“Ugh, these bugs are killing me,” Strevan groused, waving a hand in front of his face.

  “Really?” I smiled, “Because they’re not bugging me.”

  Strevan groaned. “Please spare me from your dad jokes.”

  “You knew what you were signing up for.”

  I kept pace at Strevan’s side, surprisingly not out of breath for the distance we were walking. Had my stamina increased so much in such a short time?

  “What’s the plan when we get there?” I asked.

  Strevan glanced at me, irritated, and I could see at least 3 mosquitos land on different parts of his body. I gave him a pitying smile.

  “Well,” He said, pausing between each bug he slapped, “I figure we have two options. We could either try to scrounge enough to get our ship fixed, or buy a new one.”

  “There might be a space taxi we can take or something,” I said.

  “That’s out of the question. No way.”

  I looked at him in surprise. “Huh? Why not?”

  He smiled at me as he replied.

  “I’m not leaving on someone else’s ship.”

  My pace halted, and my eyes met his in surprise.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a better captain?”

  With his lips upturned, he patted my head.

  “There isn’t one.”

  I snorted and continued walking with my head turned to the side, hiding my embarrassment. When did my best friend become such a smooth talker?

  “The trees are thinning,” I said. “We must be close.”

  A wooden palisade surrounded a surprisingly large settlement. At a glance, I could tell it had been there for quite some time; the wood was splintered and aged, with foliage growing from parts of it. The buildings didn’t appear to be in much better condition. The construction, while clearly skilled, had been degraded by time and neglect.

  “You think this is where that guy was from?” I asked.

  Strevan frowned.

  “Don’t go too far away from me. He might be a player, but I didn’t like that look he gave you.”

  “You don’t think he’d try something do you?” I asked hesitantly.

  “He won’t get a chance.”

  As we walked up to the entrance, I looked at the man ‘standing guard.’ He looked young, maybe about my age, and more notably he appeared to be sleeping. Strevan and I looked at each other awkwardly.

  “Um…?” I said, raising my voice to wake him. He stirred but his eyes remained closed.

  Strevan gave a loud shout, and the boy flinched, nearly falling to the ground. His head slammed against the wall, emitting a dull thud that had me wincing.

  “Auugh…” The boy moaned, blinking tears from his eyes. He looked up at us in surprise.

  He forced a tough look on his face and straightened his back; an attempt to look imposing. The ‘formidable’ image was ruined by his hand unconsciously rubbing the knot on the back of his head.

  “Who goes there?”

  I stifled a laugh. Strevan, with a poorly-hid smile, replied, “We’re travelers. We need supplies and a night’s rest.”

  The boy’s face flushed red at our reactions, before he blinked a few times and said, “Ah — wristbands, show ‘em.”

  He then pulled a small gun from a holster, and the shape reminded me of bar code scanners I had seen in grocery stores.

  “What is this for?” I asked.

  The kid raised an eyebrow, before scoffing. “Where’d you come from, under a rock?”

  “We just got here…” I said, rubbing my head in embarrassment.

  He shrugged before replying, “It’s to check your wrist things. ‘Don’t let no criminals in town’, captain says.”

  We extended our arms forward, and the guard scanned our consoles. After each one, a light chirp emitted from the device, its screen flashing green.

  Strevan, curious, asked, “What happens if it’s not green?”

  The boy nonchalantly shrugged. “Beats me, hasn’t happened yet. I’d have to ask Captain.”

  He waved us in impatiently.

  “Oh er- don’t tell anyone I was asleep, yeah?”

  I gave him a thumbs up as we entered the village.

  People milled about, talking to one another. The sounds of laughter, shouts of shopping stalls, and giggles of children made me smile.

  “It feels more medieval than anything,” I said. “If it weren’t for the scanner gun I’d think we started a different game.”

  “Hopefully we find what we need here. I didn’t think there’d be so much to smell…” Strevan replied with a dark look.

  He was right. My nose was assaulted with a scent rivaling my school’s locker room. Deodorant didn’t seem to be a popular product here.

  Strevan walked forward with purpose, and the crowd of people parted around him. I walked close to his heels.

  He strode towards a merchant’s stall run by a small, chubby man waving about electronic parts.

  “Excuse me,” Strevan called.

  “Ah— yes! Customer, how may I serve you today?” The merchant replied in a saccharine tone.

  “Laying it on a bit thick…” I muttered. The merchant’s face fell. He could hear me?

  …Whoops.

  Strevan put a hand on my head and pushed me behind him, before trying to salvage the situation.

  “Sorry about my friend,” He apologized, “She hit her head in a crash, we’re still looking for someone to help.”

  I frowned and forcefully pinched the side of his waist. He flinched, but continued to negotiate. I smiled as I pinched him again.

  “Our ship crashed, and we were hoping to find someone who could help us.” Strevan began.

  The merchant, seemingly still upset from before, erased the frown from his face. His long, vulpine mouth stretched into a practiced smile.

  “Of course, I would be happy to help such… illustrious, generous customers!”

  “What were you needing today my friend?”

  Strevan nodded and put an amicable smile on his face. “We need a ship repair or directions to somewhere we can buy a new one.”

  “Well, I’d be happy to assist you — for a fee, naturally.”

  He stretched a hand out, wriggling his fat, red fingers.

  “W-we don’t have anything on us now, but we will soon.” Strevan stuttered.

  The friendly grin turned into an angry frown.

  He retracted his hand, but not before offering us a familiar gesture — one using a middle finger.

  “You’re taking time away from valuable customers. Please leave.”

  A stony look dropped over Strevan’s face, and he quickly dragged me away from the stand.

  Feeling embarrassed, I tugged at the hem of his shirt.

  “Um…sorry…” I whispered.

  He let out a long sigh, before putting a gentle hand on top of my head, rubbing it.

  “I want to be mad at you, but it’s impossible when you look like this.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  He just gave me an amused look.

  “You can’t be angry with a kitten.”

  I gaped at him, face flushing, before my fist slammed against his arm with full force. It didn’t seem to hurt.

  His eyes flashed with amusement, and he nodded his head towards the direction of a large building.

  “C’mon, let’s go in there. We might be able to find someone if it’s a bar.”

  I shoulder checked him as I walked past — at least, attempted to, my body bounced off of him, and I nearly stumbled. With my face flaming hot, I moped towards the building, ignoring the scorning laugh behind me.

  There was a signpost hanging above the doorway — although the paint had chipped badly from age, it appeared to depict a mug of beer and a bed. An inn, probably.

  I opened one of the double doors, squeaking it loudly as it opened. As I walked in, the scent nearly made me turn around. Only Strevan, walking from behind, prevented me from leaving. The stench of sweat, alcohol and yet-to-be-determined bodily fluids permeated my nose.

  A large, rough-looking man was bartending, busying himself cleaning glassware with a rag. I looked around, and was somewhat surprised to find that, despite the stench, the place was actually quite well maintained.

  There were maybe 10 or 12 tables at a glance, most of them filled with customers, presumably due to it being rather late. Strevan walked past me and up to the bar. I followed at his heels, trying to ignore the looks I was getting from the male customers.

  “Evening,” The bartender said, “What can I do you for?” His baritone voice rumbled through my chest.

  “A room, some food, and some info, if you’ve got it.” Strevan growled.

  I put a hand to my mouth, disguising a laugh as a cough; Strevan had deepened his voice. If he was trying to sound manly or mysterious I couldn’t tell, but it was ridiculous either way.

  My attention trailed away from their conversation as a finger poked my shoulder. I turned, and a woman who had been sitting at the bar was smiling at me.

  “You doin’ alright, love?” She asked. She seemed friendly, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from a blackened tooth that prominently showed itself in her smile.

  “Um yes ma’am, I’m ok,” I replied.

  Her smile widened, and she put a hand on my shoulder, patting it.

  “You’re a good sort, but these men,” she gestured vaguely behind her, “They’re a rough bunch. Stay with your man or find me if you need to roam about.”

  I nodded quickly, and she gave me one last dazzling smile before turning her attention back to her glass.

  My attention was once again pulled away by a tap on the shoulder. I turned to Strevan gesturing towards the stairs.

  “We’ve got a room.”

  I nodded and hopped out of my seat.

  As we walked up the stairs, he looked towards the red-haired woman I’d been speaking with, and raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Nice game.” He said, one corner of his lip curling up.

  I grimaced at him, and shook my head.

  “No way. Dental hygiene is a must.”

  “That bad?”

  “You could have made a sandwich with the plaque,” I shivered.

  “Urgh— gross…” He closed his eyes, picturing the image.

  I opened the door to the room and stepped in. I looked around - A ramshackle wardrobe, stained wooden floors, and a single bed, albeit with nice looking sheets.

  “So how does this work?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Inn rooms. Do we sleep in game? Or is it a save point kind of thing?”

  Strevan opened his mouth to answer, before closing it.

  “Honestly, I didn’t think about it. I was so immersed I just did what I’d do in a tabletop game.”

  “How’d you pay for it? I thought we were broke?” I inquired.

  He smiled at me, then looked up and down my body. It took a moment for it to register.

  “Absolutely not!” I yelled, raising my arms in front of my chest.

  Strevan laughed before saying, “Kidding, kidding. I promised to help do dishes tonight.”

  I looked at him suspiciously, before finally lowering my guard. I nodded and crossed my legs regally.

  “It’s a good thing I brought my manservant.” I said, casually looking at my fingernails.

  “I live to serve,” Strevan replied, sitting next to me on the bed. We smiled at each other cheekily.

  We sat there looking at each other, and our smiles slowly faded. I saw his eyelids grow somewhat heavy, and his hand raised towards my cheek. I nearly let him reach, before I suddenly stood up, flustered, and said, “I-I’ll go find some dinner.”

  I sped off, ignoring the call from behind me, and closed the door. I covered my face with my hands, took a deep breath, and recovered my poise.

  As I stepped down the stairs, the rowdiness of the lobby had ramped up. People were chatting at every table, laughing and some were even singing. It was almost festive.

  I walked up to the bartender, and asked for some food. I sat in the only available footstool and waited. The room, while quite boisterous, was primarily of a good disposition. I heard the loud sounds of arguing over the din, originating from one table not too far from my seat.

  “I told you, you stupid bastard, we should strip that ship for parts before anyone else gets to it!” A large man shouted. His unnaturally pale skin combined with his shockingly blue hair made for a disturbing sight. His face was almost malformed, like a manikin with its face melted. He was uncomfortably close to the man he was speaking to, almost sensual, were it not for the anger clearly on his face.

  The other was handsome, with a square jawline, well groomed short hair, and dazzlingly blue eyes. He looked like a supermodel’s wet dream.

  “Get out of my damn face, freak. I can’t stand that dumbass joke character.” His hand pressed firmly on the other’s shoulder, pushing him away.

  “You don’t understand art,” The ugly man shot back. “I’ve been using this design since my first spirit-like, I’m not quitting now.” He pressed in close again, clearly antagonizing the supermodel guy.

  “No one cares!” Supermodel shouted, raising his hands up in exasperation. “You’re the only one I know stupid enough to use a joke character in VR. Look where that got you.”

  “Well…It didn’t matter in the other games…” Ugly Man said as his head lowered in sadness.

  I looked on in amusement, watching the two’s antics. But… ship? Wasn’t that ours? It wouldn’t be good if we came to fix our ship, only to find it torn apart by scavengers…

  Luckily my troublesome thoughts were brought back by food being placed in front of me. I had asked for alcohol earlier, but when asked my age, had averted my gaze. It was surprisingly quite delicious. A lamb stew with fresh vegetables, and a chunk of hard bread on the side. Flavor wasn’t much to speak to, but the texture was quite nice.

  I noticed a figure walking down the stairs, and saw Strevan looking for me in the crowd. I instinctively raised my arm to flag his attention, only to knock my dish off the side. With a cry of loss, I reached towards the falling bowl.

  It felt like electricity zapped through my brain, and my focus narrowed down, tunneled towards one singular purpose.

  Please don’t spill!

  The back of my hand emitted a bright, purple glow, a shape I didn’t recognize, and the bowl stopped midair. I stared in shock at the floating bowl, mouth agape. It slowly floated to the ground, before landing with a small clank. It was only afterwards that I noticed the bar was dead quiet. Everyone was staring at me. I looked down, and the purple sigil slowly faded out.

  I slowly raised my eyes towards Strevan. His face was a mixture of shock, awe, irritation, worry, and every other emotion I could think of. He rushed towards me, and the movement broke the quiet. People stood up, talking to each other quickly, and the two players I had been eavesdropping on looked at me hungrily.

  Strevan grabbed me by the arm and forcefully dragged me out of the inn.

  My arm aching from the force, I tried to say something, but Strevan put a hand over my mouth and hurriedly dragged me around the building corner out of sight.

  He pushed me forward until we were running, and swerved around a few streets before we finally stopped. He was breathing hard, which I found odd.

  “Are you out of your mind?” Strevan whispered fiercely, in between breaths.

  “It’s not like I meant to do that! I don’t even know what I did!” I shouted, raising my arms indignantly.

  “Keep your voice down. We need to leave.” He said, covering my mouth again. “Where did you learn to do that..?”

  I pulled his hand from my mouth and retorted, “I just told you I don’t know.”

  He rubbed his face in exasperation. “Ok. Yeah, I know you wouldn’t do that on purpose. But we need to leave, I don’t trust any of those people with reactions like that.”

  I scratched my ear before saying, “Maybe it wasn’t that special? Maybe it’s like…knowing how to play guitar or something?”

  He looked at me incredulously. “Playing guitar? Are you really equating glowing, magic superpowers to an instrument?”

  I turned away embarrassed. “Ah…yeah I guess they wouldn’t have looked at me like that if it were common…”

  “Alright, whatever, we’ll figure it out. But we need to leave town. I saw more than a couple people chase after us when we left.” Strevan said, stress obvious in his tone.

  He led towards the nearest city gate, holding my left hand. As we walked, I raised the right one, inspecting where the sigil had glowed earlier. Even in the fading evening light, I saw it.

  The faint outline of the crest was still there.