In the end, Azia counted her blessings as to the timing of her arrival. She made a mental note to ask as to conflicting forecasts, by which she’d been convinced of clear skies that morning. Her mistrust in a hypothesis once deemed so reliable was gradually worsening still. It was one more benefit of the voyage, and she considered taking what advances she could gather back with her. She’d be dominating Dissemination for the foreseeable future, at this rate--Seleth or not.

  It left her with leeway, somewhat. An hour was long enough to settle into the warmth she craved, particularly with company she enjoyed. Klare’s room, too, was roughly how Azia remembered it, and equally tidy in turn. They were slightly different, in that way.

  The sight of their glaives resting peacefully beside one another on the rack was oddly sweet, morbid thoughts be damned. Heaping reds sat crumpled beside it, thick and rugged. Stuffy as her own gear was, taking it off would be a waste, at this point. Azia would add her own contrasting colors later.

  “Do you guys want anything?” Klare asked, already shuffling through the hanging cupboard.

  Kassy’s hand shot up, whether or not Klare could see it. “Apple juice!”

  “Apple juice,” Klare deadpanned. “Seriously?”

  “Yes, please,” Kassy said, beaming as always.

  The tiniest sigh wasn’t muffled by stifling wood. “Azia?” she tried.

  Azia tucked several straying strands of hair behind the safety of her scarf. “I’m good with just esua.”

  For a moment, gentle shuffling slowed to a stop. Klare peeked out beyond the cupboard door. “Uh…what’s your friend’s name, again?”

  “Seleth,” Azia answered on his behalf. He seemed fine enough with it, content to cross his legs comfortably in a desk chair not his own. It wasn’t Azia’s room. It was, therefore, not her place to scold.

  The angle at which Klare peered around the door left Azia wondering if she’d break her neck. “Seleth, what do you want?”

  “Seleth doesn’t drink stuff,” Kassy offered instead, kicking her feet lazily over the edge of the bed.

  Klare straightened up in silence, pinning baffled eyes to the librarian. “What?”

  She only smiled. “Or eat stuff.”

  “He’s good,” Azia interrupted quickly, just short of outright cringing. “He doesn’t want anything.”

  “But thank you anyway,” Seleth finished, far calmer by comparison. His grin, too, was unperturbed.

  Had it come from anyone but Kassy, Azia wondered if Klare would’ve dismissed the quip so easily. She refused to question it more than she had to. Klare would find out the truth sooner or later, regardless. For now, puzzled eyes fell only to simple motions, her hands full of glass and sloshing liquids alike. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

  “You know, they were saying it wasn’t supposed to Rain on my way here,” Azia spoke up, resting her palms comfortably against the mattress. “They told you the opposite? Are you guys not using the jet stream hypothesis anymore?”

  Klare never raised her head from the table, still occupied with loading a little glass with glimmering juice. “It failed on us a few too many times in a row. We’ve been trying something called the tropospheric model.”

  Azia raised an eyebrow. “And that consists of?”

  “Different way of reading atmospheric pressure,” she said plainly. “We haven’t smoothed out all the kinks in it yet, but we’re getting there. It’s been correct about 85% of the time.”

  One hand full of juice didn’t stay that way for long. Kassy accepted the beverage with muted happiness, sipping quietly. Azia was handed frigid esua and a fresh grin in unison. “We were gonna get it to you guys eventually, I promise. We wanted to finalize a few more things on it before we went waving it around. You don’t want us giving you inaccurate data, right?”

  Azia threw her smirk into her glass as she drank. “Fair.”

  “Sometimes, I feel like you guys are just saying words,” Seleth admitted.

  “I’m gonna take a shot in the dark that this guy’s not an alchemist,” Klare said, waving her hand vaguely in Seleth’s direction.

  It took effort for Azia not to choke, if not purely from the effort of stemming a laugh. “No. Again, he’s still learning some things.”

  “A lot of things,” Seleth mumbled, his grin still comfortably permanent.

  “The researchers are the ones who predict the weather,” Azia explained. “It’s still not a perfect science, like I said, but they’re doing what they can to make it perfect. We borrow that from them.”

  “It’s okay. I can’t predict the weather right, either,” Kassy reassured in the midst of her juice.

  Klare scowled. “Hush.”

  Seleth ignored her outright in favor of a satisfied hum. “I’m surprised you can predict it at all. What do you even need to pull that off?”

  Klare shrugged. “I mean, it’s not the same as how they used to do it before the Sunburst--obviously. We have the technology for it. The sun messed up a lot of stuff, so starting over from scratch was a pain in the ass. Wouldn’t have been able to use anything from back then if we wanted to. The forecast equipment we ended up with works pretty well, though.”

  Her eyes shot to Azia again. “Does he know that?” she muttered under her breath.

  She smothered an amused sigh and shook her head. That’d be a constant, for sure.

  If Seleth caught it, he hardly took offense--nor did he care at all. “You guys have this little symbiotic relationship goin’ on,” he pressed, leaning back somewhat precariously in his chair. “I get that the alchemists borrow stuff from the researchers. Does that work in reverse?”

  Klare crossed her arms, and she leaned casually against the wall in turn. “Every now and then. We’ve borrowed enough. We keep each other upright. It’s for a good cause, you know.”

  He cocked his head. “I get that. Is it just the alchemists and the researchers that trade things? Like, is there anyone else?”

  Klare only stared. “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Seleth began, uncrossing and recrossing his legs comfortably, “Azia said something about there being different…I dunno, 'ideologies,' I guess. Don’t remember how she phrased it. The alchemists do things one way, and the researchers do things another way, right?”

  Klare nodded slowly. Azia answered on her behalf, regardless. “It’s like I said. The Alchemist Division tries to solve the water problem through alchemy. The Research Division tries to do the same thing through research. We’ve got that in common.”

  “No, I know that part,” Seleth interrupted. “I guess what I mean is…is it just those two? How many ‘Divisions’ are there?”

  Azia’s breath froze in her throat. In a perfect world, she could’ve blamed the chill of the esua. The way Klare stiffened across from her wasn’t overly subtle. Seleth’s eyes were pointed at Klare, ultimately. For as much as Azia considered covering the researcher’s mouth, it once more wasn’t her place. It came when it came.

  Klare bit her lip. Eventually, she relented with a sigh. “There’s…actually thr--”

  “Two.”

  Azia’s eyes snapped to her right. Whether or not Klare’s own followed along was irrelevant, although she had a strong feeling they did. In place of stifling glass, Kassy’s soft smile was on full display. It matched poorly with her gaze, hollow as it was. Empty eyes fell only to Seleth. The moment they did, his grin slipped at last.

  Azia got her turn with the same strained look, so soon after. Klare, too, earned the same. Kassy stung them both in silence, hands once vibrant now trembling in the absolute slightest around vacant glass. Azia could physically see Seleth trailing the path of the librarian’s wordless warning with his own eyes. Sharp as he was, she was surprised that he didn’t speak up.

  Klare shrank somewhat underneath heavy eye contact, sunshine poisoned by something darker. “Yeah. It’s…just those two.”

  It took time for Kassy’s gaze to soften. Azia was somewhat convinced she never renewed her sunny smile in earnest. Regardless, two hands clung tightly to an empty glass, and Kassy thrust it out before her with unnecessary force. “More, please,” she said calmly.

  Klare didn’t object. She gave the librarian what she wanted, quiet or otherwise. The gentle splashing of innocent juice was all that flowed through a silence so crushing. Azia cleared her throat and fought for her life to shatter it.

  “Let me…know when you’re done with that model. The jet stream hypothesis failed us the other day, and I’m worried about it happening again.”

  Part of her expected Klare to tease. What enthusiasm she could’ve summoned largely funneled into juice. That, in turn, funneled into Kassy, and the drink she accepted was finally enough to fuel a genuine smile. Klare rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I’ll do that, yeah.”

  Azia refused to let silence settle in again, particularly given the way Klare’s anxious gaze fell to a satisfied Kassy more than once. “Do you guys have enough people to deal with the Rain?”

  She got her turn with Klare’s attention, at least. “We’re good. It’s not fun, but we’re good. There’s maybe fifteen of us. Twenty. I don’t know.”

  Azia winced. “That’s not a lot.”

  “Look, we’ve been having trouble trying to convince people to get combat-certified, okay? Not the greatest job,” Klare argued. “What do you guys have?”

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  “At least twice those numbers.”

  Klare clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Lucky. The ones we’ve got are strong enough to make up for it. We’ve been in some rough patches, but we’ve always pulled through. Teamwork, and all that.”

  “How long did it take you guys to learn how to fight?” Seleth asked. “Between alchemy and researching and stuff. Not the kind of thing I’d expect out of those…positions.”

  For once, Klare smiled. It was a welcome reprieve. “Long enough, for most of them. I didn’t have that much trouble with it. Fighting people is a lot different than fighting Rain, though. I think everyone should know at least a bit of self-defense, anyway.”

  “I mean, even Kassy has her little crossbow thing,” Seleth said, gesturing to the weapon resting on the desk. “And she’s a freakin’ librarian. Is that normal?”

  “You’d be surprised about the kind of things you encounter in this line of work,” Azia muttered. “To say nothing of the Rain, obviously.”

  Seleth crossed his arms, and he tilted his head in Azia’s direction. “Hey, if I’m hanging out with you for the foreseeable future, should I have something, too?”

  Azia only blinked. “What?”

  “You know, like…something to carry around. Just in case of an emergency. I’m important, right?”

  It took a moment. When it clicked, she flinched. “You want a weapon?”

  He got his grin back. “I mean, everyone else got one.”

  “Seleth, you don’t need a weapon,” Azia hissed. “You have your--”

  She bit her tongue at the last possible second. Seleth did not, for any reason, need to direct his knowing gaze demonstratively to Klare. Azia got the point already. If he was being smug about it, it very much showed.

  “I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” Klare added with a shrug. “He doesn’t have to use it, Azia. Just let him keep something small on him.”

  “Like?” she asked, somewhat more harshly than intended.

  Klare paused. Eventually, she made for the closet, forsaking the alchemist in favor of yet more rustling and rummaging. If nothing else, the steady noise gave Azia room for scolding.

  “You do not need a weapon,” she snapped once more in a whisper. “Your water is perfectly fine.”

  Azia was certain Seleth’s grin was plagued with something smug, too. It matched the rest of him. “You really want me flashing that in public all the time? I feel like that might make a bit of a mess.”

  He wasn’t wrong. She hated and despised that he wasn’t wrong. Azia didn’t bother restraining the tiny growl of annoyance that slipped from her throat.

  When Klare finally withdrew from the closet, she was one sheath richer. So, too, was her hand occupied with an unfamiliar handle, small as it was. “This might work. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

  Where the researcher had gifted two girls with sparkling refreshments, she gifted Seleth quiet violence. With care, she laid the little weapon to rest in his extended palms. “Hopefully, you won’t actually have to use it.”

  Three sets of eyes followed his motions as he delicately unsheathed the blade, cautious twists of his palm leaving steel shimmering beneath the lights overhead. Plain as the knife was, it was pristine and sturdy all the same. Shining silver matched his grin, and his satisfaction was reflected off the polished surface. He savored it in his hands for longer than was necessary, turning it over time and time again.

  “I almost forgot I even had that thing,” Klare went on, gesturing lazily to the glistening knife. “It’s been sitting in there for a hot minute. You can have it, if you want it.”

  Seleth’s eyes were glistening just as brightly. Given the context of his lethal present, it was almost concerning. “You sure?”

  “For emergencies,” Azia reminded sharply.

  He chuckled, sliding the little blade back into its leather home. “I know, I know.”

  He noticed that part, at some point. Seleth’s hands stilled along a sheathed knife. He stared at the same, briefly, running one thumb along the length of the holster. Eventually, he raised an eyebrow. “Wait, is this leather?”

  Seleth’s skeptical gaze slowly floated towards Azia. She knew where he was going with the line of thought, vaguely. Somehow, she’d forgotten to deal with it. “Plant-based,” she clarified. “Almost everything is. Sequencing is hard enough to begin with. We don’t waste specimens.”

  Seleth seemed satisfied with the concept, and he set Azia free of judgment at last. There was probably no use in asking how he’d even garnered the knowledge to press her, in truth. He turned the holster over in his hands once more. “Looks pretty good for a plant,” he conceded.

  Azia took it as a compliment, whether or not he’d meant it that way. Kassy agreed, apparently. “It’s so cute,” she praised, showering the weapon with her own flavor of light. “I like it! Now, we match!”

  Seleth figured out how to secure it to his clothes fast enough, somehow. Azia was somewhat impressed that it stayed. “And don’t play with it, either,” she scolded.

  He waved his hands defensively. “You have zero faith in me.”

  “Hopefully, that’s one less thing you’ve got to worry about,” Klare said, her hands settling onto her hips. “Can you fight in any capacity? I mean, it’s just a knife, but…do you think you’d be able to stand up for yourself with it?”

  Seleth patted the sheath reassuringly. “I’ve got it. No problem. People are easy. Can’t say I’ll be as good against the Rain with something this tiny, but it’s better than nothing.”

  Klare winced. “Hey, heads up, that’s just a regular knife. You’re not gonna be able to--”

  Azia didn’t mean to kick her ankle that hard. She did anyway, and it was enough to draw a yelp of pain from the researcher. Where she earned a sharp look, she gave one right back, shaking her head fervently.

  Klare rolling her eyes was a small price to pay, as was the excessive confusion that plagued her face. Seleth didn’t need to fight. As such, Seleth didn’t need to know, lest he pry until he insisted otherwise.

  “Thank you,” he finally said. “Really appreciate it.”

  Wounded ankle or not, Klare smiled. “You’re welcome. One less piece of garbage here. You’re doing me a favor.”

  Klare shifted her weight onto one foot. “Now, if you ever want me to teach you how to fight the right way, let me know. I’ll train you up.”

  “You fight better than Azia?” Seleth challenged.

  Klare’s grin matched his, for a moment, equally mischievous for once. “Oh, I fight better than Azia, alright.”

  Azia contemplated kicking her again. “Yeah? You wanna deal with the Rain yourself? Because you can deal with the Rain yourself, if you’re so much better than me.”

  Klare laughed. “What’s the Downfall record at your place?”

  “Twelve minutes,” she answered with a smirk. “Usually between six and seven.”

  “We keep getting ten,” Klare said. “We’ve got less people than you guys do, too, so it takes a bit more out of us. Wanna have a little competition?”

  Azia just barely stifled a laugh. “You’re so stupid. I’m not competing with you with Rain, of all things.”

  “Aww, but it’d be fun!” Kassy whined.

  “How is Rain fun in any way?” Azia asked, exasperated.

  “What, like, see which one of you can get rid of more before it ends?” Seleth tried.

  Klare nodded. “Something like that. I think it’s a pretty fair--”

  Azia hadn’t bothered counting for a full sixty minutes. Klare’s company was nice enough to fill the gaps naturally, and time passed without concern. The blaring siren that fought to shatter her eardrums was forever miserable. For once, it was expected, intolerably loud or not.

  Far from home as she was, the difference in pitch felt disorienting. If nothing else, the cyclic pattern had long been etched into her head threefold. Given their conversation, it wasn’t enough to make her heart race. It did, at least, make her jump somewhat.

  “Attention. Precipitation identified within one-half mile of the southwestern boundary. Estimated time to Downfall is approximately five minutes. All certified dispatch units are to report directly to the southern quadrant for--”

  Kassy had outright clapped her hands over her ears. Klare only laughed, immune to the sudden blasting sound as it rang overhead. With far less urgency than was probably required, she made for a stagnant glaive and the bulky reds beside it. “Speaking of,” she said. “There’s our cue.”

  Azia rose to her feet, swiftly pulling her own weapon free from the rack. “Five minutes’ notice. That’s honestly impressive.”

  “Don’t mess with the model,” Klare boasted. “We’re only gonna get more advanced than that.”

  “--remain indoors and seek shelter immediately. Do not attempt to leave a fortified place of safety until further notice. Leave all personal belongings behind. Be aware of the potential for life-threatening--”

  Azia cast her eyes to the ceiling. “They’re really drawing this out. Is it always like this here?”

  Klare fumbled her way through zippers and sleeves, submitting to smothering reds as they wrapped her up. “No, actually. They might've changed the script with the model. Joel’s the one in charge of the technical stuff, so maybe he was screwing with the warning system.”

  “Severity is Tier Three. Close all open windows, and do not exit the Institute. If you are currently outdoors, return to--”

  Azia’s heart skipped a beat. It tumbled, at some point, and plummeted into her stomach. Slowly, she turned her head towards Klare.

  She was silent, for a moment. Azia was the same. The researcher’s hands had stilled over her zipper, and her rattling breaths had replaced her banter. Azia held a breath of her own on behalf of both of them. Right now, should it flee her altogether, she couldn’t imagine trying to catch it again.

  “They said Two, right?” Klare pressed, her voice shaking.

  Azia only shook her head instead. “I…”

  “Once again, severity is Tier Three. Estimated time to Downfall is approximately four--”

  Denial became fear. Fear bordered panic. Swallowing it was a nightmare. Where Azia could restrict hers, Klare couldn’t restrict the same. Breaths once gently compromised grew quick, and her eyes pooled with horror. “Azia?” she tried, her voice nearly cracking.

  “It’s alright,” Azia offered through gritted teeth, battling the waver in her own voice. “I…we’ll figure it out.”

  Klare swore sharply. Kassy was on her feet, more or less frozen in place. It was Seleth alone who rose with calm, his eyes flickering to each terrified face in turn. “What’s…going on?”

  “Have you ever dealt with Tier Three?” Azia pushed quickly.

  Klare shook her head with far more force than the alchemist had. “I-I’ve never even seen a Thunderstorm. We haven’t had one in all the time I’ve been here. I don’t even think they’ve had one in forever to begin with! Have you?”

  Azia’s grip around the shaft of the polearm threatened to stain her knuckles white. “Twice.”

  She had little else to offer. Klare still shook, and Kassy had just barely begun to do the same. Seleth, to her surprise, didn’t pry. Whatever panic snuck through the cracks of every bursting siren was enough to poison the air. Azia did what she could to take the deepest breath possible.

  “Estimated time to Downfall is approximately three minutes.”

  “I’ll show you what to do,” she insisted. “Don’t worry. It’s fundamentally the same as Standard. I’ll watch your back, okay? It’s still the same cores, it’s still the same precautions, it’s still…Precipitation. It’s still just Precipitation.”

  Klare nodded, albeit as slowly as Azia could imagine. The fear splashed across her face was more than obvious. If nothing else, she gulped, wordlessly claiming a glaive in two trembling hands. Wide eyes drifted to Kassy.

  “Kassy, stay here,” Klare instructed, her voice still shaking.

  Kassy winced. “I don’t want to leave you!”

  “Kassy, I don’t even know what I’m doing!” she snapped. “Stay here!”

  “Seleth, watch her,” Azia ordered in turn.

  She probably should’ve expected the resistance. Either way, she got it. “I’m going with you.”

  “Seleth, you don’t understand. This isn’t like last time. This is different,” Azia chided.

  He didn’t budge. “Then that’s all the more reason for me to go. You’re the one who wanted me to see this stuff, right?”

  “Not right here, and not right now,” Azia urged, battling her rising aggravation. “Seleth, I’m gonna be honest, this is pretty bad. I need to focus.”

  “I can help.”

  “Not with this. Seleth, please.”

  “Estimated time to Downfall is approximately two minutes.”

  “Don’t leave me here,” Kassy whimpered, already reaching for the resting crossbow. “I don’t want to be alone.”

  “Seleth will be with you,” Azia barked. “Kassy, you’ll be in danger if you--”

  “I’ll watch her out there,” Seleth said, “and I won’t let anything touch her.”

  Kassy nodded in quick agreement. Azia resisted the temptation to pull her hair out. “You’re both going to get seriously hurt! This isn’t funny!”

  “Estimated time to Downfall is approximately one minute.”

  “Klare, please!” Kassy begged.

  “Damn it, Kassy!” Klare shouted.

  Azia had never seen Seleth glare before. It was almost painful to receive, and she flinched beneath it. “I’m not leaving you!” he growled. “If you try to keep me here, I’ll just follow you out anyway!”

  “Estimated time to Downfall is approximately thirty seconds.”

  Azia swore at the top of her lungs. She probably shouldn’t have, and yet it was a reflex. One hand was full of violence, and the other was full of a researcher’s own. She nearly kicked the door down on the way out, and she made a mental note to apologize to Klare about it later.

  If Klare cared, she said nothing. Azia was still fairly certain that Klare was mostly preoccupied with finding fresh oxygen to ease her surging terror. For that, she couldn’t be blamed.

  The screeching siren was only one of many catalysts for the way Azia’s head spun. It was to say nothing of two lives suddenly thrust into the fray behind her. It was to say nothing of the one she’d need to guide through disgusting devastation.

  It was to say nothing of rare devastation at all, and it was to say nothing of being outnumbered so far from home. So recently, Azia had found the warmth she’d craved in a distant Institute. This hadn’t been the way she thought she’d lose it.

  At the very least, Rain was indiscriminate. Alchemist or not, she’d blend in, and she’d be every bit as fragile as the rest of them. It was the worst camaraderie she could ask for.