Episode 10

A bundle of blankets twists and turns on the couch. A mass of golden locks slip out from under the covers, and green eyes peer out through the parting strands. From underneath the sheets, a very light skinned hand reaches out and pulls hair back, revealing a sleep-dazed, blue and yellow hinted evuukian face. Valavera rubs the drowsiness out of her eyes and groggily examines the living room. Post-noon sunlight glows through the sliding glass door into the area around the couch and warms the space. Lifting herself up to a seat upon the couch, Valavera scans the surrounding room with a fresher consciousness. She abruptly stops her head at the sight of movement and narrows her sleep hazed gaze. In the kitchen, Aristespha places a plate of breakfast food in the microwave and taps a few buttons. "Good afternoon, sleep-deprived one."

Blinking in confusion, Valavera swiftly glances at the sliding glass door and squints at the short shadows underneath patio furniture. She bites her lower lip in nervous anticipation, and her voice shakes. "I- I did not mean to sleep in... So late. I was just so tired and well... I..."

Aristespha calmly walks into the living space from the dining area, drops a mug of tea off on the coffee table in between some papers, and stands in front of Valavera. "You were busy with your thoughts for most of the night. I overheard some."

Valavera sheepishly hangs her head low and sighs remorsefully with a slight droop of her very long, yellow and blue hinted, pointed ears. Sinking into a back cushion of the couch, she averts her green eyes away from Aristespha's attention. Aristespha's stern exterior softens, she motions Valavera up. "Stand up."

Pulling herself up off the couch, Valavera stands at attention. Aristespha meets Valavera's uncertain gaze directly with a soft smile and holds her arms out to the side. Valavera winces, tears forming in her eyes, and tightly embraces Aristespha. Burying her face in Aristespha's shoulder, she sniffles between tearful sobs. "I'm so- Sorry. I just got so- Caught up in trying to make it work that-"

She pulls in a sad gasp of air and sighs out remorsefully. "I did NOT think about whether it could work..."

Peeking out just above Aristespha's shoulder, she winces along with her sniffs. "Or, even if I wanted it- To work."

Aristespha wraps her arms around Valavera and holds her close, motherly with light pats on the back. "It is okay. You have kicked yourself enough, for now. There will be many other times for that when you are older. And..."

Perking up an eyebrow, she tugs at the corner of her mouth. "You need to save some for your mother in the near future."

She brushes her fingers through Valavera's hair and flicks off a stray flower petal still hidden in the mess. "I am really happy we found you first, before anyone else had the chance, with no harm done to anyone."

Lifting her head up, Valavera takes a deep breath and releases a tear-choked shudder. "What ever did my mother tell you? She said she would work out something with you. But..."

She glances off to the side and fights against a grimace. "She did NOT say anything more to me."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she groans faintly. "Well, anything about THAT. At least. She had PLENTY more to say about many other things."

Aristespha soothingly rubs Valavera gently on the back. "We talked. We caught up. And, we hatched a plan together."

Cocking her head to the side, she draws a smirk. "Your uncle Becker will pick you up later tonight. It works out for everyone. He just got done trading in surrounding towns and wants to acquire a few things to trade along the way back. Thankfully, we happen to have a variety of items we have collected that need to be sold to someone like him."

Valavera pulls herself back from Aristespha and wipes some of the tears from her eyes, a smile emerging. "I have not seen Uncle Becker in a year! Oh, I cannot believe my mother would call upon HIM."

She glances off to the side briefly and wrestles with a humored smirk. "She must be out of options trying to hide all that has happened."

Aristespha shakes her head and sighs with a grin. "Well, despite how far he stays away from the politics, Beckerin is the best..."

She dramatically rolls her violet eyes and snorts with the hint of a laugh. "BULLSHIT artist I have ever known. If anyone can weave a tale so thick that no one is going to question where you have been for the last month or two..."

Aristespha gazes at Valavera with humored smile. "It will be him."

Wandering her eyes around the space, Valavera giggles, thoroughly amused. "Gods. After the first half hour of the story, no one will want to ask for anymore details for sure."

Tilting her head towards the dining table, Aristespha chuckles softly and pats Valavera's shoulder. "Take a seat. Let us take some time to catch up. I saved some breakfast for you."

Valavera nods and dries out the few remaining tears with her worn, forgotten pop band T-shirt. "That... Oh, that sounds really good right now."

She searches around and listens carefully with her very long, pointed ears. "Uh. Um. Where is everyone else?"

Aristespha pauses en route to the kitchen and points outside. "Outside. It is a nice day, and they are getting ready for our next mission tomorrow. They did not want to wake you with all the noise. They have held off test firing their guns. Given that, I assume they are checking armor and other gear at the moment."

Examining Valavera closely, Aristespha studies her up and down and smiles with a plotting confidence. "Speaking of which, we do need to get you some better clothing than THAT. Thankfully, I should have a few things that will fit you and should also fit with your cover story of self-discovery."

She pauses a moment in thought and slowly nods to herself. "We have got extra adventuring gear that we do not need anymore that you can have your pick of."

Valavera rushes up and excitedly hugs Aristespha. "Thank you, so much!"

Aristespha pats Valavera on the back and discreetly wipes a tear off her blue and gray hinted face. "Consider it making it up to you for being so scarce for these past few years."

Sniffling, Valavera squeezes Aristespha with a smile. "You saved me from a HUGE mistake and..."

She tilts her head to one side. "You HAVE been chasing and fighting Dark Lord Noxian."

Meeting Aristespha's gaze, she sighs. "Oh, it does not matter. You were here when I needed you, and that is all I care about."

Aristespha pulls in Valavera tight. The two hold each other close for many moments. Loosening her arms, Valavera pulls away and furrows her brow at Aristespha. "I REALLY do appreciate everything. But..."

She glances off to the side and twists her frown. "I have to ask... Um..."

Lifting an intrigued brow, Aristespha cocks her head curiously. "Yes?"

Valavera twists an uncomfortable grimace and grumbles, irritation still fresh in her tone. "Was the shower with COLD WATER really necessary?"

Tipping her head back, Aristespha narrows a cool stare at Valavera. "If I told you another one of those experiences would be awaiting you if you EVER attempted a stunt like THAT, again..."

She focus her gaze closer upon Valavera. "Would you think VERY CAREFULLY about committing such?"

Valavera thinks quietly to herself for a few seconds and slowly nods with widening eyes. "YES."

Cocking her head smugly, Aristespha presents an evil smile and chuckles with a dark tint. "THEN, it was ABSOLUTELY necessary."

---

Under the afternoon sun, Bach props his elbows up on the top of the wooden plank picnic table. Spinning his helmet around in his hands, he inspects it closely and squints his blue eyes at the different parts. With a satisfied curl at the corner of his mouth, he rests the modern military helm upon the tabletop and sits upright on the bench seat, stretching his back. Her head upon her crossed, patterned, dark gray and light tan arms, Sotalia watches Bach from the opposite side of the table. She stares and sighs out the sheer boredom building from within. Reaching her hand out, she picks at a loose sliver of wood from a board with a long, black finger nail. "So... What are you doing? That helmet looks fine to me. So..."

She tilts her head towards the open field nearby. "We should practice spells now."

Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach shrugs with his gaze resting upon the helmet. "I'm going to try my hand at enchanting it. I mean, if I'm going to do anything with anyone's equipment, I should probably test it out on my own first."

He parts an awkward hint of a grin. "That only seems fair, right?"

Sotalia furrows her brow and focuses her golden eyes on Bach with a curious quirk of her light tan, dark gray edged face. "Wait... Didn't you say that you enchanted that helmet for Sebastian?"

Bach blinks confused and searches his mind. Realization dawns upon him. "Well... I have never personally enchanted anything with my own spells. I just used a store bought kit on this helmet."

He curls the corner of his mouth with a snort and tilts his head to the side. "So, do you consider Elander's Econo Enchanting actual enchanting?"

Sotalia sneers her upper lip, lifts her head up off her arms, and stretches back on the wooden bench seat. "Oh! Oh no. Not in a million years."

She narrows her stare upon Bach and fights down a grimace. "Gods, you really used Elander's Econo Enchanting?"

Rolling his eyes, Bach briefly grits his teeth with a slight twist of the head. "Well... I mean- What else do you do when you are a broke college student? And really, all things considered, it's actually held out decently enough."

Poking the helmet, Sotalia shakes her head of shoulder length dark red hair in mild surprise. "Gods. Can't believe Elander's anything blocked the shots thrown at this-"

She places her hand firmly on the helmet and squints at the piece of armor. Searching her mind, she studies the helm closer, her fingers wandering over the exterior. "Huh. I'll be damned. That old spell is still there! It's really faint, but I can still FEEL it."

Focusing fully upon the helmet, she pokes and prods further at the armor. "Gods, how is THAT even possible? Those slow burner spells usually run out after a few years, at best."

A proud grin appears on Bach, and he puffs up with the indirect praise. "Well, you know, I used to have some serious power to throw around. I do remember dumping A LOT of energy into that kit."

He glances off to the side and awkwardly winces a cheek. "WAY MORE than they'd ever recommend... Or honor the warranty for."

Propping up her head with her hand under her chin, Sotalia cracks a sly smile and narrows an inquisitive, seeking gaze upon Bach. "Oh. Really? You had power?"

She perks her brow and focuses her stare. "How much?"

Bach glances over at the new attention from Sotalia, his eyes darting around the question. "Ah, um. Well, I mean. A lot? I used to be able to cast a few good spells. Nothing too crazy, really..."

Sotalia squints her golden eyes and maintains an expectant smile towards Bach. "Oh. So. How many cells were YOU rated at? There’s certainly no way you didn't have a measurement done in a flow chamber."

Bach grips the helmet tightly with both hands. Keeping his awkward stare upon the helm, he motions dismissively at Sotalia and laughs, a nervous tinge slipping out. "Uh, um, it's been SO LONG... I've actually forgotten the exact number. I mean, it's been over five years since I've even thought about it."

He dons a playfully dismissive facade and shrugs his shoulders. "Anyway... It really doesn't matter what my numbers were at this point. Do you remember your-"

Sotalia stares right through Bach and concentrates on his every move. "Eighty six, sixty nine. Biased towards raw throughput. First year of school."

Bach's face blanks, and he blinks in an uneasy silence, diverting his gaze down upon the helmet in front of him. Glancing at Sotalia's expectant glare bearing down on him, he awkwardly grins and gradually raises his head up, meeting her scrutinizing eyes. An ethereal voice echoes out near Sotalia. "Ha! I can't believe you forgot your score, bro! After the scene you made at High Alton University's Grading Chamber?"

An ear-to-ear grin sprouts on Sotalia's face, and she spins her head to Sebastian. "OH! Really? Do TELL me ALL about it."

Sebastian floats down onto the picnic table top and smirks deviously. "Oh, man! You see, most people just throw a bunch of spells until they can't anymore. But..."

He holds up a finger for punctuation and smirks. "We both got this whole idea of just venting magical energy out like characters from this animated show we were really into. So, Bach goes first."

Snorting and laughing, he tenses his muscular visage. "And, DAMN! He goes ALL OUT. He just blasts out energy throughout that huge chamber! I remember some of it leaking out the door seals."

Sebastian holds his hands up and shakes his head. "The graduate assistant freaks the fuck out! He nearly yanks the emergency energy siphon and purge lever."

Leaning close to Sotalia, he grins with a devilish tinge. "Gods! They were SO fucking PISSED at us."

Shrugging his shoulders, he rolls his translucent blue eyes. "But, they counted Bach's score anyway. BEGRUDGINGLY. Since they didn't want to rescore him again."

He tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Also... He did totally pass out."

An eager glint flashes in Sotalia's eyes, and she assumes her most charming posture and sweetened tone. "So, do YOU remember his score, Sebastian?"

Sebastian opens his mouth and spots Bach waving around erratically just out of Sotalia's view. Bach motions his hand cutting across his neck and mouths out the words. "Don't tell her."

Grinning with confidence, Sebastian chuckles with bravado. "Why, of course! It is..."

He drifts off mid sentence, drops his head down in thought, and scratches his chin. Attempting to say something a few more times, he places his hands to his sides in frustration. "Well, shit. I've forgotten, too. Damn. It has been awhile."

Rolling her eyes, Sotalia plops her head back onto her folded arms with a loud huff and groans out her aggravation. "I can't believe you two. Forgetting important things like THIS!"

Bach shrugs with a relieved smile and resumes work on the helmet. "I mean, it really doesn't matter. Especially NOW. I'd probably be lucky to break a thousand these days."

Furrowing his brow, he shakes his head with a sigh. "Hell, I haven't been able to get all the spells I used to be able to cast working with how I have to do magic these days."

Slowly turning her head towards Bach, Sotalia focuses an inquisitive, intrigued gaze. "Oh? Really? Which spells?"

Bach rubs his hands together and places them around the sides of his helmet. "Well, there's a number of small ones that I just haven't been focusing on. And the D-Ball spell."

Sebastian frowns slightly and crosses his arms. "Aw, man,bro. No D-Ball still?"

Magical energy flows out from Bach's arms onto the helm, and he shakes his head, keeping his eyes on the helmet. "Nope. Sorry, man. I still haven't figured out how to optimize it enough to even get past the start-up phase. I mean, I think I could do everything else. But, that initial setup is so damn complex and power hungry."

Sotalia glances between Sebastian and Bach, seeking explanation, leans back from tabletop, and raises her hands up. "OKAY. Hold up. What's the D-Ball spell you two keep talking about?"

A coating of magical energy rests upon the helmet and solidifies. Adjusting his grip, Bach rocks his head side to side, focusing upon the task. "Um, it's a ball form of the disintegration beam spell. Just something I managed to hack together in third year."

With an annoyed grumble, he slumps his shoulders and glances off to the side. "And, it was promptly BANNED from ever being used on any official tests."

Sebastian chuckles with a few snorts, shaking his head. "Ha! One of the many Warwick rules instituted because of us. Damn. That spell would have made those team assessment exams SO much easier."

Sotalia's eyes spring wide open, and her mouth hangs open in astonishment. A devious grin reemerges, and she slyly watches Bach with an intrigued charm in her voice. "So... That means you know HOW to cast the spell like you used to, correct?"

The magical energy sinks into the exterior coat of the helmet. A few faint glimmers flicker and fade, and Bach tweaks the magical energies involved with subtle twitches of his fingers. His brilliant blue stare fully upon the helm, he obliviously explains. "Yeah, of course. I used to direct cast that one often enough to-"

His words stumble over themselves to silence. Revelation yanks his attention away from the helmet, and he reflexively grimaces. Slowly lifting his gaze up, he turns and meets the eager, winning grin radiating from Sotalia. Happily standing up from the picnic table, Sotalia steps back over the bench seat. She rests her hands at her sides and tilts her hips into a smug, victorious pose. "Well... Looks like I have a spell to look forward to learning from you, in the NEAR FUTURE."

Catching Bach's gaze, she winks with a sly smile. "Don't forget it any time soon. I think you're due for another training session with me."

She pivots and strides off towards the house, an accomplished air around her. Sebastian glances away from Sotalia and to Bach. "Sorry, bro. THAT was all your doing. I couldn't spare you from that."

Bach sighs deeply and shakes his head in a mix of acceptance and defeat. "Bah. It's okay. I mean, I'd rather her be obsessed with learning a spell than knowing my old magic statistics."

He draws in a long breath and huffs out. "GODS. She's already competitive enough. I really don't need her to have the numbers to justify it."

Sebastian circles a ghostly finger over the helmet with a smile. "So... Anyway... How's the old helmet coming along?"

The remaining bits of energy visibly fade around the helmet. Bach hoists up the helmet and stands up from the table. "Well, I meshed in a mix of some of the magical materials I've been working on and figured out some kind of energy storage system with an ambient energy recharging mechanism and-"

Narrowing his blue eyes at his brother, Bach quirks his brow and groans, a grimace creeping out. "You stopped listening after magical materials, didn't you?"

Sebastian's ethereal visage stands up next to the picnic table, and he confesses, a tinge of embarrassment tinting his tone. "Well... YES. Come on. You know I try to keep up, bro. But, I studied swords, armor, and psychology. You know the very few spells I eventually figured out. Super simple ones."

Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Bach raises an eyebrow at his brother. "You know... I always wondered why you went with psychology. But, I think I understand now."

He shakes his head and sighs. "Man. The strangest things that turn out to be useful, you know?"

Sebastian draws in a long ethereal breath and nods with a firm smile at Bach. "Oh, you don't know the HALF of it. I didn't even realize how much I'd put those psychology classes to use."

He eyes the helmet and points at it. "Anyway, how are you going to test that enchantment? Going to shoot stuff at the helmet?"

Bach examines the helmet and shakes his head at Sebastian. "No. I kind of like this helmet, and I'm not THAT confident about my abilities. The firing range that Cideeda and Dretphi set up over in the yard off to the side of the house has a bunch of steel plates. Figured I could enchant those the same way I did this."

He shrugs his shoulders. "Close enough of a test, I guess?"

Sebastian rubs his chin and gives a nod of approval. "Sounds like a plan, bro. If nothing else, maybe the metal plates will last a bit longer. They always figure a way to wear them out."

---

Late afternoon sun slides down the shingles of the ranch style house's low angle roof and beams down upon the grass field on the side of the property. Glancing over his shoulder, Bach eyes the thick, chained-back steel plate hanging between metal posts and sweeps his gaze over the thick forest behind. He walks towards the house on the opposite end of the field and stands next to Cideeda and Sebastian. "Well, I got the same type of enchantment on the helmet put on that first metal plate. So..."

With a shrug, he adjusts his safety glasses and swings his hands towards the target in the distance. "Um. Fire away. I guess?"

Cideeda squints down the improvised firing range through her shooting glasses and flicks free the locks on her hip holsters. Drawing a laser pistol out, she clicks the power switch, disengages the safety, and levels her aim. The sights line up on the steel target, and Cideeda narrows her stare against the glint of sun off the faint magical shimmer. She slips a finger in front of the trigger. With a slow squeeze, the trigger clicks. A blue beam splashes upon the surface of the metal plate. Light diffuses off a translucent golden barrier coating the surface of the metal plate. The laser pistol cuts the pulse off. Seconds pass, and the barrier fades back to obscurity, the faint traces of impact dimming away. Cideeda nods intrigued, perking up her furry ears, and glances at Bach out of the corner of her eye. "Not bad. Not bad at all. I held that to the max high-power pulse time."

A sense of pride wells up in Bach, and he straightens his posture, a confident smile forming. "Well. It's just an initial draft and all. But, it is similar to the barriers I put up when we encountered the cyber-"

A wicked grin flashes upon Cideeda's light brown face, and she quickdraws the other laser pistol from the holster. "Let's see if it can handle TWO beams!"

Both triggers engage. Two rays of blue erupt from the ends of the energy weaponry. Both accurately contact the barrier and splash their power upon target. Smaller threads of enchanted light reflect off the barrier, growing more opaque. Both laser pistols discharge the last bits of energy and shut off their emitters. Bach's eyes slowly guide the rest of his head, and he watches Cideeda's dark glee manifest. Lifting both her eyebrows at Bach, Cideeda shines a delighted, toothy grin. "I approve. So far, that is."

Blinking at the recovering enchanted metal plate, Bach cocks his head to the side and focuses his stare upon the target. "Well... That's good. Huh..."

Cideeda furrows a curious brow and glances up at Bach. "What are you looking at?"

Bach squints towards the distant target and twists his mouth with his thoughts. "What kind wavelengths are your laser pistols firing?"

With a flick of her long, fluffy orange-tinted tail, Cideeda perks up with a hint of excitement, powering down and holstering one pistol, and points towards the other. "Oh! Yeah, don't let the blue indicator beam fool you. Both my pistols have crystals that are tuned to oscillate within far infrared ranges."

Bach slowly nods at Cideeda, glancing between the thoughts in his head. "OKAY. THAT makes sense. I wondering why it was reacting the way it was."

He motions towards the pistol in Cideeda's hand. "Any specific reason for that spectrum?"

Cideeda powers down the remaining pistol, safely holsters it, and grins into her explanation, resting her hands on her hips. "Yep! I've programmed the oscillator for these crystals to hit ranges that efficiently burn through polymer, clothing, and organic materials. From experience, the things I'm going to shoot my lasers at are usually wearing something like those. OR, it IS something like those. AND..."

She briefly squints her emerald green eyes and grits her teeth. "I like to NOT cook my retinas so easily, along with everyone else's."

Sebastian slowly nods wide-eyed and curls a smirk. "YEAH. We all really do appreciate THAT."

He gazes over at Bach and fights down a uncomfortable grimace. "I've heard enough stories and SEEN some pictures, bro. Scatter exposure is SCARY."

Bach blinks a few times and turns his imploring attention back down at Cideeda. With a reassuring, sharp smile, Cideeda holds up a clawed finger. "THAT is why the crystals I use project a scatter containment field that envelops the beams to the target."

She flicks up another finger. "The blue indicator beam is tuned to a power that is within safety limits and encourages you to look away from any possible scatter."

With a final count of a digit, she sighs out some personal relief. "Also, the penetration of these Far IR wavelengths is limited with skin, eyes, and anything with water in or on it."

Bach nods appreciatively and chuckles lightly. "Still probably shouldn't stare at it."

Cideeda parts a sly smirk and narrows her humored gaze up, a breeze tossing her short locks of black, gray, orange, brown, and white. "I wouldn't recommend it."

She pauses a moment, glances around the area, and squints at a specific bedroom window and a large figure moving within. "I wonder what Dretphi is bringing out."

Sebastian's ethereal visage hovers behind the two, and he glances around the corner of the house. Biting his lip in a wary anticipation, he furrows an uncertain glance back. "Huh. Well. She seemed really happy when you told her to hit it hard. I wonder what she's..."

Trailing off mid sentence, his eyes stare off into the distance, an epiphany shoving other thoughts out of the way. He blinks and turns his head towards Cideeda. "She just got that scope sighted on her rifle, didn't she?"

Cideeda winks at Sebastian with a smug, foreboding smile. "YES. We might as well throw a real test at it."

Catching the exchange between the two, Bach furrows his brow, his confidence withering. "Oh. OH-"

A loud, heavy mechanical clack echoes into the area, the large rifle bolt disengaging. Dretphi strides around the corner of the house's brick wall with a hint of a skip in each step. Hoisting the anti-material rifle up, she keeps the muzzle pointed into the air with one arm. She reaches into a satchel hanging at her side, removes her hand, and playfully twirls a large rifle round in her fingers. Bach gawks at the long, solid barrel of the rifle. Glances between the heavy metal and sturdy construction factor into the physics calculations eroding the confidence upon Bach's face and in his posture. Dretphi stops in front of Bach and gazes down at him with a slight smile. "Doubting your abilities?"

Bach nods slowly, honestly slipping out. "Yes. Oh, yes. Ah, um... Especially, with THAT much firepower."

Dretphi surveys the first metal plate in the distance and glances back at Bach, an eager glint in her steely gray eyes. "A little doubt is healthy. So..."

She curls a smirk. "We test."

Bach crosses his arms and contorts his grimace to side with a grumble. "Yes. I know. I was hoping to enjoy a few smaller tests before..."

He waves an arm out towards the target in the distance. "Absolutely shattering the thing into a million pieces."

Dretphi walks over to a mat next to a stack of sandbags on the ground. Kneeling down, she places the rifle on the ground and slips the satchel off. She sets the rifle up for firing, settles down prone behind it, and readies herself. Turning her head, she looks over her shoulder at Bach and smiles warmly. "With what I have seen, I am not assuming the outcome. You should not either."

Bach meets Dretphi's glance. Puzzling a moment, he parts a reserved smirk and relaxes his arms to his sides. "Well, okay. It could... Possibly... Withstand THAT."

He slides his gaze off to the side. "I ain't putting my money on it though."

Perking her furry ears, Cideeda furrows her brow and gets Sebastian's attention. "Sebastian? Could you warn everyone inside real quick? This might be a little loud."

Sebastian flits his eyes wide and flies off towards the wall of the house. "Good call, be right back."

A minute passes with the bright sun beaming down on the region and a gentle wind blowing through the fresh green forest. Sebastian phases through the brick wall of the house and gives everyone a thumbs up. "They've been warned."

Dretphi returns her focus towards the target. Squinting through the optics, she dials in a distance on the scope, and lines the crosshairs up on the first metal plate. She picks up the rifle round, loads it into the chamber, and carefully locks the bolt. She puts on a pair of shooting glasses and pushes in a set of ear plugs from the satchel. Holding her hand out from the grip, she calls out. "Cover your ears!"

Cideeda presses her palms against the sides of her head and seals up her large fuzzy ears at their bases. Bach plugs a finger in each ear and eyes his brother. With his arms crossed, Sebastian hovers and catches Bach's glance. He raises an indifferent eyebrow and motions his hands over his ethereal form. Bach drops his head momentarily in a bit of embarrassment and smiles awkwardly apologetic to his brother. Sebastian puts his hands up in the air and nonchalantly shrugs. "It's cool, bro."

Dretphi wraps her fingers around the grip of the rifle, rests a finger on the trigger guard, and checks her shot. Sliding her finger on the trigger, she gently squeezes. A loud boom ripples throughout the area, vibrating any surface it washes over. A bright yellow flash shines out. A crash rings out. Glimmering speckles of bullet fragments and magical sparks scatter away from the target and into the dirt below it. Silence floods into the acoustic void. Trickles of background noise filter in and lead a swell of normal environment noise over the moments. Dretphi pulls the bolt open and locks it back. Bach removes his fingers from his ears with a shudder and notices Sebastian staring at the target. Floating in place, Sebastian crosses his arm and holds his chin intrigued. "That was strange, bro. I think I heard..."

He tilts his head to the side. "Crackling? Yeah. Almost like glass or something starting to break."

Uncovering her ears, Cideeda squints at the metal plate, unsure. "The plate is still there. But, the magical barrier is really easy to see. It looks cracked?"

Dretphi engages the safety and positions the barrel of the rifle pointing up and away from the first metal plate. Pushing herself off the ground, she stands up confused. "Need to get a close look."

Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi walk, Sebastian hovering, down the field towards the metal target. Intrigue grows the closer they gather around the enchanted metal plate. The golden, magical barrier glimmers almost fully opaque. A meshing web of cracks spider out from the center impact point. Width and density of the cracks wane further out in the translucent field. Despite the fractures within, the barrier's surface shines smooth. Underneath the protective coating, the metal plate remains untouched.

Dropping down to a knee, Bach lifts up the bottom edge of the hanging metal plate, unhooks the chains, and angles the plate forward for a better view. "Holy. Shit. I think it actually held. Gods, looks like hell, though."

Cideeda squats to the side of the target with an eager wag of her long, fluffy tail and peeks behind the plate. "Nice! No signs of denting on the backside. It sure shook the plate around, but it seems just fine to me."

She leans closer. "That's SO cool."

Sitting down on the grass, she examines the golden field on the front of the plate. Her emerald green eyes widen, and she points a claw tip to a disappearing fault lines within the barrier. "Is it- Repairing itself?"

Bach studies the spot and rocks his head side to side. "Well. Sort of? Technically, it didn't break enough to need big repairs. It more or less got stretched out in places. But, I did put in bits to recharge the barrier and maintain the internal alignment using any ambient energy. So, it must be using all the sunlight to recharge and realign itself. This is probably the very limit of what it can handle."

The seconds pass, and cracks shrink slowly. The lines fully retreat back to the impact point and clear away from the edge of the barrier. The fissures close, the magical material solidifies, and the golden field fades into transparency. Dretphi kneels down and spots a few bullet fragments in the grass underneath the target. She pinches onto the largest and lifts it up to her closer inspection. Examining it carefully, an excited hint sneaks into her smile. Bach notices a strong hand grasp his shoulder and follows it back to the source. Dretphi cracks a slight grin. "When can this be put on my armor plates?"

---

Uneasily eyeing the team at the dining table, Valavera timidly approaches the gathering. From the huge collection of large takeout cartons and aluminum trays in the middle part of the tabletop, the team scoops and plucks out servings of different vegetable and meat dishes. Valavera stands nearby and nervously brushes off her nicer outfit of old clothes and leftover adventuring gear. She reluctantly hems and visibly tenses at the scrutiny of everyone's full focus upon her. "Um. Yes. Uh. Before I leave with my uncle, I just wanted to properly apologize to everyone. I made a HUGE mistake, and I am forever thankful you stopped me before I did anything REALLY stupid. And..."

Swallowing hard, she fights against averting her gaze away from the team, struggling with a surge of embarrassment. "I am very sorry I called you such terrible terms and attacked you."

She holds her hands together low in front of her, bows forward gracefully, and remains in silence. Aristespha smiles gently at Valavera and signals Sebastian in the seat next to her with her violet eyes. "That is a very nice gesture. Thank you. Now, sit down and eat. I am certainly not sending you out hungry."

Sebastian floats up next to his seat and bows towards Valavera with a gentleman's grace. Sebastian pulls his ethereal hand through the back of the chair and grimaces at the reminder. Dretphi reaches next to her and slides the chosen seat back. Under Sebastian's direction, Valavera takes the spot at the table in between Aristespha and Dretphi. Gawking at Sebastian, Valavera blinks herself out of a trance and glances around the busy and full dining table. Aristespha places down a translucent, dark green plate of stabilized magical energy in front of Valavera. The strange plate immediately seizes Valavera's interest, and she carefully prods it. Gently patting Valavera on the shoulder, Aristespha whispers. "We ran low on regular dishes, since we had not a chance or thought to run a load in the dishwasher today. I will explain the substitutions later."

Cideeda catches Valavera's wandering glance and chuckles with a toothy grin. "Ah, don't worry about the names. I've been called FAR WORSE with a lot worse intent. These days, Beast doesn't even register with me anymore."

She shakes her head with a snort. "It's kind of amateurish when it comes to insults."

Sotalia leans over the table, hunts down her target with a searching plastic fork, and stabs a large fried egg roll. Returning to her seat, she cracks a smile at Valavera and rolls her golden eyes. "Don't worry, girl. We've all made mistakes. Big ones."

Taking a big bite out of the egg roll, she roughly points the fork, with the half eaten egg roll, at Valavera, and flits her brow with a wry smirk. "You try ending a contract with a group in a town full of backwater emin purists as a second generation half-emin. Gods..."

She draws in a long breath and huffs out into a lingering sigh. "I had HEARD stories of how bad some towns were. BUT, I thought they were just exaggerating the more extreme stories."

With a spark of memory upon his face, Sebastian's eyes open up, and he laughs. "Yeah... THAT was such a fucked up place. I still remember going through the door of that dive bar. Everyone was mean mugging me, except you. The one half-emin woman in the place, sitting alone at the worst table, with a dirty glass of water, and literally pointing me to the chair in front of her."

Sotalia shakes her head of dark red hair, holds her free hand up, and bites her lower lip. "OH. GODS. This will sound terrible. But, I was just happy to see someone other than an emin. I'm sitting there thinking, thank the gods, no horns, I might be able to talk to him. I REALLY didn't want to be alone around there."

Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda sits back in her chair, holds her chin, and wags her long, fluffy tail. "OH... THAT town that wouldn't take your money?"

Emphatically nodding at Cideeda, Sotalia gazes at Valavera, swaying the forked egg roll with each punctuation. "YES! If someone warns you about the town a contract ends in..."

She tips her head slightly down and forward and stares at Valavera. "TAKE. THEIR. ADVICE. I didn't and nearly got into some really bad trouble."

Waving her free hand off to the side, she settles back down into her chair at the dining table. "Here I was in this little shit hole of a town. Paid in cash from a successful escort mission as an independent contractor. And..."

Sotalia bites into the remaining bit of egg roll on her fork. "I couldn't spend ANY of it!"

Pausing in between spoonfuls fried rice into her mouth, Valavera blinks confused and draws her head back in shock. "Wait? They would not take your money, at all?"

Sotalia shakes her head wide-eyed and takes a deep breath in. "NO. These were racists. Principled racists. Not even self-centered greed was moving them. So, the biggest storm to hit the area was a few hours out. Nightfall in an hour. All transportation out of the place had already cleared out or was closed for the night."

She picks up a glass of iced tea off the table and swirls it around slowly. "And, I had only managed to find a single dive bar to sit at with a dirty glass of water."

Furrowing her brow, Sotalia rolls her eyes and snorts derisively. "Which I'm sure they spat in. Anyway, they were closing early because of the storm."

Sebastian ethereally exhales in disbelief and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah... I had gotten a pretty shit welcome to that place, too. They'd at least take my money, even if they were totally gouging me. Long story short, I managed to get a room at this awful motel, sneaked her in during the start of the storm, and we basically laid low until the start of my next contract."

Sotalia groans softly, uneasily flexes her long nailed fingers, and levels her head solemnly at Valavera. "Every time I think about those few days, I still get chills. I KNOW there were people looking for me. Gods, I was SO lucky."

Smirking at Sebastian, she shakes her head, a stray lock slipping off a swept-back horn. "Turns out Sebastian's contract was the next part after my contract. After I explained everything to the guys in charge of the convoy, they were completely fine with me tagging along."

Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and sneers with a lift of the brow. "Turns out that the rest of the groups on those contracts didn't have the best time with that town either. They all wanted to leave for the next one with as much help as they could get, since a few were worried about getting jumped on the road ahead."

Valavera loses herself in thought and squirms a bit in her seat with the flits of empathy fidgeting out. "I just do not know what to think about all that. That is so... Wow..."

Finishing the remaining sliver of egg roll off the fork, Sotalia holds her hands up and shrugs with a smile. "It was a... LEARNING EXPERIENCE. You'll have plenty more of those, girl, in the future. Just hope the next one doesn't try to teach you that much that quickly."

Taking a break from his meal, Bach furrows his brow with a growing thought and faces Sotalia curiously. "Wait. So, you were the first one to team up with my brother?"

Sotalia balances the plastic fork in her hand and twists her mouth with a nod. "Yes. I was. Gods, we were SO limited with the jobs we could take. Scraping the bottom of the barrel for all of those we could do."

Sebastian catches Bach's attention and motions a hand towards Dretphi. "Yeah, that was some rough times, bro. BUT, a few months later Dretphi joined up."

Dretphi smiles and idly stirs some steaming noodles on her plate. "Was in a bad situation. Offered me a chance to move on from a..."

She wrangles a frown into a neutral stance. "Questionable team."

With a nod, she perks back up. "No regrets."

Pointing towards Cideeda, Sebastian turns a grimace into a smile. "And, after an AWFUL run of contracted technical specialists, Cideeda got on board."

Cideeda shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair and snorts with a hint of a snicker. "I STILL can't BELIEVE what was passing for technical specialists on the contractor lists they were looking on. I'm still amazed they weren't killed by those moronic fly-by-night contractors."

Twirling chopsticks deftly in her hand, she flutters her eyes in disbelief and winces into a disgusted frown. "Get this. They actually had one tech specialist that said they could run faster than the turrets could track."

Sebastian blinks distantly at the memory rushing to the front of his mind. "He literally said that after the turret nearly blasted him to bits."

Rubbing the temple of her head under her swept-back black horn, Sotalia strains out a snicker. "I will never forget when the wind picked up and blew his cape to the side. You could SEE light through the bullet holes."

Putting her can of soda down, Cideeda simply shakes her head in disbelief. "How do they live for so long? I have yet to figure that out."

Sebastian smiles lovingly at Aristespha and adopts a more proper tone. "Then, the wonderful Lady Aristespha graced us a few months after all that."

Stirring a large spoon in a bowl of soup, Aristespha tries to hide a humored smile on her ivory face. "Well, I place most of the blame on the sword for leading me to you. I still debate if following its guidance was the best of ideas some days."

Sebastian hovers next to Valavera and lowers his head near hers with a playfully wry grin, eying Bach. "All was well with our group, then misfortune happened a month ago. Hence, I am now a bit more transparent than previously."

He gives his brother a wink. "So, two weeks ago, we picked up this scrub."

Valavera stifles a snicker with her hand, watching the exchange. Bach narrows his eyes at his brother and lifts up a lone eyebrow. "Scrub, eh? Well, I think the actual word you are looking for is abductee, ghost man."

Sebastian straightens his hovering form and crosses his arms with a proud grin. "Well, those are some strong words from THE INTERN."

Valavera leans close to Aristespha and lowers her confused voice. "Is... Is he really an intern?"

Quelling an amused smile, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and sighs softly. "Technicalities. A long story. And, this is why you should make sure to finish your schooling."

Over long seconds, Bach and Sebastian stare at each other. Simultaneously cracking their stern facades, both break down into laughter. With a humored smirk on his face, Bach shakes his head and resumes eating. "I really don't know how you all have dealt with this asshole for this long. I grew up with him, and I had to take breaks."

Dretphi calmly responds in between bites, a hint of a grin sneaking at the corner of her mouth. "The paycheck helps."

A collection of snorts, chuckles, and snickers fill the air around the table. Sebastian gradually turns his head towards Dretphi with a warped smirk. "Ow. Good shot. Here I thought Cideeda was the only one with claws around here."

---

The turbo whine fades, and a large cargo truck passes over the crest of the slight rise, rolling down the two lane rural highway. Closing in on the mouth of the gravel drive leading to ranch style house, pressured air hisses out. The six large wheels slow to a stop a few meters short of the mailbox. The last of the momentum bounces through the huge hauler, and the back cargo pod rocks slightly upon the independent suspension system. Loud mechanical clunks sound out, the huge transmission disengaging. A motorized grind reverberates, and the parking brakes clamp down on the wheels. The engine sputters to a stop, and the massive machine settles into silence. The driver's side door opens up, and a round figure steps down the short ladder beneath the doorway. With the last leap onto the roadway, the man's worn trench coat of scattered patchwork flutters. The pot-bellied evuukian struts off the highway and down the side of the gravel driveway. Reaching the doorway up the few concrete stairs, he moves his head, following along the door frame, and finds the doorbell. He gives it a firm poke, and seconds pass. The front door unlocks and opens, revealing a smiling Aristespha. "Well, if it is not the famed Former Regent Beckeri-"

The lightly toned evuukian quickly holds up his hands, motions them downwards, and respectfully shushes. "No titles here. But..."

He parts a humored smirk and softly chuckles. "I do appreciate that you still know them..."

Bowing slightly, he grins brightly. "Young Lady Aristespha."

Aristespha pulls a firm smile on her ivory face and sighs. "Okay, Becker. Come on in."

Walking alongside Aristespha, he laughs heartily and scratches his clipped ear around a yellow patch. "Strange times we live in. BUT, if I get to see you and my niece, they are good times to me. I hope the little one has not been too much to handle."

He leans a little closer and lowers his voice. "Some habits, she really should NOT take from her mother's wilder days."

Becker clears the archway into the living room from the main entry hall. Valavera gleefully bolts from her chair at the table and throws her arms around. "Uncle Becker!"

Hugging back, Becker warmly whispers numerous things in a dialect of Evuukian with a happy tone. Gently pushing Valavera back, Becker studies her up and down, studying her clothing. "You are dressed for the occasion! Very good! I am glad you took care of the clothes. Because..."

He pats his belly and shakes his head with a good humored sigh. "Your Uncle Becker has nothing of his that will fit you."

Glancing over at Aristespha, he holds up a finger and cocks his head with a tight smile. "And it saves me the trouble of coming up with another possible explanation. I swear I saw one of the Versachatten spawn as a manager at the local gas station."

Aristespha crosses her arms and hoists up an incredulous eyebrow, shaking her head dismissively humored. "House Versachatten is VERY numerous, but they are not EVERYWHERE."

Valavera glances between Aristespha and Becker, holding back a laugh. Becker rest hands on his wide sides and huffs in reserved resignation, shaking his head of short golden hair. "It is not my fault they do not have the damned common courtesy to name their smaller brands to a consistent and decipherable standard. I never know if I am stopping at one of their stations or not."

He points at Aristespha with an eager smile. "Now, House Hyathilternen. Great, subtle naming scheme, and lovely resorts and hotels. Always try to stay in one of their establishment when I can."

Perking up at the lull in conversation, Valavera smiles at Becker. "I have got everything packed in that bag near the door. I do not have much at the moment. Should I put it in your truck?"

Becker scratches his short golden hair and brushes back the stray locks over one very long, pointed ear and tries to do so over the other's missing the upper half. "Not quite, yet."

He pans his searching gaze over Sebastian, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "It is wonderful to meet all of you. As I am sure you heard, I am Becker. And, I want to talk to all of you. BUT..."

Holding up a finger, he narrows his wandering stare around the gathering. "I have been informed that I may be able to acquire a few more things to trade along the way home. If you would please, allow me to handle this little bit of business first."

Cideeda steps forward confidently, stands in front of Becker with her emerald eyes studying him, and extends her hand to shake. "So... I've heard you are a famed broker of unique and interesting items."

Furrowing an intrigued brow, Becker shakes Cideeda's hand firmly and draws a sly smile towards the corner of his mouth. "I do not know about famed... But, I often engage in such... Activities."

Focusing on Becker's face, Cideeda perks her eyebrow and armors up the inquisitive stare on her light brown face. "What do you define as unique and interesting?"

Grinning with mercantile bravado, Becker reaches inside his trench coat, retrieves curious artifacts, and displays them upon the nearby dining table. "Why, I just got back from an interesting adventure to Perimeter and the surrounding Borderlands. There, I met a strange character who claims to have lived near the heart of the Perimeter Weird Zone for untold years! He had an amazing collection of strange and wondrous artifacts..."

He darts his eyes around with faux paranoia. "Many that should NEVER be so far from the zone. But..."

Waving one hand along the building lineup of curios, he sharpens his salesman's smile and glances around at the rest of the team. "HERE before YOU is just a small sample of what I have."

Sotalia watches Becker place a few more small artifacts upon the table and subconsciously drifts closer for investigation, her pupils dilating. Sebastian pivots in place slightly and watches Sotalia's gradual approach uneasily, Bach and Dretphi confirming with wary nods. Becker proudly grins and effortlessly reads Sotalia's extreme interest. Returning his gaze to Cideeda, he adopts a copy of her hardened, stoic stare. "But... I do have other definitions, too."

He tilts his head to the side, a trace of curiosity in his tone. "What do YOU define as unique and interesting?"

Stepping to the side, Cideeda slides her clawed fingers into a backpack on a dining chair next to her and slowly draws out a drained cybernetic soldier power cell. She firmly, soundly places it down on the wooden tabletop next to Becker's trinkets. She maintains eye contact with Becker and searches for his reaction. Becker remains silent. With the neutral gaze on his face showing no wavering, he grants one slight nod. "Let us conduct some business."

Resting a free hand on her shorts waistband, Cideeda straightens her posture, gazes up at Becker, and calmly states. "Five thousand."

Lifting his eyebrow, Becker counters. "Two thousand.

Cideeda faintly narrows her examining stare, her furry ears and long, fluffy tail holding neutral positions. "Forty five hundred. It is quite a piece of historical technology."

Becker squints his gaze upon the power cell, a dismissive hint coloring his voice. "Two thousand, five hundred. Just because it is old, does NOT mean it is valuable. It is drained and used, too."

Cideeda slowly spins the cybernetic power cell between her claw tips upon the finished wood table and darts a piercing emerald stare at Becker. "Fair... To a degree. Four thousand. These are very hard to find. Intact."

She flicks a claw-tipped finger into a point at Becker. "No official documentation of its existence. Saves you all kinds of costly paperwork."

Becker narrows his calculating gaze and crosses his arms stoically. "Very hard to sell, regardless. Lack of documentation works for AND AGAINST the price point."

He pauses a moment, strokes his chin, and rocks his head side to side. "Two thousand, seven hundred, and fifty. Friends of family discount of my margin."

Tipping her head back, Cideeda parts a small smirk and rests her hands upon her hips, straightening her green t-shirt. "Yes. A very generous ten percent off the hundred percent you plan on making when you offload it to some clueless rich kid..."

She leans forward and stares up at Becker, widening her suspecting smile. "Or maybe that one client that's a little too into collecting old military tech?"

Off the side with the rest of the party, Dretphi slowly nods and glances at Bach and Sebastian. "Known a few of those."

Becker playfully scoffs, donning a smile. "Just one client? I have a few. They are notoriously picky though. Not just any bit of old military tech will sate them these days."

Attention from Aristespha, Valavera, Sebastian, Bach, and Dretphi switches back over to Cideeda. Hoisting up an intrigued eyebrow, Cideeda grants a single nod towards Becker. "I'm sure you've supplied them well. And if they're such collectors, I can point you to the exact episode of The Next Heroes of Nexus that showcases where and what this cell came out of."

She waves a hand around at the party nearby and rests her fingers upon her chest. "And, it will also show all who can verify its validity. UNOFFICIALLY, of course."

Becker curls a respectful smirk. "Of course."

Cideeda places her hand upon the power cell on the tabletop. "Three thousand, seven hundred, and fifty."

A close, a tense silence looms over the gathering, and the negotiatory pressure weights down upon Becker and Cideeda. Bach and Sebastian exchange glances and wait quietly. Valavera bounces her expectant attention between the two bartering combatants. Aristespha smiles humored at the fiscal sparring. Dretphi debates through a series of grimaces, watching Sotalia's reverie over the line of small, questionable weird zone artifacts. Furrowing his brow, Becker takes a deep, exaggerated, thoughtful breath in. "I do have buyers. But, I would have far more eager buyers if..."

He motions a hand towards the energy vessel. "You had a fully charged cell to go with it? I am dealing with collectors and all. They do like sets."

An evil grin cracks from the corner of Cideeda's mouth. She reaches into the backpack, procures a brightly lit, charged power cell and gently sets it up next to the first power cell. Becker nods blankly. "Six thousand. For the pair."

Cideeda sports a sly smirk and narrows her stare at Becker. "So, we splitting the difference between a charged and empty cell?"

Becker nods agreeably. "You could say that."

Straightening her posture, Cideeda cocks her head. "So for the sake of argument, we'll price the empty the one your initial offer of two thousand. Which means, your initial offer for the charged cell is four thousand."

Furrowing his brow, Becker focuses his intrigue upon Cideeda. "That is an... Interpretation. What are you working towards? There is something more you have going on. Explain it to me."

Aristespha leans close to Valavera with a sly smile. "He certainly has not lost his love of the haggle."

With her green eyes affixed to the exchange, Valavera shakes her head. "I guess not."

Stretching her back a little, Cideeda confidently straightens her stance and rests her hands on her hips. "You were willing to go up seven fifty from your initial on an empty cell. So, surely a thousand from initial for a fully charged cell is not much of a leap for you."

Becker crosses his arms and narrows his stare down at Cideeda. "Let us not be too presumptuous now. Four thousand is your assumption of my opening offer for the charged cell. Still, I might be willing to sweeten the price point for strictly the charged cell."

Cideeda holds up a clawed finger and nods with a toothy grin widening. "I understand that. And, I would be willing to adjust my assumptions if you would be interested in a..."

With an entrepreneurial spark in her emerald green eyes, she narrows her stare up Becker. "Bulk discount."

Becker pauses in thought, tilts his head to the side, and scrutinizes the short fvalian woman in front of him. He parts an eager smile. "How many?"

Cideeda reaches into the nearby backpack, plucks out another five fully charged power cells, and lines them up similar to the row of artifacts on the same dining table. She waits a few seconds, studying Becker. Rummaging around in the pack again, she retrieves another five empty energy pack and places them on the tabletop. "Two thousand seven hundred fifty for each empty. Four thousand seven hundred fifty for each charged."

Glancing around the top of his head, Becker darts his attention between different figures. Second pass, and he returns his attention fully upon Cideeda and levels a calm, calculating gaze upon her. "Since we are making assumptions, I would like to assume your bulk discounting can handle two thousand five hundred for the empties and four thousand five hundred for the charged. That would be a total of forty two thousand."

Valavera's jaw drops, and she stares in disbelief. Bach blinks his astonishment, mouthing out the amount quietly, and bounces searching a gaze between Aristespha, Sebastian, and Dretphi. Aristespha grants an acknowledging nod, and Dretphi gives an agreeable smirk. Sebastian floats closer to Bach and whispers to him. "Yup. Loot is one of the, uh, benefits of this career."

Becker confidently puffs his chest out. "For what you are selling and the number you have to sell, you have to admit that is one of the fairer prices you will get anywhere, anytime soon."

Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda nods her head and aims her face down, resting her lips on her fist in thought. Becker holds his hand out to shake Cideeda's. "I think we have a wonderful deal here."

Wagging her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda lifts her head up and drives a toothy grin right through Becker. Pausing intrigued, Becker cocks his head and furrows his brow. Holding a finger up to Becker, Cideeda rest straightens her shirt and side steps. "I might be convinced to accept those prices. But, I'm curious how eager your clients would be to pay a premium for something that USES those power cells."

Reaching her foot back underneath the table, her toe claws find purchase on top of a rectangular case, and she gracefully slides it in front of Becker. Crossing her arms, she taps it with her claw tips and motions with a hand for him to open it. Becker strains his heavy frame down on one knee, releases the case locks, and lifts the lid. The cyber commando plasma rifle finish shimmers faintly in the dining room lamp light. Leaning forward with a sharp smile and sparkle in her eyes, Cideeda firmly and confidently quotes. "THAT. That will be seventy five thousand. FIRM. It works, too."

Becker examines the rifle in silence. Grumbling to himself, his eyes dart between calculations in his head, and he mumbles margin percentages and numbers. Bach blinks in a stupor, his jaw hanging open, and shudders back to awareness, turning to Sebastian with a quiet tone. "Man... That's more than I've ever made in the last five or more years COMBINED..."

Debating seconds pass on by, and Becker releases a long groan. Cideeda chuckles triumphantly and shakes her head, checking her finger claws. "Oh, don't act all so pained. I know you have to pass near The Grand Library, and the end of the budget year is just around the corner. I'm certain plenty of professors with research budgets would like to buy the set."

Hoisting his heavy self up, Becker laughs happily and points to the rifle. "Oh, it is not pain... But the longing for a future session in which I get to surprise YOU with something as wonderful! I WILL see my money again from you."

Both Cideeda and Becker vigorously shake hands with satisfaction throughout. Sotalia pulls attention away from Cideeda and Becker and resumes her ogling of the artifact trinkets on the table. Patting unconsciously her yoga pants pocket for her wallet, she leaves swiftly for her room. Becker bows slightly to Cideeda and relaxes to his normal posture. "Now that business is over... Hopefully, I do not have to fight you for this, but..."

He points over to the golden, stabilized magical energy deck chair next to the living area couch. "Where did you get THAT chair?!"

Bach halts in place and gradually pivots around, spotting Cideeda staring at him with a toothy grin and a clawed finger beckoning him over.