“Okay, okay, I give.” Sechen laughed, holding her hands out just above her chest in surrender. “You’ve made your point; Hoalt’s trial would have been a miserable experience, and you would’ve been too weak to pass it.”

“You know I was.” Paui grinned, pointing a fork at Sechen’s nose for emphasis. The last hour had been spent on Paui retelling General Temery’s horror stories, along with a few mixed in from her mom that had come out on nights after especially tough workdays. “I was in the military for years, so I know for sure I wasn’t cut out for that torture Hoalt passed off as a trial. Hells, I barely managed to survive basic training with my tainted Issi.”

Sechen nodded and polished off the last bite of some sort of golden-brown meat Hojo had served a long while ago, now cold and thick where it had been hot and juicy. A question had simmered in her mind for as long as the meat had laid on her plate, and though she expected she knew the answer, she felt she had to ask. Even if she’d only known her for two weeks, Paui was her friend. One of her best friends, next to Metea/Irric who was in the process of breaking and Revel who was missing and apparently a bastard. And that was about it. Three friends, maybe five if she counted Prisoner and Gilt, but they felt more like a master and a colleague respectively. And then there was whatever Elach was, but she’d known his corpse longer than she’d known him. She took in a long breath and looked over at Paui, who seemed to be in a much better mood than she’d been in days. That might change soon.

“Why didn’t you want Thana to bring me to your trial?”

Paui paused with her fork halfway to her mouth, and her eyes darted away from Sechen’s. There was shame in there, and Sechen had expected that. The reason behind that shame, however, was truly important.

“I know you heard me.” Sechen said with a little intensity in her voice as Paui shakily lifted her fork the rest of the way to her mouth. “Paui. Why didn’t you want me there?”

“I… I didn’t want you to see me without Issi. I was terrified of what was going to happen.” Paui admitted after an uncomfortable silence. “If I ended up being useless and weak, I didn’t want you to see me like that. Hells, I didn’t want you watching me at all. Having someone I care about there, and judging me, it just makes me so damned nervous.”

“Oh, thank the eternals.” Sechen sighed, all the tension leaving her in one long breath. “It was something stupid. I was scared you were ashamed of me or something.”

“Why would I be ashamed of you?” Paui gestured at Sechen as if she were something to be proud of. “You were weak when I first met you, and now you’re catching up to me. Me! I’ve been a practitioner for longer than you have, but I’ve never once thought I could be powerful, and all this stuff with Wix and Runfree made me terrified to try. Then you come along, and you’re weak, and I don’t think about it at all. The next time I see you, you’re like a completely different person. And now? Now you are a completely different person. Because you wanted it, and you worked for it. All I’ve done is feel sorry for myself and try to push my shame and guilt down for years. I’m ashamed of me, Sechen.”

“And we’re doing something about your shame. I want to be there. To help.” Sechen insisted. “The worst thing that can happen is you fail, right? And if you fail, I’m going to know. If me being there can help in even the smallest bit, like making Runfree a little more lenient on judging you, I want to do that. You’re my friend, Paui. Let me do this for you. Let me be there for you.”

“Damn you.” Paui muttered, her voice shaky. “Why couldn’t you have been a bastard? Why do you make me want to be better? I was fine being weak and ashamed before I met you, but now it hurts more and more the stronger and happier I see you getting. I want to be there with you, Sechen. Why did you have to make me want this?”

“Sorry I make you want things.” Sechen said. “It ain’t my fault I’m starting to become amazing.”

Paui turned her head, eyes wet with the start of tears. “I want to be amazing with you.”

“Well, I want you to be amazing with me.” Sechen smiled, and Paui leaned in for a hug. Silent tears flowed as she nestled into Sechen’s shoulder, and Sechen tightly wrapped her arms around Paui’s back. The poor girl had been carrying this for a long, long time, and meeting Sechen had brought all that pain into focus. Well, she’d make sure that pain went away for good.

Paui gripped Sechen’s back a little harder, and her breathing quickened. Sechen felt Paui’s face growing warm on her shoulder, and she quickly pushed away to start fanning a solar blush that had risen to her face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your shirt.”

Sechen laughed and waved a hand dismissively. “You can pay me back by getting a bond you’re proud of.”

Looking out over the yard reminded Sechen of just how bizarre Runfree’s cabin really was. How bizarre most of these powerful manifestation’s homes were, actually. They all looked like their own little slices of paradise, but that paradise was specifically tuned to the owners alone. A castle stuck out of one piece of property that was completely underwater, practitioners skating around on the surface as if it were a frozen lake. Twisting spires of mottled green and bronze reached towards the sky from the neighboring property, an entire colony of serpentine Issi beasts writhing along the bizarre metal fixtures. Far in the distance the pillar loomed above everything else, a reminder of Hoalt’s tyrannical hold on this city’s Issi. Even if he hadn’t turned out to be as terrifying as she’d thought, that fact hadn’t changed.

“Miss Paui will be starting her trial in two hours, Miss Sechen.” A nameless servant said from outside the door to Sechen’s borrowed room. His suit was emblazoned with black and silvery green, something that Sechen had asked about at the same time as his name. He’d refused to tell her either. “Thana will fetch you at that time. Do not cause any damage to our master’s property, and do not overreach your status as a guest.”

By the time Sechen turned her head, the man was gone. He was by far the most unpleasant of all Runfree’s apprentice slash employees, and the only one that looked to be a senior citizen. Maybe he’d found the end of his journey and was bitter about where he’d found himself. Or he could just be an old asshole who didn’t like young people like her and Paui.

“Thanks, asshole.” Sechen said a little louder than necessary, hoping her words somehow reached the grouchy old man. A harrumph from the shadows let her know that they had, and she smirked to herself in petty victory.

She still had two hours to kill, and since Thana was in charge of getting Paui ready for the trial and overseeing it in Runfree’s absence, she didn’t really know anyone here. Not that she knew Thana all that well, but a familiar name was calming in an unfamiliar place. Paui had postponed the tour Sechen had asked for until after her main three trials were over, so they’d spent most of last night in one of the outdoor towers just talking. It had been strangely calming.

“Please try to forgive Marcello. He was Runfree’s first bond, and he tends to dislike anyone beyond bond number five.” Wix stepped into the door, bending down to pick up a small marble of pure black Issi. “He’s quite harmless, though terribly annoying if he doesn’t deem you worthy.”

“What’d make him think I was worthy?” Sechen asked.

“Years and years of being bonded to Runfree. I’m still a young whippersnapper to him, and I’ve been bonded to Runfree for forty-six years now.” Wix sighed, crushing the marble between his fingers in a puff of powder. “Anything less than one hundred years of service and he won’t consider you a true apprentice.”

“How old are you, anyway? Because you barely look forty.” Sechen stepped up to Wix and tilted her head. “You know, I can’t see the family resemblance between you and Paui at all.”

“That’s thanks to Runfree’s Issi manifesting in me. My eyes, hair, and muscular structure have all been reshaped by my Issi. I can tell that you’ve begun to feel the effects Issi has on a body that has none of it’s own, no?” Wix motioned at Sechen’s arm.

She raised her hand and eyed the back of it. “Y’know, I never thought of that. It makes perfect sense, though. So, why’re you here, Wix?”

“I can’t simply come to see my daughter’s friend?” Wix asked with a slight smile. “No, of course I have ulterior motives. I’ve been barred from watching Paui’s trials, and I want to know how she’s faring.”

Sechen rolled her eyes. “You could, you know, ask her yourself?”

“Actually, I'm barred from that as well. Until Paui finishes with her trials, I am forbidden contact with my daughter. It’s most likely for the best, as I don’t know if I could hold myself back from helping her out. And getting her in more undeserving trouble.” Wix sighed. “When you see her, tell her that I am truly sorry for what I did. It was a selfish desire of mine that ended up causing far more harm than the little good it did.”

“Again, tell her that yourself when she’s done with the trials. Have some faith in her.” Sechen crossed her arms. Wix was acting a little too defeatist for her taste. “Weren’t you supposed to have a meeting with Runfree about Glasrime, anyway? Did that happen?”

“We discussed late into the evening hours, and came to a verdict that I am not allowed to speak of until Runfree returns from Hoalt’s palace. But that is of no import at the moment.” Wix reached into his overcoat and produced a small key made entirely of fluidity Issi. “I might have something that could help you, if you’re willing to spare the hours before Paui’s trial.”

“Buttering me up, huh?” Sechen shook her head and chuckled. “I’m not going to turn down an offer, but I’m not promising you anything in return. I know you people take contracts to a scarily serious level in this city, so it’s just going to be a gift from you to me. If you can’t do that, then I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Keep Paui safe and happy, and we’re even. Does that sound like a fair trade?”

“You haven’t told me what ‘helping me out’ entails, but I was gonna help Paui anyway.” Sechen brushed past Wix and turned back, gesturing with both arms down the hall. “Lead the way, father of Paui.”