“I'm done, actually,” I manage once I'm over choking on her awful sense of humor. Yes, I'm green stained, yes, it's a terrible pun; I silently thank the Gods that I'm able to stop myself from properly ughing. At the very least, any worries I had about this padin being the stuffy type are banished. With Wind gathering around my cws, I run a hand through my tied-up hair. Green ink gathers, blobs, and drops to the ground with a spt.

  “That was a terrible pun. The name’s Ivy.”

  “Verity,” she nods back. “Verity Greyfeather, and you’d be Ivy Crawford, then?”

  “Mm.” I heft a Delve Heart in one green-tinged hand, gesturing with it toward the portal. “Did you spot anyone on your way in?”

  “Oh, bother,” Verity grouses. How can this woman look happy while pouting? “Well, from what Lord Craumont told me, I'll get plenty of chances to help out ter. I guess I can skip being drenched in, uh, whatever turned you green.”

  A pause. I raise an eyebrow, gesturing at her to go on with a hand and my tail.

  Verity hums, turning back toward the portal but keeping an eye on me. Her lips soften from a sharp smile to a gentle one. “I didn't forget what you asked. I'm caught up on the situation, and no. I'm actually te because I did a sweep of the area. Only one little Mage apprentice, but she was a big help! She’s waiting outside, though.”

  Mage apprentice, huh? I turn the term over in my head briefly, then push through the golden portal. Through the frigid shock of golden fog, scales aching as I breach into the World like a turtle surfacing for air. There's no feeling quite like having my existence stretch and loosen, freed from Delve pressure. I shake off the unpleasant, clingy sensation the portal leaves behind, and slowly open my senses up to my surroundings.

  The feeling never gets old, and I love it.

  The World rushes back a moment ter: the distant murmur of carts and chatter, the subtle earthy scent of the park, and the brilliant blues of a true sky. Specifically, I’m back at the line separating the old city from the Wildflower District— the sort of pce where people quibble about which they belong to, depending on a thousand different merits I’ve never quite understood. To me, the street-corner ferns are just as pointlessly rge, the painted walls are just as beautiful, and the Wildflower District honestly has some very beautiful flower parks.

  Once reality has sunk in, another sensation makes itself apparent, the muffled shuffling of the aforementioned Mage apprentice’s boots.

  Verity pops through a moment ter, interrupting my thoughts with clicking of her tongue. “Ew. Goddess, that can’t be normal.”

  I just shrug, catching on instantly. “Slimy portal?”

  “Slimy portal,” she agrees with a grimace. Her bright yellow eyes haven't faded at all, which is fascinating. “Don't tell me that's normal?”

  “Definitely not, but some regions just have awful-feeling portals.” I match her frown with a toothy grin. “I've gotten used to it.”

  Her smile widens, and she hops from side to side, bringing up her fists to punch the air. “I’m sure I’ll manage! Better than the Delves that taste, right?”

  “Don’t remind me.” Blinding optimism, and far more energy than seems possible. I'd say that's odd for a padin of Adamantine, but that'd imply there's a normal to deviate from. “I suppose. So, Mage apprentice? Probably Helena.”

  I jerk a thumb toward the alley, and sure enough, that sounds a lot like Helena’s boots and footsteps. “Ah, good afternoon, Ivy! I, um, felt the Delve forming.”

  And there she is, bright brown hair as curly and messy as ever. She's slimmed a little bit since we first met, but her faint tan and general softness of shape haven't gone away. Her eyes don't yet glow, but the green of her eyes is brighter and bluer— a sure sign of what's to come. I wonder if they'll turn another color after?

  Seeing her even more in blouses and skirts rather than robes helps, too; shapeless purple isn't great on her. Does she still put it on for her service to the Restoration, I wonder?

  I give her a tight-lipped smile, taking care to hide my teeth. It’s good to see her up and about today. Yesterday, she’d spent the whole day in her room, holed up with a book. Benny made sure she ate dinner, but... well. My heart twinges, echoing the muffled sobs of the worst nights. When I find Dongbaek again, I’ll break him for what he’s done.

  “Oh!” Verity runs a hand through her hair, fingers catching on tufts of greyish feathers. “You two know each other?”

  “I live with her,” Helena blurts, and I roll my eyes. Her words descend into mumbles after that, and her cheeks turn increasingly red. “I mean, with her, not... um.”

  Verity’s smile twitches upward. “I see.”

  “She’s staying with me for now,” I crify, snorting. My tail sweeps along the ground, tingling as the grass prickles at it. Helena’s cheeks are flushed red by the time I’ve turned around to face her.

  “A very important difference!” Verity chuckles musically. “Hopefully it’s all comfortable. Helena was a big help, by the way; she knows this area well. We still didn’t find anything, though.”

  “Ah, I was happy to help!” Helena nods, messy hair bobbing. She pulls out a loosely bound stack of parchment, flips through it, and scribbles a few notes down. “Near... Dandelion avenue? No, not specific enough.”

  “Well,” I clear my throat, cutting off whatever half-sylble had just come out of Verity’s mouth. “I’ve got a Delve to seal.”

  I turn back toward the portal, gesturing for Verity to move out of the way. She does, fortunately without comment. Her sheer brightness of personality and expression are like staring into a torch, and if she's like this all the time I'll need time for my eyes to adjust.

  "Oh, wow," she mutters, "Impressive."

  I raise an eyebrow, then remember she can't see it. "Thanks, but I haven't even started, Verity."

  Her voice pitches upward, and I can hear her boots rustle in the grass. "I was just admiring your tail, actually.”

  My tail flicks from side to side, and I weigh my desire to brag against... oh, whatever. There’s a thrill of pride at being complimented, and I’ll indulge it. I've worked for every bit of this body, after all. "I’m proud of it. Couldn't live without it, and it looks great to boot."

  “You don’t dismiss it after Delves?”

  “What?” Helena says, before I can process my own confusion. Good, because I need to focus on sealing this Delve. “Dismiss it?”

  “Well! Extra limbs can be dismissed if you pull back on your magic enough. Not something everyone can do, but the more skilled Mages and Delvers can do it,” Verity replies instantly. “My mother does that with her wings, because it’s hard to fit in doors.”

  “I did wonder how, ah, Dongbaek hid his tail...” Helena murmurs.

  Hmm. Wings sound fantastic, but I can see how they’d get in the way, I suppose. A shame that Drakes almost never grow wings.

  “Why in Adamantine’s name would I dismiss my tail?” I sigh, spping my tail against the ground. Even if I wanted to dismiss my tail at every little convenience, letting my tail grow back would take at least an hour, if not multiple. Let’s see, I’ll need to start a few degrees off vertical, the portal’s a bit lopsided... Hm.

  “What if people step on it?”

  That brings me up short, and with Delve magic flowing through my body, it’s a very bad time for interruption. I strangle the power with my will, grounding out the escaping bits into the World itself. “They’d better apologize for not paying attention, then. Speaking of, I’m trying to seal this Delve, so please be quiet.”

  “My apologies,” Verity says softly, cking the overwhelming exuberance she’d shown earlier. “Goddess guide your hand.”

  I roll my eyes. That’s distinctly not being quiet. The prayer and apology is appreciated, at least. What a weird question, though. Why should I dismiss my tail because other people might be idiots? There’s always idiots, I’m more than used to it. Worse things have stepped on my tail than humans, too: horses, giant wolves, and I distinctly recall an actual drake stepping on my Drake tail.

  He did it just to annoy me too, the prat. Had to walk down the mountain with a sore tail and a bruised fist from punching his snout.

  Bah. Distractions. Why not a more experimental sealing technique, to take some satisfaction from it all? It’s akin to fusing two metal ptes together, with a third metal acting as the glue when heated. My frown turns to a soft smile, and I curl my tail around my boot to keep it from swinging.

  I grasp at the seams of the portal, flushing Delve magic through and tugging the edges together.

  The wound narrows, and the World moves in eagerly. I seize that feeling; grasping at the imposing weight of everything, testing it against my will. Golden light floods a single cw. Excellent. Halfway there, Ivy.

  “Oh, um, this is—” Helena mumbles, then stops abruptly.

  With my other hand, I draw heavily on the Delve Heart, pulling as much of its disgusting magic into my body as I can. My body resists without conscious action, pushing back on the foreign power. My scales thicken, my tail twitches; in the end, my body obeys my will. Frustration and success blend into a low growl, forced out through gritted teeth.

  But, sure enough, the golden magic weakens as my Delve hand approaches, fusing to the edges of the portal. A steady hand, consistent motion, and a willingness to taste blood in your mouth are all it takes.

  Well, that and a firm hold on both Delve and World magic, which took years of practice. Taxing, but quick— another technique I can draw upon. Something to write on the report, so that the Guild knows I’m not scking off.

  “There!” I hiss, punctuated by the satisfying crack of a Delve Heart splitting in two. “Done.”

  I push myself up, wincing under the sudden strain. Muscles twinge, joints ache— fring up like fireworks, and vanishing just as quickly when my magic pours over them. Healing is expensive, but after the strain of so much Delve and World magic, it's a worthwhile indulgence. The blood in my mouth is spat out easily, and whatever broken skin it spilled from is already gone.

  “Oh! That was different from, ah, the first time I saw you do it?” Helena says, her words barely avoiding overp with my own.

  A bubble of frustration rises to my tongue, a reminder of exactly how unpleasant that first time was. I swallow it.

  “It was really quick, wasn’t it?” Verity chimes in, her eyes fring gold. She paces in a circle, humming through her smile. “By the Goddess, I can’t even feel where it was!”

  “In order,” I start, holding up three fingers and pointing them at Helena, “Yes, it is, I used a more traditional stitch method st time. This was an edge-fusion technique.”

  I turn to Verity, curling my ring finger to point at her with two. “Also yes, thank you for noticing. And finally...”

  Curling up my middle finger, I point at her one st time for emphasis. “I need a bath, so I’m going back home. Unlike st time, nothing weird will stop me.”

  “Weird? Interesting.” Verity raises an eyebrow, her smirk becoming lopsided. “Sorry, but Lord Craumont did ask me to send you his way.”

  Of course he’s looking for me. I’ve learned my lesson about these weird days and it begins with insisting upon a bath.

  “Winston can wait,” I roll my eyes, waving vaguely towards the center of the city. “Bath for me, first. Why would he need a Delver as green as I am?”

  Helena snorts, dissolving into soft giggles. “That’s awful, Ivy. I, ah. Um. If you're headed back, can we stop by the Sharrow bakery? Benny asked me to pick up some extra pastries for lunch.”

  “That’s my joke and you stole it,” Verity says, her stern tone utterly undercut by her grin. “Mine was better, though.”

  Two things to address again, lovely. Sorting out my answers a bit, I move over to Helena and give her a nod. “Sure, bakery first. Verity, you’re a padin, so I won’t ask you to py messenger for me— but before I go, is there anything else I should know?”

  Verity taps her chin, leaning to one side and resting a hand on the head of her mace. She hums. “Just some questions. Is Helena here also part of our... investigation?”

  “Ah, yes!” Helena cuts in, stepping forward. She flips open her journal, thumbing through the pages. Countless sketches of streets and lines of scribbled thought fly by. Her voice drops, and she offers me an apologetic nod. “I... I know what’s happening. A-as much as anyone else involved, I mean.”

  I fight the urge to scowl. Yes, of course she’s involved, she snuck into a meeting just st week. Goddess, the Manor even unlocked the door for her, because of course it did. Benny cimed no knowledge of the incident as usual.

  “Excellent!” Verity smiles far too brightly, straightening. “We’ll bring the Goddess’ light to these troublemakers in no time at all, I’m certain.”

  “And may Adamantine guide our steps,” I reply, almost instinctively. I’m not much for prayer, but with a padin right here it feels... appropriate. “So, was there something else?”

  Verity coughs into her fist. “Well, hm. Do you know where a pce called ‘The Manor’ is? Lord Craumont said we’d be meeting there for dinner, but I sensed the Delve and rushed off before he could expin himself.”

  I put my hand over my face and growl into my palm. My tail sms into the ground behind, irritation swirling with amusement. He's forcing more tasks on me— which he shouldn't— but I did ditch him to punch monsters.

  “Or what time dinner is, actually,” Verity adds, her smile flickering. “I have a feeling there's bad news?”

  “Dinner will be a half hour passt ssunsset,” I hiss, still muffled by my hand. Fair py, Winny.

  Verity just blinks at me owlishly, cocking her head to one side then switching to the other. “I assume the Manor is relevant to you, then. Is it your, uh, residence as Dame Crawford?”

  “Um,” Helena interjects. “Yes. That’s where we live.”

  “Did you not get a say in this?” Verity's eyes narrow, but her smile inexplicably remains. “I can refuse the offer.”

  I drop my hand and take a deep breath. Sure, she's excessively energetic and almost certainly nosy. But, well...

  “No, it's fine. You're a padin of my own faith, and you're here to help,” I say, thoughts unfolding as I speak. It feels wrong to invite new people into my home, but... I invited Helena, didn't I? “Bah. You can come with us.”

  “Now?” Verity’s permanent smile morphs to a smirk, bright enough that I almost regret the offer. She looks up at the sky, brow furrowing. “Well, I'd love to, then! Lead the way.”

  I turn around without another word, gesturing for Helena and Verity to follow. I'm in sore need of a bath, and this has been too much talking.

  Helena catches up in a patter of boots, two of her strides matching one of my own. Verity trails behind us, making surprisingly little noise for a woman in proper armor.

  “Is there something on my face?” I grumble, gncing at Helena out of the corner of my eye. She's staring. “Bit of green, maybe?”

  “N-no, ah.” Helena stumbles over her words— and the cobbled street, but she rights herself. “There is a bit on your neck, but... nevermind.”

  Fine, then. I won't mind. Bh.

  "Another one, madam?" Benny says drily, taking Helena's coat. They say it before anyone can get a word in, just as Verity is starting to take in the lobby... entrance area? That I can never remember the name of.

  "What—" I blink, mouth slightly ajar. "What do you mean, another one?"

  "They mean me!" Verity chirps, striding past and spinning on her heel to keep facing me. Fortunately, she does it on our mat, not the lovely rug, so I won’t have to tell her off. "Oh, is they correct?"

  Exorbitant amounts of energy. I thought padins were supposed to be even-tempered spiritual guides?

  "Indeed. I presume you would be the padin, Verity Greyfeather?"

  “Indeed,” Verity echoes back, rapping her knuckles against her metal chestpte. “In the flesh.”

  Gods, this is noisy.

  "I've, ah, never been good at figuring that out..." Helena sighs. "At least ‘they’ works for almost everyone. Oh, um, we brought the pastries, Benny!"

  "You know what?” I decide aloud, cutting through the conversation.

  I pour my magic into the Manor as everyone turns to look. Prepare the bath.

  Already warmed, the Manor murmurs. I have an excellent house.

  “I'm taking my bath. Benny, hold your teasing for ter.”

  “Of course, madam. Would you like it with your evening tea?”

  Helena is giggling, and Verity looks like she’s barely managing to hold onto her propriety. With no other options, I make a hasty escape.

  Origami_Narwhal