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[Ikana Caravan]

"Can everyone give me your attention, please? Everyone? J-just for a- People? Can I- Can I get everyone to settle down- Everyone-"

No good. The lights were on, but nobody was home. Or rather, they were home, they were just ignoring the door. To be fair it was pretty loud, and his voice didn't carry very far...

"Um, could you help...?"
"Sure. Everybody shut up!"

They stopped talking, but...no one even seemed startled. They simply quit their chatting and quietly came to attention. Like they really were just ignoring him...

"Go on-"
"Ahm, thank you. I know that, um, everyone is here for the same reason, an' so I won't, um, waste anyone's time. We're, um, all people who've got nowhere else to go, or, um, people that-"

He stopped himself, afraid of upsetting anyone by outing specfic reasons for being here. He'd forgotten some of it was told in confidence.

"Um, so anyway, we're all here for the same reason. Oh...um, we all want a better life and a new start, an' so we've found each other. An' so we're going to be together, um, working together-"

Instead of losing interest, everyone was paying closer attention. He wished they wouldn't. Despite the pitch blackness, there was just enough firelight to reveal everyone. All those eyes. Glinting.

"An- and I know, um, that we don't have a lot. An' that we're all pretty defenseless. An' that these sorts of things just drive the bandits wild, heh he- um. An' that there's no real guarantee that we'll get anything out of it."

...

"But we're all here, an' we're not going to give up. That was the one thing we all agreed upon. An' so this is our new start. So, um. Let's take care of each other, an' remember that from now on, we're a family. That's all I have to say-"

He sorta trailed off at the end and sat back down on the log. People weren't entirely sure if they should applaud, or cheer, or start chatting again. People decided to pick and choose at their leisure. As usual, someone had to clarify the appropriate response to this situation.

"Yeah! We're gonna make it big, guys! We're all part of the Ikana Caravan now! Let's hear it!"

The scattered whooping and clapping finally came together in a crowded puddle of enthusiasm. A few people clapped him on the shoulder, telling him to relax. One even told him that being hunted down and killed by bandits was a much better outcome than the one she would've had otherwise. It was all very comforting, in the way assured death could be. It sort of took all the fear and mystery out of it, and made it an unpleasant meet-up that people simply had to get ready for. Of course, no was planning to die. They were all just prepared to. To be realistic, their chances of survival were much greater than 50/50. Most bandits took the time to scout caravans as targets; when they discover that the caravan has nothing to offer, they'd probably leave it alone. Unless they really, really, really needed gunny cloth. Or canvas.

People had already began to wander out of the dying campfire's range of visibility. Everyone was getting ready to sleep. He was still lost in thought when she approached him, two of her fingers held up in front of her.

"That's out of ten, mind you. Just plain awful. Too many 'um's, too many 'an's, no tone, no projection...you're lucky they heard you at all."

"Ahh. Ha ha...yeah. I'm not very good at public speaking. An' I didn't want to be the leader, either."

"Yeah? Well, too bad. You suggested we take a vote for leader, and you even nominated yourself. I have no sympathy for you."

"It's just- we have all this stuff to worry about, an' none of us have any experience."

"Well, that's an outright lie. We all have experience- just not at being a trade convoy. Who do you think rigged up our wagons to look like tents? And did you have the clout and willpower to get us seven horses? Granted, a few of 'em look like they're about to die, but hey- free food. And now you have bookkeeping duty, as per the leader. I can only assume you have experience writing, at least. Why'd you sign up, let alone offer to lead, if you didn't think you could handle it?"

"Because I couldn't afford to do anything else. To act any other way. This is something I really wanted to be a part of. So...you know, I just want to make sure I'm the leader. To be involved, an'..."

"Hee hee, you want the glory?"

"I want the responsibility. If something goes wrong, I don't want anyone else to feel guilty, an' I don't want anyone at each other's throats. So, I'll try an' keep everyone together. An' I'll take the blame when things go wrong. It's not like I want to be leader. It's that I have to be the leader. Because if I'm not, I'll just feel worse, like I could've done better for them. Y'know?"

"...No."

"You're a bit rude."

She said nothing in response to this. She simply sat next to him and handed him the book. While the fire made its dying breath, he picked up one of their trio of lanterns and lit it with the last few flickers it had left. It appeared that she wanted to say it had officially begun, and as bookkeeper-slash-leader that meant taking their starting inventory.

"Three lanterns...ah...six tents. Twelve blankets. One large cooking pot. Various bowls, mugs and utensils. Two buckets. Two crates of food and provisions. Six- gah- seven horses. Three with saddle and saddlebags. Two wagons."
"Both covered."
"Six axes. Six baskets. Three swords. One bow. One chest and lockbox- empty."
"Yeah, I'm keepin' it open so anyone with the intent to steal can find out early and screw off."
"What else is there?"
"You're not gonna include us in your inventory?"
"Excuse me? We're not stock. I don't feel like we can just replace someone if something happens. I'll keep a roster separate-"
"I'm just sayin'. Write it down with the stuff."

She stood up and began to slide herself up onto the first wagon, sitting at the reins. None of the horses were hitched up, of course- it was just a slightly more comfortable seat than the log, and she decided she was going to keep watch. Everyone was divided about keeping watch. Some didn't care. Others thought that those benefitting from the vigilant ought to chip in regardless as to whether or not they believed in it. They compromised by having a single person nominated for "security". Said security had already began swaying with fatigue. He could only hope that for those fearful of night attacks would be satisfied with good intentions.

That was about it. Suppose there was no harm in putting it down, almost as a mockery of her suggestion. Effortlessly he scribbled it down...but after looking at it, there was an unpleasant stone weighing down his gut.

Twelve Caravan members. Various ages, races, sizes and lives. The thought of any of them being lost as easily as a crate or a spare axe was sickening. One of them had to be in her teens. Two of them were clearly together. He thought he heard them discussing children at some point. Why in the world would people like that join a harsh and weary band such as this? Well...because this was better than where they were. He supposed that was bad enough.

He also supposed that was exactly the reason he thought he had to step up and make this his problem, his responsiblity. His life. There was no going back now. They had a very clear goal, and their livelihoods depended on this coming through. This caravan, attempting to return to the Canyon and back, with a very specific profit- and buyer- in mind.

The Ikana Caravan.

[Ikana Caravan]

There wasn't much to do in the morning. Just pack up, stamp down any new fires, and get the horses ready. The provisions seemed to be more for the horses than anything. Maintenance on their equipment, hay (forgot to write that one down), horse blankets...

What they really needed was someone who can shoe a horse. If one of them loses a shoe they'd have to wait until they came to a village to get one. And even then the village may not have a blacksmith who would also be a farrier (though honestly what self-respecting blacksmith wouldn't be).

"Hey, boss!"
"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to call me that."
"Just c'mere, boss!"

The teenage girl led him over to the group, who were for some reason holding hands in a circle.

"What is everyone doing?"
"The flighty chick said that a real corporation should have a charter, but we don't have one."
"Well...yes, but we're not a corp-"
"So instead she wants the Goddesses to bless us and receive us as a single entity."
"We should have done that last night-"

"That's what's bugging you? Order of operations?"

The security woman was clearly scowling at this event, but it seemed that once again everyone was willing to go along with it without much to add. The "flighty chick" was humming to herself, her head tilted upward to an excessive degree. She was beginning to arch her back.

"Oh! Great Goddesses! Receive us as one! We are no longer the rabble of flesh and wooden wheels we were before! We move as one, we think as one! We are a great, many-legged beast, traveling for both sustenance and purpose! Hear us as we beseech you our new life! Not as people, but as a caravan!"

She then proceeded to repeat this mantra, and encouraged others to follow suit. Only the security seemed to lack the will to be enthused.

"Wooden wheels...great nasty beast..."

The flighty one did not seem to care. She thanked everyone for taking part once it had ended, and swiftly approached her leader.

"I was really moved by what you said- it took me all night to think of a suitable prayer! But of course, as soon as I did, I slept, and they told me what to say in a dream! Ha! I felt so silly-"
"Yes. Well, I'm glad to hear they're watching for us."
"You know, I'd hate to go this whole trip not able to fully express my feelings to my new family. I've been collecting nicknames! And I'd really like one from you. You know, that isn't 'boss'. Sunflower is so attached to it, but to be honest I think she simply needs a strong male figure right now-"
"Please, what-"
"I just want something else, isn't there anything? You're not just the leader to me, you know. You have more to you than that."
"Eh...we don't need-"
"I know you said our pasts were just that and that no one needs to reveal anything, but this is different! We need to start anew, and if you won't do it, it puts a bad omen on the whole thing!"

This was becoming a little hectic now. Clearly she wasn't going to take no (or boss) for an answer. Even though she just spent five minutes trying to unify the group, she wanted to single us all out at the same time? Contradictory natures were rampant with this one. He was beginning to see why...Sunflower...would call her flighty. Besides the obvious.

Still, he was actually looking for ways to solidify his determination to be this caravan. Perhaps...

"Well, you can call me...Ikana."
"Oh! Wait, you're not just having fun with me, are you?"
"No, no. I- I think that's what it's going to have to be. I'm very serious about you all, an' I believe in your prayer. I am this caravan, an' it is I. So I will become as much a part of this entity as possible."
"That is just so profound, Ikana! I knew you were the one to lead us, I just knew it! In fact, we should all take the last name Caravan! Really be a family!"

She hugged him and ran off. Although he was happy that she was happy, to be frank, if it had been anyone else. he'd never have bothered. Not to mention saying something so...well, flighty. Naming yourself after the caravan, instead of the other way around? Actually wishing to be two wagons, seven horses and twelve members? It wasn't realistic, but he had such sentiments. The more he bound himself to its fate, the better he'd feel about leading it.

She'd started going around, informing people about the new name. Most thought she'd put him up to it, the way she was jabbering on about it. In an impromptu display of collective thought, they came to the conclusion to just keep calling him boss or leader, except when out of context of formal duty, in which they would call him Ikana. He can't be the boss all the time, after all.

They'd been ready to set out for a while, now, and he didn't seem to notice that everyone had been waiting for him. He quickly jumped up into the seat of the first wagon, next to the security woman, whom he'd been informed by Sunflower just then to call Brigandine. It seemed like an obvious pick- no different than calling someone "helmet" or "redshirt" based on their clothing alone. But she seemed to approve.

"All right, everyone! We're heading to the next town! Try to keep pace!"

[Ikana Caravan]

The caravan had been making good time following the Zora river, but it ground to a halt less than a mile to Rauru. It had a problem.

They needed supplies, which meant that they needed to go into Rauru Village. Due to certain circumstances, however, allowing the caravan to go into the town was not a possibility. As a matter of fact, this was not unique to Rauru- every town would present this problem. But if luck was on their side, they could limit the town visits to just this once. The recently-elected leader was discussing this problem with the person sitting next to him- "Brigandine", their security detail. She had quickly become a sort of confidant, a right-hand woman. He had been prattling on about this issue trying to find a solution, but she didn't seem to have any responses.

"Why did you tell them to stop?"

"We can't go to Rauru- not until we figure this out! Basically, the caravan needs to enter, but the Ikana Caravan cannot. So what should we do?"

...

"What are you talking about?"

...

It only occurred to him now that she'd obviously have no idea what he was talking about. He'd only just realized it himself. It also occurred to him that the reason was something she in particular would not be happy about. And that she would probably take the news badly. No sense in mincing words.

"Oh, um...okay. I kind of didn't think about it until now, because of...cultural differences. But...there may be one -or more!- of us here, in our family, that... cannot be seen in public on the very slight chance we'll get arrested."

"WHAT?"

"An' that the caravan may already be suspected of wrongdoing...But that was unavoidable anyway. That's why I didn't tell anyone. No sense in worrying people over things you can't control, right?"

...

"Right- agh!"

For a second it looked like she was going to throttle him- paused in mid-lunge. She was clearly upset, but maybe not enough to follow through. She put her hands down, took a deep breath, stared him in the face...

...and began to throttle him.

"WHAT- IS- WRONG- WITH- YOU-"

"O-okagh! Aam sorragh!"

He really didn't have much of a neck. Any more and something would've snapped. She could tell, it seemed, as she let go abruptly once she started to feel vertebrae. She still needed to exercise her hands, however, and started rubbing her temples.

"Why didn't you say something before we were near town?"

"I would have! Had known it would be an issue, of course I would have! I- I just didn't realize that being "wanted" meant being "wanted" everywhere! I thought it was over and done with!"

"You are going to tell me RIGHT NOW what this person-"

"Or persons-"

"AAAGH-" She jumped off the wagon and stormed on and into the second one, demanding something of someone or other- he couldn't tell.

Truthfully, he did feel stupid, but it was thrown at him really suddenly. Where he was from people don't ask any questions or suspect every covered face. But then again, where he was from they didn't have any real law enforcement. It was their job to suspect people and check strange newcomers- it'd be easy to be found when people are getting paid to find you. So it was only until he saw the posters on the signs near the outpost that he realized their guilty party was being looked for well outside of their place of origin. To make things worse, they told a family member about the caravan before they left, which meant that anyone investigating their whereabouts would have to be stupid not to search for the caravan itself. And there probably weren't many caravans out here. The real issue wasn't the guilty person- it was that any attention would be bad. The caravan itself was hiding its share of illicit behavior. He needed time to think-

"LISTEN UP! WE'RE GOING OVER INTO THE TREES NEAR THE MOUNTAIN RANGE! WE'RE SETTING UP CAMP UNTIL OUR NEW PROBLEM GETS SORTED OUT!"

The group turned to look, just missing the brief moment she had her head peeking out of wagon two. The lead horses stood still, waiting to see if the leader was aware of this outburst.

"Go ahead, guys. Whenever it's safe to cross."

Although he was glad for the guidance, it did not bode well once they were alone in the woods. She was not going to let this go.

They pulled off of the the path and found a shallow spot to cross the river, thankfully not harassing any creatures nor being harrassed themselves. Usually stepping off the road meant being instantly assaulted, but it seems that in times of peace you can wander pretty much anywhere without fear. The sun was still halfway through the sky, and no one was in sight. So far so good.

[Ikana Caravan]

Now at their temporary lay-over, a few people were digging out some of the luggage. The boss remembered that the caravan members were supplied with a dozen lightweight ivory-colored cloaks made for use in extreme heat. Not all that rare, but they were of good quality. He absent-mindedly thought that perhaps everyone being a uniformed group of sheets might make people less likely to bother them. Even the guards wouldn't bother people that looked like a cult, right? Hoping he'd found a tiny remedy to their problem, he ran over to inspect them only to find a slightly irritating truth. It turned out that all the cloaks were not the same color. There were some that were practically festive. A tall pink cloak, a shorter yellow one, and two sky blue. Upon closer inspection the four also had embroidered their nicknames into them. This looked less like a militaristic order of zealots and more like a school outing.

"Ooh, yeah! Gimme mine!"

A girl swiftly pulled a cloak out of the container and over her head. After a quick fitting, she looked as though she planning to take off into the sky. He pulled the yellow one back to earth, very much convinced that this was her doing.

"Question."

"Yeeesss?"

"Why are you yellow?"

"Because I'm Sunflower now. Duh."

"Let me rephrase- 'Why did you do this to your cloak'?"

"Well, this fabric is so light. It dyes so easily. And I don't wanna be like everyone else. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm special."

The boss was beginning to get annoyed.

"Would you happen to know about the other colors?"

"Well, they wanted to be lovey-dovey about it so they picked the same color. Astra was already dying hers when I found out, so I told-"

"Astra would be our Nickname Queen, yes?"

"Yep."

"Pink and blues, a moment of your time please? Yes, you three."

The pink woman couldn't help but beam as she approached, and the two sky-blues, once they realized they were being called, joined hands despite their "walk" not being more than ten feet. The couple was happy to be known as "Honey" and "Darling", as all inseparable couples mockingly are. There was simply something about that old Hyrulean story that made all the more "romantic" couples want to emulate them. They were kind and clever folks on their own, but putting them together always appeared to meld them into a useless bunch of touching and giggling.

As they finally turned to attention, he motioned the color quartet into a huddle.

"I...I wish you'd have asked about these cloaks before you started to color them! Our financier is the one who provided us with these, an' I think there was some real purpose behind them being uniform!"

The pink one turned pink. "Oh! Ikana, I am so sorry- I didn't realize-"

"Wait, wait. Why would it matter if they're colored? It's way better yellow!"

"We may need them for things other than protective wear! I think it would help us to stay anonymous, but if you color-code them-"

"Ah, excuse me, Mr. Ikana- I don't see why we would ever need to do that. What's the problem? What's going on?"

"Honey" was now staring at him with her arms crossed. The periwinkle pair had stopped holding hands, which was a sure sign that they were back in reality, about to start asserting themselves. He'd rather not made any sort of issue out of this. But he was getting flustered.

"Well... if -for example- a few of us can't exactly show our faces, and if they're the only ones who aren't colored-"

"We're travelling with murderers, aren't we."

"...it's not murder!"

That was not the kind of outburst he wanted. Her pupils looked as though they were going to keep shrinking until they disappeared.

"Oh Goddesses- you were serious?! There are criminals in this group? I thought we were all runaways! Refugees, wanderers, work-for-hire! Not fugitives!"

"Honey, calm down. You of all people should know that being a criminal is decided by the Crown. No one here is a threat to you. We're a family now, remember?"

"We may be on the run, but we didn't do anything! He just wants me back. Darling, if we're caught associating with killers we'll be treated the same way. It's bad enough to fear bandits and crooks- now we're being attacked from all sides!"

"There's nothing to fear! We're not being hunted, we just can't walk up to any guards! An' if it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee that no one here is a convicted criminal!"

"Well, obviously- they'd be in prison. If they're here they got away before getting thrown in a dungeon."

"Sunflower, please! Ikana is trying to calm miss Honey."

By now, at least half of the group were audience to this very loud conversation. One of them was trying her hardest to ignore it.

"Enough of this, Honey."

An older man had his hand outstretched. His eyes were closed, as though he were deep in thought. When they opened they were directed straight at her.

"The boss is simply keeping something to himself in order to protect you. Isn't that enough? How will knowing help you?"

"I don't think we should have secrets if they're dangerous to others!"

"Are you willing to share your history with everyone? You had many opportunites to do so."

"That is completely different! We're talking about-"

"Honey."

In a calculated move, the slender young man took his lover's hand in his as a means to instantly pacify her.

"Mr. Ikana stated that our pasts have no effect on our belonging here. If it were us, we would be grateful to him for keeping unwanted facts private. Or taking us in at all. Right?"

She quickly silenced herself at the last thought. Pulling her hand slowly out of his she turned once more to the older man.

"I am willing to trust everyone here. But I think that he should go over our situation again. COMPLETELY. Not just the need-to-know."

"Agreed."

It was now the security detail's turn to arrive both to camp and the conversation, having been away with another man gathering the night's meal. Killing things seemed to restore her composure. On the other hand, their leader was beginning to get heated.

"Just get it over with already. Hunter and I need to prepare dinner."

He wanted nothing more. "Fine. If it'll make you all feel better..."

The boss motioned everyone to get together.

"Guys and girls, by joining this caravan and taking the contract it held, we have essentially become outlawed."

"Wha-"

"Ah! Ah. Listen to the whole thing first."

[Ikana Caravan]

"Several of us here are here not by choice, but rather because they had to get away where they were. For fewer of us still, this was something mandatory.

All you really need to know is that there are people out in Hyrule who know about us, and because of that they want to harm us. The caravan itself will probably be stopped if any major law enforcement recognizes us, an' there aren't many other caravans, so it'll be pretty damn easy. This is not something any of us could have stopped, nor is it any one person's fault. This was going to happen anyway. You know our goal. That it happened early is just something we have to live with.

All desert caravans are inspected. All of them are coming from Gerudo or Ikana- you had better believe they are checking for dangerous or illegal items. The expensive an' rare items are often dangerous, but always illegal. We are not a spice trader. We are not a textile trader. We are essentially...smugglers. We will be carrying cargo to disguise our goals because our goal is... rare an' expensive. Eventually we will not be able to stop at any open village or towns. We'll be dealing with the buyers who will meet with us, outside of places we can be seen. That is all listed on the document we read when we all came together an' found out about this venture. We knew it wasn't going to be something easy and safe. But we all knew that this was our best chance. That's why we're here.

We were told to select a leader, and they would open the scroll that was in the lockbox. We didn't even tell each other how we all found out about this job, and I don't think it matters. So I'm sorry. I didn't make this out to be as dangerous as it is. But truth be told, I don't see it that way, an' if I have my way you won't either."

He fiddled a bit with his wrap, making sure the last part sunk in before he started up again.

"Now, because of various reasons, the authorities were already made aware of us, an' may be looking for us. They don't know about the caravan's goal, but they know that they're looking for someone. An' if they found the instruction scroll, we'd all get in trouble anyway. None of us here has any real claim to these supplies an' wagons, we just brought what we could beforehand an' the rest was already here for us. So we couldn't just go around chatting about our caravan anyway. We need to get the last bit of supplies and tools to make sure we'll never be forced to visit a town again. That means getting the horses an' wagons fitted properly. Not that the covers need fixing... just some final upgrading before we try an' take this stuff through any route we take. We just have to figure out how to safely get what we need from Rauru, and things will probably cool down the rest of the way.

So, that's that. Anyone...have a question, or something they want to add?"

The youngest member raised her hand straight into the air.

"Yes?"

"Um, I understand, and we're all good, but we weren't gonna just dress up and try to enter, were we? That wasn't the plan, right?"

"...that was not the plan, no. But it was an explored aspect of a separate contingency."

"...that was your plan...that's so bad..."

The older man raised his hand modestly.

"Can't we just take each horse and wagon in separately?"

"We may be doing that, but I'm mainly concerned with any splitting up. If people are seen going in and out of camp, we might attract attention, an' it would take at least a few days. That could be enough time to get recognized and mobilized against."

The man that had been out hunting with Brigandine was next to step up and ask a question.

"How soon do we need to be upgraded? Could we slowly upgrade our gear at each town and be ready before we hit any snowy mountains or arid deserts?"

"After this? If we're going by the route suggested by the scroll's map, it's only Castle Town an' Kakariko until Snowpeak. We can choose to go around using the Great Bridge and risk more exposure, or follow Zora river all the way to the Lost Woods and pray we make it through. Once we're in Termina, things should be a little easier. At least, there should be a few places safe for us to go, because there is no way we could get there without some kind of safety net.. Snowpeak must be one of them. But I don't know how easy the roads are, and I think we must be ready to run as soon as possible."


"Why wouldn't they just prepare the wagons beforehand?"

"Besides being conspicuous, this assures that if something goes wrong, our supplier can't really be linked to us because it's us doing all the work, all the decision-making."

"Well, couldn't someone just sell these buy a bigger wagon that's outfitted? Wouldn't it be faster?"

"It's a lot more expensive to buy a new one than to outfit these."

Honey did not seem satisfied with those answers, but Darling asked another question before she could continue.

"How much money do we have?"

"It's not really money. It's more like...well, the closest thing I can think of is a set of vouchers. They're only good for getting certain things. I'm sure our employer was trying to ensure we didn't just take the money and run. These things have...well, their own way of ensuring they get used the right way. Let's leave it at that."

Astra spoke up for the first time all evening. She was still a little shaken about this development.

"W-we can't be in that much danger. Isn't there a chance we have some aid here, in Rauru? Shouldn't we just try?"

"I didn't want to take that chance. But if enough people here can handle themselves in a fight, we can risk a confrontation.

I know we asked this before, but how many of you can handle yourselves in a fight?"

Five people raised their hands, up two from last time. The quiet lady in the corner put her hand up this time. "Honey" had her hands up, but they were over her mouth as her lover consented to join the fight.

"Darling..."

"I wasn't sure then. I'm sure now."

"Well, be ready."

The security officer finally came foward, a very determined look on her face.

"I suggest we have two people enter the town and figure out exactly what's going to happen and how long it'll take. Once we're prepared, we let the separate riders head in first and get their horses ready. The wagons will come in right after. We'll be in and out before anyone can take notice."

"When are they going in? I wanna go!"

"Tomorrow morning, and no, you don't get to go."

"Boo. Who is going, then?"

"The two people who I know for a fact aren't wanted by anyone. Ikana and myself."

"Bleh, you always go with him. You're so obvious."

She waved the comment away. "Now, let's hurry up and get dinner started."

The leader had hoped that this conversation would fill him with confidence, and dispell the unpleasant feelings that came from admitting they were kind and peaceful crooks. It did not. Five people were willing to put their lives at risk for this hastily gathered family, and he couldn't even honor them with some assurance that they were going to succeed. He didn't even have anything helpful to add- everything he said or knew was actually written in the scroll. It was basically Smuggling 101 (plus coupons) in a large roll of paper; easy to see why they'd be jailed for finding it, as well as why they couldn't possibly throw any of it away. It was just as important as his book- both on his person at all times. He pressed a hand to them, making sure they were there. Then he sat down with a thump, with nothing else he could do. He couldn't even help with dinner. Not after last time. He turned weakly toward the only other person still sitting in a daze.

"Astra..."

"AH! Y-yes?"

"Can we make mine purple?"