Krystal stretched her arms up high as soon as she alighted from the Commuter Tram. Her eyes were gritty and her teeth felt gunky from forcing herself to sleep or read through the annoyingly long trip from Faron’s Crossing to Rumiga City.

Sure, it had been exciting at first, but only for the first couple of hours or so. There were only so many books she could carry without weighing her backpack down. Besides, stealing more than a couple of books from her mum’s bookshelf would have gotten her caught and sanctioned. Add to that sitting beside Mikel on the Tram while reading a steamy romance book didn’t make for the most comfortable experience, even if he refrained from reading over her shoulder--which he didn’t.

Watching his face go red and try to hunch over without being obvious was only amusing until he stopped reading and she had already read past the steamy part.

“Ancestors, I’m not looking forward to taking the Tram back in the Season of Water,” she muttered.

She waited for the conductor to release their luggage. Mikel yawned into his hand while Heron staggered around while rubbing the blood back into his leg.

Millie Keryn yawned blearily as she alighted, eyes spotting Krystal where she stood and dragging herself close.

“Chaos, I thought that would never end!” she grumbled.

“Children, gather around!” Jacqueline Yoran, their instructor and caretaker during the training camp, had apparently drawn the short straw and was babysitting them until they finished enrollment and were safely ensconced in the campus dormitory. There were only six of them on this trip: Ishika Reyn and Zeyn Strider being the last two members.

The petite, dark-haired Ishika whose eyes were a similar shade of green as Krystal’s waddled next to Leader Yoran, glaring blearily and yawning. It was just past noon when they arrived at the station, apparently in the Southern Mid Ring, a plateau on the border mountains. Zeyn looked quite lively.

“Come on, you kids, we don’t have all day!” Leader Yoran continued once the six teenagers gathered in front of her. “Well, welcome to Rumiga City. We’ll head over to an Inn for a couple of days while we finish the enrollment process for you lot, then it's off to the dormitories. The decent Inns are over at the Northern Mid Ring, unless you want to make do with the travellers’ inns over here.”

“Leader Yoran, Yuriko and her brother are over at the Shepherd’s Cross,” Mikel interrupted. “We asked her to secure reservations for us.”

“All seven of us?” she asked, eyeing Mikel curiously.

“Uh, yes, I’m sure there’s room for all of us.”

“Pike?”

“Ehehe.”

Leader Yoran sighed. “Fine, we’ll head over there. That’s one of the snootier inns--you kids sure you should spend that much?”

“It’s only for a couple of days,” Millie said. “I’m all for comfort right now.”

“Very well, we’ll head over there. Gather your luggage and follow me.”

After the luggage compartment of the Tram was opened up and their luggage unloaded, Krystal grabbed hers. It was a red rectangular bag with a built-in trolley, so all she had to do was unlock the handle and pull. Mikel’s was a huge duffel bag that he needed to use both hands to carry and he tottered around so unsteadily that Krystal was half afraid he’d go over the railings and plummet fifty paces down to the Lower Ring. The other two boys had huge backpacks that weighed them down and a couple of duffels. Millie and Ishika had trolley bags too.

“Need help?” Krystal offered to Mikel.

“No, no. I can handle it.”

“Alright.”

Krystal kept a close eye on Mikel as he struggled, quickly placing herself between him and the waist-high stone barrier that stopped pedestrians from accidentally falling off the cliffside. They had to wait for the second Circuit Tram so they could all fit inside with their luggage and off they went along the main cobblestone road. She glanced down at the lower city, noting the tangle of alleyways and warrens.

‘Must be great for hide and seek,’ she thought idly.

They crossed the gap between the two plateaus while Krystal hurriedly shut her eyes and definitely didn’t look down at the sheer drop. Nope. Not looking.

“Oh wow, Krys! Look at this!” Mikel poked her side.

“Not looking.”

“But wow, you’ve got to at least see the Chaos Channel!” He poked her again. “Krys?”

“Nope.”

Thankfully, the ordeal lasted only a few minutes and as soon as she felt they were on solid ground, Krystal opened an eye to peek, sighing when she saw they were on the other side of the Gap.

A glance at Mikel showed that he had a smirk and was pointedly not looking in her direction. So it’s like that, huh?

“Third stop’s the one near Cherry Blossom Road. You’ll find Shepherd’s Cross down there,” the driver instructed, just loudly enough to be heard over the incessant breeze.

At the very least, Cherry Blossom Road wasn’t next to the sheer cliff face that made Krystal’s head spin. What was she thinking anyway, staring down at a fifty-foot pace fall. Looking out at the distance was fine, but looking down? Chaos no! Alright, living here may be a problem.

The Shepherd’s Cross looked like a nice inn and thankfully, it was far enough from the edge that she couldn’t see the drop. Heaving a sigh of relief, Krystal followed the others inside and waited while Leader Yoran negotiated with the proprietor. Unlike the inns back home, this one didn’t have the common room opening immediately out to the street.

“Ah, we only have a couple of two-bedroom suites, I’m afraid. I do have a single and a double if that’s acceptable.”

“Does the double come with two beds or just a big one? Do they have ensuite bathrooms?”

“Two beds, and yes they have an ensuite. The single uses the common toilet and bath though.”

“I suppose that’s fine,” Leader Yoran nodded. “You three boys can take the double and single. Who are bunking together?”

“Not me!” Zeyn immediately said.

“Eh?” Heron and Mikel exchanged surprised looks.

“Well, there you go. Mikel and Heron you have the double. Ishika, you’re with me in the suite which leaves Krystal and Millie in the other suite.”

“What just happened?” Mikel muttered.

“You get a private bathroom anyway.” Krystal patted his shoulder.

“Yeah but with Muryh?” he hissed.

“I’m not too enthused either, but hey, we camped out together so this shouldn’t be an issue,” Heron growled.

“I suppose,” Mikel grunted.

“Pardon me, but where do the Davar siblings reside?” Krystal asked.

“I’ll ring them up if you like.”

“Please tell Yuriko Davar that her friends are here.”

“Very good.”

By the time Krystal dumped her luggage into the room and returned to the ante-chamber, the attendant handed her a note with a room number. Bemused, she headed back to her wing, Yuriko’s suite being just a hallway over. She knocked on the door, 203, and Kato Davar opened it after a second.

“Oh, thank the Ancestors,” Kato sighed. “She’s been moping in her room for days now.”

“Eh, what happened?”

“She passed Agaza’s exam but she did better in Sharom so she wound up there anyway.” Kato rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’ll go see her.”

She crossed the living room. It was well-lit with the warm light coming from the ceiling panels. She tried the knob first and, finding it unlocked, turned it and pushed open the door.

Yuriko was seated in a meditative pose on the bed, her eyes closed and the light of her Animus glowing from her skin. She could see strands of it dancing above her fingers, across the strands of her hair and along her lips. She was in her underwear, too, just a chemise and white panties. Her hair was loose and fluttering in the slight breeze. She looked annoyingly attractive as usual.

“Yuri!” Krystal yelled. Her friend’s eyes popped open and her Animus fluctuated as her control slipped but she quickly regained control and drew it back inside her.

“Krys?” Her voice was slightly hoarse.

Krystal closed and locked the door behind her and sat down next to her friend. Yuriko unfolded her long legs and scooted over, holding Krystal in a brutally tight hug.

“Erk! Yu..ri.. Le’...go..”

“Oh, ehehehe.”

There were tears welling in her eyes. Krystal reached up and wiped the corner of Yuriko’s eye with her fingertip.

“I’ve heard what happened. I suppose you’re feeling bad. What now?”

Yuriko shook her head. “Not much choice,” she sighed, “at least for now.”

“So you’re going ahead?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why did your big bro tell me you were moping?”

“Huh? Who’s moping? I was just meditating!”

“Right and you’re in your undies in the middle of the day. You’re lucky none of the boys came here with me.”

“Oh, right.” Yuriko blinked at her blearily. “Oh, oh! But you’re here! Oh Ancestors! How was the trip?”

“Long and boring. Unlike your midmountain adventure,” Krystal laughed. “Well, thankfully it was really uneventful. I’ve had enough excitement to last a lifetime. Now come on, get dressed. Give us a tour!”

“Eh...but I haven’t really been around. I’ve mostly stayed in the Inn and the vicinity.”

“Sure, sure. Fine, I’ll grab your clothes.”

Krystal pulled open the wardrobe door, rummaged through the dresses, shirts, skirts, and slacks. She picked out a sweater and slacks combo and tossed it over to her friend, watching closely while the other girl combed her hair and put it up into her ponytail.

“You’ve grown bigger.”

“Eh? Really?” Yuriko pinched her waist, wincing as she did so. “I don’t think I put on weight.”

“Not there,” Krystal sighed, pointing at Yuriko’s chest. While Yuriko wasn’t completely flat in that department earlier in the season, now Krystal could see the obvious swell of her bosom. “You should look into getting a brassiere soon. You won’t get away with a chemise or a camisole for long.”

“Oh. Help?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll ask if any of the others want to come with,” Krystal said brightly. “I’ll meet you in the common room?”

“Alright.”

Krystal winked at Kato when she went past him in the living room.

“Oh, good.” Kato sighed. “I’ve been stuck here worried.”

“Yeah, well, I guess she just needed some time.”

“Ah.”

Krystal hunted down Mikel and Heron’s room, running into the twins on her way out.

“Oh, Krystal! Nice to see you here, finally,” Orrin greeted with a bright smile. “Heron and Mikel with you?”

“Yup. I’m going to their room now. I want a tour and Yuri needs a breath of fresh air.”

“Yup, she’d been skipping lunch, actually.”

“My, oh my. That is unusual. Well, we’re going for a little tour.”

“Oh, we’ll come with you,” Braden said.

“Of course.”

They followed her to Mikel and Heron’s room, knocked and when the door opened Heron looked at the twins and said in an undertone, “I see you’ve found the posse.”

“Funny. We’re going on a tour, want to come with us?”

“If it’s just you and the twins, no, but I suspect you managed to drag Yuri in this, so I suppose so. Hey, Pike, you coming?”

A muffled “Yeah!” came from the bathroom door.

“We’ll meet Yuri in the common room.”

“We’ll be there.”

Out of courtesy, she asked the other girls and Zeyn if they wanted to come. They agreed, but Leader Yoran said she’d rather take a long bath so it was just the nine of them.

Yuriko was standing next to the common room’s entrance with a side-blade on her hip. Krystal raised an eyebrow at that.

“Expecting trouble?”

“Not at all, why?”

She gestured at her weapon. None of the others carried anything.

“Always ready,” Yuriko said.

“It does mess up your fashion though.”

“Hush, she wore that sword even while wearing a dress,” Orrin whispered.

With a sigh, Krystal walked up to her friend and placed her hands over her shoulders. “Loosen up, girl. Nothing’s going to happen in the city. The Channel is well guarded.”

“Oh, well I feel a bit more comfortable carrying this anyway.”

“Suit yourself.” Krystal shook her head.

That was strange. Her friend had never carried a weapon when going about town. She watched as Yuriko and the others started walking, noting the ease and grace of her movements. Yuriko sometimes kept a hand over the hilt, adjusting the sheath so that it didn’t bump into things or jab her in the gut.

What followed was pretty much a whirlwind tour of the Northern Mid Ring. They didn't have legitimate business to go up to the Upper Ring, so they mostly stayed on this plateau. Yuriko first showed them around the cafes she’d been frequenting. They looked in at the Northern Quay but didn’t enter since it looked quite busy. There was an Arkship in the docks, apparently and there was a steady flow of light and heavy haulers, the latter being nearly three times the length of the former, going up and down the road.

Yuriko also showed where she purchased her clothes. None of them brought more than a few sets of clothing owing to the limited cargo space so that was good to know. Later in the afternoon, about a couple of hours before sunset, they were lounging at a park near the edge of the cliff. There were stalls selling piping hot pies, meat and vegetable skewers, and another selling small sweet pancakes.

Krystal very carefully didn’t look at the edge, keeping her gaze further out. The Lower Ring spread out from the town, dozens of times larger than the Mid Ring.

“What’s interesting down there?” she asked idly.

Yuriko and the twins all shook their heads.

“We’ve never been there,” Braden replied.

“Oh, why not? It looks like an interesting place. Let’s explore?”

“I suppose so. Tomorrow?” Yuriko asked.

“Sure, after breakfast. We can’t just stay on the mountainside after all.”

“I suppose,” Yuriko said slowly.

They returned to the inn soon afterwards, a bit early for dinner, but that was fine.