Consciousness flickers from a spent wick, a guttering ember only reluctantly stirred to fme once more. My body stirs in stiff, aching pieces, announced by stings of pain and waves of prickling sensation.

  For a moment, I let the pain lull me to stillness. Everything hurts, but less than I'd expect after falling into the Gods-damned abstract. Still awful, still miserable, but above all I am functional. My magic reserves are down to a third, and soothing aches would be a waste.

  And then my mind comes to rest on my soul. I can feel the cracks running its length, and something deep inside shudders as I behold the gouges. How close was I to death, I wonder? To my soul breaking, and everything I am crumbling away with it.

  “...Verity! She's, um, awake!”

  A very loud voice rings in my ears, one I am quite familiar with. Gods, I think I even know her heartbeat by now.

  “Yesss, I'm awake,” I croak out, now that Lena’s knocked down the metaphorical walls. I’m on a bedroll and resting on my side, with my tail wrapped around... something. Someone, likely. “Too loud, Lena.”

  And that didn't quite sound like me. I run my tongue along my teeth and cheek, and sure enough, my tongue now comes to a point. Heh, that’ll take some getting used to. For now, I tug on my magic to round off the front.

  “Sorry. I'm just...” Lena sighs, her voice wobbling. “Gods, I was terrified, Ivy. We used some of your potions on you, and you wouldn't wake up, and—”

  Warm skin presses into the cold scales of my hand, fingers curling around my palm. While Lena has that hand held hostage, I push myself up to a seated position using the other. Ow ow ow, how many ribs did I end up fracturing? They’re already mending, but that'll sting for days.

  “I’m up now, aren't I?” I offer, forcing a smile. Hopefully that'll make her feel better. I look over at Verity, who's started walking toward us. “More than a little sore, though.”

  My tail stretches, and a rush of giddy joy roars its way up my spine— oh, gods, my tail. Longer, more flexible, sinuous and serpentine, curling, coiling, and slithering with barely a flicker of my will. Goddess, that's glorious. I'll need to spend a few days experimenting, maybe a week.

  All of that depends on getting out of here. How long was I unconscious? What are my limits for the rest of the descent? Questions swarm in my mind, pushed onward by years of practice and training.

  “Sore? If that's all you are, I'll have to thank the Goddess for small mercies. Literally, actually, since I used up most of the power she granted me there,” Verity's lips curl, a ghost of a smile that fades just as quickly. “If my arms hadn’t already started to shift, well... nevermind. Are you fine to stand soon? Not just yet, but...”

  “But we're on a schedule.” I grimace, burying the tip of my tail deeper into the gravel. The surge of joy from flexing my improved tail is smaller this time, but it's enough to get me humming.

  “Because of me! Don't, um, don't push yourself too hard!” Lena blurts, her hands squeezing mine. “We can wait if you need it, I'm fine. The filter I’m using for both of us is, um, not that taxing.”

  Her nails are pressing into scales on my palms. Palm scales, without completely transforming! Oh, that's fantastic; I can’t help but admire the tiny, flexible scales, armored without sacrificing flexibility— I wish I had time to properly inspect myself, but our current situation obviously comes first. With that in mind, I snap my cws, forcing my own filter back into existence.

  “I'm fine, my filter is up, and we shouldn’t wait,” I counter, running my tongue over my teeth again. Longer, sharper— could bite my own tongue, if I’m not careful. “How long was I asleep?”

  “You were out for fifteen minutes, Ivy,” Verity cuts in, kneeling down on the bedroll. “Sixteen, maybe. Nowhere near enough time to heal up fully. I said not just yet for a reason, you know.”

  For a moment, all I can think is that Gods, sitting with all that pte armor can't be comfortable. A flicker of humor and distraction, washed away in the ever-rising tide of dread.

  I look at Verity, studying the tension in her brow and the taut muscles in her neck. Then to Lena— eyes gleaming, jaw set, worry flowing from her like water in a spring. Bah, fine.

  “...Let's talk here, then,” I sigh, running my free hand through my hair. Where to start? I’ll need a full account of events to figure out what in the Gods’ names occurred, so... “We'll be quick about it. What happened, from your side?”

  “What... what happened?” Lena finally lets my hand go as she shuffles away, and for a moment I’m sorely tempted to chase the warmth. “I saw you fall into— into something. There was bck smoke, like the rifts, wasn’t there? And then...”

  “We’re skipping a little,” Verity says, once it’s clear Lena’s not saying more. She leans forward, dropping onto both knees and resting a hand on Lena’s. “A rift into the abstract formed, looking like the bck smoke we’ve seen this whole time. You shoved us out of the way, and then you fell in.”

  “Better than all of us falling in, Verity.” I shrug, curling my tail around myself. Gods, Lena wouldn’t have sted more than a few seconds. For a moment, I’m tempted to hold my tongue, to not correct her; what purpose would that serve, though? To help quiet my own fears, and blind those I want to protect?

  Hah.

  “But I didn’t fall in. Something dragged me—”

  “What?”

  “Oh, Restoration—”

  “—sssomething,” I cut over them with a growl and a raised hand, and I don’t bother to quell the rumble in my chest. Rather than drink in whatever fear or worry I know is writ on their faces, I look up. “Something dragged me in, but it stopped the moment I was fully inside. Continue.”

  “But—” Lena starts, and Gods, I wish I could let her voice her worries.

  “Continue,” I repeat, though it feels like ripping out a scale. I look back down, meeting two pairs of eyes and praying what I see is worry, rather than a reflection of my own fear. “Please.”

  Labored silence, shot through with anticipation. Like watching a tree before it falls, or listening for the st beat of a fading heart.

  “The rift,” Verity says finally, both tones of her voice wavering, “It started to close behind you. I managed to force it open using the magic the Goddess granted me, and used a little more to pull you out. By then, though, well. Ech.”

  I expected a corpse, is what she doesn’t say. She doesn’t have to.

  “But you started breathing. And, and, healing!” Lena raises a hand, then sets it down with a frown. “Restoration, we were so relieved. Ah, I was, at least. What, what happened to you? Could it happen again? Are we going to be okay?”

  As she speaks, her words pick up speed, rising above the troubled warble into a space far more comfortable for conversation. She’s even leading us where we need to go.

  “That was the Abstract. Did Verity expin it?” I look to Verity, and she makes a so-so gesture with her hand before clearing her throat. Better than me having to speak at length, because I’d really, really rather not.

  Lena hums. “Ah, Delves are when the World and Abstract meet. I, um, know that part. I didn’t know it could hurt you...”

  “Any magic hurts in rge amounts. The Abstract is essentially raw magic, so putting your body in there is incredibly dangerous.” Verity frowns. “Not that it was Ivy’s pn, but I’m gd she’s as durable as she is.”

  “That makes three of us, I'll hazard, and I’ve the scales to thank for my survival,” I snort. Goddess, Verity even winks back, though it’s half-hearted at best. “Showed up as bck smoke. Could be the same, could be different. Either way, I had to open the rift for that to happen.”

  “What Ivy is saying,” Verity adds, fshing a smile at Lena, “Is that it shouldn’t happen again. We were already avoiding the bck smoke.”

  “I, um, yes.” Lena nods, scratching her head. She takes a deep breath, nose twitching and fingers curling. “I’m sorry.”

  Sorry for what? She sat here with her filter spell while I healed. How could this be... Oh.

  “Don’t be.” I shake my head, uncurling my tail and pushing myself up.

  They both lurch toward me, but I wave them off— yes, my knees ache, my back isn’t used to the new weight of my tail, and my soul is almost certainly damaged in some way. But I can get up on my own, and I’ll have to if we pn on getting out of here.

  And there’s the scales to worry about, too, but I’m used to growing those. Not sure how many will go away when we leave, though.

  “Dongbaek’s not your fault, and I stuck my cws in without taking time to investigate." My words come out gritted and growled, pushed out past slowly-fading pain. My body doesn’t want to obey, but it will. "Enough sitting around. Let's get some Gods-damned Hearts."

  “Onward!” Verity sings, springing up next to me. “Goddess, I could go for some more monster bashing after all that.”

  “O-oh! Yes, let’s get going. I’m almost done with my spell!” Lena beams at me.

  I pause for a moment, though, looking at Verity and Lena. My tail shes across the gravel, scattering it behind me in a series of ccks and thuds. “And... Lena? Verity?”

  “Yes?”

  “Hm?”

  “Good—” Good work? The words lodge in my throat. Too normal, too rote, for people that deserve better. Verity pulled me from the Abstract, Lena risked standing in Dongbaek’s way.

  Something cracks inside of me, an old wound baring new flesh.

  “Thank you,” I say, and for once I don’t care how unsteady I sound. “I’d like to hug you both.”

  Verity’s lips part into a smile, her arms go out—

  Lena’s already hugging me. She’s pressed herself into my midsection, one arm just barely above my tail and the other somewhere on my back. “Of course, Ivy.”

  “Say something if my armor starts poking you, okay?” Verity says, but she sidles in anyways. It’s not at all comfortable, physically, but at the same time it is comforting.

  Something wrapped in my arms, real and tangible. Even if Verity’s face is squished awkwardly into my shoulder, and I can’t really move with how they’re crowding my legs.

  “I’m fine, Verity. Could you, ah, move over a bit?”

  For a moment, I can pretend that everything will be fine. That there aren't cracks in my soul, and that my reserves of magic are full enough to make it through.

  It is a good lie— I almost believe it.

  Almost.

  But when I finally slip myself free of the hug, I already know what needs to be done. This lingering warmth, a shadow of care and concern pressed into me, makes it a far easier decision.

  “Goddess, I needed that,” I sigh, running a cw through tangled white locks. “More than I knew.”

  “More than I knew, too,” Verity takes two steps back and spins on her heel, her hands up and csped behind her head. “I would hug you any time, Ivy, no shy or awkward request required!”

  “Don't tease her,” Lena mumbles, and my tail shes. Shy? Awkward?

  Bah. Probably. I offer her a nguid shrug in response, and I don’t stop my lips from curling when her cheeks flush red.

  I cough into a fist, wrapping my tail around my leg. The curl I’ve used for well over a year doesn’t work anymore; it leaves a third of my tail on the ground now. “Might need another one after this. I’m going to open up to the Delve—”

  “You’ll what?” Verity cuts in, shoulders squaring. A hand drops to her mace, the other lingers in the air. Yellow eyes narrow to glints of light. “Ivy, I felt it for seconds and I nearly tossed my breakfast onto the ground. And you’re going to intentionally—!?”

  “Um?” Lena interjects, though I can’t exactly spare a moment right now.

  “If I let myself shift as far as I can, grow out my scales, I should be fine. Annoyed, uncomfortable, but functional,” I begin, and hold up a hand when Verity inevitably steps closer and starts to argue. “We’re behind. The meter is slow, I’m not, and maintaining the protections will burn off magic I can’t afford to waste. Clear?”

  Verity’s jaw tightens visibly. Her eyes fsh, yellow melting into shimmering gold, and her lips curl into a snarl. A heartbeat ter, it vanishes, ripped away into a tired smile. “A bit rude, but you’re absolutely right. Be safe. And Lena?”

  “I know, um, that the Delve... feels wrong? Right? But what exactly is wrong with it?” Lena asks, shifting toward me.

  I shrug. “At this point, I’m wondering what isn’t wrong with it. It’s like someone’s trying to peel my scales off.”

  And that should be the end of it. Opening myself up to the Delve is, at best, uncomfortable; at worst, it might slow me down and leave me unable to fight. “Don’t have much of a choice, if we want to get out of here before your blessing fades.”

  Lena’s expression crumbles. “You... you shouldn’t have to do that. Um, you shouldn’t have to hurt yourself for me again. It keeps happening, and...”

  Verity ys a hand on Lena’s shoulder. My tail scrapes against the gravel, rhythmic and soothing. There’s so much more of it now, so much more sensation to ground myself with.

  Shaking my head, I start loosening my protections. A little pride bubbles up, too; yes, I’ll break Dongbaek for this, but Lena stood up to him. For me. For Craumont. “Not your fault. Staying too long wouldn’t be good for us, either.”

  I let go of my protections, and a rotted hand wraps itself around my throat.

  Hah. As if that would hurt me!

  That magic will find no purchase here, not on this body forged for Delving. Bones twist and stretch, my heart roars in my chest, and I feel my feet shift. I cannot savor it, I cannot savor in how my body unravels and binds back stronger—

  But I will enjoy it, as I always do. Stronger scales sheath my body, tracing over tightly-bound muscle. A shape perfect for unmaking monsters and plumbing the depths, with senses sharp enough to hear the air in Verity’s lungs.

  And how they look at me? Even better. Verity is impressed, her eyes raking my form nearly as much as when we bathed together. Lena's seen this shape before, but it would take a fool to miss her appreciation.

  “Without my sscaless? The Delve would feel awful,” I hiss, running a pointed tongue over my fangs. Every word rumbles in my throat, a soothing vibration to combat the rot scraping over my body. “Handsss all over. Feelss like I sshould vomit. Changing like thiss makess it... manageable.”

  “And you look fantastic doing it,” Verity offers, her voice strained.

  Yes, of course I look good.

  Lena steps closer, chin tilting so she can meet my eyes. Her pupils have narrowed, more slits than circles, but the cogs churning behind are as bright as ever. “You’re, um, sure this is the right way to do it?”

  Impressive. I can hear how the blood flows through her veins, count out her accelerating pulse by watching the bared flesh of her neck, but her fear remains inside, bound up like my own.

  Bah, enough dallying. I close my eyes, focus on the curve of the Delve, and— fingers beneath my scales, bile in my throat, a shudder from head to tailtip—

  “Ssure enough. That way.” I point across the river, adjusting course slightly. The hiss will take a bit to get under control. “The rift sstopped emitting a wave once it closssed again, apparently. Come on.”

  “Bleh. We don’t really have a choice, I think,” Verity sighs, dropping a hand on Lena's shoulder. She nods at me, I nod back, the smile creeps back onto her face. “Just say the word if you need help or a hug, okay?”

  “U-um! Just be careful!” Lena chimes in. “Let me roll up the bedroll first.”

  “I’d forgotten about that, sssomehow.” Snorting, I turn and step toward our goal, pausing to spit out a mix of blood and bile. “Thank me when we get out.”

  When.

  Gods, don't make a liar out of me.

  Origami_Narwhal