[You have killed 9 Bandits lvl 3; No experience gained due to level disparity]

  [You have killed 5 Bandits lvl 4; No experience gained due to level disparity]

  [You have killed 3 Bandit scouts lvl 4; No experience gained due to level disparity]

  [You have killed Bandit Leader lvl 5; No experience gained due to level disparity]

  I lead the way back towards the camp. Misty prowls ahead on the lookout for trouble, her flicking tail like a flag leading us on.

  She isn’t too far ahead, and when I see her stop, I know she is just beyond the bounds of the camp. The smell of smoke from the campfire still hangs in the air, but fortunately, at least from where we are, the gentle breeze has cleared away the other more traumatic aromas of battle.

  “The camp is just ahead,” I tell Elara, adding, “It’s a bit of a mess.”

  As we approach, the camp comes into view. The scene before us resembles an open-air slaughterhouse with no trace of mercy in sight. The ground is slick with blood, creating glistening pools that reflect the flickering light of the remaining fire. Body parts are scattered about haphazardly. Misty, my sweet little kitty, is lazily batting at a severed leg caught in a nearby tree branch. A severed head lies close to the dying flames, the hair smoking slightly.

  Weapons of all kinds lay strewn about the chaotic battlefield, abandoned by their owners during the intense combat. The air is thick with the acrid scent of blood and carnage, a reminder of the brutal violence that has just taken place.

  Elara just stands there in stunned silence. Her gaze wanders around the place. At one point, her eyes fall on the badly beaten and battered remains of Karth.

  She looks up at me, a mix of shock, awe, and possibly even a touch of fear in her gaze.

  “Del?” she questions.

  “I know it looks bad,” I say in what must be the understatement of the decade. “I kind of lost my grip a bit with them taking Naomi.”

  As I’m speaking, in my mind, I am screaming.

  ‘Menolly! I need you.’ I am angry—angry at myself, angry at the situation. But most of all, angry with the fucking Galactic whatever they call it.

  ‘I need you right NOW!’

  The world freezes.

  The only things moving are Misty and myself. She looks at me curiously, then her eyes flick to my left. I turn and see Menolly. She calmly picks her way through the camp.

  “You have been busy,” she says, sitting gracefully upon a chair that wasn’t there moments before. Her tone is neutral, her gaze curious.

  With a hand, she indicates the surrounding carnage.

  “I see you are adapting to your new strength and abilities. But taking lives like these will not advance your cuvat’s progress.”

  Her gaze locks on mine. “Nor will summoning me like some lapdog.” Her voice takes on a sharper tone.

  ‘You thrust us into this like lab rats,’ Misty’s voice rings acerbically. ‘So if not a lapdog, are you our guard cur instead?’

  Menolly’s brows raise at this insult delivered in Misty’s typical feline fashion.

  “No,” she answers after a moment’s pause. “But point taken. Now, why did you request this meeting?”

  I take a breath to steady my nerves and gather my thoughts.

  “It’s Elara. She has become important to me.” Misty pads over and sits at my feet. “To both of us. But it’s getting too much. Even a blind man would soon notice we are not the average type of this land. We are too strong,” I look around. “Far too strong, and we learn new things too fast.”

  I shrug, unsure of how to continue.

  ‘What the idiot is trying to say,’ Misty takes over, ‘is it’s fine for those we only pass in the night. The family here, for example. To them, we will just seem competent.’

  “But for Elara, she has been with us from the beginning.” I continue, now back in my flow. “She is noticing that I am different, that Misty is far from normal.”

  “And what do you want us to do about that?” Menolly asks. “Is it not a problem of your own making?” Once again, she indicates the gorefest around us.

  “You could, for example, have handled this situation in a completely different manner.”

  “I know, and trust me. I don’t like in any way the man I became when I was in this camp. But,” I pause, take control of my rising anger and in a tight voice continue, “They took Naomi. She is just a child and was under my protection. This is on their own hands.”

  “So, you say this was a morally justified slaughter?” she asks me.

  “Yes, no… I don’t know.” I flounder.

  ‘It is the role of the guardian to protect the nest and within it, the kittens,’ Misty states with feline simplicity. ‘And destroy any who would dare threaten it,’ she adds with a growl.

  “Misty is right,” I state with determination, now firming my resolve. “This was necessary. Not pretty, but it needed doing, and I was the one that needed to do it.”

  Menolly looks at me in a way that makes me feel as if she is dissecting my soul. She nods.

  “Very well. It is important you are able to not just act on your convictions but justify them. That is the path of adaptation and growth. Actions done without purpose are the path to chaos.”

  “So what about Elara?” I ask.

  “What about her?” Menolly responds. “Be specific.”

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  “She is part of this little party now. I can’t just walk off and leave her. So how do I handle the obvious complications?”

  “You could be more… discrete,” Menolly suggests.

  ‘Would not work,’ Misty states. ‘She already questions so much happening around us. She also knows.’ The cat stretches languidly and then, extending her claws, looks at them. ‘That I am more.’

  “True, she has told me of rare creatures that can have two forms, but never of ones that can talk,” I add.

  “You have a cuvat associated with her, to help her find her path.”

  “I know,” I agree with Menolly. “So perhaps her path is to be a full member of this group.”

  “Once again, Del, be specific.”

  I take a breath, gather my thoughts, and prepare for the outburst and refusal I fully expect.

  “I want her Awakened.”

  There is silence. The only thing of note is the cyborg’s eyes, which flicker from blue to grey rapidly in the manner I have come to associate with her consulting her higher-ups.

  After a minute, Menolly stands and goes over to look closely at the elf, her chair disappearing as she does so.

  “There would be complications.”

  “In what way?” I ask.

  “This would alter her path completely. She would be tying herself to you.” She looks back to me. “Do you think that is something that she would want? That you could do to her?”

  “Would she have a choice?”

  “Of a kind. If she agrees it is what she wants, then we can awaken her. If not…” she pauses. “We would take her from here. Her memories would be tweaked, and she would never remember you as anything other than some guy who saved her life a while back. then went on his way.”

  “What of Naomi in that case?” I have to know.

  “We would remove her too. She would be with Elara to continue on to Hybern and place her with a tutor. As far as Naomi is concerned, she would never have met you.”

  It all feels harsh, but I can understand the why of it. Now I just have to decide if I can put that onto Elara.

  ‘Can I do that to her though? Change her whole future.’

  ‘Come on, Del,’ I angrily retort. ‘You know damn well what she would choose.’

  ‘Do I? Do I really?’ My questions just keep going round in circles and tangled spirals.

  ‘Enough, Del. She at least deserves the right to decide for herself.’ And that closes the argument as far as I am concerned.

  Coming to that final conclusion, I ask the one remaining thing on my mind.

  “And what of Naomi, if Elara chooses to Awaken?”

  “She will not be a problem. Her path diverts from yours at Hybern, whatever decision you and Elara make. Her mind is young, and she will not ascribe any particular thoughts of the unusual to you. And within a short while, you will just be another childhood adventure.”

  I nod. “Okay, let’s see what Elara wants to do.”

  Elara gasps, her eyes darting between me and Menolly, who stands as still and composed as a statue. Misty watches silently, her tail flicking in slow, deliberate arcs.

  “Who is she?” her voice starts to rise in alarm. “Del, what’s going on? Where did she come from?” In a blur, a knife is in her hand as she backs towards me.

  I place my hand on her arm, gently turning her to face me. In her eyes, I see her confusion and fear at the surrounding slaughter added to by the sudden appearance of a mystery woman dressed in very strange clothes.

  “Elara,” I begin, my voice softer than I expected. “I need to tell you the truth—about me, about Misty, about what’s happening.”

  I can see Elara’s confusion and fear written all over her face. She doesn’t speak, but I can sense her inner turmoil as she tries to make sense of everything happening around her.

  “You’ve noticed things, haven’t you?” I say, breaking the silence. “You talked the other night about things happening around me. You see how Misty and me, well, we don’t quite fit in.”

  Elara’s eyes dart to Misty, who remains stoic and unresponsive. “I have,” she admits hesitantly. “But I don’t understand it all.”

  Menolly takes a bold step forward, her stance firm and resolute. “It isn’t,” she says bluntly, her words echoing in the silence around us. “And the path before you now is not one you can tread lightly.” Her tone is serious, and I can see the weight of her words settling onto Elara’s shoulders.

  Elara’s eyes widen with uncertainty. “What are you saying?” she asks, her voice trembling slightly.

  I shoot Menolly a sharp glare, silently pleading for her to be more tactful. But before I can intervene, she continues.

  “You’ve seen too much to remain an outsider,” Menolly says firmly, her gaze unwavering. “You have a choice to make.”

  Elara looks between the two of us, clearly unsure of what to do. I take a deep breath and turn her back to look at me.

  “I’m asking you to join us,” I say earnestly. “To awaken to something... bigger.” My words hang in the air, heavy with meaning that I cannot fully reveal yet.

  “But there’s also the option to walk away,” I add quickly, my tone growing softer but no less urgent. “If you choose to stay, everything will change. But if not...” I trail off, my heart twisting at the thought of losing my friend and ally.

  Elara’s voice is barely above a whisper as she asks, “And if I walk away?”

  My throat tightens at her question, but I force myself to meet her gaze head-on. “It will be as if we barely met,” I say quietly. “You and Naomi will continue on to Hybern... and I will go my own way. For you, I will just be a passing figure who rescued you from a dangerous situation once a while ago.”

  She searches my face for a long moment before speaking again. “What would you choose, Del?” she asks softly.

  I pause, considering her question carefully before answering with complete honesty.

  “I’d choose the truth,” I say firmly, meeting her gaze with determination.

  She takes a steadying breath, nodding. “Then awaken me.”

  Menolly places her hand on Elara’s forehead, and the air ripples with a strange energy. Elara’s body tenses, her eyes glowing faintly as power floods into her.

  For a brief moment, she shudders, then collapses into my arms.

  “She’s yours now, Del,” Menolly says. “Don’t waste her trust.”