While Nessy worked the conditioner into my hair, I focused inward, pulling on the fully charged reserves of my [Reconstitution] skill. The sensation was like cracking open a dam inside myself. New sensations flooded my awareness, pooling in the places where I'd been broken for so long.

I felt old, dormant pathways in my nervous system flicker back to life. The phantom ache in my neck, a ghost of the broken neck injury, finally dissolved fully into nothingness. The dull throb behind my eyes, a constant companion since my brother's ill-fated spellchain experiment, faded away. It was like a thick fog I hadn't even realized I was living in had finally lifted.

The most startling change was the return of my sense of smell. Not just the partial sense of smell that had come back with the magic bracelet healing.

No, it came back all at once, an overwhelming sensory tidal wave. The steamy air was suddenly thick with a hundred distinct scents: the sharp citrus of the soap, the sweet floral notes of the conditioner, the earthy mineral smell of the water, the musky-clean scent of wet fur, Adelle's faint, spicy scent of ozone and cinnamon, Candace's complex aroma of fox fur and something vaguely like fresh-baked bread, and under it all, Nessy's own personal scent—a comforting blend of pine needles, summer air, lavender and something uniquely, wonderfully, inescapably her.

I inhaled sharply, my head reeling from the sudden, intense input. It was too much, too rich, too real.

"Whoa," I breathed, my eyes widening. "I can... smell everything again. Not just some things. Absolutely everything."

Nessy paused, her hands still in my hair. "Really?"

"Yeah," I said, still dazed. "You smell... amazing."

"Oh! Erm... thank you." She smiled.

"Hey! What about us?" Candace demanded from across the shower, playfully splashing water in our direction. "What do we smell like? Describe it in detail! Use evocative adjectives!"

"You smell like trouble," I said, which earned a cackle of delight from the fox. "And Adelle smells... like a thunderstorm."

"A sexy thunderstorm," Adelle corrected, striking a dramatic pose under the spray.

I chortled, feeling a giddiness I hadn't experienced in years. The world felt sharper, more defined. It was as if I'd been watching a movie in black and white and someone had suddenly flipped the switch to full, vibrant color.

It wasn't just the improved sense of smell, I noticed. I could see way more colors now, my eyes had seemingly regained greater color range and sharpness that had been lost long ago with some obliterated part of my mind.

Nessy finished rinsing my hair and turned off our showerhead. She wrapped a plush towel around my shoulders, her touch lingering.

"Go relax, order some delivery noms maybe," she said warmly. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Kay," I said, glancing back at her before stepping out of the steamy bathroom. Wrapped in a fluffy hotel robe, I flopped onto the bed and grabbed my phone. A half-dozen notifications pinged from the group chat I made with the other human captains.

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Eyyy! @Alecai🌲 How'd it go, my man?

[Alecai🌲]: Just finished the dungeon sim, guys. We won. Knocked out the Professor, got away with the treasure.

The replies came almost instantly.

[Markyrrplaya📷]: no fucking way dude. u knocked out FERN??? the scary-ass high level Pyromancer who can melt steel with a glare and wields hundreds of Elementals?

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Holy shit. How??? My team is still trying to figure out how to coordinate a basic pincer movement without tripping over their own paws.

[Listerroni👾]: Pics or it didn't happen. Seriously, how did you manage that?

[Alecai🌲]: Tactical application of a very large seal TA using mind-swapping. Also, flashbangs. Lots of flashbangs. And pepper. And an ultrasound noisemaker.

[Markyrrplaya📷]: mind-swapping a SEAL?? dude ur a madman. a genius madman! I don't even!

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: I tried giving my team a strategic plan and my lion bae just told me "strategy is for those who can't punch good." Then she tried to punch a tree.

[Alecai🌲]: I have one of those too. A cheetah. You just gotta direct her to punch things in a specific direction.

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: hm. hm. I see <takes notes>

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[Listerroni👾]: My team's idea of a plan is "everyone runs in a different direction and yells a lot." I think they call it 'dynamic dispersal.'

[Alecai🌲]: The trick is to give them roles that play to their instincts. My cheetah just wants to punch things, so she's the shock trooper. The raptor is competitive and territorial, so she's the scout and flanker. The fox binds and the dog sniffs the best way forward. It's about channeling their prad instincts and managing their skills.

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Chanelling instincts eh? I like that. Maybe I'll try telling my team our strategy is "strategic punching." They might go for that.

[Listerroni👾]: So you guys got the treasure? What was it?

[Alecai🌲]: A dragonheart hidden in a plain box. The real treasure gold chest was a fake. Fern might pull something like that on you too. I recommend using your best sniffer to sniff out the location of the real treasure.

The chat went silent for a full thirty seconds.

[Markyrrplaya📷]: a DRAGONHEART?! are u kidding me?? those things are like rare as shit n worth a fortune!

[Listerroni👾]: You got a dragonheart on your FIRST sim? WTF We got a coupon for 10% off at the school cafeteria last year with Mr. Lickshmidt!

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Oh, and before that, we got a participation trophy. made of plastic. bae was using it as a chew toy till she broke it

I smiled, tapping out a reply.

[Alecai🌲]: Guess we got lucky that Fern is a real delver. Listen, the biggest thing that helped was establishing a clear Alpha. They argue and roughhouse, but when I give an order, they know it's serious. You have to be the anchor, the strategic mind, the guide.

[Listerroni👾]: Easier said than done when your 'anchor' position is challenged every five minutes with demands for a wrestling match.

[Alecai🌲]: That's when you let your heaviest hitter handle the wrestling. Delegate! For the sim - confuse, misdirect, trap, bamboozle your opponents! Remember they're uncoordinated prads who will easily fall into a trap. Use their brash weaknesses against them, etc.

Just as I was about to type more, the bathroom door opened and Nessy emerged, wrapped in a robe and towel, her fur still damp. Adelle and Candace followed a minute later.

Nessy picked up her own phone and her face soured.

"Umm. I have to leave too," she said reluctantly. "Sorry."

"To where?" I asked, turning to the husky.

"Moonshard Plaza Mall," she sighed, twisting a damp lock of her black hair around a claw. "I promised Sage I'd volunteer at the LoomCo bookstore booth this evening along with a bunch of other Krishna monks. Almost spaced out on that with the whole crazy delving sim day."

"To do what?" Candace asked.

"Nothing too difficult. I have to play some songs to... you know, promote book sales. Sister Zheniya will be supervising."

"LoomCo?" Candace raised a silver eyebrow. "That's Sage's family's store, isn't it? The one that sells all that 'find your inner peace through overpriced incense, crystal salts and meditation books' crap?"

Nessy nodded miserably. "I promised them weeks ago, before... well, before everything. Viv and Sage are already there waiting for me."

"Don't go," Adelle shrugged, flopping onto the bed, grabbing a remote and flicking through channels on the TV. "Tell 'em you're sick. Or that you are being held hostage... or I dunno. I don't have to come up with excuses. If someone forces me to do something I don't want, I tell 'em to fuck themselves n' punch them if they persist."

"Tell 'em... That you're love sick and abducted by a biker gang!" Candace bobbed, jumping onto the bed next to me and twirling around me. "Technically true! I can totally pretend to abduct you!"

"I can't," Nessy insisted, her tail drooping. "Lots of people are coming to watch my singing, the event was announced on Pradstagram weeks ago. I don't break my promises. Even if... even if I don't want to go. Even if my friends are mostly going to shame me for picking Alec over them."

Candace watched her for a moment, her gray eyes narrowed in thought. "Hmmmm. Actually," the fox said slowly, a cunning smirk spreading across her snout, "maybe this is a good thing."

"How is Ness being forced to shill for her manipulative friends a good thing?" Addie asked.

"Because it gets us access," Candace explained, her tail starting to swish with excitement.

"Access to what now?" The cheetah yawned.

"Think about it. We need to figure out how to get our stolen music and soul-bits back from that damn Well of Severance. Going in guns blazing won't work since those fucks have high level monks guarding the temple. But, if Nessy goes there as a 'loyal volunteer,' she can observe, gather information, maybe even figure out the Well's magical weaknesses from the inside!"

"I'm not that good at figuring out magic wards with my nose," Nessy pursed her lips.

"I am really good at such with my eyes though," Candace said. "We should..."

"Go... together?" Nessy finished for the fox.

"Yepperoni!" Candace bobbed. "Go together. As one person."

"I… I'd really like that," Nessy smiled. "I don't really want to deal with everyone there by myself."

Candace's face lit up. "Attagirl!" She practically vibrated with excitement. "Alright, let's do this! Commerrr. Remember—No pushing back. You're opening the door, I'm coming in. Accept me into your heart, mind and soul."

"I know," Nessy affirmed. "And I do."

The husky stepped closer to the white-robed fox. With a shared glance, they reached for each other, their paws meeting and fingers intertwining.

Candace closed her eyes, her expression one of intense concentration. Her silver-white fur seemed to shimmer, and a soft, pulsing light emanated from their joined hands. I felt a pressure build in the air, a sense of reality twisting slightly around them.

"Bind soul," Candace murmured, her voice taking on that same otherworldly echo from before, Nessy's voice seemingly joining her, both of them speaking together as one. "Bind consciousness. Bind awareness. Two as one. Fusion!"

The light intensified, wrapping around both of them like a cocoon made of silver. For a moment, I felt a strange pulling sensation myself, as if I was somehow connected to the magical process, a distant echo of the binding rippling through our shared pack link.

Then, as abruptly as it began, the light and the sensation of my soul being wobbled sideways vanished. Candace's body went limp, slumping forward like a marionette with its strings cut. Nessy, now with one silver-gray eye, caught the unconscious fox and carried Candace's body to the nearest bed and gently tucked her in, pulling the covers up to her chin with a tenderness that was almost sisterly.

Nessy-Candace turned to me and Adelle. Then she reached up and touched her own left eye, whispering something under her breath.

A flicker of silver light traced a pattern in the air, and suddenly, the tell-tale glowing silver iris was gone, replaced by another perfect sky-blue orb. She now looked entirely like her usual self.

She then zipped to the bathroom, emerging seconds later with a high-powered magitek hair dryer. A jet of warm, scented air and a deep hum filled the room as she quickly dried her mane, fluffing her hair with her claws.

Once dry, she strode over to me. Before I could say a word, she pulled my face to hers and gave me a deep, lingering kiss. It was filled with Nessy's softness and warmth with an added bonus of Candace's confident, playful fire. When she pulled away, she didn't let go, instead pressing her cheek against mine and rubbing vigorously, marking me with her scent.

Then, stepping over to Adelle, she kissed the towel-wrapped cheetah with the same fierceness.

"There," she declared, "Now I'm ready for the trenches. See ya later, m' baes."

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