Training continued for several more days since then, following the regime the Hunters had set out for them. However, finally their first day of rest would occur, giving the girls the freedom to explore other options.

Riyxia wasn’t sure how much she wasn’t really surprised. Combat training had evolved to martial discipline and wilderness skills, the latter putting her at yet another disadvantage among her friends who had spent their lives growing up in the wilderness of the woods. However, their introduction to rock climbing had returned a sizable advantage to her, introducing yet another advantage she might have. Even surrounded by trees, the other girls hadn’t even been inspired to try climbing trees, Riyxia though seemed quite natural within the context of climbing. She was however far better at climbing without gear than with, being rather fumbly with all the strange pieces but amazing with her actual arms and legs. As a result, she had been provided special protective gear, special gloves and boots to keep her hands and feet safe from harm, with clothes that gave extra padding to her elbows and knees. Even that took some getting used to, but the design was well enough that her motions and contact at least felt natural.

There had been quite a strong push to have the three girls start to wear the Hunter’s Uniform too, as if a guiding principle towards an eventual inevitability. It was fortunate that Sryine had a strong taste for fashion and style, she really didn’t want to be caught wearing something with such plain colors in such a boring style. Even so, Riyxia still lost control of the situation by pressing the point too far, as now all three of them were wearing something of an independent uniform matching their own unique sense of style. Specifically, it seemed more akin to Sryine’s unique sense of style. Adopting plenty of protective elements, following the urging of safety from the Hunters, such fabrics were adorned and embroidered with a vast repertoire of designs following each of their original color styles, but otherwise a perfect match of each other visually. An embroidered blouse with a tasseled vest, all dyed appropriate colors to match colored pants of some strangely durable fabric. It was actually surprising just how durable all of the material was, surpassing even the quality of leather but otherwise being very similar.

The element Riyxia felt she had lost the most with was in headgear, Sryine’s custom beret adorning each of their heads, the embroidered emblem of a star scape not being missed. Flanking the golden expanse of stars was twin white overlapping spheres on both sides, equally set upon all of their heads. This had caused some confusion, as it wasn’t symbolic of leadership as there were three identical versions, but also because it wasn’t the typical triangles either. This combination resolved a compromise, seeming like a partial integration with a retained sense of individuality and identity. They were like hunters, but they weren’t really hunters. Even so, Riyxia still sorta felt the hat had given away far more ground than it returned, leaving her a bit uneasy.

Sryine had also been doing a lot of communication with Hyusziq, sending text messages using her phone in her spare time. The two business partners had at some point come up with the wild idea of presenting the projector as a training aide, to have it demonstrate lessons from it’s projected scene instead of basic entertainment. They had quickly run aground on this idea when it became clear that to have the instrument project lessons, Sryine would have to sufficiently understand the content herself. This just made the girl even more eager for the strange lessons of their everyday, and made the day of break also become a day obstructing further progress.

“Do we have to take a break? Certainly there are other lessons we could…” “Sryine, no. We are taking a break today, even taking a break tomorrow. Your little project can wait for when we’ve had some time to relax, thank you. Remember, we did have plans to research some of the city as well, and currently we’ve spent more days on the outskirts of the city by this point than inside the city itself. Remember, making Qeld wasn’t your big goal here, you came here with the interest in learning more about the city instead.” Sryine resumed pouting, fully aware how impossible Riyxia got when stubbornness beset her. She came here to find books, and her cell had provided her with an endless supply of such reading material. However, she did realize she also had an obligation to her family that remained yet unmet, something she was certain she could resolve with enough Qeld. Making enough, she could have a vast assortment of things transported to the village in order to improve quality of life there.

Vwyx had just gone along with the flow, trusting that between her two friends, things would work out. She was actually already occupied by her cell while the other two argued about their course of action. Even so, Riyxia’s recent statement did remind her of her own goals and ambitions. She really wanted to learn how to make instruments, and even all of her recent work had been all about just making ordinary things. Replacing tables with swords and bookshelves with halberds, none of her work even had her own individual touch to it, not even when she melded it while swinging. Such weaponry wasn’t a thing she understood enough to get really creative with, but even that distracted her from her real goals. She wanted to actually make instruments, like the cell she was holding. Okay, maybe not something that complicated, not at first at least. Making the illusionary projector from her music box was the most novel thing she had ever attempted, she would love to do more like that. In order to accomplish that, they would need to learn more about modern instruments in use, to find something that inspired the right ideas.

“Hey, I don’t suppose either of you would have a problem with visiting the city center mall?” “The what?” “A mall in the center of the city. We would have to travel to the downtown district to get there, which could be done with a couple of transfers, switching over at Windvale Academy and again for the Downtown Circuit. As long as we could catch the next bus on the 171 route, we should be fine making all of the transfers too.” “Okay, hold on, how do you know all of this?” “My cell? The maps it comes with are very informative, sharing way more things than a map usually could without being such an instrument.” Vwyx held up her cell for Sryine’s inspection, herself pulling out her own cell in haste of being left behind in the regards of documented information that even Vwyx knew. Maybe Riyxia was right after all, Sryine’s single-minded pursuits had left her behind in other areas of importance, and this might be a good opportunity to expand in areas she still lacked. Riyxia herself remained quiet, still honestly being far behind on the whole subject of cell features compared to what either of her friends had achieved.

Having no better ideas than Vwyx had recommended, the three girls made their way to the bus station, actually unaware of the shadow following them. Jwyexzn also had the day to himself, and could think of no better way to spend his free time than to keep striving towards making sure he didn’t get suddenly assassinated. He was there when the girls had done their training, Sryine looking like an expert knife-wielding assassin until she hid it behind the obscurity of a rapier. Even that could be deadly in the hands of an invisible assassin, especially one who could accurately set an arrow to your head from over a hundred Uyns away, maybe even a thousand. The brutal axe wielding henchmen at her side was likewise intimidating, as was the girl who seemed visibly capable of just kicking your head off, both with their own gifts that made each style even more intimidating. At this point, he was thankful every day to still remain alive, and the only way he could stay alive is if he could find out anything that would compel an advantage in keeping him alive. It was terrifying as a prospect, considering he had already learned that they had managed to find him as a shadow already. Such was why this time he was simply wearing a disguise, a black hooded cloak and mask that obscured all of his features.

As the three girls boarded the bus, he proceeded a lot slower. “I’ll be purchasing a day pass, thank you.” Jwyexzn quietly spoke to the driver, who indicated the board on the side of the entrance. Jwyexzn processed his transaction and presented his new pass for admission. The driver motioned for Jwyexzn to take a seat before silently continuing on the route. “Wait, that’s Jwyexzn.” “Who?” “Your reporter friend, remember?” “Oh, right, him. Why is he dressed like a shadow. Actually, that’s hilarious, don’t answer that. Instead, why is he following us?” “He’s a shadow?” “Oh you’re funny.” Riyxia really had no better answer to give Sryine. She had actually spectrally wandered over, curious about the person who seriously stood out in such suspicious clothes, only to recognize his voice at close proximity. So, for whatever reason, Jwyexzn had decided to shadow them on their outing. Making use of public transit had however made such a task much harder, leaving him no real opportunity to hide.

They eventually made their transfer at the Riverside District’s train station, and boarded one of the trains. At this point, they were just following Vwyx, who had a better idea where they were all going. Eventually, the train stopped again at a station that Vwyx picked for disembarking at. Leaving the station, they found themselves at the hub of the Windvale Acadamy. Vwyx made use of her map to discover where the nearby alternate platform was, which had two more trains passing through it, one heading downtown. While walking, Riyxia was distracted by the scenery and accidentally ran into one of the local students as the elf himself was also occupied with one of his instruments.

“Sorry!” Both the student and Riyxia apologized for the collision at the same time, as Riyxia rushed to keep up with her friends. The student looked down at his instrument yet again in utter surprise, having not expected this kind of signal with this level of clarity. Three traces of the astral flame, and in that moment they were close enough to touch. According to this, one had.. just bumped into him. He packed up his gear and gave chase, tracking the girl down to the platform of one of the trains. He kept his distance, choosing to instead sit down beside another fellow in a black cloak. He was very fortunate he was currently over three lunar-cycles ahead of his current studies, he could technically afford to take the day off like this. In truth, he could probably finish all his coursework left before next fall in the span of a weekend, but he felt dedicated to his studies and the knowledge it could bring. In this case though, having such a study fall into his lap was a lifetime opportunity, not something he would want to give up for anything less.

Riyxia noticed Jwyexzn was there again, trying to look natural waiting for what was probably whatever train they would be boarding. He wouldn’t even know where they were going, he was just following them there. She could see however that he was scribbling notes into a notebook, notes that were probably about them. Being curious, she took to her specter and wandered over to get a closer look. As she got really close, the guy sitting beside him suddenly screamed in fear, startling her out of her concentration, sending her spectre back to her body. She looked back at Jwyexzn, noticing the guy looking back at her. Had he known she was there? Is that even possible? She took to her specter again and walked a distance around Jwyexzn, watching the student beside him all the while. The same student was glancing at an instrument occasionally before looking up directly at her, specifically at her spectre. She withdrew completely in that moment, her fears climbing. She wasn’t certain who was being creepier, the gothic shadow that had been following them since the bridge, or the nerdy student who had suddenly appeared as well. Fortunately, their next train took that opportunity to arrive, as the three girls rushed to board it.

Jwyexzn ignored the weird guy who had been sitting beside him, shouting at what was probably some kind of strange game on some kind of strange instrument. None of that mattered to him, he needed to stay focused on his goals. With that in mind, he went to board the train, finding the same guy suddenly sitting beside him on the train as well. They were probably the same age, clearly the student just felt eager to get a much more impressive education than he had. Even so, he didn’t appreciate being tailed like this when he had important work to do. The student on the other hand wasn’t even thinking of his neighbour, too stunned by what had just happened. It was like a trace of the astral flame had just started fluttering around, came right up to him, ran away as he screamed, and then came to check him again from a distance. Was it sentient? That actually might make sense, but the simple idea was even fearsome to consider. More confusing was what might possibly be still sustaining it. There were two others handing out with it, three traces total, and yet nothing nearby for a portal that might have given any of them a way to be sustained from the source. There should be no way the flame could endure for much of any period away from the source, even in small traces. Just how much had the danger to Celese risen, if even traces of the astral flame could endure so freely. The train finally stopped within the downtown circuit, so all five passengers got off and waited for their transfer to the opposite track. The next train however arrived soon after to pick them up for their remaining stretch.

“Hello, Jwyexzn, thank you for answering your cell at least. Look, this is getting ridiculous. If you’re going to come with us, you might as well be a bit more social about it. Now get over here and find a seat where we can actually talk with you.” Sryine hung up her cell at that, having had enough. Jwyexzn also realized that there was no point trying to hide, Sryine’s brilliant scrying had found him once again. Travelling downtown, it was obvious that whoever was backing up the girls was rich and powerful, possibly one of the greatest influences in the entire city. But he was still in no position to deny Sryine’s request, doing so could end his life in that moment. He would have to make the most of whatever she would be willing to give him, which hopefully would include the continuation of his life. With that decided, he took off his mask and hood and found a closer seat to the three girls.

As Sryine opened casual conversation with Jwyexzn, Ryixia took account of the student who was now sitting on his own. It was the same guy she had ran into earlier. Viewed like this, he didn’t look like anything to worry about, just some weirdo playing with some instruments, even Jwyexzn looked far more suspicious. However, she was getting concerned that the guy was far more than he seemed at first glance, like with an intelligence and resourcefulness that put her secrets in danger. Once they arrived at their destination, Ryixia encouraged the other three to hurry into the crowd, feigning excitement about getting to check the place out. Weaving through crowds and around corners, she was positive she had lost the guy. As they entered a store that Vwyx found interesting, Riyxia eventually spotted the same guy waiting at the store entrance. There was no way, no chance! Unless.. that instrument.

Ryixia turned back towards her two friends, obscured by the shelves of supplies stacked in the middle of the room. Obviously, she couldn’t really see them through such opaque objects, but as always, she could see that shimmer of them that she’d always seen before, the same shimmer they see as her own spectre. It was her spectre that the guy had tracked before, probably using the instrument he had out. If it was anything like her own sight, no number of obstructions could ever block such vision. Her only hope was to get out of range of such sight, so that it could no longer sense her.

Sryine could tell something was bothering Riyxia, and it wasn’t Jwyexzn. Keeping Vwyx and Jwyexzn close, Sryine took to Riyxia’s lead silently, letting her take authority over the situation. Riyxia dashed back to the train station and waited for whatever train came next. Getting on the train, she saw the guy follow on board as well. Just before the doors closed, she had everyone disembark, leaving the guy to ride out the circuit and wherever it would go. With a sigh of relief, she let the others resume their mall experience, glad that they had escaped such concerns. She could start to relax herself, even with Jwyexzn as part of the group, it was still better than whoever that was. Returning to the store they had been exploring before such interruptions, she decided to join the others in their pursuits and discoveries of the shelves, which quickly led them from that store and to the next.

The girls continued to explore the mall, stopping for lunch when they found themselves hungry. The student from earlier did not make a return appearance to interrupt their expedition any further.