"What is the meaning of this?" Cira's cold eyes bore holes into Orelia. How she shook in fear did not go unnoticed by the sorcerer.

"I must remind you—" Fitz started in an attempt to not let things get out of hand, only to be shut down by Cira.

"I have nothing to gain from fighting this withered hag." Cira was curt, having completely forgone her manners. Orelia seemed offended, but was still frozen solid. Her skin was turning red as if inflamed by Cira's mana. "What I need is answers."

It appeared as if Orelia didn't know what to say, and that was just as well, because Cira probably would not have listened adequately.

"Please relax, Cira." She snapped toward the sound of Eliza's voice, looking none too receptive. "Nobody knew this creature had anything to do with you. It was merely a hunch of Fitzgeralt's."

"Is that so…?" Cira returned her glare to Orelia, who replied with far less grace than someone her age should.

"This is exactly what I was talking about!" Impressively, she could still get mad while shaking like a leaf, "You let a strange creature who phases through walls just wander around without so much as mentioning it. Then you have the gall to threaten me for holding onto it? I wasn't even the one who found it. You're lucky it's not become the subject of some experiment or other by now as creatures who wander into Icarus often do."

Cira's eyes still smoldered, but she had to admit the lady was making sense. She turned to Nina who stared back blankly and shrugged.

I distinctly recall not mentioning Nina to anyone. I hadn't seen her, so it didn't even cross my mind. I thought she must be doing her thing somewhere, which evidently, was exactly the problem. If strange creatures actually wander into Icarus sometimes, I suppose I really can't blame anyone for acting exactly as they would on any other day. Hell, I wouldn't be mad if they did the same thing to Mac. Some small creatures are incredibly dangerous.

"Okay, I see." Cira steadied her breath. It was not pleasant seeing her friend imprisoned, but she wasn't in the right here by getting too upset about it. Wisdom, Cira. Remember your wisdom. "It appears my considerations were lacking. Come on, Nina."

Cira vanished, only to reappear on her cloud up in the center of the room. The salt nymph appeared perched on her shoulder and looked completely unphased by recent events.

"Does this satisfy my arbiters?" Fitzgeralt took advantage of the short lull. "Cira will be leaving in two weeks and will spend much of that time in the Archive or otherwise preoccupied. Is there anyone else who would like to express specific concerns that have not yet been covered?"

A few looked like they were sort of on the fence about it, but their mutterings implied they were satisfied that she was on her way out. Quite rude of them, but Cira couldn't argue. Normally her reckless behavior resulted in disaster or island-wide panic. Having a formal complaint lodged against her instead this time seemed like pretty sure sign of smooth progress.

Cira locked eyes with the High Arbiter, and he nodded back.

"Very well then," She fired up her mana to go grab some lunch at home. "I will be on my way."

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Cira hadn't gone thirsty over the past couple weeks as a lake, but she had worked up an appetite. Luckily, her pantry was all stocked from her trip to the market. And today she was feeling a little spicy.

It was a rare delicacy she hadn't seen since she was a child, but as her first meal in weeks, Cira thought it was as good a day as any.

Cloud scorpions were often called crab of the sky—mostly by those unaware of the existence of sky crabs. Regardless, the meat cooked up the same and had an almost identical texture. One key difference was its distinctly savory flavor. It lacked that salty bite and there wasn't a hint of fishiness in there. The smoke that filled her kitchen held a pleasant aroma not unlike a fine steak.

As nimbus sharks or even the elusive stromrak, cloud scorpions too were known to follow weather systems through the sky. Cira still remembered her first arachno-mammatus storm as a kid. A terrifying prospect to see a blanket of clouds covered in creepy crawlies, only to find out they were at least as large as she was when old man Gazen plucked one down. She remembered being very grateful for the safety Breeze Haven offered on that day.

Looking back on it, it sounded like a potential calamity if such a storm were to blow past any average island. Even a place like Plackelo could get decimated by a couple hundred of these things.

Those were the thoughts that ran through Cira's mind as she let the meaty claw-arm simmer in oil. All in all, Cira ranked cloud scorpion pretty high on the list of exotic delicacies.

Before long, Cira sat across the table from Nina in the garden, cracking open the embrittled exoskeleton while the nymph sipped on some juice. The meat was exactly as tender and juicy as she remembered, owing to her experience cooking crab. Still, she was relieved she didn't mess it up after all these years.

During her meal, Cira also came to a conclusion. Since she intended to spend days on end in the Archive, it would be good to take care of some business beforehand. This led her to check in with Roman who would be proctoring his class around this time.

"How nice that you should join us today." Cira still didn't like that Lilith woman, but she seemed a little toned down from the other day. Cira wondered if she was just trying to make a good impression while she still had the chance. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Cira looked around the class. Most students were busy practicing magic, and Roman was off instructing a student she recognized. Meanwhile, Nina still sat on her shoulder, curiously looking around the training hall.

"I am running out of time to master blood sorcery, and intend to seclude myself in the Archive come morning." She could almost see the excitement building on Lilith's face, "So, I thought I would stop by and see Roman."

"Sadly, Roman is tied up with private lessons for that boy you put in a squash." The pale woman shrugged as if it were such a shame. "But if you'd like, I can make some time for you after class."

It was not ideal, but Cira decided to think of Lilith as a book she didn't want to read. The unsettling old mage would surely have something valuable to teach beyond that uninviting exterior.

"Why not?" Cira tried to keep it casual, but the woman's eyes lit up. "Just don't make me regret it."

"I would never." She replied in the least convincing voice she could apparently muster. "Oh, I'm so excited! I must go prepare. Just work with the other students until the bell tolls and crush this to find me."

She disappeared in a macabre explosion of blood, but it was contained to a whirlwind-like formation that fell in on itself. Begrudgingly impressed as she was, Cira held out her hand and caught a small red bead. Clearly, this was Lilith's crystallized blood.

So, I just crush this, and it will lead me to her? Interesting, but also kind of creepy. I hope it doesn't turn liquid when I do crush it.

And can she really just leave class like that?

Cira didn't know what to do while she waited and scanned the room for a familiar face. She found Emma who seemed to be struggling with a spatial technique. Cira knew the spell as Sever, and used it often to make extra thin slices of vegetables, or even butcher meat. It appeared Emma's task was to simply cut a log in half, but the best she could to was make thin cuts in the bark.

Ah, she's thinking of it like swinging a sword or something. That technique is all wrong. I guess I ought to go help her out while I wait.

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