Even deep into the night, the three girls kept drifting in and out of consciousness. The silence and stillness of the night tried to assure them that there was nothing to worry about at the moment, but could say very little about the next.

Sryine was still unsure how much of the night yet remained. She remembered stories about a wonderful instrument from the Terran Mythos, something called a clock. She personally didn’t remember how it was pronounced, but remembered that it was capable of keeping track of the passage of the day and night both, in very fine measures. Such an instrument would be really handy, but it was impractical. There was no way to keep such an instrument from stopping frequently, making it impossible to reliably track time. To such an instrument, it would appear time had stopped when she stopped focusing on it, including while sleeping. With that in consideration, she wondered how accurate such a clock might have been for this night, with how much sleep seemed to elude her.

She turned around to peer towards the window, measuring if there was even the slightest sign that dawn approached. When she turned she found a pale shimmer floating under the window, seemingly watching the night sky above. Something about the pale shimmer looked almost like a person, much the same way as…

“Ahh!!! A ghost!!!” Sryine’s scream woke Vwyx instantly and caused Riyxia to stir slightly in her sleep. The pale form seemed to spin around, also alarmed. Vwyx was partially awake enough to see the figure turn, making her face turn about as pale as the shimmer before them. The form dashed towards Riyxia and faded away as she finally woke up too.

“Why are we screaming in the middle of the night again? What’s going on now?” “Riyxia, you missed it, there was.. it was… Wait, are you okay, it kinda drifted towards you.” Riyxia was confused as Sryine stammered her reply. It had only dawned on Sryine halfway though that the ghost they saw had gone for Riyxia there. “Okay, let’s try again, can you tell me exactly what you saw?” “It was a pale shimmer in the air, taking the vague shape of a person somehow. That same figure seemed to drift into you before disappearing, which has me about as worried as Sryine.” “Huh, weird.” Riyxia seemed considerably calm given the circumstances, even more so than the salvaged calm Vwyx was calling up in her description. Sryine just stared at the two of them, at a total loss how they might not be bouncing off the wall right now. Of all the creepy things that could have happened, to find out the inn was haunted, too…

“So, the thing you saw, was it kinda wispy as it moved, like the shimmers you would expect from smoke capturing light?” “Ah, yeah, actually. Exactly that.” “And you saw two of them?” “What? No, there was only one. Did we miss one of them?” “I don’t know, ever since the first day I awoke in the laboratory, that’s what I see from the two of you. Even when I turn away, it’s like I can still see that same shimmery figure sharing your position behind me. Even walls seem to fail to obscure that pale shimmering mist, I’ve just grown to accept it in the two of you.” Riyxia was in contemplation, pondering why her two friends had suddenly seen the same sort of figure she had always seen in them. Vwyx started losing her composure when presented with the consideration of a missing ghost, but was left blank when the matter was further clarified.

“So that’s how it’s been the entire time, somehow this makes sense. So, just before we woke you up, how were things for you? Mention whatever you can remember, even if it's weird.” “Oh, I was just dreaming about the night sky again, wondering how it might look at this hour.” “And in your dreams, what did you see?” “I uh..” “Here, come stand here under the window and look up through it at the night sky.” “... this, it looked exactly like this. How..” Sryine seemed to have lost it in that moment, laughing as if her sanity had fled her. Riyxia paused in her own confusion and concern, not understanding anything herself.

“So then, more than wondering why that happened, I think the biggest question is why it hadn’t happened before..” “Sryine, you aren’t making any sense.” “Vwyx, do you see? No, of course not, that’s our problem. That shimmer we saw, it’s basically a spectre of Ryixia, just as she always sees our own. It’s probably still there, shimmering where her body is, but we’re two blind to see it, not like she can. Not only does she have the advantage of always being able to see ours, but she can even step free of her body and just walk around as a spectre. Oh by the divine, she’s probably even walked around countless times before and no one had noticed. I wonder if anyone else can? Would it have been caused because of the flame that night too, like her father said? She said it felt like a dream, she might have even been walking around every time she dreamed. Oh, oh, ow..” Sryine was so busy contemplating the enormity of the situation that she lost track of where she was pacing, tripping over the middle spare bed in the process. Vwyx was still generally worried about Sryine’s sanity, but was starting to put the logic together herself.

Ryixia was contemplating the idea herself, looking down at her own arm. She herself couldn’t see the same shimmer in herself, thus believing it was a unique aspect of her two friends, but maybe the idea was that she just couldn’t see her own. The thought of wandering outside of her body was itself alarming, but if she had really been doing that every night… She thought back to the previous nights, all nights spent at the village. She considered that every night she had vivid dreams, filled with only the things around her. Might it be that she was never dreaming after all, only wandering around beyond her body as it slept? There was only one way to be certain. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down, reaching for a state similar to sleep as she returned to her pillow. She focused on her dream-like thoughts, pressing for a sight of the shimmers she knew were around her.

Sryine and Vwyx jumped at the return of the spectre from earlier. Sryine’s mouth went agap in aww, totally impressed. “That’s so cool, Ryixia, you are so awesome.” Sryine’s opinion didn’t reflect Ryixia’s own. Ryixia didn’t feel very cool, she actually felt kinda spooky. She tried to vocalize her thoughts, but found herself unable to project sound in this form. Her inability to interact with the world like this wasn’t especially convenient either. She sorted through her thoughts, trying to measure her own capabilities.

“Not really...” “Ah! Wow…” Riyxia’s voice from her own body was very soft, like she was still partly asleep, but it still managed to surprise Sryine. “So, there isn’t much you can do as a spectre, but it looks like you can still make use of your body while a spectre. With some practice, I wonder if you could control both at once. Without speaking, nod or shake your spectral head. Do you want me to help you stand in your current state?” Vwyx had an idea neither of the others had even considered, but she was always someone who liked to push her own physical abilities. Ryixia nodded spectrally, curious to witness how this would go. From out of her body, she both watched and felt Vwyx help her stand, her real eyes still closed and her body still slack. Ryixia pondered the matter of perspective, to sort things out in a way that made sense to her. If this was how her dreaming felt like, then the act of daydreaming would share this feeling with a waking state of her own body.

A slight jerk led her to feeling like her spectral form was fading, being pulled back in. She paused for a moment to try and stay calm and neutral, like she was in a waking trance. Very slowly and gradually, she managed to sustain her balance, and then slowly opened her eyes. It was a very disorienting experience, seeing from two angles at once. Her body however noticed that not only was it unable to see her spectral self floating around, it actually could no longer see the shimmers that usually covered her two friends. The spectral perspective however was fully capable of seeing not only her physical body and the two girls, but also their two shimmers. However, the spectral form was also unable to see herself, as if there was nothing there at all. Ryixia’s body took a step forward, and her concentration was lost, her spectral form withdrawing back into her.

“Okay, so for now we might need to draw the line at sleepwalking. Still, it seems like progress might really be possible. Oh, actually, this might give us a great advantage. Ryixia, if you’re just going to float around the night, could you do us a favour and keep watch? I think both of us would sleep better knowing that you were keeping watch for us.” Vwyx had a good point, but that didn’t settle all of their concerns, still leaving everyone to contemplate the morning plans. However, even with such troubles, sleep was still quick to take everyone. Ryixia looked down at herself fast asleep, along with Vwyx and Sryine, wondering if the two girls were also dreaming up plans for the morning like she was.

All three girls started to stir at the knock of the door. Ryixia was quick to check things out, her spectre drifting through the door to get a peek. On the other side was the receptionist from the night before, providing a wakeup call. She drifted over to the window, seeing that day really had arrived in full gusto. However, even with her spectre drifting around, she really didn’t want to wake up, feeling physically tired. Looking down at her tired body, the irony of her not wanting to get out of bed while her spectre was getting stuff done was not a thing lost to her. Sryine meanwhile was watching her do her thing.

“Sorry for sleeping in so much. We’ll pack up and get going right away.” Sryine waited for footsteps to wander away before pressing new questions. “So.. you just exposed yourself to her, and she didn’t react. Kind of a risky way to test things out, but it might really be just a thing the three of us share. Vwyx, get the door.. back to a door please. We should see if we could get ourselves ready to go as quickly as possible, so that we don’t cause any unnecessary hardships for the staff.” Sryine was already rushing to get ready as she talked, leaving everyone else to catch up. Ryixia still wasn’t technically awake yet, but realized that she couldn’t let her body sleep any longer. All three girls hurried to get their stuff together, so that they might face what yet remained of the morning.

After checking out of their room, any concerns of initial pursuits were directed once again by natural need. They had managed to sleep through breakfast, and it was now time for lunch. They decided that finding a place to eat would make for a pretty decent place to start. The three girls searched around for a place of dining, though immediate options looked about as grim as the night before. There was the idea of catching a train and going somewhere else, but by now they were a bit too hungry for such a solution.

As they searched around for any decent alternative, a human male was travelling along, trying to balance a vast series of boxes. Adjusting the boxes as he walked, he failed to notice the light go red before him. A vehicle tried to stop in time, but it was too late for such a maneuver. The elven male driver got out of the vehicle, checking on the victim of their collision. Ryixia made her way quickly to the same corner, carefully crossing the street herself to get a closer look. The human was unconscious, and the injuries looked fairly substantial. Without any hesitation, she started to provide some healing for the injured. The human’s wounds cleared up rapidly, making for very efficient first time emergency response.

“Good morning sir, we noticed you had managed to get into an accident there. I’m certain the victim would be interested in getting everything cleared up, may I ask you to remain here while we get this matter dealt with?” “Oh, uh, I guess. I mean, my car is going to need to be checked anyways, just in case it suffered any damage too.” “Ah, yes, true. Maybe we could help you with that as well?” Sryine turned away from the elven driver, turning to Vwyx. Vwyx got the message pretty quick, she was to make herself useful to calm down the situation. Vwyx went up to the car-like vehicle and took account of the situation. A collision would imply impact damage, and the frame at least clearly demonstrated this to be the case. She poked her nose under the hood, looking for any further signs of impact. Some of the interior had gotten warped, but she managed to get it back to a constant state, along with the exterior frame.

“Looks like most of it is dealt with. Your converter though might need a bit of a checkup, its going a bit pale. Start it up at a bit of an idle, let's see how it sounds.” Vwyx started passing instructions to the elf, the human by this point already safely back at the curb and slowly regaining consciousness. Sryine had found that the packages, which had slid freely in the impact, were thus devoid of any damage. Placing the boxes down beside the human, she approached the vehicle, Vwyx seeming satisfied with its performance.

“So, it looks like everything here is in order. The victim’s injuries have almost been recovered, so could I ask you to step out and get things worked out. I’m sure we can get this problem resolved without lasting issues.” Sryine still had order over the situation, Ryixia was left silently wondering how all of this was coming to them so naturally. Ryixia wondered if Sryine was just expressing some of her village chief-daughter side, recalling various scenes with a certain brother. Vwyx seemed so natural tending to the vehicle too though, from a village that never had such things. Ryixia wondered just how much Vwyx had picked up from that short lesson earlier in the forest clearing, and if she had missed just how much of a lesson it was. The human however had regained consciousness, and after recounting the incident, took calm consideration of how things had turned out.

“Okay, maybe some of this was probably my fault, but the speed limit on these roads are kinda low. If you couldn’t stop so quickly, some of this is sorta your fault too. Meanwhile, while my injuries are cleared up, your vehicle has also been repaired. In the end, I’m still in the worst of the situation, as it seems nothing in my recovery involves recovering lost blood.” “Okay, okay, sure, how about I buy you lunch then? Would that be enough to make up for everything, or do you need something more?” “Oh, that could work very well, so long as I pick the place. Give me a lift to the Riverside Cafe, it’s just a few more blocks down the road. Spend 10 Qeld on a lunch for me, maybe sticking around for a short time, I’ll consider everything even.” The human had the elf caught in a deal, neither interested in wanting to make a bigger deal of the situation. They were both in a bit of a hurry after all, so getting this cleared up sooner rather than later was best for everyone.

As the vehicle departed, Sryine considered the same news. A cafe not more than a few blocks away, coming at a random recommendation for them. While that could prove to be potentially suitable for lunch, there was something still bothering her. Riverside Inn, Riverside Cafe.. did this place suffer such lack of originality that it had to name everything after the district. What’s next, a Riverside Tailor? A block later Sryine passed under a sign with a predicted name as she grumbled in disgust. This clearly wasn’t a district with much imagination. Even so, the cafe itself didn’t seem so bad, all things considered. The exterior seemed depressing, much like any other building around here, but even through the large barred windows, she could see an interior demonstrating quite an investment. The sleek finishing and pleasant bright colors gave it a very comfortable feeling, building an inviting atmosphere. The use of brown wood instead of stone also gave it a nice touch.

Inside, she found the human from before setting up shop as the elf sat at the counter, feeling used. A half finished sandwich and a half empty cup stood at the other side of the counter, fully paid for. The storekeeper took another sample of his sandwich before seeing he had some customers. “Ah, familiar faces. If you’re here for some lunch as well, welcome. Pull up a seat, take a menu, let me know what you care for today.” The storekeeper pointed to a nearby empty table, menus waiting in a stack to the side. The three girls complied with the invitation and took a seat. Vwyx was the first to sit again, thus was the first to check the menu. It seemed they had a special right now on Iced Mintberry, something she knew was going to be inevitable.

“I’ll have some melon juice and a serving of the daily soup. It says here that the soup comes with a complimentary salad, right?” “Oh, yes, of course. And for the others?” “Melon juice is fine, but I think I’ll try some of the house choice of sandwiches. The sandwich you picked for yourself looks quite good.” “Melon juice too then? I’ll have a fishbowl myself, it looks good in the picture at least.” Ryixia was the first to order, surprising the others with the lack of anything Mintberry. At the storekeeper’s prompting, Sryine and Vwyx quickly threw in their own orders. Ryixia had pressed such a decision not only because she wanted to change things up for herself, but also as she recalled the embarrassment from the last time she tried the iced form of her favourite dish.

The elf watching over the room took account of the proceedings, putting away a business card he had ready. While it was some amazing craftsmanship, nothing about it carried some of the elements he was told to watch for. There was a huge difference between working with wood and fixing an engine. There was absolutely nothing in the report he got of anyone who was skilled with medical first response. Even the group’s leader, tallest of the bunch, was exactly the opposite of the reports he had been given earlier. But the biggest thing that convinced him on the subject was knowing that the people in his report were uncivilized outsiders, these three people seemed to fit in all too well around here. The cherry on the top was the disregard of the Mintberry tease, something he’s heard his sister’s friend loved almost legendarily.

No, instead of being outsiders, somehow he got the feeling that they were somehow involved with the hunters. When it came to the hunters, he knew better than to get involved, that was a bit too much danger to go with the drama. The elf nudged away from the scene, intent on trying to hide in the background.

“Oh, it seems your patron here might be in a bit of a hurry to resume his own work. I’m certain you invited him here to show your place with some customers, to draw in people. We’re already here instead, so if I buy him a small drink, do you think it would be alright to let him go?” “Oh, yeah, sure. Four melon juices then?” “No, I’ll just have some tea.” Sryine had suddenly stepped in to confront the storekeeper and provide the elf an escape. The elf was genuinely thankful for the kindness, keeping the price of his escape low. Grabbing his tea, he quickly went back to his work.

Vwyx meanwhile was watching Ryixia’s mischief. She herself held glassy unfocused eyes, it was her specter that was wandering. Without any means of awareness of her presence, Ryixia was wandering around taking a look at what else the cafe had to offer. “Regretting your choice of drink suddenly?” “Shh, I’m just practicing.” “Right, of course. Practicing. If you’re going to be so helpful, maybe you could go outside and take account of our future options? We still have no idea what your maximum range actually is. Though, on that matter, be careful, we still don’t know what goes wrong if you wander too far away either.” Vwyx in the end actually compelled Ryixia to eat her entire meal while entranced in spectre form, which she found fairly challenging. Stuck trying to do both at once, she didn’t manage to go very far outside at all, and returned without any useful information.

Sryine took account of their expenses. The melon juice was 3 Qeld each, which put her bill at 9 and a half Qeld. Ryixia’s bill was the cheapest, at only 9 Qeld, while Vwyx’s bowl put her meal up to 11 and a half Qeld, for a table total of 30 Qeld, or 33 Qeld after a tip. As she pondered their spending and finances, she took a moment to ponder where all of this had come from. She remembered being uncomplacent with the calculations required at the observatory, having been upset with such a responsibility thrown at her.. and yet ever since she’d been throwing herself deep in numbers of finance. Money wasn’t even a thing she’d worried about beyond the span of a single day, the village not even having anything like it. Such numbers weren’t even a devoted focus or interest in any of her books, just something she had learned as a matter of process. So then, why might it have suddenly become so much more fascinating?

After all three girls paid for their meal, they set off to find their next destination. As they left, they noticed a couple of extra people wandering into the cafe in their place, keeping business going for the small cafe.