[Stella]

 

After a couple minutes of the mother apologizing, the daughter eventually wakes up, stars in her eyes as she realizes she is still holding onto the tail. Dawn held in any statements that she wouldn’t want the child to hear.

 

“Mommy, why is her tail so fluffy? It’s like it was a warm blanket trying to wrap around me.” The innocent child asks. I see Dawn’s face start to soften before she turns around and bends down to look at the child.

 

“The reason my tail is so fluffy is because it’s been touched by the abyss.” Dawn playfully laughs, “Good children must watch out otherwise the abyssal fluff will take you to warm dreams.” 

 

“Kyaaa!” The child lightly screams while Dawn chases her for a bit. The child’s mother, who was worried something would happen because of this, relaxes while she watches the warm scene of them playing. 

 

Eventually she starts to tire out before making her way back to her mom, giving her a big hug as she leans onto her. “Mommy, mommy, is it possible for us to get an abyssal fluff at home?”

 

“Fufu, we’ll see honey, for now, let's go back home for dinner, how does that sound?” The mother asks, petting her daughter's head in the process.

 

“Yeah!” The daughter says, before she starts to doze off again. The mother picks her up before looking at Dawn.

 

“Thank you for this, you didn’t need to do any of that but I appreciate it.” She says.

 

“It’s fine, I was annoyed at first because I thought another adult did it, but the child doesn’t know better. Though it would be great if you taught her not to do that any more. I don’t know how it is for dragonborns since they’re tails are scaly but getting my tail grabbed is very uncomfortable because of how sensitive it can be.” 

 

“I’ll make sure to do that when she wakes up later. Also, abyssal fluff?” She says, lightly laughing.

 

“Eh, it just kinda came to me.” Dawn said.

 

“What now?” I asked.

 

“Well I’m not in the mood to explore after having my tail grabbed twice so suddenly, sooo food and room?” Dawn asked.

 

“Wouldn't hurt, I guess.” I replied.

 

~~~~~

 

We found our way to the tavern section of the building, this section is easily the second largest part of the place, the first being lodging for other adventurers. Dawn walked around for a while before she finally found a table for us to sit at. Most tables are already full from adventurers being with either family or party members. 

 

I could see a bunch of people staring at Dawn as she walked through, likely having heard about the commotion from earlier. An elven waitress eventually makes her way towards our table, notepad in hand.

 

“Hi, what can I get you started with?” She asked.

 

“Whatever meal you’d recommend, I don’t see any menu around here to choose from.” Dawn said.

 

“We have a special meat lovers dish if you would like that?” The waitress said. 

 

“Meat lovers?” Dawn asked as her tail started to sway behind her quickly. “Yeah I could go for that.”

 

“And to drink?” She added on.

 

“D-do you have any that include bourbon?” Dawn asked hesitantly, her movements stopping like Arya whenever she remembers something.

 

That’s an interesting name? From my small knowledge of drinking that I’ve gotten from Dad, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of something called Berben.

 

“Berben? I don’t think we have anything named that?” The waitress said.

 

“Bourbon, it’s not a name, but a type of alcohol, you know, a type of whiskey that’s fermented with corn?” Dawn said, as if we knew what that was.

 

“I’m sorry ma’am, but I don’t think we have anything like that.” She replied, causing Dawn’s tail swing to slow down. 

 

“It’s alright, just, just get me what the Dwarves would normally drink.” Dawn said.

 

“Dawn are you sure about that?” I quickly asked, knowing she probably doesn’t know the strength of dwarven alcohol.

 

“Ma’am please know that the dwarves usually drink very strong drinks.” The waitress said, almost like she was about to panic from Dawn’s request.

 

“Ahh it will be fine.”  Dawn said, waving her hand slightly.

 

Dawn waited a while until the waitress eventually came back with our meal. The plate carries multiple types of meats along with sauces. Some were crispy, others looked like they were grilled over a fire. After that, the waitress put down a giant mug onto the table that started to foam a little over the top, flowing down the cup.

 

Dawn looked completely focused on the meal that spread across the table as the smell hit her, making her wipe her mouth in anticipation for the meal. 

 

“Excited much?” I asked.

 

“Very.” She replied before starting her meal, really her drink.

 

Dawn starts to chug the drink, slowly bringing her head back as she takes sip after sip.

 

“Gahaa~ Ahh that’s so good.” Dawn said, shaking as she put the mug down. Looking at it I can see she drank almost half of it already.

 

“A-are you okay?” I asked, having what dwarven ale does to others in the past. I even see a couple dwarves at other tables stop what they’re doing as they watch Dawn who didn’t seem to have a care in the world as she ate her meal.

 

“I haven’t had a meal this delicious in so long. And the flavor of the drink goes so well with how this chicken tastes.” Dawn says, “This is chicken right?” 

 

“Yeah. . . “ I said.

 

The waitress, who was still nearby, was shell shocked from the sight before slowly making her way back here. “Do you need anything else?” 

 

“Oh yes.” Dawn smiled before looking up to the waitress. “I’d like another cup, or two, please.” 

 

“Y-yes.” The waitress said, turning around. “Oh before I forget, Palra already handled the cost of your meal.”

 

“Sweet, I’ll have to thank her later when I see her again.” Dawn said.

 

“I didn’t even think about the cost, oh god that would have been so bad.” I said as I started to panic,  thinking about what would have happened if we had to cover the cost.

 

“Relax, it’s fine.” Dawn said, taking another sip of her drink. “Besides, I won’t let her keep the favor for long, I don’t like owing people.” 

 

“I see, on to other matters, you don’t seem to be affected that much by the drink?” I said.

 

“That’s probably because I have high tolerance, something I can thank my pops for.” Dawn said with a small smile. 

 

“How so?” I asked.

 

“It uh, has to do with my past, I’ve mentioned before that I had a rough childhood right?” Dawn said, looking at me. I shook my head to her question.

 

“Huh, oh well, I won’t go too much into detail but just know that my . . . father.” Dawn paused, “Was around alcohol a lot when I saw him. I actually grew to be fearful of the sight for a long time. My pops, grandfather mind you, took the time to show me that while yes alcohol helped my father do what he did, it wasn’t to be blamed. That thought should be held solely for my father as it was what he came to think of and acted on most times. Alcohol only gave him a little push.”

 

She stopped for a bit to continue her meal. “My grandfather would spend the time getting alcohol and drinking with me to help me get over my fear. Obviously when I was older, it helped me a lot.”

 

The rest of the time went by quickly as Dawn and I conversed between us as she ate. With many dwarves cheering her on as she went through cup after cup of her drink. Only stopping once she became full, I think it was around the time she was on her ninth cup of the stuff? 

 

I just hope my dad doesn’t get the bright idea to try and compete against her when they meet. Like a lot of the dwarves around our table asked. Dawn refused them obviously but she did say she wasn’t opposed to doing it in the future. 

 

We saw Palra passing by as we made our way to our room, she offered to show us the way but Dawn didn’t want to take up too much of her time. We quickly entered our room with unsteady steps, most likely from the amount of alcohol Dawn had, before locking the door and making our way to the bed.

 

Dawn sleepily summoned our Rosa as she made herself comfortable in bed. Getting a few licks on her face from Rosa before they both fell asleep.

 

“Haah, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you two.” I said before heading to our soul realm to join Arya for sleep. 

 

Arya was still asleep even after all this time, I watched over her for a bit as I wondered what I could do to help ease her pain in these attacks, if possible at all.

 

~~~~~

 

[Arya]

 

I don’t know when it started but at some point I found myself floating in an endless darkness, it went on as far as I could see. Not knowing up or down, left or right, I struggled as I tried to find solid ground. This went on for a while until I heard a heartbeat, at least that’s what I believed it was. 

 

With a long time in between each beat, it grew louder, shorter. Each one quickened the pace until it sounded like a drum. At the peak of it all I heard something roar out into the darkness causing me to feel an emotion building up, outgrowing any other emotion I could feel. At first it was only the feeling of helplessness. 

 

That any control I had over myself was gone from the sound of the beast. It’s roar signaling the end of all. In the middle of my fear I feel something latch onto me before pulling me. A flash of light  explodes in the darkness, making me cover my eyes. 

 

Once I felt the light start to die down, I could feel my feet on solid ground. Taking the time I open my eyes to find myself in a barren land, trees broken and dead. No sign of life anywhere and only fires and explosions seen off in the distance. 

 

My legs give out from beneath me, making me fall to my knees. Feeling my face grow wet, I try to reach for my cheeks only to find I can’t control my body at the moment..

 

“Tears?” I said, confused at the scene around me. “I . . . where am I?”

 

Amongst the many sounds and explosions, someone sobbing nearby, my vision turns to the sound as I find Dawn and Stella by a body. 

 

“Dawn. It’s enough, we can’t help her anymore, her soul isn’t here anymore.” Stella said, as she sobbed along with Dawn. “I know you’re sad, but this isn’t the time!.” 

 

The body is a woman, hair that goes down to her midback that is fiery orange until several inches above the ends, where it turns into a luminescent. Blue intermittent feathers can be seen in her hair and atop her head as they form what looks like a cerulean crown. Several long feathers sprout from her lower back like the tail end of a dress. 

 

A long spear can bee seen running through the woman’s chest as blood seeped into the ground. The spear itself is broken and feels like something that would consume all life. 

 

“Sefa, I’m so sorry Sefa, if only we were stronger, faster, we could have stopped everything.” Dawn continued to cry as she traced her hand down the woman’s face. 

 

My body gets off the ground before walking over, the woman, Sefa, is extremely beautiful and seeing her face only makes me feel more sadness. 

 

“Dawn.” I feel myself starting to talk. “We have to go, if we don’t then F̴͜͏̢͞e͟͠r͝҉̡҉͡d̸̡í͘͏a͜҉̨̀ ̸͏ is going to ruin everything else that we hold dear. We can’t allow ourselves to stumble here after she gave her life for us.”

 

I hear myself speak, whatever name she spoke however sounds broken and displaced.

 

“I know.” Dawn says, as her hair starts to float behind her as I feel her anger and mana radiate off of her. 

 

I notice that our link is still there, allowing me to sense Dawn and Stella even now. But I’m confused about how I’m here and the fact we have our own bodies.

 

Dawn stands up as she wipes her face before giving Sefa one last smile. 

 

~~~~~

 

I quickly jump out of bed to find myself in our room, Stella is asleep beside me as she grumbles from my movement. Seeing she didn’t wake up I try to gather myself after whatever just happened. I can’t remember anything but I know I just experienced something if this deeply rooted sadness is anything to go off of.

 

[Time-Locked Library – 185 days 23:59:27  Remaining]

 

I stop to read the system notification again. Time locked library, I never managed to get it to work before. Inspect didn’t give much information either, only showing me the name of the skill and nothing else. Whatever happened though, I don’t think I’ll be going back to sleep. For now I guess go see what Dawn is doing since she isn’t here. 

 

Taking control over our body, I find myself struggling to stand up, my movements feel sluggish and I have a headache as well. Seeing how I took over so easily, Dawn must have been asleep for once, which is surprising. 

 

“I’m surprised you’re up.” I hear someone say.

 

“Taleah?” I ask.

 

“Good morning, Drunken Wolf.” She says.

 

“Drunken wolf? What did my sisters do?” I asked.

 

“Oh you know, outdrank multiple dwarves.” Taleah said.

 

“Huh?” I said.

 

“Fun isn’t it?” Taleah laughed.

 

“Not at all, explains why I feel like this.” I added.

 

“I could help you but I’ll let you deal with that yourself. I’m here to tell you about the details for the adventurers test, since that damn tree forgot to give you the information.” Taleah said, sounding annoyed from her words.