Vanishing Embers

"You really wanted this? Eight adventurers is normal, but I doubt your team needs the extra help."

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Aisha sucked on her tongue as a look of intense concentration flickered across her face. Her gaze remained unmovingly forward, although her hands betrayed her annoyed, apprehensive feelings.

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"...Yes." She answered slowly.

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"...Okay."

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Shien blinked as he turned back to his party, a significantly more balanced group of individuals than Aisha's rag-tag group of pretty women. She frowned as she observed them - two of his party members, a tall, feminine looking… person, and another… person.

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Aisha grimaced - what was up with this place and their androgynous-looking humans?

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No, looking closer, the two were definitely men - Aisha heard a 'bro' slip out of the shorter one's mouth, and looking closer at the taller one… 

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Well, he was tall, so…

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Pleased with herself, she continued to walk along, content with ignoring the majority of Shien's party. She felt bad for the girl - left without a conversation partner, but, well, Aisha had three of her own to attend to, and she was starting to get her hands full.

.

Speaking of, though,

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"Are you okay?" Aisha asked softly, tugging Kaya a bit closer to herself, seeing the girl's pale expression.

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"I think I ate something bad at that club." Kaya mumbled shakily.

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"Liberta looks fine." Aisha observed. "...Maybe it's a difference in race."

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Kaya took a shuddering breath as she nodded, holding Aisha as close as she could while still holding their walking pace.

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"What do you think of Shien's party?" Aisha asked idly. "They look… a little weak."

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Aisha swept her eyes over the group again, eyes focusing on the little dog tags each wore on their neck - most were still sapphires, in fact, the only emerald was the short boy…

.

"You might just be biased." Liberta chimed in. "Isn't Shien a high fey? That means he's kind of strong, right?"

.

"I'm suprised you remember." The muscled fey muttered spitefully.

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"You think you could beat him?" Rennala asked curiously. "You're from the same clan, right? You probably have before!"

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Shien snorted. "No, not Aisha. I have no idea what kind of heretic rituals she has partaken in, but when she was still in the clan, she could barely even-"

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"I could easily beat Shien now." Aisha interrupted smugly, her lips curling into a smirk.

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"Ooooohhh!" Liberta goaded.

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"He believes me, too! He's gullible like that."

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Shien just crossed his arms and frowned harshly at Aisha, his eyes casting a disappointed glare at the shorter fey.

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"It's not virtuous to take advantage of people's trust in you. Wipe that smirk off your face."

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And indeed, Aisha's smirk did disappear, replaced by a hateful snarl, her face twitching as she tried to hide the emotion.

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"Aw, don't be like that, haha!"

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At the soft voice, Aisha turned, expecting to see the only woman she didn't recognize out of the group of eight, but was confused to see instead the tall adventurer, his face pulled into a small smile.

.

"You're too uptight." He said, putting a hand on Shien's shoulder and laughing gently. "Are you afraid you're going to lose?"

.

"What?" Shien scowled. "I would never need to fight her, it's not about-"

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"Shouldn't you two be more happy to see each other?" He suggested. "You two are basically family. A lot of people would kill for something like that."

.

"Who is getting preachy now?" Shien retorted.

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"I think Kyu is right." The last of Shien's party chimed in, her voice, strangely enough, less soft than Kyu's.

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"I think Kyu is full of shit." Liberta shouted petulantly, sticking out her tongue. "Like always."

.

"Hm." Kyu smiled. "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

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Aisha felt a pang of jealousy enter her thoughts at Kyu's words - what a stupid name, men shouldn't have cute names - that he would know something about Liberta that she didn't.

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"What's that supposed to mean?" Rennala asked curiously. "You two… oh, you two know each other, don't you?"

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"Kyu's a ***********************."

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Everybody stopped walking simultaneously.

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Although everybody looked at Liberta with mixed expressions of shock, disgust, or confusion, Kyu never stopped smiling, instead laughing softly. 

.

"Mm," He agreed. "You too, Kchinj-"

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"Serith." Shien muttered under his breath. "Don't you two have any dignity?"

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"Why don't you introduce everyone." The shorter, hooded boy chimed in stiffly, his voice barely above a mumble. "I don't know anyone."

.

"...Yes." Shien agreed, after a terse silence. "Since we've stopped anyway… I can start. This is Yuna, she is our support… as is Kyu. Me and Talen are our scouts. Talen joined us after… Liberta left."

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"Only scouts and supports?" Rennala observed. "Seems unbalanced. Who is the tank?"

.

"That's an outdated way of building a team." Shien shook his head. "Having someone tasked with taking hits is ridiculous. Everyone should be able to protect themselves, otherwise you become a burden."

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"Sounds boring." Liberta laughed.

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"Yes." Shien's face notably soured. "It is significantly less glorious than evaporating everything in front of you without a trace."

.

"True." Kyu chimed.

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"There's no way he's a mage." Aisha blurted, staring at Kyu. "Look at him, he's built like a brick house!"

.

"Huh?" Shien frowned. "He's always been pretty skinny…"

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"He's just hiding it with his clothes." Aisha insisted. "Haven't you ever seen him with his shirt off?"

"Oh, how forward…" Kyu laughed.

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Aisha began to sputter as Kaya mean-mugged her with a look of immense disappointment, while Kyu smiled brightly at Aisha with a look of mirth, his earring dangling downwards as he bent over to meet Aisha at eye level. And once he was low enough to meet her, his smile split open into a large, sly grin, different from the usual lazy expression he usually wore.

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"I think you're cute too." He said, laughing good naturedly. "I'm flattered! Thank you, really. I like you too."

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"Well…" Aisha scratched her head, unsure of how to respond, or even how to feel. "Well, uh, ... thanks."

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"It's your turn." Shien grunted.

.

"Mh." Aisha grunted back. "This is…"

.

.

.

"So what do you think of Shien's team?" 

"I dunno."

"Eh. I don't really care."

"Mh."

.

Aisha just sighed defeatedly - it wasn't their fault - she was the one who was trying to make political allies. Even if some of them were suspicious, anyways, it wasn't like they would be any trouble to stamp out, with the incredible firepower on their team anyway.

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"I think the little one is a little suspicious." Aisha mused. "He's quiet, but he was the one who wanted everyone to introduce themselves."

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"I don't like Kyu." Kaya whispered, staring deep into the campfire.

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Aisha raised an eyebrow at that. Even though she just kind of was unfriendly, he seemed to have made a good impression with everyone.

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"Why?" Rennala chimed in, sitting down next to Aisha and grabbing an arm, resting her head on Aisha's shoulder. "He's really nice. I like him."

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"Yeah, he's a good guy." Liberta chimed in, also getting close. "We used to be drinking buddies."

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"There's just something off." Kaya whispered.

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"Maybe it's because he was flirting with Aisha earlier." Liberta suggested teasingly. "Who knows, it might work! I'm kind of jealous myself, he never made a move on me."

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"Did you want him to?" Rennala asked curiously. "I wouldn't mind."

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"Uh…" Liberta pursed her lips, resting her full weight on top of Aisha's head. "I dunno. Maybe! He's very… normal. Like he reads and plays sports and likes fashion…"

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"That sounds nice." Rennala whispered. "A normal life?"

.

"...Yeah." Kaya mumbled.

.

"..."

.

The atmosphere turned silent for a second, as the women began to think. A normal life sounded… appealing, at least-

"Psh!" Liberta laughed, her voice echoing across campsites. "Nah!"

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"You don't think so?" Aisha asked lazily, her voice bored, as if she already knew why.

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"What's the point of living your life in a way that isn't exciting?" Liberta said, smiling softly. "Why live with so many rules?"

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"What about the people that care about you?" Aisha whispered.

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At that, Liberta's smile faded slightly. Her face furrowed in concentration for a split second, but after a moment, it faded away, as the elf shrugged.

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"Dunno." She said nonchalantly. "I guess whatever happens happens."

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"Hm."

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Liberta pulled away from the blanket pile, and without a word, began to wander off into the forest, an action not particularly out of character for the elf, but one now characterized by a slight aimlessness.

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"Do you think that made her uncomfortable?" Rennala asked, fidgeting.

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"Mmn." Aisha mumbled, unsure of how to respond.

"Urnh." Kaya grunted.

"..."

"..."

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The intense awkwardness was broken by the arrival of two blackened figures, their silhouette's quickly illuminated by the party's fire, revealing Kyu, Yuna, and Talen. Yuna and Kyu waved a friendly hello, while the shortest of the three locked eyes with Aisha, beginning to… stare.

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"Hi…" Yuna said shyly, blushing slightly at the sight of the three girls laying on top of each other. "Can we share your fire?"

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"What happened to your's?" Aisha asked suspiciously.

"Shien likes to sleep early." Talen mumbled. "And he doesn't like the light."

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"You guys can join us!" Rennala blurted, before her eyes quickly flitted towards Aisha. "Oh, um. If it's okay with Aisha. I- I mean, if it's okay with all-"

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"Your reason makes sense, I guess." Aisha muttered. "I'm okay with it."

.

"..."

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"Kaya?"

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"I'm okay with it." She whispered, her face pale and sickly, looking like she wanted to throw up..

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"Are you okay?" Kyu asked softly, taking a seat across the fire. "You look ill."

.

"..."

"It's food poisoning." Aisha sighed, pulling Kaya's head into her lap, letting the short girl bury her face into her navel. "I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow."

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"That's good." Kyu mused. "She's going to need to be in good shape for the hunt."

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"Maybe we should discuss it." Talen grumbled, also taking a seat next to Kyu, sprawling his legs out in front of him. "How are we going to split the reward? Shien doesn't care about the money, but…"

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"I thought we would just do half-half?" Yuna asked. "Only seems fair."

"They have Liberta." Talen muttered. "She could probably take the mark alone. So there's… an issue of contribution."

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Aisha's eyes narrowed slightly, the reflection of the fire shifting slightly in her irises as they began to change shape. She set her gaze on the short man and frowned.

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"I'm okay with splitting the reward unevenly." Kyu suggested good-naturedly. "It's a dragon mark, it's still a lot of money."

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"But… that doesn't seem fair." Yuna mumbled.

"Don't be like that." Kyu chided, his mouth twitching. "To them, it's fair. And that's understandable."

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"No." Aisha said softly, yet resolutely, her eyes half-lidded in thought. "I think it would be best if we left Liberta out of it."

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"...What?" Talen frowned, while Kyu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

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"I mean…" Aisha muttered. "Our commission is only to kill the dragon. That means we are free to do with the corpse as we wish."

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"...What does Liberta have to do with that?" Yuna asked, her face betraying a bit of apprehension.

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"I mean, we leave her out so that there's a corpse left." Aisha suggested.

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"You're suggesting we use a more careful method of hunting, and split the rewards evenly?" Talen asked. "Equalizing the contribution that way?"

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"Yes." Aisha lilted. "This evens the playing field a bit, yes?"

Rennala furrowed her brows. "Wait, but there's still…"

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Aisha squeezed Rennala's thigh, prompting her speech to falter, as she shot a curious look out the side of her eye at the fey girl.

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"I also think my team could also use a bit of practice working in a group." Aisha suggested. "I'd be willing to take a deduction in our cut if you're willing to let us pair up."

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Yuna frowned. "What do you mean, pair up?"

"I mean, each one of my team… pairs up with one of yours. Aisha suggested carefully. " Kind of like a shadow… That way, we won't get in the way… I'm sure that's agreeable."

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"I don't like this idea." Talen grumbled. "I'm not good at babysitting."

"My team can take care of themselves." Aisha said softly, staring into the top of Talen's head, the short man unwilling to meet Aisha in the eyes. "If things go wrong, I would say that it's perfectly acceptable to ditch your partner."

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"Will Liberta even agree to this?" Yuna asked softly.

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"She's more agreeable than you think, you just have to give her the correct incentive."

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Kyu laughed. "No, I think she just likes you guys more than you think. If you're talking about sex or food, we've already tried that."

"KYU!" Yuna gasped.

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"Hm?"

"You said you wouldn't - " She sputtered, going red in the face. "You - you -"

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"I never mentioned your name." Kyu laughed. "You did that yourself."

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Yuna's mouth shut, her cheeks burning with humiliation.

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Talen, ignoring Yuna, turned his attention to Aisha. "I'll only agree to this if we split it 30/70."

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Aisha almost laughed. 30/70 was an almost insulting figure - he was clearly not okay with this deal. She was right to not trust him, but unfortunately for him, money was the least of her worries.

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"I'm okay with it." She said, a hint of smugness entering her voice at the sight of Talen's surprised expression, although the rest seemed to share in his shock, Yuna gasping, while Rennala raised an eyebrow.

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"Fascinating." Kyu laughed softly, meeting Aisha in the eyes with an interested look, and a wide grin. "Yeah, I have no reason to disagree with that."

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"Whatever." Talen mumbled. "If you're that desperate, then fine."

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"I'm glad we're in agreement, then." Aisha smiled, petting Kaya's head, like how a stereotypical villain would pet a cat - filled with self-satisfaction, almost gloating.

.

.

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Aimless chatter began to fill the campfire, and eventually Aisha found herself taking first watch, Rennala extracting Kaya from her lap in order for the both of them to get an uninterrupted night's sleep. She stared at the stars and sighed, watching the faint twinkling of refracted light, the strange, haphazard patterning of their positions, almost satisfyingly geometric, but just barely not.

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It brought her a bit of comfort - even the stars in the sky weren't perfectly where they belonged. Even they couldn't-

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"Stargazing?" A soft voice asked.

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Aisha furrowed her brows, turning to face Kyu, the tall man taking a seat across the campfire and taking out a small, tattered journal, the pages just beginning to show signs of wear.

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"Maybe." Aisha mumbled offhandedly, returning her gaze to the lights.

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"I could never get into it." He said absentmindedly. "The idea of something so far away, so completely out of reach… what's the point of that?"

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"Mh."

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"Why do you like stars, Aisha?"

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"I dunno."

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"...Hm."

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Kyu seemed to ponder for a short while, Aisha clearly uninterested in making conversation.

"You don't trust us, don't you? You think… hm… something about the commission?"

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That got Aisha's attention. With a raise of the eyebrow, she turned her full body towards the tall man, her expression overtly suspicious as she shot Kyu a hard look.

.

"What makes you say that?" She asked, slowly.

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"It's hardly a difficult guess." Kyu chuckled. "Shien has ties to that commissioner… and you two don't seem to get along very well, and yet, you proposed that our teams work together. You don't seem like the type to really chase political power, so… my guess is that you've been blackmailed into doing this… one way or another."

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Aisha's eyelid twitched at Kyu's frightening accuracy.

"You're incorrect." She lied.

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"Oh, aw." The black-haired man smiled wryly. "It would have been really cool if I had gotten it right, huh?"

"...Yeah."

.

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"What's your angle?" Aisha frowned. "Snooping around for Shien?"

.

"Mh." Kyu let out an amused breath. "Isn't it sufficient that I want to make a friend?"

.

"Not really." Aisha muttered. "With the stakes this high?"

"I don't think there's anything worth more in this world than someone who cares about you." Kyu smiled. "You seem to know that."

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Aisha blinked, unnerved. And yet, the tall man's words struck a chord with her, and despite her better judgment, she felt her guard relax, very slightly.

.

"...So what, you have someone like that too?"

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"I do love my mom." Kyu laughed. "It's a bit corny, right?"

"...Your mom?" Aisha asked softly.

.

"Yeah." Kyu smiled. "Does that surprise you?"

"No, it's just…" Aisha grimaced. "Nothing."

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"Ah, okay."

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The word "mom…" Aisha felt her stomach churn at the word, as deep, buried memories -

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"Ah, so anyways, are you in one of those weird polyamorous relationships, or…"

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"Huh?"

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Aisha shrunk a bit, the sinking in her stomach quelled by the embarrassing question. Truth be told, even though she didn't know, the girls were definitely more than friends to her, but still…

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"I… I dunno." Aisha mumbled.

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"If it was between your job and them, which one would you pick?" Kyu asked.

"Them." Aisha responded instantly.

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Kyu flashed an expression of approval at Aisha, his dark eyes flickering in the fire.

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"That's good." He said softly. "I don't know if I'd be able to say the same with such certainty."

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"Didn't you just say… that there isn't anything worth more than someone who cares about you?"

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"I did." He hummed. "But I think you misunderstand."

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"Hm?"

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"A 'friend' isn't just someone who you hang out with and have fun with…" Kyu trailed off, looking Aisha in the eyes, before smiling. "Nevermind. I don't think it would interest you."

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"What do you mean?"

"I just think you already know." He said, sighing softly.

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"...People who enjoy being around you… aren't the same thing as friends." Aisha said softly.

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"Well said." Kyu nodded, the smile fading slowly from his lips, as his eyes began to focus into the distance. "You keep the people who like you close to you… I think that's the best trait that someone could have."

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"... How flattering."

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For a minute, Kyu was silent, as his fingers idly ran over the scratchy handwriting of the journal in his hands. He seemed to be deep in thought, with, for once, an expression that didn't have that smile. Aisha's memory flickered to a similar expression, that thoughtful expression she had put on Liberta's face, and for a second, the thought came to mind that she might have made him uncomfortable in a similar way.

.

But soon, Kyu returned his attention to the book, and he began to make conversation again. He hummed absentmindedly as he began to read from the tattered journal, pulling out a pen and beginning to scrawl notes in the margins between lines in the paper, taking notes. Aisha watched the man closely as he read, watching - for any signs of nervousness, or deceit, or…

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"Hey." She frowned. "That's… that's a machinist's journal."

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"Ah, indeed it is." Kyu pursed his lips. "It's a fascinating study. A parallel evolution of arcane technology, powered by the movement of… not arcane particles, but physical ones. Makes you wonder why it's taboo - it's so similar to magic…"

"You're… you're what, a collector? Scholar?" Aisha furrowed her brows. "You're not concerned with the stigma?"

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"Ah, no." Kyu said, smiling softly as Aisha's attention started to fully turn towards him. "I think that all knowledge has its use. This belief… just outweighs my belief that the old gods will smite me down. Although who knows, the engineer we apprehended was probably beheaded by the consulate."

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"How pragmatic." Aisha observed.

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"Yeah, I'd like to think of myself that way!" He said cheerfully. "You seem like a pragmatic kind of person too. I think it says a lot about someone."

"Mmmh. And what does it say about me?"

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"It means that you're someone… for which outcomes matter. Maybe because that's something you care about… or it might because it's something that matters for other people. Which one are you?"

.

"...Why can't it be both?"

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Kyu's face split into a wide grin.

"You know what?" He said, closing his book and tucking it away into his coat. "That's the same answer that I would give, myself."

.

"Are you going to say that we're similar types of people, because of that?" Aisha asked. "...Party trick?."

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"No, I wouldn't say that we're similar." Kyu smiled. "Not yet, anyways."

"...Not yet…?"

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"Ah, don't worry about it." Kyu laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow, I'll leave you to your stars."

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Aisha waved a small goodbye as Kyu closed his book and walked off, leaving to go rest.

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"He seems like a good person." She mumbled into the night.

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(He's too much like us.)

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"..."

.

.

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"You've changed, Ai 'Sa."

.

"...So?"

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Aisha's voice came out more aggressive than she intended it to - sure, she wanted a little bit of distaste to show, but she found a little bit of spittle flying out of her mouth unintentionally, despite how hard she was trying to mutter her words.

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"There's no 'so'." Shien blinked, oblivious to Aisha's growing frustration. "It was just an observation. But I think it is good that you are independent. No longer reliant on Kjr-"

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"Shut up." Aisha seethed, clenching her teeth - gaining the attention of Kaya and Rennala.

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"I said it was a good thing." Shien asked, his eyes still neutral, not reading the hostility in Aisha's face.

.

"You're looking down on me." Aisha accused, frustration welling up in her chest. "Do I look like I need your approval? Do I look like I care what you think?"

.

"No." Shien said bluntly. "And yes, to the second. You always-"

.

"Can't you-"

"Hey, Aisha…" Rennala whispered gently, putting a hand on the short girl's shoulder. "...You… um… you should calm down…?"

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At the moment, Rennala's words pissed her off immensely, but before she could grab Rennala's hand, a second one slid into hers', drawing away her attention.

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At Kaya's soft expression. Aisha felt the anger in herself dissipate. She took a deep breath.

.

"Don't talk." She spat. "About Kjrn."

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At those words, Shi'en finally appeared to understand Aisha's rage, as his expression grew guilty, and his oblivious expression faded.

.

"...I'm sorry." He said quietly. "You are right. I shouldn't have brought that up."

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"...Good." Aisha mumbled.

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"She misses you dearly." Shi'en said softly. "She… She learned from you. How to hide her thoughts and emotions away from the rest of us, but… many of us also learned how to see through it."

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"And so what of it?" Aisha mumbled. "What can I do about it?"

.

"I simply thought that she might be happy if she knew you were well." The taller fey sighed. "She hasn't taken on a den since your's."

.

"..."

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"The tribe does not hate you, Aisha." Shi'en said empathetically. "We just wanted what's best for you."

.

"What crap." Aisha seethed. "That's just what you all tell yourself to make yourselves feel better. You knew I couldn't survive in the wood, you-"

"You were given plenty of supplies -"

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"And what of when I ran out!?" Aisha demanded, the even expression on Shi'en's face pissing her off, more and more by the second.

.

"You cannot expect the tribe to constantly provide for someone with no-"

.

"There it is!" Aisha seethed, dark mana leaking out of her like sludge. "It's not about whether or not I would have lived, or if it was good for me! It was never about 'the best thing for my growth!' Don't give me that BULLSHIT!"

.

Aisha was left panting as her outburst finished, leaving everyone around to stare. Shien's party was completely quiet, while Aisha's looked at her with varying degrees of concern, and hesitation. It almost seemed like they were afraid to approach her, and indeed, the air was thick around her with poison and fire.

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Shi'en was also quiet, satisfaction coming to Aisha at the sight of his face finally betraying a bit of hurt.

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"I hate that self-serving attitude most of all." Aisha snarled. "Don't try to pretend like any of you do things for my sake! If any of you had actually cared, you would have gone with me!"

.

"Aisha…" Rennala whispered.

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Aisha's eyes twitched as the faces around her came into focus again, the rage dissipating again, but still seething inside. The fire inside of her was replaced by a cold emptiness, so familiar… and yet, she had thought she had gotten over it…

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Kyu clapped his hands, flashing a look of empathy at the short woman.

"Let's split into groups!" He announced cheerfully, his face so confident that he might have actually been in a good mood. "We're almost there. This is a good time."

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"Whatever." Aisha mumbled, the tension in her limbs loosening as Kaya rushed over, squeezing Aisha's hand.

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"I'll pair up with Kyu." Kaya whispered.

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The man in question raised an eyebrow, a grin appearing on his lips.

"Sounds good." He laughed. "I wasn't expecting a volunteer."

.

"This is simply the best way to do it." Kaya mumbled.

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Kyu smirked.

"...Yeah, I guess it is."

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"I'm going with the short one." Aisha muttered, her eyes glaring into Talen's hood, the short man still unwilling to meet her in the eyes.

"Sure."

.

"A-and I'll go with Rennala!" Yuna said hurriedly, eyes flitting over to Liberta. The elf in question blew a raspberry, while Rennala took an amused breath.

.

"Hmph!" Liberta scoffed extravagantly. "You're not my type anyways! Looks like it's just you and me, old buddy!"

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Shi'en grimaced at Liberta's words, his face more expressive than at Aisha's outburst. She tried hard to not dwell on it.

"Whatever."

.

.

.

Aisha's heartbeat rushed in her ears as she dashed around the cave, feet scrambling to find footholds as she attempted to shadow the quick rogue in front of her. The sounds of crackling spells, pained roars, and shouted commands rang faintly in her ears, but she paid it no mind, eyes too focused on the figure in front of her.

.

In the background, Aisha faintly recognized Rennala's bright, incredibly destructive magic, blotting out Kyu's much smaller, darker spell - Kaya next to the tall man, while Yuna shielded the mage - Shien, also, twisting roots out of the ground, wrapping around the mark's limbs, while Liberta sat down, head in her hands -

.

Talen was fast. Aisha, even with all of her enhancements, had trouble following him around as he flitted through the battlefield, his form blurry as he seemed to float from foothold to foothold. It was almost unnatural, the way he moved, his body not losing any momentum as his feet hit the ground.

.

(The strange signature is still on him.)

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"I know." Aisha mumbled, her voice drowned out by the sound of dragonfire, although her voice still rumbled within her chest.

.

Aisha's strained from the exertion she put into them, blue streams of mana flowing into them like electricity in a circuit - her eyes locked onto the strange blob of mana on the short man's back.

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Aisha ignored the heat of the dragonfire that licked at her heels, the soles of her shoes beginning to heat up - the dragon, honestly, was the least of her concerns - what she was focused on most, was the path the rogue took in front of her, the way that he would lazily cast a few spells when the dragon's attention wasn't on him, long spears of blackened metal flying out of his sleeves - Aisha's eyes stared hard at his lax movements, far too confident for her tastes.

.

"Aisha! Tail coming!" Rennala shouted.

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Aisha was able to dodge the swipe easily, jumping over it casually - but her eyes hardened when the long limb blocked her vision of Talen for just a split second.

.

Her eyes instantly swept the room as his form disappeared from her sight.

.

(Where is he!?) Aisha snarled. (Where did he go?! Out of the cave!? To Renna? Kaya? Liberta!?)

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The air around AIsha began to rush around her into a vortex as she began to take in the mana around her-

.

"Hey!"

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She snapped towards the voice, her chest alight with panic, when-

.

"It's done."

.

Aisha blinked as Kyu waved her over, the dragon motionless with a long spike lodged into its chest. Had she really missed the entire fight, attempting to track Talen?

.

No, speaking of the short bastard, where was-

.

"You barely contributed anything." The short man sneered, from next to Kyu. "Although you're a lot faster than I thought you would be. Still, I think 25 - 75 -"

.

"Stop that!" Yuna protested, panting as she ran up towards the center of the cave, Rennala in tow. "You know, Rennala really helped! I think she did the most damage to the dragon out of anyone here!"

.

"So?" Talen challenged. "Nobody else on that team did anything! The two short ones, the elf-"

.

"Hey, you told me to do nothing." Liberta shrugged.

.

"Even so-"

.

"Stop that. You know just as…"

.

Aisha almost felt disappointed, seeing the two parties start to bicker. Was that really it? Talen just wanted more money, so he goaded Aisha into contributing less?

.

How stupid. Aisha felt stupid - her concern about the commission had led to her nerves, she had made of fool out of herself with her outburst, and now -

.

"Shut up." She sighed, walking over to Talen with a suspicious look. "What's this signature on your back?"

.

Yuna's eyebrows rose.

"You can see that?" She marveled. "Long-life enchantments are usually completely undetectable, that's amazing!"

.

"...It's an enchantment." Aisha said slowly.

.

"What did you think it was?"

.

Indeed - on closer inspection… all the adventurers on Shi'en's team had the strange signature embedded into their backs. It was incredibly difficult to see, but now, giving the same level of scrutiny to the rest of the team, she could make out the strange pathways. She let out a long, tired breath as she walked towards the center of the cave, feeling dejected and now, exhausted.

.

"I'm also surprised." Kyu whistled. "...Haha… I was right."

"Why the hell are you always so cryptic all the time, man?"

.

"...Yeah." The tall man sighed, his smile dropping. "You're right… I'm sorry."

.

The ethereal glow in Aisha's eyes began to fade as the leylines in her eyes began to retreat back into her head. Her posture slumped in exhaustion. She just wanted to lay down and-

.

Then, a sharp, cold voice rang in her mind. 

(You missed something!)

.

Aisha's eyes widened, and suddenly, the patterns that were only visible under close scrutiny, began to glow intensely, overridden by a new pattern, searing red and bright. The short man's clothes began to flake away and split, as an immense, condensed energy began to strain uncontrollably, surging through his body in jagged lines of unleashed energy.

.

All that Aisha saw before the explosion was the terrified look on Talen's face, as his body was ripped apart.

.

"I'm sorry."