“A toast!” Ralus grinned, raising their goblet, “To a successful deployment!”

“Hear hear!” Shaya and the rest of her lance echoed, metal clinking and wine sloshing from the exuberance at the table.

“Careful!” Bri scolded everyone, “Samorn worked hard to put this feast together.”

A giant meal occupied the entire table like a conquering army on display, a large roasted turkey waiting to be torn apart by the hungry mages around it. Supplementing the main dish were numerous sides of roasted or mashed vegetables and a few types salads. Since Oraeus was a vegetarian, Samorn made sure there was a bean salad to fill him with protein and kept her gravy off some of the sides.

The smell of the roast turkey and vegetables had tormented Shaya for hours now and she couldn’t wait to revenge herself upon it with her teeth. She eyed Bri warily over the food, knowing that the other giant woman was her only real competition for the best cuts of meat – the nobles around them preferring white meat like crazy people.

Everyone dug into the food.

“You’re going to make an excellent wife someday, Samorn,” Oraeus complimented, spooning bean salad onto his plate, “you possess an amazing combination of wit, intellect, dedication, and poise.”

“What about me?” Shaya asked, mouth full of mashed sweet potatoes and squash.

Oraeus rolled his eyes and the others chuckled.

“Now, now,” Samorn said, taking a polite sip of her wine, “Everyone here helped. I’m particularly impressed that Shaya was able to keep up with Ren, I’ve never seen anyone rival his speed with a knife.”

“I’ve had some practice,” Shaya smiled behind her goblet of wine.

“Indeed,” Ren said, eying her appreciatively, “now that I think about it, you didn’t go into too much detail of your time at the orphanage...”

“No,” Shaya agreed, “I didn’t.”

She took in a deep breath, readying herself for what she needed to say.

“Oh gods, here it comes,” Bri sighed.

“W-what?” Shaya asked, looking around the table.

“Your big apology,” Ren said, popping a blackberry into his mouth, “and promise you’ll do better next time, et cetera, et cetera...”

“N..no...” she stammered, blushing, “I, uh...”

“It’s okay,” Bri said, patting her hand, “just get it over with now, we’re ready.”

“It isn’t a laughing matter!” Shaya insisted, “I could have hurt – or even killed – one of you!”

“Probably,” Ren agreed.

“Ren!” Samorn scolded.

“I shouldn’t have lost control in the first place,” Shaya continued, undeterred, “or have stoked the rage the second time. I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.”

“Shaya,” Oraeus said, shaking his head, “my strength enhancement potion only increases its imbibers power by perhaps half of their existing strength. It alone would not have been sufficient to spike a Titan’s head into the ground. The benefits of your rage cannot be understated – and you should continue exploring them.”

“Besides,” Ralus said, pointing at her with a knife, “you couldn’t have killed us – Zaal would have stepped in. Live deployments might not be the ‘ideal’ place to experiment, but at the same time we were thrust into situation where we had to in order to succeed.”

“If you’re worried about control,” Bri added, sawing off another piece of turkey for herself with her good hand, “you should talk to Rea. She’s basically crazy, I’m sure she’ll have a few tips to help you out.”

“That’s a good idea,” Samorn agreed, turning to Shaya with an almost threatening smile, “and I’ll practice my spellcraft to ensure you can’t resist my spells if it comes to that. I have a reputation as an unparalleled enchantress to uphold, after all.”

Shaya shuddered, “Thanks, all of you. I really appreciate the support and... you’re right, I think I should talk to Rea about it.”

“Alright,” Ren smiled, raising his wine, “now let’s clear the air with another toast – to loot!”

“To loot!” Everyone but Shaya echoed, clanging their goblets together some more. Shaya joined in without enthusiasm, deprived the income she sorely needed here.

“You did that on purpose,” she scrunched her nose at Ren.

“Me?” He looked shocked, “Impossible, I’m too pretty to be cunning or intelligent.”

Shaya rolled her eyes at him.

“So, Monster Hunter,” Bri said, washing down a bite of bird and turning to Shaya, “Any suggestions on what we should pick for our loot? What would you pick?”

“Strip the Titan first,” Shaya said without hesitation, “their parts are going to be the most suffused with magic, even if they’ve been dead since the last Titan War. But Oraeus would probably know better about the thaumaturgical components than me, and Ralus might know more about the material usage given their background.”

“Actually,” Ralus said after a moment’s pause, “I did not grow up in Lythrana. My family fled to Io before I was born.”

“Oh, sorry for assuming,” Shaya said quickly, “I should have known based on what you mentioned of Io at our practice the other week.”

They waved her apology away, “It’s quite alright. The monster scale armour I have was inherited from my father, said to made from the scales of a giant, lightning-breathing serpent.”

“That sounds very useful,” Shaya commented, “especially in Kelahk, where we live high on mountains and get the occasional fierce storm with nothing taller around us.”

Ralus laughed, “We’ll have to see if we can acquire some more, Lythrana is known to maintain a spawn problem in their kingdom for several reasons.”

Everyone at the table nodded.

“Regarding the Titan’s magical components,” Oraeus cut in, returning to the previous topic, “the organs are likely gone, so the material composition will matter more. Titan bones are said to be harder than iron and, since a turtle’s shell is made up of bone...”

Shaya nodded, “the turtle shell is likely what I’d go for. Auric’s forge has a magical device that channels energy from the plane of fire into a, well, a flat plane of energy that can cut through anything. I’m sure we could use that to thin the shell down into a usable thickness, then saw it down into armour scales, a shield, or even blades.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Bri agreed, tearing off one of the turkey’s legs, the cast around her injured arm getting filthy as she pinned the bird down with it, “and given how nasty Amethyst magic can be, having some protection against it would be great.”

“It’s not as good as you think,” Ralus added, spearing some more turkey for themselves, “the spectral blade only interferes with spirits, but it becomes less and less effective the stronger your opponent’s spirit. That means mages, spawn, Urs, Titans, and fully spiritual beings don’t feel more than a tickle.”

“Can’t you just push more aether into the spell to overcome that?” Shaya asked, reaching across the table to tear off the final turkey leg.

“Certainly,” Ralus nodded, “but it’s not a simple spell and the diminishing returns add up quickly. Such as not wanting to get close to a powerful mage, Titan or other threat.”

“Makes sense,” Shaya said, thinking over her next question while chewing on some succulent turkey, “so Ral, where did those moves come from yesterday? I’ve never seen you fight like that before.”

“Ah, it’s one of the fields Teiash and I specialize in: psychometry,” Ralus said, knife-thin smile on their face, “every object has spiritual energy associated with it. While most objects never grow strong enough to reflect in the Aetherium, some do if they earn stories of their own. My weapon is a staff of office within Vynderwynd’s church, passed down from acolyte to acolyte to ensure its legacy continues. With my psychometric magic, I can pull on the weapon’s spirit to fight with the skills of my predecessors.”

“That,” Bri said, eyes wide, “is so cool!”

“Can you do something similar, Oraeus?” Shaya said, facing across the table to him, “The sword you carried into battle yesterday looked quite impressive – were those constellations etched into the blade?”

“Ah...yes,” Oraeus said, averting his gaze, “I could use psychometry with the blade, but it is more complicated than what Ralus made it out to be. Psychometry draws all memories and experience from the object’s spirit. In my case, the blade I wield was my older brother’s, sifting through everything is...difficult for me.”

“Oh, I understand,” Shaya said, not pushing any further. It was rare to see Oraeus in such a defensive state, she wondered if he had lost his older brother. She turned back to Ralus to give Oraeus some space, “I had never considered the other applications of Amethyst magic – it stars in so many stories as a villainous magic that I guess I didn’t think much further on it.

“Amethyst magic is far more than something that can destroy souls or lay them to rest,” Ralus said, puffing up with pride, “aether is spiritual energy, so Amethyst spells can manipulate it to a degree.”

“For instance,” Oraeus picked up, while Ralus chomped on a crispy salad with nuts and berries in it. The more academic subject helped him force aside his malaise, and he spoke with his usual deadpan confidence, “while your Amber magic can defend against spells as they come in, Amethyst magic can channel entropic energy into ongoing spell effects to end the spells prematurely. That’s one of my specialties.”

“Ending prematurely?” Ren grinned, “That’s normally not something you announce, buddy.”

Blood rushed to Oraeus’ face faster than a volcanic eruption, turning even his obsidian skin red.

The table broke into laughter, even Samorn and Ralus dragged in by the low-brow humour.

“Thank you for sharing, Oraeus,” Shaya said, “No, really, thank you for trusting us with more information. The more we know about each other’s abilities, the better we can plan and work together.”

“Well,” Oraeus said, reining in his embarrassment and clearing his throat, “along those lines, there is something else I wish to mention. I am... also a trichromat – I can channel Azurite magic, though it is not something I am practiced at.”

He’s my complete opposite on the spectrum, Shaya mused, that does explain why we clash often, though I’m glad he’s opening up enough to work with us.

“That’s incredible,” Shaya said, grinning.

“I’m a little surprised you can muster the empathy to draw Azurite,” Ren commented, earning another disapproving bat on the shoulder from Samorn.

“It is alright, Samorn,” Oraeus said, “he is right: it does not come naturally to me, which is why I have not focused my efforts on learning Azurite seeds.”

“It’s not just empathy,” Samorn said, finishing her small salad and setting her utensils down like they were at a royal banquet, “it can also come from a sense of curiousity, or understanding.”

“In any case,” Shaya said, smiling at her friends, “I think we should book more practice sessions, so we can keep learning about each other’s abilities and how we can synergize our abilities.”

“Agreed,” Bri said, frowning down at her injured arm, “I don’t want to hold you folks back again.”

“Non-sense,” Shaya said, squeezing her shoulder, “I wasn’t kidding when I said you did great out there, you got us through a ton of encounters that would have been a lot more taxing on us if not for your ability to burn through anything with your Ruby magic. If anything, it’s my fault for not being clear about where the enemy was coming from as were engaging them.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Bri glared at her, “you don’t get to apologize for anything else tonight!”

“Fiiiine,” Shaya relented, “just don’t beat yourself up about it, is all I’m trying to say.”

Everyone at the table stared at her.

“W-what?” She stammered.

“You’re one to talk,” Ralus explained, cocking their head at her.

It was Shaya’s turn to blush and pout while the table laughed, even Oraeus emitting something akin to a chuckle.

“Maybe we should practice with Apricot or other lances too,” Shaya suggested, mind racing with new possibilities as a way to escape the embarassment, “we could learn a lot about larger scale coordination!”

“Oh wow,” Bri crossed her arms in front of her, “you’re really just trying to replace me now, huh?”

“No!” Shaya looked to her, eyes wide in alarm, “Not at a- wait, you’re not going to let me apologize BUT you’re going to beat me over the head with it anyway?”

“Damn right,” Bri’s scowl turned into a grin.

A sense of relief flowed through Shaya at her friend’s grin.

She was worried Bri would never forgive her, especially when she found out how the mission had ended.

“Alright, alright,” Ren cut in again, “enough business, what should we toast next?”

Shaya grinned, “To Azreon’s departure?”

“To Azreon’s departure!” Everyone echoed, laughing as more wine spilled over the table.

A knock on the door interrupted their merriment.

“I’ll get it,” Shaya said, closest to the door.

Long legs carried her to the entrance of their home in short order, her friends continuing to chatter away behind her. Shaya had just enough wherewithal to wipe the grease from her hands on a napkin before opening the door.

She looked down at their visitor in surprise.

Una looked up at her, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Hey,” Shaya said, stepping back and gesturing into the apartment, “Want to come in?”

“No thanks,” Una said, “I won’t be long. Six days from now, noon-time at the Five Rings.”

“You think you’ll be recovered that soon?” Shaya asked, eyebrow quirked down at her opponent.

Una’s eyes were still bloodshot, with flecks of Jade floating in her pupils like broken glass. There was a slight quiver to her movements, her muscles still recovering from how hard she pushed them past their limits magically yesterday.

“You’re the one who’s purple from falling off a Titan, dumb ass,” Una jabbed a finger into Shaya’s chest, “worry about yourself, and don’t chicken out.”

The reminder made Shaya’s joints ache. Her rage had let her fight through the worst of it, but she had definitely bruised more than just her skin. Bari said she had multiple hairline fractures throughout her body from the force of the collision and that it did a number on her ligaments as well.

“Alright, if you insist,” Shaya said, “but if you can’t satisfy me at this duel, I’ll expect a rematch for when you’re properly healed.”

“Bitch, please,” Una said. She turned to walk away, then stopped. “Do you actually think he’s gone?”

“No,” Shaya said, knowing which ‘he’ she was talking about, “he’ll weasel out of the worst of it. They’re going to suspend him for a short period to make an example of him, then put him back into classes due to good behaviour or some non-sense. Either way though: his reign is over, Una.”

Her shoulders slumped, probably wanting to hear something more damning than that. “We’ll see. Don’t be late to the fight, I’m a busy person.”

She walked away.

Shaya’s lance looked up at her as she returned to the table. “What?”

“Shaya,” Ralus said, “the Five Rings is a public dueling ground, there will be spectators.”

“Well then,” she replied, “I hope they enjoyed the show.”

She coughed. “Am I really that purple right now? I, uh, hoped it would’ve gone down since the morning.”

“Oh yeah,” Bri said, “it definitely didn’t. You’re the most ridiculous looking Titan Slayer ever.”