I help Kal'tsit carry the groceries in, unable to keep myself from glancing at her as I do so. She seems much more relaxed and assured than the last time she was here, so she must have figured a couple of things out. More than a couple of things, if her new name and style are anything to go by.

As I'm bringing the last bag in, I hear Kay talking to Kal'tsit from the kitchen. "So… Kal'tsit, huh? Where'd you come up with that name?" I enter the kitchen a few seconds later, lifting the last bag onto the counter and turning towards the food I'd just made. I'll need to make another dish, now that she's here too.

"Well… it's my name. It was in the old world, so it might as well be in this one too. And it'll make introductions easier for those that know me from the old world," she says casually. Kay just looks more confused by the explanation, the confusion evident on her face.

Before she has a chance to ask, though, I slide the two plates of food that are ready to eat in front of them. "Breakfast first, then you can explain what you mean while you eat," I say, looking Kal'tsit in the eye as she smiles up at me.

"Of course. Ah, before that, though, I have something for you." She gets up from the table, going over to one of the various bags we've carried in and pulling out a jacket. She tosses it to me and I look at it in confusion. As I look at the jacket longer though, I gasp in shock as I realize what it is.

"Where did you get this…?" I ask, running a hand over the fabric. It's sturdy and well made. Feeling the inside, it's even the same blue lining that I remember. It’s a slightly different texture, but it looks exactly the same. The front of the coat has the words 'Rhodes Island' running vertically near the zipper. It's the same jacket from all those visions I've been having, it just feels slightly different.

"I had it made a while ago. It felt more right for you to have it now though," Kal'tsit says, pausing briefly to look me in the eye, "Amiya."

I shake a little at that, strange feelings surging up from within me. I carefully put the jacket on and it feels right. "When you left, though, I didn't have these ears. I wasn't even going by this name. Did you know, all the way back then?"

She shrugs, taking a bite of the food I've made while she looks up in thought. Swallowing, she answers, "Not so much knew, insomuch as I had a hunch."

Kay sighs, folding her arms sourly. "A heads up that we might turn into girls would have been nice."

Kal'tsit just shakes her head, pointing her fork at Kay. "You I know nothing about. That was a surprise to me too. And, well…" She turns to look at me, frowning slightly in thought. "I didn't want you to worry about it. I was hoping I would be able to figure something out before you noticed; I'm glad that it didn't turn out badly though."

I sigh, turning back around to continue making myself some food. "Yeah, I guess it went fine, so no harm, no foul. I'm… still not sure how I feel about it, though." There's a couple moments of silence as I start making some more food for myself while the two of them eat their own breakfast.

Kal'tsit breaks the silence once more, "By the way, Kay. I'll need your help with making something. A couple of somethings, technically. We're gonna have to use some Originium, so I'm going to teach you how to refine it."

Kay drops her fork onto her plate, suddenly sounding interested. "Refine it? It's useful for more than just being an infectious rock?" I glance over my shoulder briefly to look at the two of them and Kal'tsit nods, leaning forward her eyes turn intense and clinical. The familiar neutral stare I've seen her carry in so many of my visions. I turn back to my cooking, unnerved slightly by her eyes. It’s an expression that wouldn’t have looked foreign on who she was before the change, or who she was in `the old world` as she put it. Despite that, it’s strange to see how similar they both act.

"It's an incredibly useful resource. Originium devices could revolutionize this world in both great and terrible ways. It's dangerous, not just because of Oripathy, but because people in power will have an incentive to keep it around because of the great good and bad it can bring." A chill goes down my spine as a phantom of familiarity crosses the forefront of my mind. I haven't seen it, but I know that what she's saying is true intuitively. I can feel the visions of it happening lingering on the edge of my mind now, within reach. Rather than forcibly taking control, it's almost as if this one is offering for me to see. To show me, if I want.

I push the thought away gently, focusing on my cooking. It gracefully fades into the depths of my mind, waiting for me to eventually retrieve it. Kay continues talking and I tune back into their conversation. "Hmm, it sounds dangerous, then. To make any Originium devices. Will it really be okay?"

"They're necessary items. Besides, refined Originium is much safer than the raw stuff, especially when it's inside of a device. In this case though, it's far more dangerous if we don't make them." There's a lull in conversation for a few moments as the two continue eating slowly.

"Alright then," Kay says finally, pushing her chair out. I glance back and see that she's already cleaned her plate. "I'm ready to get to work whenever. I don't suppose you happened to bring any bras with you?"

"Ah, uh… no. I brought one for now, but… it might be a little tight," she says tactfully. "I'll drive back into town real quick and pick up several sizes of sports bra for now, so that you two will have something until everything is finalized."

I start plating up my own food, looking at Kal'tsit in concern. "Are you sure you can still go shopping looking like that?" I glance at her feline ears and nearly white hair meaningfully.

She reaches into a nearby bag and pulls out a hat. "I've been wearing a hat when I go into town. The hair color is a little unusual, but people dye their hair. I brought these hats just in case you two need to go incognito." She glances over at Kay's horns. "Though the hat might not work for you, Kay."

She shrugs with another sigh. "I guess at this point in life I'm used to the struggles of being well endowed."

I focus intently on my food, sitting down at the table and eating. I don't want to touch the implications of that sentence at all, so I just try my best to ignore it. I can feel the cocky grin that she’s making anyways. Kal'tsit chuckles, turning to the door. "Heat up the forge and I'll be back soon."

I flop over onto my side, letting my arm holding my book up droop to the floor. Sighing, I pull myself into a sitting position and slip a bookmark into the book I’ve been reading. Setting it down, I wander over to a nearby window and watch Kay and Kal’tsit work on creating something.

I had expected that whenever Kal’tsit returned, she’d have some more answers for us and would have a plan. So far though, I’ve just returned to the same old routine I’d fallen into previously. She does seem to have some plan, but for whatever reason she’s being cagey about the particulars. Even now she and Kay are working on creating something, but both of them have left me in the dark about what exactly they’re making.

It’s frustrating, not being able to do anything to help. I’ve been making meals for me and Kay, and now Kal’tsit too, but other than that I’ve spent the days just biding my time. I’m growing antsy the more I have to wait, I want to do something. I want to be more helpful.

I can’t even do any research or anything because I don’t have my phone or an Internet connection. I’m stuck here to wonder if anything’s going on with the outside world. Has anywhere else found Originium yet? Have we managed to keep the breakout relatively contained for now? What happened with my school? Are people actually looking for me?

I pause at that, looking down at myself. Even if they were before, I’m not Anthony anymore. I’m Amiya. They would have no way of connecting the two of us as long as I stay away from my apartment and stuff…

I pull away from the window, pacing the room in thought. Surely there’s something I could do to help for now. I can talk to Kal’tsit about maybe going into town later and potentially picking up some more stuff, but maybe there would be some worry with using my debit card. Ignoring that for the moment, what can I do now?

My eyes drift towards Kay’s forge outside and the work that the both of them are doing. Turning away from the window, I turn to a large box that Kay pointed out to me on my first day here and open it up. Looking through the box briefly, I pull out a plain sword. The box is filled with all of Kay’s experiments with forging that she made that she didn’t have an immediate use for. Apparently if she needs more metal on the fly, she’ll take something out of this box and reforge it. She shouldn’t mind too much if I use this for a bit.

With sword in hand, I glance towards the window once more. They’re both busy in the backyard and I don’t want to bother them at all if I’m just going to be training to use a sword. Instead of the back door, I walk towards the front door and slip outside. 

With sword in hand, I turn towards the forest and try to get a feel for the weight of it. It’s actually quite heavy and I can’t tell whether or not that’s a change in my strength. The weight feels unnatural, which makes sense considering this is the first time I’ve ever held a sword. Gathering my strength, I practice swinging the sword. Swinging the sword up and then back down, it goes over my head and wedges itself into the ground.

“Ugh,” I grunt as I pull the sword back out of the ground. Why is this so hard? I keep swinging, trying to get used to the weight of the sword. No matter how many times I swing it, though, it doesn’t get any easier.

I don’t relent, though, fueled by a desire to maybe be helpful with dealing with the Originium slugs. I put my all into swinging the sword, my arms tiring quickly and becoming sore from the exertion. After the sword lodges itself into the ground again I try to pull it out, but with all the power gone from my arms I can't lift it up again.

"Agh!" I scream in frustration, slumping against the sword. I can feel my emotions bubbling to the surface, agitation and anger at my own inability catalyzing inside me into something powerful.

Something that I didn't know was lurking inside me bubbles to the surface, and I can feel a power dancing across my nerves and through the Originium in my body. It only serves to agitate my already fragile emotions and I try my best to rein both them and the power in. Opening my eyes, I see a crackling black energy coming off of my body. I can also see Kal'tsit and Kay turning the corner of the house at the same time.

They both look shocked, but Kal'tsit shoves something into Kay's hand, pointing at me and saying something. Her face looks determined as the two of them approach me.

I can feel the power arcing off of me dangerously and I try my best to rein it in. I wanted to help my friends, not hurt them. I manage to keep the energy away from them as they approach me quickly. Both of them take one of my hands and I feel them slip something over my fingers one after the other. Looking down at them, they're just simple teal-colored rings. With each ring slipped onto my finger, though, I feel more in control of this strange power than I was seconds before. I'm able to pull the majority of the power back inside me, dissipating it quickly and taking control of my emotions once more.

With the last ring slipped over my last finger, I can only collapse against my two friends as Kay pats my back and Kal'tsit strokes my hair gently. I shake gently as I process my surroundings, scared of whatever that was lurking inside of me.

"I guess we finished those just in time." Kal'tsit says, sighing deeply.

"What the hell was that? It looked like black lightning arcing off of her. And look what it did to the sword!" Kay exclaims, drawing my eyes towards my feet. The sword is shattered into several pieces; some of the sections are missing entirely.

"That was Arts. You can think of it like Magic. I was going to teach you both how to use it, but it was important that we got the rings made before something like this happened." I look down at my hands and at the rings that have been slipped over my fingers. "Amiya's Arts are powerful. Incredibly dangerously powerful. Without something to dampen her power, it could easily exacerbate her Oripathy and endanger herself and those around her. "

Kay looks a little annoyed, holding me a little closer. It's actually pretty sweet that she's so concerned about me and it's helping me calm down a bit. It feels almost… motherly? More like a big sister, considering how close in age we are. I guess it makes sense considering how close we are, I just never considered that she would be so concerned about me. I guess I just hadn’t noticed just how close we have gotten over the years. "So that's what those rings do? Why didn't you say?"

Kal'tsit looks between the two of us and I see one of her ears flick slightly back before she sighs again. Her ears seem to betray what her face doesn’t in that she seems reasonably upset at herself about what’s happened. "I didn't want to risk something like this happening. It's not exactly a comforting thing to find out that you have a dangerous and lethal power inside of you." I can sort of understand that, my ears drooping slightly as I realize that all this time Kal'tsit has been looking after me. I feel a hand on the top of my head and glance upwards; Kal'tsit is looking down at me much more softly than before. "Your Arts are very connected to emotions, so I wanted to have these made before I broached the subject with either of you. I somehow failed to take into account how you might be feeling because of that; so I'm sorry, Amiya."

My eyes dropping back down to the ground, I nod my head primly. "It's not your fault. I should have trusted that you know what you're doing."

There's a long stretch of silence after that and I can't help but glance back up to Kal'tsit. She's retracted her hand and is looking slightly uncomfortable again. With her arms folded in front of herself, she turns slightly. "Not exactly. A lot of this is me playing things by ear myself. I still haven't recovered nearly enough memories to piece very much together, I've just been able to make some very large inferences from what I have seen and piece it together with the extensive meta knowledge that I happen to know."

"You definitely seem to be more knowledgeable about any of this than me or her," Kay says, gesturing to me. I nod, pulling myself off the ground. I can't keep feeling pathetic and just stay sitting down; we're a team. Maybe even a family?

Dusting myself off, I take a deep breath of air to stabilize myself before looking between the two of them confidently. "We'll just have to pool our knowledge together until we can form a bigger picture, then."

Kay nods happily and Kal'tsit looks deep in thought once more. It seems like she's formulating a thought, so I wait for her to speak. After a couple more seconds, she looks up with a nod. "The more infected that we can get to contribute to the pool of information, the clearer the picture will be. Hopefully the infection hasn’t spread, but if it has then they will be important sources of knowledge. It might be worth keeping something akin to a dream journal on hand for visions such as these. It's important to note that not every vision will necessarily be important, but it might have important information inside it if you're observant. Dates, names, files, medical reports, these will all be useful pieces of information for constructing a timeline and a larger web of information. I'm sorry, Amiya, but you and I will have to pay especially close attention to these sorts of things, seeing as we both held important roles in Rhodes Island. These memories are your own and you can feel free to share the finer details if you're okay with it, but we should definitely share anything more important."

I nod happily, already happy to finally have something to do that's important. Maybe if I can focus, I can try to direct the visions to obtain more pertinent information? Kay similarly nods along. "Is that what we'll be focusing on next then? Just remembering stuff?"

"Actually, no. I did say I was going to teach you how to use Arts." Kay smiles at that and Kal'tsit matches that smile with a very light one of her own. "Unfortunately there's one more thing that we should do before we get too comfy and it'll require that we're properly prepared for a potential fight."

Kay leans forward at that and I feel a bit of trepidation at the prospect. Looking down at the shattered sword on the ground, though, I feel my resolve return as I realize that I will be able to control that power. If I can learn to use Arts, I should be plenty dangerous myself. Kay asks the question for both of us, "What do we need to do?"

"We need to go investigate the caves where you found the Originium. There's probably something up there and it might be the key to figuring some of these things out."