The first two days passed by in a contentious blur. The group came to an understanding that teamwork would help them through this mission faster, but all continued to be divided still. Morio spent most of the daylight working underneath the steam truck, his body covered in oil and grime. He occasionally rolled from the truck to sneak himself water and snacks, but he always dragged himself back to his work. Despite his unkempt appearance, he was a hard worker and dedicated to fixing anything seemingly mechanical. Elanya hadn’t had much time to speak with Rigesh about the Air spell he taught her. Their shifts were so opposite of each other that she only peeked him briefly when the sun broke or during lunch and dinner. He would scale the short building, perching himself in the middle and lean forward with his golden right eye. The first night, she hadn’t been able to perfect the simple spell that he gave her, mostly due to her bad eyesight, but by the second night, she had gotten it down and memorized the small numbers of ferals on the outside of the city gates. But she was jealous that he could condense it into his own eyes. She was going to bother him ruthlessly to teach her that advanced spell, whether she would be able to actually do it or not.

High in the sky, the sun burned. Grey, sparse clouds were lazily dawdling the darken blue sky. It seemed that the cursed city even had an effect on the weather as well as the soil. Dark blue skies were only natural when the sun was transitioning behind the horizon in the evening, but here it stood out like a brightened god looking down into a puddle of darkness. Elanya thought it would rain from the ominous clouds if the summer sun wasn’t beaming down intently on her neck. However, the cursed weather was unpredictable, so it was still very much possible. Orantal sat next to her sorting through her herbs and spices for future potions. Nemedion sat across from them, staring anxiously at the steel pot over the fire. His two friends scoffed at him, hiding their giggles behind delicate hands and pinched shoulders. Everyone wanted to take turns cooking. Nemedion, so used to servants spoiling him, had no idea how to cook or prepare anything. Orantal had taught herself to cook, learning for the purpose of often brewing potions and soups as her way of training to heal. She expressed that he didn’t have to torture himself, or them, with his cooking, but he argued that he wanted to deepen his contribution to the team.

Yahna joined them a little later, turning her lip up at the horrendous concoction brewing. Unlike Elanya and Orantal, she held nothing back when it came to her insulting their friend.

“Is that supposed to be...food?” she asked demeaningly.

Nemedion glared at her, then turned his attention back to stirring up the contents in the pot. “It’s soup.”

“What kind of soup?”

“I don’t know.”

She scowled. “You’re making us soup and you don’t even know what’s in it?”

Nemedion pointed his spoon at her, narrowing his eyes at her, annoyed. “Hey! I’m doing my best. Besides, it couldn’t be worse than the scraps you fed us the other day.”

“Hmph. At least I’m taking cooking classes.”

“Alright! Enough!” Orantal snapped. “No more bickering.”

Yahna raised her hands like she had given up. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what you expect me to do. We’ve been stuck here for three, going on four days, and I don’t know how long I can just sit here and be idle. There’s nothing here! I’m bored.”

All four of them sighed reluctantly. It was the truth. The longer they lounged on the edge of the Flesh Hoarders’ feeding grounds, the more they became irritable. Sometimes a lone Flesh Hoarder, deranged and starved, would drag their way into the outskirts of their camp and either Elanya or Rigesh would deal with them. When one was perched in their station on top of their camp keeping watch, the other would go out into the field and deal with a painfully easy enemy. The mindless feral Flesh Hoarders were so far gone into hunger, they weren’t aware of anything. Senses completely rotted away, looking very much like staggering undead.

“Elanya, we got another one. Half a mile away, northwest.” Rigesh called from above.

She sighed, unbuckling her sword from her hip and placed it next to her log. She wouldn’t even need a tenth of her Moon Magic to deal with these stragglers. “Alright, I’m on it.”

Ten minutes later, she found herself next to a big rock covered in sand and dirt. Leaning on it to support her weight, she watched the Flesh Hoarder circle around himself in confusion, swiping at multiple flies harassing his face. Usually their eyes were bright yellow, but his were white as though he had gone blind. Judging from his uneven movements and frustration with the flies, that was most likely the case. His bones stuck through his grey skin, rotten organs hanging from his insides grotesquely. Only a few strands of his hair were left. She couldn’t guess what his hair color used to be, only that dirt and grime had made this creature look darker. It was a sad sight. Elanya could do nothing but feel sorry for him. What kind of person had he been before being cursed to his fate? Killing him seemed like mercy more than a necessity.

He passed by the rock, unaware that she leaned against it, observing him with pity. His face held pain and anguish. A small whimper passed through his crusted lips, a solemn plea to end his suffering.

She walked beside him and he reacted to her proximity to him. His frantic cries were more begging rather than ferocious howling like his other kin. Holding him still by his shoulder, Elanya sent down a sliver of her Moon Magic down his back. His frail body began to disintegrate into the air in a plume of black smoke, black blood coming down his mouth and nose. For a moment, she thought that he saw him smile before the rest of him disappeared.

What a shame, she thought.

When she walked back to camp, Morio and Rigesh had joined the other three at the fire to start eating lunch. While the soup Nemedion cooked up didn’t look very good, it was edible, if a little bland to taste. She sat down next to Orantal, tying her sword on her hip again. Rigesh sat on the dirty ground, leaning his back against the log with a bowl in his lap. He looked over to her and smiled, making her mouth twitch. He had seen her kill the Flesh Hoarder, and she had no doubt that he knew exactly how she felt.

“Are there any changes from last night?” she asked him, picking around in her soup with her spoon.

He shook his head and huffed. “No, besides the ferals that case around a broken hole in one of the city walls, none are moving any closer to the outside.”

“So that means that we will be able to sneak in with no issues?” Orantal asked.

Elanya nodded. “Yes. But I fear that they want us to move deeper into their territory before they really show us what they’re planning.”

“How much longer before you finish the repairs on the truck?” Nemedion inquired.

“It could be about three more days,” Morio shrugged, “the truck really took a beating, and mending a broken engine is a pain in the ass.”

“I can cut it down to two days,” Rigesh added, “but we will need more magic for the runes. I can etch some runes better than others, but if we add in our special students, we can get more work done.”

Orantal took a look back at the big steam truck. Covered in dents and scratches, it had taken them so far. The first week she hated sleeping in the thing, now she praised it for keeping her from being served as the next Flesh Hoarder’s meal. “I will do anything to help out and so will Nemedion.”

“I never-” Orantal elbowed him in the side, giving him a wide side eye and snarl. He lowered his shoulders then rolled his eyes. “Fine. Yeah, I’ll help.”

Elanya placed her half empty bowl on the ground and stared into the fire. “I’ll lend a hand too,” she said absentmindedly.

“No, you need to save your energy.” Rigesh disagreed.

“But I can-”

“When we fix the steam truck, you’ll use most of your magic shielding us while we find shelter in Sogara-dai,” he said, leaning back into the log, “you should conserve most of your magic.”

Nemedion scowled at the older man, bunching up his shoulders as though he were about to launch himself across the fire. “She doesn’t have to listen to you.”

For a quick moment, Elanya could see a flash of a threat in Rigesh’s eyes as he looked up at Nemedion from his spot on the ground, magic slipping from his eyes with animosity. But the threat soon faded as Rigesh shrugged his shoulders back and glowered. “She doesn’t have to, but I thought you would care about her well-being. Think about how much magic she would expend etching elemental runes then going straight into masking us in the night, she’ll be exhausted to all hells.”

“You underestimate Elanya’s power,” the rich boy growled.

“I think you underestimate the usefulness of our whole group, whether you like it or not.”

“The three of us can channel more magic into that vehicle than the rest of you can.”

Orantal pinched Nemedion who whined, rubbing his side as he quickly sat back in his spot. “You’re making a big deal about all of this. We’re supposed to be working together as a team. You and me need to pick up the other work so Elanya doesn’t have to do everything.”

Nemedion considered the rag tagged circled, turning his nose up. “I just don’t know what the rest of these people could do.”

“Are you an idiot?” Elanya snapped, breaking her spoon in half. “Nem, I’m not an endless supply of magic, I need to rest too. I just can’t do everything by myself.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Mean to what?” She stood up, anger rushing through her body in barely concealed rage. “You’re so used to getting what you want, letting people do stuff for you. Now you want to put everything on my shoulders without caring about how it would make me feel.”

“That isn’t true! I just know your potential.”

Elanya turned away from the fire, crossing her arms, bothered as heat crawled up her neck. “Any other time you don’t hesitate to boast about how much better you are than me! Why are you parading me around like I’m some perfect soldier? You can’t pick and choose when you want to show me respect!”

Embarrassed by her outburst, she grabbed her things and rushed into their camp, hiding herself beneath a thin bed sheet. Nemedion had been all under her since they had crashed landed at their campsite. The heat, along with feeling idle and the uncertainty of dealing with the Flesh Hoarders, had made them all resentful toward each other. Nemedion and Yahna had been the most annoying--dead weight. She didn’t want to admit it to her friend, but he couldn’t do anything useful except casting an exceptional shield or two. His magic was still useless against the Flesh Hoarders, despite the fruits of his labor regarding his title of a Meister. The past few days he mindlessly talked to her and Orantal about meaningless things back home, hinting that he wished he could talk to Elanya about their future. Making things work for them. It drove Elanya crazy when he stayed up at night to talk to her. Even Orantal, the most polite woman ever, was starting to snap on the dreaded man, repulsed by his utter lack of dignity. His overbearance was a counterpart to Yahna nagging the whole crew all day and out, and they often thought that Morio was about to strangle her when he couldn’t fully immerse himself in repairs.

With Rigesh and Elanya swapping with one another to keep watch, Morio working on mechanical repairs and Orantal preparing medicinal salves and potions, Yahna and Nemedion were the odd ones out. They haven’t realized that their abortive behaviors inconvenienced the majority of their group, which made being stuck with them even worse.

Nemedion rose to follow her, but Orantal pulled him back down. She shook her head, then looked toward the blaring sun. “It’s really early for her, she’s tired. Let her sleep. You being all up under her isn’t going to make anything better.”

“I’m not all under her.”

“You are. You’re being possessive. We have more important things than your personal feelings for her.”

Morio rose up from their fire and looked toward his steam truck, yawning as he stretched his dirty arms. “Ah shit, another obsessive hindrance. If you need me, I’ll be under the truck. Should be done by later tonight.”

Yahna chuckled. “Way to ruin the mood.”

“You’re one to talk. You ruin everyone you speak to.” Nemedion spit venom at her.

Orantal looked over to Rigesh with an apologetic smile. She leaned over while the other two bickered and whispered to him. “It’s awkward for both of them.”

Unsure, he asked her, “Awkward about what?”

“Ellie is right, Nem is used to getting what he wants,” She inclined her head to her male friend, sulking, “and he’s learning the hard way that he can’t always win a challenge.”

Initially, Rigesh thought the younger, rich man disliked him because he was a commoner that had outshined him when fighting alongside each other at the airport. His creation saved their lives, and he was more needed on their mission than Nemedion was. However, the man was starting to see him as a rival. Did he really think that Elanya was becoming comfortable with Rigesh for any other reason besides the obvious? The two came to an understanding because they were Gong-dai’s--possibly Vaikoln’s--only hope in defeating the Flesh Hoarders before they descended on the weaker citizens.

There was no doubt that Rigesh was starting to become fond of Elanya. Each day, he spoke to her, even a little, she would open up herself a little. He started to see bits and pieces of her real personality. She was hardworking, focused and a bit aloof, but he also saw that she was thoughtful and tended to take on more things than she should. He also found her attractive, even when she was exhausted and covered in dirt and sand from being outside. She had more things to her than any other woman he had talked to. But he wasn’t going to fight with Nemedion about it in the middle of nowhere. There was a time and a place. This was neither.

“I don’t have time to deal with children who aren’t ready for the real world,” he scoffed as he gathered up his pistols, “we have a mission to see through. If you need me, I’ll be on the roof until sunset.”

Orantal watched him walk away from their campfire then scale the side of the building with ease. Like a statue, he leaned forward to gaze into the horizon with his eyes shining golden with unwavering attention. She didn’t want to assume, but she thought that maybe he was a bit upset. Now, everyone was in a bad mood. Instead of coming together, they were drifting further from each other. Orantal could feel Elanya’s piling stress pulling her away from her friends as well. If she didn’t come back soon, she feared that Elanya would close herself completely off from everyone. Nemedion bugging her every second didn’t make matters better for her either. It was the first time in Orantal’s life where she was scared of the future and what it would hold for her best friends.

As the day progressed onward, Morio finished his repairs and settled next to the campfire again, eating roasted meat and veggies that Orantal had cooked for their dinner. Everyone else seemed to be still separated. Elanya was taking a nap before her shift started, while Nemedion lurked outside, walking himself into an anxious grave. Yahna had taken her dinner while sitting in the driver’s seat of the steam truck using it as her personal lookout. Most of the time, she just stared up at Rigesh while he looked out for more Flesh Hoarders.

“It will take some time, but we will come together,” Morio told Orantal as he blew on his hot food, “we have to eventually.”

“I’m sorry that Nemedion is so rude. And Elanya,” Orantal sighed, “she isn’t good with other people. They are usually too uncomfortable with her.”

Morio shrugged. “I mean, she’s a bit off putting initially, but she’s not that bad to me. When I look at her, she seems like she’s always under pressure.”

“She is. The Dean wanted her to go on this mission all alone, and now she has five other people helping her. She’s probably thinking about what her outcome would have been if she had gone by herself.” Orantal tilted her head back to look at the darkening sky, her face full of different emotions. She didn’t know where to start, but she wanted to open up a bit to Morio. “This semester, well, this whole year has been awful for Elanya. If there isn’t one thing, then it’s another. Maybe this is part of becoming an adult, but she seems to be struggling on how to deal with her stress, misfortunes and growing up.”

“You two must be really close?” Morio asked.

Orantal wore a nostalgic smile as she thought about the last three years of being Elanya’s roommate. “Ellie is my roommate and my best friend. Once I got to know her, she was like the sunshine I needed when I was being buried in dark clouds. She’s so kind, she’s so dedicated, and I just want the best for her.”

Morio finished his meal then grimaced. “And Nemedion?”

“Well…” Orantal hesitated. “ We are all really good friends, however, Nemedion and Ellie have been closer. I think he wants what’s best for her, but he doesn’t know how to go about it.”

The older man chuckled, placing his plate to the side and leaning with his elbows on his thighs. “Rigesh was a bit like Elanya when he first started at the Transit Bureau a couple of years ago. Sometimes, it takes growth and realization before one can move on. Rig understood what he wanted out of his life, grew a backbone and did it without questioning himself. Now look at the boy, young and carefree as Umbara.”

Orantal smiled into the fire, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was nervous. Morio leaned over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and showed her a smile that reached his eyes.

“We have to believe in our friends. Everything will work out for Elanya, and for us. I know that me and Rigesh are behind you all the way.”

The two shared a moment of silence. Orantal liked talking to Morio. He was a down-to-earth man who tried his best not to overwork and overthink himself. It’s no wonder that Rigesh stuck to him like glue. But inside, she still worried for her friend. Rigesh was able to develop and change because he had a mentor like Morio showing him the big and small steps of being an adult. Elanya had both Orantal and Nemedion, but she didn’t have anyone she could talk to about her issues. She didn’t have anyone to relate to, despite being in Orantal’s loving company. They both came from different classes and experienced different situations that morphed them into the people they are today. Orantal loved Elanya, but she just couldn’t understand her all the way through. She couldn’t provide her with the guidance that she needed.

An hour later, Elanya rushed past Orantal and Morio as they made their way into the broken down building. Looking disheveled and groggy, she quickly climbed the side of the building, catching her breath once she planted her feet. Rigesh looked toward her with worry. While she leaned forward on her hands to steady her quick heart, he noticed her cherry-red hair spread out across her head, some curls cradled along her forehead and chin. Dark circles were stamped underneath her dimmed eyes. Her skin even looked a shade or two paler. A nightmare. She must have had one of those nightmares again.

“I’m s-sorry…” she gasped, “I overslept. I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He leaned forward and held her by her shoulders, “Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine.” But the words didn’t match the tone of her voice.

Rigesh shook his head, then inclined his head downward. “You don’t look fine to me. Come, sit down, you can’t start your shift being flustered.”

Elanya didn’t argue. She sat crossed legged and mashed her hands together anxiously. Rigesh came to sit next to her, then leaned forward to use Eagle’s Eye. As he continued to look out into the indigo horizon, a silence came between and the only thing that could be heard for Elanya’s heavy breathing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rigesh asked, his eyes still narrowed at Sogara-dai.

“Excuse me?”

“Your nightmares. They’re the reasons you hardly get any sleep.”

She didn’t answer, but her silence confirmed his suspicions. He noticed how much she struggled with sleeping whenever Morio would stop driving for the night. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to suffer as she had the past two weeks.

“You don’t have to,” he started, “but sometimes talking about things will make you feel better. I’m not always the best person to give advice, but I’ve been told I’m a great listener.”

Picking at the skin on her lips with her teeth, Elanya thought about what she could tell him. He was still a stranger, though she trusted him with her life. She didn’t want to unload all of her personal problems when they had better things to think about, but it was hard for her to not talk to anyone while shouldering the heavy duties and burdens of a Meister. But there was also the feeling of something bothering her. Like something sinister brewing in the forefront and she couldn’t explain what threat was coming.

Elanya exhaled, then crossed her arms underneath her chest to keep herself from shaking. “Day in and day out, I’m expected to be a model citizen and Meister. I’m one of the few Moon Meisters in Vaikoln, yet it feels like I’m more of a burden than useful. Everyone seems so scared of me as though they know my magic is powerful, but then they look at me like I’m unfit to be a Meister. I study. I work hard. It’s never enough.

“It’s easy for me to put on a mask and pretend like everything is okay. To pretend like I don’t care what society thinks of me, but I can feel what they feel. Bottling up everything takes a massive toll on me, so sometimes everything comes out as a dream--or in this case, a nightmare. I can’t bring myself to close my eyes for long, or I lose control over my magic.”

“Lose control?”

Elanya dug her nails into her arms’ skin. “Sometimes I think my Moon Magic has a mind of its own. Like it doesn’t listen to me. I think when I get overwhelmed, it attacks me in my sleep and it’s the only way to fight it.”

Rigesh dispelled his golden eyes, turning around to face Elanya. She looked away as though she were ashamed. “Why fight it? It’s your magic.”

“It’s all I have ever known to do.”

“What about accepting it?”

Elanya looked up at him, a bit confused. “Accept what?”

This time, Rigesh sat directly in front of her with his legs crossed. He settled his hands behind him then leaned back and relaxed his shoulders. “I think you’re so overwhelmed because you want to fix things and you think you’re losing control. Instead of fighting against the same thing with the same tactic, why don’t you just accept this frustration and move to a better solution?”

“I don’t know what I need to accept.”

He grinned at her, his eyes closing like a drowsy child. “Then that’s something we’ll need to find out, huh?”

She returned his grin with a smaller one of her own. Talking to Rigesh made her feel a lot better. After the nightmare and oversleeping, she thought she would be in a bad mood all night. A part of her felt bad because he still sat next to her, possibly to keep her company as she prepared for her shift. He laid his back against the cold stone of the roof, crossing his arms behind his head as he looked up at the blackened sky. He asked about her improvement with her Air spell, to which she showed him a light green projection of three miles before them. Too embarrassed to ask him about Eagle’s Eye, she talked about how fast it took her to master the Air spell and how she could optimize it to expand her own peripheral view. After speaking a few minutes about the spell, she decided to divulge to him about her weird nightmare.

Tonight, the nightmare was more vivid. The previous times she was met with a pool that reflected her own vision before turning into a monster and drowning. This time, she saw her reflection in a mirror on a wall, staring back at her with a face of envy and hatred. Reaching out to her, the reflection grabbed hold of her neck, squeezing the life from her. No matter how much Elanya fought back, digging her broken nails into her reflection, it held her firmly in its grasp. Then it felt like she was drowning again. There was that wail again. Crying in anguish.

She woke up sweating and panting for air while Nemedion watched with concern. Still upset about earlier, she fled the camp before he asked her what was wrong. She wasn’t sure if she had enough room in her body to bottle up more. But then she found herself on the roof, talking to an earnest stranger about her distress and nightmares.

However, Rigesh suggested opening up, instead of shoving herself in an isolated space. She was starting to feel like a flower growing at the end of winter, waiting on the spring to open its petals. He asked her to tell him a little bit about her Moon Magic and what tests she had to take to become a Moon Meister. And so, as she continuously stared into the night with Eagle’s Field, she regaled him of tales about having to use specific spells, fighting dummies and calling upon a great deal of magic without straining herself. She told him about how she spent a weekend in a meditation tower outside of Yulin-dai--how boring it felt to sit stationary in the same spot for two days straight without seeing a single soul. They slid food and drink through a smaller door in her room. The tiny room didn’t have windows. There was hardly any magitech to interact with, so she had to rely on using her magic to power up magic stones for light. When she couldn’t stand her bottom being stuck to the cold, hard floor, she would ball herself up in a corner and write in her diary of how lonely and crazed she felt. Once she left the meditation tower, she realized the test was about how Moon Magic could make her feel solitary, cold and crazy, but instead she just felt mad. She felt upset that the Magus Meisters thought such things about Moon Magic when all she felt was a chilling sensation when she used her magic. Her magic made her feel like she was still alive. She couldn’t quite properly explain how it felt to use Moon Magic compared to the other elementals, but she knew that she couldn’t see her Moon Magic as a scary or intimidating thing.

As Rigesh was starting to close his tired eyes, he asked her about how she felt when she used her magic. She hesitated on going on, seeing him struggle to keep his heavy eyes awake, but he told her to keep talking about her magic and how it made her feel. She kept speaking about her magic until she heard Rigesh’s soft breaths even out as he started to slumber.

He looked so vulnerable as he laid on his back, one arm still underneath his head and the other slipping near his face. His dark hair fell down his face, covering his closed, right eye. She whispered a couple of words testing to see how tired he was. He didn’t stir.

Elanya gazed upon his brown face in awe. He must trust her a lot to have fallen asleep next to her looking defenseless. If he had let on that he was exhausted, then she would have shooed him down into their camp to sleep. Instead, he had held on until he knew that she was doing better. In a rare moment, Elanya smiled. She felt heat flush against her own brown cheeks and floating in her stomach. Next thing she knew, she had reached down to touch his face, pushing away thick strands of black hair from his eyebrows, joining the thick pool of hair from his loosened ponytail. She hoped he wouldn’t open his eyes while she awkwardly traced the curve of his cheek. Abashed, she finished caressing his cheek then turned back to her Air spell. Distractions were the last thing that either of them needed. But she welcomed them from him. She was happy that she had finally found someone to confide in.

It was midday when Rigesh woke up on the roof, laying irritatingly on his back. He hadn’t realized how tired he was from keeping watch longer than usual. All he could recall about last night was talking to Elanya before she started her shift. Instead of waking him up, she left him to sleep while she kept watch. He was a little touched after noticing that she still hadn’t left her perch to go mingle with the others. He watched her as she looked into the vast backdrops of ruins, studiously taking in every inch and angle of the terrain. When her eyes became super focused, he could see the colors swirl in a spiral going outward. The sun shone through her hair like the rays of a blood moon, similar to a rare sight. He wondered how it would feel to wake up next to her under different circumstances. As soon as the thought assaulted him, he pushed it from his head, hoping to hide embarrassment on his face.

She turned around to face him once she heard him shuffling. Again, she showed him a small smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

“You’re awake.”

“Yeah, I feel nice and refreshed,” he leaned up on his knees, “but I feel bad for not waking up on time.”

Elanya shook her head. “I don’t mind it.”

Rigesh flashed her a kiddish grin. “I appreciate it, El.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “El?”

“Short for Elanya.”

She wasn’t sure if she liked it, but she accepted it with a shrug. Morio called up to them a little bit later, pointing to the newly repaired steam truck. Once the two made it down, ignoring pointed glares from both Nemedion and Yahna, Morio pulled out blueprints to add magitech shields on the truck. Rigesh took them from him, reading as he paced around the truck. He and Morio fell into place as they made a note of every part of the steam truck, spotting possible issues that they could deal with in the future. Rigesh sighed as he bent himself to the ground and slid underneath the truck, inspecting new and rusted parts bonded together. The others didn’t understand what Morio and Rigesh were mumbling to each other about, but Elanya figured that Rigesh was fixing something that Morio could not.

“Can you explain your mechanical talk in Vai and not gibberish, please!” Yahna fussed as she dragged her comb through her tangled hair.

Morio rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to them. “Repairs are done. Started on the blueprints for adding the shields but I can’t attune the transition with the runes without blowing the whole thing up.”

Elanya pointed to Rigesh’s feet under the truck and asked, “Then what is Rig doing?”

“Calibrating and all that junk,” Morio wiggled his eyebrows, amused, “says he needs to tinker with some stuff like he did his pistols then we can channel the elements through the truck without overloading it.”

“How long will it take him?” Orantal asked.

Rigesh peeked his head from underneath, wiping brown oil from his forehead. “I can have it done by tomorrow morning, but I’ll have to pull an all nighter.”

If the group were more comfortable with one another, they would have cheered at their progress. One more day stuck in the desert would drive them all insane. Morio bent down next to the vehicle, handing him tools and runes from his satchel. Not wanting to disturb them and ask too many questions, Elanya walked into the building to find a snack. She couldn’t ignore the sudden growl from her stomach, nor suppress her loud yawn. Orantal followed in behind her, pulling out some of her own snacks to share with her friend.

“Here, have some of mine. You’ll need all the energy you can get for tonight,” Orantal said handing her a protein bar.

Elanya savored her protein bar slowly. “Mmm, thank you Ora.”

“You seem to be in better spirits today.”

“I hope I am after that awful nightmare from yesterday.”

Orantal sat on a bundle of blankets as she slowly tidied up her things. They needed to be prepared at any notice and couldn’t afford to second guess if they left anything behind. Their impending journey into Sogara-dai should have made Elanya more nervous and anxious, considering she hadn’t been getting sleep and the overwhelming feeling that something didn’t feel exactly as it seemed. Orantal was happy that her friend seemed to be in a better mood today. She assumed that Rigesh had stayed to talk to her last night when she woke up crazed and erratic, which would explain why he hadn’t been laying under his blanket in the building and why he was sleeping on the roof. If Elanya had found a friend to speak to bluntly and purely, then all Orantal could do was support her. She just hoped that Nemedion won’t nag her to death about their own personal issues.

“After this, there is no turning back,” Elanya said, finishing up her protein bar, “we could be in that place for weeks, maybe months. Who knows? Are you sure about going into Sogara-dai with me?”

“Of course, I’m sure! I haven’t come this far with you just to turn back.”

Nemedion walked into the small building some time afterward, grimacing when he saw both of his friends talking with one another. He settled next to them, scratched his neck awkwardly and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Ellie. I will do everything in my power to continue to help you. Everything between us can wait until we’re back in Yulin-dai.”

Elanya and Nemedion have had their share of fights, whether it be about school or their own situation. They could go days without speaking to one another, but in the end, they always gravitated towards each other, apologized and extended their friendship. She locked her hazel eyes with his disappointed blue eyes, reading his own emotions exuding from his aura. Her face morphed into a blank mask as she was assaulted with his desire, anguish, anger and love for her. The last one she always questioned because she believed that if he actually felt such a way then his status would have not mattered. His aura often left her confused and guilty, making her think that she should drop her morals and accept what has been given, but now she didn’t feel hesitation. Right now, as his emotions mixed in his aura around him, she felt pity. Completely over what they once had, she just pitied that she could move on to maintain their friendship but he could not. His emotions made the pit in her stomach freeze.

“I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses, Nem,” she said as she stuffed her belongings in one of her bags.

“It will get harder here on out, so I should start being less selfish,” Nemedion scratched the bottom of his chin, “it’s about time we send a Spirit Bird to the Dean, so he knows that we are about to infiltrate the city.”

Orantal shoved her things in one of the corners, then pulled out another snack bar for Nemedion. “Here, eat this. And you should send a Spirit Bird to the Dean so Ellie can save all her magic.”

“Ora, don’t coddle her.”

“I’m not. You’re just in your feelings.”

Nemedion huffed and crossed his arms, but he didn’t argue with Orantal. Slowly but surely, they packed most of their things away to be ready for tomorrow. Yahna came in shortly, turning her nose up at the three students in their one-roomed building. Elanya didn’t understand why the woman came with them if she was going to complain about everything. It didn’t take much thought to know that their task would be life threatening with major inconveniences that they couldn’t control. Maybe she came because a small part of her wanted to help, but Elanya thought that she had her eyes on Rigesh and wanted to manipulate him. Her stomach heated when she gazed over to him arguing with Yahna the other day and he turned away to talk to her. He had more important things than heeding to every one of her needs.

While Yahna had her attention to her belongings in another corner, Elanya took the time to really look at the woman. She held youth in her face, even with the wrinkles at the corner of her bright, blue eyes. Her pale skin and cold looking eyes indicated that she must have come from Asarian Frost, but not from a noble family. Possibly wealthy, considering her spoiled attitude, and highly educated. The older woman’s hair was a lighter red than Elanya’s, shining almost gold in the sun’s rays. Elanya could sympathize a little with Yahna as they both had to deal with their thick curls--her’s being wavy and in her face while Yahna’s were heavily curled that it easily matted.

Elanya was not a tall person, being barely taller than Orantal. Yahna was a bit taller than usual for a woman, not having to strain her neck to look up at both Nemedion and Rigesh when she spoke to them. Her body was slender and petite, reminding Elanya of models plastered on posters and boards selling irrelevant merchandise. While Yahna’s bust wasn’t as big as hers, her bust was perky. Elanya obviously held more curves than the woman, but that didn’t seem like a bad thing considering Yahna was very much a beautiful woman. She huffed to herself, internally reprimanding herself for comparing them. Why would she need to do that? Why should she even care?

Orantal noticed Elanya gauging Yahna and slightly nudged her with her shoulder. Whatever questions were held in Orantal’s eyes were left unanswered by Elanya’s head shake. It wasn’t important. What was more important was making sure that everyone was on the same page before they ended up trapped in a city full of death and disease. Nemedion had come to his senses today, but would their second weakest link in Yahna prove to be harder to work with. They had already noticed that Morio and Orantal had assimilated easily into the group with Elanya and Rigesh, easing their awkward tension by a bit.

Yahna sat on her bundle of blankets, looking at her polished red nails. Despite being camped outside for the last two and a half weeks, her nails were surprisingly clean. When everyone else had been out and about trying to look busy, she had been detailing her nails, making sure every nail had been scrapped under.

“I don’t know how you girls can do it,” Yahna jeered as she bent her head to look back at them, “I could never be content with being and looking dirty.”

“Trust me, if I had the luxury of taking a consistent shower, I would do it,” Orantal sneered.

“Why not use the Water Runes and clean yourselves up? You both smell as bad as the boys do.”

Orantal gasped. “You’ve been digging into our Rune stash! Those are limited!”

Yahna wiggled her perfect eyebrows. “We haven’t needed to use them yet, so what’s the big deal?”

Elanya sighed. “We haven’t needed to use them yet because we haven’t made our destination.”

“It’s not like we’re going to use all those Runes anyway.”

Nemedion shook his head. “I swear, you’re a selfish hag.”

“Those Runes are for all of us.”

“Yes, for all of us to use, not to squander on trying to dress for a ball in the middle of the desert!”

“Nem, don’t bother wasting your breath on her,” Elanya rose up with a handful of snacks tucked into her pocket, “we have better things to do than worrying about her.”

Yahna growled at Elanya but she turned on her heels and walked outside. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with that woman disrupting the aura with her presence. Everything that Yahna threw at her emotionally just made her more irritated. If the Flesh Hoarders didn’t get to her, then Elanya would surely kill her on her own. The lady lacked morals, but more importantly, she was missing a viable part of her brain.

Morio watched her as she distanced herself from the campsite and gave her a knowing look. The moment he watched the spoiled princess walk into the building, he knew that one of them was bound to flee directly after her entrance. Rigesh was still stuck beneath the truck, removing bolts and screws and mending the metal with some of his Fire Magic. Morio bent back down next to the truck sorting through different tools that Rigesh would need next. Elanya watched the two work from a log near the campfire for a few minutes while she reigned in her temper. Surprisingly, she hadn’t lashed out with her magic. At University, after an awful encounter with a fellow rich student, she would show them the rage behind her Moon Magic, which often led her to the doors of the Dean’s office. But for some reason, she had held her cool--at least until yesterday when she blurted out her frustrations to Nemedion in front of the whole group. It only added to her sickening suspicion that something else was happening and it was affecting her. Maybe, it was affecting the whole group.

As her few minutes turned into well over an hour of watching the men work on the steam truck, Elanya stifled a yawn. Sleep was a tempting offer, especially since she needed to save her strength, but she refused to go back inside the same space that that horrible woman was settling herself in. She could take a short nap on the roof, but she wanted to be as far away from the building as possible.

“Elanya,” she turned to Morio’s gentle voice and a twinkle in his shimmering brown eyes, “why don’t you sleep in the truck and get some rest?”

She blinked, feeling a bit flustered that he noticed she was tired. “I’m fine. I was just about to--”

“Even an idiot can tell you don’t want to go back there,” Morio opened the door behind the passenger’s seat and motioned for her to come, “no one will bother you here. There’s a blanket and a pillow in here for you.”

“I appreciate it, Morio. I won’t bother Rigesh while he’s working?” She asked.

Morio shook his head, but Rigesh spoke for him while still working beneath the vehicle. “I’m fine, El. Just make sure you rest up.”

Like a kind older brother, Morio watched her get settled in the back seat of the steam truck and lay her head down on the pillow. Instead of just throwing her the blanket, he covered her in it, dusting off debris. He sent her a wholesome grin while sending her a thumbs up.

“Thank you, Morio.” She smiled, a small rosy blush faintly on her cheeks.

He winked at her. After closing the door, she could hear him shuffling himself to the ground while speaking with Rigesh. Exhaustion swept over her quickly, muting her senses as she listened to two different voices coming from underneath her. She couldn’t make out any words, but she knew the deeper voice speaking was Rigesh. The banging and screwing sounds from their work underneath her didn’t bother her as she closed her sleepy eyes and dreamed.

This dream was unlike the other ones. Instead of her reflection constantly trying to hurt her in misery, she was met with a room blanketed in white, furnished with a white table and two white chairs. A woman waited for her, patiently sipping from her marble tea cup. Elanya hesitated, but eventually moved her heavy feet to the table and sat across from her. The woman was beautiful, but her whole aura shone so brightly that Elanya was nearly blinded. It was a blind that confused her because she couldn’t recall or describe her face. Her hair was as dark as coal and her skin was golden. Along with the color scheme of the room, the bright being wore a ruffled white dress that hugged her nice curves and held up her perky breasts. Her wrists held multiple rings of jewelry with different jewels decorating them. A long gold necklace with a ruby hanging at the end dipped into her cleavage. Elanya looked away into her arm as her eyes started to burn. It was too bright for her. It was as though the sun were sitting across from her.

Once she looked down away from the light, Elanya observed that she was wearing different clothing. She ran her brown hands through her curls and perceived that her dark red hair was down her back in waves. Her own clothing was white, a spacious dress that hung onto her like curtains. The bangles on her wrists felt like weights as she moved her arms around her body to check if anything else was amiss.

“Be calm, my child.” The woman spoke, her voice like velvet and something otherworldly.

Suddenly, a strong hold overcame Elanya and she stopped fiddling with herself in her chair, cautiously looking at the figure before her. Knowing that her dreams, and nightmares, were often signs that something was wrong or her internal battle with her magic was at a climax, she assumed that this woman was not a figment of her imagination. Curiously, her thoughts guessed that her brain had been infiltrated by another powerful Moon user. No one else should be able to astral project into dreams unless they possessed a large amount of skill and Moon Magic. However, the woman was not someone she knew, nor was she the Moon Magus who had been in charge of some of Elanya’s Meister testing.

“Who are you? And where are we?” Elanya asked, her teeth chattering, body stiffening with uncomfortable wariness.

The black-haired beauty lowered her teacup on the table and smoothed her slender fingers around it. “I have brought your astral body into my secret domain. I will tell you who I am after you reassure me that you will learn as much as you can from me.”

“What can I learn from you?”

The woman smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. She passed Elanya a cup of tea, motioning for her to take it. Elanya grimaced, but she conceded and sipped on the brown liquid, surprised that it was warm and sweet.

“You may not believe the story I have to tell, but it should aid you on your quest in understanding the Flesh Hoarders of Sogara-dai. I have seen much cruelty from the humans in my long existence, but what I experienced and saw in Sogara-dai made me question my purpose,” The woman looked to her left, gazing as though she were lost in a dream, “especially when I caught the eye of a human male poised on accepting his mortality.”

There was a pause. Her saddened words rang heavily in Elanya’s ears, causing a weighted shiver down her spine. She was overcome with a burden of sadness and struggled to contain the foreign and intrusive emotions burying her body whole. Straining to look up at the being who casually sipped her tea observing with a blurred face, she clenched her hands into fists on her thighs and grinded her teeth together. The woman was pouring her own emotions into the frail human before her. She was surely to die with this power crushing her body, she thought.

“I forget how my emotions can weigh on humans, so please forgive me,” she waved her hand and suddenly Elanya felt lighter, “that emotion is not the one you are accustomed to, well, one you wish not to think exists.”

After Elanya calmed her down sensitive nerves, she looked away from the woman and to her left. “You are a goddess. A real goddess. That’s the only logical explanation for you stripping my soul from my body forcefully and me feeling your emotions. I can’t even see your face even though I’m sitting right across from you.”

“Ah, your title is definitely not for show. You are smarter than you appear to be.”

“Your magic feels different.”

The woman smiled. “I’m sure you will find out why you know my magic feels different in time.”

“Which goddess are you? I never thought that the gods and goddesses of this land actually would exist, but here you are in the flesh.”

For a moment, the blur on the woman’s face faltered and Elanya could see her dark coal eyes, but soon all she could see was the large smile the woman wore. Perfect white teeth blatant before her. “You need not ask me that child, especially after feeling my magic. You already know who I am.”

A pool of warmth heated Elanya’s stomach. “You’re Umbara, Goddess of Death.”

Umbara’s laugh vibrated their white room, sending waves of shivers down Elanya’s legs. She felt heavy again, as though there was a large block pushing her into the floor.

“Come now, you knew who I was from the moment you felt my magic. What a great talent that you have. I have summoned the correct being for this task.” Umbara took a sip of her tea. “When you enter this city, there will be no turning back for you. Your lives will all be edging on the brink of death and there will be nothing for me to do.”

“What is it that you want me to do?” Elanya asked.

“I came to give you some knowledge that may be helpful for your task. I won’t bore you about the story of how that cursed city fell, only that it is a plague that must be vanquished from this world. You cannot allow them to escape their limits and infect the continent of Vaikoln. This world has been tainted and corrupted by humans and monsters alike, but a powerful threat is coming and we beings are unable to interfere in your affairs.

“Elemental magic does not destroy the Flesh Hoarders, only the likes of the Sun and Moon. I am glad that your comrade has activated his power to assist you,” the woman tilted her eyes upward and smiled to herself, “and may he continue to expand his magic. It will help you, Moon Meister, because an army awaits you within the city. Any hit of your magic will kill them instantly, even the likes of your soul sword, however, to truly kill the Flesh Hoarders, you must kill the Countess. This curse started with her and it will end with her.”

Elanya’s consciousness began to stir from her astral projection. Her body was starting to come under stress meaning she would wake up soon. She needed to hear whatever Umbara could tell her, even if the goddess wasn’t giving her the full story. It helped to know that the Flesh Hoarder’s weakness was the queen of their army, but it didn’t help that she couldn’t learn much else. She needed numbers, positions and locations. If she opted to return to Yulin-dai with such meager information and not analytics of the city, then she would be wasting time of any Meister that would approach Sogara-dai. The Flesh Hoarders were intelligent, likely to prepare for a possible counterattack.

“Is there not more you can tell me about the city?” she asked, struggling to maintain her astral projection on her own.

Umbara shook her head. “While I am a Goddess, I am not all knowing. Small things like that are easy for us to miss.”

A part of her slipped away but she held fast, hoping to get more. “Then how do you know--”

All of Umbara’s head blurred into a faint golden light, blinding Elanya’s eyes as she started to slip into consciousness more and more. The Goddess was reverting back into her own realm as the astral space began to deteriorate.

“Because I am the witch that cursed that damned city.”

Rigesh took a small break while everyone else was settling into the night. Tomorrow, they would be sneaking into Sogara-dai and they still had a lot more to travel in order to get more details about the city. While he worked endlessly under the truck all day, collecting grime in his hair and face, Morio had been tuning up the other parts of the truck. Hopefully when they return back to Yulin-dai, the Director won’t be too mad about their reparations and upgrades. Knowing him, they were more likely to order a new truck and it would be coming out of their paychecks. Rigesh sighed as he thought about how long it would take him to save up for another high quality bike.

Throughout the day, as Elanya slept comfortably in the back seat of the truck, her friends had come to ask after her. Orantal couldn’t bear to wake up her friend, so she decided on mixing potions within the campsite. Nemedion rudely ignored the two working men when looking for Elanya, but Morio yelled at him to go busy himself. The rich man snarled at the older man but Morio held his ground, waving a dirty wrench in his fist. The younger man conceded and joined his friend within the half destroyed house. Yahna had been banned from approaching the van by Rigesh and Morio while they worked, so once she had annoyed the two wealthy Meisters in the camp, she dragged her body outside hoping to soak in the orange sun when it peek behind the monotone clouds while she read a fashion magazine. Once she realized that Rigesh wasn’t going to take any breaks while she was present outside, she retreated inside with the other two.

As the sky transitioned into night, Morio yawned and retired. Instead of waking Elanya up, he adjusted her blanket then left to sleep. He would rather sleep in the truck instead of the building where his sleep would be disrupted and he thought that she would feel the same way. Rigesh told him that he would wake her up when her shift started, but he was fine with working without a lookout for the night since their odds of coming across a lone Flesh Hoarder at night was not likely.

He leaned on the truck hood as he drank from his water flask and stared into the depressed sky. He wished he could see the summer stars glistening across the midnight blue sky, but the dark grey clouds hid them. The nights were something that Rigesh was thankful for as they had made their way to the void, because he couldn’t fathom how the murky morning sky could look so ugly when there wasn’t a storm in sight. It always looked like it was about to rain. Fine for him if it had actually rained, but they had hardly seen any change in the weather since they left Algara-daishi. The curse had affected more than just the city. Anything within its radius was void of any life or magic. Before the curse had set in, Rigesh assumed that the copper sand had once been flourishing green grass with prominent trees filled with fruits and animals. The sky, an endless cycle of ashen clouds, used to be a clear, cerulean blue with white clouds dotted in the sky like spheres of cotton candy. He was starting to get homesick thinking about what Sogara-dai and its surrounding used to be.

As he turned back to the truck, reluctant to keep working, he saw Elanya tossing and turning inside on the back seat. She looked uncomfortable as though she were fighting something. Was she having another nightmare? How many more is she bound to have?

Rigesh made way for the passenger right door, opening it gently while he watched Elanya struggle. This nightmare was not the one that she usually had, he observed. This was something different. She was conscious but also asleep. As he reached over to wake her, she jumped up from her sleep and gasped loudly. Engulfing too much air upon her awakening, she started to hack up spit. He slid in the backseat with her, leaning forward to pat her back as she coughed, spitting a couple of times on the floor. After she finished coughing, her body trembled like she was overcome with a chill. He pulled her blanket around her shoulders, looking at her with concern.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Elanya jumped, finally aware that someone else was with her in the truck. She took a few moments to compose herself before she concentrated on suppressing the shivers going up and down her spine.

“I’m fine.”

“Was it another nightmare?”

She shook her head. “No.”

He wanted to ask her what had troubled her so much while she was sleeping, but it seemed like she didn’t want to discuss it. She returned to concentrating on controlling her rapid breathing and body tremor. Rigesh tugged her blanket around her tighter as she leaned forward with her head against the back of the driver’s seat.

“I’m here,” he said, his voice soothing the loud ringing in Elanya’s ears, “everything is alright with me here.”

She closed her eyes as she listened to him repeat his words over and over again. It was almost like a mantra that shushed at her erratic nerves. It was already bad enough that she could feel other people’s magic, along with their unnecessary emotions, but after her encounter with the Goddess of Death, her senses were extra sensitive to everything around her. She could feel the entire camp’s emotions--weary, anger, concern, lust and envy. It was an assault that seemed too impossible to win. However, with Rigesh speaking in a reassuring tone, she could focus on his being in front of her. Ignoring the wave of emotions wafting from him, she focused on the magic in his aura. There were so many colors coming from him--from blues to greens and oranges. A confliction of emotions. He was conflicted about something. He was thinking about something. He was thinking about home. The colors were melding together creating a pink light. It was so bright. Too bright for her own darkness.

“El,” he reached up to rub her head and smiled, “have you calmed down now?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“That’s good. Here, drink some water.”

Elanya drank greedily from his water flask, splashing water down her throat and shirt. Wiping her mouth with her hand, she looked outside the window at the dark sky. She overslept again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rigesh said as though he were reading her thoughts, “you need to be saving your strength for later. Besides, I’ll be up all night anyway and I can handle myself as long as my pistols are by my side.”

He noticed that she was still shivering, not fully in control of her body. Leaning forward again, he held the blanket up around her shoulders, wrapping it to make sure she stayed warm. The summer mornings were blistering hot, but with them being in the desert, the nights were still a bit chilly.

“Take a moment to yourself before you come outside,” he said smiling like a fool, “I would love to have some company for the long night.”

Rigesh exited the truck as quickly as he could, pinching his nose in embarrassment. He sounded so stupid asking her to keep him company knowing full well that she had no interest in getting to know him better. His heart banged in his chest when he saw her straining in her sleep like he had seen the previous nights before and he didn’t want to see her face make such an anguished expression. It was not a look that his heart could accept. The woman has taken on way more than she can chew and he wanted to do everything in his pathetic power to be useful to her. Knowing her as he did the last couple of weeks, she would hate him if she could feel his pity. She didn’t need his pity and he shouldn’t pity her.

Before he rolled himself under the truck again, he heard Elanya shuffling out the vehicle, shutting the dented door behind her. She squatted down to look at his work area filled with Water, Air and Fire Runes along with material that looked similar to his elemental slides on his pistols. With a closer look, she deduced that magical stones had been melted down into the slides in order to better channel the magic through the weapon. It was similar to how soul swords and other soul weapons were created. Had he unknowingly created a weapon capable of channelling and amplifying individual magic without having to suffer the effects of summoning sickness?

She continued to watch him work while bending down on her aching knees, noticing that he was skipping over the Water Runes to etch the Fire Runes first, a light scarlet orange glowing around his light brown hands. After waiting a few seconds for his Fire Magic to subside, his hands glowed a bright yellow as he started etching on the Earth Runes. Snickering to herself, Elanya laid down on the ground, wiggling her small body under the truck to be beside Rigesh as he worked.

“You skipped over the Water Runes,” she teased.

He laid his head back against the rough dirt, wiping his irritable forehead. “I’m trying my best, I’ll have you know.”

Elanya touched the Water Rune above her, channelling the light blue magic into the etching. Once she finished, she turned her head to face him, smirking with a cocky glint in her swirling eyes. “You’re welcome.”

He cracked a grin with his forearm covering his head, salty sweat still slipping down his face despite the nice chill from the nighttime breeze. “Yeah, yeah.”

Without further prompting, she adjusted her body to help with the remaining Water Runes, working around his long body as he continued to meld some metal parts together with his Fire Magic. They worked in silence, only connecting their eyes with one another when Elanya wanted to help with the other runes. In an hour, they managed to etch a total of thirty six runes-- twelve each of Water, Fire and Earth. All Rigesh had to do was attach some of the slides through the metal piping in the truck, calibrate some of the other magitech parts and seal off the rest of the magic with a solid incantation. He would need the help of the other two students and Morio to channel powerful enough magic to solidify the incantation, reducing the time it would need to be serviced in the future.

“I fear this is the limitations of my usefulness,” Elanya said as she eyed Rigesh investigating his handiwork.

He shrugged, sending her a low chuckle. “It’s fine. Just helping me with the Rune Etching is enough to speed up the process at least three hours.”

Rigesh rolled himself from under the truck, rummaging through his box full of Runes, tools and other mechanical knickknacks. Once he was satisfied with his necessities, he rolled himself back under the vehicle and began unscrewing bolts from one of the pipes threaded through the other auto parts. Elanya watched him quietly as he worked, fascinated by how fast and efficient he was while using his tools. Similar to when Morio had been operating on the vehicle’s transmission, Rigesh seemed to be in his own element, ignorant of the sludge falling on his face and the curious woman waiting from beside him. Elanya let out a frightened yelp after a small drop of oil fell on her cheek, realization dawned that she was still laying beside him and had focused her attention on his diligent hands.

Rigesh let out a hearty laugh. “What was that yelp?”

“It wasn’t a yelp!”

“Sure it wasn’t,” he struggled to contain another chuckle, “you don’t have to stay under the truck to watch me work.”

“You said that you wanted company.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to be under the truck. You’re going to get even dirtier if you stay under here.”

Elanya positioned herself on her left side, laying her head on the forearm of her left arm. She looked comfortable despite the grime and that her body was pressed against the rough ground. Rigesh was surprised that she could turn her body while underneath the truck, but he realized that she was much smaller than he was, she being half curled into a ball. The steam truck was elevated two feet in the air while he worked, often giving his body cramps after a couple of hours working from below. His long, muscular legs always stuck from the back, his feet being freed from the heat, while his arms cramped up always being bent and stretched when she switched between different parts. He had always seen Elanya as his equal when the others regarded her as someone of high authority. But as she laid next to him, she looked so small. She was no taller than her friend Orantal and her body, while not petite and slender like Yahna, was tiny and toned. Her waist looked even smaller as he made out the luscious curve of her right hip.

“Well, think of this as a trade then.” She said, her mouth twitching.

“A trade?” He asked.

“Yes, I recall a certain someone falling asleep on me as I regaled him with stories about being a Mesiter. Instead of leaving because you were tired, you stayed next to me to keep me company.”

Rigesh had a restful night sleeping on the roof considering the circumstances. Sleeping on a rotten roof sounded much better than being in that small room with an obsessive puppy and a jealous idiot. “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

Her mouth twitched into a small smile, emotion flaring in her misted, hazel eyes. “Your loud snoring kept me alert. I couldn’t really complain.”

“I know I don’t snore.”

“How do you know if you are asleep?”

Rigesh turned his head to face her, clicking his tongue miffed. “You’re a jester, but your jokes are not funny.”

She watched as he tried to refrain from laughing, unable to keep a face of feigned frustration. “I would say I’m pretty funny.”

“Mhmm.”

“It would be annoying talking to you not from under the truck. I would strain my voice trying to yell to make sure you hear me, so it’s best if I’m here. I don’t mind getting dirty, I’m long overdue for a bath anyway.”

“If you say so,” he said, then he reached over to her with a white cloth, attempting to wipe the smudge from her cheek, “here, let me wipe that off.”

Elanya jumped a bit when his hand was near her face, not used to many people being her in personal space. People didn’t like to touch her at Laoshin once they knew that she had a temper, lashing out with her Moon Magic. She had spent most of her life and many lessons with the Moon Magus about controlling her magic, but on occasion, her magic would feed off of her real emotions, shielding her body as a defense mechanism.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Rigesh apologized, worried that he had offended her, “I wasn’t aware till the other day that you don’t like being touched. Take his cloth to wipe the smudge from your cheek.”

It took her several seconds before she could process Rigesh’s apology because she feared that her magic would lash out to him and hurt him. But no shadow, no violet light, or anything had escaped her body. Her magic thought that she was safe, that there was nothing to fear from the comrade before it. It was strange, because even surprise touches from Nemedion elicited a reaction from her shadows. This is one of several times that this has happened. When he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder the morning after their crash landing, they hadn’t reacted either. She was shocked. After touching his knee, she expected her magic to come to her in fear but it lay domain in her veins, allowing her to take in the heat of his thigh. It almost embarrassed her how close she had gotten that she nearly lost her composure.

“El?”

“...Gesh.”

He leaned his head to her, hoping to hear her more clearly. “Excuse me?”

“If you’re going to call me, El, then I will call you Gesh.”

He dropped the cloth next to her, stifling his mouth with his wrist. “What? But Gesh sounds like baby gibberish.”

Elanya slightly blushed, knowing that her nickname for him was a bit stupid, but she couldn’t think of anything else to call him. Everyone already called him Rig, but she wanted to call him by a name that she made up, just as he did for El. It showed that they had made more strides to know each other, signaling more familiarity. Surely one of the few people that didn’t get a rise out of her hidden shadows deserves a better name, but Elanya wasn’t a creative person when it came to trivials like these.

“Alright, I think I like it. But only if you’re the only person calling me Gesh.”

For the rest of the night, Elanya watched Rigesh do mechanical work on their vehicle. Instead of using his bare hands like he did when etching the elemental runes, he tugged on his leather gloves, reaching deep between the pipes to adjust parts. Instead of Elanya telling a story about herself like the previous night, Rigesh offered up a story about where he grew up and how different it was from the bustling city of Yulin-dai. The capital was a big and crowded place, but it wasn’t as unpredictable and fast past as Yulin-dai. He admitted that it took him a while to adjust from his country life, struggling to get rid of his accent whenever he spoke Vai in Zalatine. Wa Shei was all he had known most of his life, with the exception of speaking Vai when he was in school or in the small village an hour out from his home. Elanya couldn’t imagine Rigesh with an accent, nor did she know anything about Wa Shei. Her father had spoken it before, but he had no desire to teach her that language, preferring to teach her Mvag, Vai and Elraeli. She knew that he had grown up in Gong-dai, but he hated talking about his past life. In fact, he never talked about anything that happened before her mother disappeared.

With the bright rays of the morning sun peeking from behind the lighting sky, Rigesh finished the rest of his additions without a problem. They both circled around the work truck with pride, admiring their work besides the dents and scratches decorating the outside. He started up the truck with ease, the engine firing up like a new person. A flick of magic was all it took for him to fill the front tire with air and patch it up as though it were brand new. He sat in the front seat, patting the passenger seat to convince Elanya into joining him for a short joy ride. Recklessly, he drove circles around the sandy plain, ignoring bumps and holes. Like Morio, he was also a superb driver, but she could tell that the truck wasn’t his choice in vehicle.

“What else do you drive?” She asked as he drove further away from their campsite toward the east. “You don’t seem like the type to drive women around in a steam truck from the Transit Bureau.”

He leaned his shoulders back into the seat, wincing at the thought of his lost motorcycle. Several months of saving his paycheck wasted into one unfortunate day. “I actually had a custom steam bike. It was lost in the explosion at the Yulin-dai airport.”

She grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s okay. It’s not like I put several thousands of Duks into it or anything.”

“Maybe you will be rewarded for aiding me and you can buy another steak bike.”

“Pfft. If they even do that. They probably won’t even acknowledge the regular citizens standing behind the Meisters.”

“But you were a Knight, surely that would account for something.”

Rigesh shrugged, looking far away into the distance. “It’s not like I held any important rank for them to even care about me.”

“Whether you were a private or cadet, you put your life on the line for all of Vaikoln. That has to account for something.”

Rigesh scratched his head while he drove with his left hand. “I guess.”

Once they concluded their joyride, it was still early morning and no one had risen yet. Elanya stifled a yawn while Rigesh chuckled at her. She tried her best to not look embarrassed, but she felt the heat beneath her cheeks. Her face usually held two expressions--anger and stoic--but when she interacted any way with Rigesh, she laughed. She felt so flustered. The last three years of University, she had the ear of her roommate, a woman not accustomed to anything mediocre, and the ear of her rival, a man who held a rank far above her station, but she never felt satisfied after unloading any issue she had. Orantal could get away with a little bit of idle chat, but Nemedion couldn’t care less about the trivial matters of a commoner. She never realized how much she wanted to actually converse with someone. Maybe she was just in denial about it, but she had to admit that she was starting to feel lonely, emotionally and physically. When she gazed upon Rigesh, she thought she saw the sun. Bright, golden rays shimmered in his aura radiating a warm heat that waffed of content and vigor. Trapped within his presence in the truck’s enclosed space, she could bask in his scent of fresh rain and flowers. Everything about him appeased her senses and she was panicking about whether she had felt too much, gone too far. Stealing moments like this were selfish.

Noticing her embarrassment with a secret understanding, Rigesh sent her a comforting smile, relishing in her bash expressions. Three weeks into this and he was able to get her to open up to him, but now the energy between them felt different. A solid friendship had formed, however, there was something more. It could have been the heat tricking him into thinking that there was more than what was there. Because of his busy schedule and his hobby taking most of his time, he never had the opportunity to talk to other people, much less, an attractive, younger woman. He leaned his head forward on the steering wheel, his arms crossed above him as he glanced over at Elanya. A silent conversation passed between his vibrant green eyes and her hazel ones, glistening with a strange orange tint.

Elanya opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it immediately. She looked down to her fiddling fingers on her arms, then away from him, opting to catch the view of the scorching, rising sun. Rigesh chuckled to himself. Patience was drilled into the veins of his skin, so he would wait. The new glisten in her mystic eyes were enough to tell him what he needed to know whether she was conscious of it or not. Within their continuous silence, they both tired themselves with thinking too much. How would they be able to keep the same energy with the rest of their group snooping around? And how will they be able to go forward with anything else when their next step was a foot within the cursed hell of Sogara-dai? Instead of thinking about it further, or speaking to one another about it, they both closed their eyes and fell into a tiresome sleep. Rigesh slept with his body leaning forward over the steering wheel, hands still crossed at the top of his head. Elanya nodded off with her head pressed against the passenger window, her blanket wrapped around her small waist. Despite the day brightening with each minute, their sleep was not disturbed by the climbing sun. They couldn’t complain about it. It would be the last time they would be able to sleep peacefully without threat.