Alex shielded her eyes as she watched her brother's team depart the next day. Not on a dangerous hunt, no, just an 'easy' one to help solidify the team. As if they wouldn't be fighting something that could fill in as a B movie horror villain back home.

In a way, she understood. The second class she'd taught had a student who'd known they were headed for the military rather than college. In that case it had been a family legacy rather than survival pushing them on that path, but she saw a similar sense of duty here. Not that Daniel didn't have ulterior motives, it's just that as far as she could tell no one had questioned why they had to be the ones responsible for everyone else's safety.

Despite there being 'no reason to worry', she'd still given the group her blessing. Alex could vaguely sense the strange emptiness in her as if she'd just finished a marathon, despite the fact that physically she felt fine. It was odd to her that she could run out of magic this way, and yet have what people told her was a large amount of 'advancement potential' she still had to get through. To her, it seemed there should have been a way to convert one to the other if it was all magic, but what did she know?

That left her mostly free for the day. There was no need for her to work or do anything really, and while she'd talked with some of the others about the town they were in, no one was rushing her to go out while she was 'getting back on her feet'.

Alex herself felt stable now, if nothing else. The first day she was here was still something she had nightmares about. There was still grief, anger, and depression in her, but none of it overwhelmed her.

Hard as it was to admit, accepting more and more of the magic of this world into herself was part of that. The process of purposefully advancing was mentally calming in and of itself. While she'd had her fears about how the magic would affect her, it was hard to deny the sense of progress earned from doing so successfully. The power she did have also reassured her. It could help people and rely on her skill rather than make what she'd done in the past meaningless.

Alex spent a moment longer looking at the sky once the others had departed, wishing for and dreading the next chance she'd have to see home. Then she acknowledged the other person still in the courtyard with a nod.

The other brightened instantly and took that as her cue to speak. "Alex! Good morning. Your song was so beautiful."

"Thanks," she replied, trying to keep how disconcerted she was out of her voice. Spinner really didn't deserve it by her words or actions, but still. Spiders.

She felt bad for Spinner all the same. Alex hadn't gone into the town proper yet because she was working up the courage. Eido had felt like visiting a foreign country in her world, but this place was something completely different. In Spinner's case, it was that she'd be shunned at best and attacked at worst if the actions of the Talongleams were anything to judge by.

"Of course! Is there anything I can help you with?" Spinner attentively asked as if she were the concierge at a luxury hotel. The analogy wasn't that far off considering she almost constantly provided home security for the compound through her webbing. Alex's shoes would occasionally catch on one of the threads, but most were small and not sticky.

"I think I'll be fine for now. How are you?" The memory of Spinner's screams were one of the things that haunted her from that night. She'd almost sounded like a dying child, for all she'd survived her injuries without scars.

"Wonderful!" The legs of the spider half tapped on the ground in what Alex judged a happy manner. "Mistress and Willow have been so kind to me. It hasn't happened yet, but we're hopeful I'll be able to advance soon!"

"You can't now?" Alex asked, a little confused. She'd heard by now of how Spinner had come to be, and that people could reach a point that they couldn't advance anymore, but what the spider-bird had said conflicted with what she knew.

"Willow is helping me," Spinner replied with a beaked smile so grateful it would have been touching to see if the open mandibles didn't ruin it. "She has a power that helps fix souls. It works slowly on me, but she says I'm getting better every day."

"That's amazing," Alex answered honestly. For the weakest magic user here, aside from herself, to have that kind of power was astonishing. "I'm happy for you."

"Everything is going so well," Spinner said, nodding, as if a volley of arrows hadn't gone through her days ago. "Everyone is here and safe. We brought Hunter back and he's so inspiring! To do what he did alone gives me so much hope." Seeing Spinner fawn over someone Alex was still figuring out if she should consider family or not weirded her out, but not in a bad way. It was just the kind of strange she was dealing with daily now.

Alex left it there, excusing herself and heading around the side of the main house to the back area. There was a small yard that looked over a gentle slope leading to the island's dropoff. Chairs had been dragged over and while they weren't oriented well to see sunrise or sunset, it was hard to say any view of the endless sky wasn't breathtaking.

Taking a seat, Alex pulled one of the books from the library out and spent an hour or so reading. They were all mostly dry, but there was still a thrill of experiencing the literature of a society completely separate from hers, and if nothing else it helped improve her comprehension of the language. They'd have looked into checking out books from the main library in town if the church it belonged to hadn't participated in the attack on them.

Toward the end of the hour she felt the faintest of mental nudges from Lograve, the Arcanist gently asking if she'd like to talk. He was another familiar face that helped keep her grounded, but Alex wasn't in the mood and just shook her head, guessing he could see her.

Still, it wasn't even noon and Alex felt bored. What made it worse was the knowledge that this was her life now. Like she'd told Daniel, music hadn't been her only interest, just one she excelled at, and many former comforts of Earth were absent in this world. With electronics down there were no saved movies or shows, nor were there websites to help keep in touch with old friends or beaches to vacation at during summer break…

Following suggestions Quala had given her, Alex closed her eyes and slowed her breathing when the memories from home began to come too fast. It was hard advice, but the best thing she could do was try and find acceptance. Don't block it out, never forget the past, but realize the present and live within it.

That being said, Alex hadn't given up on going home like Daniel had seemed to. Lograve being unable to find a way did suggest it wouldn't be easy, but if he was all knowing Chris couldn't have done what he did.

As she was already in a semi-meditative state, Alex allowed herself to slip further into her own mind. The outside world was blocked out as she began to conceive only of herself. It seemed so easy, but then again everyone she'd talked to about advancing said it had been like that in the early stages. It would grow harder if she tried a second time every day and she hadn't done so after losing one of her potential that way, but otherwise she could reliably improve one of her attributes each day.

She went with wisdom today, as she had yesterday. Alex was culturally aware enough of games on her world to not struggle with what each attribute linked to, and she'd been advised to get everything to 10 before making a major push over that in any attribute. As she wasn't hunting her progress should be slow once she burned off the initial burst the game had given her for what she'd done on Earth.

Everything she struggled with ironically helped now. To advance something intentionally, Alex had to visualize aspects of herself tied to that attribute and seek improvement. What she'd just done to settle her nerves was one such example, and it served as an anchor on which the foundation of her next 'point' in wisdom was formed.

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It still took her over an hour to finish despite how easy it was, and when Alex left the trance her stomach rumbled. The pantry was as stocked as one could expect with a dire lion in the house, but the kitchen lacked many of the accommodations she was used to. 15 minute spaghetti was now optimistic rather than simple.

Not just because of the actual fire heating the stovetop instead of electronics either. Long noodles were somewhat difficult for the race without teeth to eat making it harder to come by here. For all her adult years Alex was not a good cook and had survived off of either her mother's charity during the occasional dinner at home or quick meals she could make in five steps or less.

A bit shamefully, Alex took an assortment of snacks into the open living room and grazed while fitfully moving around the space. She was still bored, and yet didn't feel like talking to anyone. It wasn't that she was asocial, Alex was just beginning to hate how careful everyone was being around her. At least Spinner's sunny side was genuine. Going into town tempted her once more, but she still held off. Part of her was urging to wait until she could fly, just in case she had to get back to the compound quickly. Most of her knew that was a stalling tactic but couldn't overcome the hesitation.

Then there was the thought of practicing with the weapons Daniel had given her. For self-defense only, though she hadn't taken any out of the bag of holding since she'd gotten them. The armband had been returned now that she could no longer use it, it apparently going along with the one bound to the sword to someone that could make better use of them.

Alex balked at that idea too. She didn't want to perpetually rely on others for her safety, but if she started using weapons now, would that set her on an inevitable course toward joining her brother? It sounded like the arguments she'd used against using magic at all, though in this case she knew the game gave you magic that fit what you wanted to do. She didn't want to give it any ideas about her willingness to look for fights.

Unlike Daniel she wasn't claustrophobic, but she was beginning to get a little stir crazy. I'd bother Lograve now but I know he's still trying to advance. It seems like that's everyone's focus if they can do it, which makes a bit of sense when that can give you superpowers. What will I get next? No one knew enough about her class to tell her, other than it would be music based.

She could practice more with her violin, but she was also afraid of everyone thinking that was her one thing. Alex was good, no, exceptional at it, she loved music, but that wasn't her entire life. Maybe I should look into setting up some kind of class. I could start small, hourly lessons, that sort of thing. I'm sure the kids here need some kind of outlet just as much as I do.

She'd be more comfortable trying it out with someone she knew first, and for all this Daniel had really branched out, he didn't know anyone with children. Her mind returned to Spinner as she wondered how dull endlessly patrolling the same area must be. Was it easier because she was part spider? Either way, she knew Spinner would be enthusiastic about trying out an instrument if asked because she'd readily agree to most things out of a desire to be helpful. Maybe if people see her playing music they wouldn't be so afraid.

That settled it. Alex still had the problem of only having one instrument, and for all she felt for Spinner she was too protective of her instrument to relinquish it into untrained hands. Daniel could make another when he got back, but that still delayed another topic of interest until later.

Alex was heading back to the library to double check it for anything interesting when she heard the very spider-woman's voice outside. "Hello! I, I don't think you should be here? I don't know you. Mistress and the others are away, please come back when they are here."

She peeked out one of the windows and stared at the three wooden planes and one half-bird in some kind of strange armor that had landed in the center of the compound. The man was armed but the weapons looked to be put away on his back, and there was no sign of anything on the floating objects he'd brought with them. Two were identical and looked faintly like a scaled down stealth bomber, while the third was a platform with wooden orbs on every corner.

A faint tang rose in the air and Alex saw some of the otherwise unobtrusive spider threads begin to glow. Spinner may have the personality of a golden retriever, but Alex had also been told she was on the level of Tlara and had control over electricity.

"I was invited," the potential visitor stated plainly, though he was as wary of Spinner as she was of him. "Here."

He held out a letter and Spinner briefly glanced at it before saying in a shy, quiet voice, "I, um, I'm still learning to read." Despite the attempt to hide embarrassment, the lethality in the web around her didn't diminish. Alex would have suspected her to be faking as a front had she not heard Spinner during the night attack.

Lograve, are you there? she thought, making it clear enough that he could hear if he was listening. No response, and there was no one in the immediate area reacting. Janice would be on her rounds, and the intimidating half-dragon and his girlfriend were often out. That just left her.

Funny how everyone looking out for her safety would assume someone else had it covered when something actually happened. Not that she was running for the nearest shelter she could find, but Alex was also aware of how powerful random people could be in this world. Magic being what it was, you also couldn't know exactly how someone could hurt you.

"I see," the man replied, not unkindly, though it seemed he had a naturally short way of speaking that verged on annoyance. "I am Padri Tiltfeather. I have worked with Daniel Brant before. I understand he owns this property. I have traveled far through dangerous terrain to get here on his request. Do you have any way of contacting him?"

"No," Spinner shook her head, looking around for someone to help. She did see Alex but wisely decided not to comment on that. "Someone has a sending stone that reaches him, but she'll be in town right now. Could you wait?"

"I suppose I must. Can I at least stay here? I have urgent business with him."

Spinner seemed uncomfortable with having to make the decision and did glance at Alex again, but ultimately nodded. "Alright. Please stay here, though. It shouldn't be too long."

"Let us hope so." With a sigh, the man did something to the armor around him and it parted. There was a piece on the front that looked like a tightly compressed gyroscope constantly spinning, and he removed it as he took off the armor. "I am… a Craftsman subtype. You have no need to fear hostility from me."

The electrical current surging through Spinner's web dimmed with that. She bowed slightly with her upper half and then scuttled off, clear confusion still on Padri's face as to what exactly Spinner was. Not as much aggression, though, which Alex took as a good sign.

Still, he doesn't know her. Could he be lying about working with Daniel or have they not met yet? She knew the general story from when her other brother still had the connection, but it got looser after that. Also, what's going on with those floating-

Alex froze as the eyes of Padri found her in the window. In less time than she needed to duck out of the space he'd already analyzed her and come to a conclusion. "Excuse me, you are related to Daniel, yes?"

The Virtuoso stood with her back to the wall for a moment before realizing she was being a little over the top. She walked back and tried to appear calm and confident. "I'm his sister," she called out. "Sorry, but I don't have a sending stone to him. I've heard they're a bit expensive."

"They are. Artificer-dependent items, inefficient design but there is nothing in the space that can replace their speed and convenience." Alex blinked as the tired tone in Padri's voice faded for a moment into something more conversational. "I am surprised he cannot supply them himself."

"I, uh, yeah, I don't know why either." Daniel seemed like someone who'd make a cellphone-adjacent item the first chance he got. Strange that someone who can make drones can't make them too. He said he was something similar to a Craftsman? Alex was intrigued by the mysterious visitor now that he wasn't a threat, and worst case Spinner was still watching. "Are those autonomous?"

"Sadly, no," Padri said, glancing at the platform he was still standing on. The fact that the ground was now lightly electrified was no doubt apparent to him. He then observed the surroundings and nodded at the low wall that separated the edge of the hill from the rest of the town. "The exact details I will reserve for now, but I can combine enchanted items into my work. Utility is somewhat malleable compared to the original item as well, though I have yet to explore every possibility."

"Ok," Alex replied, not entirely following. "Are those two smaller ones tied to the big one?"

The half-bird with what might be a mech suit lost some of the light from his eyes as he picked up on her ignorance of her brother's enchanting. "No. I added… I suppose you could call it a magical compass to them," he continued, explaining in simpler terms. "When used with these devices it allows them to guide themselves to the point the item was originally bound to. Not autonomous, exactly, as they stay at rest once they reach their destination."

"Oh." Alex was a bit put off by being talked down to, and nearly didn't say what she did next out of the fear that Padri had thought of it before. Wanting to not sit awkwardly in the living room while he stood there kept her going. "Have you tried adding a sending stone? They are expensive, but you could tell them what to do that way."

"That's not how it…" Quickly, Padri took out the wooden sphere he'd removed from his armor and held it in front of his eyes, which strained as they examined it. Completely ignorant to the fact that Spinner had recharged her web at the sudden movement while he did so. His head turned sharply back toward her with renewed interest. "I see. Any other suggestions?"

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