./\.+ Lycra +./\.

He watched on with rapt attention as Norton concentrated and his magic flared. Before Lycra's eyes, chopped up sections of worm morphed into thick cuts of red and white meats. The newly altered food was quickly hauled away by one of the other helpers. It was headed to the prep line, where other helpers worked. Lycra watched the deliciousness leave the room, and turned his attention back to the benevolent breadgiver. His magic flared again as he worked a new section of worm into something far more tasty.

Their walk was shorter than Lycra expected, and since arriving, Lycra had eaten two more loaves of bread, a few slices of magic meat, and a handful of mushrooms. Norton was friendly, and seemed to know everyone. It made sense. Who wouldn't want to know such a magnificent mage? Dozens of people had come and gone, and though Lycra offered to help, Norton turned him down. So he sat and watched on, trying to understand how he might be able to make a tool that could do something like Norton. He couldn't think of a way to make it work, and that impressed him even more.

Lycra was starting to get a little bored, though. When Norton used his magic this much, he had to concentrate, and their conversation had died out. Lycra still watched the magic, but had divided his attention between Norton and a simple cooling crystal. After another four sets of worm meat transformations, two new faces walked into the room. They were an odd pair. One tall woman and one short man that held hands. As soon as Norton noticed them, he dropped his skill.

"Hey! So glad you two could make it. I know you're busy. Oh!" He turned to Lycra. "This is Lycra - leader of the new group that's joined us, and he's the one to thank for the King coming back in one piece."

The woman and man lowered their heads in a nod. Lycra waved back at them.

"Hi! I'm Hugo's friend."

The woman smiled. "Brinkha, and this is Gerald. Pleasure to meet you, Lycra."

Gerald whispered to Brinkha so low, Lycra barely heard it even with his high stats. "This is really him? He's just a little guy."

He crossed his arms and huffed. "You're little too. Mean Gerald."

A blush crept up Gerald's face, and Brinkha elbowed him in the ribs.

Norton waved towards his short friend. "Please forgive him, Gerald's a bit of an idiot."

"Hey-!"

"Not the time, Ger." Brinkha soothed.

Lycra enjoyed how close these people seemed to be with one another. He casually targeted each of them with Identify - one of the best and most useful skills he'd ever gotten. Their information came in, and Lycra's eyes went wide.

"You're all F grade?"

They each turned to him in unison. Yes, they were very low in F grade, but he didn't expect so many people to have made it there. Norton made sense, he was amazing. But even Mean Gerald? It was impressive, and it gave him questions.

Gerald nodded and spoke for the group. "We had a good teacher that got us almost all the way there, and the end of the tutorial pushed us over the edge. Not that we're all that powerful, mind you. None of us are combat oriented."

Lycra held out the crystal he'd been toying with. "Me too! I make tools. This one is fun. It pulls air around itself and then cools the air and pushes it away, so if you need to keep meat cold you can put it in a box with the meat and the meat won't spoil!"

Norton smiled. "Like a refrigeration unit! Cool!"

Gerald was frowning. "If you just make the tools, how'd you save King Hugo?"

Lycra shrugged. "I'm strong. And I make good tools."

Brinkha nodded, and tapped on the ivory spear slung over her shoulder. "Our teacher made good tools, too. He made most of the weapons here, but this one's special."

Lycra felt his eyes widen in excitement. "You know my friend R-Serroc!?"

Brinkha exchanged a glance with the other two, and Norton answered. "I... think so. Really good bone crafter, fights with a mace, crazy strong, eats a ton, and sometimes he screams while he's sleeping."

Lycra beamed.

"You DO know him!"

<+=/ Jenna \=+>

"Right, but shouldn't we wait until all of our forces are assembled? I mean, we want as many people around as possible."

Hugo shook his head, and quickly swallowed the oversized bite of sandwich he'd taken moments before.

"Information gathering is just that. Between the Undercity's scouts and the talent you have brought, we possess more than adequate forces to perform reconnaissance immediately. There is no advantage lost by acting now how we are able, and acting later with the changes to what forces we may bring to bear."

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Jenna chewed on his words as much as she chewed her sandwich. The things were heavenly creations, with fluffy bread, incredibly fresh meat, and a spread of something herby that was like magic on her tongue. Her instinct was to pull all your strength together, and only then start making moves - but the King had far different ideas on troops and movements. He was probably right - but there was something comforting about the idea of having everyone together before things started happening. She pushed aside the worry.

"So, if we do that, who leads the scouts?"

Hugo blinked. "Whomever is most suited for the role. Jenna, if your concern is for your troops and officers, rest assured that their ability shall determine their responsibility. In the event you still find fault with those decisions, you and Lycra both have means to address those concerns which were written into the absorption agreement."

He was right. She was worrying, trying to figure out more details than she needed to - more than she would usually care. Most of her concern, she knew, were her own worries that she'd somehow failed to fulfill Lycra's expectations.

"And you're sure he's alright?"

Hugo nodded with the same grace and patience he'd displayed each time she'd asked the question.

"The escorts following him had orders to help him here for food if he did not end up here himself. I am certain he is somewhere in the crowd."

She sent a glance to the partially open flaps of the tent. Outside, a mass of her fellow Vuxarinans were jovially interacting. She caught glimpses of hugs, reunions, introductions, and more. A fair number of her tutorial had at least one person in the undercity they knew, and the mood was high. Compared to them, she and Hugo were sullen, still discussing business amongst the two of them as the people outside celebrated.

They finished their food in companionable silence, neither willing to broach a topic that would lead them into doing even more work than they'd already stumbled back into. Jenna was going to sleep like a rock tonight. Or today? Without sunlight, it was difficult to understand where in the day-night cycle they were.

Minutes later, the tent flaps pulled aside, and a lanky man with a seemingly permanent hunch entered, baskets full of delectable looking items in each hand. He gave a quick bow to the King before placing the items on the table. Hugo rose, and clapped the new arrival on the shoulders.

"Norton! Wonderful work to put all of this together. You have my gratitude. Jenna, this is-"

A familiar form burst through the tent flaps and hug slammed Jenna's knees.

"JENNA HI I FOUND THE BREAD MAN AND I MADE NEW FRIENDS!"

Lycra's eyes were positively shining, and he radiated a happy energy. He hopped back and pointed at Norton, as well as two new arrivals that were halfway through the tent's entrance.

"This is Norton! He has food magic. It's the best magic. We need him. And I made friends with Brinkha. She's nice and she can make storage items and we need her too. I even made friends with Mean Gerald! I don't know what he does."

Hugo gave the shortest of the new arrivals an expectant stare. "Mean Gerald?"

Gerald opened his mouth, and Brinkha elbowed him, hard. Jenna had to suppress a chuckle.

Lycra shrugged. "It's okay. I forgive him. And he knows my other friend, so he must not be a bad guy."

Gerald gave Brinkha a look of vindication, then turned to Lycra. "Thank you."

Jenna blinked. "You all know Serroc?"

Norton paused his work removing steaming pastries from the baskets to reply. "We do - and I'd say we owe him a lot. He got us free from Belar and invested the time to help us get as strong as we are now. Any friend of his is a friend of ours. Though I have to say, I think I might like Lycra more."

Lycra's eyes shone. "Thank you, bread-Norton!"

Hugo's face melted into a calm, easy smile. It was the most relaxed Jenna had seen him thus far. Granted, her time spent with him had been solely comprised of active combat, recovery travel, formal introductions, and contract negotiation. The man simply seemed more at ease with Norton, Brinkha, and Gerald there. And he expressed similar warmth towards her and Lycra. Not nearly the same as what was directed to the three newcomers, but it was there, ready to be built.

As conversation continued and they all began to tear into the pastries, she took a moment to consider the relative absurdity of her situation.

Jenna was eating magically created - or magically altered - food, which tasted absolutely divine. She was doing so in the company of the King of Vuxarina and an extraterrestrial, one of which she considered a close friend, and the other she felt she was quickly getting to the same level of comfort with. All of this was happening in a tent, far underground, within a replica of the capital city overhead, which had been painstakingly built over centuries in complete secrecy. If she had attempted to explain this situation to herself from 10 - no, even five years ago, Jenna would never have believed in something so outlandish and audacious. But here she was, and she felt... good.

She smiled, and took another bite of the steaming pastry.

#

#

After another hour or two of near-constant conversation, they were finally able to meet the people meant to take the last two seats at the table. The first through was a stunning noble lady, with a broad smile and cerulean eyes that reminded Jenna of a clear summer sky.

Hugo rose, sporting the widest grin Jenna had ever seen the king wear. "Lycra, Jenna - please allow me to introduce my paramour and partner, Vidita. I am certain you will get along."

Jenna, seated closest to the entryway, stood and began to greet the woman in the only formal way she knew how - by bowing.

"Ah, none of that, dear, please," Vidita objected warmly. "I'm a hugger." She spread her arms wide, and Jenna was wrapped into a warm, short embrace. She couldn't help but think back to Hugo's advice on dealing with the hard-headed in relationships. Vidita struck her as someone that definitely had the confidence to speak her mind about her emotions. In that way, Jenna found herself immediately a bit jealous of the kind-faced woman.

As soon as they separated, Lycra was there, hug-slamming into Vidita from the side. The woman gave him a pat, then crouched down to give him another, proper hug. Lycra squeezed her back briefly, then stepped back to lean against Jenna's leg.

"You both have my gratitude for coming to Hugo's aide. Your actions saved lives, and we are all grateful for it. I can't overstate how appreciative I am for your help. Please, tell me right away if there's anything I can do, for either of you. I mean it, truly."

She could see Lycra honestly evaluating what this woman might be able to offer to the two of them. Sometimes, he really was too direct. This was an introduction, not a negotiation.

"We will if we think of anything - but we can save that for another time. For now, let's just enjoy some food and conversation."

Seemingly reminded that there were steaming baked goods, Lycra shot back over to the table and hopped onto the chair. He gripped an oval-shaped pastry in each hand, and his eyes were glowing with anticipation. Vidita turned to the entryway.

"Come on, Tal, there's enough room for everyone."

A young man - or, rather, a boy who looked like he'd been forced to grow up far too quickly - swept away the tent's flap with one scarred hand. His injuries had been some of the few Edith - their healing mage - had been unable to fully revert. He had also taken nearly the entire journey back to heal up at all, and that hadn't left them any time for Jenna and Lycra to meet the boy. Jenna saw his eyes dart around the room and quickly land on Lycra. They carried the same kinds of emotion that closed-minded people had when they first saw Lycra. Before they had a chance to get to know him. Before their learned animosity at foreign beings made room for exceptions.

Lycra hopped off the chair and held out one hand.

"Hi! I'm Lycra. Want a pastry?"

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