Aria felt a whirlwind of emotions as she ate dinner with Sana and Onas.

  Her time had been mostly spent with them whenever she wasn’t training with Daxton. Finding out they had survived Ignis’s destruction had been a tremendous blessing for her. The relief and joy she’d felt upon reuniting with them had been welcomed amid all that has occurred lately.

  Yet now, she found she was going to have to say goodbye to them again.

  She’d already done it once when leaving with… with her mother… so she didn’t think it’d be nearly so hard to do it again.

  Yet whenever the thought struck Aria, her chest tightened almost painfully, and she found it hard to breathe.

  Why? she thought with aggravation, why does the prospect of saying goodbye this time feel so much worse than it did the first?

  The answer was obvious.

  Because she knew with certainty this time that it was unlikely that she’d ever see them again. Or, at the very least, it wouldn’t be for a long, long time. She’d either make it to Vindanna, or perish in the attempt.

  The melancholy this brought was threatening to ruin what little time she had with them left. Yet she couldn’t find the strength to smother the emotions raging inside her.

  Sana seemed to pick up on her struggle, as she reached out and placed a comforting hand on hers. “Child, what is the matter? You’ve hardly touched your food tonight. That’s quite unlike you.”

  Onas chuckled, “I’ll say. You’ve become quite the eater since we all arrived in this hideout.”

  Aria flushed, “I-I don’t eat THAT much…”

  Onas snickered, “Lady Tufani… apologies, but you don’t even leave crumbs when you’re done!”

  “I don’t want the food to go to waste!” she protested.

  Sana giggled, “I’m sure. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with how your face adorably lights up on the first bite.”

  Aria puffed her cheek in a pout as she hissed in annoyance, “I do not!”

  Sana and Onas laughed at her reactions. Aria was surprised to find her annoyance was largely overshadowed by a feeling of peace. There had only ever been one other person who’d been able to do that for her in her short, difficult life.

  Her mother-

  Aria’s melancholy returned tenfold, the smile she hadn’t even realized was on her face melting.

  Noticing her sudden drop in mood, Sana gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and asked, “Seriously, now. What is the matter, Lady Tufani?”

  “I…” the words died in her throat, refusing to leave in a near choking sensation.

  Aria had a realization just then.

  It seemed she’d underestimated just how much closer she’d grown to Sana and Onas. And she also realized just how much she’d been depending on them emotionally during their short time in the Rebellion’s hideout. They, like Daxton that one time, had been helping her deal with the worst of the grief from losing her mother. Though she was far from fully recovering, their aid had helped keep her from sinking into the darkness that had nearly made her give up when Anila died.

  And now she was going to have to leave them and be alone in dealing with that darkness…

  “Child?” Sana prompted again with another gentle squeeze of her hand, “why are you crying?”

  “Huh?” Aria squeaked as she brought up her free hand to her eyes. She was surprised to find that she was, in fact, in tears.

  Frustrated, she wiped them off with her forearm, “I… it’s nothing…”

  When she was done wiping the tears, she found Sana and Onas both giving her flat looks.

  “Pardon, Lady Tufani,” Onas began with a half smile, “but I have trouble believing that anything that can bring YOU to tears can be called ‘nothing’.”

  “Tell us, please,” Sana pleaded, eyes full of concern, “are your nightmares getting worse? Or-”

  “I’m going to have to say goodbye to you both…” Aria interrupted, “again…”

  They both fell quiet at that. A moment of silence passed before Sana let out a deep breath, “I see… so, the time has come for you to continue your mission?”

  Aria looked to her, surprised.

  “Come now, Lady Tufani,” Onas chuckled, “don’t look so shocked. We knew this was coming. We ALL knew, didn’t we?”

  Aria reluctantly nodded, her eyes beginning to water again, “I… I don’t want to leave you two…”

  She was surprised by the admission, and felt a burst of shame. She had an important mission bequeathed to her by her mother, Anila Tufani herself, as her final request. How could she be so selfish as to want to abandon that?!

  No… no the admission was coming from her weakness. She couldn’t afford to let that pathetic part of her rule her mind.

  “Oh, child…” Sana suddenly pulled her into an embrace, “please, do not torment yourself for admitting such a thing.”

  Aria winced in her embrace, “I am really so easy to read?”

  “To most? Void, no,” Onas chuckled, “on that front, you needn’t worry so much. By the winds, I’ve known you longer than most, yet even I have a hard figuring out what you’re thinking. No, Sana is simply good at reading people. And we’ve all gotten to know one another better during our time here. Which only makes it easier for her.”

  Sana began to rub Aria’s back soothingly, “I feel honored, no, happy to hear you express such a sentiment, Tufani-”

  “Aria,” she interrupted, “please, call me by my given name.”

  She glanced to Onas, “Both of you.”

  Their eyes widened, but they quickly recovered and gave her elated smiles.

  “Very well, Aria,” Sana continued where she left off, “please, do not belittle yourself for the sentiment you expressed. It is only normal. Especially for one as young as you are.”

  “I shouldn’t be so prone to sentimentality,” Aria protested, “I shouldn’t let it get in the way of my quest.”

  “Pardon, Lady Tufa- I mean, Lady Aria,” Onas leaned forward, “but that is voiding foolish.”

  She frowned at that, though Onas continued, “You are a living, sentient being, Aria. You are not some emotionless husk of a person. And that is a good thing. The day you discard that is the day you become no better than the Dominion. So, as much as it may hurt, cherish those feelings. They are the proof that you care. For us, for your people, for this world. Cherish them, but do not let them blind you.”

  Aria nodded slowly.

  Sana then chimed, “Besides, when we said goodbye the first time, Onas and I believed that we were as good as dead when we lent your mother our aid. Yet, miraculously, we survived.”

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  “Thanks to that Malachi fellow,” Onas reminded her.

  Sana groaned, “Ugh, yes, I remember. As much as he irritates me, I won’t deny him that.”

  Onas looked to Aria and smiled confidently, “The fact we were preserved through a such a situation can only mean the Maker has plans for us. As such, I’m certain this time won’t be ‘goodbye’ either. We WILL see each other again. For I believe the Maker has great plans for you too, Aria Tufani.”

  Aria swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, though she admitted, “But… I don’t know that I’ll be able to manage without you two. I’ll… I’ll be alone…”

  “No, you won’t,” Sana shook her head playfully at her, as though amused by a child making a big deal of nothing, “for one, the Maker will be with you, Aria. Always. And another, you will have Barus and the Champion with you.”

  Aria frowned, though that earned her a surprising flick to her forehead by Sana as she scolded her, “Don’t make that face, child! I know how you feel about the humes. BELIEVE me. If anyone does, it is Onas and I. However, even we know not all the humans are the same as the humes. Barus proves that. And yes, the Champion does as well. By your own testimony, even! You told us he saved you, did you not?”

  Aria nodded reluctantly.

  “From what you’ve told me about him,” Sana continued, “I believe you can rely on him. More than you believe. You already have, have you not?”

  Aria flushed, wondering if Sana had somehow found out about how she and Daxton had comforted each other just the other day. Though, that was impossible since she hadn’t told either of them about it!

  Nevertheless, Sana smirked, “I see… judging from your reaction, you have. Well, trust your instincts, child. I’m sure you will know what to do.”

  Sana patted her on the back, “Now, when do you leave?”

  “Three days,” Aria answered, “the hideout will be moved as well. So we’ll ALL be leaving. Only Barus, Daxton, and myself will be going a different way than the rest of you.”

  “Then let us enjoy what time we have left with one another,” Sana smiled.

  “Amen, to that,” Onas agreed with a grin.

  Aria nodded, mirroring their expressions with a smaller one of her own.

  ***

  Two days before it was time to leave the hideout, Galen got a surprise visit from Komdar.

  It had been early in the morning, at least, if the clocks they had were accurate.

  He’d nearly run into the dwarf as he left his tent.

  “Ah! Mud-walker! Just the one I’ve been wantin’ to see,” Komdar beamed.

  “Uh… morning? What’s up?” he asked.

  Komdar looked up, then back to him as he answered with a raised brow, “A rocky ceilin’. That’s what is up. I don’t know why you asked that.”

  “Ah… my bad. I meant what’s going on? Why did you come to see me?”

  The dwarf shook his head, muttering something in a strange tongue. It definitely wasn’t Durainese, and it also wasn’t Elvish. At least, he was pretty sure it wasn’t.

  “Was… was that-”

  “Dwarvish? Of course, ya mud-walker! What did you expect me to start speakin’ in Elvish? I can if you want me to,” Komdar smirked.

  “You know Elvish?” Galen questioned.

  “Aye. Fluently even. Mostly learned it to mess with Neldor,” Komdar’s grin widened, “if you knew how much it drives that stuck up elf crazy to know a dwarf mastered his ancestral language, you’d be needin’ a healin’ Art or two to make the abdomen pain go away from all the laughter you’d do.”

  Galen chuckled, “That does sound funny. But really. What’s going on? Why the visit?”

  “Well, for one. I wanted to thank ya for the pictures ya drew of the various weapons of yer world.”

  Komdar had asked him prior for schematics of various firearms and weaponry of Earth. When he told the dwarf he wasn’t a gunsmith, and as such wouldn’t know how to make schematics for them, Komdar had chewed him out before telling him to just do the best he could, even if it was just a simple drawing, and that he could figure out the rest and piece together the gaps from there.

  Galen still wasn’t sure if introducing firearms and bombs and the like to the dwarf had been a good idea, especially given how much of a troll Komdar was proving to be. But he figured the Rebellion was gonna need every edge they could get.

  “Also,” Komdar continued, “me and my kinsman here are gonna be departin’ from the hideout early.”

  “You are? Wait, you and who?” Galen asked, looking around.

  It was then that he noticed another dwarf walking towards them with something wrapped in a cloth in his hand.

  “My kinsman!” Komdar repeated, “we’re gonna make a trip to Seameet. The town where that airship that young elf lass is gonna be needin’ on her suicide mission is gonna be. We’ll be seein’ what kind of intel we can gather while there. Hopefully rearrange the pieces of the chessboard to better suit us, if ya catch my drift.”

  “I think I do.”

  “Good! Now, the reason for my visit wasn’t just to say goodbye. No, I wanted to return that… what did ya call it?”

  “Pistol?” Galen offered.

  “Yes, but that name ain’t as good as the other one. What was it again?”

  “Firearm?”

  “Yes! That one. Much cooler name, I tell ya. Came to return that to ya. Bazak! By the riches of the earth, move faster!”

  The dwarf, Bazak, rolled his eyes as he reached them. He was slightly taller than Komdar, though not as stocky. His hair was dark brown, with dark gray eyes and beard more neatly trimmed than Komdar’s bushy one. He also wore goggles, making his eyes appear slightly bigger than normal.

  “Here you go,” Bazak stated as he handed the cloth covered pistol back, “Komdar and I learned a lot reverse engineering that strange weapon of yours. Never seen anything like it, I must say.”

  Galen frowned. Something felt off about Bazak’s voice. But he didn’t know what.

  Just then, the dwarf’s words fully registered.

  “Wait, you two did what?!” his eyes bugged out, “did you guys disassemble my pistol?!”

  “Of course,” Komdar grinned, “how else would we learn about how it works and how it was made?”

  Galen, in a panic, removed the cloth and looked upon the horrendous destruction of his secret weap-

  Oh, wait it’s completely fine, he frowned, IT’S COMPLETELY FINE?!

  He inspected it closely. It looked just the same as it had before he’d handed it over to Komdar. A few extra scratches were maybe present, but beyond that? It looked completely fine. He removed the magazine, and counted the bullets inside. It was nearly full, only two bullets short. One had been used when he’d tested it against Aleksi. And Komdar had already informed him beforehand that he’d need to use at least one more for his own tests as he inspected the firearm. But Galen had honestly expected him to go through more than just one.

  He tested the slide. It moved nice and smoothly.

  After making sure there was no bullet in the chamber, he dry fired it a few times, making sure to keep the barrel pointed away from anyone.

  Huh… well color me shocked. It seems just fine!

  Galen turned to see Komdar had crossed his arms, giving him a flat look.

  “What, did ya expect me to break it or somethin’ mud-walker?!” Komdar demanded.

  “Uh, sorta?” Galen was quick to add, “I mean no offense! I just figured that, this being a kind of weapon you’ve never seen or worked with before, that something would go wrong, you know?”

  “Ease off the kid,” Bazak pat Komdar on the shoulder, “you said he was from a different world, right? Then his assumption is a logical one. By the riches of the earth, he has no idea just how good we dwarves are with our hands.”

  “True enough,” Komdar nodded.

  “So, what did you guys learn?” Galen asked.

  Bazak looked downright giddy, “Lots! Plenty of stuff we can make using the ideas that your firearm gave us. Why, it was such an amazing source of inspiration that we don’t know where to start! So many ideas to test!”

  “Lucky bastard,” Komdar pouted, “I’m stuck doin’ an important mission, meanwhile ya get to bugger off and make cool stuff. This world is truly a cruel one…”

  Galen frowned at the two dwarves. His eyes widened as it finally clicked.

  “Hey! You don’t have an accent!” he said to Bazak, “well, you do. But it’s really hard to notice! Nothing like Komdar.”

  Komdar laughed, while Bazak merely groaned.

  Galen frowned, “Uh… am I missing something?”

  Bazak gave Komdar a death glare.

  “Not all us dwarves talk like Komdar. In fact, most of us don’t. We talk rather normally. The reason THIS one here,” Bazak jabbed a thumb towards Komdar, “speaks with such a heavy accent is because he PURPOSEFULLY chooses to speak that way. Exaggerates it a bit, even.”

  Galen raised a brow, “Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” Komdar grinned, looking far too smug, “I figured if the mud-walkers were goin’ to discriminate against us, I’d play up every stereotype I know of about my kinsmen! Seeing people’s reaction when they talk to me and then talk to one of the other dwarves… By the precious metals of the earth! Priceless! Every time!”

  “Huh… you’re a lot more of a weirdo than I expected, Komdar,” Galen noted, realizing the dwarf was an even bigger troll than he realized.

  “Why thank you!” Komdar said completely seriously, even adding a bow for good measure.

  Bazak groaned, and as Komdar stood back up, he said, “Now, best be seein’ ya, Champion. All goes well, we’ll meet again at Seameet.”

  Galen nodded and the two dwarves left for their journey.

  Well, that went well, he noted, I just hope my talk with Aleksi goes as smoothly…

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