Back in the travel-space, Ranvir shuffled them slowly back towards home. Well, they were moving quick, but it felt slow. Stretching his tether-sense to the limits of its reach. While such an exercise was a viable way to train and develop its abilities, it was hardly optimal beyond the very basics of a beginner.

Kasos’ paper puzzles were a far better exercise, requiring flexibility, structural coherence, and multiple pressure points. Ranvir idly wondered about potential steps between the very basic exercises and the puzzles. Even a single layer puzzle would’ve been quite challenging for him when he first joined the academy all those years ago.

Behind him, Vasso put his book down for the fifth time in ten minutes. He opened his mouth before hesitating, then slowly shook his head. Ranvir didn’t quite reach as far the next time he stretched his tether-sense forth, barely half the length. He also slowed slightly in opening the next aperture. Thankfully, Vasso wouldn’t be able to tell they were slowing down at all.

Vasso cleared his throat. “Can we take a minute? I mean, talk for a minute?” he shook his head and looked down at his book. “Nevermind.”

Ranvir raised an eyebrow and stopped the circling the lake he’d stumbled upon. It had taken Vasso longer than he’d expected to work himself up to speaking. It must be important.

Letting the aperture collapse, lighting the space only by Vasso’s reading lamp. It cast the small box in a white light, marking both with clear shadows. Squatting down, Ranvir let his rear touch the floor and spread his legs out on either side of Vasso, his feet reaching farther than he’d expected. Somehow, he could perfectly anticipate the exact size of anything within reach of his tether-sense, but he couldn’t account for a paltry growth to his own body.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Vasso kept looking down, but the dark wasn’t impenetrable enough to hide his eyes from Ranvir. He wasn’t reading the book, just staring at the page. He hadn’t even turned a page in a quarter flare.

“I’ve been thinking…” Vasso frowned and looked up. “Did you really mean it? Could I be your family?”

Ranvir smiled at him and nodded. “Yes.”

Vasso screwed his face up. “I…” he cleared his throat. “I can call you dad, then? Like Frija does?”

“Whenever you like,” Ranvir considered for a moment. “Son?”

“Dad,” Vasso lurched forwards, spilling his book and tipping his lantern. Ranvir enveloped him in a big hug, both wing and arm as he finished the journey to their house.

“Alright, son,” Ranvir said a few moments later, tapping Vasso twice on the back. “We’re home.”

“We are,” Vasso said, looking at the building appreciatively.

“You go unpack. I’ll go see if Frija wants to come back, too.”

Vasso nodded and ran inside. He was in such a hurry he forgot his book and lamp. Sighing, Ranvir put them on the rock he still occasionally used to meditate on when the weather was especially good.

The next day, Ranvir was in Legea, finishing up a shopping trip. “Thanks for the work,” he said, scanning the little dress he was holding.

“It really would’ve been better if you could’ve gotten her back in for another fitting,” said the tailor sternly.

“Nah,” Ranvir dismissed the concern and folded the cloth over his forearm. The tailor’d come recommended from a few of Kyriake’s friends, so Ranvir assumed the job was well done. To him it was just another children’s dress. “She’s five. It’s not like it’s going to matter if it fits her perfectly. She’s just going to play in dirt with, anyway.”

The tailor harrumphed and shook her head. “You shouldn’t let your child act like that. She’s not a wild beast, just because you let her act like one.”

Ranvir frowned at her. “I’m certainly not going to take advice from an old prune, whose clearly done a fantastic job with her children.”

The woman glared at him and Ranvir glared back. “Maybe I ought to take that back,” she said, reaching for the dress. “Give it to someone who’ll appreciate it more.”

Ranvir narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not doing this,” he muttered, locking her in space and leaving the store. He dumped a handful of keys on the floor before stepping out of the door. If that wasn’t enough money, then she could go complain to someone who cared.

Ranvir rapidly changed direction, barely dodging the two people hurrying down the street. Their speedy pace and his sudden departure nearly causing a collision. “Sorry,” he muttered, waving at the smaller woman. Strong features and short hair, wearing a full set of steel plate armor. Ranvir nodded at her fellow, Mihail. Clean shaven and in a fresh uniform.

Staggering a moment, Ranvir blinked once before shaking his head and turning towards the potragos station. He squinted at the sun, checking to see how long until the next one passed through. The timing was poor. He might just pocket-space himself back home. Though he’d prefer not to, since it cut him off from the lives of normal people. Ranvir’d met enough nobles to know what happened when you cut yourself off from the regular people of the world.

“Ranvir!” a woman called.

He turned to look, seeing it was the woman with Mihail. Ranvir glared at both of them. He recognized Mihail, the scout from Mercy’s Redoubt, the one who’d confronted him about Sabas’ death. The woman, though, was entirely strange to him. Perhaps a new hire to fill in Sabas’ position. She was on the weaker side, if that was the case, however.

He glanced at the sun again, its segmented light denoting the time of day declaring him truly late for the potragos. “Yes?” he said, acknowledging that he had the time. Besides, this was the last of his errands today.

Perception came alive as the two walked towards him. “I didn’t expect to run into you here,” the woman said.

She smelled of fresh oil, her armor clearly just having been treated. Her massive shield as well. She had a weapon on her, though it was bound with wire as was customary for braced. It wouldn’t stop any but a middle-Kistios from drawing it, but it would slow her down such that he had time to prepare. Otherwise, she wasn’t carrying any weapons on her.

Mihail had a dagger in his boot, the fresh oil smell giving it away. As well as the knives hidden under his coat. Ranvir saw some kind of wire wrapped around the ring he carried on his pointer finger. He could barely catch the hint of something sour coming from it. Poison?

Neither offered him their hands as stopped, though they both tapped their chins in greeting. Ranvir reluctantly returned it, glaring at the two of them. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to talk with you,” the woman said. Listening to her voice, she still didn’t evoke a memory in his mind. “Clear the air somewhat, if that’s possible.”

Ranvir raised an eyebrow. “Clear the air?” She must’ve been in Orykto with the others, then. He didn’t think they fought, though he remembered little from the week they’d trapped him in there. Just the pain, anxiety, and rush of battle.

His heart began picking up speed and a slight shake entered his hands as they gazed at each other.

Mihail put a hand to his chest. “I didn’t want to interrupt your day, or disturb your week,” he spoke preemptively, earning a glare from the woman. “But Asimina thought she needed to speak with you.”

“So you sought me out?” Ranvir asked.

Glaring intensely at Mihail, Asimina slowly drew her eyes away and faced Ranvir down. “I did. We owe you much for how we treated you and I want to make my stance clear as the new Captain of Mercy’s Redoubt.”

Ranvir frowned, staring at her for a moment. She paled, visibly swallowing as she swayed on the spot. But she didn’t budge, nor did she look away. Mihail fell back two steps, the wind picking at his coat, as he slipped a hand onto a knife.

Ranvir looked away and took in a deep breath. Be as I want my children to be, he told himself. Lead by example. It was hard, though. All he wanted to do was return home, but all his body was telling him was to fight. Unclenching his fists, he let out another slow breath and the wind calmed around them.

“Okay.”

Asimina, recovering quickly, nodded. “There’s a cafe not too far from here. They’ve got good snacks.”

Ranvir looked at her for a long moment.

“Right, maybe not a snack time,” she coughed into her hand. “Sorry, it’s a habit of mine. When-“

“I don’t care.”

She looked away, then nodded. “It’s a place to sit and maybe have some tea,” she didn’t look at him again as she turned and walked away.

Once more, Ranvir considered grabbing space and hopping away, or simply killing them. Neither was strong enough to resist him. Not for long. He frowned and shook his head, then slowly, reluctantly, he followed Asimina’s hunched shoulders, Mihail already way ahead of them.