Memory Bonds

That was abrupt. It was so abrupt Cooper called out to Elice before she could leave, making sure that was it.

Elice shrugged. "I came to verify Evin's story. Now that I know it's true, I've got things to do, and can't stop you from what you're doing. There's no more reason for me to be here. In fact, it would just slow us both down."

And Cooper supposed that was fair.

Evin had been riffling through his bag even before she left, but once she was gone he pulled out two spray cans. One of them seemed to be for turning hair black. And the other was for spray painting metal to make it gray? Wasn't most metal already gray?

"Uh, what are those for?" Cooper asked.

"Well, most humans only look at the superficial details of an imp or colbber. I could probably just change the color of your metal, and the color of Rasha's hair, and half the population on this planet wouldn't recognize you. But I'll do a little more. Pretty sure the Hidden Cult has members of every species."

He said that, but based on his smile, he might also just be looking forward to this little makeover.

He held out the hairspray, and Rasha stepped forward. She didn't object as Evin set to work. She did press her lips together and tense up when Evin grabbed one of her horns.

"Sorry. Just trying to get the space between them."

He adjusted so only one finger was touching the top of her horn. Enough to guide Rasha's head, but only if she let him.

Cooper was pretty sure he couldn't have gotten the sprays from the cleric temple-who would generously donate that?-but he wasn't going to object.

"How easily does that stuff come out?" Cooper asked.

Evin shrugged. "Pretty easily. I mean, I had to make sure it had a little lasting power. So it wouldn't come off in the sprinklers, or if you step in a puddle. But if you use soap, or one of those disinfecting wipes, it should come clear. And that's true for both of you."

That was more reassuring than Cooper would like to admit. He didn't think he was particularly vain about his appearance, but he disliked the idea of changing his metal more than his clothes or hair.

Evin finished spraying Rasha's hair from red to black, and put it into a braid. He then put the braid up on the side of her head, making her face and horns look different than usual. He also handed her a pink dress.

While Rasha went to the bathroom to get changed, Evin frowned at Wesles' missing arm. He'd apparently already thought that through though. He gave Wesles a poncho looking thing. Well, its shape was like a poncho. It was made out of slightly nicer material. It was big, and only had holes for arms instead of sleeves. So the missing arm wasn't completely obvious. It could just be hidden in the poncho. He also pulled out a pair of boots somewhere between rain boots and work boots. And Evin proceeded to give him the galaxy's fastest haircut. It was genuinely impressive that, while it didn't look good, it wasn't a laughing stock.

"I like this better than the old cut," Wesles admitted. "My parents always wanted me to keep something on the elaborate, regal end."

The shorter choppy look Evin gave him was definitely not that.

As for Cooper, Evin had the spay can, of course. He also pulled out what looked like a long, but lightweight and loose, bathrobe. At least, the sleeves were wide and loose enough to go on without Cooper's metal hand tearing through. Evin tied the rope on the robe's waist, and put the hood over him. Then he put sunglasses on Cooper's face.

"Congratulations. You are now a magic user," Evin said.

Cooper didn't think he'd meant it as a jab, but it still felt like one.

Evin, meanwhile, stepped back and admired his handiwork. And explained his thought process to Cooper a bit more. "With that look, and the alchemy toys on you, most people will mistake you for a magic user. It also solves the problem of one imp, one gnome, and one colbber being a pretty distinct trio. But if you do mess up and reveal the metal bones, at least they're the wrong color."

And considering Cooper was the one the cult had seen the most of, probably, he supposed he should appreciate that.

The sleeves of the bathrobe were long enough to cover both hands, but Cooper put the metal one in his pocket anyway. And some of his alchemy supplies had been on his person, but he had a few pouches in his cloak. He should probably transfer anything from the cloak to the robes. He set to work on that.

"These are some specific clothes. You really had no trouble?" Rasha asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

The dress was nice, and covered most of her, but she kept making little adjustments anyway. It seemed she was used to more cloth on her neck.

"Specific?" Evin asked. "Maybe. But they're all pretty plain. Some of the first stuff people get rid of if they want to donate and feel good about themselves. And come on, you think that bitch would've let me take these if I got them in an immoral way?"

"You shouldn't call her that," Rasha said.

"Don't tell me how I should respond to the person who cursed me. Do you have any idea what the last few years have been like? And don't defend her. I promise you, she can do that on her own."

Oh boy. Here they went again. This had the potential to get heated.

"All right, we've all changed our appearance," Cooper said. "Can we get going now?"

Wesles nodded. "Nothing more todo in here."

"I suppose so," Evin agreed.

"Lead the way," Rasha urged Cooper.

"We're all going to die," Evin said.

~~~

Fleck was relieved to be away from the others. He was tired of being stuck in a small space. He was tired of Moon constantly running translations, tired of being left out when he was the one whose soul bond was in danger.

Now he was out, and could focus on getting to Harmo-Wren. He could save her.

There were so many cameras, they'd been hoping to go outside. But the weather was kind of rank. The air smelled of human activity, including a fair amount of pollution. Fleck could feel something coat his nostrils and mouth when he took a breath.

But there were cameras inside. And Eddie was a cult member. If she saw Fleck, she'd know what that was about. Not to mention how unusual it would be to see a dragon on Morivon in general, just for anyone.

So they stayed outside. This area of Morivon had large buildings containing multiple parts of the city, and tubes connecting those buildings, so you didn't have to go outside to get around.

Fleck perched on top of one of the tubes, looking out in the direction he knew his rider had gone.

"Fleck!" Moon called from the ground. "What's the news?!" She was, rightly, letting him call the shots.

The news was that the easiest way to get to Wren was to walk along the ground, or fly. Following the paths the humans had made by, say, crawling along beside the tunnels would take them out of their way. They should walk there directly, or maybe fly. Then they could fly over any man-made structures in the way.

He clenched his legs, rattled his tail, spread his wings, and jumped into the sky. Moon got the idea. She was a bit slower, since she had to take off from the ground. But she joined him, and the two raced across the clouded gray sky.