"Hey, Aira!" Li was running through the corridor toward her panion. "By the roots, did you see that?"

  "What?" transmitted Aira over the radio. "What's happening? Are they attag?"

  "What? No! Spirits in the shadows, no!" Li said, panting and waving her arms. "I didn’t mean to spook you! There are foxes, Aira! Pying right in front of the entrance. Actual, real foxes! Let’s go, you’ve got to see this!" She was very excited to see her favorite animals.

  "Oh, you just spooked me," said Aira. She was standing on a high dder, hiding the elements of one of the traps they designed behind an access panel. Aira blew away an unruly strand of red hair from her fad smiled at Li.

  "So, we are safe for now?" she said. "I was so focused on this stuff that fot to s the surrounding for some time. Again. It is still an effort for me to distinguish between the different energy signatures. Not to mention doing that in the background. But my magic tutors wouldn't be happy with my attitude."

  A week passed in a flurry of activity. Aira and Li barred some corridors while strategically leaving others accessible to create choke points ahe potential attackers to pces where Aira and Li could trol the fighting even without numerical superiority.

  As Aira had at least some are powers now, she was sure of her ability to repel a small party ers. But would her efforts be enough if a rger squad of people decided to attack them? A score? What about a hundred?

  She has yet to have any opportuo experiment with her Energy Manipution skill e crowds of humans since she left Mountain View many weeks ago. And their ret enter with Korin and his team was different. Aira targeted their ons then and not the humans. This time, she would probably have to do both. Or even more than that.

  There was that other thing as well: Li didn't want to even hear about any sort of protective measures that had a high ce of killing the intruders. Shog them, spooking them, making them retreat, all of that was fair game, in her opinion. But not any kind of lethal force.

  These thoughts ed Aira while they were walking toward the building's entrance. What else could she do to guarah their own safety and the survivability of the human attackers? It was a really bizarre problem to solve. That really wasn't a challenge she had ever had before.

  The foxes were as cute as one could imagihese small reprieves were crucial in the days of time overload and high pressure. Just something they needed right now. And Aira was happy to see Li allowing herself to take a pause as well. All efforts i days have been even more taxing for the human woman just because of her limited abilities and ck of access to the System.

  After cheg on the pyful foxes, the two womeurned inside, reviewial lists of tasks that o be fulfilled before anyone else approached the a facility.

  "Spying on those foxes gave me an idea," Li said, a spark of excitement in her voice. "By the Elders' breath, why didn’t I think of it sooner? We do more than just traps. Let me tell you about video systems."

  Aira tilted her head, intrigued. "Video systems? What's that?"

  "Just listen! My grandfather used to tell me stories about a security systems. I thought they were just tales freen spring leaves like me back then," Li said, her words tumbling over each other in her eagerness. "But I think we’ve got the pieces for one of those systems in ste. Cameras, monitors—you know, eyes ohing. We could see them ing before they even catch their breath. But..."

  "But?" asked Aira.

  "I think I saw some pos ie," Li said. "If we set up a primitive surveilnce system, we'll have eyes everywhere. We monitor their movements and stay oep ahead. Even without your sneaky abilities."

  Aira's i iqued. She had e aentions of such systems in the books they had found, and the idea of having a way to see their enemies before they struck was entig. "Tell me more. How does it work? And why didn't we sider that before? We were so reckless."

  When they returo what was initially their makeshift kit, but now became the tral hub of all operations, Li expihe basics, sketg on scraps of paper. "I've seen remnants of these systems in some of the old buildings we've scouted," Li tinued, her excitement palpable. "They were always out of reach, too damaged to fix, or in pces we couldn't secure. So, I never made the e. But now I see how that could work."

  She talked about cameras, monitors, and how they could set up a simple work using the gadgets they had found. Aira listened ily, her sharp mind quickly grasping the cepts. She had known mages in her world who used distant surveilo spy and gather information, and the principles were irely fn to her. Still, it was very unusual.

  Aira lived in this world for several months already. But it hadn't stopped to amaze her how much of the funality of magic was reied by the a human engineers. It was like this world didn't even need any touch of are. But it came here anyway, uprooting tries, splitting families, bringih aru.

  She nodded: "It feels like some sort of tech magic," Aira said. "Even though I know that your humans do not use any magic at all. Quite bizarre. Let's start small, but explore more if it when we have time."

  ***

  Finally, they prepared the defenses as well as they could with only four hands and limited time. Even the fact that Aira was able to work almost without breaks didn't pletely e the reality of them being only a workforce of two.

  After finishing with another set of traps, Aira and Li went to the roof to enjoy the calm of the evening, pte the views, and have some hot tea in the ess of the mountains.

  "I… need… more… energy…" Aira said, sitting with a groan at the very edge. The valley surrounding them was full of life and activity. Birds were singing in the nearby forest, and the rustling of the trees in the wind was soothing after a full day of work. The world was full of energy, one just had to stretch their are senses and grasp it. But at the same time, even probing for these signatures ainful to Aira at that moment, that much she had overworked herself in the previous days.

  "You’re running yourself ragged, Aira," Li said, settling down beside her with a steaming cup of tea. "You’ve got grit in your teeth, sure, but you’re no good to either of us if you keel over. Catch a leaf, even if it’s just for tonight."

  Aira only growled in response. But it wasn't an angry sound.

  "How different is all of this from your old life?" Li asked, her tone softer now. "I mean, you had magic then too. But this... it’s got to feel wilder than a briar patch."

  "It is strange, uny," said Aira. "I was on the brink of the 100th level. I wouldn't say there are many people who reach that high. At least among my friends and peers. But in so many ways maion of the are has bee so easy for me, I didn't even notice it happening. And then, I was here, deprived of every single power. It was like my eyes were opened on how muagic was there in my life."

  Aira paused, sug iranquility of the valley that spread around them.

  "Now, it's also something different," she said." But of course, it's more alike what I had before. Still, every magical a has either to be stantly and precisely trolled or demands a lot of power."

  "I’ve seen you grow," Li said with a nod. "When we first left Mountain View, it was like every little thing knocked you off banow you’ve got forest wit, making eveough stuff look steady as a well-traveled path."

  "You are right." Answered Aira. "And it is a long process. I still 't take this valley under my plete trol. We have to rely on all these antiquated security systems instead. I feel restricted, not enough for this task. And I still don't know what ford why has decided to do this to me. Will I ever find out?"

  "With how persistent you are," said Li, "you'll root out the culprit, sure as the seasons."

  "Ah, yes. If you say so," said Aira, smiling. "As for my skills, they need lot of stant training as well. That's why I spend so much time oation, it helps me to focus on them and solidate the improvements. Still, any major effort drains me. And that's one of the things I o improve. There is definitely a lot I o learn about this ype of magid my new skills."

  Li tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know, I wouldn't be caught in this tangle if I hadn’t met you. But… I'm gd it happened." She g the valley below. "I had a hollow stump's worth of questions about our leaders ba Mountaihe way they ran things, the choices they made. I haven't gotten those answers… yet. But now, it feels like I've stumbled into something bigger than I ever could've guessed."

  Aira growled softly, a sound Li nnized as agreement. "I'm gd I have you as a partner and a guide in this unfamiliar world," she said. "You've been kind to me right from the beginning. And that's saying a lot, sidering our obvious differences and the traditions of your people."

  "People…" Li muttered, her gaze distant. "By the bark, Aira, I appreciate you sidering the rangers' safety. I know it'd be easier to send them running with a few… harsher tactics. But… they're my people, even if they'd rather see me skirting the shadowlihan standing here with you."

  "I'll do my best, Li," said Aira. "But I'm sure that deep in your heart you know that if they don't listen, I'd have to act decisively. I care about you. And I don't want to die myself. Our safety is my only priority right now. Especially after I dropped the ball with that door st week."

  Li let out a soft sigh, her expression flicted. "Yeah, I know. Feels like I've got a stone in my shoe about it, but I get it. Anyway… it's too te to keep chewing on this. I'll probably get some rest." She stood, brushing off her clothes. "You heading to the aer?"

  Aira nodded. Among other things, they wired a room he top of the building, far from all apparent routes of approach, far from that corridor that led to the buhere, they ected all the systems they'd pnned and built over the past few days: traps, surveilnce, and energy ste. All the needed data was gathered there. And Aira habitually started her shift there.

  "Well," Li said, turning to leave. "See you in the m. Don't push yourself too hard, alright? You're as tough as pine bark, but even bark cracks under enough pressure. Get some rest."

  "You too," thought Aira. The probability of the enter with the rangers being violent was retively high. And she had already experienced how distant Li became whehought Aira killed Korin and his team during their escape from Mountaihe ret enter proved that Aira was telling the truth, that she hadn't sughtered them in that alley. Still, she didn't want to make Li withdraw into her shell once again.

  Aira went one floor down to their 'aer. 'They decided to separate it from their home, the bunker.

  Enough time had passed siheir violent enter with Korin's ranger party, and it felt like if the attack would happen, it could start at any moment. As midnight bhe facility in darkness, Aira meditated, pting the day's progress.

  The ss around her flickered with images of empty hallways and still corridors, showing stati time to time when Aira didn't focus her powers well enough. The valley's silence, in stark trast to the pleasant vibe of the evening, only boosted the tension she felt simmerih the surface. Long ago, she had learo anticipate the quiet before the storm, the calm that often preceded chaos.

  And there it was, sending another pulse of probing energy, she sensed a gathering of beings at the entrao the valley. It couldn't be animals, as they were packed together too tightly. The attackers had arrived, hoping to catch Aira and Li unawares in the dead of night. Aira's heart quied, but she remained calm, her years of experience as a battlemage guiding her instincts.

  She immediately sent an arm signal to Li: "Li, wake up and e over here. They are ing to the valley. Soon, they'll be here."

  Li groaned groggily over the radio before her voice sharpened. "How many, Aira? By the frost on the piell me it's not the whole town."

  "They brought a small army," Aira answered, her voice strained but fident. "Obviously, they think they need o get an advahey are probably right, I hope we are ready for something like that."

  "Spirits in the shadows," Li whispered. Then, with a determined edge to her voice, "Well, shadowfoot it a's see if those traps work. Time to call the foxes."