The Drake of Craumont

A cluster of cold anger tears through me, latching tight to my thoughts, frigid and seething all at once. Turn, one part hisses, find the hunters. Rip their—

Breathe, Ivy. Once, twice.

The urge crumbles between claws of will. I will not choke on my own damned urges, but Gods, how did I not notice the pattern until now? I duck down through the door, lifting my tail from the ground and curling when Verity slips in next to me. Lena's talking to Charlie in front of us, Ruby's wandered past to inspect the pastries, and for all that I hear their words I cannot listen.

Nor can we really talk that much. A second attempt at dropping my voice, at using Wind to hide our conversation beneath the audible, just makes my throat constrict and my soul twinge with phantom aches. Most of my other tools aren't nearly subtle enough for this; the sound-cancelling sphere works best when I have somewhere to hide, not out in the open.

…Bah. Something to fix for the future, then.

"Dongbaek's people in Restoration robes, do you think?" Verity whispers, eyes flashing when I nod. "Mostly from the alleys. Goddess, I didn’t even think of it before now. Good eye."

I nod, working my jaw.

She pauses, massaging her throat. "I’ll think on it. We need to act normal, make them..."

Her words crackle away in a fit of coughs, and my hand is on her back in an instant. I can feel a rattle in her chest beneath my palm, and Lena's on us in a heartbeat. It takes a heartbeat more for the rest of the world to move, though, with the baker hurrying away and Ruby rounding on us with a frown.

And I’d have gone with acting normal without Verity’s remark, but knowing we’re in agreement is a cold comfort. I'm going to have to sit here wound up like a watch for a while— but Verity's damned good at keeping things calm, and two of my friends are here as well. Might as well get some joy from misery, like getting water from a stone.

"Verity!" Lena fusses, pulling a handkerchief from within her bag and pressing it into Verity's free hand. "A-are you alright?"

"Goodness and Goddess!" The lanky baker exclaims, shouting to the back, "Marie, whip us up some water for tea, will you?"

Verity's coughs end with a raspy sigh, and she leans back onto my hand. "That would be," she rasps out, "Amazing, Charlie. I'm alright."

She pauses, wiping her lips with the handkerchief. "Blegh. Now I'm going to need more pastries to get that taste out of my mouth."

"Given you're on a bedrest order, you should probably sit down for that," I drawl, holding my voice as steady as possible. "Lena's already given me a reaming for it."

"The healer would be a bit annoyed if I came back reamed, I suppose," Verity muses, rolling her neck.

Lena sighs, twisting her lips into a scowl. "And I would!" She insists, taking her handkerchief back and cleaning the red splatter with a flicker of Wind. "Verity, y-you have to take care of yourself, alright? I read about pressure sickness, and it's important to reduce strain for two to four weeks after."

Was it just a consequence of her trick, though, or did pressure sickness get the better of her?

But I can't say any of that, can I? Feh. Not here and now. So I swallow my words, and pray nobody notices how my hands shake with rage.

Verity puts a hand over her chest, flashing a broad grin. "I swear on the Goddess," she says with a wink, even as her chest rattles, "She'll keep me honest. And right now, I'm going to take care of myself with Charlie's tea and some more pastries."

"The tea is of my collection!" Someone shouts from the back, and a phoenix pops their head up over the counter. The chef's hat bobbles on their head, stark white against the rich orange-red plumage. They twist their head, staring at me with a pitch-black eye. "Yes. The Drake, the paladin, the new fox, and the detective. No surprise."

The phoenix is a her, I’m fairly certain... yes, definitely. She’s, uh... Margaret? Marges? Marie?

Marie, right. Excellent baker, and the shortest by virtue of being a half-march-tall phoenix. Bit weird, though; most phoenixes I’ve met prefer working with machinery, especially trains. Marie, Marie. Gods, I need to remember her name this time, she makes some of my favorite snacks!

I set her name aside, ideally in a spot where it won't get lost in all of my worries. Something to commit to memory when Dongbaek isn't lurking in my city, when we're not being stalked and watched and—

"Marie!" Charlie calls back, his tone stern. "No antagonizing the customers. Verity here just needs a cup of tea, some good gossip, and Sharrow Avenue bread."

I exhale sharply, easing some of the tension in my chest. My eyes train on the door, though, watching and waiting for a flash of purple.

"Yes, yes," Marie trills sourly, leaping to the counter. "Tea and sugary bread. Gossip comes after your work is finished."

"My work, Marie?" Charlie sighs dramatically. "We both have deliveries to prepare, don't shove that on me."

"Ha. My work will be done. You will stand and be friendly with them if I do not pester you—"

We find our seats as the two bicker, and it makes for decent entertainment. Not enough to distract me, no, but enough that each breath comes easily, and my tail comes up into my lap so I can inspect it for dirt. I’d made the mistake of letting it scrape the ground again, and plucking out the little things stuck in my scales… well, that actually distracts me for a good minute or two. And, frankly, Verity is right; acting normal is the best way to trick a hunter.

Tea arrives— an excellent and surprisingly fresh-tasting green with a crisp aftertaste. Sourgrass, apparently, and per Charlie, it’s free of charge even if the pastries aren’t. I pay for it all anyways, of course.

We pick out pastries not long after; a decadent, delectable collection of buttered airy delights and honey-glazed delicacies. Some have berries, some have scale-sticking jams, and a particularly twisty pair stand out proudly with a light cream.

Just smelling the damned things almost makes up for realizing we’ve been stalked all day, and sinking my teeth into one proves the trip's been worth it. A little bit of tooth-tinglingly dense sweetness is exactly what I need.

It can't calm me down, though. Something scaled in me drags my eyes to each corner, to every angle where prey might be foolish enough to strike. I need to leap up, bolt out the door, give chase and... no. My claws flex, my scales thicken, and I take a long, shuddering breath to steady myself.

Focus, Ivy. Focus. Don't think about how much Delving you could be doing without this city's nonsense. Definitely don't think too hard about the incredible amount of honey going into Ruby's tea. Just eat the damned blueberry pastry. The jam is incredible, the seeds crunch nicely, and that will have to be enough.

Verity sets down her empty teacup with a groan, leaning back in her seat. "Goddess, I needed that. Sorry about the fright, everyone. Pressure sickness is nasty, but every day is better than the last!" She picks up a pastry next, gesturing at Lena's head and… well, just vaguely in my direction, really. "How are you two feeling? You certainly look way better than when we climbed out of the Delve."

"The new feet are tricky," I admit with a grimace, lifting my tail slightly to show to the table. "Tail's perfect, though."

“That’s it?” Verity raises an eyebrow, lips twitching. “Ivy, you love how you look, and you look great. What else is going on?”

Whatever words I was forming die in my throat, and my thoughts come to a stop with all the grace of a derailed train... same amount of collateral damage, too.

"She, ah, bit through a fork yesterday," Lena chimes in, and I see just a hint of a fanged grin. "And, um. Aside from the muffling cap, the ears aren't so bad. I kept falling over for a few days, though; my balance was off. I read about Magebloods in Ivy's library, and apparently that's caused by the inner ear…"

She trails off with a flush, wiggling her ears inside her muffler cap. Verity chuckles appreciatively. Should I be annoyed that Lena's gossipping, or pleased that she's well enough to gossip? Bah. At least she’s given me time to gather myself. Yes, I do look great, I know. Why should Verity’s words make me stumble?

"I have researched this," Ruby nods along, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. "Your inner ear assists with balance and coordination. Likely shifted when your ears moved to the top of your head."

"Technically they're still sort of, ah, on the sides of my head?" Lena counters, lifting her hair enough to bare the red-brown edge of her ear. It anchors right at the top of the space her human ear used to be, curling sharply upward into her cap. "They still moved up a bit, though, and I think my skull changed, too? I thought it would bother me more, but really, there's so much to learn about how Mageblood alterations impact the body!"

"I see," Ruby states, leaning in to peer at Lena's ear. "Interesting."

Verity leans in, eyes glittering. “You look wonderful, Lena. I mean it.”

"T-thank you! And, um," Lena squirms, ears flattening. Her words tumble out, squished together into one near-continuous string of sound. "I think I might be growing a tail."

Verity's eyebrows shoot up, and I find myself straightening in my seat. A tail! "Congratulations," I say, and my voice is far softer than I’d expected.

"Oh!" Verity leans in, smiling. Her eyes twitch across Lena's face, focusing on things I can't quite see. "How's that feel? And I won’t ask to see it, of course."

"I," Lena mumbles, cheeks reddening. "I don't know. B-but it's there! Fur and a nub on my… well. Where tails are."

She looks over the side of the table, and it doesn't take long to realize she's looking at my tail in my lap. "You said yours grew out over a few months, right? Um, was that from one exposure, or did it grow out from repeated exposure to Delves?"

"Yes, yes, and I'm pretty sure there's a third question in there," I snort, glancing back toward the door just in case. There's enough glass in it for me to see through, see an alleyway… Was someone watching us, I wonder?

Lena winces. "Sorry, I should've said it. Um, do you think my tail is going to keep growing? I read that alterations— or traits, the books kept switching between the two, it’s bothersome— can take time to settle in depending on complexity, but the estimates they gave were really vague." She pauses for a breath, clenching her fists. "Classical Magecraft sets a clear body of standards for documenting magic, why can't more people follow them? Mana quanta in terms of exposure are clearly defined in volume six! The author even relates it back to…"

Lena stops for a moment, toying with a fluffy lock of hair. "Anyways. Um, my tail?"

She reaches out for a jam-filled pastry, bumping into Ruby's hand. After a moment of incredibly awkward-sounding negotiation, Lena comes away with the prize and I come away with a smile.

"Wait, you have volume six? The one banned in Caliburn?" Verity says with a grin. "Good pick, Lena."

"I can't believe anyone would ban something so important. It's ridiculous!" Lena grumbles, crossing her arms. "The modification of material through Archetypal magic is the foundation of modern alchemy, too. A completely new branch of passive, persistent magic, and they want to ban it?"

Verity rolls her eyes, leaning back in her seat. One of her boots nudges my own. "That's why they want to ban it, Lena. They still use alchemy, but keeping it away from the public gives the nobility an edge. I'm taking the last cream-filled one, by the way."

The switch is only a bit less abrupt than getting slapped in the face by a train car, and no matter how metaphorical, my neck twinges in sympathy. In the pause, Verity snatches up the last cream-filled pastry, taking a rather delicate nibble.

And in an act that I can only compare to that same train car rolling back over me, Verity reaches a hand out and rests it on my shoulder, watching me the whole time. Barely a touch, like a warm feather against my clothes and scales. "I know we keep going off topic, Ivy— sorry for that."

Sorry for dragging things out, maybe? People speak in expressions and eye-language constantly, and I find myself grasping only the basics.

While Ruby ignores us and Lena furrows her bow, I mull over a response to both parts. Yes, we’re being stalked, and that frustration will only burn hotter the longer I bury it. But here and now? I’m wound up, but not too angry. Talking like this is... nice, actually. How do I answer her without giving up the game, though? Bah.

"I expected it," I wave off, then turn it into a shrug. "As for the books, just another reason that Caliburn's a mess."

And, of course, Verity's right about the books; a vague memory of being tutored in information control needles at my mind. Now, what were we talking about? Lena's tail? Right. "As for your tail, Lena, eh. I can make a few guesses."

I pause for a moment, clacking a claw on my own tail. "The studies are right, unfortunately. Traits settle differently for everyone, and I doubt you'll stop using magic to see the nice curve they show for the calculus."

Blinking owlishly, Lena shakes her head. "O-oh! Sorry, I got distracted, didn't I."

"Correct," Ruby nods. "It is a common habit among academics and paladins."

Verity trills out a laugh, pressing her boot and ankle further into mine. "She's got us there, Lena! And let me add on to what Ivy said, actually: you can dismiss your tail, if you want to, but the more magic you're exposed to, the more you'll have to dismiss."

"And you'll need less and less magic for it to come back on its own," I continue, adding to Verity's own… addition. Heh. With my lips twitching, I lift up my own tail again as an example. "Not sure I could get this tail to go away, even if I wanted to— I’m often using a little bit of magic to enhance my senses and strength.”

"Right, you talked about that with your, your arms and eyes, didn't you?" Lena bobs her head, one hand toying with her hair. "I… I don't think I mind that, myself."

She looks away as she finishes speaking, cheeks tinging red. "The ears are nice, and a tail…"

Her voice reaches into me, brushing against a faded memory. A warm one, too: pulling my lips back to admire my new teeth, and looking at my scaled back in the mirror. "So, my guess? Yeah, you'll probably get a bit more tail. You want it and you're going to keep using magic, same as I did. You’re looking to get Fire, aren’t you?”

Lena nods, eyes widening. “Like you? A-and, um. I didn’t know attuning to an archetype counted as using magic...”

My heart does odd things in my chest as I give her a nod. “Like me.”

"We can talk Fire later, it’s my favorite. And I'm glad you're liking the new bits!" Verity beams, dragging us firmly away from an awkward pause. "To answer your question, I did talk about my eyes and arms, yes. Gosh, we've been going in all sorts of weird circles today." She lifts her arm, and a flicker of whitish light turns her fingernails into talons. "Turns out, going up a thousand marches in a second changes your body a bit. Some stuff is, blegh, not the best. But I'm definitely stronger now, and—"

Boots on tile, left. One heartbeat. My eyes snap to the side, right onto Charlie's broad smile. I manage to hide my teeth before he sees me, but he still twitches when we make eye contact.

"Looks like you ladies are doing well, hm?" He chuckles, patting his flour-coated hands against his apron. “The rumors have been running wild about your health, cooped up in that Manor as two of you were.”

"Rumors?" Lena tilts her head. "Oh, um. Right, Ruby, didn't you say there were tensions? Is that it? I saw plenty of people that looked, um, nervous…"

Ruby's brow furrows. "The intensity and frequency of new rumors has increased as a consequence of current tensions. Most are unreputable."

“If there’s doubt, there’s speculation, and there’s plenty to speculate on, isn’t there?” Verity muses, and her yellow eyes lock with mine. "But there’s work to be done, and we don’t exactly know where to start, so... rumors might be worth poking at. Have faith, keep an ear to the ground, right?”

Something in her words and tone tickles at my memory— and then slams a shock through me, head to tailtip.

The spirit’s warning. Verity repeats it word for word, note for note; it feels just as ominous now as it did after we escaped from that foul Delve. Did it visit her, too? If it is the Goddess like I suspect, I suppose it makes sense for her to share the warning directly with her own paladin.

A thought to finish later, then, sorted away with many others I'd had about Verity Greyfeather. As much as it’s going to feel like plucking scales out with tweezers, there’s gossip to pick through. Ugh.

Curling my tail around the legs of the table, I turn to face Ruby.

“Ruby,” I start, then wait until she’s looking in my direction, “You said most. Anything that might point back to Dongbaek, given...”

I wave vaguely out toward the city, claws spread and arm loose. “Well. Everything, really.”

Ruby tilts her head, reaches into her bag, and pulls out a sheaf of papers. “Yes. I—”

“Ladies, is this about a case?” Charlie interjects, and for once I can’t figure out what his freckled face is conveying. “Sorry, detective. But Ivy, you mentioned Dongbaek, and it reminded me—” he spares a glance at me, lips twitching, “—I might have just the thing.”

Ruby nods. “Your apology is accepted.”

Lena leans forward, ears twisting, and Verity’s smile flashes brighter. My eyes flicker to the door, watching and waiting. “Go on.”

I watch the knob on Charlie’s throat as it goes up and down. His fingers drum a strange rhythm on the counter, but for all his visible agitation, his heart beats steady. Hm.

“There’s plenty of gossip right now, what with that lying bastard slipping the net twice,” he starts, looking at Verity. “I know our lovely Paladin’s been nosing around since yesterday. But Celine, you know, she used to do our deliveries until the Rectory fiasco.”

Celine, Celine... Gods. Another name to remember. Can’t quite put it to a face, but I nod at Charlie anyway.

Verity snaps her fingers, then points at Ruby. “The one Dongbaek got the pastry from, right Detective?”

“Correct.”

Lena’s ears flatten, but nothing slips through her lips. I suspect I should hug her later.

“Well,” Charlie says, licking his lips. “We don’t have her running deliveries anymore. She’s still being stalked, and that’s with the guard Chief Flint provided.”

A growl does not build in my stomach so much as materialize, and I don’t care to stop it. It is one thing to hunt, and another to follow the way stalkers do; to own and control. Perhaps that is what my own watchers are trying to do... but I will hunt, and they will scatter.

“And the guard hasn’t chased the stalker off?” Verity says evenly, yellow eyes flaring.

“That’s just the thing. They’ve tried.” Charlie grimaces. “Elluvial, it’s infuriating. I don’t know if the guard’s just incompetent, but they always manage to lose the stalker down an alleyway.”

Ruby stiffens, if such a thing is even possible. She pulls a ream of papers from her bag, sweeps our table clean, and dumps those papers on the table. “Comparable to both prior cases. I will have to consult my notes.”

“Ah! T-that’s,” Lena starts, chewing her lip. “Maybe a coincidence, but... um.”

“Alleys are an easy way to lose a pursuer, and pre-Collapse cities are essentially labyrinths," Verity nods along, humming a few notes of a faintly familiar melody. “So, it could be a coincidence. Not all luck and misfortune is Mireise’s. But.”

Her eyes meet mine, and in hers I see not yellow light but a burning fire. Eyes from the alleys, watchers in the parks; we’d been followed, same as Celine has.

If her stalking is related, what exactly did Celine do... or, perhaps, see?

“Charlie,” I say slowly, “Mind sharing Celine’s address?”