"Thanks for walking me all the way back," said Wolfe, still looking around in starry eyed wonder. "I definitely understand now why this stuff is so addicting." Kicking her shoes off in the entry, next to Walker`s haphazardly discarded pair.

　　"Yeah, its like all your worries and cares just fly out the window and everything seems great. You`ve got to try and take a step back but its real easy to just go ahead with whatever. That`s why I, um, hurried us out of there before it hit midnight."

　　"Totally fine by me," she said. "They were starting to, they really seem happy together. And now," stretching her arms out, "I`ve gotta sober Matt up some."

　　"Enjoy."

　　"I`m planning on it." Wolfe starting to giggle, but her eyes now avoiding my face. "Lucy, I want to say I`m glad we met." Her eyes coming up to meet mine, then looking away. Coming a little closer. "I was totally lost after ending up here and everything`s gotten much more, I don`t know..." Her eyes coming up again to meet mine, then looking away. "I just wanted to, um." Right in front of me now and leaning in for a tentative kiss directly on my mouth, her lips gentle. Getting lost in the moment and starting to kiss back. Wait, hold up. Pulling back. Wolfe, her freckles starting to get even more apparent, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

　　"Shit, I, um," she resumed giggling, almost seeming embarrassed, but only slightly. "Shit, shit. That wasn`t what I was going for."

　　"Kate, don`t worry about it." Feeling my own face heating. "For the record, I`d totally consider it if we smoked another bowl. You look great, you`re really getting in fighting shape. And, I never imagined I`d ever say anything like this, but I`m jealous of your tits. So I`d definitely consider it, well, if Matt wasn`t here."

　　"If Matt wasn`t here" said Wolfe, stepping back, recalibrating and recentering herself. "Lucy, no offense, that sounds like it could be a fun change of pace, but why not something more adventurous? I was thinking about that on the way over. I know they have brothels here but, I mean, those are for men. There`s got to be something for women to get company."

　　"That`s called a bar, Kate."

　　"That`s not," Wolfe fighting back a smile, "that`s not what what I mean. I was thinking more than the standard experience. I want to be pampered. Something exotic. I want to be waited on by manservants and fed grapes." Her earnest declaration causing me to crack up. "It doesn`t have to be grapes. Whatever. But that`s more in line with what we should be doing here, right? Not stuck in this one town. I guess I`m jealous of you going on that trip."

　　"It was a pretty good, but Tasnanca is not what I`d call a relaxing destination. But there are places to do, well, not what you said," rolling her eyes, "but all sorts of stuff. There`s this village up in the mountains a few days north of here people occasionally summer at. But actually getting up there is dangerous. For a vacation Ossen, just off the coast, would be a good choice. Its a volcanic island and they`ve got hot springs and beaches."

　　"You know," said Wolfe, "you keep doing that. Spouting off about everything like you know everything. I couldn`t help but notice it again today."

　　"That`s, well..."

　　"I know you have a reason."

　　"I know. I`m going to come clean, but I don`t want everything to be all fucked up between us when I do."

　　"It won`t be."

　　"Kate," taking in a deep breath, looking at the ceiling, "it might be. I won`t think less of you for it - I`ll try not to, at least - but I don`t want to lose you as a friend."

　　"Fuck, how are you even managing to be a downer right now? You need to smoke another bowl." Putting her hand back to her mouth and looking off to the side. "This stuff really is addictive, isn`t it?"

　　"It is. So have a good night with Matt."

　　"I`ll see you next cycle."

　　Turning to leave and the thought striking. Turning back.

　　"Could you also try and get Evie on board tomorrow? Somehow. I`m going back to Ishtar for a chat in a couple days and I`ll talk to Magpie while I`m there."

　　"I`ll try. I`m not even sure how to approach it."

　　"Yeah, that seems like it`ll be an issue."

　　Leaving Wolfe`s apartment and starting to head in the direction of my own. Deviating out of habit, moving further north and heading west. Too far west. Several blocks away realizing my unconscious destination. Stormhawk.

　　Mentally kicking myself. Back at Ishtar it would have been so easy to stay another ten minutes and deliberately run into Daniel when he got in. But that would have ended badly. Either put down hard and rejected flat out, or fucked like some slut - possibly even passed around some - and then thrown out on my ass. And Kate, my responsibility for the evening, maybe right there alongside me. Or, the third scenario, potentially worse than that last one, instead of being thrown out, being unconditionally reinvited to join the house. Well, the only condition being that every move would now be watched by the likes of Serena or whoever. And Daniel would never be mine. Unacceptable. Much better to avoid that temptation entirely.

　　And now approaching House Stormhawk strictly for a booty call. A deliberate violation of my own stated rule, and not even a cycle after declaring it. A couple months from now, if we even last that long, that`d be one thing. Revisit the rule, relax it a bit, come by here and there. But right now? May as well just say none of my declarations mean anything, do whatever. That`d fuck everything all up between us, sooner or later. That is, if we even last that long. So, in that case, came the reasonable retort, why not go visit right now? Continuing on for several more steps before mentally kicking myself again. Get it together.

　　Heading straight for my apartment.

　　***

　　Standing at the door, final inventory check before heading out to the West Gate. Pouch with a stack of leaves, two servings of that awful green tacky substance, four torches, a very small spool of spider`s silk, a regular rope, fifty feet. Grappling hook? No grappling hook. Need to get one for next cycle. Two boxes of matches, one mostly empty. Full pouch of disjuncted stones from day two and yesterday. Had neglected to sell them due to the smell. Tossing it over on the counter next to the pile of shoe soles that hadn`t even been started.

　　Anyway, two empty pouches, money pouch with maybe seventy silver, one water filled canteen, one empty and soon to be filled. Needle, where`s the needle? There it is. My knife with the red glow in its usual sheath on my torso. Backup knife in its sheath at my hip. New hatchet comfortably resting on my other hip in a belt loop. Fifteen hundred forty silver, had better weight than the slightly more expensive one. With the rune making things feel lighter, easier to swing and much sharper, get a little more bang with a slightly heavier material, the downside more than offset. New, but soon to be replaced, mountain boots. New, more breathable, but less completely water resistant clothing. My usual light leather armor and forest green cloak

　　Forgetting anything? Probably. Out the door at half past six and heading in the direction of the West Gate. Stopping by a bakery and getting two loaves of bread and a muffin. Getting some cold cuts and cheese wrapped up at the attached deli, and a smaller portion of cold cuts and cheese for right now. Apples, a lot of apples. Getting two of those. Three. Eat one now on the go. Canteen, plenty of apple juice still around, fill it up.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

　　Arriving at the West Gate at five past seven, Wilde there waiting, otherwise basically deserted. Likelihood of betrayal today? Low. He`s undoubtedly going to get questions about me later, both from Sam and from Stormhawk. Potentially under explicit orders from the latter, but, if not, certainly implicit. But what are his reports going to consist of? Cocksucking skills improving and moans like a whore. The perfect kind of disinformation. Completely true and getting to have fun doing it at the same time.

　　Davos, certainly, won`t understand. Wouldn`t have understood, myself. But let them think what they will, plant those little seeds of doubt. Underestimate me. Put me in the non-threatening category, at least in the doesn`t-need-to-be-dealt-with-right-now category. Give me some more breathing room, more time. Hopefully leave me alone altogether. And, in the meantime, try and convert this one, with honeyed words and honeyed lips and money in his pocket. And then who will be watching who?

　　"Lucy, good morning," he said. On my tippy toes for a quick kiss. "The first thing I want to do is get my new wolf, but then I`m all ears, where do you want to head today?"

　　"Where are you planning on doing that?"

　　"There`s a den a bit of the ways to the north, I need to get one of the pups."

　　"How about we save that for on the way back." Wilde opening his mouth to respond, but stopping at my upheld hand. "Since its our first time out, I was thinking not too far away, maybe get back here by four. We`ll have plenty of time for us to sell everything, and we`ll have plenty of time for you to get your wolf."

　　Glancing away and mulling it over for a moment. "So where to?" he asked.

　　"I was thinking the Misty Falls, near the mountains on the north side of the Haunted Forest. Focus mainly on the lurkers, and hopefully you can find down a couple of those stags."

　　"That`s awfully close to the Spider Temple."

　　"We`re giving that place a wide berth, maybe hit the southern end of the forest but then we`ll go around, come in from the east. Maybe hit some spiders on the way there, but we should be far enough away not to hit any patrols. That`s actually one of the benefits of the falls, not too many people are going to wander by." Giving him a little grin.

　　"Okay, sounds good," he said, returning the grin.

　　"So I guess its time for me to fill you in on some of my little tricks." Raising his eyebrow. "Some of the other ones. Its enhancement magic, makes things more effective, that`s easiest way to explain it. Let me see your sword and then let me see your bow." Holding out my hand. Placid look.

　　The slightest hesitation at handing over his sword, would have missed if not looking for it. Definitely not one of the dumber ones. Probably have to have some kind of street smarts to make it out there. This might be entertaining. Likelihood of imminent betrayal today, probably even lower.

　　"So you saw my drawing trick, I use that to draw these." Painstakingly drawing the rune on the blade. Extremely minimal erasure permitted. "And then I activate it. Hold on, it takes a moment." Wonder how long this can be kept up for. Pause, two, three. Activating the rune. "And there, the rune is activated. Oh, let me remove the writing." Using my hand to wipe it. Mentally willing the writing to disappear where my hand touched. "And there, your weapon is now enchanted." Handing it back over.

　　Wilde taking back the sword, taking a few practice swings, pulling off his glove and testing the edge. Accidentally cutting himself, slightly. Very surprised. The proof is definitely in the pudding but there`s no need for him to know exactly how its made.

　　"Yeah, this is definitely different," he said. "You can do this for the bow, too?"

　　"Yes. And maybe your arrows. Let me see your quiver."

　　Doing the bow first. Kindergarten drawing. Already getting impatient. This is not going to last. Looks like he`s still busy testing the sword. Making a little black spot and then removing the pieces to create the rune. Activating it. Pretending to use my hand to wipe away the rune. How about the arrows. All or nothing, either they all get it or none do. Making sure the quiver was turned away from him, small black spot, removing to leave the rune, activating. That took. Hopefully an enchanted quiver produces magic arrows. Wiping it away.

　　"Here you go, we`re all good."

　　"Oh, so you have to draw the rune in order to have it activate," he said. "Is that why you`ve got that design on the back of your glove?" Glancing between my two hands. "Your one glove."

　　Definitely not one of the unobservant ones. Didn`t want to have to show him this, but he already knows from experience, and other people know as well. There`s bound to be talk about it. Time for another limited hangout for his upcoming question.

　　"Yep, that`s why."

　　"Okay, cool, I was just wondering. You ready to get going?"

　　"Yep, ready to go."

　　***

　　"This place is amazing," he said, chowing down on bites of his lunch.

　　We were sitting at the top of the falls, on a jutting rock outside of the mist, a place the monsters typically wouldn`t approach. Fortunately, it had an excellent view of the surrounding countryside.

　　"Yeah this is a great place for lunch, but I still can`t believe you found one, let alone two of them." The antlers were sticking out of his pack, the pure white stones they turned into in mine.

　　"Much more pleasant to deal with than the lurkers," he said. "Before we leave I`ll probably find another one. There`s a lot stuff out here people miss."

　　Two of the items on the list. The quite elusive White Mist Deer, and the other thing skulking around the falls, Mist Lurkers. Producing a not so healthy looking, sickly purple grey stone. The main reason for the leaves. And his arrows, proving invaluable. And my handaxe, the best decision in a long time. Always satisfying.

　　"I was hoping lunch would be a little more relaxing than this. How about when we get back you give me several hours to deal with some stuff and get cleaned up. I`ll meet you for dinner at nine. We`ll go to some inn."

　　"Nine? That`s a big ask," he said. "How about we skip dinner?"

　　"Let`s play it by ear."

　　***

　　"You there?" the voice intruding on the blackness. Laying on my side, the familiar taste of the leaf in my mouth. Continuing to chew. Forcing my eyes open. Wilde, kneeling, looking down at me. Trying to say something but only a mumble coming out. "That thing knocked the hell out of you and sent you flying. How are you feeling?" Swallowing. The intense pain in my side where the hit had squarely landed slowly beginning to diminish. Any broken ribs? Taking a few deep breathes. Probably need some of that green goop. My strength returning, somewhat. Finding the energy to gingerly sit up.

　　"I`m okay. These things are a bit over my level."

　　"I don`t suppose that`s information you`d care to divulge," he said.

　　No harm in telling him, easy math to figure out. And better that they know. More deterrence.

　　"I`ll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

　　"Nineteen," he said, after a moment.

　　"Very close to sixteen."

　　"You`re fifteen?" he said. Nodding. Wilde taking in a deep breath. "You were fifteen when we dueled, right?" Nodding again and the guy letting out the long breath. "I want a rematch."

　　"Fight to the death?"

　　"Hell no. And no flares. They stopped allowing that shit for a reason."

　　"Sorry, not interested. But thanks for patching me up."

　　"Fine," he said, grudgingly, "I`ll give you your fight to the death. But no flares."

　　"Really?"

　　"Really."

　　"That sounds fun, let`s say we do it in a few cycles. I`ll probably be nineteen by then, roughly about there, anyway. Get as far as you can. I`m chasing you."

　　"As far as I can?" he said. "My house duty is going to make that difficult." Pausing. "So how about next cycle we leave town on day four, hit the road at like three thirty, aim for something a bit out there and camp out for the night. It`ll be a good time."

　　"Sounds great." A huge grin on his face. "I`ll come up with something. A couple of the things on that list only come out at night."

　　Getting to his feet and reaching a hand down to help me to mine.

　　"You alright?" he said. Nodding while keeping my teeth gritted. At least one of my ribs was definitely broken or fractured. Rooting around for the tin of green goop. "Let`s start heading back, I need to go to that den."