Pari Clansnarl stretched herself up as high as she could go, raising herself up on her tiptoes to maximize her paltry height and get as good a view from the cabin viewport as she could.  The world of the clouds and the sky beckoned to her with the promise of grand vistas the likes of which she had never seen before, views like the awe-inspiring sight imprinting itself onto her eyeballs at that very moment.

The Stragman’s great Mother Tree, Ruresni, towered over everything much in the same way that Grandfather would tower over a measly Crawler—showing utterly overwhelming domination through nothing but indomitable presence.  It even overshadowed Metal Man’s delightful floating wagon, within which Pari and the others currently sat.  That overshadowing was quite literal.

Though it was around midday, the deep darkness of night filled the world on the other side of the window.  The Mother Tree’s wide, arcing canopy spread out wide like one of those “umbrellas” that Sofie had made Metal Man create for them, blocking the light of the sun for kilometers around so effectively that only the sight of the sunlit forest far off in the distance betrayed the impression that it was the dead of night.  Her sister had said that the tree’s top had to be at least ten kilometers wide.  Pari believed her because Sofie was smart and knew these kinds of things.

Nowhere else could Pari see a sight like this.  The view filled her with wonder.  Flying was the super greatest!

Perhaps Pari’s favorite moment of her life was of the short time when Grandfather had finally taken her from their home to fly in his hands.  The wind rushing through her hair, the breathtaking view, the feeling of freedom so pure, as if they could go anywhere they dreamed to... it had seared itself into her memory, a short span of sheer joy within what had otherwise been one of the worst days of her life.  The Flying Toaster—whatever that was supposed to mean—lacked much of that experience—no rushing wind or total freedom here—but it was still a wonderful second-place.  Where else would Pari find a view like this?

“I’m so glad to be out of there,” Sofie sighed wearily from a seat in the back of the cabin.  “Being watched every minute of the day was starting to drive me crazy!”

“Mmhm,” Arly dismissively replied as she checked some of the various sticks and other weird things poking out of the surfaces up at the front of the cabin.  Pari didn’t know what any of those did, only that she wasn’t allowed to touch them anymore—not after the last time.

Only the three of them were in the room at the moment.  Almost immediately after getting on the Flying Toaster, Gabby had excused herself and Pari hadn’t seen her in the hours since.

As for Arly, she finally looked like herself again.  Pari had known from the start, of course.  Upon “waking up” in the Stragman room, she had immediately smelled through Arly’s disguise.  Nobody else smelled of tallow, iron, and salt the way she did.

Pari hadn’t said anything at the time.  It wasn’t right to ruin another person’s prank, after all.  But, to her surprise, Arly had stayed in disguise the entire time they’d been in Stragma.  Whatever sort of joke she’d been concocting, it must have been a big one.

Arly was clearly not in the mood for laughing right now, however, but Sofie didn’t seem to pick up on that and continued talking.  “So, now that we can talk freely again, what did you find out?  Why is the guy stuck in a cage?”

“That’s none of your business,” Arly flatly answered.

“Come on, tell me!”

“No.”

“Why not?!”

Pari pulled her gaze from the majestic vista outside and turned to watch with dismay the burgeoning argument between her two sisters.  She could smell the stress and frustration they were each giving off.  She smelled the same odors whenever the two talked now, ever since the world had changed to put her in Stragma out of nowhere.  The whole scene distressed Pari greatly.  Family wasn’t supposed to fight!

“Because this is a mission tasked to me by my employer.  It has nothing to do with you and I will not discuss it with you without his agreement,” Arly testily explained.

“That’s a bunch of bull!” Sofie shot back, stepping forward until they were less than two meters apart.  “We’re both from Earth!  That man’s circumstances matter as much to me as they do to Blake!  Why did you all purposely leave me out of this?”

Arly’s voice turned icier than the snow atop Grandfather’s mountain.  “You know why.”

Pari walked up and tugged urgently at the side of Arly’s shirt.  “Arly-sis, why Arly-sis mad at Sofie-sis?  Sofie-sis do something bad?”

Arly’s face twisted into a visage of wrath incarnate and Pari was almost physically pushed back by the smell of her anger as it cascaded from her in waves.  “You didn’t tell her?!” she snarled at Sofie, who visibly recoiled from the sudden outburst.

“I-I was going to, but, uh”, Sofie stammered, “I-I-I couldn’t find the, uh, the right time to, uh-”

Arly stepped forward and smacked Sofie across the mouth so hard that the smaller sister fell to the metal floor.  “Coward!” she spat.  “After all you put her through, you can’t even do the one most important thing?!  Don’t even think of talking to me again until you’ve told her everything.  All of it.”

With that said, Arly marched towards the main cabin exit, holding the hand she’d used to hit Sofie up to her eyes and giving it a good look.  “Well, at least that’s almost back to normal,” Pari heard her mutter to herself just before she disappeared from view, leaving just the two of them remaining.

Pari rushed up to Sofie as her sister pushed herself up into a sitting position.  “Sofie-sis hurt?!” she asked with great concern.  Tears poured from Sofie’s eyes like twin springs creating rivers of sadness and she avoided Pari’s gaze.  Pari felt herself getting angrier with each passing moment.  How could Arly hurt her sister like that!?  “Arly-sis suddenly is big meanie!  Don’t worry Sofie-sis, Pari will fix!”

Sofie reached out and grabbed Pari’s arm before Pari could take a step.  “Pari, no.”

“Nya?”

Pari didn’t know what was going on anymore.  She could smell Sofie’s pain and sadness, but why did she suddenly reek of so much guilt?

“She’s right, Pari,” her forlorn sister softly stated.  “I should have told you everything already, but I didn’t because I was afraid.”

“Afraid?  What make Sofie-sis afraid?”

“Because...”  Her throat seemed to seize up, strangling the words before they could emerge.  Eventually, Sofie swallowed and took another breath so she could speak again.  “Because I hurt you, sweetie.  I hurt you terribly.”

Pari had no clue what Sofie was going on about.  Still, she quickly checked her body to make sure, just in case.  “Pari not hurt at all,” she helpfully informed her sister.

“No, I...”  She took a deep breath.  “Look, sweetie, during the time when you were, uh, not with us, we discovered that I actually do have a power like Blake and Gabby after all.”

Pari found the idea that Sofie thought she didn’t have a power to be far more surprising than that she had one.  Pari could smell the power, just like she smelled from Metal Man, Gabby, and Grandfather.  Why would Sofie be any different?

“We figured out what my power is,” Sofie continued, “and, um, it is basically that I force people to... to not do things.  I force them to act in ways that I want.”

“Pari not understand.”

“It... it starts when I say the word...”  She took a long, deep breath.  “...don’t.”

A loud screech rang out from the large metal ring that encircled Sofie’s neck.  Pari had asked why it was there several times over the last day and a half, but her sister had avoided answering the question each time.  Now, she got an up-close view of what it was for as it constricted around Sofie’s throat like a brown-snout constrictor snake.

Pari began to panic as her dear sister’s face went redder than an unripe durkon.  She tried to stand, but Sofie’s hold on her arm stayed firm and unrelenting.  It was that grip, more than anything, that kept Pari from losing her cool entirely.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ring relaxed and Sofie let out a powerful exhalation before taking a series of large, gulping breaths.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Sofie assured Pari, to only moderate success.

“Pari hates metal ring!” she declared with great furor.  What sort of horrible device was this, anyway?!  It could only have been created by that meanie, Metal Man!  Pari decided to give him a present in stinkcandle form the next time they met.

“I do too, sweetie, but it keeps me from accidentally hurting people and I can’t live with you and the others without it.  Supposedly I’ll get something better after we pick up Blake, if he’s still alive.

“Anyway, when I say... that word, it acts as a trigger, and then whatever I say next is the thing the person I’m talking to can’t do anymore.  It’s coercive mind control and it’s terrible and wrong, and I used it on you all the time without realizing it and I am so, so sorry.”

Pari thought about Sofie’s words and took them seriously.  She thought back to all the times her sister had told her not to do things with that word.

Don’t jump on the bed.

Don’t eat your boogers.

Don’t fart in public.

Don’t talk with your mouth full.

Don’t eat other people’s boogers.

Don’t shove bugs in my face.

Don’t make me come in there.

An endless stream of ‘don’ts’ bubbled up from her memory.  Sofie hadn’t been wrong, she’d apparently used it quite often on Pari.  But wasn’t it all used in a caring way?

“Pari still not understand.  Mother and Father told Pari same things many times.  Why bad when Sofie-sis says them?”

“Because... because my power alters a person’s very identity, changing who they are.  It robs them of their ability to be themselves.  And I used it on you the most.  I would never want to control you like that.  I want you to be the wonderful little ragamuffin that you are.

“On top of that, it hurts people.  If you try to fight it, it’s like your body starts to break down from the inside.  And then there are all the people who probably got hurt when their geasa interfered when they least expected it... like you.  If I had never told you not to kill people back then, you wouldn’t have died!”

Pari shook her head vigorously in disagreement.  “Pari not die because of Sofie-sis.  Pari promised Sofie-sis to not kill people so Pari not kill big meanie!  Pari just forgot until right before, but Pari remembered in time to stop!”

For some reason, instead of relief, Pari only smelled renewed sadness.  “No, that’s... you remembered because my geas made you remember...”  Sofie let out a tired sigh before cupping Pari’s face in her hands and lifting her head so they faced each other fully.  “Oh, you sweet little thing.  What am I supposed to do with you?  Please, you shouldn’t try to take the blame for what happened.  It’s my fault.”

Pari took in her sister’s worn-down appearance from up close for the first time that day.  She had to admit, it was a worrying sight.  Pallid skin covered sunken cheeks, while glassy eyes stared back at her beneath dry, straw-like hair.  Pari had been with Sofie during harrowing periods before—the journey from Drayhadal back to Kutrad and the Battle of Crirada stood out as two particular times when neither of them had had much to eat—but Sofie had never lost weight like this before.

Still, as bad as she looked now, Pari could already see noticeable improvements from the day before.  The change between Sofie when they’d been eating meat pies and the gaunt, haggard figure that Pari had opened her eyes to see just a moment later was so great that Pari almost thought they were different people.  However, their smell had not changed, which was how Pari knew that the stick-thin, bony woman hugging her and weeping was her sister after all.  Only Sofie smelled of musty wood, ground orta grass seed, and power.

Pari shook her head, which was much harder with Sofie’s hands in the way.  “Grandfather makes people do what Grandfather wants many times, even with Pari,” she told her sister.  “Sofie strong, so making weak follow is way of world.  Grandfather says so.  Why Sofie sorry?”

Sofie snorted.  “You’ll have to forgive me if I can’t put much value in the morality of a dragon that tried to kill me.”

The words froze Pari in place, a chill running down her spine.  She’d never heard the word ‘dragon’ before, but the meaning came across all too clearly.  Sofie knew!  She knew Grandfather’s secret!

How long had she known?!  And how?  Pari had been so very careful to keep the secret, too!  Would she have to kill Sofie-sis like she’d killed those two people in the woods?  But she’d also promised not to kill anybody anymore!  What a disaster!  She was stuck, forced to break a promise no matter what!

“Sweetie?  What’s wrong?”

“Pari promise to keep secret for Grandfather, but Sofie-sis know secret!  Grandfather said Pari not true Person if not keep promises!” she fretted.

Her thoughts went back, not for the first time, to those cold, miserable days on the streets with her brother.  She’d promised Brother that she would stay hidden, that she wouldn’t come out for anybody but him.  She’d been a bad girl and broken that promise, and now he was gone forever.  She had to be a good girl now and keep her promises, or Sofie-sis and Grandfather would disappear too!  She-

Before she knew what was happening, Pari found herself swept into an overpowering embrace.  “Hush, now,” Sofie said softly into Pari’s ears.  “You need not worry.  We all learned of his true nature without you.  We met him and everything.”

“N-nya?!”  Pari went rigid in shock.  Sofie-sis had met Grandfather?!

“It’s a long story, but I’ll explain later, okay?”

Still, not even her sister’s words and embrace could fully quench the embers of worry now smoldering in her heart.  Like any true sister, Sofie noticed this immediately.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Pari gulped, almost afraid to give voice to her troubles, lest she regret the answer.  “Is... Pari good girl?”

“You’re the best girl, sweetie.  I’m so proud that you care so much about keeping your promises.  You’ll always be a wonderful child.  And...”  Sofie sniffed.  “You’re a great friend, too.  Never forget that.  If anybody has been a bad girl, it’s me.”

“Sofie-sis not bad girl either!”

“Maybe not, but maybe that’s the problem.  I can’t tell what to think anymore.”

“Nya?”

“I’m so sick of being weak and helpless, Pari.  I’ve been little more than an anchor dragging everybody around me down this whole time, and I’ve always hated it.  But now, I finally get my hands on a weapon only to find that it’s cursed and I shouldn’t dare use it.  I keep second-guessing everything to the point where I might as well stay weak because it’s easier.”

“Sofie-sis hate being strong?” Pari wondered.  “Grandfather says strength is only thing that matters.”

“I just... my powers only ever hurt people.  Even when I accidentally used them for things that are good, like with you and not killing people, it only ended up creating disaster in the end.”

“Sofie-sis wrong!” Pari cried out, pushing herself out of their hug so she could see her sister’s face shocked again.  “Sofie-sis save Pari, remember?!  Arly-sis and others were big meanies and wanted to hurt Pari, but Sofie-sis stopped Arly-sis!”

Though Pari could watch the shifting expressions on Sofie’s face, she didn’t need them to track the flow of emotions.  Her nose told her everything as her sister went from shock and confusion into probing uncertainty and finally chagrined acceptance.

“You’re right,” Sofie meekly replied.  “That was the greatest thing I’ve ever done, and I was so busy focusing on all the rest that I never thought of it that way.  But it doesn’t erase all the damage I’ve done with the rest.”

“Pari knows!” she exclaimed as she came upon a brilliant idea.  “Arly-sis was being big meanie, so Sofie-sis use powers only against big meanies and Sofie-sis not need to worry!”

Sofie couldn’t help but chuckle.  “A wonderful idea, sweetie, but how will I be able to know who is a big meanie?”

“Pari will help!  Pari will point out all big meanies for Sofie-sis, so Sofie-sis can beat up big meanies for Pari!”

Sofie’s chuckle turned into full laughter.  “You sure hate meanies, huh?”

“Yes, Pari hates big meanies!” she huffed.  “Big meanies bully Grandfather and hurt Sofie-sis and make Arly-sis cry!  One day Pari will stop big meanies forever!”

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Sofie replied, taking another big sniff.  “Thank you.  This wasn’t a conversation I should be coming out of feeling so... unburdened, but... here we are.  If only we could clone you for every sad person in the world.”  She turned her head and stared through the cabin wall at something.  “Speaking of which... I need to go have a chat with Arlette.  Why not pay Gabby a visit?  She’s probably very stressed out right now and could use some relief like you gave me.”

“Okayyy!”  Pari leapt to her feet and ran down the hallway to the area where all the sleeping rooms were located.  It wasn’t hard to find Gabby’s room.  Pari could smell her, after all.

Only Gabby smelled like Gabby, though Gabby had two smells.  The first was her smell when she was calm and happy, when she smelled like a sea breeze with a hint of citrus, and, just like Sofie, great power.  It was a soothing combination of scents that Pari found very calming.  Unfortunately, Gabby was rarely happy.  When she wasn’t, there was an added layer atop the rest, a layer of acrid burning, almost like an excessively sooty and smoky fire.  Though the scent in the hallway was hours old now, the fire still smelled extra potent.

Pari stood outside the closed door to Gabby’s room and pressed the bell button outside.  Her ears picked up the ring coming from inside the room, but no other sound.  After several moments, she tried knocking, but that had the same result.  Finally, without any other options, she reached up on her tiptoes and pressed the door button.  To her surprise, Gabby had not locked the door and it slid open with a soft swish.

Pari almost gasped at the sight before her eyes.  She found Gabby laying with her back on the floor in the middle of the room, almost completely still.  The only things that kept her from falling into a panic were the missing scent of death and the clear rise and fall of Gabby’s chest.  Almost as bad, however, the room was filled with the scents of distress, unease, and fear.  A strong, almost overwhelming fear.

“Gabby hurt?  What wrong?  Where enemy?!” Pari inquired, rushing in to kneel over the prone body.  Given a closer view, she could see how pale the Earthling’s face was, but unlike Sofie, Gabby had not looked seriously ill before getting on the Flying Toaster.  Not only that, her mouth was drawn into a line, her eyes were squeezed shut, and her jaw was clenched as if she were fighting through pain.  A truly troubling discovery, indeed!

Pari looked around the room quickly, trying to find the threat that had hurt Gabby and produced such heavy terror from the woman.  Unlike the others, Gabby never smelled of fear.  Never!  What was it that could drive such a fearless woman into this state?

Gabby responded to Pari’s sudden arrival several heartbeats later with a grunt, one devoid of any meaning.  Her eyes slowly opened, but she didn’t seem to recognize Pari in the slightest.

Scared that something was truly wrong now, Pari leaned down close to Gabby’s belly button and took a deep sniff, then another, and another still.  She began sniffing her way up the woman’s torso, hoping to smell something different within Gabby, something out of place that might be causing all this pain.

A hand grabbed the back of Pari’s shirt and lifted her up so she hung over Gabby’s chest, swiftly bringing an end to Pari’s frantic inspection.

“Child, what in the world are you doing?” Gabby asked, her voice rough and gravelly.

“Sofie-sis says that dogs can smell cancer within person’s body and that Pari’s nose better than dog nose so Pari try to find problem with sniffing,” she informed her companion.  “Pari find why Gabby hurt so Pari can find big meanie that make Gabby hurt and afraid.”

A single eyebrow rose on Gabby’s forehead.  “Do you even know what cancer is?”

“No,” Pari admitted.  “Pari not know dog either.”

“Well,” Gabby sighed, “it doesn’t matter.  You won’t find anything.”

She lowered Pari down onto her chest and absentmindedly scratched her behind her left ear.  Pari hummed as she tilted her head for a more optimal scratch.

“Why Pari not find anything?”

“Because what’s wrong with me isn’t in my body, it’s in my head.”

“Pari not understand.”

“I’m afraid of heights,” Gabby told her.

“...Pari still not understand.”  She sure seemed to be saying that a lot today.  How could somebody be afraid of heights?  Wasn’t that like being afraid of the sky?  Of flying?  How could anybody fear that wonderful thing?

“Have you ever been afraid of something?”

A memory of a creature flashed before her eyes.  The terrible roar, the menacing eyes, the way it hunted her, chasing her without mercy through the hallways...

“Pari has.”  A truly horrifying memory, one not easily forgotten.

“Well, it’s like that, taken to the extreme, except it happens to me when I’m high up.  It’s like my mind is screaming at me right in my ear and I can’t make it stop.  I start shaking and I vomit everywhere, and I feel so weak and helpless, but there’s nothing I can do but try to fight through it.”

“But... Gabby not fall!  Floor hard and strong!”  Pari kicked the floor next to them for effect, eliciting a clang.

“I know that I am likely quite safe here, child, but fear does not listen to reason.  Especially this sort of fear.  I can tell myself that I’ll be fine all I want, but it does not help anywhere as much as I wish it did.”

“Is okay, Pari here now so Gabby not need be afraid,” she assured the woman with a wide smile.

Gabby seemed taken aback by Pari’s simple declaration.  After several moments, she finally said, “How do you manage it, you sweet little thing?  How is that smile always on your face?  Where does it come from?”

Pari found the question to be very strange.  The fear was surely confusing Gabby right now.  “Smile comes from being happy!” she informed the confused Gabby.  Where else would it come from?

“That’s not what I meant, you little munchkin!” Gabby snorted, giving Pari a poke in the side.  “How are you so happy all the time?!”  The woman seemed to deflate as sadness returned.  “I’m so tired, Pari.  I don’t know how much longer I can keep going.  But you... it’s like every day is Christmas in your eyes.  Don’t you ever get sad?  Don’t you ever have a bad day?”

Pari thought long and hard about her answer.  Was she really always happy?  Was that how everybody saw her?  Sure, she was happy a lot, more than others like Gabby and Sammy, but was that unusual?  Was it bad?

“Sometimes Pari is bored, and sometimes Pari is lonely, and sometimes Pari thinks about her old Family and feels sad,” she eventually admitted.  “But then Pari remembers that Pari has new family!  Pari has Grandfather and Sofie-sis and Arly-sis and Sammy-friend!  And Pari can make candles and eat yummy food and get lots of hugs, so why would Pari be sad?”

“A ‘new’ family, huh?”  Her hand, at the moment scratching behind Pari’s ear, stopped and clutched nervously at the hair behind the ear.  “If only it were that easy.”

A thought popped into Pari’s mind, an idea so perfect and correct that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it already.

“Is okay!  Gabby-sis always nice to Pari and give Pari food and good hugs and try really hard when Pari in trouble just like Sofie-sis and Arly-sis, so Pari has decided Gabby-sis is Gabby-sis now!  Gabby-sis not alone anymore!”

Pari basked in the brilliance of her decision.  Pari had been quite negligent with her hoard, having only amassed four people’s-worth of Family so far.  Meanwhile, Gabby clearly needed companionship.  What’s more, she had easily cleared all the requirements for sisterhood at this point.  ‘If only it were that easy’?  It was that easy!  Gabby was so silly sometimes.

But Gabby didn’t respond as Pari had expected, delighted at her promotion.  Instead, she went still for a moment and Pari heard her heartbeat momentarily seize.  “I’m sorry, Pari, but I can’t.”

“No?”  Pari couldn’t believe her ears.  Shocked and appalled, she searched the Earthling’s face for a sign that this was some sort of joke but found nothing of the sort.  Why?  Why would she say no?  Family was wonderful and everybody wanted Family, so that could only mean...  “Pari’s Family... no good?  Gabby hates Pari?”

“No, no!” Gabby hurriedly proclaimed.  “It’s just...”  She sighed and pulled Pari against her chest.  “I have a family already, sweetie.  They’re still out there, somewhere.  I can’t give up on them, even if I never see them again.  That’s... that’s why...”

As the woman began to tremble, Pari finally understood why Gabby was so sad all the time.  So she was separated from her Family!  How truly, terribly sad!  Truly, Gabby required the utmost comforting.  Luckily, Pari knew just the trick, a technique her mother had used to comfort her back when Pari had been just a small child.  She reached out and began to pat Gabby lightly on the head.  “There, there,” she said softly.  “Pari knows Gabby-friend will see Family again.  There, there.”

Pari knew that her “there, there” technique was working because Gabby’s shaking lessened immediately and the sorrowful scent she exuded weakened, so she kept doing it, patting away the woman’s anguish one pat at a time.

Finally, minutes later, her companion released a long sniff and broke her silence.  “Gabby-friend?” the Earthling asked.

“If Gabby-friend cannot be Gabby-sister, then Gabby-friend be Gabby-friend, yes?” Pari masterfully explained.

“Alright...  Alright, we can be friends all you want.”  Gabby wiped the tears from her eyes and shuddered, the sort of shuddering that happened when you tried to force down a sob.  “I’m sorry.  Most of the time I can push it away, but sometimes...”

“Is alright to be sad.  Pari will stay for Gabby-friend, so Gabby-friend can be sad with Pari and feel better.  There, there.”

“Pari, it’s been, like, half an hour.  You can stop patting my head.”

“Is okay.  Gabby-friend is tired,” Pari said, her healing pats unceasing.  “Gabby-friend sleep now.  Pari will stay for Gabby-friend so Gabby-friend sleep.  There, there.”

Pari could see Gabby start to argue, only to be subdued by the pats and give in.  “How in the world did somebody so sweet ever come to be?” she wondered aloud as she closed her eyes and let her head sink to the hard floor.  Before Pari could even count to thirty, she started to hear light snores coming from her new friend’s mouth.  Gabby hadn’t been lying about being tired.

It was perhaps three minutes later that Pari realized she was bored.  Wrapped up in Gabby’s arms, she couldn’t do much of anything, but she also wasn’t sleepy.  But at the same time, she might wake up her friend if she moved too forcefully and her headpatting arm was feeling pretty worn out at this point.  Slowly, gently, she tried to pull herself free, only to realize that she couldn’t move.  Gabby’s arms continued to enfold her in a tight, unbending embrace even in slumber, making any movement incredibly difficult.  Not, at least, without waking up her friend.  And so, Pari began what would go down in legends as “the Forever Squirm”.  It took her over an hour to regain her freedom, but at least she managed to not wake her new friend in the process.

*     *     *

“There, there,” Pari said softly as she gently patted the bawling Sammy on the top of her head.  “There, there.”

Sammy’s tears didn’t stop, however, and the distinct odor of distress still blanketed the normal Sammy odors of topsoil, wool, and pickled vegetables.  Clearly, Pari wasn’t doing her technique hard enough.  She redoubled her headpatting efforts.  “Pari is here for Sammy-friend.  There, there.”

“I thought you had left me too,” Sammy sobbed.

“Pari came back, Sammy-friend not need to worry, there there.”

In truth, Pari found it rather hard to wrap her head around all the sorrow she’d had to confront since her “revival”.  Sofie, Gabby, Sammy... even Arly had given her a long, long hug.  All of them had been so sad about her “death”, but for her, nothing had happened.  She’d blinked and suddenly found herself somewhere else.

She believed Sofie and the others, of course.  She knew with her whole heart that her sister would never lie to her.  But there was a huge difference between what she understood and what she felt.  From her perspective, it was like she’d left for a few minutes to go to the potty, only to come back to everybody acting like she’d disappeared for a year.  It just didn’t feel real.  Was she supposed to be crying too?  Was she supposed to feel sad?  She didn’t know the answer, but the fact remained that she didn’t feel the same as the others and she found herself unable to pretend she did.  But what was she supposed to do, not help her crying friend?  Sofie said that friends were always there for friends in need, and Pari was the best friend in the world!

It had been clear from the moment of their arrival that Sammy was in deep distress.  Normally Sammy didn’t care about the comings and goings of people.  She liked to stay out of sight much of the time and avoid attention when she wasn’t being dragged around everywhere by Metal Man—or should he be called Metal Meanie now?  Anyway, Sammy did not wait at the elevator for people disembarking from the airship, and she most definitely did not throw herself in tears at people as they got off the elevator.  And yet that was precisely what had occurred not long ago.

Even now, the two of them still stood in the hallway outside the elevator doors.  Sofie and the others, after a moment, had decided quickly that they would only be in the way, leaving Pari to soothe yet another wounded spirit.  And so, once more, Pari patted and patted away somebody’s grief, easing their pain with the flat of her palm.

Eventually, Sammy calmed down enough that Pari was able to lead her to her room.  Alpha, her weird metal pet, ran wildly around their feet when they opened the door, almost tripping them, but they made it to Sammy’s neatly made bed and sat down together.  The entire time, Sammy didn’t release her grip of Pari’s hand, as if she thought Pari would just disappear if she let go for even a second.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments.  Pari waited for Sammy to do... something, anything, but her friend seemed frozen.  It seemed it would be up to Pari to get something going.  She didn’t want her friend to become stuck in some weird grief and sadness loop forever, and she was getting bored, besides.

“Sammy want to play game?” Pari ventured.

“Mmmm,” Sammy responded.  Pari didn’t even know if she was listening.

What would a good game for them to play be?  The best choice would probably be something simple, so it wouldn’t take her too long to teach.  Sofie had said that there wasn’t too much time before they were leaving to go see Grandfather.

“Pari knows!” she declared, bouncing off the bed and turning to face her friend.  “Pari teach Sammy-friend ticky tacky toes!”

That seemed to catch Sammy’s attention, as her eyes seemed to regain focus and see Pari properly for the first time in a while.  “Huh?”

“Ticky tacky toes!  Is game Sofie-sis taught Pari!  Come, come!”

Pari dragged her companion off the bed and over to the nearby study desk.  The desk was covered with parchment, each filled with writings, drawings, and diagrams that Pari didn’t comprehend.  She paid them no mind, instead searching for and pulling out a blank sheet.  Grabbing a nearby pen—one of Metal Meanie’s only good creations—Pari made a small diagram made up of two horizontal and two vertical lines.

“Purpose of game is to create line of three in row before other person makes line of three,” Pari explained.  “Pari will go first!”

Taking the pen, she drew two diagonal lines intersecting each other in the middle—an ‘x’, the Earth shape for ‘no’, according to her sister—in the upper-left corner box.

“Sammy-friend’s turn,” she said, holding the pen out.

Sammy stared at the pen, then the diagram, then the pen again.  Finally, she slowly took the pen and drew her own two diagonal lines on the top-middle box.

“No, no, Sammy-friend make wrong shape!” Pari exclaimed, grabbing the pen.  “Sammy-friend make circle!”

Quickly, she drew a circle—the Earth shape for ‘yes’—over Sammy’s mistake, drawing it over and over until it dominated the box.  Then, she drew her own mark in the center square.  Just one more turn and she would have a victorious line running down and right across the board!

Sammy drew a circle in the lower-right corner.  Drat!  Pari responded by taking the lower-left corner.  Sammy took the upper-right box.  With a snicker, Pari made her mark in the middle-left box and drew a line through it.

“Pari wins!” she said, triumphant.  “Play again, now that Sammy-friend understands rules, okay?  Sammy goes first because loser goes first!”

Sammy didn’t seem as enthused, giving little more than a short hum and a small nod.  Pari drew another board beside the first one.  Perhaps she would purposely lose a game or two, to liven her friend’s mood and grab her interest better.

*     *     *

“Sammy-friend cheating!” Pari announced to nobody in particular as Sammy drew a line across the board.  There was no other explanation.

“I am not!” her adversary giggled.

“Then why Pari only lose or tie?!” Pari fumed.

Yes, Pari had intentionally lost the second and third games to make Sammy feel better.  But then Sammy had started cheating, and Pari had not won a single game since.  Looking at the page, there had to be at least thirty boards scribbled on it now.  The vast majority of them featured a line drawn through three circles.  Not a single one, save the very first, featured a line through an x.

“Maybe you’re just bad!” came the laughing response.

Impossible!  Pari nearly jumped as her tail, lashing about with ill temper, smacked painfully and unexpectedly against the desk leg.  She’d show Sammy what was what!  She’d win this next game for sure, cheating or no cheating!

“Pari, it’s time to-” Sofie’s voice called from the bedroom door.  Seeing the scene, she walked into the room.  “Am I interrupting something?  Pari, what’s got you so irate?”

Sammy simply held up the parchment.

“Hmmm...” Sofie said, inspecting it closely.  “Pari, your strategy needs work.”

Pari gasped.  Betrayed by her own sister!

“Maybe she can teach you how to improve when you get back.  But for now, it’s time to leave.  We got all the food and everything all loaded and ready.  All that’s left is you.”

“Okay!”  Pari’s spirits rebounded instantly at the reminder that she would be seeing Grandfather again soon.  She turned to leave, but before she could take more than a step, Sammy’s hand reached out and grabbed her tightly by the wrist.

“Nya?”

“Please don’t go,” she begged softly.

“I’m sorry, Samanta, but she has to come.  It’s part of the agreement that he gets to see her again,” Sofie explained.

“But... but...”

Pari could feel Sammy’s hand trembling around her arm as the scent of anxiety—strong and bitter, almost like a rotting egg—filled the room.  It hurt to see her friend like this so suddenly.  But why was she acting this way, just because Pari was leaving again for a few more days?

I thought you had left me too.

“Sammy-friend afraid that Pari won’t come back?”

Sammy didn’t respond verbally, but the way her grip on Pari’s wrist tightened was all the confirmation Pari needed.  Luckily, Pari had a brilliant solution.

“Sammy-friend come with Pari!  Then Sammy-friend not worry about being alone!  Pari can show Sammy-friend to Grandfather and tell Grandfather how Sammy-friend is Pari’s bestest friend ever!”

Sammy locked up and the scent of anxiety was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of... terror?  Huh?  Pari sniffed.  The smell was coming from both Sammy and Sofie, for some reason.

“Pari not understand.  Sammy-friend not want meet Grandfather?”

Sammy shook her head vehemently.

“Why?”

“He’s a dragon and he’s super scary,” Sammy whispered, avoiding eye contact.

“Nya?!”  Pari had to replay her memory of what was just said several times before she was certain she hadn’t missed something.  “Grandfather scary?  Sammy-friend confused, thinking of wrong person.  Grandfather not scary at all!”

“He’s absolutely terrifying,” Sofie chimed in.

What was this absurdity?  Pari couldn’t believe her ears!  Grandfather was Grandfather!  Pari had never once felt any fear towards him in the slightest!  Surely, they just didn’t see him the proper way.

“But, Pari wants to show Grandfather Sammy-friend!  Pari wants to tell Grandfather about Sammy-friend and how Sammy-friend is best friend in world!  Pari not let Grandfather be scary, Pari promise!”

“I think this is a bad idea,” Sofie warned.

“...I’ll go.”

“Yayyyy!” Pari cheered, hopping about in an impromptu dance.

“You really do not have to do this,” Sofie told Sammy.

“I don’t want to be left here again.  It was the worst.  And... I can always hide in the ship.”

Pari skipped out of the room feeling as high as the Flying Toaster.  Everything was wonderful!  In just a little bit, she would get to have the best reunion ever!  And there was no way Pari was going to let Sammy hide on the ship.

But first, she headed for her own room.  It was time for a different reunion, a reunion with her candlemaking equipment.

*     *     *

Not even the sea breeze could mask the odor of nervousness emanating from everybody else in the four-person group, which shook Pari a little.  Sofie and Sammy, she understood—they’d already told her they were afraid—but even Gabby smelled of worry.

Unlike the others, Pari couldn’t help but feel like a candle ready to explode from excitement.  To think that she would get to see her Grandfather again so soon!  She had so much to show him and tell him!  Almost subconsciously, her hands moved down to feel for all the candles she’d tucked away in her various pockets.  Good, they hadn’t disappeared in the last five minutes.  She’d spent so much effort making them all on the journey north, it would be a shame if she couldn’t show them all off to amaze him.

Perhaps it was just the wait getting on the others’ nerves.  Their meeting point, a shelf of rock jutting from the side of a mountain on one side and ending on a sheer cliff down to the sea on the other, was located to the northwest of Kutrad on a small sliver of land between the mountains within which Grandfather lived and the ocean.  Having left the Flying Toaster behind, they had taken one of Metal Meanie’s crawly transport things—another neat creation, she begrudgingly had to admit—and arrived to find... nobody.  Grandfather was late.

Fortunately, he was not too late.  Pari first knew he was coming by the sharp intake of breath she heard come from Sammy to her left.  Following her friend’s gaze, she spotted a giant winged being swooping around the nearby peaks and into view.  He flared his wings as he approached, cutting his speed dramatically and sending a powerful blast of wind washing over them as he touched down for a landing just a few dozen meters away.  With that wind came the scents that had, by and large, defined her childhood: blood, brimstone, and power.

“Ahahaha!  That was incredible!” Metal Meanie cheered, hopping out of Grandfather’s hand as he held it down near the ground.  “We should do that again sometime, Bazz!  Better than any roller coaster I’ve ever been on, that’s for sure!  Hooooowee!”

“Grandfather!” she cried out with joy.  “Grandfather is here!”

Pari paid no attention to the armored figure.  She’d already jumped down from the transport and was sprinting as fast as she could towards her beloved family member, arms outstretched.  She threw herself onto the closest finger and wrapped her arms and legs around it tightly like she always used to when she needed to get onto Grandfather’s hand.  The finger curled upward almost by reflex and she dropped down onto his palm.

All Pari could see through her tear-blurred vision was a wall of golden scales, but that was more than enough.  Her breath grew ragged as she began to ‘happy growl’—or ‘purr’, as Sofie called it—so loudly that she could barely hear and she flung herself up against his warm snout.  “Pari missed Grandfather so much!” she sobbed, rubbing herself against his smooth scales and taking deep, strong sniffs to breathe in as much of his calming, familiar scent as possible.

What was this bizarre wrenching in her abdomen?  This strange feeling of melancholy relief that made her want to clutch onto Grandfather and never let him go?  Was this what Sofie, Sammy, and the others had felt about her, this happiness that somehow carried deep sorrow within?

“PARI-CHILD LIVES.  INCREDIBLE,” Grandfather rumbled.

“See?  I told you.  And with that, I’ve fulfilled my half of the deal.”

“MMMMM, INDEED.  THE PACT IS COMPLETE.”

Pari felt her floor shift as Grandfather moved her up and over towards his left eye.  “PARI-CHILD IS HEALTHY AND WHOLE?” he asked.

Pari sniffed and rubbed her eyes to wipe away the tears of joy.  She nodded emphatically.  “Uh-huh!  Pari had so much fun!  Pari has lots of stories to tell and things to show Grandfather!”

She stared into his gargantuan eye, the relatively small body part still many times her entire size, taking in the speckled golden iris surrounding the huge, open oval of darkness that was the eye’s pupil.  Suddenly, the pupil closed into a slit barely wider than Pari’s torso and she instinctively tensed.  Unlike people, People did not radiate emotional scent, but Pari knew Grandfather more than well enough to know what this meant.  Grandfather was angry.

The hand holding Pari curled into a cage of flesh and bone as a growl of rage built up from the base of Grandfather’s chest and burst forth as a mighty, wrathful roar that shook Pari to her bones.  “PARI-CHILD STILL CHAINED!!  VILE CRAWLER!!”

The others scattered as Grandfather lunged forward, his great maw opening wide to chomp down towards Sofie.  Sofie screamed as she scrambled away, but she was just too slow.

“Grandfather, no!” Pari shrieked from atop his palm, but he didn’t listen.  His head snapped down... and missed as Gabby came flying in from the side, knocking Grandfather’s head off course with a mighty swing of her great sword.

He let loose a second roar, equal to the first in its ferociousness.  “RELEASE PARI-CHILD, VILE CRAWLER!  BAZZALTH WILL NOT ASK AGAIN!”

“Grandfather, stop!” Pari cried out, but she seemed beyond his notice.

What was going on?!  Pari had never seen him like this before!  Why was he so angry all of a sudden?!  He was going to hurt her precious Family at this rate!

This was Pari’s fault.  She’d promised that she would not let Grandfather would not be scary and she was breaking her promise, so that meant that it was up to her to stop him.  But how?!  All she had were the candles she had tucked away in her pockets!  Could she stop him with only those?

Yes, she realized.  There was a way.  A simple, effective way that only required a single candle.

Grandfather had moved the hand upon which she stood so that it hovered above and behind his head, keeping her away from the fighting.  Unfortunately, it also prevented her from enacting her idea, and so she had to get out.

Squeezing through a gap between his thumb and forefinger, Pari jumped down to the top of Grandfather’s neck and lowered herself to all fours while the muscles beneath her writhed powerfully as the battle continued ahead of her.  Quickly, she scampered forward, the shifting surface giving her little trouble; running about atop Grandfather, regardless of what he might be doing at the time, was something in which she had years of experience.

Pari slid to a halt atop his head, right between his eyes, and pulled out the crucial candle as Grandfather lashed out at Gabby with his free hand, smashing her into the nearby mountainside with tremendous force.  Pari’s hands shook, but she managed to snap a small flame into existence quickly.  Wrapping her fingers around the sides of the candle to get a solid grip, she reared back and waited for a moment.  She had to time her throw correctly for her plan to work.

The right time came just a moment later.  Pari threw the candle forward with everything her tiny body could muster, sending it arcing over the rest of Grandfather’s face and down in front of his snout—or, to be more precise, right in front of his left nostril.

Grandfather’s nostrils were, like everything about him, quite large, large enough that at least a dozen copies of Pari could crawl inside at the same time and not get stuck.  A small target, this was not.  What’s more, she had timed her throw wonderfully.  He inhaled heavily, perhaps preparing for a great blast of flame, just as the candle passed in front of the opening.  In other words, all she had to do was get it close, and Grandfather would do the rest for her.  With rush of wind, Pari’s stinkcandle was practically plucked from the air and disappeared into Grandfather’s nose and beyond.

A moment later, Grandfather’s entire form shuddered to an awkward halt and he let out a massive, shaking wheeze as plumes of noxious smoke billowed from his nostrils.  His eyes seemed to lose focus, no longer trained like a predator upon Pari’s sister while he hacked and coughed.  Pari’s clutched at the nearest finger and his whole body lurched perilously to the side and fell to the ground with a crash.

Quick as lightning, Pari slid to the ground and ran around to his snout.

“PARI-CHILD,” he sputtered, “WHAT-”

Pari bopped him on the nose as hard as she could!

“No!  Grandfather bad!” she hollered.  “Pari promise Grandfather not hurt friends!  Pari not let Grandfather break Pari’s promise!  Pari is Person and Person always keeps promise!  Grandfather said so!”

“VILE CRAWLER... BAD...” he managed to wheeze as more terrible smoke filled the air.

Pari coughed as the rancid smell entered her nostrils, but she pushed through the horrid odor, refusing to let it derail her now.

“NO!  Grandfather not treat Sofie-sis like big meanie!” she continued, still hollering out her anger.  “Sofie-sis saved Pari and spent time with Pari and taught Pari lots of super neat things and fed Pari yummy food and played games with Pari and let Pari sleep on warm tummy and gave great scratches and pets!  Sofie-sis is Pari’s Family and Pari loves Sofie-sis and Sofie-sis loves Pari just like Pari loves Grandfather!  Grandfather not be mean to Sofie-sis!”

She gave him another bop on the nose for good measure.

The stinkcandle seemed to have run its course within Grandfather’s nose and lungs, as he managed to push himself back up onto his haunches and no longer seemed so unsteady.

“Bazz, dude, what the fuck!?  I thought we had a deal!” Metal Meanie coughed, marching up to the pair.  “She’s back to life and she’s fine, right?!  Just like I said!”  He gagged and coughed some more.  “God, this smells so fucking bad, Jesus Christ!”

“PARI-CHILD NOT FREE OF CHAINS,” Grandfather growled, some of his anger remaining.

Metal Meanie spun towards Sofie, who was cowering behind the transport.  Sammy was right beside her, shaking in her shoes, while Gabby stood protectively in front of the transport with her sword out and her teeth grit.  “The hell, Sofie?  You didn’t fix her?!”

“I did!” she insisted.

“LIES!”

“Bazz, chill!” Metal Meanie insisted with his hands on his hips.  “Getting angry isn’t going to fix anything.  Remember, we can’t see what you see, so you need to talk it out.  Tell us what’s wrong.”

To Pari’s shock, Grandfather listened.  She’d never seen Grandfather listen to a person before.  Why now, and why him of all people?

“CHAINS CONNECT PARI-CHILD’S SOUL TO VILE CRAWLER.”

“Chains?” Sofie wondered, confused.

“So it’s the same as before, the way she was when Gabby took her away?” Metal Meanie inquired, ignoring Pari’s sister entirely.  “With all the chains wrapping around her soul?”

“What?!” Sofie screeched. 

“NO.  SOUL-WRAPPING CHAINS GONE.  ONLY OTHER, SPECIAL CHAINS REMAIN.  FEW, WITH ONE LARGE AND OTHERS SMALL.  DO NOT WRAP, INSTEAD INSERT DIRECTLY INTO SOUL.”

“N-no, that... that can’t be true!” Sofie stammered.

“Hmmm, and do you see any others besides the ones attached to Pari?” Metal Meanie continued, not sparing Sofie a glance.

“YES.  SEVERAL ATTACHED TO CRAWLER CHILD, AND OTHERS.”

“Others?  Going to the rest of us?”

“NO.  OTHERS COMPLETELY UNCHAINED.”

“Then, what do you mean by ‘others’?”

“MORE SPECIAL CHAINS ATTACHED TO VILE CRAWLER.  ALL HEAD SOUTH.”

“How many, would you say?”

“UNCOUNTABLE.  MANY THOUSANDS.”

Sofie made a faint noise and sank to the ground, clinging to one of the transport’s legs to keep herself from falling over entirely.  Metal Meanie and Grandfather largely ignored her as they continued to discuss between themselves, though, to Pari’s relief, Sammy and Gabby went to make sure she was alright.

“Okay, so it seems that there’s a side of her abilities that none of us knew about.  Not even her, judging by that reaction.  Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out and get Pari all cleared, alright?  We can even bring her back later to make sure.  Alright?”

Grandfather released a low growl, but one that Pari understood as begrudging assent.

“Great.  Look, I gotta go take care of this new problem, so why don’t you get back to reminiscing with the twerp?  That’s why you came, isn’t it?”

“INDEED,” Grandfather rumbled.  The nearby eye rotated back to focus on her.  “PARI-CHILD, TALK WITH BAZZALTH.”

“No!  Not until Grandfather apologize to Sofie-sis for being meanie!”

Grandfather’s eyes narrowed again and he stared daggers towards Sofie.  “NEVER.”

Pari stomped her feet in outrage.  “Then... then... Pari mad at Grandfather forever!  Pari not want to be in Grandfather’s hoard anymore!” she shouted.

Grandfather’s eyes went wide at her proclamation and his tail lashed wildly against the ground.

“PARI JOKING.  PARI MAKE CRAWLER JOKE.”

“Pari not joking!  Pari serious!”

Grandfather seemed to droop, wilting like a potted plant left in the hot sun.  The cough returned, a heavy series of hacks that shook him, and by extension Pari, like an earthquake.  She grabbed hold of a nearby claw and held on until the fit subsided.

When it was finally, over, Grandfather let out another reluctant grumble.

“VILE CRAWLER!”

“Sofie-sis’s name is Sofie!” Pari reminded him.

He sighed.  “SOFIE-CRAWLER,” he grunted.  “BAZZALTH FORGIVES SOFIE-CRAWLER FOR HURTING PARI-CHILD.”

Sofie blinked, unsure of what to say, while Pari waited for him to continue.  Soon enough, it became clear that he needed some help.

“Grandfather, tell Sofie-sis Grandfather is sorry for attacking Sofie-sis.”

“PARI-CHILD, BAZZALTH CANNOT SAY SUCH THINGS.”

Pari let out a harrumph, crossing her arms again and turning away from her Grandfather entirely.

He sighed again.  “BAZZALTH IS... SORRY... FOR ATTACKING SOFIE-CRAWLER...” he forced out.

“I’m sorry for hurting her,” Sofie replied.  “I want you to know that I love her with all my heart and never would do anything to hurt her on purpose.”

Grandfather let out one final, noncommittal grunt.

“Yay!” Pari cheered.  “All better now!  Pari happy!”

“PARI-CHILD STILL ANGRY AT BAZZALTH?”

“Pari not mad anymore.  Pari be in Grandfather’s hoard again.”

“BAZZALTH RELIEVED.  NOW, TELL BAZZALTH WHAT PARI DO EARLIER.  PARI-CHILD MAKE NEW CANDLE?  BAZZALTH NEVER SMELL WORSE ODOR.”

“Nya!  Pari used stinkcandle!  Pari discovered many new candles!  Pari learned amazing things and saw super neat sights like super giant glowing tree and Pari have big adventures and make friends and other stuff!  Pari help others and stop meanies and take care of problems all by self!”

Grandfather reached out with a giant claw and carefully rubbed Pari along the back, as he used to back when she was younger.  She pressed herself “HMMMM, PARI HAS GROWN,” Grandfather rumbled.

“Yes,” she declared, standing tall and proud, “Pari has grown three whole centimeters!”

For some reason, everybody else but Grandfather thought that was hilarious.