Thera had been on migration duty this time, following the rocks and leaving markers so they could be found later. The living rocks spent most of the day stationary until they suddenly weren't. The mass migration lasted only a few minutes before they stopped again and were motionless for hours more.

The rest of her team was busy collecting the rocks further behind. It was a laborious job, but at least it wasn't something gross. Remi had also stayed behind, at the erogel spa busy with her own work. She wanted to secure it from intruders before she left. The ghost hadn't decided yet if she would go to Syber or somewhere else entirely.

Everything was going well, as expected, right up until Thera came across the unconscious beastkin woman. Her skin was pallid, and her lower-half was smooth and black. It looked like a...worm's body? A slug's?

Thera couldn't tell what she was mixed with, and she had no guess as to why she was naked. She looked disheveled as a whole, with dirty uncared for hair and skin.

None of that mattered in the moment Thera found her. The woman's head was bleeding profusely. Even minor head wounds did that, but she clearly needed treatment.

Normally Thera might worry bandits were involved, or that this person was a bandit herself putting on an act, but given the circumstances...one of the migrating rocks must have struck her.

Thera pulled out her emergency potion and knelt beside the woman.

"Can you hear me? Just going to give you a little healing potion."

Her mouth was different too, with a split bottom lip and jaw that looked like it hinged in at least two places. It was filled with many tiny teeth. Thera consciously didn't judge the woman's appearance while she poured some of the potion into her mouth.

Some of it dribbled out and Thera wiped it with her thumb.

"There we go, should be fixed in a jiffy."

---

Her head was pounding when Sevdia woke up on the ground. Someone was knelt next to her. A hand had touched her chin. She'd said something that Sevida hadn't been awake to parse.

It was her worst nightmare come true. For a second she let herself believe that it really was only a nightmare. She prayed to any god who would listen for it to only be a hallucination. Please.

Sevdia didn't move. She played dead. It was too late to hold her breath, but she could at least pretend to be unconscious.

"Hello? Are you awake? Just your friendly roving adventurer here. I found you passed out, and gave you some healing potion..."

It was real. The person was real. She was real.

Sevdia's heart rate doubled, and then tripled. It pounded so loud in her ears. It was going to give her away. The first person she encountered in five years, and she was naked. How would she explain herself? What was she supposed to say? She was naked.

She almost jumped when the woman's hand touched her forehead. Only the dire need to play dead prevented that reaction from actually happening. If only it also stopped her heart from pounding and her face from flushing. Thank the gods she at least wasn't shaking.

"Oh wow, you're burning up—and your heart's going crazy. A bad reaction to the potion? Shoot, that's not good."

Sevdia wanted to cry. The first person she'd seen in five years had just wasted a healing potion on her, and now she was making her worry about her because she was too scared to move. She needed to say something—anything.

Her mouth wasn't working. She couldn't bring herself to move. She was sure she could, the rock hadn't done that much damage, but—she couldn't. Fear paralyzed her completely.

A cloth fell over her, and then she felt the woman tuck it under her and slide her arms beneath her as if to pick her up—

"If you can hear me, I'm an adventurer who found you passed out. I think a rock hit you in the head. I gave you some healing potion, but I'm carrying you to my team for help. We're friendly."

The woman lifted her, and then carried her like—like a princess. A tinge of embarrassment joined Sevdia's panic. What a thought to have about a stranger she was imposing upon so heavily, and because she was too paralyzed by fear to do anything. She was so useless, and weird, and—

The stranger did seem nice, at least. She didn't even complain about having to touch her disgusting body to carry her. To her team. More people. Sevdia thought of that and the panic didn't end. It was worse than her worst nightmare. If only she could say something, move, tap her, anything.

Sevdia's mind blanked out from the stress, and then, she really did pass out again.

---

Thera booked it back to her team. Alas was their best field medic, generally. Sometimes the others had input on specific things. If it was an allergic reaction, they'd need to do—something.

That was so rare when it came to healing potions, but also deadly. The thought terrified Thera. She'd been trying to help. She kept that fear far away, like she did with most emotions, and focused on what she could do.

The woman's heart rate calmed down by the time she got to Alas and the rest of them. That was a good sign. Thera gently laid her down on a tarp near the spa entrance. Her team had all been nearby.

"I'd thought it was an allergic reaction or something, but she seems fine now..."

"Why is she naked?"

Sylla asked that while coiling around her staff. She gave Thera an accusatory glance.

"Don't ask me. She was like that when I found her."

"So you claim, Captain."

Thera ignored Alas's joke, though it got a chuckle out of Dort. The two had been buddy-buddy lately.

"Aye, but does anyone recognize what she is? Sometimes that explains odd reactions to alchemicals. Maybe she's got multiple hearts, say. You never know with some folk."

"No clue—but look. It's happening again."

The girl's heart sped up substantially along with her breathing. Now she was even shaking a little. Alas grabbed her wrist.

"[Field Diagnosis]."

Alas stood up after a few seconds and looked down at the girl with a frown.

"Get up, worm. Or whatever you are. We know you're awake. We're...nice."

The girl's body tensed, but she didn't move. Thera gave Alas a look. She'd said it in the least friendly way imaginable. That was just how Alas was, though the poor injured woman had no way of knowing that. The half-elf shrugged at Thera.

"She's fine, just scared. Anxious. Oh, looks like it's bad enough that she might pass out again."

"And that's what you say to her—agh. We're not going to hurt you, Miss. We're just passing adventurers trying to help. Anyone got a calmness potion?"

Thera probably had one herself in her stuff somewhere, but she wasn't sure. Dort pulled one out of his bag.

"Aye. A sip or two should do. Maybe three if she's that bad off. I wonder what's got her so shaken up. Er, I suppose I'll make meself scarce, given the wardrobe situation."

Dort handed the vial to Thera and went back outside. The question was on Thera's mind too as she helped the girl gulp down a mouthful. Maybe she shouldn't have ruled out bandits. The girl grabbed the vial herself after the first bit went down, and Thera let her drink as much as she wanted.

The woman glanced up a few times only to immediately avert her gaze again. Thera did her best not to pressure her, and saw Alas and Sylla doing the same. When she finally spoke it was in a softer voice than even Sylla's at her shyest.

"S-sorry..."

"Are you alright? What happened?"

She stuttered, sounding like she was going to apologize again, but then simply nodded. There was a long delay before she said anything else, and then she addressed everything in one go.

"I made you waste a potion on me. Sorry. There were rocks all of a sudden, and I guess one hit me. Nothing else happened. My clothes are in my—home. I'm part—leech. Sorry."

She stuttered, sounding ashamed of her last two answers. In the silence that followed, she avoided eye contact and fidgeted with the cloak Thera had wrapped her in. It looked like she wanted to give it back, but was conflicted for obvious reasons.

Either the potion hadn't healed her head injury all the way, or she was just...odd. Her leech-half was tucked tightly around itself, much like Sylla liked to do but with far less available length. Overall Thera felt a need to reassure the girl that everything was fine; comfort her.

"Oh, a leech. Cool. That's almost like if Sylla here was a vampire, am I right? Haha."

Thera looked to her team for help, but got only dumb stares in return. Sylla clearly wanted to object, but had caught onto the same thing Thera had. Alas just raised an eyebrow. The leech girl voiced the objection herself.

"I'm nothing like her. Nothing."

Her tone was angry or sad, rather than proud. Her eyes lingered on Sylla's scales for a second before returning to the floor in shame. Thera nodded.

"Right, sorry then. Do you have a name? I'm Thera. This is Alas and Sylla, and Dort's our dwarf."

"Sevdia..."

"That's a pretty name. Nice to meet you, Sevdia. Uh, I'll lend you some clothes. We're not far from where I found you. I just thought you were having a bad reaction to the potion, so carried you to our camp..."

"Sorry."

She kept apologizing, and again looked like she wanted to decline the offer but couldn't for practical reasons. Alas silently went back outside, and Sylla followed but gave Sevdia a smile on the way.

"Um, back to work then. Nice meeting you, Sevdia."

Sevdia nodded but didn't manage to say anything else. Thera gave her one last glance before heading down the stairs of the spa to fetch something for her to wear. She hadn't made a mistake in trying to help, but the bump on her head was beginning to seem like the least of her issues.

The anxiety was obvious, but Thera hadn't missed how thin she was either. This was no self-sufficient [Hermit] like that old man. She would offer what she could, perhaps even make a trip with a load of necessities once they'd finished collecting what they could.

Why bother doing any of that for a stranger she could just as easily never see again?

Because it was the right thing to do. Her passive Skill made that commitment easy; [Stubborn As Steel, Forged Will]. It would have been just as easy to push aside any sense of morality and be unconcerned with the woman.

Just how easy that would be...scared Thera. She didn't want to end up a stubbornly selfish, or even evil, person. She had a list of rules for herself. One of them was to improve the lives of the people she encountered if they needed assistance, and if it wouldn't overly burden herself or her team; to improve the world in a small way whenever she could.

Thera returned with the largest shirt she had. She couldn't give her pants, obviously, but the size difference between the two meant just the shirt would cover everything.

Sevdia seemed to relax a little once it was only her and Thera walking back to where she'd found her. She didn't say much of her own volition, but didn't seem to mind answering anything Thera asked.

She tried not to interrogate her, but gathered the basic facts. Sevdia lived out there by herself, barely managing to scrape by for the past five winters. She owned very little and needed blood to survive.

Surprisingly, she lacked relevant levels in almost anything. Most people in her situation would have picked up several in [Survivalist], [Homesteader], or such. She had [Survivalist] but it was only level 3.

Sevdia stated that it was intentional. She didn't want the levels, and got cagey when asked why. Thera shook her head in disbelief.

"What's your highest level then? If you don't mind saying, of course."

"It's kind of embarrassing, but...I'm a level 12 [Nekomancer]."

"Oh, [Necromancer]?"

She'd misheard, or the leech woman had stuttered—Sevdia stopped and shook her head. She kept her eyes on the ground. They'd just about returned to the spot Thera had found her.

"No...I'll show you."

Rather than explain, Sevdia began drawing a rough shape in the dirt. Thera watched, resisting the urge to put a hand on her hilt. [Necromancers] could be troublesome, but she apparently wasn't that.

'Neko' was a word that some cat beastkin liked to use for themselves, giving Thera an inkling as to what the class would do.

Sevdia finished drawing the spell circle and placed a hand on the outer ring.

"[Summon Cat Friend]."

The circle lit up with a gloomy purple. A mass of particles coalesced in the center, slowly forming a solid shape. A kitten, fur the same shade of violet as the light. It flopped onto its back and batted at Sevdia's hand when she tried to pet it.

Thera chuckled and kelt next to them.

"Aw, it's so cute. I didn't know that was even a class. Is it—I suppose it's useful?"

It was rude to imply somebody's class was useless, but frankly, a cat friend was probably very useful for someone like Sevdia. The leech girl's face flushed, and she kept all of her attention on the kitten while she answered.

"It's...useful. But they disappear eventually. I got it before I came here, when I heard these two boys talking about a class that let you summon a friend who would do anything you wanted—I just wanted someone to be my friend. I tried every day after that to get the class. One day it actually worked. My dad ended up yelling at me for it, and I learned I'd misheard those two boys and that they had been talking about something bad..."

Sevdia's tone was a mix of amusement and guilt—like she wasn't quite sure herself if she was relating a funny story or something to be ashamed of. Thera decided to keep the mood positive and didn't hold her laughter back.

"That's hilarious. Leave it two boys to talk about becoming a [Necromancer] for that. I think it's a cool class, Sevdia. What else can it do?"

She met Thera's eyes for a second and forced a smile. The smile remained as she pet the kitten.

"[Neko Transformation: Ears]."

A pair of cat ears formed on Sevdia's head, and Thera's hand lurched toward them before she stopped herself.

"Whoa! That's so cool. Can I feel them?"

"S-sure."

She said that, and yet winced and shut her eyes tight as Thera's hand approached. Her ear twitched away when Thera touched it lightly. Thera grasped it with gentle confidence. It was furry and soft beneath her fingers, warm, a real transformation; like a certain Skill Maple had. Thera pushed that comparison out of her mind.

After a few strokes Sevdia relaxed and spoke a soft confession.

"If I level it high enough, eventually I might get more Skills so I don't have to be so hideous."

There was little emotion in her words, only self-loathing gone ice cold from age. A deadpan confession of simple fact. A dream for the future.

Thera suppressed her natural reaction, which was mild horror that someone could hate themselves to that degree. She didn't want to startle the woman and send her back into her shell.

Nor did she want to deny it, say she wasn't hideous, and make Sevdia double down on that opinion. Her appearance really wasn't hideous, though, only slightly jarring at first glance. Pretty common among non-human peoples. Sevida would probably even be pretty cute with a bath, hair care, skin care, and the right clothes.

Thera simply nodded, and let her hand slowly migrate until she was petting her head along with her ears. Sevdia held perfectly still, but leaned into it the slightest bit every time Thera's pressure let up. She liked it, Thera thought, and if her story was to be believed and she'd been there alone for five winters...

"Can I hug you?"

Sevdia pulled back immediately and gave Thera a skeptical look. Distrustful. But then Sevdia's head tilted a fraction and she broke eye contact before nodding fully.

Thera embraced her, gently at first, leaving her arms loose in case Sevdia wanted out of it. Sevdia's arms hung at her side until she seemed to remember a hug could, or perhaps was supposed to be, returned. She wrapped them awkwardly around Thera, hovering slightly, and unable to quite settle on a spot to rest them.

No great emotion came from Sevdia. She stood there while Thera hugged her in the woods. When Thera finally let go, there was a quizzical expression on her face, as if uncertain about why Thera had done that, yet still unwilling to ask anything of Thera, even a question.

It'd felt, to Thera, like what the touch-starved woman needed. Thera hoped it helped, if only slightly. She turned.

"We should be close. Do you recognize this area?"

"Oh. Yeah, my—home is nearby. Um..."

Sevdia's mouth twitched, but she abandoned whatever she was going to say and picked up the summoned cat. She was clearly uncomfortable about something and kept glancing behind her while Thera followed quietly.

Maybe she didn't want Thera to see her—home? No wonder her voice caught every time she said it. Thera hadn't realized they were even outside it when Sevdia mumbled something and crawled through a pile of branches.

A literal pile, with leaves and debris also covering it. It did look hollow at least. It was—rustic? Maybe the inside was better? Thera ran her hands through her hair. How did anyone live like this?

Thera kept her face neutral when Sevdia reappeared in her own clothes. She did own at least one good set, then.

"You can keep the shirt if you want."

"T-that's okay. Thank you, though."

"Are you sure? I was replacing it soon anyway."

A pained expression crossed Sevdia's face. Whatever inner struggle she went through—she eventually nodded, clutching the shirt to her chest.

"Okay. Thank you."

"Mhm. Say, do you want to help us? It's just collecting rocks. I can pay you, or give you supplies in return."

Thera would help either way; the request was only a way to help the girl by getting her some social interaction. Sevdia peered around the woods surrounding them.

"I don't know...I should, um, find Bo and Ann."

"Oh, your animals. We can do that first, don't worry."

A grimace was on Sevdia's face, but her will quickly proved to be far below Thera's level. She felt a little bad for it, but it was what the gloomy hermit needed.