“Finally! Renya’s finally heading over. I don’t know what took her so long.” Jabal squinted in the direction of the Ongocks. “At least she seems to be making up for lost time.” He stretched and hauled the piece of turf he had cut over to the drying area.

  “Well,” Eiry responded. “Maybe she had to help Malchim with the processing.”

  She gathered their tools and [Cleansed] them. Most of the other villagers had already stopped and made their way to the dinner line. But they had always stood apart from the rest of the village. Originally due to the villager’s hostility and later by their own choice.

  She [Cleansed] their hands for them and they both noticed his hands shaking when he asked, “Is she hurt?”

  She cupped his hands. “I don’t know, hon. I can’t see as far as you do.”

  Anxiety spiked in him about their daughter’s unknown state. It mixed with frustration and helplessness, as everything he could think to help their child would make it worse.

  And the anger. Oh, the anger, like he had never felt before. Anger at himself for failing to protect her. Anger at the world for daring to hurt his little girl.

  Eiry glanced up at him, a slight tilt to her head. “What would you do if she was?” she asked.

  Red strands of hair had plastered her forehead, face, and neck while they worked. And smudges of dirt highlighted where she had unconsciously tried to swipe them out of her face.

  She looked as beautiful as the day he had run into her.

  He moved the hair to her back, running his hands through it to help it dry. It saddened him that they could not even afford a hair ribbon. That he could not provide her with the niceties she deserved. Even though she would and had given away all luxuries for the life they have now.

  He knew her well enough to understand the intent behind her query. She meant to help him focus. To break the mental turmoil of recriminations he found himself in. To switch to the action-oriented world he moved more comfortably in.

  “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.

  She responded with a twinkle in her green eyes. “Well, I intend to slap whoever hurt her this time. It’s a proven method, after all. Just line them up for me.”

  Laughter burst from him, expelling all the negativity that had been building up in him.

  He moved in to kiss her. What did he ever do to deserve a woman like this?

  ***

  Renalia ran, her reddish brown hair flowing freely behind her. She had pocketed the hair ribbon Marcy gave her, uneasy at the thought of ostentatiously displaying luxury in front of her parents. Sunday Church had been different, as Marcy had dressed them as a group. But in a private dinner with just her parents, it would be a slap in their faces.

  As the noise from the hunters’ party faded, she practiced with her new Cards. [Bogling Speed] had leveled since the day before and now lasted a full ten seconds. It allowed her to gauge that she ran half again as fast, to Boogie’s delight.

  She activated [Bogling Leap], noticing how it strengthened her leg muscles and caused her to shoot up and out. Soaring through the air felt exhilarating, but she panicked in mid-arc, remembering that they were no longer at the bouncing bog.

  She suppressed the panic and shut out other thoughts, picturing the landing on the hard ground. Her armored feet touched first, but momentum continued to pitch her forward. Expecting it, she armored her hands and knees and braced, sliding along on all fours for another couple of yards.

  Staying crouched, she brought a hand up and breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing had gotten through the thick bogling skin.

  “Well, that could have been wor—”

  Boogie, assuming they were still playing, lunged at her.

  Without active thought, she dug into the dirt with her claws and used [Bogling Dodge] to fling herself to the side.

  “Wait, wait! No more playing!” She shouted as Boogie crouched into his play posture.

  “Did you see that? I can move like a bogling now! And, oh—” She stopped as she felt a breeze across her knees. Glancing down, she noticed the rips in the pants where they had scraped the ground. [Bogling Skin] had protected her, but not her clothes. Or rather, the clothes she wore, since it was Shim’s and would be Sammy’s. Not hers.

  No, no, no, no! Everything was going so well! She jogged the rest of the way in silence, worried about her growing debt to the Ongocks. Why do I keep making things worse?

  *

  “Papa!” She launched herself at him and he twirled her around in a circle. Boogie ran along, play-snapping at her flying feet.

  She laughed and placed Boogie in a sit before hugging Mama. She missed them so much.

  Mama must have missed her dearly too, because she didn’t let go.

  Hugging her tighter, Mama whispered, “Did Malchim hurt you? Shim?”

  “No, I’m not hurt,” she replied in a small voice.

  Mama placed her at arm’s length and stared at her. “Who hurt you?”

  Renalia fingered the ribbons at her neck, checking that they were still in place. “I’m fine… I mean, I’ll be fine.”

  Discomforted by Mama’s intense gaze, she lowered her eyes and pulled on her shirt nervously. Boogie, picking up on her distress, growled in a low pitch, ending it with a high whine. Seizing the opportunity, she hopped back and placed a hand on the dog.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “This is Boogie. He’s my best friend.”

  Papa bent down and stuck his hand out. “How do you do, good sir?”

  Boogie stuck his paw out for Papa to shake. “What a polite gentleman you are.”

  “No, silly Papa,” Renalia exclaimed with exasperation, “Boogie’s a dog!”

  “Oh dear. And here I believed you had such a fine scruffy beard.” Boogie wagged his tail, happy at the attention. And probably satisfied that he had helped solve a sticky social situation.

  Renalia peered up at Mama, who still had a frown on her face. “I’m okay, Mama. Malchim and Shim aren’t as bad as I thought.”

  “Yes,” Mama said, laying a hand on Papa’s shoulder. “Sometimes people aren’t as frightening as they may seem at first.”

  “But sometimes,” she continued, “there are real monsters. So you scream and fight. Or you kick and run. Don’t let them hurt you.”

  Caressing Renalia’s face, she added softly, “Even if you think you deserve it.”

  Renalia wanted to shrink down on herself, but not willing to shake off Mama’s touch, she forced herself to stand there. “Okay,” she whispered.

  Mama moved her hand from Renalia’s face to her hair, organizing the disarray. “I know we said you can train to be a hunter with Lexi and Donaldson, but keep in mind how dangerous it is, okay? If you ever need a break, just say so. If you decide you don’t want to hunt anymore, that’s fine too.”

  Mama paused. “And if you ever get hurt—for whatever reason—Papa can fetch Healer Resto from—”

  “No!” Renalia shouted.

  Boogie’s ears perked at the sharp word. At the same time, the corners of her parents’ lips dragged down into frowns.

  “I mean, that’s-that’s too expensive. It’s not necessary.”

  Papa’s frown deepened further. “Renya, let us worry about the cost. What’s important is that you’re okay.”

  Renalia started to panic. She did not imagine dinner with her parents would turn out like this. “Really, I’m fine. I’ll be okay. I have this Card—”

  Mama interrupted her with an upheld hand. “Just promise me, Renalia. Promise me that you will not take on all of life’s burdens by yourself. Promise me that you’ll talk to us and let us help.”

  Recognizing the resoluteness in her Mama’s eyes, she understood this was not the time to insist again that everything was fine. “Okay, Mama, I promise.”

  *

  They found an isolated spot and started to eat dinner: a warm stew with a brick-hard bread for dipping. While they ate, Renalia told her parents about the lessons Lexi and Donaldson were teaching her. About finding Penny and the funny things that Marcy said.

  But Mama stopped her when she started talking about her Deck. “Do you remember the story about the little boy who couldn’t stop talking about his Card?”

  Renalia had heard the story during one of Father Cornelius’s sermons. It was about a little boy who kept spinning tales about the wonderful things his Card could do. Until one day, a horned devil learned of those tales and wanted the Card for himself.

  “We shouldn’t be proud and brag about ourselves to others,” Renalia intoned.

  “Yes, that is one moral of the story. But there is another. A more sinister lesson.”

  Renalia scrunched her brow while Mama shared a glance with Papa. Whatever passed between them, Mama resumed, “You have asked us many times in the past about our Cards.”

  Renalia felt teased with the phrase ‘many times’, but Mama did not dwell on it.

  “And while we shared a little with you, we’ve kept many things hidden. But there’s a good reason for it.”

  Anticipation at learning the bigger mysteries about her parents caused Renalia to forget about her stew and focus her attention on Mama's next words. She had wanted for so long to learn more about them. But they had rebuffed her many times before.

  “There are those out there, like the devil in the story, who seek out powerful cards. Monsters who have the wherewithal to hunt for cards. So the more unique your Cards are—the more interesting they are—the less you should speak about them. Even now, when it appears like we are alone and no one can hear.”

  Renalia gasped. Did Granny tell Mama about her Core? And what does this say about her parents’ Decks? Did they have weird cards like she did?

  Perhaps seeing the questions on her face, Mama continued. “I realize you have many questions about who we are and where we came from. But we don’t want our past to become your future.”

  Renalia lowered her head to hide her disappointment. It was unfair that she should share her burdens with her parents, but they continued to conceal their own. How was she supposed to help them if she didn’t know what they needed?

  She re-dedicated herself to becoming a better peat farmer and bogling hunter. Even if she didn’t understand why they settled in this village to become peat farmers, she could and would help with the debt. Noticing the rips in the pants again, she tugged at the frayed strands. What is wrong with me? I have to stop adding more debt.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I’m sorry we can’t talk about any specifics. But keep using your Deck, okay? Become familiar with them. Be creative with them.”

  “I thought we’re not supposed to play with our Cards. And if I’m supposed to keep my abilities hidden, how can I practice with them?

  “Oh,” Papa interjected, “so you haven’t been playing with your Cards?”

  Renalia averted her gaze and stuffed a spoonful of stew in her mouth. “Mm…”

  Mama chuckled. “You don’t have to keep all your Cards hidden. You know Papa is strong and fast. While others can summon a shield or an orb of light. These are typical abilities that many people have. There are also straightforward skills that are harder to hide, like how Hunter Allain can transform into a wolf. But the more peculiar or powerful a Card is, the less you should show it or even talk about it”

  “Okay. I’m uh—” she licked her lips “—going to tell Lexi and Donaldson that my Core gives me bogling powers. So that they can teach me how to fight like one.”

  Mama smiled at her. “That seems like a fine idea.”

  ***

  In the setting sun, with their shadows intertwined on the ground before them, Eireann and Jabal watched their daughter walk back to the Ongocks.

  “It’s for the best,” Eireann said after a long while. “Not knowing anything means they won’t target her.”

  But in her own ears, she could hear the wishful thinking. No, they wouldn’t care about innocent victims at all. So she tried again. “There’s nothing she could do. So knowing will only worry her.”

  “Who?” Jabal expelled through clenched teeth. “Who hurt her?”

  She placed a hand on his, the one that was squeezing her other hand tighter by the second. He released his grip in an instant and tried to let her hand go. But she folded his hand back onto hers, letting him feel her trust.

  “It wasn’t apparent. But since we decided to let her blaze her own path, we have to trust her to make her own choices.” Despite sharing many secrets with him, she withheld some stuff for his benefit. So she stayed silent on the nature of Renalia’s injury, knowing it would make him feel worse. A choking did not come from some cold-blooded bogling. No, a choking meant an intense burning hatred for their daughter.

  Jabal sighed, the tension still obvious in his breath. “I just… I just didn’t expect it to be this hard.”

  Eireann leaned her head against his arm. This fierce protectiveness, combined with an open vulnerability, was why she fell in love with him in the first place. “I know. I’m scared for her too.”

  “But she can take care of herself now,” she murmured.

  He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “What did you [See]?”

  A corner of her lips tugged up as Eireann whispered in his language, “Her Full Deck.”