Episode 83

Aristespha's violet eyes pick through her mind, and she furrows her disconnected stare. Tapping her finger on the back of her aetherphone pressed against her very long, pointed ear, she nods her head upon her pillow, contemplating. "I am trying to remember anything else I should tell you."

Sitting up upon her bed, she crosses her legs and hums thoughtfully. "If you got the books I told you to get, the first few chapters will give you all the basics. Most usually start with safety protocols and identification criteria. So, for what you will probably experience, that hopefully will be enough. I would make sure everyone on the team reads up on the quick rules of engagement with spirits."

Listening to the voice at the other end of the call, she snarls her upper lip and rolls her violet eyes with a commiserating sigh. "Gods. I can certainly imagine from what I have seen. You are simply going to have to be painfully blunt with Veevi. Though..."

She glances off to the side and twists a grimace on her ivory face. "Given her usual behavior, even the basic three rules are going to prove incredibly difficult to get through her thick skull."

Drawing a deep breath, Aristespha releases a long exhale with an understanding smirk, listening to the response from the other side of the call. She cracks a smile and chuckles lightly. "I heard. Well, I will not keep you any longer. Keep me updated. And, please call or message me if you have other questions. I do not think we are doing anything too demanding for now, so I should be able to get back to you quickly."

Aristespha grants a goodbye and taps the phone screen to end the call, slowly shaking her head. "Gods... Be careful... Please..."

She idly glances around the room, easing out a sigh, and watches the morning sun reflect off the green leafy trees just outside her bedroom windows. Leaning over to the edge of the bed, she reaches her hand out to the handle of the sword and taps it with glowing violet eyes. A few moments later, Sebastian's ethereal form materializes in front of her. "Yes, dear?"

Aristespha smiles lovingly and curls a smirk, poking at Sebastian's visage. "Nothing, Sebastian. I was curious as to what you were doing."

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, drifting into a seat upon the bed next to Aristespha. "Well, I was getting a bit too absorbed in a grath drama Bach and Dretphi are watching."

Blinking out her surprise, she pauses in thought, quirking her brow, and stands up. "Interesting... What is it about?"

Hovering next to Aristespha, Sebastian crosses his arms and searches his mind for comprehension, relaying. "I was just figuring out the general story... BUT, I think it's about a young grath woman getting proposed by multiple people to join their houses. Honestly, I think she's just REALLY indecisive."

Shrugging her shoulders, Aristespha opens the door to her bedroom and walks through the hallway. "Well, I am curious now."

In the living area, Bach and Dretphi stare attentively at the television, occasionally sorting laundry in the lulls of drama. A young grath woman on screen sits on a park bench under the yellow tinted glow of an overhead lamp post. Flakes of snow drift through the light from hazy, speckled shadows surrounding. Sniffing with tears in her eyes, she tightens her arms around her heavy coat and slowly shakes her head sadly. A male voice off screen speaks a concerned phrase of grath, and Americ subtitles appear. "Why are YOU Here?"

The camera pans over to a young grath man, gazing on with concern upon his face. He patiently waits for the young woman's glance up with a frown and sighs sympathetically with eloquent grath, the Americ subtitles struggling. "Pulled Torn Given -choices-? NOTHING to -choose-... (Still) Your decision. (Yet) -Never- your options... ...?"

Bach narrows his puzzled blue eyed gaze at the screen, cocking his head to the side, and leans over, whispering at Dretphi. "So, the three dots and question mark at the end were for that trailing tone?"

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Dretphi sounds out a similar questioning shift of her voice and awaits Bach's response. Bach furrows his brow, thinking a moment, and visibly puzzles. "Yes?"

With a warm smile, Dretphi turns her attention over to Bach and nods. "Yes. Explicit prompt to respond. Different variations to match intent."

The camera zooms out and captures both the young grath man and woman, under the cone cast of contrasting light against the dim ambient mix of night and thicker puffs of snow. The young woman bites her lower lip uncertainly and shakes her head with sad frown and depressed grath leaves her lips, mixing with the cooling mist of her breath. The subtitles attempt to capture the moment, questionably paraphrasing. "(Yes/No)? -Hard-! Why is THIS difficult? SHOULD be delighted with ANY. (Yet) ...?"

Twists his mouth contemplatively, the grath man gazes up at the falling, thickening fluff, and shrugs his shoulders under his jacket and scarf. With a hopeful, slight smile, he gazes warmly at the woman with a simple grath response, and clearer subtitles scrolling by. "None are -owned- by YOU? -*-"

With a graceful, slight bow, the grath man pivots and calmly strolls down the crunchy, snow-covered sidewalk towards the distant light of a corner diner signage. With each passing second, the young grath woman's eyes widen, and she stands up quickly from the bench. Watching the man walk away, the camera focuses on her contorting face and the mix of emotion bubbling up to the surface. Scratching his head, Bach pauses from sorting through socks, curiously eying Dretphi, and inquires. "That last ending tone sounded a little different? The subtitles were different, too."

Maintaining her focus firmly upon the screen, Dretphi briefly comments out the side of her mouth. "Affection implied."

Bach blinks briefly, snaps his intrigued gaze back towards the screen, narrowing his attention fully on the target. "Wait? What the hell is he doing now? I thought his role in the show was to drop advice occasionally..."

Agreeing with the same suspicion in her tone, Dretphi grumbles slightly, unconsciously leaning closer towards the television. "What will she-"

The young grath woman lifts her head up, gazing at the young man with a smile, and rushes over, walking alongside him. In the seconds of silent, peaceful travel, she reaches her hand out for his. The scene fades to black. The end of episode sequences plays out. Dretphi closes her steel gray eyes hard and mumbles out her frustrations in grath. Settling back into his seat upon the couch, Bach sinks into the cushions and lifts his hands up in the air. "What the fuck? I mean, that's just a rude thing to throw in at the last minute of the episode. Really?"

Dretphi slips out a few tight lipped comments. "They do this often. Frustrating."

Uncrossing her arms, Aristespha rests her hands on her hips and nods in understanding. "Oh. This reminds me of a few Evuukian dramas. Always a secret heir for control of the house. OR, someone goes missing right at the end."

Bach shakes his head, pairing up a few socks, and tosses them into a hamper. Glancing over to Aristespha, he asks. "Did you get Deedri ready for their mission?"

Aristespha gazes over confused. She eyes Sebastian at her side, her mind arriving at the plausible explanation, and shrugs her shoulders. "I think so. Deedri should be fine. I do NOT know about the rest of the group. At least, I think most should have the base level of common sense to just keep their distance from spirits."

Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes and snorts with a dry smirk. "Most."

Contorting her ivory face, Aristespha sighs with dismissive waves of her hands and glances upward mockingly. "Oh no... The pink one brought so much value to the team anyway."

Pondering a moment, Bach gazes up at Aristespha and motions towards the back sliding glass doors. "You think there's anything spirit-like out in the forest next to us?"

Aristespha levels her head, darts her eyes around her mind, searching through the possibilities. "There is always a chance, BUT..."

She motions generally around the area and shakes her head. "We are close to civilization, which drastically reduces the odds that such entities will want to inhabit the area. Most varieties tend towards undeveloped regions."

Lifting an intrigued brow, Bach comments. "But, we are in the path of maelstroms occasionally."

A memory springs up in Dretphi's mind, and she prompts further. "We do have dire boars nearby. I heard spirits draw dires? Dires draw spirits? One of those?"

Crossing her arms, Aristespha rocks her head of long silvery blue hair side to side, deliberating out loud. "They are still debating which it is, actually. That particular subject is still seen as a chicken and egg situation. It has been incredibly hard to get evidence to support either hypothesis."

She contorts her face thoughtfully, gradually nodding. "Well. Thinking about it... I would guess there is a better than nothing chance for something to be out in those woods, then."

Sebastian's ghostly form hovers next to Aristespha, and he parts an eager smirk. "It'd be a good reason to educate my bro on the sword's spirit detection abilities."

Furrowing a mocking stare at Sebastian, Bach quips, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, wow. A sword called the Sword of the Spirit Realm has spirit detection?"

Rolling his translucent blue eyes, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, responding with an equally facetious tone. "I know, right? It's namesake feature even. They totally put some time into implementing, I'm sure."

He releases an ethereal groan and shakes his head. "I know, bro. It's one of those things that requires YOU to be using it actively to work. It's not running at full strength, otherwise. Don't ask me why."

Sebastian floats over towards the back sliding glass door leading out into the partly cloudy morning scene and glances back to Bach. "So, you up for an educational walk around the woods?"

Bach's interest piques, and he stands up from the couch. "Sure. Need to learn it at some point, I guess."

Pausing a moment, he glances back over to Dretphi and asks. "You up for wandering around the forest?"

Dretphi smiles, lifting herself off the couch, and nods. "Yes."

She sighs with a trailing, grumbling frustration, and flashes a vague scowl at the television. "Need it after that episode ending."

Shaking his head, Bach groans in commiseration, wrestling a frown . "Tell me about it. I mean, what the hell are they trying to do with that whole storyline?"

Sebastian snorts with a twisted smirk, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay. I caught the tail end of THAT. Where did that guy even come from?"

Scratching his head of longer brown hair and shifting the white streak to the side, Bach twists his mouth, meandering around about the topic. "I don't know, man. It doesn't seem to make sense. Does that guy seriously just wander around parks at night dropping wisdom to women in troubled relationships? The fuck?"

Sebastian chuckles and perks an amused brow at Bach. "I don't know... Seems like it's working out for him."

Slowly shaking her head, Dretphi crosses her arms and grumbles in annoyed grath to herself. Aristespha rolls her eyes, pivots into the hallway archway, and motions down towards the bedroom. "I will get the sword."

---

Down the long, winding highway with forest bordering either side, a black, dented sports utility vehicle rolls over the worn asphalt surface. A few car lengths behind, a convoy of Next Adventurers of Nexus vans keep close to each other. In the driver's seat of the SUV, Chad maintains a top grip of the steering wheel, staring distantly down the long road. In the front passenger's seat, Trakenthin studies a paper map, comparing it against a similar digital version on the display of his aetherphone. Deedri glances over the text of a thick book with the title "Tobin" clear from between her clawed fingers and gazes out the middle driver's side window. Next to her, Tassilda tosses back her raven black hair, resettling into her spot on the middle row seat, and watches a random video on her phone with a stiff expression. Keeping a nonchalant, cool exterior, Modoran squirms briefly and eases himself further against the driver's side window of the back row seat. With petulantly crossed arms, Veevi huffs audibly, narrowing her pink pupil stare upon the back of Tassilda's seat and presses her foot into the seat slowly, repeatedly, and purposefully.

Trakenthin withdraws his hazel eyes away from the charts and stretches out his neck. Tapping through the menus on his phone, he opens up a messaging app and selects Modoran as a recipient, typing out. "Switch at next rest stop?"

Blinking blankly, Modoran feels his phone vibrate, retrieves the device, and sorts his way through the recent notifications. With a casual sigh, he types up a response and taps the send button. Trakenthin checks his phone, watching the follow up message appear from Modoran. "I shall suffer for now. So far, so good?"

Trakenthin glances over his shoulder briefly and grants a slight nod towards Modoran. Stirring into full awareness, Chad notices a large sign indicating rest stop services and distance away. He summons up an encouraging tone, donning a bright white smile, and directs his voice back. "Good news. There's a rest stop in about another thirty minutes given how fast we are going. It'll be a good time to eat and walk around."

Deedri's furry, tufted ears perk up, and she gives an appreciative, acknowledging nod. Tassilda glances her light blue on black eyes up, rocking her head, and leisurely returns to her video. Modoran gives a quick thumbs up, blending back into the corner of the vehicle. Veevi focuses a hateful glare right into the rear view mirror and concentrates her visible ire fully upon Chad. Moments of weathering the visual onslaught later, Chad's enthusiasm wanes, and he returns his attention back to the road ahead. Watching Chad stop paying attention to the rear view mirror, Veevi grumbles to herself. With a huff, she pries out her aetherphone from her tight shorts and opens up a flashy, colorful game. The app loads up, and the phone blares out the game's music and sound effects, startling everyone else in the sudden contrast. In a mix of eye rolls, annoyed twists of faces, and sighs, the rest of the team attempts to ignore and distract themselves from the annoying noise. Minutes later, a repetitive, shrill chime rings out from the game. Deedri's furry ear reflexively twitches away from the source of the noise, and her fair face winces harder with each instance of the sound effect bouncing into her mind.

Drawing in a deep, calming breath, Deedri slowly turns her head around, aims a pleading gaze at Veevi, and nicely asks. "Veevi, could you turn that down a little bit? Please? That one sound really hurts my ears."

Veevi begins to summon up a defiant glare towards the request. Tipping her head up, she meets Deedri's auburn eyes and allows her ire to wane. Moments of thought later, Veevi presents an apologetic smile and turns down the volume with a cheery tone. "Of course, Deedri! I'm so sorry. I'm so used to keeping it loud when I'm in my own room."

Deedri gives an appreciative nod, returning her gaze to the spirit guide book, and massages her furry ear near the base. Veevi plays the game for another minute, sneaks peeks around the cab of the vehicle, and grows an unsatisfied frown on her tan face. With a weak huff, her attention wanders away from the game, and she ponders quietly to herself. The vehicle hits a significant bump in the road. The jump up the cab snatches everyone's attention. Calling from the front of the cab, Chad genuinely apologizes. "Sorry, everyone! This road is getting rougher. I'm trying to steer clear of the bad spots, but some sections are just plain... BAD."

Visually following a passing patch of road briefly, Modoran furrows his dusky bluish gray brow and glances back towards Chad. "Damn. They really do give up on road maintenance after a point out here."

Chad nods in total, tense agreement, easing the wheel in direction, and pilots the vehicle around another section of road in pitiful disrepair. With a gentle lateral force, everyone swings lightly with the motion of the SUV. Veevi's eyes spring wide open briefly, and a devious smirk curls on her lips. She assesses the space between her and Modoran, nods slightly to herself, and puts away her phone. Letting out a loud yawn, she stretches her tan, brown striped arms, searching for acknowledgment. "I think I'll take a little cat nap."

Deedri pauses her reading, quietly exhales, and rolls her eyes. Modoran stares out the window, studying the passing forest scenery. Fighting the instinctive urge to yawn back, Tassilda grits her teeth tightly and sneaks out a hiss of breath. Chad checks the rear view mirror and watches Veevi settle in for a nap against the back of the rear row seat, enjoying some relief. Minutes pass on by on the bumpier roads. Veevi sneaks a peek, eying the space next to her and the distracted Modoran. Grumbling audibly, Chad shakes his head and tightens his grip on the wheel. "Fair warning. This part looks ROUGH."

The sports utility vehicle veers towards the best approach angle through the gravelly patch of highway, slowing down, and navigates scattered dips in the road. With the swaying motions, Veevi's body shifts too easily. Chad steers the vehicle through the last section with the final bump onto an intact swath of asphalt. Veevi's form oddly breaks loose of her slumbering position and accurately flops over to the side.

A guttural exhale of surprise sounds out from behind Deedri and Tassilda. Their curiously piques with the trailing, high-pitch gasp following. Both turn around, gazing back at the rear seat. Veevi's head nuzzles firmly upon Modoran's lap, and she presses her cheek down harder upon her draping pink hair. Her hand kneads sharp nails upon Modoran's leg, each squeeze creeping her grip further up and inside his thigh. Faint fabric pops sound out from Deedri's claw tips, sinking deeper into the top of the middle bench seat. Deedri's auburn glare narrows upon the pink haired half-fvalian, and a flush of boiling fury reddens her ivory face. Watching furry ears lowering back and fluffy tail fraying out, Tassilda senses the imminent overload of rage forming within Deedri and snaps a stern stare at Modoran. Holding his hands up and away, Modoran meets Tassilda with utter shock upon his dusky bluish gray face and silently mouths out pleas of absolute bewilderment.

Sweeping her examining glare upon Veevi, Tassilda studies her antics and the ramp up of her, suspiciously unconscious, fondling of Modoran. Moments later, Tassilda spots the oddly playful wags of Veevi's pink, short-haired tail, and snaps her scheming stare upon it. With a series of quick gestures and quiet incantations, magical flow streams up into Tassilda's hand, and she sneaks out close to the end of Veevi's tail, faint electrical arcs forming between her finger tips. Snapping her fingers close by, a series of loud sparks crackles from Tassilda's hand right onto Veevi's tail tip. The fur on her tail puffing out, Veevi's eyes fly wide open, and she sharply rights herself upon the rear row seat. Locking a hateful glare onto Tassilda, she erupts into a fit of rage. "WHAT THE FUCK TASSILDA?!"

Slowly turning her stern stare towards Veevi, Tassilda sneers her upper lip, snorting back defiantly. "Whatever did I do? YOU were just SLEEPING? Right?!"

Modoran relaxes slightly, the snipping and arguing between Veevi and Tassilda flaring up. Releasing a long, stressful sigh, he attempts an explanation of the situation through dismay and disgust. "I- Uh- was just looking out the window, and she dropped right in my lap- And, I didn't know what to do- And..."

Regaining her composure, Deedri focuses upon calming breaths and reassures Modoran with a faint smile. "I know... I know..."

Chad returns his distant stare from the rear view mirror back to the road ahead and slowly shakes his head in defeat. Turning away from spectating the verbal combat between Veevi and Tassilda, Trakenthin pauses a moment in thought and leans over close to Chad, whispering. "Leave her behind? At the rest stop?"

Thinking more than a few seconds with hints of genuine consideration, Chad groans mildly and rolls his eyes, grimacing his disappointment. "No... That would be cruel to everyone else at the rest stop."

---

From the thick overhead forest canopy above, pillars of bright light beam down upon the small patches of brush and debris scattered over the ground. Bach maintains a tight grip with both hands on the sword's handle, closes his eyes, and concentrates. With long, slow breaths, he relaxes his shoulders and remains silent in the natural ambiance. Seconds later, he reopens his blue eyes, shaking his head, and glances back at the rest of the group. "Nothing, yet. I think? Still getting the feel for all this."

Hovering up next to Bach, Sebastian crosses his arms and shrugs his shoulders. "You'll figure it out, bro. Once the basics are down, the rest comes easily..."

He furrows his translucent brow and glances off to the side. "Except the return to hand thing. That... That one I never used much."

Angling his head over towards his brother, Bach lifts a wary, intrigued eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Meeting Bach's expectant gaze, Sebastian releases an uneasy, ethereal sigh, and averts his translucent blue eyes with a grimace. "It was always REALLY unnerving to have a sword fly right towards your hand. Tip first."

Bach lowers his uncertain stare upon the blade in his hand, side eyes over at Sebastian, and returns to his attention back upon the sword, tightening his grip. "Yeah... No shit..."

Sebastian rolls his eyes with a grumble and twists his face into grimace. "I mean, it always righted itself and placed the handle in my hand... At the last moment. But, gods dammit, it's just fuckin' unsettling."

Searching the flora around the forest path, Aristespha steps on by next to Sebastian and flashes a wicked grin with a giggle towards Bach. "You should have seen the first time Sebastian tried using that ability of the sword."

A long ghostly groan emanates from Sebastian's form, and he levels a defeated stare upon his brother. "Free advice. Ducking doesn't help. It just goes for a second pass."

Blinks blankly, Bach gradually accepts the advice and studies the faintly glowing sword. He pauses a moment, squirming his arms slightly up to his shoulder blades, and glances over at his brother. "Does this thing always feel like it's reaching... Into you?"

Sebastian winces faintly, nodding slowly, and sighs. "Yeah. You kind of get used to it, after a point. But, that's why I always activated it only when I needed it. Still unsettling, bro. No matter how long you've used it."

Walking carefully forward through the leaf and brush covered passages between trees, Bach relaxes and pores his concentration upon the blade. Remaining silent, he slowly sweeps the blade in front of him, pauses, and exhales his disappointment. "Okay... Either I don't have the hang of this at all, or there's just nothing spirit wise around these woods."

Aristespha stands up from a small patch of plants with colorful leaves, places a few samples in a small wax paper baggie, and stows the packet away in a satchel. "I did not quite expect anything like that to be out here. But, I am finding some useful herbs out here. Admittedly... A few I would never expect to be here."

Appearing from behind the team with little noise, Dretphi stands next to the group and presents the contents of a metal bowl with a bright smile. "Got all I could!"

The team examines the nearly overflowing container of blackberries. Bach's gaze slides over to scratches and pokes upon Dretphi's hands, and he smirks with a bit of concern. "Wow. Looks like you had to fight those brambles for every last bit."

Working through a little embarrassment, Dretphi attempts to casually play off the minor injuries and lessen the worry upon her. "Nothing bad. This variety has huge berries. Huge thorns. A tradeoff."

She retrieves a lid from her under her arm, snaps it securely over the top of the metal bowl, and tucks the valuable bounty back under her arm. Walking to the edge of a small sunlit clearing, Bach holds out the sword with both hands, loosening up his shoulders, and settles into a readied stance. "Okay. I'll give this thing one more try. Then, I'm good for heading back."

Drifting into his own head, he releases a long exhale, closes his eyes, and waits, the blade faintly glowing and glinting against the sun. A gentle breeze blows overhead, the canopy leaves rustle into a surrounding drone, and the beams of sun shift with the movement of small branches. Seconds later, Bach's face twitches. He turns his head a little. Uncrossing his arms, Sebastian searches around the vicinity expectantly. Gradually, Bach pivots in place, aiming the sword towards a direction, and opens his eyes with a faint blue glow. "I think... I think... There might be something over... There? Behind those bushes? I mean, it might be nothing, but it's the first time I felt this."

Sebastian nods in agreement, floating up next to Bach, and points in the same direction. "Yeah... I'm feeling it, too. Something really small? Yeah, something small."

Aristespha strolls up next to the forming line up and starts gesturing out an incantation. With a sweep of her arms out, a pulse of flow travels out towards the edge of the clearing, and she narrows her violet glowing stare. "Let us check to see if we have anything..."

Searching the area, she visually scrutinizes the section of brushes and points at it with a smile. "There IS something. It just floated away from there."

Aristespha leads the way, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian following behind at the ready. Traveling a few meters past the edge of the clearing, the group tracks down a small, faint glowing entity zipping towards a patch of similar plants. Near the flora, the small illuminated being casually drifts between different parts of plants, settling upon one spot and then moving to another. Dretphi furrows her brow curiously and cocks her head to the side, recognition dawning upon her tan face. "These are male cannabis plants. Not certain of the species."

Seconds later, the glowing being darts away to another cannabis plant meters away, growing in a vertical corridor of sunlight. Aristespha ponders a moment, tailing behind the moving entity, and delves into an explanation. "I believe this is a tender spirit. They are a very low level spirit that, well, simply seems to tend to the needs of certain flora. No one quite understands the criteria for choosing the flora. But, these spirits are usually responsible for the exotic and plentiful plant life you see in most weird zones. They are completely harmless to animals. And, typically, seems to ignore any interaction with animals."

Dretphi studies the leaves of the plant closer, checking the structure, count, and arrangement. A mix of intrigue and confusion builds on her, and she glances over to the rest of the team with a puzzled tone. "This is a hybrid. A strange hybrid. It is healthy. Better than this environment should allow."

Floating behind the tender spirit, Sebastian watches it leaving the last particular plant in the area and observes it darting right off. "Huh. Where is it going so fast?"

Following Sebastian's lead, Aristespha, Bach, and Dretphi track down the tender spirit to its next destination. The team travels over the bush covered crest of a small hill and gaze down in a slight, sunlit valley. Aristespha narrows her glowing gaze and points towards the tender spirit's new location. The team notices the entity, awareness of all the flora it hovers around following. The group gathers around a huge female cannabis plant in the gentle sun next to a small drainage stream. Blinking in complete surprise, Dretphi studies the colorful, huge plant closely. "Impressive. This variety I have seen in specific greenhouses only. None this large. Odd to find it here."

Aristespha smirks with a chuckle, retrieving a few wax paper bags, and examines the cannabis plant carefully. "Well, we certainly can not let this go to waste. THIS is quite the reagent for a number of different medical compounds."

Snorting briefly, Bach meets the similar smirk upon Sebastian's face. "Medical... Right..."

Rolling her violet eyes with an amused shake of her head, Aristespha lifts a targeted eyebrow at Bach and laughs. "Oh, what do you think that particular potion that knocked you out used as a base?"

Pausing in thought, Bach searches his memories, tilting his head to the side, and gradually nods. "Huh. Yeah. That actually would explain that."

Sebastian snorts ethereally, places his hands at his side, and shakes his head. "Oh, yeah. That tea Kaleb brewed was always the sure fire cure for post-exam stress for the both of us."

Bach rolls his eyes and chuckles to himself. "Well, and that one experimental batch of magically filtered wine. It was nice to have a biologist living with us."

He gazes down, the tender spirit hovering above patches of dirt with new sprouts, and watches it go through a rough patrol of the nearby plant life. "Huh. Pretty amazing. If you could somehow get these guys to a farm and train them right..."

Aristespha nods with sigh, and smiles, harvesting useful materials from the large plant. "And, THAT is what spirit mages have been trying to figure out for years... If you could figure that out, it would make guild contracts look like pocket change."

Aristespha and Dretphi study the flora. Bach and Sebastian continue watching the tender spirit go through its motions.

---

The finely-crafted door to a long, well decorated room opens, and Goff leans in briefly. He flips the light switch on, surveys the three beds, row of windows overlooking the nearby forest, and the doorway to the large bathroom at the other side of the room. Stepping back out into the hallway, he bows respectfully and motions Tassilda, Deedri, and Veevi into the room. "It's all yours, ladies. If anything is out of place, let me know, and I'll take care of it as quick as I can."

He signals Chad, Modoran, and Trakenthin to follow along and quickly steps down the hall. "Alright guys, let me show you your room. It's pretty much the same layout, but flipped."

Strolling into the room with a small travel bag strap over her shoulder, Tassilda stands in the middle of the space and surveys the beds. Deedri hauls in a large suitcase with one hand, lifts up a medical kit up onto a desk in the small office area, and sighs, stretching out her neck. "Which bed are you going to take?"

Drifting a black nailed finger over, Tassilda settles her point towards the middle bed of the row and lifts an eyebrow. "I think for your sanity, I'll-"

Veevi struts on into the room, cuts in front of Tassilda, and tosses her bags onto the middle bed. Rolling her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda shakes her head and groans quietly towards Deedri with a disgusted frown. "Nevermind. They're equally awful choices now."

Digging through a number of side pouches on her luggage, Veevi grabs a few smaller bags and toiletries and marches straight to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. That car ride was SO awful. If Chad had a clue, we wouldn't have had to make such a trip."

She slams the door closed behind her. The sounds of running water fill the background with a soft drone. Deedri sighs, hoisting up her suitcase, and motions to the bed closest to the hallway door. "You mind if I take this one?"

Tassilda shakes her head, walking over to the opposite bed, and places her travel bag on top. "Oh, not at all. As I said, it's going to be an equally annoying time for the both of us tonight."

Disruptions to the flow of water sound out with splatters and splashes from behind the bathroom door. Moments later, Veevi's voice sings out the lyrics to a popular song in stark contrast to the soothing background drone. Firmly placing her hands at her hips, Tassilda sways her weight with an unamused sneer and glances over to Deedri. "So..."

She turns towards Deedri and directs her lower tone. "Any idea what the fuck the bitch was trying to do today?"

Deedri struggles in vain suppressing a surge of anger spilling onto her fair face, draws in a sharp long breath, and eases out a calming exhale. "I... Don't know. She's just really trying to stir SOMETHING up. That's all I can guess, right now."

Deedri sits down upon the bed. Tassilda draws a sly smirk on her face, brushes a few black hairs over her spiraling horns, and walks over near Deedri. Dropping into a seat on the bed next to Deedri, she leans close with a devilishly curious smile, whispering. "So... Her antics got you pretty angry today..."

Lifting an intrigued brow, she chuckles softly. "Any particular reason why?"

A faint red tint colors Deedri's fair skin and drains briefly in the moment of surprise. Twisting her mouth into an uneasy grimace, Deedri squirms slightly, her tail wagging erratically, and fights against the swelling flush of light pink in her cheeks. "Uh- Um... No particular reason. At all."

Tipping her head back slightly, Tassilda furrows an unconvinced brow, parts an eager grin, and giggles to herself. "You sure? Nothing you'd really like to tell me before the camera crew sets the cameras in here? Or..."

She leans close and pries. "Should I guess?"

Deedri bites her lower lip, averting her auburn eyes briefly, and sighs, undoing the braids in her long, multi-colored hair. "Gods... I hope it wasn't... THAT obvious to the cameras."

Down the hallway, in another three person room, Chad, Modoran, and Trakenthin each lay on their choice of bed. The television in the room displays a random channel with no one paying attention to it. In the idle background sounds and relative quiet, the men try to relax. Minutes of silent contemplation, they each progress on their own methods of decompressing, overall remaining fairly inert. Sitting up onto his bed top, Modoran blinks in thought and swings his head towards Chad, leveling a thoughtful stare. Drawing in a long breath, he rolls his dark blue eyes at himself and breaks the vocal silence. "Okay. Chad... What the fuck is up with Veevi?"

Blinking back to awareness, Chad tilts his head on the pillow in the direction of Modoran and groans, a hint of disgust slipping out. "You mean recent... OR... Just in general?"

Modoran searches his mind, contorts his grimace, and shrugs his shoulders. "Let's start with recent."

Trakenthin glances up from his aetherphone and grumbles out. "Then general."

Rubbing his face with both hands, Chad releases a bewildered, defeated sigh, and shakes his head. "I don't know. I guess she wants attention... Or, to wreck things... Or, BOTH? She's been keeping away from everyone. Now, she's just causing trouble, just to do it, I guess."

Narrowing his stare, he turns his head back, facing the ceiling above. "OR... She's just taking out not getting her way on everyone around."

Studying Chad's dismay, Trakenthin hums thoughtfully and asks directly. "Why her?"

Chad glances over to Trakenthin and meets Trakenthin's examining stare. Seconds of visual scrutiny and mental deliberation later, Chad relents and shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. She went after me. I didn't refuse. Honestly, I just thought she was just as ambitious as me. She seemed really supportive of doing this whole thing."

Rolling his brown eyes at himself, he releases a long breath of disappointment and crosses his arms. "But... Fuck me. It's really looking like she's just out for herself."

Contorting the uneasy emotions upon his face, he shakes his head, grumbling through a wave of frustration. "And, she just sees me as a gods damned tool. But, I don't know what to do about her. I was hoping she'd get better with training and experience."

Trakenthin nods understandingly, summoning up a bit of past trauma in his mind, and sternly relays the results. "What she IS does not get better. Can not if she does not want to."

Blinking through the sudden wisdom from Trakenthin, Chad settles his head uneasily back on the pillow and releases a long uncertain sigh. "Yeah... Yeah... But... I don't know what to do. I was hoping things would stay stable until the end of the season."

Sneering his upper lip, Modoran shrugs his shoulders, holding his hands out to the sides. "Fuck it, man. Just break up with her."

Chad groans with a thought and slowly shakes his head. "Gods... I guess I should. But, then she'd probably get worse."

Narrowing his stare at Chad, Modoran rolls his eyes and snorts with a dry cackle. "What the fuck ever, Chad. She is going to be a bitch no matter what you do. At least, have a little pride in yourself."

Trakenthin thinks a moment, nodding at the idea forming in his mind, and relays. "Give her an ultimatum. Her choice. She can work with the team together with you. She can stay at the house by herself."

Chad's brown eyes spring wide open, the concept sinking into his mind, and he slowly sits up. Facing Trakenthin and Modoran, he furrows his brow at an odd revelation and gradually nods. "Yeah... We can't throw her off the team, officially. But, I don't think there's anything against not taking her along. At least, nothing I've read yet. Might be worth a try."

Modoran chuckles and eases back, laying out on the bed. "Hell, knowing those depraved assholes running this show, they'd love to film that drama. And, Veevi would get a camera crew all to herself. She would probably LOVE that."

Shaking his head, Chad snorts with a wry smirk and sighs. "Damn. I don't think you're wrong there."

Slumping his shoulders, he draws in a long breath and rubs his forehead. "After this mission, we'll have to talk about this more with everyone else. I... I got to do something. I don't want this to fail..."

With a stoic, respectful smirk to Chad, Trakenthin nods and returns his attention towards his phone, reading the latest post on Shayuri's aethersite. "Understandable. I do not either. It can work. It can work well."

Modoran begins to open his mouth, sitting up partly from his bed, and snaps his stare towards the door nearby. Squinting at the shadows under the door crack, he waves a signal towards everyone else and directs a whisper over. "Shit. Crews are here to spy on us. Save this subject for later."

A knock sound out on the door. Modoran stands up, assumes a nonchalant demeanor, and steps up, placing his hand on the door knob.

---

Mera carefully scratches out the subtle details onto the latest sketch in her notebook. Staring at the lineart of a evuukian woman from behind, she picks up a nearby colored pencil and shades in the dark green shadows of the woman's long braids. Studying the forested scene surrounding the central figure, she grabs a dark tan color and shades in the face of the woman glancing back. Sorting through the odd assortment of pencil colors, she carefully blends a mix of blue and green upon the page, filling in the turquoise pupils of the woman's eyes. Mera stares at the face. Second later, a sad longing sigh escapes her, and she gradually slides her focus over to the carefully drawn, beautifully crafted bow slung over the evuukian's shoulder.

Surrounding the table at Fval Spice, three fvalian girls of descending ages with black furry ears draw upon pieces of paper around Mera. Katelli pulls away from her drawing, gazes upon the scene Mera stares at, and flicks her furry ears curiously. "Who's that? I see you draw her a lot."

Startling back to awareness, Mera smiles awkwardly at Katelli and sighs, verbally stumbling a bit. "Oh, um... That's a friend of mine."

Katelli glances up at Mera's face, blatantly contemplates, hints obvious upon her face, and hums out. "What's her name?"

Pausing in surprise at the question, Mera searches her mind, her crimson eyes darting for an approach, and eases into a more comfortable smile. "Chel."

The reserved fvalian girl next to Katelli, sits up in the seat, and leans over, glancing at Mera's drawing. "You draw her pretty."

A faint hint of blush fills Mera ivory cheeks, and she dons an appreciative grin. "Thank you, Natashalli."

She gazes over at the rough dress doodle Natashalli starts to color in. In a moment of indecision and vague frustration, Natashalli switches over to something else. Picking up a few choice pencils from the scattered pile near her, Mera places them in front of Natashalli and smiles encouragingly. "Maybe one of these will work."

Natashalli studies the assortment, her eager smile lighting up at a purple and pink pencil, and snatches them into her painted claw tip fingers. The youngest at the table cocks her head to the side, searching her mind with her light brown eyes, and furrows her brow. "Where is she?"

Mera glances over at the youngest fvalian girl and flutters her eyes confused. "Uh, who, Jesselli?"

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Jesselli sits up on her knees upon the chair, stretches out over the table top, and places her finger on Mera's drawing. "Her."

Both Katelli and Natashalli usher Jesselli's hand off of Mera's drawing. Jesselli scrunches up her face against the other two, defiantly sitting back down. Mera motions everyone to calm down and stares distantly into her mind a moment, sighing. "I do not know."

Tilting her head to the side confused, Jesselli flicks her black furred ears and asks surprised. "But... She's your friend?"

Mera draws a long breath, grimacing with slight hints of sadness, and tries nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. "Yes. But, we are not... Speaking right now?"

Drifting her attention to the stick figure drawings on her scattered papers, Jesselli dismissively comments. "That's weird."

Natashalli eyes over to the youngest sister, sneers her upper lip briefly, and whips her tail at Jesselli's. The youngest sister narrows a mean glare back at Natashalli, attempts to swing her shorter, fluffier tail over at her sister's. A few fail tries later, she gives up, missing the mark entirely.

With a chime the door opens up, and Cideeda strolls in with Sotalia following right behind. Noyando steps out from the back and smiles happily at Cideeda and Sotalia. "Yes! Hello! So good to see you again."

Stepping up to the counter, he places a paper sack on the counter and checks through the other bags. "I think I have just about everything... Oh... One moment."

Cideeda nods understandingly, Noyando walking back into the kitchen area, and glances back at Sotalia. "So, any thoughts on taking a small mission?"

Crossing her arms, Sotalia sways her hips, holding her hand off to the side with her sunglasses, and pantomimes her deliberation. "I don't know. I don't want to take anything that'd be too long, in case we hear from Hackle. But, anything too light... The payout just isn't worth the effort, really. A whole lot of prep work and effort, for not that much."

Resting her hands on her sides, Cideeda nods in agreement, narrowing her emerald green eyes into her mind, and hums indecisively. "Yeah. I know that feeling. Still, I like the break, but I don't want to idle too long. My retirement fund doesn't grow fast when we don't get paid."

Noyando returns with a small bag, adds it to the collection on the counter, and starts typing into the system. "There. Almost forgot. Let me bring it up..."

Cideeda inserts a card into a reader on the counter. Noyando types through a series of menus. With a few final taps from Noyando and a claw tip signature on the touchscreen by Cideeda, the system chimes and prints out a receipt from a small printer. Retrieving her card, Cideeda grabs hold of a few of the bags, and Sotalia sweeps up the others. Cideeda grins happily at Noyando and bows slightly. "Thank you. It smells amazing already."

Smiling, Sotalia sniffs one of the bags and winces her watering eyes. "Gods. I think this one has yours. Wow..."

Noyando laughs in delight and bows slightly. "You're welcome. Come back soon."

Cideeda pushes the door open for Sotalia and snorts out a comment. "Well, so long as the next mission doesn't involve cyber-zombies, crazed security bots, weird giant blobs, or some secret nuke plant... I'll be fine."

Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia tosses back her fiery orange hair and laughs, clearing through the doorway. "OH. GODS. Tell me about it. We just keep finding every weird monstrosity around this place."

Cideeda releases the door and furrows an annoyed brow, groaning out with her furry ears drooping. "Oh. yeah. Let's NOT forget the whole giant dire wolf gol-"

The door seals up, cutting off the conversation from outside. Mera halts drawing and blinks, her subconscious mind pestering her. She lifts her head up. Searching around the lobby of Fval Spice, she furrows her brow against her confusion and narrows her stare upon Cideeda and Sotalia walking out to the humvee in the parking lot. Delving deeper into her mind, Meredosia's cheek twitches with growing suspicion. Jesselli lifts her up drawing in front Mera with a bright, missing tooth smile. "Look!"

Dropping back into current reality, Mera flutters her crimson eyes briefly and gazes upon the drawing, smiling encouragingly at Jesselli. "Very good. You are getting so much better."

Jesselli places the drawing down the tabletop and explains all the random things happening in it to Mera, her older sisters rolling their eyes dismissively.