House Velli will be observing an hour of silence in honor of the loss of one of their youngest scions, Clyde Velli.

  Count Clyde Velli has been missing for several months and is now presumed lost. He had descended into the Depths to advance his Path and improve his skills with a full support party. He had stated he would be out of contact for the first month while dedicating his efforts to advancement, however he never checked in.

  The family mourns the loss of this upcoming Awakened and his bright future.

  ~ * ~

  Anya opened her eyes and smiled as she realized she'd finished faster than Seb. She didn't bother moving from where she sat facing him, content to wait for him to finally truly catch up to her. Five months, five months of constant effort is all it took once Seb finished repairing his War Husk. Five months in the Depths, exploring their new territory.

  Four months of watching over Seb, of holding herself back and letting him find his pace, find his style and risk himself while she practiced techniques that she couldn't even use. Four months of patching up his scratches, stabilizing his cuts and occasional wounds, of figuring out how healing worked.

  This last month had been better. They'd said goodbye to Phelann and made their way down to the 5th level for the first time. They were both level 3 and Seb was catching up to her day by day. For the first time they fought together rather than sparred against one another. They discovered that their bond was developing into a war bond, that even without Bladesong they could move as one.

  Where before Seb might have pushed himself to clear a cavern in the span of minutes, or Anya in slightly more than half that time, they now breezed through before they even took stock of the creatures. Even variant groups, although never another Horned One, barely posed a threat this time around.

  When they finally did find a Horned one Seb didn't even hesitate to follow her in. She caught the creature's attention as Bladesong weakened it while Seb cut around it, his blade glowing with the simplest of imbuements. It might only add the slightest amount of Energy emanation but it was enough to ensure he had a weapon. The thrill of satisfaction she felt from him as Energy started to burn the far side of the creature confirmed he'd not only managed to stabilize a hindrance technique but strike the rabbit with it as well.

  Where a few months ago she had struggled and panicked against this same creature at her level, now the two of them kept it off balance and took it down without more than a flesh wound. Seb fussed when he saw her bleeding, she could feel his concern as she closed her eyes to focus inward and switch from stabilizing to healing. She realized she'd overdone it when she felt him behind her holding her up by her arms when she started to slump.

  That night they had celebrated, her wound hadn't made it through to her True Self so there was no actual concern. They'd eaten well, unwound successfully and slept the sleep of the victorious. That had led to this morning and their decision to push to level 4. They'd faced a true challenge, together, and come out the stronger for it.

  Anya came out of her thoughts as Seb's eyes met hers. Level 4.

  We did it, she answered as she stood and offered him a hand up.

  Home?

  We're a couple days early, she answered.

  We hit level 4 though. We should celebrate, go out for dinner, enjoy the moment, he argued.

  Fine, fine, she relented, knowing he could feel that she'd been agreeing with him from the very start.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  They were on their way back to the Staging Point within the hour, the relative ease of access to their Holding meant they brought less with them on every dive. On the other hand they were both in such high spirits that what should have taken mere minutes took significantly longer due to their combined antics.

  The trip back up two levels took less time, the paths between them were just narrow enough to make walking single file more convenient. Slipping through the portal was almost anti-climactic, they dropped their equipment the moment they were through while coming up with ever more ridiculous ideas of how they might spend their short vacation.

  Everything was normal and happy until they crossed into the house, the door banging against the wall and drowning out their laughter. Seb was a half step in front of her when he stopped so abruptly even her Awakened reflexes weren't enough to keep her from crashing against him.

  Someone had sat up on the couch, a blanket wrapped around and looking ready to bolt. Someone who looked familiar despite the deep shadows, someone who- She felt Seb's realization as he spoke.

  "Phelann?"

  ~ * ~

  Phelann had nearly managed to fall asleep when she heard noise coming from the Holding below. Hoping it was her imagination she lay on the couch in silence, only to tense and stare up at the ceiling in shock. They weren't supposed to be home, they weren't due back for another two days.

  She knew she hadn't mixed up the dates, she knew exactly when they were going to meet. What were they doing? Why would they do this to her? She nearly jumped off the couch when the door slammed open, the silence that followed painful in it's depth as she locked eyes with Seb.

  "Phelann?"

  Without thinking she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, desperately trying to come up with a reason for her presence.

  "I-" she began only to start over. "I lost track of time and it was late. I didn't want to leave only to come back a few hours later so I-."

  She couldn't, this wasn't what she'd intended, she had to go. "I'm sorry, I'll leave. I'll send you the notes on what I found and-"

  "Phelann," Seb said softly, interrupting her mid sentence as she found herself focusing on his words. "There's a guestroom down the hall."

  "Guestroom?" She didn't understand. Had they met someone in the Depths and were telling her that someone else would find her like this?

  "A guestroom with a bed," Lysanya clarified, her tone just as calm and gentle as Seb's had been. "There's no reason for you to be sleeping on the couch. It can't be comfortable."

  She wanted to argue, she wanted to explain that the couch was comfortable, that it was better than sleeping in the dorm. Instead she stood up, blanket still across her shoulders and let them point her to the bedroom.

  "We can talk in the morning," Seb said as she shut the door.

  They'd talk in the morning? What were they going to say, were they mad? They were right, the bed was more comfortable than the couch. How was the bed so comfortable when the couch was already as nice as her actual bed? Were they doing this just to show her what she was going to miss out on because she'd been sneaking around?

  Her thoughts spun in circles, stress and fear fighting for priority as she lay on her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. Why hadn't she just gone back to the dorm, why was she here, in this bed. How long were they going to make her lie here in silence before they told her to leave because it was finally morning.

  She bolted upright as sunlight hit her face. It was morning, how was it morning? Why was the sun shining into the room? Had she fallen asleep? How could she have slept when they were upstairs knowing she had been sneaking into their house.

  She took the shortest amount of time possible to tidy up the guestroom. Bed sheets tucked in, comforter spread back over it, blanket from the couch folded at the base. If she'd been able to she would have removed her footprints from the carpet, she'd have made herself disappear entirely from the room before she opened the door and slipped into the hall.

  Coffee, she could make them coffee as an apology, she could have it ready when they came down and then-

  "Good morning Phelann," Seb said as she stepped into the main living space.

  "Morning," Anya added as she put a mug down on the counter. "Just the way you've said you like it. Breakfast will be another few minutes, we had to run and get more eggs."

  Phelann stood there and stared. They had coffee ready and waiting for her. They weren't mad? They were cooking breakfast and apologizing that it was delayed?

  She stepped over to the counter and took the mug. Anya was right, the coffee had just enough sweetness to offset the sharp bitter notes while still intense.

  "Last night. I-"

  "Food first," Seb interrupted without even turning from the stove.

  "But I-"

  "Phelann, drink your coffee." Anya said as she leaned onto the counter across from her. "Food will be ready in a moment and everything is better when you aren't hungry."

  "I-" she began then let out a sigh and sipped her drink. They were right, food would help. She hadn't eaten the night before, using their couch was one thing, going through their food? They'd certainly notice that, she wouldn't know where to go to find replacements.

  It really was good coffee. And whatever Seb was cooking smelled amazing.

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