-Callen-

  I walked home slowly after my trip with Crescent. It was wonderful. The soft fluttering feeling of elation and anticipation lingered. I’ve been concerned about committing to relations in this life, but early companionship is the norm. Most people live fast and die young. Having an older presence in the family household is something rare. However, in families that do consistently survive, it's possible to stack up over a dozen generations. I chuckle quietly as I imagine a dozen dads lined up next to their sons. That kind of scene was described in stories from inner human territory, but I hadn’t really considered what it would be like to meet my 15th-generation grandpa.

  It’s already dark out, so I can expect a scolding from Mom, but I had gotten caught up in the moment. Arriving at home, I notice most of the lights are out except for Callia’s room. Well, I guess I’ll need to wait for the morning for Mom’s reprisal. I quietly move up the stairs to avoid disturbing Mom but freeze as a familiar face exits Callia’s room. It’s Lexia.

  “Goodnight, Callia,” she calls back into the room before she turns to me and smirks predatorially.

  “Callen, it’s nice to meet you again. I had been looking forward to it, but a certain matter delayed me.” She walked past while I was getting my thoughts together. At least this time she hadn’t greeted me with attempted murder. Instead, she walked by with a swagger of predatory confidence. As she passed, she whispered.

  “We’ll be seeing more of each other in the future. I came a long way on nothing but rumors, so I hope you don’t disappoint tomorrow.” I’m not sure where to take the implications of that statement. First, the idea of rumors about me having time to spread far was surprising unless Lexia was in contact with the earthkin. Then there was the subtle warning that I needed to impress her, or I won’t like the consequences. The whole matter made me regret not taking the time to properly master a weapon. I think my craftsmanship will have to be placed to the side for the time being. I was lucky to squeeze through the past issues, but taking some time to properly prepare would be invaluable in the future.

  Lexia slips by and down the hall, where she moves into our guest room. I slowly release the tension brought by her. I think it’s my instincts acting up in response to danger, but on such a soft level that it just leaves me feeling unsettled by her presence. I would say I didn’t feel comfortable with her staying in the house, but I was even more concerned with the kind of incident that she might cause if left unattended in town. I flop down into bed and struggle to fall into an uneasy sleep.

  In the morning I went downstairs and saw Callia and Lexia sitting side by side animatedly talking about stealth techniques. Mom greeted me with breakfast.

  “We’ll be having another chat about staying out late later. For now we have a guest. When Renack described the girl you met outside, I didn’t expect her to be so young. Since she showed up, Callia and she have gotten along splendidly. She seemed so much scarier when he described her.” I thank Mom for breakfast while nodding along with her statement. Somehow the whole predatory aura was suppressed, and Lexia felt like a slightly formal but exceedingly polite guest. As I sat down, she and Sis changed the topic of discussion.

  “I came this way for a number of reasons, but foremost was to fight. Your grandpa promised I could, but before we begin, I want to be sure you're ready. No subpar performance I want to measure your worth! Before I can even get a word in, Callia's already agreed. She stuffs the rest of her breakfast down and heads to her closet/weapons locker. With that, she turns to me, and I also scramble off to suit up. I can't run from it, so I'll just have to do my best. At least this time I’ll have enough mana to actually try more than using my void space and some magic tools.

  -Callia-

  This was supposed to be my week for training Callen, but he was interrupted with a job from the mayor, so my original plan was put on hold. When the ‘girl’ that Grandpa and Callen mentioned showed up, we spent most of the day chatting. She was waiting for my brother to show up. Which I thought wouldn’t be long, but he ended up spending the whole day out. Lexia was a bit intimidating at first, but something about her was just fun. She gave off the impression of an incredibly well-mannered girl, but the facade strangely reminded me of Ralf. There was a mix of simple earnestness that was honest to their desires.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Lexia, like Ralf, had fought for most of her life, but unlike Ralf, who was used, Lexia was wild but freshly tamed. She had been reintroduced to society briefly at some point, but only enough to give a facade that tricked people who didn't spend time with her. She knew a way to interact with people by commanding them, but she didn’t know how to connect with people emotionally. This is probably what unsettled Grandpa and Callen. She was a predator and had lived as one for all her life.

  She might not even know it herself, but I could keenly feel that what she wanted was the connection that most people intrinsically develop. So instead of being wary, I was warm. If I had time, I’m sure I could’ve pulled Ralf from the bandit camp, but he was stubborn, and I didn’t want to sacrifice the people who would’ve died in the time it took. Since Lexia was already living with us during her visit, I had all the time I needed to help her. Even better, I would finally have someone who might be able to properly train my perception skills against!

  While I grabbed my tools, I shared a bit of my initial thoughts with Callen, who was hesitant to accept them but was willing to trust my judgment. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant to take the lead on something like this. After my capture by completely misjudging the bandits’ capability and the incident with the elves shooting down my airship, I was unsure of myself. Still, I didn’t want a life hiding behind the walls, and that meant making calls and seeing them through.

  I head outside in full gear and smile at Lexia, who is tense in predatory anticipation. Lexia began circling from the far side of the clearing, and I moved with her. Callen had described her hands like claws, and the careful nimble steps whispered of a massive divergence from most high-level builds I knew. Most invested heavily in vitality and strength, but Lexia’s body and stance whispered of dexterity. Her movements and reactions will be fast. Her body was slim, almost unnaturally so; likely she had a dexterity imbalance that was later corrected.

  Just as I finished my assessment, the look in Lexia’s eyes announced she had also taken her measure of me. Simultaneously and silently we both moved. She went low, rushing me while minimizing my target area. Instead of running for cover, I let loose a burst of arrows, cutting off the path between us. She ducked to the side, and I took my chance to jump backwards onto the tree behind. With the familiarity of countless hours of practice, I jumped from one tree to another. I quickly ascended into my domain in the branches above. All the while I kept pressure and carefully tracked Lexia, who weaved around my arrows.

  She reached the trees and moved to try interposing the trunk between us. I flashed from my current branch to another, trying to get an angle for when she climbed. Her fingers were sinking into the wood, making easy handholds for her to lunge her way up with speed surpassing my acrobatic ascension. Without hesitation I let off another arrow. She tried to swing around the trunk, but my arrow curved in pursuit. She abandoned her handholds to swat the arrow aside. She dug her fingers back in and slowed her descent. Her eyes lock with mine, and I can easily see her excitement that mirrors my own.

  Replaceable

  The Duke looked over an urgent report from his messenger. Baron Eldraine had left his city in force to deal with ‘rebels,’ a completely fabricated issue, but not something for him to step in on. The baron’s plan to destroy Port Town was a wasted effort and would rid him of the worthless slob who hadn’t even managed the most basic requirements of the role he had taken on. Instead of personally killing the man-child, he let the fool run off to become fertilizer for Nightshade the Noble Slayer.

  It was a title most actual nobles knew. Nightshade was an ancient plant that had been brought to Port Town by a druid visiting from the eastern continent. He personally hated the druids for their dependence on natural guardians. They would raise plants across multiple generations, leveraging the extreme lifespan of levelled plants as weapons against monsters, but in doing so they had become savages who spent their lives in service to plants. It was humiliating and unacceptable.

  Nightshade was originally an ally to all humans; however, her potent poison had become a highly valued commodity. Nobles fought to secure her, and in doing so had killed her former master. Ever since then, whenever a noble personally intends to exploit the natural resources of Port Town, they would die suddenly. Duke Harlanou’s father had once decided that the plant was an unacceptable element within the duchy. He had set nearly a dozen retainers and even his friend Viscount Gilbert. They seized the town and tried to root out the plant, but after nearly half died of poison, they withdrew.

  It was decided that the plant was a suitable frontline against elves in the Fallen Forest and ignored. The duke shifted his attention back to the urgent issue of the hive worm. From the position and timing, it was likely Lexia would perish. She didn’t have the skills to remove an infection and likely wouldn’t realize the urgency. Which meant he would need to move on to the next spare. It was expensive collecting monsters to let loose on his various children to cultivate them, but an essential expense. Lexia had been the most promising for some time, but there was never a guarantee. Thus, he called his butler and arranged for him to bring in his next heir.

  It wouldn’t be acceptable to have something like the failure of one child to delay his plans. However, he would learn from this mistake and keep the next one in his influence while preparing for his next steps. Vaguely he considered Lexia’s survival, but it was unlikely. She was never taught how dangerous they could be and likely underestimated them. The town behind her never reported her return, and the town beyond had been burned down by the baron according to his spies. There was no chance to remove the worm, and she lacked the vitality to resist it long enough to make it to Port Town.