Chapter 126 – Elowen

I am prepared.

For what, exactly, remains somewhat unclear.

Nevertheless, by the time Rowan opens the door, my posture is immaculate, my expression perfectly composed, and my tail under strict instructions not to commit treason.

A voice calls from deeper inside the estate.

“You’re home early! Did the guards finally kick you away or something?”

Avelyn’s eyes immediately shine.

Her ears lock toward the sound, and her tail begins swishing hard enough to make any attempt at composure entirely theoretical.

“I’m home, Mom!”

There is a distinct thump from somewhere inside.

A book hitting the floor, judging by the sound.

My Gravity Sense informs me that someone has begun moving toward us at a velocity usually considered inadvisable indoors.

A door slams open.

A figure rushes into the foyer.

Avelyn leaves my side just as quickly.

The two Foxkin meet in the middle, and the older woman immediately sweeps her into a tight hug.

One hand rises to scratch behind Avelyn’s ear.

She melts into the contact with a delighted little noise.

...Adorable.

I take the opportunity to study Elowen properly.

She is slightly shorter than Avelyn, with hair and fur much closer to her daughter’s coloration, minus the golden highlights. Her clothing is soft and loose, clearly intended for comfort rather than presentation.

Her eyes are a gentle brown.

Currently, they are also half-filled with tears.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Mom.”

…

Elowen says it very easily.

No hesitation. No awkwardness.

She simply keeps holding Avelyn as though there is nowhere else in the world she needs to be.

Rowan joins them a moment later, pressing a brief kiss to Elowen’s temple before wrapping his arms around both of them.

...

I find myself continuing to watch.

There is something uncomfortable about this.

I am unsure what.

I Inspect Elowen.

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Windweaver [Uncommon] (Level 72 | Tier 2)

Race: Foxkin

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Hm.

Not particularly impressive by the standards set by Rowan.

Likely not even a combat-focused class.

The embrace continues for several more seconds before the three finally separate.

Only then does Elowen appear to remember that an entire armed adventuring party is currently standing in her foyer.

She gives Marek, Zeke, Sylrae, and Rin a warm smile before turning toward Sera and me.

Another faint pulse of nervousness moves through my chest.

Highly concerning.

I straighten slightly and perform an elegant curtsy.

“Lyn. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Sera gives a small nod.

“Sera.”

Elowen’s smile grows warmer.

“Pleased to meet you both.”

Then her attention settles on me.

Properly.

Her eyes flick over my posture. My expression. My tail.

“You can relax, dear. You’re a guest, not a visiting noble.”

…

I am relaxed.

Obviously.

Elowen claps her hands lightly.

“Well, shall we move to the dining room? It isn’t anything special, but we can at least have some snacks while everyone catches up.”

Avelyn agrees with enough enthusiasm for all of us.

We follow Elowen through several halls before reaching a comfortable dining room filled with padded chairs and a large wooden table.

Elowen and Rowan disappear almost immediately.

Everyone begins taking seats.

Naturally, Avelyn ignores the chairs entirely and perches on the edge of the table.

I sit beside her.

The objectively superior arrangement.

A few minutes later, Elowen returns carrying several plates of jerky, with Rowan following behind her holding bowls of berries.

They set everything within reach before taking their own seats.

Elowen looks toward Avelyn and me.

One eyebrow rises.

Then one ear angles sideways.

Her gaze drops.

Specifically, to the black hoodie Avelyn is wearing.

“Did you buy a jacket while you were gone, dear?”

Avelyn’s ears twitch.

A faint flush spreads across her face.

“...No.”

I decide to contribute both to the conversation and the available food.

Several vines emerge from beneath the table, distributing plates of roasted potatoes around the group.

“It is mine.”

Avelyn turns redder.

Elowen looks at her. Then at me. Then back at Avelyn.

“Oh.”

…

An extraordinary amount of information appears to have just been conveyed through a single syllable.

Rowan laughs.

“Right?”

Avelyn looks betrayed.

I remain unclear on the issue.

Rowan, meanwhile, has already abandoned the conversation in favor of the potatoes.

He spears one with his fork and takes a bite.

His ears shoot upright.

“These are delicious.” His tail gives an appreciative swish as he looks toward me. “How did you make them?”

My own ears rise slightly.

Ah.

Finally.

A sensible topic.

“I partially boiled them first, damaged the surfaces, then fried them in rendered fat. More surface area produces more browning.”

Rowan nods thoughtfully.

Elowen, however, immediately leans forward.

“You enjoy cooking?” Her ears rise with obvious interest. “Would you like to help me with dinner tonight? I always enjoy having someone else in the kitchen.”

…

...?

I stare at her for a fraction longer than necessary.

That was remarkably immediate.

“If you would allow me, I would be happy to oblige.”

Elowen claps her hands together lightly.

“Wonderful! I’m looking forward to it.”

Her smile remains exactly the same.

...

Strange.

I think I can see where Avelyn gets it from.

Elowen turns toward her daughter.

“Well, dear, I would love to hear everything you’ve been doing this past week.” She settles more comfortably into her chair. “Would you tell us?”

“Oh!”

Avelyn straightens.

Her tail gives an eager swish as she begins recounting the expedition from the beginning.

Entering the dungeon. The first few fights. The steadily increasing mana.

Her enthusiasm remains high at first, but slowly begins to fade as the story approaches the ambush.

“And then Tali...”

She stops.

Her ears lower.

The rest of the table falls quiet with her.

I shift slightly closer until my shoulder presses against her.

Avelyn leans into me almost immediately.

She sends me a small, grateful smile before taking a breath.

“That was when Tali died.”

Elowen’s expression softens.

“With our lanterns gone and monsters chasing us, we had to keep moving deeper into the dungeon. Zeke was the only reason we could even see.”

Avelyn glances apologetically toward Rin.

“Rin saved me during the ambush, but he got hurt doing it.”

Rin gives a small shrug.

She looks back down.

“I couldn’t heal him fast enough. Then one of the crawlers got through.”

Her shoulder presses a little more firmly against mine.

“I was really scared.” Her tail curls closer to herself. “It almost got me.”

Then her ears rise.

Her tail gives a sudden, enthusiastic swish.

“But that was when Lyn appeared!”

Rowan raises an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

Avelyn brightens immediately.

“I didn’t even see her arrive! One second there was a crawler right in front of me, and the next—”

She gestures dramatically.

“Monster blood. Everywhere.” A shiver runs through her. “It was really gross.”

Elowen laughs softly.

“I’m sure it was.”

Both of them look toward me. The gratitude in their expressions is considerably less subtle than I would prefer.

I give the smallest nod I can reasonably manage.

Elowen’s smile deepens.

Rowan returns the gesture.

Acceptable.

Avelyn, meanwhile, has regained almost all of her earlier enthusiasm.

“After that, the fight was basically over! You should have seen her!”

Oh no.

“She was moving between all of them so fast I could barely follow her, and every time she swung her sword another monster died!” Her tail is now swishing with dangerous enthusiasm. “She was dancing through them! It was incredible.”

She exhales dreamily.

…

My ears angle outward.

My tail gives one extremely smug swish.

Traitor.

I force it still.

Elowen’s eyes flick toward my tail. Then toward Avelyn’s.

Her smile acquires a quality I find immediately suspicious.

“You certainly seem to enjoy talking about your new... friend, don’t you, dear?”

Avelyn freezes.

Her face begins turning red.

I tilt my head.

…

That was a strange place for a pause.

I consider the sentence.

Friend is an entirely accurate description. Perhaps Elowen momentarily forgot the word?

Unlikely.

Hm.

I eventually shrug.

No useful conclusions present themselves.

Elowen looks toward Rowan.

Her eyes are practically sparkling.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Rowan stares at his wife. For once, the Level Ninety-Seven Spellblade appears genuinely unsettled.

“Sometimes you scare me.”

Elowen pouts.

“I haven’t even done anything.”

“That’s usually when I get worried.”

She gives him a look.

Rowan lasts approximately two seconds before chuckling and leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Avelyn has elected to stare very intently at the jerky.

I remain unsure what anyone is concerned about.

Apparently, family conversations involve substantially more hidden information than I was previously aware of.

Troubling.

After dedicating several seconds to the strategic destruction of some jerky, Avelyn recovers enough to continue.

The faint flush gradually disappears from her face as she resumes recounting the past week.

Elowen and Rowan listen to every detail.

When Avelyn reaches her Evolution and class advancement, both immediately brighten.

Rowan looks immensely proud.

Elowen gets up purely to hug her daughter again.

Avelyn accepts this as though surprise maternal hugs are an entirely ordinary consequence of obtaining an Epic class.

Perhaps they are.

When she describes the Aspect Alignment, however, their excitement fades.

Elowen reaches across the table and takes Avelyn’s hand as she explains the pain.

Rowan’s ears flatten.

Neither interrupts.

They simply listen.

Avelyn eventually reaches the mutated serpent.

Both parents look toward me when she explains how I handled it.

Their expressions become somewhat more concerned when she reaches the Crystal Tyrant and describes my decision to draw the creature away from everyone else.

Then considerably more concerned when she explains that I subsequently reduced it to rubble.

I fail to understand the issue.

The strategy worked exceptionally well.

Eventually, however, Avelyn reaches the final chamber.

Her storytelling becomes progressively more animated as she recounts the battle against the enormous crystal badger.

“And then, with one final blow—” She throws one arm dramatically toward Marek. “—Marek reduced the giant badger to fragments!”

Rowan and Elowen clap politely.

Marek looks faintly embarrassed.

Avelyn spreads both arms wide and holds the pose.

Excellent presentation.

“Oh, but it did not end there.” Her voice drops dramatically. “For the crystal began to crack.”

I lean forward slightly.

“And from within emerged something far worse. Something that should never have been there.” She pauses. “A second boss.”

Very good.

I am enjoying this immensely.

“From there...”

She stops.

…

I tilt my head.

Why did she stop?

Avelyn’s ears lower.

Across the table, Rin and Zeke wince.

Marek looks down.

Even Sylrae’s wings droop slightly.

Hm.

The atmosphere has changed rather abruptly.

Avelyn shifts closer to me.

“After that... Lyn got hit.”

Ah. That.

“Her injuries were... horrible.”

True.

I came reasonably close to dying.

A mildly concerning prospect.

Avelyn leans against me again, having separated for the more theatrical portions of her performance.

I allow my shoulder to support her.

Naturally.

“She wasn’t moving,” Avelyn continues quietly. “There was so much blood, and I couldn’t heal everything fast enough.”

Her voice catches slightly.

Elowen’s expression immediately fills with concern.

Then she looks at me.

…

Why?

“Are you alright?”

I blink.

“Quite. Avelyn fully healed me.”

Elowen does not appear reassured.

“But that must have hurt terribly. Even with healing.”

I consider this.

Then shrug.

I liberate a strawberry from its tragic potential future of continued existence and take a bite.

“My spine was broken, so rest assured that I felt no pain.”

Everyone at the table winces.

Even Rowan.

…

Curious.

My reassurance appears to have produced the exact opposite of its intended effect.

Elowen stares at me for several seconds.

“That,” she says gently, “was not reassuring.”

I glance toward Avelyn.

She nods immediately.

“Not even a little.”

Hm.

Perhaps mentioning the nerve damage would help matters. Elowen seems strangely concerned about pain... for some reason.

I open my mouth.

Avelyn places a hand over it.

“No. Whatever you are about to say, no.”

…

Apparently not.

Avelyn removes her hand from my mouth and continues.

“And then... something changed.” Her ears rise slightly. “I had this sudden flash of inspiration. If I needed more mana to heal Lyn...”

She pauses dramatically.

Naturally.

“...Then I just had to borrow the mana surrounding us!”

Elowen blinks.

Rowan leans forward slightly.

“I clutched my hands to my heart and reached for it. And somehow, I just... took control.”

Avelyn’s tail begins swishing again.

Mine does as well.

I ignore this betrayal.

“It felt so weird! All the mana around us suddenly became... gentle, I guess? Like it wanted to help.”

…

Hm?

“It started feeding into my healing, and Lyn actually stopped bleeding before I could even get the spell going again.”

My tail stops.

…

Wait.

“There was this warm breeze too. I still have no idea where that came from.”

Surely not.

“Oh! And there was this weird golden grass around us!”

Elowen smiles proudly.

“That’s amazing, dear—”

She stops.

Her eyes have found me.

Reasonable.

I am now sitting perfectly straight. Even more unusually, I have allowed a small amount of genuine disbelief to breach my expression.

“Lyn?”

Avelyn tilts her head.

“Is something wrong?”

…

“Avelyn.” My attention locks fully onto her. “Might I inquire as to what, exactly, you were thinking immediately before this occurred?”

She blinks.

“Oh. Um...” A faint blush colors her cheeks. “Well... I remembered what you told me. About how I could reach the Desolate Mountaintops someday if I wanted to.”

Her gaze drops slightly.

“And that I wouldn’t forsake you.”

The blush deepens.

“That you were... safe with me.” Her voice becomes progressively quieter. “And then I just felt this really strange confidence. Like I knew it was true.”

…

I stare at her.

She stares back.

“Avelyn.”

Her ears rise.

“You understand what that sounds like, correct?”

A tiny smile appears.

“I... think so.”

“You have attempted to reproduce it?”

“Of course!”

Naturally.

“I couldn’t though...” Her ears lower slightly. “I tried a bunch of times afterward, but nothing happened.”

I slowly lean back.

I see.

Likely not fully formed, then. Perhaps not even close.

But still…

Never in my wildest expectations did I think that was what happened.

The altered environment. The ambient mana responding to her. The spontaneous manifestation centered around an assertion so fundamental to her that she simply expected reality to cooperate.

…

Incredible.

Rowan looks between us.

His brow rises.

“So.”

Neither of us responds.

“Would either of you care to explain why you suddenly look like you’ve discovered the meaning of existence?”

Avelyn startles.

“Oh!”

She waves both hands apologetically.

“Sorry! It’s just...” Her gaze flicks toward me. “This touches on a few things that aren’t mine to tell.”

…

I go still.

She intends to keep my secrets from her parents. Without hesitation.

Something twists faintly in my chest. I do not like it.

Not because she is doing anything wrong.

Quite the opposite.

Avelyn is keeping her promise.

For me.

Even here. Even with them.

…

I dislike that considerably more.

My gaze moves toward Rowan.

Then Elowen.

For reasons that remain unclear, the thought of Avelyn needing to conceal something from her parents purely because of me feels deeply unpleasant.

I resolve to observe them very carefully.

Hopefully, they will prove trustworthy enough that such precautions become unnecessary.

I send a brief prayer toward the stars.

Please.

Avelyn, unaware of my internal dilemma, continues her story.

She recounts the remainder of the battle, carefully omitting anything involving Star, before describing how Rin and I dismantled the Crystal Reaper together.

Then came Tessari.

Feather Duster.

Our teleportation to the beginner village.

Waiting for Sera.

Various incidents that apparently qualify as important enough to include despite my objections.

Eventually, she finally reaches the present.

“And then, after a long and perilous journey, we finally arrived at Bramblegate!” Her voice rises dramatically once more. “Only for one final obstacle to appear before us!”

Rowan’s ears twitch.

“A fearsome surprise attack by Noble Redleaf!”

Elowen slowly turns toward her husband.

Rowan does not look remotely ashamed.

Avelyn throws one hand toward me.

“Luckily, Lyn reacted with incredible speed, evading the deadly tackle and saving the healer from certain doom!”

“I was going to hug you,” Rowan protests.

“...You created a trench.”

“A minor trench.”

“It was several dozen meters long.”

“Details.”

Avelyn ignores him and spreads her arms.

“And thus, having conquered their final challenge, our heroes successfully completed their journey home!”

Silence.

Then everyone begins clapping.

I contribute as well.

The performance warrants recognition.

Avelyn holds her dramatic pose for several seconds before sitting back down, her tail giving one deeply satisfied swish.

A highly smug one.

I approve.

Elowen, meanwhile, is still staring at Rowan.

He notices.

“What?”

“You tackled our daughter?”

“I attempted to.”

“And managed to miss?”

His ears angle outward.

Elowen covers her mouth. A tiny laugh escapes anyway.

Rowan looks toward me.

“You caused this.”

“I merely protected the healer.”

Elowen eventually manages to stop laughing.

“Well, I think that story deserves some proper food.” She looks toward me. “It’s far too early for dinner, so would you like to help me put together something quick for lunch?”

I straighten slightly.

“If you would permit me, I would be happy to.”

Avelyn’s tail immediately begins swishing.

“Can I help too?”

Elowen smiles.

“Of course, dear.”

Rowan stands.

“What about me?”

Elowen looks at him.

“You can stay out of the kitchen.”

He sits back down.

...

I wait.

Nothing happens.

No irritation enters his expression. Elowen does not stiffen or soften her words after the fact. Rowan simply settles back into his chair with the air of a man who has apparently heard this exact verdict many times before.

Strange.

Marek begins to mention finding an inn for the party.

He does not get particularly far.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Elowen says. “We have plenty of rooms.”

“We don’t want to impose—”

“You brought my daughter home safely.” She smiles warmly. “You’re staying.”

Marek pauses, then looks toward Rowan.

I follow his gaze automatically.

For some reason, I find myself watching Rowan a little more carefully than before.

He gives Marek a sympathetic shake of the head.

“Don’t bother.”

And that is it.

No argument.

No quiet resentment.

Not even the slightest indication that Elowen has overstepped some invisible boundary by deciding something for both of them.

If anything, Rowan looks amused.

...

I do not understand this household.

Elowen tells her husband to stay out of the kitchen, and he listens without taking offense.

She invites seven near-strangers to remain in their home without consulting him first, and his only contribution is to inform Marek that resistance is futile.

Yet nothing about either exchange feels hostile.

Nobody is carefully choosing their words.

Nobody seems to be waiting for the mood to change.

They simply...

Do this.

Apparently.

...I don't get it.

I glance around the dining room.

At Avelyn still sitting beside me. At Rowan stealing another one of Elowen's potatoes while his wife is distracted. At Elowen already discussing what we might make for lunch as though my participation has been settled for considerably longer than thirty seconds.

…

Staying here for a while does not sound unpleasant.

Strange.

My tail gives a quiet swish off the edge of the table.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

...

No.

My tail stills.

Those thoughts are unnecessary.

They serve no purpose.