"Bye Charles! I'll be back soon, yeah?"

Isabelle waved to Charles as he turned to leave. They'd chatted earlier that morning, before Fel had woken, and already gone through what all needed to be discussed.

Isabelle would be spending the next week— maybe two— out on deliveries and away from their shared home. Charles, in the meanwhile, would use that time to organize a [Harvester] run on the farm's outer fields. With any luck, he— and whoever he hired— would finish before she even got back.

So they parted, with Isabelle going one way with Fel, and Charles going the other.

Leading Fel to the right and moving with the crowds, Isabelle took a moment to check the man over. He'd been fine company, as far as lodgers went— polite, courteous, and perfectly willing to do his part while he stayed— but he was also... odd. Not in any particularly bad way! He just—

He never seemed quite all there.

Again though, it wasn't that he acted unintelligent, or foolish, just that he—

He was—

"Ugh." Isabelle gave a muffled groan and shook her head.

There wasn't a good way to phrase it.

Shoving her thoughts to the side, Isabelle began to lead Fel through the town's main shopping district. The streets weren't packed, being just after midday as it was, but it was enough of a crowd to keep her on her toes. Pickpockets and opportunists were always abound, and generally speaking, it paid to be aware.

"Hey, Fel, let's get off the main road, shall we? There are some side paths that might— oh!"

Isabelle lunged forwards, dragging Fel to the side just as a small group of off-duty soldiers parted the crowds. They pushed their way through where Fel had been standing, their bodies barely missing the trailing end of his robe.

Fel simply blinked as she pulled him over, his expression coming into focus.

"Huh? Oh— so... you're picking up a package, you said?"

Bringing a hand to her face, Isabelle nodded weakly. The man's lack of awareness was astounding, but it was an issue she'd almost come to expect. The fact that he'd missed nearly being trampled was just another event on a growing pile.

Five different times during his stay, she'd scared Fel by simply walking up behind him while he stood lost in thought, and the number of times she'd been made to repeat herself in a one-on-one conversation? Numerous, to say the least.

Isabelle dragged her head up in exasperation and sighed. She liked Fel, as much a person could like another after just four days of interaction, but sometimes...

"Yeah— I'm not sure what the package is, or who it's for yet, but the pickup date's been registered since last week. If I had to bet, however, it's probably going to be a present from one pining noble to another. The younger ones love that kind of thing."

She made a face, and Fel nodded knowingly.

"Ah. Well, those must be interesting."

Or... perhaps not so knowingly. Isabelle glanced at Fel from the corner of her eyes. He seemed serious, but...

"Errr— no, not really. It's not something I tend to keep up with."

The Calcroftian nobles' love-affairs were a political deathtrap. For those uninvolved, keeping up with the noble's lives was a perfectly reasonable form of entertainment, and many of the kingdom's lower-class did exactly that. For a ranking messenger such as herself, however, expressing knowledge of or alluding to involvement in such affairs was.... poorly advised.

They continued walking, passing by one of the town's dozen temples.

From there, Isabelle turned off onto one of the side-streets, finally exiting the main road. She felt her shoulders loosen as she left the crowd, and let out a happy sigh. The press of people had been stifling, to say the least. There just wasn't enough freedom to move around.

She turned to make sure Fel was still following.

He wasn't.

Spinning around to check that Fel hadn't simply found his way to one of the shops off to the side, Isabelle let out a frustrated laugh.

"For gods' sakes!"

She doubled back to the main road. Was he... no, he probably wasn't further on; she'd lost him along the way.

Rubbing at her face, Isabelle turned to the building behind her. She stepped forwards, into one of the shadows that lay against its wall. Just before impact, a circle of darkness opened in front of her. Her body melted into the brickwork, reappearing within an alleyway two blocks further back.

When a quick scan of the roadway failed to identify Fel, she turned again, facing a new wall.

Repeating the action, Isabelle went through the locations she'd passed since last seeing Fel.

Outside a bakery,

a tavern,

an alchemy shop,

the merchants' stalls, and—

She found him outside the temple, staring up at the building from the middle of the road.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Isabelle approached Fel's back. She'd been searching for the man for nearly ten minutes now, and he didn't appear to have moved once in the time since they'd separated. It was both relieving and frustrating, in that it'd made him easier to find, yet also indicated that he hadn't noticed anything had changed.

She poked his side with prejudice, causing him to jump.

"Fel, you good? You're doing the—" She waved an arm, an eyebrow raised. "— zoning-out thing, again."

He glared at her, and she rolled her eyes. Yes, his cluelessness was abundantly clear.

Ignoring the complaints that followed, Isabelle took hold of Fel's arm and began pulling him firmly down the street. If things were left up to him, she had no doubt they'd be caught up with distractions from now until nightfall; it was better to speed things along.

"Here, come on. We've got places to be; no time to stop!"

She half ran with, half dragged Fel down the road, making sure to keep her pace steady for the academic. The action drastically improved her mood, and she broke back into a smile. Shade fell long across the side road as they entered onto it, and Isabelle took the opportunity to use another Skill.

[With the Shadows]

Their pace increased as Isabelle— and by extension Fel— began to flicker forwards where their bodies made contact with the contrast between darkness and light.

It was subtle; a hand's width of distance moved forward at a time, the displacement a blink of the eye. Still, the Skill was a useful one, and Isabelle took full use of the opportunity to speed up their trip.

Fel seemed to notice, however, because he turned to her soon after the Skills activation, panting a bit breathlessly as she dragged him along.

"Are we— hah— are we in a rush all of the sudden?"

Isabelle hesitated for a brief moment, but then let out a laugh as they flew through the streets.

"Nope; just impatient!"

They made record time through the town, breezing through blocks of light traffic and coming to a stop outside the entrance to the Messengers' Guildhouse.

Dropping her hold on Fel's arm, Isabelle straightened, shaking herself loose.

Braid pulled back? Shirt straightened? Both were good—

They stepped inside.

People around the room snapped their attention to the door as it opened, causing Isabelle to grin. A room full of [Messengers]— they were jumpy by nature, most of them. And for those who weren't— well, the action was practically a tradition at this point. She waved at some of the larger groupings as they turned back to their own business.

Finally, though, she turned to Fel, sticking out a hand. "Hey, it was good to— Oh."

Her words dropped off and Isabelle let out another exasperated sigh. Her right eye twitched.

He was doing it again.

Crossing her arms, Isabelle waited as Fel took in the room.

His head turned slowly, taking a good twenty seconds to inspect the map against the far wall. He took another fifteen to look over the people at the tables, and still longer as he tracked a man who'd decided to take up a public request.

"Huh. Surprised to see one so far north. They're usually—"

He cut off and Isabelle jerked— her fingers falling to her sides. As Fel turned, Isabelle took the opportunity to step forward, stretching out a hand.

"Finally, I thought you'd died standing." She grinned to show she was joking— mostly. "This is it though. It was nice meeting you, yeah?"

Fel took a moment to process what she'd said, then lit up into a smile.

"Yeah, it was. Or— I mean, it was nice meeting you. As well."

He gave an awkward chuckle and Isabelle smiled back. She really did like the guy, despite his eccentricities.

"Oh! Wait, before you go—"

Eyes widening, Isabelle fumbled at the pouch at her waist. She'd nearly forgotten about the mana potion from their agreement.

Taking one from her bag, Isabelle passed it to Fel.

He gave a brief, seemingly habitual refusal before some sense appeared to make its way back into his head. He took what they'd agreed on and, thanking her, pocketed the bottle.

At last, agreements fulfilled and goodbyes made, they separated.

Isabelle fast-walked her way over to the delivery station, waving to the Naga manning the desk as she neared. He was a bit of a local oddity, given the region's distance from the equator, but an absolute pleasure to interact with and a personal friend.

"Selvern, it's been a while! How are you doing?"

"Miss Isabelle, it is a pleasure!" The Naga let out an amused hiss. "I am doing quite well. The local temperatures have been..." He paused, tail flicking to the side. "...amiable, as of late, and I can only hope that things stay as such until the Guild is able to to get this replaced." He punctuated his statement by slapping the back end of his tail against the metal plate beneath him.

"Oh?" Leaning over the desk, Isabelle looked down at the plate. "Why— is it broken? I actually just met a guy who could help with that."

"No, not broken, or at least not fixable, as it was explained to me. The heating runes appear to have distorted the metal around them; they say a full replacement will be necessary."

He rocked his upper-body briefly from side to side before— catching himself— giving an emphatic shrug.

"Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. If worst comes to worst, I may simply need to begin staying home for the season's colder days— the Guild is aware of my species requirements. But enough about me, yes? How have you been, yourself?"

"Pretty good, actually! Charles and I played host to a traveling mage if you'd believe that. He stayed for the last half a week or so, and we got a couple of things fixed around the farm. A guy named Fel— he's the man with the robes, standing over there."

She pointed Fel out as he stood talking to another receptionist, the two gesturing to a location on a map that hung across the wall.

"That is good news. Hm... Perhaps I could hire him for some work as well. If he is making himself available, that is?"

"Wouldn't hurt to ask, but yeah, from what I've heard he's looking for work."

"Excellent, excellent... but business! Are you here for a delivery?"

Isabelle let out a laugh, shaking her head.

"You ask the same question every time, and yet, have I ever not been here for a delivery?"

"Ah! But the time I do not ask will be the time you come in to make a request. Such would be a failing you would not let me forget."

Selvern leaned forwards over the desk, his hands pressed behind his back.

"That would be a yes to the delivery, however. May I take this opportunity to guess who it is being sent from?

Eying him, Isabelle raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Sure, let's have it."

"I predict Elmark Flynd. He's been asking rather insistently over your whereabouts as of late, and I believe he may be—"

Trailing off at the end, Selvern's words seemed to die on his tongue. He let out an awkward hiss.

"Ah... Miss Isabelle—" His upper body tilted as he peered around Isabelle's side. "—I believe your friend may be in some distress."

"What?" She spun around, just as a figure stumbled into a wall near the building's entrance.

Frowning, Isabelle took a step forwards, her voice raising to travel across the room.

"Fel! You doing okay over there?"

She paused, waiting for a response as Fel tilted his head up.

Then he fell.

His body, his robe, and his glasses blurred, with parts flickering out of existence as the rest of him slumped to the ground.

Isabelle yelped in surprise and—

Fel's form stabilized. He started to rise, his face locked into an expression of pain.

Concern rising, she began making her way towards him as he stumbled to his feet. He looked fine relatively fine, but—

Fel blurred again and his body fell for a second time.

Isabelle sped up, pushing her way through the center of the room. She didn't know what, but it was clear something had gone wrong with him.

More people were noticing— discussions dropping off and murmurs rising as their attention began to focus on the man on the ground.

A group of Messengers rose from their table nearby. They made their way over and reached for him, one of the men taking hold of Fel's shoulder as they attempted to set him upright against the wall.

Fel flickered again— she was almost there.

The man who'd held Fel's shoulder stumbled backward, his hand passing through flickering flesh. He retreated, an expression of shock plastered across his face.

Isabelle arrived as Fel solidified again, squeezing her way through the press that had gathered.

"Fel— Fel! What's wrong— how can I help?

He flinched away from her, and she grabbed at the back of his head, keeping it from hitting the ground.

"Work with me here Fel— what's happening? What's the issue?"

She turned to the group that'd first risen to help, pointing them out in the crowd.

"You three— find the guards, and bring them here! Ask for a healer, or a priest if they can find one."

They paused briefly, before looking at each other and sprinting for the door.

Isabelle turned back to Fel as he reached out a hand.

She took it, her head swiveling as she looked for something— anything— that might've been the cause for what was going on.

He mumbled something as she searched— a plea, but for what?

"Fel. I need you to tell me what's wrong. What's—"

Her hand passed through his, and Fel's form flickered once more.

Slowly, piece by piece, he faded. Motes of light broke off from a disappearing body, flashing into the air.

Isabelle pulled away, waiting for him to solidify again as the crowd's murmurs continued to rise at her back.

The guards pushed their way in not minutes later, a priest by their side, and they made their way over to where Isabelle knelt.

But Fel didn't come back.