Of all the things to have survived, it was Valren's smoking pipe.

As I was warming my hands on the crackling fire, its curved lip edged into my periphery. "Want a draft?" Valren asked, flopping to a nearby rock.

I glanced at the others seated around the source of warmth, looking no worse for wear. No doubt they're as sore as I was. Even if I did want to smoke, now's not the time. "It's fine," I shook my head at the second-in-command. "I'm not much of a...you know."

Valren chuckled, summoning a small flame into his fingertip before poking it into the bowl. "Nazran explained to me what you did with the danburki," he puffed out a few drags, for once curling out of his mouth rather than his nostrils. "Takes a lot of guts. And risk. Did you know that you could lose your mind to the netherside if something went wrong?"

"Nope," I rubbed my hands together in pursuit of the heat amidst the biting cold of the forest. Nobody told me Jalinica could get chilly, especially at this time of the year. It was a far cry from the humidity in Crytone, even when they're just a few prinks apart. "I just did what I had to do."

"Which is why you have my respect," he said, making me rescind my gaze at the fire in order to turn to him. "It's not everyday I've witnessed someone we recently kicked out go back to help us. Twice."

I shrugged. "It's only right for me to do that," I said. "Especially after what I did."

Valren huffed, more plumes of sickly-sweet smoke pouring off his mouth. "I should apologize as well, for how I acted that day," he said. "You didn't deserve to be let go that way, but we had been distraught. I was distraught."

I knitted my eyebrows. "I thought you don't really care about that whole thing," I said. "Was that why you never really dipped your toes into that mess?"

"Let's just say Mirani was like a sister I never had," he said. His thumb caressed the heel of his pipe in thought. "In all my years of being in this job, I've seen countless people inside and outside Dragnasand snuff out like little embers in the night. I guess you could say I've grown quite used to seeing tears and feeling the hollow cavern forming in one's heart."

"I've made it a rule to treat the ones I work with as strictly acquaintances," Valren continued, his eyes staring ahead but not really. "But with Mirani...it's easy to say that you just can't help but like her."

A laugh tore off my lips at that. I ended up tucking my hands behind my knees as I folded my legs closer to my chest. "I second that."

"I don't really blame you for taking on this mission," Valren scratched the inside of his palm, knocking one of his claws against his pipe. "If it helps, I don't really blame you for Mirani's death, either. She chose to save you. That's what matters."

There's the warmth I was looking for—building from the base of my gut until it flared to my chest and my limbs. It's a different kind of freedom, like a part of the weight on my shoulders has been lifted.

"You crazy, son of a snitch," Nazran's uncharacteristic curse stole my attention away from Valren. The summoner strode towards me and slammed a fist against my arm. It hurt, but seeing how relief modeled his features into a placid smile, I didn't mind. "Don't you dare scare me like that! Nether beasts are off-limits when it comes to duplication spells."

I snorted. "I won't, if I could help it."

No promises.

"I've got to say, kid," Ahrian perked up, untangling her long legs from being crossed at the knees. She leaned forward from her perch on another boulder. "You've outstood yourself this time around. I suppose credit and an apology is overdue."

"Which begs the question—how in the Divine's name are you able to find us in this dense forest?" Cavya stalked towards the fire, his cat eyes blinking slowly at the relief it gave to his skin or...um, fur. Just seeing him alive and moving around after that magic-draining spell we cast to carve a portion of the danburki numbers was already so much relief.

I turned to him. "A status report?" I asked. "Last I checked, I'm just a civilian."

Cavya exhaled sharply through his nose. "The only reason why I'm not gutting you right now is because I'm spent as it is," he said. "But yes...status report."

So, I told him how I replicated Seline's senses based on mere memory alone and Ahrian's skills without physical contact. "About the um...symbol—the one you destroyed before Mirani died," I said, studying each of their faces around the fire upon my referral to that specific incident. Cavya motioned for me to continue. "I found it while scouting ahead with Yaora. I took it out from the trunk it's carved on. Then we've had to deal with the beast attacking the camp...and I guess I just forgot about it."

Cavya's whiskers twitched but he didn't say anything. "Looking back, I think it's some sort of ancient rune that summons nether beasts if it acquires enough magical powers," I continued. "I didn't really realize what it's capable of until I saw it spouting beasts like some sort of portal. Again, I apologize for my shortcomings."

"It's one event after another," Cavya said with a finality and dismissal none of us could truly counter. "When we get back, we'll consult the Great Archives for whatever those runes might mean. We'll also have to do a proper ceremony. For Mirani and Yaora."

Oh. That's why he's not here. "What happened?" I asked, the lump in my throat getting bigger.

Nazran blew a breath. "Like Mirani, he chose the valiant path," he said. "He bought us more time to recuperate around the second day."

I blinked. "How many days have you spent in that crevice?"

Ahrian clicked her beak. "A little more than five," she said. "I'm not really keeping count."

And if I hadn't arrived, would they still be there now?

"This mission will be passed on to other territories with stronger parties who had the knowledge of weakening the danburki," Cavya announced. Because even with our combined power, it was nowhere near enough to wipe out the entire colony. We just succeeded in keeping them at bay. But they would recover. They always did. "We've done our part of stalling their numbers until other guilds have enough information about them. Now, we go home."

I started rising from my seat to go on my own from here when Cavya stopped me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm...leaving?" I blinked. Why would he ask me that like he was confused about my actions? "I mean, if I had to catch the boat back to Crytone, I better hurry so I can meet the fisherman by morning."

Ahrian chuckled, ducking her head down. The glint in her eyes betrayed her though. "Sit down, kid," she said. "You're not going anywhere."

"What?"

"If it still hasn't registered into that thick skull of yours," Cavya interjected. "You're back in the team."

I dropped to the ground and attempted to touch the fire just to prove I hadn't been dreaming all this time. "What?"

Cavya sighed. "You're a wild card, Kora," he said. "I would hate letting raw talent like you go into some other guild, much more if it's a direct competition."

I pointed a finger at him then back to me. "So, you..."

"All sins forgiven," he said with a smile unfit for his cat-like face. "Welcome back."

Tears slipped out from my eyes, and within seconds, I was bawling like a child. After all the shit I just went through, I think I deserved a chance to do as much.