After a few more blueprints and discussions, Vivi picked up her crochet hook and prepared to work. The vision in her head was perfectly clear now, though reaching the final blueprint had required another hour of theory crafting. Shaping veins inside the missile's tip was easy enough. The hard part was getting ether into that tip, since it didn't have a hilt like a sword did, and the ether root couldn't extend out from the bottom, since the shaft would be in the way.

In the end, she just decided to shape the tip like a notched arrowhead. The ether roots, and the runes, would poke out from the two notches, one on each side for the two respective runes, strength and crush.

Shaping the veins wasn't too difficult, in theory, but the unusual shapes turned Vivi's first attempt into a failure. She wasn't deterred, picking up another root right away. The first root went nicely.

Adding the second root came with difficulties. With a two-runed sword, the roots were still connected firmly at the hilt. This, in turn, held the core stalk in place when the second root was to be added in, keeping everything proportional.

With the arrowhead design, the two ether roots were entirely separate, meaning they didn't hold each other in shape. Vivi had to forge a small steel contraption with jaws that temporarily held the two roots together. Even if the roots were separate, their branches and veins still had to be interconnected and proportional for when the two were eventually made into the arrowhead.

The smallest crucible Vivi had was still larger than she would have liked for the project, but it would do. She dipped the veins in with the two ends of each root poking out, still connected by the steel jaws. When the metal solidified enough, Vivi removed the jaws.

The blacksmithing process, after a small moment of rest, turned out to be rather arduous, as Vivi had to work around the two ether roots poking out of the clump of metal. Despite the arrow being far smaller than the swords she usually worked with, it took her fifteen hours to complete. She'd forged greatswords in less time than that.

But she did complete the head for the missile. At that point, she'd been awake for over thirty hours.

Vivi skipped her bath and her usual bedtime routine. She splashed some water on her face, drank a quick mug of water, and collapsed to bed. For once, Vivi didn't practice channeling ether at night. She truly required rest.

She woke up covered in sweat with her thoughts disjointed. She snuck into her raincoat and peeked outside. The daylight gems were dim. Vivi rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out whether it was morning or evening.

"It's evening, Vivi," Lucius said. "We fell asleep in the morning. It's about to become night again."

Right, Vivi thought. There goes our schedule, then.

"We lost it the moment we decided to work throughout the night."

Yes, I know, Vivi thought. Storm season is an acceptable reason to work throughout the night. Let's find Freyven and Patryn. I should have asked where they were going.

"You should take a bath first," Lucius said. He examined her skin closely. "I don't have this smelling ability you humans use, but I think people would start frowning at you if you passed them now. We are not so pressed for time that we need to avoid self-care."

Vivi sighed, but she couldn't disagree. She crammed her items, including the missile head, into spatial storage and prepared to depart to the Runes and Rain Company.

She paused at her door. Gods, I'm growing accustomed to Lortel, aren't I? Even though I have a bath at home.

"She won't complain," Lucius said. Then he caught himself. "No, actually, she definitely will complain. But she'll take care of you. That's her job."

Lucius's words, surprisingly, didn't terrify Vivi as much as it used to. Being taken care of was admittedly useful. She entered the Runes and Rain Company.

She greeted Senith, who looked tired. The usual excitement was sucked out of her, though a slight smile showed on her face as she spotted Vivi. Then Senith's face pointed down again. "Hey, Vivi," was all she said.

Vivi opened her mouth, about to say something, but found herself unable to find words. She glanced at the next room over, where Lucas usually received her from beyond his mound of paperwork.

Today, Vivi's former door butler, whose name was Undre, was there to receive her with a bow instead. Vivi bit her lip, remembering what happened to Lucas. "Sorry…" Vivi said.

"Sorry?" Senith asked. "For what?"

"About your brother," Vivi said.

Senith glowered at her. A reaction which made Vivi flinch back. "Did you harm Lucas? Did you kill him? Cause him any harm?"

Vivi blinked. "No?"

"Then don't apologize," Senith said. "Lucas knew what he was involved with. Fighting monsters, especially during storm season, isn't child's play. It's unfortunate. But ultimately, it's his own fault."

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With that, Senith exited the room, closing the door behind her. Vivi was left staring at the door, baffled.

"She looked upset," Lucius said. "Did you say something wrong?"

Vivi bit her lip. I don't know, Lucius. I have no idea.

Undre led her to Lortel. The seamstress sat on a table cluttered with paperwork. She wasn't looking at any papers though, but was channeling ether with her eyes closed instead. Upon Vivi's arrival, Lortel stood hastily. Not eagerly; Lortel never looked eager, but Vivi hoped she was happy to have a break from whatever work had been dumped onto her.

"Is Lucas going to be okay?" Vivi asked, while being bathed.

Lortel was silent.

"Is he…?" Vivi asked again.

"Lucas is…" Lortel looked like she really didn't want to answer. "He's dead. He died in his sleep."

Vivi paused, head perking up. "Oh…"

Then her head fell low.

Sullen thoughts followed. Ones that tried to berate her for not being good enough. If she'd been stronger… If she'd crafted a better sword for Lucas, perhaps he could have defeated the horde of monsters.

Vivi took a deep breath, grabbed the thoughts, and tossed the thoughts as fuel into her next project instead.

"I'm crafting something powerful," Vivi said. "Nobody else will have to fall. My Grandpa is working on stronger swords as well."

"That's a dangerous mindset, Vivi," Lortel said. "People always die during storm season."

"Not if the storms are handled with care," Vivi said. "No monster can defeat inside-carving. The proper weapon will deal with anything."

"You have not seen the monsters I have, Vivi."

Lortel continued cleaning Vivi's hair. The rest of the bath and make-up session was silent, but for one question. Lortel asked Vivi what she intended to spend the day doing. Vivi said that she'd be visiting a foundry and crafting ballista bolts. "Probably not the place for a dress," Vivi added.

"You do seem to have a knack for treating my dresses inappropriately," Lortel said. She smiled wryly. "Lady Senith and I are preparing another outfit for more casual occasions. For now, you'll have to make do with another dress."

Lortel fetched another dress, holding it out for Vivi to see. It looked like another dress made of moonweaver's silk. It followed the usual black and purple theme, though this one was slightly less flashy, though it had a mini skirt. Vivi flinched back at the sight of it.

"This one is worn with stockings and shorts," Lortel explained. "It's a more casual outfit to use wherever. Still not ideal for moving about in smithies, but if you're visiting public streets, I recommend you wear it. It's designed to be easy to swap out."

"It's fine, I'll just wear my raincoat," Vivi said, awkwardly smiling and holding out her palms.

"If you insist, I'll let you," Lortel said. "But I need you to understand your position in the city, Vivi. You're growing influential. Not just through your runesmithing—your image itself is growing famous in the city. That influence will bring you power."

Vivi opened her mouth, but Lortel continued over her. "We all know you don't like dealing with power, or influence. But like it or not, both of those things are vital if you wish to defeat storms."

Vivi gave her a look. "So you're saying that my raincoat is too ugly to wear?"

"I am saying," Lortel said, showing no reaction to Vivi's expression, "that people respect you when you wear your dress. You're mysterious. You're scary."

Despite Vivi's glower, she couldn't disagree with Lortel. She had grown to like dresses. The… respect that a good outfit garnered was nice. "Thanks for making the dress," Vivi said. "I promise to wear it one day. But I'm visiting foundries and smithies today. I will wear my raincoat. It just won't feel right in a dress."

"Very well," Lortel said. She placed the dress away.

Vivi blinked. "You're not mad?"

"No," Lortel said without much emotion. If anyone else said it like that, they would have meant the opposite, though Lortel didn't seem to be any more upset than she normally was. "Your raincoat is not flashy, but it is mysterious. People are starting to recognize you even with your casual outfit. In fact, I'd almost say your raincoat is even more interesting and mysterious than my dresses. For a reputation to form, the raincoat must be worn sparingly."

"Wait," Vivi said, taking in what she just heard. "Seriously? You think that? Should I wear the dress, then?"

Lortel snorted. "Silly girl. If wearing the raincoat makes you content, wear the raincoat. I am merely trying to manipulate your public image."

Vivi's head hurt from all the thinking. "I don't know about any of this influence or public image stuff. I just think my raincoat will help me focus, and to create the best ballistic missiles."

A smile crept on Lortel's cheeks, as if she didn't quite understand the logic, but found it amusing nonetheless. "Then wear your raincoat, miss. And go craft those missiles."

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