*BEEP BEEP*

  The headache inducing beep of his watch woke him from his slumber. As far as ways to get woken up it was somewhere between bucket of ice water and getting stabbed. Not recommended.

  Rolling over he pulled up his watch. The blinding flash of light was twice as bad as the watches wake up call had been. Still rubbing his eyes he promised himself to never open it up in a dark room again unless he figured out a dimming function.

  Power Bestowed!

  Furry Shroud

  Above all, rats are experts of hiding, escape, and stealth. Furry shroud allows you to blend into your surroundings for a small active mana cost. Furry shroud does not work on individuals who maintain a line of sight on you before activating the ability. Furry shroud mana cost rises if you are moving with the ability activated.

  A stealth power, it would work wonders alongside his shroud of darkness ability. Not that he’d had much reason up until now to use that sort of ability but it would certainly prove more useful once he got back to Myreluck proper.

  After reading the power he looked back at his surroundings. The room was dark, though as his eyes slowly adjusted, he was gradually able to make more of his surroundings out.

  This time after waking up he was thankfully alone, though he was in an actual bed and not one of the train’s cots. The covers were plush in the mattress was soft, implying something that was not at all cheap. The implications of his position left him confused for several moments until he remembered the catamaran. There was definitely enough space on the vessel for an extra bedroom, but for them to have put him in one so lavish struck Ozzy as surprising.

  Aria’s conversation with him about his role and responsibilities as a new member of the circle had been hard. She wasn't the kind of person to mince words and as a rule largely ignored the positives. Though from the little he understood, he knew that the circle was in charge of a great many things. The catamaran itself was proof of their wealth.

  Rising from the mattress Ozzy was overjoyed to find himself in the clothing he passed out in. Not that he I found them particularly comfortable. Just that the idea of someone undressing him to put him to bed was particularly uncomfortable.

  Padding over to the closest wall Ozzy was vaguely able to make out the shape of curtains in the darkness. Pulling them aside he was met with a world just as dark as his room. There is no indication of time in the dark sky though he guessed it was probably early morning.

  With nothing to do in the room aside from going back to sleep Ozzy ventured out into the catamaran. It was a deceptively large vessel. Nearly every part of the body had been designed with some aspect in mind, for the most part that being space and storage. Where an earthly vessel would have needed thicker walls Ozzy found rune-work. Scrawling lines covering vast swathes of the catamaran's walls and floors.

  He could follow a single line for nearly dozens of feet before it broke. Sometimes they're repeated but just about 90% of the time they changed into swirling geometric patterns. At first he ignored them. The runes after all were shiny and fascinating but as he passed by a certain Patch of the patterns he caught a faint shift in the mana.

  “Fascinating, aren't they?” A voice came from just up the hall, making Ozzy jump as he looked to see who it was.

  Aria was watching him, her gaze as sharp as the blade he knew she lived by. All around her the runes pulsed, glimmering faintly the pattern that Ozzy had been following. They bounced color and light off of the nightgown Aria was wearing, cascading a gently shower of magical light all the way down to her slipper clad feet.

  “We didn’t have anything like this in my world.” Ozzy said, looking from her back to the wall at the glimmering pattern.

  “…You’re not what I expected.” Aria said.

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  The comment threw Ozzy, who hadn't been expecting anything other than small talk at this late hour. “Why do you say that? Were you expecting someone older?” He asked, half joking.

  She snorted. “That was funny. I almost never get to see Arlan upset and you threw him for a loop.” She shook her head and smiled at the memory. “I just didn't expect you to be so, you. Most of the time when gods pick someone to run errands for them it's because they're loyal and stupid.”

  “Well, I’m glad you don’t think I fall into that category.” Ozzy chuckled. “Some of the people I used to know best might have called me that if you asked them to explain me in two words.”

  Aria raised her eyebrows. “Then there’s the humility. It’s a rare trait in Myreluck. Mostly reserved for the people who need it to survive.”

  “My mother always told me to be humble and kind. It doesn’t cost me anything and I don’t want to be someone people have to worry about upsetting like Lucy.” Ozzy said.

  “It costs you respect.” Aria countered.

  “I can gain respect in other ways.” Ozzy shrugged, and after a moment Aria conceded the point with a nod.

  “Do you respect me?” Ozzy asked her.

  “More than I thought I would.” She admitted. “I heard mention of you killing two matriarchs yesterday, mostly alone at that. I can relate to someone who fights.”

  “The fight played out in my favor.” Ozzy said, shrugging again. He doubted had he been alone on that hill with a matriarch the fight would have gone in his favor.

  “I don't believe that. Opportunity only shows itself to those willing to leap.” She said, and Ozzy could tell she was quoting someone. “You were a warrior in your old world, weren’t you?” She asked.

  Ozzy didn't answer for several seconds. Trying to come up with an answer that would be both satisfying enough to work while also being noncommittal enough to not lead to any hard to answer follow-up questions.

  “I was.” He said simply. No fluff, and no hiding from it.

  “I thought I saw it in you. You move like someone ready to kill.” She said. Her words were full of praise, but in that moment Ozzy felt nothing but disgust at the thought.

  “You don’t like it?” She asked, having read the expression on his face.

  “I don't like thinking I move around my friends like someone ready to attack.” Ozzy said.

  “It is often those closest to us who cause us the most harm. A knife in the front can be blocked while one in the back strikes home.” She said, quoting someone again.

  “Are you worried someone’s going to stab you in the back?” Ozzy asked, tired of talking about himself and tossing the ball into her court.

  “Hah! There's no one around who can. Even those that think they might be able to would be striking from the front.” She said proudly, leaning against the glowing wall like a champion.

  “Then who can you trust?” Ozzy asked, feeling honestly sad for the woman. “When your back gets put up against the wall who can you actually rely on to help you?”

  “I have the circle.” She said with finality. “I protect it, and it protects me.”

  Ozzy shrugged, it was her life. He wasn’t the kind of guy to meddle and tell her she was wrong. Despite not wanting to make her feel any sort of way his not responding seemed to throw her.

  “It's a good thing though.” She said, nervously coughing as she changed tacts. “People who love fighting are bad for the city.”

  “Well I don't want to be anything but good for the city. I've been out in the swamp for nearly three times longer than I've been in the city. Each day I spent there it was nearly three times as dangerous as just being out here with the monsters.” He said. “I hate the idea that parents live knowing that they can't protect their children. That someone might die just because they bumped into the wrong person in the street.”

  “That's just life.” She tried reasoning with him.

  “If that's just life then we should do something about it. I might not be able to right now but one day I’ll be able to make a difference in people’s lives. Even if it’s only in a few places.” He said.

  She shook her head. “This is what I meant by you’re different. No one else cares. We're all stuck in the same race, why should we care about the person behind us when them passing us could mean death?”

  “It doesn't though? If Arlan gets stronger than you does it mean he's going to turn around and slap you off of a platform?” Ozzy asked rhetorically. “It just means that the circle is better off. A rising tide can raise every ship not just yours or mine.” Ozzy said.

  A couple seconds passed as Aria mulled over some of his words.

  “Are you worried about me joining the circle?” Ozzy asked her gently.

  “I'm not, I am worried about my vote losing some of its value, and I was hopeful that you might be the kind of person to vote with me. Remulas said that you were a fighter. He didn't mention you being a regretful one though.”

  “I'll vote with you if I think it's good for the city and the people in it. I'm not going to just give it to you though.” Ozzy said.

  “I can respect that.” She said. “What I might respect more is understanding your worth as a defender of the circle. I respect your ideas, Ozzy, but this isn't the kind of place that’s interested in peace. If you’d be willing to show me what you can do, I might consider it a personal favor.”

  “How do you want me to show you?” Ozzy asked, he wasn’t sure what Aria’s game was but if it meant gaining an ally in the circle this early on he was happy to jump through as many hoops as she asked him to.

  “Want to come hunting with me?”