Tala was about to continue her conversation with Thorn, when a bevy of servants came into view bearing trays piled high with various foods.

I have to ‘be Tali’ when others are around, or it’s going to seem odd. She straightened just slightly, changing her way of standing, and oddly enough, Tala felt more aloof. Huh. There’s a point to standing like a know-it-all?

-You’ll have to tell me, I can’t stand.-

Don’t make me feel bad for you. I’m never giving you command of our body. I’d never get it back.

Alat scoffed. -Perish the thought! I am perfectly happy as I am, alone in the dark, watching your experiences second hand.-

I’m in there with you.

-Shouting at me and then listening at the door for a response isn’t the same as being in the room, Tala.-

What about when Tali is in command?

-…That’s fair, actually. But now, I’m alone in here. There’s only one intelligence in this mind.-

Sometimes, Alat… She just shook her head, motioning to where the servants should set up the food.

There were two distinct groupings of breakfast, one much larger than the other.

Thorn’s food was a reasonable, if oversized, portion for a single person’s breakfast. There were three massive sausages, a miniature mound of bacon, a generous bowl of fruit, some pan-fried potatoes, and a few slices of hearty, buttered bread.

It was all placed on a table that they set up for him to one side.

All of it was mundane, no more magical than the floor they walked on or the air they breathed.

Both of those things, arguably, were saturated with magic, but they weren’t, themselves, inherently magical.

As the dwarf thanked the servants and sat in the chair they’d brought as well, Tala noticed the large tankard next to his plate at the table.

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?”

“It is indeed, if you mean alcohol. Though, many of my kin wouldn’t say ‘No’ to a breakfast ale.”

Tala frowned; she could definitely smell something sharp and tangy coming from the tankard. “If not alcohol, what is it?”

“Acid.”

She blinked a few times as the dwarf tipped the sizzling beverage back, taking a deep swig.

Tala watched power wrap around the liquid, even as it passed between the dwarf’s lips, and something was drained away, seeming to spread out over the small man’s body and sink into his natural magics.

“What—” Tala caught herself. She’d been about to say, ‘What under the stars?’ but Tali wouldn’t use that expression. “What aspect of blood are you high on?” There. That’s what she would ask.

The dwarf looked her way as he swallowed. “I’m processing the concept of corrosion and acerbity, drawing it out of the acid and adding its conceptual weight to myself. I’ll be able to do so continually until it passes all the way through my system.”

Tala was at a loss for words. What?

He grinned ruefully. “There’s a reason my magic’s so effective, Tali. I fell into the leaching tank as a boy. The only reason I survived is that I was of a High race and understood how acids worked well enough to grasp the concept. By the time they fished me out, the stuff I was swimming in was as harmless as water. Though, of course, it regained its base nature shortly after I was pulled out. Nature has its nature, after all.”

She still didn’t have a good response, so she just waited for him to continue.

His mirth faded a bit. “Unfortunately, it so unbalanced my natural magics that I’m pretty useless for anything else. I can’t even implement a ‘Recovery Perfected’ over anyone else, because the basic nature of my power would erode them.”

Tala grinned, then. “Your ‘basic’ nature, eh?” She chuckled.

“Huh?” Then, it seemed to click, and he snorted a laugh. “That’s not what I meant at all.”

“But it was still funny.”

“I suppose.”

The servants had left by then, leaving behind Tala’s normal spread of food.

Tala sighed, walking over to the trays arrayed for her on the ground.

“Don’t you want a table? Or a chair?”

She shrugged. “A table big enough for all of this would be a pain to carry.”

“Oh, so you do care about servants, at least a bit.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

“You didn’t thank them; you didn’t acknowledge them at all, except to tell them where to put our food.”

Tala hesitated. That’s what Tali does, what she would have done. But she hadn’t even had to check. She’d just behaved that way. Am I becoming her? What’s wrong with me?

-Calm down, Tala, you were distracted by his tankard of acid.-

Oh…right.

-But you are right, Tali would have behaved that way, so you can’t just brush it off.-

She sighed internally, then said what Tali would have, or near enough, “Why does it matter? They have other tasks, and me slowing them down to chat, even to thank them, just makes their day longer in the end.”

Thorn snorted. “Sounds like the excuses of a stuck-up brat.” He then froze in place, eyes going wide. “I…I mean…”

Tala narrowed her eyes, knowing that Tali wouldn’t have liked the comment at all. This is a chance to set the stage for our relationship going forward, and my seeming different reactions to things.

She redirected, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “As no one was around to hear your disrespect, I will allow it. My- My-” I can’t say ‘my Master’…can I? That might become problematic. “You were assigned to me, and I should take what you say seriously, but speak that impertinently to me when anyone else can hear, and it will not go well for you.”

Thorn swallowed unconsciously and nodded. “As you say, Eskau Tali.”

“Is anyone around?”

“No…Tali.”

“Better.” She gave a forced smile.

Unfortunately, that exchange shattered the more casual atmosphere that they’d been building between them. It was to be expected, if Tala was going to maintain the fiction of being Tali, but it still grated.

Relationships are difficult enough without being fundamentally dishonest through the process…

Tala dug into her food, though she didn’t scarf it. Instead, she followed Tali’s normal pattern, when Be-thric wasn’t there, and meditated as she ate, overlaying the power from the food on top of her own magics as she consumed it. There were some minor incompatibilities, extra magics that weren’t similar to her own, and those she discarded, using only what she could.

This is sort of like what Thorn is doing, but on a different level.

-Yeah, that acid wasn’t magic, but he still pulled power from it.-

Conceptual magic is cheating.

-I bet they’d say having a functionally infinite well of power within yourself is cheating.-

Valid…

Finally, when she was nearly done and Thorn had long-since finished, she looked his way. “You never said why it matters?”

He blinked, jerking slightly. “Huh?”

Was he asleep? “I said, you never answered my question. Why does it matter how I treat the servants? I’m not saying I disagree in principle, I just want your answer.”

-Too wordy, Tala. You aren’t you.-

Hush.

“Well.” He scratched the back of his head. “Servants make the hold function, right?”

“They do.”

“And they can make your life better, or they can make it worse, depending on how well they do their job, and what little things they do around it.”

“True, I suppose.”

“So, why not treat them well, so they make your life better?”

“Ahh, so it’s a selfish motivation?”

He grimaced. “Well, no. That’s not why I do it, but it’s a solid answer to your ‘why’ question and a good reason why you should.”

She gave him a long look, cocking one eyebrow. “Because I’m selfish.”

He harrumphed. “Because you asked for a reason as to why you should treat people with courtesy. I gave you a reason. It wasn’t a commentary on your character.” He crossed his arms and grimaced again.

“Fine.” Tala ate the last bits of her breakfast in silence.

“Well, isn’t this a dour gathering.” Be-thric’s voice rolled over the water, seeming to make the surface of the surrounding pools vibrate.

The new Pillar walked across one of the bridges, followed closely by Gallof.

Now, they just need an alabaster hue-folk to follow Gallof, and they’d have a nice, full gradient.

Alat snorted a laugh within Tala’s head but didn’t comment.

Tala and Thorn turned to face the incoming men.

Tala almost tried to force herself to bow, then remembered what Be-thric had said to Tali. Seizing on the overlap between what Tali should do and what Tala would do, she spoke. “Are you sure you do not wish me to bow any longer, Pillar?”

Be-thric smiled, his every movement condescending.

-No, Tala, that’s just your perception.-

Fine…

Be-thric smiled magnanimously “I am glad that you remembered my preference. Yes, it would be inappropriate for a hand to bow to the body it is attached to. Our fates are tied now, dear Eskau. Any you bow to will be seen as my bowing to them, and it would be rather narcissistic to bow to myself, or an image of myself, like the heathen tyrants of old.”

Thorn bowed. “Pillar Be-thric. It is an honor to see you this morning.”

“Thorn, how has my Eskau been for you?”

Tala didn’t stiffen, but it was a near thing.

The dwarf glanced her way, then shrugged. “There are always oddities when two people are getting to know each other. I think we shall get along just fine.”

“Do you think there are things you can teach her?”

“There are always things that any person can learn from any other, so yes.”

Be-thric smiled again. “Wisely said. What comes to mind, specifically?”

Thorn glanced Tala’s way again. “Her magic is powerful, but inefficient. She spends power like a tyrant spends lives.”

Be-thric nodded. “That is one thing I’d hoped you two could work on.”

That seemed to bolster the dwarf, and he straightened just a bit. “Her demeanor is excellent in formal settings, but…” His eyes flicked her way again, seeming a bit uncomfortable, but continued. “…but she lacks some social graces with those beneath her in status.”

The Pillar frowned. “And?”

Thorn shrugged, his awkwardness back. “As you just pointed out, Pillar, almost everyone is now beneath her. Do you really wish her to treat the entire House of Blood, save Pillars and Eskau, dismissively, in ways that will reflect on you?” He gave Tala an apologetic look.

Tala could have kissed him, though she knew Tali would be irritated, so she frowned.

Be-thric cocked his head back, considering. Finally, he glanced to the man behind him. “Gallof, what do you say on this issue?”

Gallof bowed. “I think my former candidate is wise in his assessment. Those below us keep a house running smoothly, and their regard or enmity can drastically change how well a hold is run, even while nothing in their actions obviously changes. The best outcomes cannot be achieved by discipline or the application of power alone.”

The onyx man was nodding along. “Wise words, both of you.” He focused on Tala. “Tali, my Eskau, I have failed you in this. I am used to functioning as a… less favored, while still powerful, member of this House, and I fear I have colored your mannerisms. Listen to Thorn in this regard.”

Tala was stunned, at a complete loss for words. Thankfully, Tali would have been as well.

What is he playing at?

-Kindness when you have, or get, what you want is not a sign of goodness, Tala. As Thorn and Gallof just pointed out, it is a simple expediency.-

Be-thric clapped his hands together. “Now. We’ve much to arrange. I need to refresh your inscriptions.” He hesitated, clearly considering.

Tala stiffened. Tali just strips naked.

-Are…are you going to be okay?-

Be-thric waved his hand, seeming to come to a decision. “Thorn, Gallof, leave us for a moment, my Eskau should not be displayed before others.”

She knew Be-thric had no interest in her, physically. To his mind, he was re-feathering a used arrow, and that was all. That helped, honestly, but she wasn’t looking forward to this.

The two bowed and walked away. As soon as they were hidden by the garden around the training circle, Be-thic turned to Tala.

“Shall we?” Then, he frowned. “Wait. I don’t wish to ruin your covering…” He tapped his chin. “I should have thought of that. Ah!” He brightened. “Open your mouth. We’ll go through there. It will require more healing, but we need to burn through your reserves anyways, right?”

Tala’s eyes widened. Is he saying…?

-Yes, Tala.-

Was this better than stripping down in front of him? Maybe, yeah. It still was…unpleasant to contemplate.

She opened her mouth wide, closing her eyes. Help me, Alat.

-I’m here.-

“Be Reinscribed.” It was the same phrase, but somehow it felt different as the power radiated out from the Pillar.

Metal streamed through her mouth and down her throat as she held her breath. She felt the miniscule threads split off, pushing their way through her reinforced flesh and bone, even as she did her best to remain still and hold back her defensive powers.

There are not words to describe how it felt.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was likely only a few seconds, the process came to an end.

Thankfully, most of what she’d used up, inscriptions wise, were the burst-style inscriptions. Everything had been worn down minutely, but that was hardly anything, in the grand scheme of things.

The flow of metal into her open mouth slowed, then stopped all together, and she slumped back, coughing up some blood that had entered her throat before her inscriptions healed the damage. She spat it over the side of the platform.

It colored the water in a slowly diffusing area until it was so spread out as to be unnoticeable to unenhanced eyes.

“That looked unpleasant.” Be-thric’s head was tilted to one side, seeming more intrigued than apologetic.

“It was, a bit.” Yeah, that’s what Tali would have said.

He grunted. “Well, I do not wish to take my time to reinscribe you at your need. I’ve commissioned a device to be integrated into your sanctum, which will allow you to be reinscribed at your discretion. It is based on my own magics, so it should grow with you, as your natural magics continue to integrate those inscribed upon you. It should allow you to do either method, unclothed or through your mouth. Though, I’ll need to ask them to add the second. We’ll make sure you have a solid supply of ingots of the metals you need.”

Tala was stunned, giving an entirely genuine half-bow. “You are most generous.”

He waved her off. “Not at all. It is a valuation of my own time.”

He really has utter confidence in my subversion. He trusts Tali explicitly.

-Why shouldn’t he? I know of no other Mage who has a copy of their entire mind, though I don’t suppose we necessarily would know of them. Without that, and me, you’d have been lost, and his, forever.-

That was both sobering and encouraging. He has no cause to doubt, even if I act incredibly strangely.

-But if you act really off, he might try to tweak your mind a bit, and that would be less than ideal.-

True enough.

Be-thric called the other two back, then turned to Tala. “There is much that I need to do today, and Thorn and Gallof will assist me. I am proud of your performance yesterday. Go into the city and buy yourself something nice.” He paused then shrugged. “Use your discretion. Nothing as big as a small hold, but definitely more than a bit of jewelry.” He patted her on the head as he smiled.

Wow. That was condescending. But she gilded herself and put on a grateful smile. “Thank you, Pillar Be-thric. I’ll consider that option. When do you need me back?”

“Come back around noon. We should have some things to show you, by then. At that point, we’ll need to coordinate and dive into our work, but you’ve earned yourself a few hours.”

Without another word, he walked away, meeting Thorn and Gallof on the bridge and directing them away.

Well… That was both kind and incredibly insulting.

-He is treating you like a pet or a mistress.-

But thankfully without any of the physical-ness of either.

-Not a fan of petting?-

Tala grimaced. Don’t even joke. The head patting is bad enough.

She turned and headed towards the entrance to the hold. She still had her copper key-ring, so she could enter and exit at will. Kit and Flow were at her belt, so she didn’t need to pick up anything from her room.

I wonder if he’ll upgrade this? She looked down at the copper around her finger.

-Only time will tell.-

Any idea what we should buy?

-None at all.-

Tala wandered the city. She was unmolested by attackers, either random or specifically targeting her. A large factor of this lack was likely that she was wearing the official garb of her office, the symbol of the House of Blood inlaid in silver and surrounded by a silver braid.

It wasn’t actually silver, her elk-leathers couldn’t create metal, but it gave the same appearance, and that is all that Tala needed.

She made the emblem large enough to cover her entire chest, rather than just being on her left breast, and she duplicated it on her back.

Tali has some pride in her accomplishments.

-Sure she does, Tala.-

In any case, this would prevent other misunderstandings.

Well, the emblem and the fact that Tala was utterly wreathed in power, her magics echoing in the very fabric of reality around her.

That probably doesn’t hurt.

-You also don’t look human at all. That probably factors in.-

Fine. There’re plenty of reasons why no one has been foolish enough to attack me.

She’d wandered for a bit, wracking her brain on what to get.

I am not getting a pet. That’s just silly. But nothing else came to mind. She didn’t need weaponry or armor.

She could request an upgrade to her elk-leathers as the gift. Would that work?

-It’s a good fallback, if we can’t think of anything else.-

She was passing by a smaller park, when she noticed an old turtle-man sitting on one of the benches, a staff leaning beside him, as he fed a large number of birds.

The turtle’s shell was iridescent, seeming to shimmer between green, blue, orange and red. There was a silvery white undertone to both the beast-man’s shell and skin.

How are there not crowds of folk gathered around just to gawk at him?

-I don’t know; he is quite beautiful.-

For most, the turtle simply tossed out handfuls of seeds, but one particular oddity caught her eye.

The old turtle smiled and pulled out a bit of dried meat, tossing it to the side, where a small terror bird caught it with ease.

She stopped, staring at the small bird, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

TERRY!?!

-Tala—-

But Tala ignored her, ignored her own mind.

The terror bird regarded her warily as she drew near.

The turtle man looked her way as she drew close.

“What do you wish of me, Enforcer of the House of Blood?”

Tala felt a ripple of power wash over her.

Why would I want to bother an old turtle? She didn’t slow; she’d never really had interest in the beast-man to begin with.

-Huh, he just made us bored by the very idea of him…But look at him. He’s beautiful! That’s probably why there isn’t anyone around him, just staring.-

Tala shook her head, kneeling down next to the small terror bird. The creature shrunk back from her as she drew near.

-Tala, the color…It’s wrong.-

She slumped. “I know. You aren’t Terry.” She spoke softly.

-You could tell by its level of magic, or lack there of.- It was a mundane terror bird.

Now that Tala thought about it, shouldn’t Terry have glowed like a beacon to Tali’s sight, if she really had seen him?

She felt a little part of her shrink back from the thought, refusing to acknowledge it.

The turtle-man was clutching his staff. “So, you are not here for me? I see.” His head bobbed in understanding. “You seem to have lost that which is not found.”

Tala frowned, pulled back for her sad thoughts. He has to be here, somewhere. “What? That doesn’t even make sense. Of course, if something isn’t found, it is lost.”

“Unless what is sought finds you?” The turtle gestured to the avians hopping around them in the little park. “These creatures are not statues or items to be sought in some fixed location. You look for a bird whom you know?”

“Yes?” This is really weird… She almost brushed the old turtle off, but something held her back.

“Does he have a name?”

“He does.”

“Then, call him.”

Tala glanced around. There weren’t many people on the streets. She was still close to the district of doors, but she’d wandered down a smaller side-street while musing.

The turtle leaned on his staff, smiling, his shell shifting through waves of purple and lilac. “Well?”

I feel like a fool.

-What could it hurt?-

What if someone hears?

-It won’t mean anything to anyone, even Be-thric. Terry was hunting when he took us, if our last memory is correct.-

Tala cleared her throat. “Terry?” He probably just didn’t hear me. He’s somewhere else.

The turtle nodded. “Louder, if you wish the call to have meaning.”

But…

-Try, Tala.-

“Terry!”

“Louder still.”

But what if he doesn’t come?

-What if he does?-

Tala felt tears building in her eyes as she threw back her head and shouted. “TERRY!”

Her voice, amplified by her enhanced lungs rang out through the park, startling the birds away, even the tiny terror bird that wasn’t Terry.

As the echoes quickly died off, Tala looked around, momentarily hopeful.

The turtle-man looked around as well, then sighed. “Ah, well. Your friend is not here, and mine are now gone. There are many parks in the city for you to search.” He gave her a soft smile.

Tala felt her eye twitch, even as tears began to leak down across her cheeks. The shiny turtle turned and sauntered off. And here I thought he might have some sort of wise insight. She wiped at her face. I thought maybe he knew that Terry was nearby.

-Tala…-

Not now. I don’t want to hear it.

She flopped down on the bench, placing her face in her hands.

“Where are you, Terry? Are you even alive?”

Time passed and the turtle’s footsteps faded beyond even the ability of Tala’s enhanced hearing to pick up.

People passed on the nearby street, but no one else came into the park. She didn’t have her bloodstars out. It was probably foolish, but at the moment, she was glad to not have to keep them in mind, keep them in place. She just sat, feeling the heaviness of her predicament.

She was alone.

Utterly.

Completely.

Alone.

Everyone she knew probably thought she was dead.

She was deep within the territory of people who hated her kind or were at least those who were opposed to their free existence.

She had nothing.

-We’ll get back. We have to at least try.-

I know. This is just…too much. She shook her head against her hands. It’s too much, Alat.

So, Tala sat, unmoving, and let time pass her by.

Finally, after what felt like ages, when the heat of the sun was beating down from almost directly overhead, she sighed. We need to head back to the hold.

-But we didn’t get anything.-

We’ll just ask for something to be upgraded. There was no enthusiasm behind the thought.

Tala lifted her head from her hands and froze.

There, squatting on the ground in front of her was a small terror bird, one with achingly familiar coloring.

It had magic through its being. Not mundane.

Tala whispered in disbelieving hope. “Terry?”

She thought she detected a marginally different pattern of magic around his neck, as if something was hidden beneath his feathers, but it could easily have just been the bird’s natural magics.

The small avian trilled softly, seeming to be examining her.

No, it’s a trick of the light. There are more arcanous birds than just Terry. That’s not his collar. It’s just another little—

The bird flickered, appearing on her shoulder and headbutting her cheek.

Terry trilled happily, snuggling up against her neck.

Tala simply basked in the familiar comfort of his presence. “It’s me, Terry. Thank you for following me, and for waiting.”

He simply trilled contentedly and snuggled in closer.