The harsh crack of thunder fills the clearing as a bzing bolt of lightning tears through the space before Emily, searing everything in its path. In a split sed, before anyone even blink, the point twenty metres away that she was focused on is ected to her hands by the bolt, f a void in the fog. Through the newly cleared path, she spots two cat-like creatures that she instantly reises as fog cats, a jaguar-like creature known for hiding in magically formed fog to hunt. Or at least, what’s left of two fog cats.

  Both of them are lying unmoving on the ground. Oh its head deformed and smoking, bck scorch marks c its snout to the base of its neck, with the rest of its body still hidden within the mist, having avoided the worst of the spell. The other wasn’t so lucky: lying in the tre of the lightning’s path, its entire body is scorched and still twitg, thanks to the residual electricity from her spell.

  While marvelling at the results of her spell, Emily doesn’t fet to warn her group mates of their assaints in advance.

  “It’s fog cats!” she shouts while pulling two grenades off her bandolier.

  “Bianca, e help me clear the fog! The rest of you keep them away until we finish,” Oscar instructs calmly.

  “With pleasure,” Emily says with an evil grin, charging both grenades full of maa and tossing them deep into the fog near clusters of movement. “Cover your ears!”

  Following her own advice, Emily blocks her ears with her hands as she starts preparing a sed bolt. Two thunderous booms sound ahead of them, and several crag shards of metal fly past the group. One of the shards hits Dante, celling his prepared spell as he cries out in pain and clutches his thigh.

  Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be charging those with maa so close to friendlies.

  Uned by her friendly fire, Emily turns away from the front, where she no longer detects any movement, and checks on the group. The two fnks are handling themselves fine, surrounded by thin barriers of water, they throw small spells and ssh sharp bdes at any shapes that try to emerge from the fog, f them to back off. However, Matteo and Enzo are obviously struggling to maintain the back without Bianca’s help.

  Notig their plight, Emily dashes to the side, breaking formation and crossing into the fog while fog on the fast-approag vibrations at the back of the group. The moment she has a clear shot past everyone, she raises both hands before her while activating the shimmering magic circle that awaits her and.

  Another bolt of lightning rips the fog apart, scorg a lihrough three more fog cats. Emily ighe falling bodies and turns to face the multiple sets of footsteps charging towards her from hidden within the mist. She turns to face them while slowly bag towards the group, but before she move very far, a shape springs at her from the fog. Dug to avoid the rge cat, Emily sshes a Cw against its stomach, splitting it open from throat to groin.

  She rises as two more cats leap at her, sidestepping one aing the other’s skull with her elbow. With a swipe from her Cw, the downed fog cat is quickly executed as she keeps her focus on the cealed creatures still cirg her.

  These things would be a bitch to fight if I wasn’t elling a dete spell right now.

  Emily tracks the st cat with her finger, quickly shooting an air burst towards it. The spell flies past the cat’s head, taking some of the fog with it and revealing the prowling form within. She draws her revolver and pnts a bullet betwee’s eyes before turning and running bato formation.

  The moment she arrives ba pce, she looks at the gift Oscar and Bianca prepared for the fog cats with intrigue. Both of them are standing fag each other, with their arms outstretched and ected te spell struct holding in a massive ball of wind maween them. Oscar is muttering a long t alone, while Bianca stands silently, her face pale and sweat dripping from her brow.

  Oscar’s t soon es to an end as he calls out the final line loudly: “Oh winds of ge, sweep away deceit and clear all in my range! Airspace Cim!”

  As he shouts the name of his spell fidently, the giant magic circle before him glows an iridest green as it springs into life, twisting around the ball of mana and strig. After shrinking for a sed, the spell bursts, throwing out violent winds and blowing the surrounding fog back. Emily shields her face from the wind while activating her boots to hold her firmly to the ground.

  A few seds ter, the winds die down and she gnces around to see the trees clearly, an area of around fifty metres pletely cleared of fog. Emily smiles slightly, quickly sing the clearing, ting ten fog cats left alive. No longer hunting in their favoured enviro, the cats are quickly eliminated by a couple of well-pced spells and bullets, putting ao their surprise ambush.

  With the danger gone, both healers rush out from the tre of the formation to tend to wounds. Nora heads to the back of the group to help Matteo with a nasty gash across his chest, meanwhile, Emily watches Fionn take a look at Dante’s leg, feeling slightly guilty for her slip-up.

  Fionn pces his hand on Dahigh, c the shrapnel wound with his palm. A resple golden glow pours from his haering the wound and illuminating it, so that the shrapnel’s path is visible through the surrounding flesh.

  “Lucky, the shrapnel passed through. This is an easy fix,” Fionn says calmly, fshing Dante a kind smile.

  Dante doesn’t respond, too focused on taking deep breaths to cope with the pain. Fionn starts a long t, a matrix of golden runes f around his hand and c Dahigh with golden light. Emily watches with fasation as the hole slowly closes itself, growihy new flesh to repce the old.

  By the time Fionn has fihe hole has vahe only signs that the injury ever existed are the bloodstained rips left in Darousers and Fionn’s slight exhaustion.

  “Sorry about that, I shouldn’t have used grehat close to the group,” Emily apologises, a hand to pull him up.

  “It’s fine, mistakes happen. That’s what these trial runs are for after all,” Dante responds calmly, grabbing her hand and standing up.

  “Those were some fine explosions though,” he adds with a slightly crazed grin.

  “Haha, thanks.”

  Emily turns to move bato pce as Oscar cps his hands, calling the group’s attention.

  “Training room, e!”

  The illusion of the forest surrounding them flickers before vanishing, leaving them standing ba the pin white and grey cube.

  “That will be all for today folks. I would like everybody to return at the same time week, and the week after, so we get some more practi. Also, on the evening before we leave, my family will be hosting a ba in our capital mansion to wish us all luck. I do hope all of you will attend. It should be a wonderful evening.”

  Oscar finishes speaking and ands the training room to leave the door open as the group slowly disperses. Ivor and Oscar both approach Emily.

  “Hey, Emily,” Oscar starts, appearing slightly unsure about what to say . “Would it be possible for you to not-“

  “Throw explosives so close to the group, right?” Emily finishes for him, finding his meek attitude in front of her amusing.

  “Yes, thank you,” he says with a relieved sigh. “Also, I know ac was rude, but please don’t threaten people like that again. I don’t want my expedition party falling out before we even leave.”

  “I make no promises, but I’ll try to be less hostile,” she agrees half-heartedly.

  “Thanks,” he nods with a tired smile and turns to leave, walking a few metres before pausing and looking back over his shoulder with a crafty glint in his eyes. “Please extend a ba invitation to Miss Madonna. Her attendance is most wele.”

  Did he just invite Jules to stop me from causing problems?

  Frowning slightly, Emily shakes the thought away and turns to the two remaining boys. Giving Ivor a small nod of aowledgement, she focuses on Dante, who hasn’t left yet and is watg her ily.

  “Yo, what’s up?” She asks, tilting her head slightly.

  “Ah, sorry,” he says without vi. “I just wao ask about your explosives.”

  He grins, gesturing towards the grenade belt on her chest, “Those are grenades, right? They don’t look like any standard Modo or Morzea military models. Did you buy them from overseas, or are they orders?”

  Emily’s slightly taken aback by his questioning and freezes for a moment.

  How much should I reveal? He seems to be part of Oscar’s fa so probably won’t spread the word...

  “Yeah, they were a order,” she says, settling on half-truths. “They pack a lot more punch than the usual.”

  “I tell. That shrapnel was nasty, wouldn’t usually burn or disable my leg like that. What do they put in them?”

  “Wait, what do you mean by disabled y?”

  “You didn’t know? The moment it hit me, my thigh locked up and wouldn’t respond for a few seds.”

  “Right,” Emily mutters, biting ohumb as she breaks down his feedback.

  The burning was from the fire crystal heating the metal. Was the disabling effect from the leftover maa? I guess flooding someone’s system with my own bioelectricity would interfere with their internal signals.

  Snapping herself out of her thoughts quickly, she gives Dante a dismissive answer.

  “Sorry, not quite sure what that is. My source is quite secretive about their products. If you want to buy some though, ask Oscar. I gave him the tact details.” She passes off the problem to Oscar, before adding with a small smile: “Though, with your spells I’m not so sure you hem.”

  “Thanks, they’re wonderful, right?” he asks excitedly.

  “They’re certainly pretty,” Emily agrees, thinking back to the flower-themed fmes Dahrew around wantonly in bat. “If you don’t mind me asking, is the flower motif part of your mental image or the spell formu?”

  Dante pauses at her question, scratg his head while sg his face up in thought.

  “Hmm, I guess it ’t hurt to tell you if Oscar likes you enough to invite you on our expedition, it’s kind of an ope anyway. It’s a mixture of both! You were using silent internal casting earlier, right?”

  Emily nods, slightly surprised he was watg her closely enough to notid reise her castihod.

  “Then I’m sure you uand that a spell be made with either a t or a mental image. Well, the ts for my family’s spells all include flower-reted imagery, and from a young age, we’re taught to form a mental image that retes fire and flowers. It’s to the point now where even my normal fire spells take on slightly floral shapes! As for the spell formu, I’m pretty sure it includes runes for shaping it, but I don’t really uand it enough to tell you for certain. Sorry, but I’m sure you uand that I ’t show you.”

  “No that’s plenty. Thanks for even answering my question.”

  “No problem, that’s what teammates are fht?” His silly griurns as he offers her a fist bump.

  “Haha, sure.”

  She returns his fist bump, turning to talk to Ivor before remembering something and calling after Dante.

  “By the way, if you buy any grenades, don’t try opening them! They detonate if you try to reverse ehem.”

  He gnces bad gives her a thumbs-up.

  I wonder if Oscar ever tried? I never mentiohat to him.

  Chug to herself quietly, she finally turtention to Ivor.

  “Sorry about that. Who would’ve thought I’m so popur?”

  Ivor rolls his eyes at her befesturing towards the door and signing a question.

  “You ready to leave?”

  “Sure, let’s go.”

  ***

  That evening over dinner, Emily invites Juliana to the expedition ba. With much excitement and ahusiastic hug, Juliana agrees to go and starts pnning a trip to Threads to get dresses made for them both.

  Emily falls into a final ch of preparations for the expedition. She works on several new spells and maes, goes to csses, and remembers to spend time with her friends and girlfriend. She even adds meditating on the cept of space to her busy schedule, with little success.

  Time flows by quickly, and soon Emily finds herself standing in a dress before her bathroom mirrring at the refle staring back at her. The dress is a strikiric blue, matg the pale lightning magic circles that are quickly being her forte. It’s sleeveless and falls to sit just above her knees, c the small pouch strapped to her thigh holding The Clod a few small knives. Her arms are covered up to the elbow with matg gloves, and c her legs are the bat boots she refuses to promise on.

  Anna would hate me wearing these with a nice dress... Too bad she’ll never know.

  With a smug grin, she leaves her room and goes to kno Juliana’s door. After a few moments of waiting, the door fades to reveal a sight that leaves Emily standing in stunned silence.

  Juliana appears before her in a long, pale yellow gown that highlights her flowing brown hair and eyes. The shy smile on her lips as she looks at Emily expetly forms butterflies in Emily’s stomach.

  “What do you think?” Juliana asks, waking Emily from her stupor.

  “I think you look beautiful,” Emily responds, Juliana her arm.

  “Aww, thanks Emi. You look very pretty too,” Juliana says with a dazzling smile while ing herself around Emily’s offered arm.

  “At least I feel like I could move around properly in this,” Emily mumbles with a light blush.

  “No fighting tonight! However, if it’s moving to dance, I’ll allow it.”

  Emily scoffs, pulling Juliana towards the transportation room to begirip out of The Dome.

  “I’ll try my best.”