“I want roasted pork loins! Or even fried pork chops! Anything but this, please!” Orrin moaned as he nibbled on the corner of their trail rations while tears seeped from the corner of his eyes.

“We should have killed that boar,” Heron muttered, nursing a cut lip from when his teeth slid off the ration bar when he forcibly tried to bite into it.

The Eternal Empire of the Righteous Order’s ration bars were famous throughout the planes. It was famous for being filling, nutritious, and it lasted forever. It was also famous for making cardboard taste good in comparison.

Yuriko grimaced at her own ration bar. They had found a nice camping spot beneath the boughs of a willow tree that hid them from easy sight. Krystal arranged a few branches and laid some cloth over some rocks to create their shelter. Using one of her Facet’s techniques, Krystal managed to make the shelter harder to spot and, to keep themselves camouflaged, they chose not to start a campfire to cook. Instead, they ate their rations dry, a decision she now knew to be foolish.

The wax paper wrapping on the bars indicated the required preparation methods before consumption. The first was to boil and turn it into a kind of porridge mixed with whatever meat or vegetables they had or foraged. The second was to cut it into little bits and keep it in the mouth until it melts into sludge. Unfortunately, that presented a different set of challenges. Cutting the bars proved to be more difficult than expected. Heron had to empower his combat knife with an Animus technique before the blade could sink into it.

That said, she didn’t think they could have butchered that wild boar either. Aside from the fact that she doubted they could muster up the courage to kill it, more so after it left them alone after her trespass, none of them had been taught how to dress an animal after a kill. Well, at least she wasn’t. Maybe Krystal would know how, having a consummate woodsman for a father.

Shaking her head, Yuriko drew a survival knife from her backpack and prepared an Empowered Strike so she could shave off a small piece out of the three-inch long, one-inch wide ration bar. The moment she impressed her intent to cut into the ball of Animus and channel it into her knife, a sense of wrongness jolted her out of the action.

Her alarmed look must have scared the others because Krystal and Mikel picked up their weapons and started looking around while the other two boys were only a heartbeat behind. The feeling disappeared as soon as she stopped trying to use Empowered Strike. She looked apologetically at the others.

“It’s nothing, sorry. Just my Facet doing weird things.”

“Oh.”

Yuriko envisioned her Anima while her heart pounded furiously. She also hadn’t tried to fire her Plasma Caster but since it followed the same principles as Empowered Strike, she was worried it would be affected the same way.

She tried to do the same thing but since she was looking closely, she saw what happened. Just as she imparted her intent into the tongue of flame and moved it up her hand, the Animus seemed to twist away from the border between her Anima and her body. She allowed it to continue its impulse. She sighed when it attempted to go into the movement pattern when she did the sword dances. The third form, to be exact. But since she had only pulled out one strand of Animus, the circulation of the strands around her Anima and body couldn’t be completed properly.

She reabsorbed the tongue of flame into her core and pulled out four strands, moving them according to the pattern she remembered. It put her off a bit since she wasn’t performing the sword dance but after numerous trials, she completed it. When she opened her eyes, her survival knife was coated with the golden glow of her Animus and it felt like it could cut through a rock with ease.

The glow began fading when she stopped circulating the pattern but she just had enough time to shave a small piece off the ration bar. She popped it into her mouth and sucked on it until her saliva softened it enough to turn it into a mouthful of mush. The taste was bad enough that she lost her train of thought.

“I can’t believe I’m starting to miss mess hall food,” she muttered.

“I know, right?” Krystal rolled her eyes. “Urk, next time, we’re making stew instead of eating this thing directly.

“Hear, hear!” the boys cheered.

After she finished the ration bar, her stomach felt heavy. Orrin and Heron had finished their meal and were casting Recovery on themselves, focused mostly on legs and feet, from where the light of their Animus was strongest.

Yuriko had to find out if her shooting would be affected, and though she would spend her Animus even on a trial shot, it was better to find out now rather than have it fail when she needed it the most.

“I need to test something,” she said to her group. “My Facet changed the way my Animus works and I’ll have to test using the rifle.”

“See if you can spot the Wyldling while you’re at it,” Krystal suggested.

“Right.”

“Do you need help?” Orrin asked.

“Not right now, no. Thank you.”

The willow tree was near the stream fed from the pool. There was a rocky outcropping that she climbed easily. At the top, she activated her enhanced eyesight. The pool and the area around it seemed to jump closer to her. There were fewer beasts drinking by the banks now. She looked up the cliff, close to the waterfalls, but her vantage didn’t let her see much more than the edge. Trees covered much of the clifftop and, every now and then, she could see brightly-coloured birds fluttering around the branches.

Picking an innocuous outcropping, Yuriko channelled her Animus into the Plasma Caster, imparting an intent to pierce through whatever it hit. The process was as smooth as she could manage it, though, absent an inlaid pattern, it took her a few seconds to do so.

She didn’t feel anything different or that her Animus had a problem. If anything, she felt as if shooting the Plasma Caster was just something to do. She mulled over that thought while she vented the charge she built up. She had no intention to randomly fire superheated plasma inside a forest; it was well into the dry season and doing so could potentially start a fire even though the area was damp enough that the risk was low.

For most of her life, she had wanted nothing more than to be like her Da. Just before the Atavism Ritual, it was what she had prayed to the Ancestors for. But now, why was she feeling so apathetic over it? Sure, her Facet wasn’t focused on marksmanship but it looked like a great support and knowledge base. Perhaps the golden silhouette has an Animus circulation form for shooting?

The realization hit her like a brick in the face. She may not have the best Facet for marksmanship, but she probably had the next best thing.

Hsst!

The plasma phase-shifted back to air as the Animus and heat was slowly vented from it. It was usually more trouble than it was worth to discharge the rifle harmlessly than to just shoot the bolt but there were times when the gun should just not be fired.

Yuriko inspected the weapon and found it none the worse for wear. She climbed back down the outcrop, calming her excited heart and telling herself that what she thought was only conjecture. She felt she needed to complete the entire sword dance before the silhouette would deign to teach her another technique set.

“All good?” Heron asked when she returned to the camp.

“Yes. Give me a few minutes to cast Recovery then we’ll be on our way.”

“Any idea where the Wanderer is?” Mikel asked.

“I’ll need to look around to find a trail. It’s been seven days since it was last seen here. It could be anywhere,” Krystal grumbled.

Taking a seated meditation pose, Yuriko circulated four strands of Animus according to the golden silhouette’s methods. She used up more Animus than she would have if she could cast Recovery, but since she couldn’t use the old version, she had to stick with the new. Besides, she felt more alive afterwards and it barely hurt while she used it.

When she was done, Yuriko and the others gathered their things and left. They returned the rocks they moved back where they were before they arrived and tried to erase their tracks by brushing some of the displaced leaves and twigs back and forth over the ground.

Krystal led them to the pool where she started employing her Facet. Her green eyes glowed with a dark blue light as she swept the area with her gaze. Yuriko kept her eyes moving, staring at shadows and jerking at every movement.

The roar of the waterfalls, the rustling of the leaves over the breeze, and the chirping of bugs was a soothing melody, yet it could hide danger. The Wanderer on the file was insectoid, so perhaps the bug noises were also coming from it.

“We have to go up,” Krystal said after a minute.

“You found tracks?” Yuriko asked.

“Not around here. Maybe it was sighted up there.”

“Why wasn’t it noted in the report?” Mikel grumbled.

“It’s a test, isn’t it?” Orrin groaned. He looked up at the sheer cliff face. “We’re not climbing that rock face, are we?”

“Scared of heights?” Heron asked idly.

“No. No, not at all. Why do you ask?” Orrin squeaked and he began twiddling his thumbs.

“I think there are alternative paths,” Yuriko said.

“Where?” Mikel looked around.

“Krystal?”

“Huh. Let me check.” Krystal’s eyes glowed and after a few moments, she pointed further west. “That has a lot of animal traffic. Maybe that way?”

The cliffside extended east to west and the gully they walked on ran next to it for a longstride or so. A thirty pace high climb wasn’t easy or fast, and it would expose them to any hostile gaze.

“Let’s move,” Yuriko said.

The cliff face became a steep slope a hundred paces away but it was mostly covered in trees and bushes making it a difficult climb at best. Another hundred or so paces west and Krystal found an animal trail that went up the slope.

“This should be the path.”

They scrambled up the slope, the path leading them to and fro. It wasn’t bad as trails went, and if they weren’t wearing forceweave they would have emerged on top full of scratches from the thorny bushes they had to go through.

The top of the trail was covered by lavan berry bushes, though the fruit was unripe so Yuriko didn’t touch it. From there they made their way back to the waterfall area and Krystal cast her Facet ability again.

“The traces are very old,” Krystal complained. “Look here.” She pointed at a scuff on a stone that had been overturned. Little fragments of stone had been embedded on the clay around it but there was barely a depression. “The Wanderer stepped on the stone, cutting it in the process. The footprint is wide and shallow.” She pointed at the soil some distance away, “That’s the edge.”

Yuriko scratched her head. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the tracks. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said sheepishly.

“Well, it headed north.”

The sun was setting into the mists and they still hadn't found their target. Krystal continued to track but she stopped when her Animus dropped to a tenth of her reserve.

“What now?” Orrin asked, exhausted.

“I suggest we find a secure place to camp and wait until Krystal recovers her Animus,” Heron said.

“Well, I saw a nice nook a bit of a ways back,” Mikel offered. His shoulders were slumped from exhaustion, too. “Can we have a proper dinner this time?”

Krystal looked wilted. She scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at Yuriko hopefully.

Yuriko nodded. It was dangerous to continue while a team member had low reserves. Even if Krystal stayed out of the fighting, it was no guarantee she wouldn’t get caught up in it.

“Lead the way,” Yuriko said to Mikel.

The new campsite was against a tall outcropping. They could shelter under the stone and the night watch could climb on top to get an excellent view. There wasn’t a source of water nearby, though since they refilled by the pool earlier they had an ample amount. Of course, they still had to boil that water.

Heron whipped out a small pot while Krystal had the bowls and spoons. Yuriko started the fire, and filled the pot with water while Mikel gathered more firewood.

Orrin gave up a few strips of jerky but none of them brought any spices. Krystal was too tuckered out to look for forest vegetables and none of the others was competent enough not to poison the group.

They shared the meal in silence, the meat barely enough to make it palatable. Heron rinsed the dishes after they were done. Despite the taste, they did manage to finish the porridge.

“Give me that,” Orrin said when Yuriko was about to wash the pot. He held the pot upside down over a bare patch of earth then his eyes glowed red, followed by his hands.

Fwump!

All of the detritus inside the pot shot out of the mouth and landed on the ground in a small pile. Orrin returned the pot proudly. It was so completely clean inside that it gleamed.

After a stunned silence, Heron growled, “And you had me waste water cleaning these?”

“Ehehehe.”

“Don’t mind him, that was helpful. Thank you,” Yuriko grinned at Orrin.

He scratched his cheek, blushed, and stuttered, “Welcome.”

They established a watch rotation, letting Krystal have the last turn. Yuriko turned in, leaving Orrin awake. She would have the midnight shift after Heron. Mikel was after her. She snuggled into her bedroll and let the melody of the night soothe her to sleep. She awakened with Heron’s hand shaking her shoulder.

“Shh!” he hissed close to her ear just as she started to struggle out of her bedroll. “Listen!” He removed his hand afterwards.

Thud. Thud.

The moonlight was barely enough to allow her a glimpse of the expression on his face. She could see he was both afraid and excited.

“I’ll wake the others,” he whispered.

Once she was out of the bedroll, she grabbed her weapons and activated her enhanced vision. She climbed on top of the outcropping and saw trees and bushes swaying half a longstride away.

“Graaaah!”

The Wanderer roared as it crashed through the bushes, scythe arms waving as it cut the vegetation. She exchanged glances with Heron and Orrin, who had climbed up behind her. There wasn’t time to look for an ambush spot. The Wanderer was headed their way. Yuriko nodded to them and they scrambled back down.

She went into a prone position to steady herself and slowly charged the Plasma Caster. Her aim was steady. It was heading straight for them but the flailing limbs made its body sway. She released her breath and, between one heartbeat and the next, she pulled the trigger.