Khi’Rai’Lynn’s feet plodded down the wet cobblestone road. The smell of fresh rain lingered in the air despite the bustle of the town. Wagons rattled down the street, preceded by the sound of hooves on stone. The scent of warm bread from a street over fought with the damp soil for control of Khi’Rai’Lynn’s nose, and she found herself hopelessly drawn to both. 

The day was bright, and fresh, and beautiful. And still young. Khi was headed off to gather anything worth carrying for her bosses. Nice people, both, and very cute together. Nice enough to take a chance on a lone Vena, with no people, and no prospects. She was lucky.

She passed by a vegetable stand, (mostly) fresh produce lined the stall and filled several nearby baskets. As she passed by, she laid her hand gently on one of the heads of lettuce, one with so little green it almost looked like a big ball of snow. Her eyes fell upon the woman running the stand. She was an older lady, her face wrinkled. Khi would’ve guessed the woman was about the same age as herself, but given how differently the Vena age from men, she worried it would be insulting. Besides, she knew the woman was wise. It was likely she knew already.

“Aye, Khi’Rai, i see you there,” she shouted, taking a break from her aggressive haggling session with one of the town’s misfortunates. “It’s yours, standard rate, but you better be back here tomorrow to pay for it!” 

Khi giggled “I know, Bonna, you know i will.”

“Or i’ll take what i’m owed off your ears, gods witness!” Bonna continued. 

Khi knew, of course, Bonna wouldn’t pull any of her piercings for one head of lettuce. She also knew, as she took a bite out of the head, that she could very well pay Bonna now. But it was an excuse to see the old lady. She was a brash woman, as rough and thorny as they came. But she treated no one else as nicely as Khi.

Khi continued down the road, splitting off the main drag off into the east of town. She hastened her pace, making no true effort to savor this part of the journey. The farther east in town she went, the less accepting the people become. 

The everlasting human political struggles knew no bounds, and unfortunately the belief that all Vena should be relocated outside the domain of men was not an unpopular belief. Much the same as the continent itself, the town was split on the matter. In fact, it was split on nearly *every* matter. Khi had never understood why humans were like that. 

She kept her head down and moved fast. Some stared, some puffed out their chests and scowled at her, but all in all no one started a scuffle. Closest Khi came to one was when the town spliced spat at her. For all she knew, though, he might just have been bitter about his lot in lives. 

The smells of fresh laundry and stew swirled between houses, clothes air-drying on lines, occasional buckets of soap water underneath. Khi took another chunk out of her lettuce, having whittled it down to half its original size. It had tasted just as fresh as it had looked. As she reached the edge of the town, coming up to the eastern tree line, she tossed what remained of her snack off to her right. The day before, she’d found a den of some sort. She just hoped her offer of a snack didn’t terrify the critter, if it was home.

She squeezed through intertwined trees and overgrown shrubs, her eyes sharp for anything she could bring back. Ginseng was plentiful, and luckily in demand. She checked a spigot she’d set up the day before and found a bucket full of sap, which she happily drained into a pair of glass bottles from her pack. Sticky, but full. Mushrooms were growing well with the rain, so she pulled an assortment. A couple of each, all into their own little pouches. 

She could taste the earth on the wind. The soil beneath her boots compacted beneath her, and as she walked by the trees and ran her hand across the bark, it felt damp with the promise of healthy growth. Birds chirped and sang and warned each other of the terrible mushroom-huntress prowling their home. Khi smiled. 

She continued her work, an occasional glance to the sun to gauge how much light she had left. She did still have her evening job to get to, after all. And she would need to deliver her spoils before then. 

Khi scooped up another couple of mushrooms, pulled up a pair of root plants a bit farther in, and all at once her eyes lit up as her gaze settled on a plant she was actually familiar with. 

A small wild carrot, with its fronds sitting out in the open, inviting every plant eater with any sense at all to come enjoy a fresh snack. Khi had little appetite, but carrots were carrots, and this one looked healthy. It’d go well in a stew, or maybe chopped and steamed along with- 

Khi realized she *was* a bit hungrier than she’d anticipated. As she finished shaking the dirt off her prize, stuffing it into her bag along with everything else, she glanced up at the sky. Sure enough, the sun had moved much farther than she’d noticed. The evening would soon be upon her, and thus it was time to return home.

She made her way through the neighborhoods, through the central streets, past the bars and inns and stores, westward, off towards the far end of town where she resided. Past the evening travelers, the strange men with strange faces, the locals of all shapes and sizes, a medium-sized building, two floors, with a shop sign hanging lazily above the front door, with a depiction of an alembic decorating its surface. Khi was smiling ear to ear as she threw open the door.

“i come bearing gifts!” she shouted. The shop appeared empty, until Evelyn called back to her.

“we’re upstairs, be down in a second darling.”

Khi’s cheeks were already hurting. She emptied out her pack onto one of the flat workspaces behind the counter. The roots, the sap, the mushrooms, the ginger, all of it. Except the carrot. Footsteps gave away her company. 

“Well, look what our little flower fetched us today.” Evelyn remarked.

Khi’s other boss, Robin, stood just behind her, hand resting on her waist. “Indeed. Plenty to keep me busy. Certainly a good couple lessons in there too, I’m sure.” He was a taller, thin man, with sharp features and kind, soft eyes. Evelyn contrasted him in height, being notably short compared to either of the other two, but she made up for it with a piercing gaze to rival even the most fearsome lances. Her voice carried and echoed as if she spoke from a mountain, and her delicate hands hid a strength that shatter steel. She was… wonderful.

“Flowerpetal, dear, is there something on my face?” Khi, all of a sudden, realized she was staring. She felt her cheeks flush. 

“N-No! No, I was j-“

“Awwwh, I caught you staring again.” Evelyn interrupted her. “Isn’t she just the cutest little vineclimber Robin?” Khi was trapped in Evelyn’s gaze when she felt Robin’s hands on her sides. Her breath hitched in her throat. She didn’t like that nickname but, when they made her feel like this it was easy to overlook. 

“Evelyn was finishing up tonight’s dinner. Why don’t you come up with us before you leave again?” Robin’s breath against her was like lightning bolts tracing across her skin. Evelyn just smiled, turned, and started walking for the stairs.

“Come come, flowerpetal, we know you have some time before you need to go.”

All it took was for Khi to stumble over her words once, failing to mutter even a simple ‘yes’, and Robin eagerly scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs. It was far from the first time he’s done it, but it always impressed Khi regardless. Considering they were nearly the same size, it struck her that he possessed his own hidden strength to do such acts so easily. And as Khi let herself relax into his chest, she had no complaints. 

Stars above, she was lucky.

As they reached top of the stairs and Evelyn saw how they traveled, she giggled. “I envy you, my love. She looks so comfortable there.”

“I would hope that she is.” Robin set Khi down onto one of the cushions on the floor that surrounded the low-lying table. As he let her go, his fingers traced pure energy up Khi’s spine. 

“I, um,” Khi managed to speak out, “i found a carrot, too. I think it’s good, might be nice for dinner sometime.”

She set the vegetable on the table, her pack now empty, and as Evelyn set down two bowls of fresh stew, she picked up the carrot in exchange.

“This is a good find, darling, very nice.” She placed the carrot on the counter and made herself a bowl before returning to join the other two, who had already begun eating. “But…” she continued, her fingers brushing through Khi’s hair as she walked past her, to her favorite spot right under the window, “…i don’t think we’ll be eating this one. I think i might add this to the garden.” Khi’s face beamed with pride. “I’d say it’s in much better shape than our current crop, so i’ll clear out this harvest and plant that little one instead. That sound agreeable, darling?” Evelyn smiled that smile… Even if she had wanted to, Khi couldn’t have said no. In fact, she couldn’t say much of anything. So she just nodded, smiling, entranced. “That’s my girl.”

Khi wanted to melt. 

Clearly it showed, as Robin chuckled. His bowl already empty, he spoke.

“Pleasant timing, i’m all finished. I’d offer to stick around but I get the feeling you two might like a moment, hm?” He stood, taking his bowl with him. As he made for the counters he leaned down and planted a kiss atop Evelyn’s head. 

“Hold it,” she reached up as he pulled away, catching him by his collar, and pulled him back down into a kiss of her own. Khi couldn’t help but feel envious. “My cooking tastes good on you.”

“It always does, my love.” Robin praised her. He turned to Khi after setting down his bowl. “And you, my dear, I wish you the best of luck tonight. And the hopes you won’t need it.”

He said that to Khi almost every night she went out. It had become part of her own vernacular by this point. He disappeared down the stairs, which left just Khi and Evelyn.

“So, how much time do you have flowerpetal?” 

Khi polished off the last bit of food from her bowl and looked outside. Sun was getting low, sky was turning orange…

“Not much,” she lamented.

“Well, then I’ll be quick…”

Khi felt Evelyn’s hand entwine itself in her hair as she deftly slipped it around the back of her head. In an instant their lips met. Evelyn stole her breath away, nearly literally, and as Khi felt her lover’s tongue slip inside her own mouth she couldn’t help but give up every ounce of tension she carried. Sure, it had been less than twelve hours since they’d kissed, but to Khi?

Every moment like this was as wonderful as the first.

Her hands sought out Evelyn’s form with a greed she didn’t otherwise possess. Her skin was so impossibly soft, her lips so delicate yet so firm, and her scent… the mix of fresh earth, flowers and the most delicious food anyone had ever made… 

She was intoxicating.

No, she was more than that. No spirit, no ale, nothing else could ever hope to do to Khi’Rai’Lynn what Evelyn could do without so much as lifting a finger.

Stars above… she was lucky.

Khi felt Evelyn’s free hand trace the outline of her chest through her top, and Khi could feel herself stiffening in her trousers. She knew Evelyn knew as well. It was a game she played, but only with Khi. For that reason alone Khi reveled in it. As Evelyn crawled forward onto Khi’s lap, she pulled away and whispered into Khi’s ear, 

“we missed you today… slow day in the shop…” Khi’s mind ran wild with the hidden implications of that statement, and gasped into the kiss as her cheeks flushed once more. 

“i missed you more…” Khi spoke to her, every time they separated to breathe. “…you would’ve loved the light… and the trees… the sky… reminded me of you…” 

“you thought about me all day, huh?” Evelyn teased. She bit her lip as she smiled, and threw her hands around the back of Khi’s neck, straddling her. Her eyes peered down at Khi’s own, prying for an answer. 

“I’m always thinking about you, evelyn”

Evelyn squeaked in delight and tackled Khi. The two collapsed to the floor.

“You two better not break that table!” Robin called from downstairs.

The girls separated from each other and giggled.

“…i should probably go now.” Khi whined.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “i still don’t understand why you bother there anymore. you have everything you need here. with me .” And as her hands caressed Khi’s face, stray fingers dancing along her ears, Khi fought to remember why as well.

“you both already feed me, house me, clothe me…”

“And Robin’s lessons…”

“…and Robin’s lessons, I couldn’t take money from you too.”

Evelyn rolled off of Khi, laying on her side, next to her Vena. “You could, and I wouldn’t mind. After all we already do for you, i’m sure you don’t need much anyways…”

It was true. Nearly everything Khi made she stashed away. And, soon enough, after nearly four winters, she would have what she needed.

“You’re right, my love…” Khi stood, collecting and… adjusting… herself as she did, “…and someday, soon, I’ll be all yours. Yours and Robin’s.”

“Good. I’d like that… my little flowerpetal, my Khira, my Vena…” those piercing eyes bore holes in Khi’s soul and filled them with yearning. “…i think that has a lovely ring to it.”

Khi smiled as she reached the staircase, her cheeks sore. “i’ll be back soon, my love.

Evelyn rolled back over to her spot, seemingly content to finish her own meal, which grew colder by the second. “See that you are, darling. We’ll be waiting.”

Khi tore down the stairs, and made a quick detour to kiss Robin on the cheek before taking off into the evening.

Her pack empty, she tore down the narrow streets towards town. Her evening job was simple bookkeeping for one of the taverns just a street off from the main road. It only took her a couple hours to work through the basic maths, her payment was handed to her every night the moment she left, and then she got to walk home under a beautiful, calm night sky. By the time she reached her place of work, she could already see the faint twinkling of the stars. 

She popped in through the back, not wanting to waste any time. Peeking around one of the back hallways, she managed to catch her boss’ attention as he tended to his bar. It was late enough that most of the folks who came to drink away the labors of the day had left already, leaving the establishment still lively and light, but with only a fraction of the noise. Bossman Galgory, a round, worn man, waved over one of the staff to cover for him, simultaneously beginning to gather the day’s earnings.

Khi took her cue to sit herself down in the room set aside for her to work. It was an unassuming little room. The door was barely marked, and there was no proper window, just a couple small slits to circulate the air in the room, and they could easily be covered from inside. Khi made herself comfortable and cleared her space. Just in time, it turned out, as Galgory’s echoing footsteps gave away he was ready for the hand-off. Khi opened the door, took the day’s spoils, and sealed herself back inside, nodding to Galgory as she did. Galgory was a man of information. He kept purses for approximate time periods of the day, though “purses” undersold the heft of the bags by quite a bit. The underlying point to his madness, and the reason why Galgory always seemed to have just enough workers, no matter the time or day, and also why he was possibly the only tavern in town with a bookkeeper, was that he kept track of when he did most of his business, the times when it slowed down, approximately how much he made in each timeframe, how it corresponded to weather and proximity to holidays… he was a *madman*, obsessed with efficiency. Which is why he brought in outside help, so he wouldn’t have to waste his own time gathering his numbers. And why Khi?

She was a Vena, and she needed work. At least, that’s what Khi assumed. Even in a town as accepting as Brookstead, it was still hard to find anyone willing to employ one of her kind. Galgory knew she would work for cheap, and her mind was sharper than half the townspeople. For these reasons, the two got along famously.

As Khi ran through all the logistics of her employment and her relationship with Galgory, she pulled herself out of her trance to find she’d already gotten through a chunk of her work. She could count and add in her sleep… but as the comforting scents of apples, mead, and sweet berries wafted in from under the door, she started to wish she’d taken up bartending instead. 

But Galgory didn’t offer a job at the front. Khi knew why. It was the same reason she had to enter through the back door. Galgory’s was just on the eastern side of town enough to pose an issue with social breaches like that. It was disheartening, to say the least. Khi understood, sort of. It wasn’t too terribly long ago that her people were at war with the humans, and humans held grudges like no other. It was hard to lose people to war, especially a war you don’t believe it, Khi knew that. And the war following the First Realm Shift was long, bloody, and by the end of it no one really felt it was worth it. Every human knew someone who was killed by a Vena, and the Vena, Khi’s people… 

Khi sighed.

There weren’t a ton like her left. Her people were long lived, but seldom born. And the humans were thorough. 

So, she thought, she understood. As much as she could, at least. She had lost people too. And, she would admit, being around the human soldiers, no matter how peaceful or calm they appeared, made her nervous. It made her upset. But, she reminded herself, things were getting better.

She sighed again, and placed another counted and tallied purse neatly to the side.

But, it was all worth it, she thought. She was saving up, and soon she would have enough that, maybe, if Evelyn and Robin said yes, maybe, she could… join them. For the rest of their lives. She would buy a ring and a necklace, and ask them if she could wed them both, and they would say yes, and she could help Robin tend the shop and help Evelyn tend the home and the garden and herself and-

Khi’s smile scrunched her cheeks up under her eyes, and she kicked her feet around in the air at the thought. She wasn’t really sure how she would marry two people, but she had seen some of the beautiful dresses the women wore, and the delicate, smooth yet strong clothing the men wore, and just at the thought of seeing her beloved dressed like so drove her mad. She nearly had enough to commission the jeweler she’d spoken with, whose work was outstanding. She was, if she could avoid making any purchases, only a couple days away. Which meant she was a couple days off from the artist starting, and he would be busy for a few days, which meant that, if everything went best case scenario, she could be engaged in a week’s time!

She squealed in delight as the thought danced through her mind. She eagerly set down another purse, and when she reached for the next, she found there to be none. Done for the night, ready to go home. Judging by the lack of light and noise from outside, she was right on schedule.

She tapped the bell which hung from a corner of the ceiling, and heard it ring and echo in the outside room. As she organized her station, and heard Galgory make his way over, she shouldered her pack and opened it up for inspection. 

He tapped the door five times, and Khi undid the lock and, no sooner than when he’d stepped through the doorway, she held her pack out directly in front of him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Y’seem in a good mood tonight, Khi. Dinner waiting for ya’?” he questioned, searching her empty bag to make sure she hadn’t pocketed anything.

“Only a couple more days Gal! You’d better start looking for a new bookkeeper.”

“Right, you’ve got that business…” Galgory was unenthused. Khi couldn’t tell if it was just because he hated her nickname for him, or some other reason. He plucked her few from the late-evening’s purse and dropped it into Khi’s confirmed-empty bag. “S’pose i should start trying to find help. But, Khi, ‘fore you go,”

Khi paused in the doorway, turning back to hear Galgory out.

“Y’know if things don’t work out, the back room here is yours.”

One of Galgory’s rare vulnerable moments. He cared about his efficiency, to the point of caring about the people who helped him achieve it. At least, he cared a little. It was sweet. 

Khi smiled back at him, even though he was busy gathering what she’d left him. “Thank you, Gal. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ahh! Day after tomorrow!”

“Right, right! Day after tomorrow, bye!”

And as the back door of the building closed, Khi felt the cool night air rush to meet her, and the smell of damp leaves on the wind swiftly replaced the lingering scents of spiced and honeyed drinks.

Khi started on her way home, letting herself float along with the breeze. The river the town was named for flowed alongside the main road, and for that reason Khi stayed on the main road as long as she could. The moving water calmed her, the sound of the current dancing between the shores, gliding downstream, off to some distance ocean. Or, perhaps a lake. Maybe just a larger river, which would then itself open up into a lake or ocean. She often day-dreamed about one day floating down the river just to see where it would take her, but they were only fantasies. She couldn’t leave, not when her heart belonged to that little two-story on the west side of town. 

She broke away from the stream, needing to head west, and hurried her pace. No reason not to hurry anymore. When she arrived, she found that, once again, the door was locked. They kept a key hidden outside, so it wasn’t a huge issue, but Khi did quietly wish they would leave the door open for her. 

After all, she wasn’t gone for *that* long. And crime in Brookstead wasn’t too common. The high, and constantly changing, military presence saw to that. The door now unlocked, she slipped the key back into its hiding spot and popped inside. Quietly, she locked the door behind her, and gently made her way up the stairs, setting down her bag and adding her earnings to the pile. She had just enough Cor to exchange them, clear up some room. Twelve Cor made a Doz, and twelve Doz made a Centum. Khi had a good few Centum saved at this point, of which she would be spending likely all of it to commission the jeweler. She wanted both pieces to be everything she dreamed of, and was willing to spend the money to ensure just that. And that meant that the jeweler would have to source the materials, which would make an already expensive set cost substantially more. 

Khi looked at her small fortune, laid out in front of her on the table in the dim light of the one candle still burning. She couldn’t help but smile. As quietly as she could, she gathered everything back up, tied off the purse she kept it all in, and tucked it away into a small gap between the wall and the shelves against it, where it fit snug and out of sight. 

She strolled towards the bedroom, freeing herself from her clothes on the way, her pack left on the table in the main room. She stretched, her fingers only inches from the ceiling, and let the speed of the day leave her body in one, long, breath. She opened the door as gingerly as she could manage, only the slightest squeak emanating from the long-worn hinges. The room was dark, save for the section of the bed illuminated by the midnight moon. And in that luminous moonlight, Robin and Evelyn. Him, facing the window, at the edge of the bed, and Evelyn, her arms wrapped around him, her face pressed into his back. The room was perfectly quiet, save for the sounds carried on the winds, drifting in from the woods, and the slight creak of the floorboards as they carried Khi to her bed. 

She stripped fully, finally liberated from her oppressive clothing, and indulged in one last big stretch before gently slipping under the covers, to the far side of the bed relative to the window. The moonlight just barely laid across her shoulder, otherwise she was nicely blanketed in the pitch. The room smelled like them, her lovers. As she settled in and nested herself into the mattress, she couldn’t have been more comfortable. She reached back and lightly placed her hand on Evelyn’s hip.

“mmmh… finally…”

Khi giggled. “Goodnight, my love”

“mmmh…” and just like that, Evelyn was out once again.

Khi saw the Centum she’d saved, she saw her project with Robin working out, she saw the beautiful jewelry and elegant dresses… she saw her future.

So as the night took her, she imagined what her life would soon be, as she did every night for the last few years. Her favorite dream, becoming reality.