The decision to relocate to the roof requires remarkably little discussion.
We both throw on some more socially acceptable garments, and Avelyn opens the window.
Three vines manifest along my thighs. One wraps gently around Avelyn’s waist, while another anchors itself to the roof outside.
I pull her close, and the vine lifts us through the window as the third politely shuts it behind us.
A few heartbeats later, we crest the edge of the inn’s roof and discover that Sylrae has already claimed it.
The Wingkin lies flat against the sloped tiles with her hands folded beneath her head, wings spread wide to either side of her body. Sunlight catches along the pale feathers, turning their edges almost golden as she absorbs the morning warmth with the unwavering commitment of a lizard on a particularly comfortable rock.
One eye opens as we touch down on the tiles.
“Morning.”
“Good morning!” Avelyn says brightly.
Sylrae’s eye shifts toward me.
Then toward my ears, which have still not recovered their full dignity.
A dangerous amount of amusement enters her expression.
I narrow my eyes.
She wisely chooses silence.
“I got a Legendary skill,” Avelyn announces before anyone else can speak.
Sylrae sits upright so quickly that both wings rustle across the tiles, her other eye opening as she focuses fully on Avelyn.
Then she smiles.
“Congrats, Avelyn!” She turns toward me. “And you?”
“Legendary. Naturally.”
Sylrae gives me a slight side-eye.
“I wish I had the confidence required to consider getting a Legendary skill natural.”
I shrug.
Avelyn covers her mouth as a light giggle escapes. “That just shows how amazing Lyn is, right?”
My ears regain a small measure of dignity.
They accomplish this by perking upward at the praise.
I am uncertain how I feel about this development.
Sylrae’s amusement becomes worse.
Annoying.
Fortunately, she redirects her attention instead of commenting on the persistent betrayal of my Foxkin accessories.
“Well? Can I see them?”
Avelyn brightens immediately, her ears perking as her tail begins swishing behind her.
“Yup! I was about to test mine on Lyn.”
I tilt my head.
That phrasing is... interesting.
Her tail swishes harder as she walks toward the center of the roof and beckons me over.
I consider the matter for barely half a second before shrugging.
Avelyn has my trust. If she wishes to use something on me, then I will simply assume it is safe.
I step forward and settle beside her near the center of the roof. She turns toward me, stretching out both hands.
The tattoos along her hands and legs manifest, flaring with more light than I have ever seen from them before.
Were my hoodie not covering significantly more skin than usual, I suspect Avelyn could function as a reasonably powerful light source.
Golden radiance gathers in her eyes, so concentrated that it forms a faint glare around them, like a streetlight viewed through a rain-covered windshield.
I blink.
Whatever she is doing, it is undoubtedly powerful.
Light gathers around her outstretched hands, and she speaks softly.
“Providence.”
Golden light washes over my body for half a second before fading.
...?
Nothing happens.
I glance toward Avelyn, searching for any indication that whatever she just attempted might have failed.
There is none.
If anything, her bright smile and the eager flicks of her tail suggest the skill worked exactly as intended.
I tilt my head.
Her smile widens.
“Lyn, could you swing your sword?”
I tilt my head a little farther, but comply.
Astra Nocturne emerges from my soul, and I give it a casual test swing.
The instant I begin the motion, golden light floods my silhouette.
My arm accelerates.
The blade tears through the air far faster than I intended, its edge already approaching the nearby chimney before I wrench the strike aside.
My eyes widen.
I arrest the swing before Astra Nocturne can inflict any exciting new structural modifications upon the inn, then stare down at my hand.
That was…
Blessing?
No.
Surely not.
Because if that was what I think it was, our resident healer has somehow become even more ridiculously overpowered.
My tail gives an excited swish as Sylrae and I turn toward Avelyn at the exact same moment.
The Wingkin’s mouth hangs slightly open, her expression suggesting she has reached precisely the same conclusion.
Reasonable.
Avelyn grins back at us. Her ears perk higher as she plants both hands on her hips and straightens her posture, rising slightly onto her toes in the process.
The sheer smugness contained within the pose is profoundly adorable.
She begins explaining before either of us can question her.
“My new skill lets me cast another skill on someone ahead of time, then set it to activate once a certain condition is met!” Her smile turns radiant. “I can have healing spells prepared on everyone before we even enter a fight and make them trigger automatically when their Health gets too low.”
My tail swishes again.
Then once more.
Naturally.
The implications are extraordinary.
Can the stored skill be Sanctified Spear rather than a blessing or healing spell? How many effects can she prepare simultaneously? How complicated can the activation conditions become?
Could she set Blessing to trigger only when I use Horizon Slash?
Could Hallowed Ground be attached to a person and deployed around them?
Could she prepare multiple responses to different injuries, or would each new condition overwrite the last?
So many questions.
I step toward her as Astra Nocturne dissolves back into my soul.
Both ears lock firmly onto Avelyn.
She blinks.
“Oh no.”
I offer her my most elegant and beautiful smile.
Avelyn takes one cautious step backward.
Curious.
“I have developed several theories regarding the exact limitations of your new skill. Shall we begin testing?”
She presses her fingertips together.
“Well... it takes a lot of Mana, so we probably shouldn’t use it too many times.”
My smile widens by the smallest fraction.
I withdraw several Mana potions from my spatial storage.
“There is no need to concern yourself with that.”
Avelyn stares at the potions.
She swallows.
“...”
Sylrae snickers from where she sits nearby.
“Looks like you caught the genius’s interest, Avelyn.”
My tail flicks haughtily.
Indeed she has.
Eventually, Avelyn relents, and we begin the testing phase.
It lasts nearly an hour.
The results? Incredibly promising.
First, nearly every skill in Avelyn’s repertoire can be prepared through Providence. Blessing works. Her healing spells work. Even Sanctified Spear can be stored ahead of time, meaning she could pair one of my attacks with a second strike the instant a chosen condition is fulfilled.
The sole exception appears to be Hallowed Ground.
Apparently, establishing an entire territory of concentrated Holy mana is slightly too complicated to fold into another skill and attach to an unsuspecting person.
Understandable.
Secondly, Avelyn can maintain three prepared effects at once.
They tragically cannot be layered onto the same activation. Attempting to prepare multiple Blessings does not cause them to combine into one profoundly unreasonable enhancement, nor can several healing spells trigger simultaneously to restore someone from near death in a single burst.
However, she can still prepare three separate uses of the same skill.
Three Sanctified Spears.
Three emergency heals.
Or any combination thereof, provided each occupies its own slot and possesses a distinct trigger.
Already absurd.
What truly captures my interest, however, is the flexibility of those activation conditions.
Avelyn’s initial Blessing was set to trigger when I swung Astra Nocturne. A simple physical action, broad enough that almost any deliberate attack would have fulfilled it.
Once she knows the name of a skill, though, she can tie the prepared effect directly to its activation.
Naturally, this required immediate investigation.
Our first attempt attached Sanctified Spear to Astral Veilstep.
The instant I slipped into Astral Space, a golden spear manifested where I had been standing and launched itself toward a nearby house with enough force to make the building’s continued existence deeply questionable.
Fortunately, several vines intercepted it before the experiment could result in a brand new skylight for a family who had not requested one.
I choose to view this as a success.
Avelyn chooses to view it as evidence that we should have aimed away from the village.
Both interpretations possess merit.
Further testing confirms that Providence does not merely recognize the physical motion associated with a skill. It responds to the skill itself, activating even when the visible action varies slightly from one use to another.
That creates several fascinating possibilities.
We lack a suitable target on which to properly test combat-based conditions, but I suspect Avelyn could tie an effect to Celestial Momentum reaching a certain threshold. Perhaps Blessing could activate the instant my accumulated momentum passes a predetermined number of stacks, ensuring the enhancement arrives precisely when I am prepared to capitalize on it.
More importantly…
The closing movement of Starlit Pas de Deux.
If Providence can recognize individual stages of a skill rather than merely its initial activation, Avelyn could prepare Sanctified Spear and a Blessing to manifest alongside the closing strike. One when it becomes available, one when it is activated.
A Legendary finisher reinforced by accumulated momentum, empowered by Blessing, then followed at the exact moment of impact by a concentrated Holy attack.
The image is profoundly inspiring.
Potentially blasphemous.
I make another mental note to test it on something sufficiently durable.
All things considered, Providence is an immensely powerful skill. It allows Avelyn to prepare for injuries before they occur, reinforce an ally’s attacks without needing to react in the moment, and automate several decisions that would otherwise divide her attention during combat.
More importantly, it transforms preparation itself into a weapon.
I nod solemnly, organizing every observation into a neat mental archive like the prodigy I am.
Avelyn, meanwhile, lowers herself onto the roof beside Sylrae with the exhausted care of someone whose enthusiasm has been repeatedly converted into spellcasting until very little remains.
Sylrae has returned to sunbathing, although she was polite enough to remain attentive throughout the entire testing process.
Avelyn looks ever so slightly hollower than she did an hour ago.
I wonder why.
Elegantly and gracefully, I sit beside Avelyn and withdraw a paper pouch of berries from my spatial storage.
She brightens immediately.
A strawberry is liberated before I have even finished placing the pouch on the tiles between us.
I smile faintly as she devours it with rigorous enthusiasm, then leans against my shoulder while rescuing another berry from the horrible fate of continued existence.
I select one for myself before she can heroically eradicate the entire population.
Tragically, I have yet to visit the grilled corn stall.
An unacceptable oversight.
In its place, I retrieve a plate containing the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage left over from last night and offer it to Sylrae. It lacks the majesty of freshly grilled corn, but she accepts it with enough gratitude to suggest the substitute is adequate.
“Thanks,” she says, shifting one wing aside to make room for the plate.
“You are quite welcome.”
For a while, conversation is light.
The sun continues its slow ascent above the village, spreading warm light across the rooftops. Below, doors begin opening as people emerge to start their day. Wooden shutters creak, distant voices trade morning greetings, and somewhere farther down the street, metal cookware clatters with enough aggression to suggest breakfast has become a personal conflict.
Avelyn remains lightly pressed against my side, sharing the berries with me in contented silence.
Sylrae stretches one wing farther across the sun-warmed tiles as she eats.
They are briefly disappointed to learn that my new Legendary skill requires a target before it can be demonstrated, but several additional bites of berry and potato quickly restore morale.
I find myself smiling a little more.
I truly do love fighting.
The speed. The danger. The exquisite satisfaction of overcoming something powerful enough to believe it stood a chance.
But moments like this are also…
Pleasant.
So very pleasant.
Avelyn’s shoulder shifts against mine as she reaches for another strawberry.
My chest feels warm again.
Eventually, however, all peace must come to an end.
My ears twitch at the distinct sound of our remaining party members calling our names from the street below.
Sylrae releases a quiet sigh.
“I guess it’s time to go, then.”
I nod and rise, with Avelyn following a moment later.
The three of us descend from the roof to find the rest of the party gathered outside the inn.
We spend several minutes explaining Providence, including its effects, conditions, and the more interesting results of our experimentation. Marek, Rin, and Zeke remain gratifyingly stunned throughout most of the explanation.
Rin looks particularly offended when he learns that Avelyn could theoretically attach a Sanctified Spear to his Final Draw.
Understandable.
Eventually, however, it is time to return to our original objective.
I withdraw the teleportation talisman from my spatial storage.
…
My ears lower slightly as I look at it.
The motion is subtle.
Unfortunately, everyone present has become disturbingly proficient at noticing the behavior of my ears.
The party exchanges a glance before Marek speaks.
“Hey, Little Miss... do you want to stay here for a while? Wait for your friend to come back?”
“Eh?”
My ears shoot upright, and the startled sound escapes before I can prevent it.
“Do we not need to make haste toward Ironvale?”
Marek waves one broad hand.
“The emergency notice on the Archive was posted nearly two months ago. Besides, do you have any idea how far away Ironvale is, Little Miss? Even with good roads, it’ll probably take us another two or three months to reach it.”
He chuckles.
“If we’re lucky, someone will have solved the problem before we arrive, and we can help with the cleanup.”
I open my mouth.
Then close it.
My ears slowly lower again.
“But...” I gesture toward Avelyn. “Won’t her parents be worried sick?”
Avelyn gives me a warm smile.
“Oh, they’re definitely super worried.”
That is not especially reassuring.
She winks.
“But nobles have their tricks. They know I’m alive, so that’s enough for now.”
…
…
My ears lower farther.
Everyone is smiling at me now.
This is deeply suspicious.
Marek glances pointedly toward my ears before chuckling again.
“So, what do you say, Little Miss? I’d be happy to have another permanent party member.”
…
I place the teleportation talisman back into my spatial storage and turn away before anyone can study my expression.
“Let us return to that restaurant. I shall prepare breakfast.”
Laughter follows immediately.
Rude.
Vengeance will be mine.
My tail gives a slow, contented sway behind me.
Traitor.
Still, the warmth inside my chest returns.
It's so very warm.
Avelyn takes her place beside me as I begin walking. The rest of my party follows, gradually separating into their own conversations.
Rin immediately begins making deeply slanderous claims about how I only turned away because I was embarrassed.
This is entirely incorrect.
Breakfast is important.
Therefore, making haste toward a location where everyone can partake in it is the most tactically sound decision available.
The fact that the teleportation talisman remains safely inside my storage is unrelated.
As is the fact that Avelyn’s shoulder occasionally brushes against mine while we walk.
I smile a little more.
Ironvale can wait.
Just for a while.