“What is that?” Renalia asked. They had spotted the black shape of a bogling some distance away and had gotten into formation. Lexi stood in the lead holding the shield, with Renalia off to the side. But the expected attack hadn’t come. In fact, it barely moved. So, instead, they approached it.

Lexi stepped on the hard, domed shell of the bogling, the size of a large oval shield. The lightest of pressure kept it in place, its stubby feet doing little in its scraping on the ground.

Not only was it weak, it was incredibly slow. It took several seconds for it to crane its neck around and several more seconds for it to realize it couldn’t reach her foot. It gave up trying to bite her and concentrated anew on crawling, to little effect.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Lexi bent down and rapped on the shell. It was hard and sounded more solid than a wooden shield.

Keeping its attention in the front, she told Renalia, “Try to see if it’s armored below too.”

Renalia crouched next to it with [Bogling Skin] mentally ready. With one hand keeping her ponytail out of the mud, she bent over and reached underneath between its legs. It felt hard and she gave it a quick tap. “Same.”

“No way we can get through that armor. My brother may be able to [Pierce] through it if he was with us. Maybe not even that would work.” She placed her foot back on its shell and pressed down. “We’ll do this the old fashioned way, then. Renalia, take its head off.”

Renalia backed away a little. Like Lexi had shown her, she lifted her spear horizontally over her head and ran towards the bogling. A step from the bogling, she planted her feet with a little assistance from [Bogling Claws]. Doing so helped her bend over her stomach and accelerate the spear down in an arc through her shoulders.

She grinned as the spearhead went through the bogling’s neck easily and into the ground. “I did it!” It was so much more forceful and graceful than the flying stumble she had done with the mole’s paw several days past.

Without a hint of pain, the bogling strained against the spear, successfully tearing itself away. It retracted its neck, tail, and all four limbs into the domed armor. “Whoa, that’s so cool!”

“Yes, but it also means we don’t have a good way of injuring it further. I don’t want to damage our spears by trying to push them through the holes in the armor. Let’s head back and let Malchim deal with it.”

With its unwieldy bulk and smooth round surfaces, it took the two of them some time to tie it up. And since the bogling wasn’t dead yet, caution slowed their movements whenever they came close to any of the six holes on the side. They did not know if a limb would shoot out and attack.

Lexi stood and stretched, arching her back. “That’s the first time that bagging the prey took more effort than capturing it.”

Turning away from Lexi, Renalia activated [Bogling Sight]. She had experimented with Boogie the night before. His growling confirmed that whatever magic the Card did, it changed how her eyes appeared. So she had been secretly activating it behind Lexi’s back whenever it became available.

[Bogling Sight] was more powerful than she imagined. Using it in the kennel and within the confines of the cottage last night, she had thought it just clarified her vision, making objects more distinct.

But out here in the open, its usefulness truly shined. Her bogling eyes could see many times farther than her human ones. Better yet, motion seemed to jump out in her enhanced vision. And when she focused on a bug flying in the far distance, it appeared bigger and slower, allowing her to count the number of feet it had.

Now, she could easily see that a small patch of ground close by seemed to be twitching. Approaching slowly, she poked at it with her spear. It hit something solid and dislodged enough dirt for her to discern its shape. Working the spearhead underneath it, she lifted.

It was a lump of mud, but the tiny feet that protruded out from it recalled the bigger version they just captured. She walked to a nearby patch of water and dipped the spearhead in. It barely moved while the mud washed off, allowing her to lift it out again with only a minor adjustment.

“Aw, it’s so cute!” It was the same kind of bogling, but at half the size of her palm, barely bigger than a large coin. She picked it up delicately with her forefinger and thumb, its feet slowly wiggling in the air. “Can I keep it?”

“Um,” Lexi stammered. She was at a loss for words, as her hunter training had probably not covered adopting boglings. “I don’t think it’s safe.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you, Penny?” Renalia petted its head with a finger, which the bogling promptly bit.

“Ow!” It stung, but didn’t break the skin. She held the uninjured, but slightly throbbing, finger up to Lexi. “See, it’s completely safe!”

“That’s the opposite of what ‘safe’ means. But I suppose it’s harmless enough.” Seeing Renalia’s face brighten, she quickly added. “But not as a pet. I would not be ‘safe’ from your mom if I let that happen. We’ll take it with us. I’m sure someone from the city would pay dearly for a live undead.”

Both the dogs’ muzzles twitched when they saw Penny in her hand. But they stood still, understanding their current role as beasts of burden. She kept Penny out of their sight, though. As Father Cornelius said before, “It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it.”

“But I can keep it in the meantime?” She discovered that bonking it on the head would cause it to retract everything into its shell. It really was the cutest thing.

“I suppose. If Malchim has a cage for it.”

“Wait till Marcy sees Penny. She’ll absolutely love it.” 

“I’m not sure Marcy would feel the same way about boglings as you do.”

As they turned back toward the village, Lexi asked, “How are you getting along with the Ongock kids?”

“Fine. Even Shim’s not as bad as he used to be.” She flicked the tiny bogling again when it came out of its shell and tried to bite her, sending it back into its protected armor.

“They’re good kids. They’ve just had a hard time… As I’m sure all the kids in the village have.”

They walked in silence for a while, before Renalia decided if she was going to ask, this would be the time. “Um, Lexi? Why are you helping me?”

Lexi chuckled. “Heard my conversation with Malchim yesterday, eh, kid?”

Renalia blushed but she pushed on. “What does training me have to do with Malchim’s late wife?” She flicked the undead bogling again.

Lexi sighed wistfully. “Lily–Liliane–was the kindest person. I know people say speak well of the dead, but she really was. She was there for me when I needed someone kind.”

Puzzlement probably showed itself on Renalia’s face, for Lexi continued. “You’re too young to understand, but sometimes, love hits unexpectedly and you fall for someone you really shouldn’t have. Someone your parents and society disapprove of. And it hurts, it really hurts, when something that feels so right is deemed so wrong. And…”

Lexi was right. Renalia really did not understand what the older girl was talking about. She could not imagine falling in love with someone Mama and Papa didn’t like. That’s just illogical. And what does society have anything to do with it?

Exhaling deeply, Lexi said, “I guess… I guess what I’m trying to say is that I know what it’s like to feel alone, like the world is against you. And I know how important it is to have someone on your side, to guide you to the right decisions and away from the bad ones.”

Renalia gasped as Lexi’s words conjured up memories of several days ago. Alone. Adrift. The world battering down on her.

“I- Thank you.” The small head of the bogling peeked out from its shell again, this time ignoring her fingers. She stopped, holding tightly to the bogling, willing herself not to cry. “I thought… I thought I was going to die…”

Lexi stopped by her side and placed a hand on her head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, kid. And I’m going to do my best to make sure you never have to go through that again.”

Renalia nodded, liking Lexi’s hand against her head. There was a weight to the muscular arm, just like Papa’s. “How do I pay you back?”

“Ah, you’re just a kid, Renalia.” Renalia frowned, so Lexi added, “Listen, once you’re older and you see some kid needing someone by their side, you help her out, yeah?”

Renalia’s internal sense of balance complained that she owed Lexi for her kindness, not some random, undeserving kid in the future. Although she had to admit Lexi’s support now meant a lot to her; much more than she could ever repay. So maybe it made sense to have a three-sided scale with some kid in the future whom she could really help.

The mental image made her dizzy, but she recognized that Lexi probably had her own three-sided scale, with Liliane and Renalia at the other ends. “Alright,” Renalia agreed. “But you’ll let me know if I can help you too, okay?”

Lexi chuckled and patted her on the head. “Will do, kid. Will do.”

They resumed walking, catching up to Boogie and Porkchop. Every once in a while, the bogling that the dogs were dragging would stick its feet out. But upon not finding a good purchase against the ground, it would retract them again.

The baby version pinched between her fingers had ceased trying to bite her, so she placed it on her palm. It wobbled forward and, upon reaching the edge of her palm, pawed at the air continuously as if a surface would magically appear at any time.

Which Renalia supposed it was right about, as she placed her other hand at the edge, letting it continue its walk. Does Penny feel alone? she wondered. Do boglings still have feelings or were they just dead and mad? Penny reached the end of her hand and pawed at the air again. Was it trying to reach its parent?

For an undead monster that would kill her if given the chance, it was really quite adorable.

“And maybe don’t fight with Shim so much.”

As if I have a choice, she thought. But she said, “I’m trying not to.”

“I know he hasn’t been that nice to you. But he was such a good boy, before… You know.”

Renalia shook her head. She knew what Lexi referred to but not the details. “How did she die?”

Lexi looked at her, surprised. “I thought the entire village knew. It was the talk of the town.”

“Um, I guess I was busy at the time.” Busy taking care of Mama. Busy catching bugs to eat. Busy trying not to cry.

“Well, it was while Malchim and their eldest were out on a hunt. Some other hunting party lost control of the wolf bogling they were fighting and inadvertently led it back to the village. Right to where the Ongocks lived. Lily sacrificed herself, keeping it busy and away from the kids until enough villagers could bring it down.”

Lexi tightened her grip on her spear as if reliving the memories. “Shim was Lily’s favorite, the most like her among all the kids. Her passing changed him… It… It made him more like his dad.”

She shook her head softly. “Even Malchim was nicer before, a good provider for the family. Now he never ventures into the bog, never allowing the kids out of his sight.”

They passed the rest of the trip back in silence. Lexi was occupied with her memories while Renalia dealt with the unpleasant feeling of sympathy for her bully.