Rabbit's Foot

It didn't take long before Bea burst through the door, with Corby not too far behind. She ran up to me and was about to hug me before Corby held her back. “You’d probably break her if you did that.”

Bea nodded sheepishly.

How are you feeling?

“Like shit,” I managed to get out. The doc had come back and fixed my throat up enough to talk a little.

The doctor said you’d make a full recovery. I thought I would read to you while you sit in bed. We can also work on your ambient mana practice!

Bea was trying to put on a strong face. It was sweet.

“Sounds good.”

Corby hung in the back, worry all over his face. Also guilt, for some reason. I didn’t know why he would feel guilty about a thing he couldn’t possibly stop, but that’s never stopped Corby from blaming himself for something. There was guilt on Bea’s face, too, now that I thought about it.

I’d put good money that the two of them have taken turns trying to convince each other that they were to blame for my condition. Lovable goofs.

The next few weeks fell into a consistent rhythm. Mornings consisted of healing treatments and medical lessons as my body was pieced back together. The doc’s lessons really helped boost my skill levels on that front. It was extremely painful having all my bones rearranged to their proper places; it was better than keeping them all jumbled up like a big ball of yarn, but still. Ouch.

Afternoons were me practicing my ambient magic. I gradually improved my control and consistency with my mana field casting. I had long since mastered the art of keeping an object hovering. Now I had gotten to the point where I could use the rumble to float an object that wasn’t directly above me; my range extended over time. At first, it was the nightstand next to me. Towards the end of my recovery, I was able to have my mana field extend throughout the entire room. Finer control was a lot more challenging. I was able to launch a small object a few times, but it kept hitting me. The doctor tried to ban me after I got hit with the third book in a row, but I talked him into letting me use soft objects.

Regardless, I was excited. As my control got better, I’d be able to do more refined movements with small stuff. I could feed myself without any muddy aftertaste, tie the daggers on my own feet, dress myself, and so many other things. All that was between me and that sweet, sweet independence was practice, so I was doing it every spare moment I had. I loved Corby and was incredibly grateful for all the help that he gave me, but my growing independence would be a blessing and a half for both of us–all three of us if I had my way.

Bea would give me pointers on magic whenever she came by. Corby and her did small cases around the city during the afternoons. Both of them were very against leaving me alone, but they couldn’t argue with needing more experience and money.

I also noticed that they were getting a lot more comfortable around each other with each day. It was a delight to see. They would come in laughing, making inside jokes, chatting with smiles on their faces. Hanging out with them and seeing them so happy was always the highlight of my day. I could tell they were still a little awkward, but they were clearly enjoying each other’s company.

They would always spend the evenings hanging out with me in the Guild medical ward. Bea would read stories, which was more like transcribing, really. She would add these little flourishes in her casting to emphasize words or denote little emotions for the character. It was awesome, and made reading a lot more bearable. We’d also play cards. I would always start trying to play by casting, but eventually Corby or Bea would tag in to help me and it’d be more of a 1-vs-1 with me giving advice. It was silly, but time with them was always fun.

One night I asked Corby after Bea had left what he thought about her.

“She’s a brilliant mage and wonderful party member, if that’s what you mean,” Corby said.

“You know what I mean.” I saw Corby tense and remain motionless. “It’s important to figure this out if all three of us are going to be traveling together, and you know it. I very much like the both of you.”

Corby paused for a moment as he tried to hide a wicked blush. “I like her. I don’t feel the same way about her that I do you, but I like her. She’s sweet, sincere, kind, and adorable, but I don’t feel like that towards her. Not yet, at least.”

He looked like he was going to die of embarrassment. He was never one for sharing his feelings.

“Oh, are you finally admitting you like me?! I thought I’d be waiting forever.”

“C’mon Nym,” Corby whined. “That’s not fair.”

“I know, I know. I’m not gonna push. Just don’t keep me waiting forever, ya know? But yeah, no one says you have to feel the same way about both of us. But it seems like we are all on the same page, even if nothing is happening. Of course, that also means you have to tell her all of this.” I grinned at him and his face froze in shock and horror.

I hadn’t been the only one to get great levels from the battle. Corby had also unlocked his second class, and had taken a defensive one, apparently. It made sense since he was always up front, but I had suspicions that he had some ulterior motives with that choice. He was very cagey about the specifics, and I begrudgingly let him keep his secrets. The otter wasn’t all that subtle about his intense desire to save me from anything and everything, and it was as endearing as it was terrifying.

After a few weeks of cases with Bea, he had his class upgrade, too: Axejack. He took a step away from pure martial power in favor of better skills for dealing with nature and tough terrain. The fighting style also suited Corby more; big swings and chops with brute force were always much more him than fancy technique with twirls and spins and crap. I think he also liked moving closer to his roots with a class that included references to tree chopping.

Bea didn’t hit any capstones despite her bombardments, but she made some great strides towards them. She had a few years on Corby and I, but she had very little combat experience. She had said that she spent a lot of time being covered by her party, and most of those years were spent with the Professor. As a result, she had progressed very slowly, and I was almost caught up with her now.

It was a reminder that those who didn’t engage in active fighting were on a much slower progression path in life. I was reminded of Mr. Bo, hungry for any experience he could get his hands on since he was in the middle of nowhere and definitely not a combatant. The reigning theory was that there was some kind of bonus to experience when you were in mortal danger, and there weren’t many opportunities for merchants to make deals under threat of death. At least not opportunities that sane merchants would seek out.

Hopefully the twins don’t try too much reckless crap when they get out of the Tutorials.

The time held captive in this infernal bed did allow me to write more letters to the twins and receive the ones they sent after we left Oak Ridge. They talked about Mr. Bo and the kids at the orphanage. They also mentioned how disappointed they were that they hadn’t heard any rumors about me doing crazy shit. I had to laugh at that one.

I had Corby write about Fernia and the new people and the landscapes. We talked a lot about Bea and how awesome she was. I had Corby write about the battle a little, too, but he was a bit more critical of my experience in the battle than I would’ve been. The price of having a biased scribe.

Fred would also stop by on occasion. He was adorably shy about the whole thing, but he was grateful about still having an arm. And being alive, I guess. But I wasn’t responsible for that part. I just helped a little. Fred was dreadfully bad at small talk once he stopped acting super edgy, but I talked enough for the both of us. I talked and talked, and he was a very goot and attentive listener. I thought it had been a while since he last had a good friend to talk to. He was a very nice guy, and I told him I’d write him letters to keep in touch.

After three long, long weeks, I finally was allowed out of bed. I still needed a couple days to get back to full strength, but just being able to walk again felt incredible. When I made it to the bottom floor of the Guild, I was both exhausted and restless. I sat on the bottom stair and noticed Davie. I hadn’t seen him in a while; he hadn’t journeyed up the third floor during my stay. I soon realized why. The old fart looked at me with such shame, which was dumb since it wasn’t like he chose to be flung into me.

“Howdy, Davie.” I started.

“Hey, lass. Good to see you finally on your feet.”

“Good to be up. Since we will probably get out of your hair soon, any suggestions on where to head next?”

He pondered for a bit. “I suppose I could send you lot to the capital. They are short-staffed after the battle, and adding a few C-Ranks to the pot shouldn’t stir up too much trouble. We lost several good adventurers in that fight, and we were struggling plenty with staffing already.”

“Fred had mentioned that there weren’t any more A Ranks at the capital. How come?”

“The government was pushing all its duties on to the Guild so they didn’t have to maintain their city guard. The Guild Council decided to pull the A Ranks away from the capital in the hopes that the government would be forced to do its job when they couldn’t just dump the problems on our elites.”

“Why was the government slacking so much?”

“Budget cuts and greed. Country has been forced to import food because the King has mandated that most of the farmers grow cash crops instead of actual food.”

“The country blessed by Harvae has a food shortage?”

“Never underestimate people’s ability to be fuckin’ stupid, lass.” Davie grunted. “Anyways, let me look into a case that sends you in the direction of the capital.”

“Thanks!”

“And Lass?” Davie called out.

“Yes?”

“I’m real sorry about injuring you like that. Inexcusable for a Guild receptionist to injure a munchkin like that.”

“Davie, please. It’s not like you asked to get launched like a cannonball at me. Don’t sweat it.” I started to go back upstairs, but turned around. “But if you really want to make it up to me anyway, stop being a dick to Bea. It’s not her fault a god decided she was interesting enough to bless.”

Davie looked at me and grimaced, then scratched his head. “Fine, lass, fine. I’ll try to be nicer. But being a dick is just my natural state of being.”

I chuckled. “Then just your usual dickish self would suffice.”

Later, we finally had a talk with Bea about her plans.

I would like to join you, if that’s alright. I missed adventuring more than I realized. She paused and took a breath to calm herself. And I really like both of you and want to keep being around you! Her face was scrunched up like she was summoning up every drop of courage she had.

“And we talked it over, and we’d love to have you. Welcome aboard,” Corby said.

“Should we come up with a party name now that it’s the three of us? Allie’s party had a cool name!” I said with glee.

“We can start thinking about it. No reason we need to lock one in right now.”

I have legs, a destination, and a party. What more could I need?