemed also capable of, but somehow had taken it into the deep end of instrumentation, far beyond the advancements she had been allowed access to in her village. Sryine meanwhile might have only had some artistic stealth to speak of, and even beyond perfecting the shroud she was capable of, she had pulled out the ability to just keep learning. All of them even knew she was the most proficient in matters of money, and had somehow become their group’s leader in the process. Sryine was considerably convincing and influential, something Ryixia somehow felt had been taken from her. With friends that capable, it was almost impossible to keep up with them, let alone be of any real help.

In both cases, the problem was essentially how much she wasn’t doing. She wanted order and structure to her life, but it wasn’t like she had done much to make it happen, she hadn’t even asked. If she wanted things to move in an organized way, she would have to be the one to step in and make it happen. Her friends might be more capable than her, but that didn’t excuse her from not even trying. If Sryine was such a capable leader, being given the right requests could be enough to bring change in that area, Sryine was nice like that. If Vwyx was so much more useful, Ryixia herself would need to keep an open mind and be willing to learn more things. Ryixia pulled out her Cell, looking upon it. The others had been all too excited about the little instrument, each in their own way. It was an excitement she hadn’t even shared. However, in all consideration, it was a resource they now all had in common, a utility with a vast array of uses the others had been keen on. It was a normal, a standard, suddenly introduced into her life, and possibly a good place to start from. She started to manipulate the instrument, starting a call with Sryine.

“Oh, hey, Ryixia. Yeah, sorry, Sryine was a bit too busy to answer the call. Sorry for the noise, things have gotten pretty loud around here.” “Seriously, what kind of mess have you two gotten into in such a short time?” “About that, it seems like things are picking up at the cafe here all of a sudden. It’s hard to explain like this, just hurry over and take a look for yourself.” Vwyx was almost impossible for Ryixia to hear over all of the noise on the other end. Ryixia had been compelled to try and catch a bus back, sitting there on a bench, but was suddenly too impatient to sit and wait. Ryixia hung up and rushed off towards the cafe, the only thing keeping her from panicking being how calm Vwyx seemed beyond otherwise shouting. Ryixia sighed, the chaos of the situation proving a bit overwhelming as her friends came up with something new in her moments of absence. Inevitably, her problems were only getting worse.

Even a long distance from the cafe, she could hear all the noise, resounding loudly through the streets. As she got closer, she found that not only was the cafe itself packed to the brim, but that there was suddenly a massive lineup in order to enter. Her entrance obstructed, Ryixia leaned against a nearby wall of a neighbouring building, letting her spectral form advance the rest of the way. Inside, she found Sryine focused intently on a small box, a grand-scale projection playing out a riveting tale above them of dashing heroism. The storekeeper was in a flurry, desperately trying to keep up with the endless requests for orders, while Vwyx was helping out getting orders passed off to the right people. Vwyx set down one such order in front of a couple of hunters before turning to see Ryixia there, conveying a visible irritation even without the clear physical structure of a real body. Vwyx jumped at the sight, taking into account that Ryixia was probably stuck outside.

“Okay, excuse me, one of our staff is outside, please let her come through. Ryixia, this way please.” Vwyx broke an opening into the crowds and hailed for her friend, not actually having any idea where Ryixia’s body might be waiting. Ryixia took advantage of the opening to slip inside, taking more account into what was going on. However, before she could blink, Vwyx threw her right into the thick of the chaos, passing out orders in much the same way she was herself. A glaring flaw was instantly visible in the process, there was no order or structure in what was going on. She returned to the counter, and instead of picking up another random order they would be later left to struggle in figuring it out, she went behind the counter and discovered a clipboard. She took a quick tour of the building, drawing a structured layout for each of the tables, all organized by a sequence of numbers on a grid. She made another copy and set one copy down at the counter, before carrying the clipboard off towards the door.

“Hello, good day. We’re getting table 12 cleared for you, could I get your order?” “Oh, uh, okay. I’ll have some tea and biscuits.” “Hello, table 4 is almost ready for you, could I get your order?” “I’ll have some of today’s soup and salad.. oh I guess just with some water.” Ryixia collected a handful of orders from people waiting for a seat, then got them seated as she brought her written records to the counter. “Table 12, Tea and Biscuits. Table 4, Water, Soup and Salad.” “Wait, what?” Ryixia continued her efforts to bring order to chaos as the shopkeeper came to investigate the pages on the counter. Nodding appreciatively at the map and written requests, he resumed his work.

Working through the chaos, suddenly Vwyx found herself faced with a plate of biscuits, a cup of tea, and a label numbered ‘12’. “The map is on the counter.” Ryixia ran past with her clipboard, bringing attention to the first sheet of her work. Vwyx went to it, and quickly spotted the table matching the same number. Things started progressing a lot smoother after that, with a stronger clarity in matters of process. However, Sryine’s stamina wasn’t holding up much more beyond that, even with the support of Vwyx’s instrument. Faced with the reality that she would have to bring the movie to a close, she wrapped things up and laid back in her chair in exhaustion. Realizing that the show was over, the crowd quickly started losing interest and began to disperse, leaving only those who had already paid for their food anyway.

“Well then, I don’t think I’ve had this much business over an entire lunar cycle, thanks a lot for all the help. You three seem pretty wiped, your welcome to stay a while and recover a bit.” “Probably smart. We should consider making an order for ourselves, and actually eat dinner finally. Give me a sec, I need to catch my breath.” The storekeeper was fully willing to give Sryine whatever time she needed, after what she had done for him. Sryine was the most exhausted of them all, both because her stamina was least of them all, and because she had needed to expend her gift constantly without having any opportunity to catch her breath. Ryixia was actually doing the best in this regard, having had the most opportunity to conserve her stamina by her wise usage and planning, as well as having discarded her elven limitations. Ryixia sat down, noticing the two hunters had actually left already. They had actually eaten earlier, knowing that they would be expected back soon and thus didn’t have the time to invest into the girls’ madness.

“So I guess I’ll have a melon juice with…” “Ryixia.. just because you had one bad experience doesn’t mean you should just forsake it forever. If you want some, just order it.” “... fine, no melon juice, I’ll have some iced mintberry instead, with another soup and salad. Your soup is pretty good, so I’m fine with having more of it.” Ryixia was actually the only one to change her order from lunch today, accepting the Vwyx’s thoughtful compulsion. However, the others almost betrayed her in the process, sticking with exactly the same orders as before. Most of the reason was because the order changed slightly when requested as a dinner, leaving Ryixia with a much more hearty and even meaty salad, Sryine with an even thicker and longer sandwich, and Vwyx with a full on stir fry of mixed veggies to go with her fish in a huge hearty meal. Sight changes, even once again, nothing seemed predictable for Ryixia with friends like these. Ryixia still couldn’t help but smile, taking full opportunity to enjoy the flavour of her mintberry as it melted on her tongue, an old classic she’d been ignoring from a distant past.

Sryine took account of the new expenses, the dinner version having them spend around 5 Qeld each more than lunch. However, before she could organize for the payment of dinner, she found herself instead getting 250 Qeld added to her card, their group’s cost of dinner already deducted from the profits, and the remaining amount to be divided as she felt fit, as long as she agreed to return for lunch, ready to bring in more business. The others were happy with her just taking the profits, knowing that she could be depended on to spend it with consideration of them as a group.

The three of them then made their way to the Riverside Inn, Sryine and Vwyx offering their 10 Qeld each for the room upgrade. It had been a long day, they were all eager to call it a day a bit early and thus get a good night's sleep.