Mordecai watched a little bit of Fuyuko and Li pying in the forest, which was mostly Li encio find the best lighting to make scary faces in while Li rolled on the flhing, as well as showihe best ways to sneak around quietly. They were adorable, and it was o see the girl rex. She kept going through cycles of being tense and worried before being drawn out, only to tense up again at some thought or .

  When they came back, Mordecai made sure to let her know that she o tell Gil thank you, as Li robably taking Gil on an adventure soon. He roven right the day when their presence simply vanished. her he nor Kazue could pinpoily when it happened, nor where they were when it did.

  This left Fuyuko with mixed feelings. Part of her felt like she'd been abandoned, but she also knew better. Gil was a hero of sorts, and he'd seen her safely to her destination. Was he not supposed to go off and help others? And Li was, well, Li. All of the stories she knew about him started with him arriving somepd ended when he left that pce. This Li story had ended. It did leave her w what it would look like if someone wrote it down.

  And the people she found herself with, well, she felt strangely at ease, and that somehow made her nervous. Gil had been a protector and a friend, maybe a brother, but Mordecai was the one who felt somehow fatherly to her. He'd already discussed with her his pns if she became their tractor, and she was going to o spend at least a week experieng the schedule he wanted her to follow. She didn't have to, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but if what she wanted was to bee a tractor and truly call this pe, this was what he required of her. It was fair and firm without being demanding, and it was hard to trust the warm feeling that this evoked.

  Bellona was already slipping into an older sister sort of role with her. She was there and ready to help or listen at any time.

  As for Kazue, well, Fuyuko only really got to i with the other core when her illusion resent, and she didn't always have oive. Fuyuko wasn't quite sure how she felt about the kitsu was sort of weird knowing that Kazue otentially watg over her at any time. Sure, the same could be said of Mordecai, but at least he seemed to usually use his avatar. Maybe she should use the ptform in her room to ask for Kazue's attention and just talk? But Fuyuko didn't want to bother her either.

  Then there was Moriko. She didn't know the woman at all, but it seemed she had a strong influen Betty. And Fuyuko liked Betty, so presumably, she'd like Moriko as well.

  Really, everyone was o her. And she had the feeling if one of the dungeon's visitors was mean to her, there would be lots of people ready to protect her. Which was hat they cared and all, but Fuyuko didn't want to have to be protected like that. There was just so much for her to think about now that she was actually here.

  While Fuyuko was w through teenage worries and adapting to the schedule Mordecai set forth, Moriko and Kazue's avatar were tinuing to make their way toward the Ekuihe capital of Kuic.

  The day after Li and Gil departed, Moriko found herself frowning up at a distant speck slightly above the horizon and growing rger as it approached along the road they were traveling. "Kazue, heads up, split." The red-headed kitsuook a moment to process what was going on, but they'd trained enough that she followed Moriko's dires and started heading to the opposite side of the road from Moriko before she could identify what had the monk on guard.

  Both women had their staves at the ready by the time they could make out what roag them, but they rexed as they reized the person riding what turned out to be a small, sled-like aircraft, minus the beasts a snow sled would have drawing it. "Lord Paltira!" Moriko called out as the craft slowed and desded toward them, noting that he was wearing fancier garb than usual and that the craft had the royal crest on it. "I take it you are looking for us?"

  "Indeed I am Lady Moriko, Lady Kazue," he said as the craft settled gently on the road, "Her Highness has hat she'd like to have dinner with you and her family before we depart again. Also, she would like to speak to you about the versation you had with her sisters. Something about spreading gossip?" Paltira looked amused as he hopped down from the front driver's seat and opened up a door on the side. "I have to admit, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to what she was saying, she's rather cute when she's ranting."

  Moriko was fused for a moment before she recalled telling the other princesses about Orchid being caught off guard and punched in the back of the head by Enki. Oh. "I see." It seems she'd prickled the princess's pride by passing that around.

  Kazue grinned as she colpsed her staff bato a disk and jumped into the seat. "Oh, this should be fun." Moriko followed a touch less enthusiastically than her wife had, aally updated what was going on for the dungeon.

  "I wouldn't worry about it," Paltira said as he climbed bato the driver's seat, "it's mostly sibling rivalry stuff, she's not really angry. It's just part of the game."

  "Hey," Kazue asked as the craft began to lift off of the ground, "Why don't you guys use this more often?"

  "Even this runner is rather expensive, and it has a retively she before it o be recharged. I was only allowed to use it because I am officially arranging transportation for fn dignitaries, and only after we firmed that you had left the forest. It 't quite make that as a round trip. Also, you collect more information by meeting more people, and this is usually an important aspect for Orchid." He smiled wrily, "When it es to this sort of thing, I am mostly the muscle I admit."

  Well, there was a reason not everyone flew about ihings. Moriko remembered Kazue's father enting on the expense of airships too. "Hey loves," she sent to the cores, "what would it take for us to produce reliable flying craft?"

  There was a moment of silence before she got a response, which told her they were having to do some work to figure it out. "We'd probably o double our zones. Something smaller and less fortable with an even shorter range could be done soon enough, and right now we could create ohat would hover and could be pulled by the right sort of flying creatures. But that would require geing them outside of the aowledged territory, otherwise there is no way to get them out of the underground levels. We have more flexibility for things that would only work inside our territory, but for actual prizes, it will be quite a while before we reward with anything worth the effort."

  "It doesn't look like we ge that expense any time soon, that's too bad. I'm sure Kazue's father would be happy to break that market open and make a tidy profit," she reported to the others.

  "Huh, well, maybe we make him a prift of something fan a few years. Mmm, but they'd o run the dungeon with some friends, wouldn't they? Well, it would still be o offer," Kazue mused.

  "I wonder if that is part of the eic strength of the Allied Nations," Paltira added. "They never seem to run out of iing things to trade. I imagihat their dungeon helps with that, along with their fleet."

  Moriko leaned bad looked up thoughtfully. "What about the southern dungeon? I don't hear about as much trade with the tribes."

  Paltira sidered her question for a few moments. "I am not sure. At a guess, I think they may keep special luxuries for themselves; the nomads we met during our travels did seem to have a rather fortable lifestyle. Most of the goods we saw irade city could be gathered from the pins or crafted from the same materials."

  That seemed to tap out Paltira's knowledge of the other dungeons, and the rest of the versation shifted to more casual topics. It seemed that ohey nded, Paltira was to escort them straight to Mistress U's shop. A new dress had already been put together for Moriko, and two new dresses were waiting for final alterations for Kazue and were based on the rough measurements that Princess Orchid had given the woman.

  Moriko watched her wife squirm happily, half expeg to have to keep her from falling out of the craft in her excitement.

  "Oh, this is going to be great! I love Moriko's dress! And I get two? Oh, I guess that makes sense, so that we have the same number of dresses from them. I 't wait to see them, do you know what colors they are in? What styles are they in?"

  Kazue was talking almost as fast as Li did, and the thought made Moriko ugh. Though, uhe Shattered One, Kazue would eventually wind down and simply vibrate in anticipation.

  The reality mostly met with her expectations, but Kazue did have one small pint. "I think I am going to drown," she muttered as she gnced down. This particur shimmering, emerald green silken dress was geous, and the corseting was desigo amplify assets that hardly needed help. Moriko allowed herself a more lingering look at the decolletage iion and rather approved of the view.

  "I think it's perfect for you, love," Moriko purred.

  Their eyes met and Moriko slowly smiled, enjoying the blush that spread across Kazue's cheeks. "I, ah, guess I don't mind very much then. If you like it that much," Kazue mao get out.

  "I do," Moriko said before leaning in to whisper, "And I will greatly enjoy helping you out of it ter."

  Part of her said that it was bad to flirt with and tease her easily-flustered wife so much, but it was an absolute delight to see Kazue respond. The kitsune could be assertive when she'd plotted and pnned, but teo be much more respoo Moriko making the advances.

  The half-elf suspected that Kazue wouldn't always be so easily caught off guard, and she would miss this rea when that time came, but for now, she was going to enjoy watg the redhead bee toied and uo respond.

  Mistress U coughed to get their attention. "If you are done making eyes at each other, we ? If you are satisfied, I get the sed dress started while you two head off. I'll get it sent to you. Do you know where you are stayi?"

  "No," Moriko replied, "We've been rushed here actually." The sun was still up even, if not by a lot.

  "Well, knowing that lot, I'll get word soon enough. Off with you then, I imagine your escort is bored waiting for you."

  Lord Paltira was out front while the two women were getting fitted and dressed, and when Kazue emerged he mao only let his eyes start to dip before he caught himself and focused his gaze higher. Moriko collected that little bit of ammunition to tease the man with iure, probably by using it to deflect Orchid when ve.

  For the moment, Moriko said nothing and simply smiled when he plimeheir dresses ahem to the carriage waiting outside.

  Zagaroth