Nina just finished helping her last customer before closing the flower shop for her lunch break. She walked into the back room. After making herself a batch of coffee, she sat at her table. She took a sip of her coffee and then looked over her shoulder.

"I assume you have a reason for being here?"

The Wanderer walked out of the shadows in the corner of the room. His eyes glared at Nina through the shadows of his hood as he unceremoniously sat across from her. The two of them sat there in silence as Nina enjoyed her coffee.

"You know why I'm here," The Wanderer broke the silence after sitting there for several minutes.

"Ah, have you finally come to pay what you owe?" Nina chuckled.

"Owe? I don't owe you anything, lizard," The Wanderer responded.

"By my count, you owe me a bare minimum of three favors," Nina corrected.

The Wanderer glared at Nina as immense pressure attempted to weigh down on her. However, as if begging forgiveness for its transgression, that pressure instantly vanished and surrounded her in a gentle embrace. The Wanderer clicked his tongue and leaned back in his seat.

"Aren't you going to offer me a cup of coffee?"

"No..." Nina responded as she took another sip.

"Three favors is a little much, especially since I've already followed your request to tell that fool about you," The Wanderer waved his hand.

"That can hardly be counted as a favor. It works to benefit us both. You know that. I may not be able to see as far as you, but don't take me for a fool," Nina smiled at The Wanderer, who rolled his eyes in return.

"If you learned how to control your pets properly, we wouldn't be in this situation," Nina chided.

"If you and your misbegotten seed never came here, none of this would have happened either!" The Wanderer slammed his fist on the table.

The power of his slam should have reduced the small table to dust. But Nina placed her index finger on the table at the moment of the slam, and an aquamarine light engulfed it in a protective layer. Nina sighed. The Wanderer was correct. This planet wasn't exactly her first choice. If she had known The Wanderer was here doing his experiments, she would have taken a little extra time to find something more suitable.

That being said, The Wanderer wasn't completely free of fault.

"Even the most backwater planets know the hierarchy of creation. How odd that your mud monkeys are completely oblivious to it. You did not properly educate them. You haven't even properly taught them Vaylora," Nina frowned.

"They were not ready for Vaylora. They can barely figure out their religion."

"Then you should have given them something to believe in,"Nina responded.

"You really don't understand the humans here do you? Besides, properly educating them would defeat the purpose of this planet." The Wanderer responded. Nina stared at the hooded figure and then started to laugh.

"Right, your quest to create something on par with Gteju," Nina continued to laugh, much to the annoyance of The Wanderer. Nina stopped laughing, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Rejoice, you were successful, were you not? Little Myth was created through your efforts," Nina teased The Wanderer.

"Ironic, really. In your attempts to surpass your cousin, you just copied his homework," Nina laughed again. The Wanderer snarled under his hood, and the room shook under his rage. Nina continued to laugh, paying no attention to his outburst.

"If your kind wasn't his favorite pet, I'd have myself a pair of dragon-scaled boots right now," The Wanderer threatened.

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"And if I wasn't in this condition, I wouldn't be talked down to by an avatar and would have made you into a snack to accompany my coffee." Nina's eyes turned to slits as the room began to shake even more, as space itself struggled to maintain itself under the pressure of their existence.

"Tsk... enough posturing. Tell me what you actually want," The Wanderer folded his arms.

"You already know what I want. Your pets robbed me of a daughter-in-law I was quite fond of and an exceptional grandchild," Nina placed her hand in her lap.

"You want me to call in a favor... to her?"

"She's your cousin, isn't she? And two favors, actually," Nina smirked at him.

The Wanderer let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his temples. The stupid lizard was right on several points. He played with fire when he decided to use this planet as a lab for his experiments. One thing after another kept happening.

"First those Firmatha Sanguar louts found their way here, and then you? My luck really is shit, isn't it?" The Wanderer mumbled to himself.

"Did you not see either of us coming? I thought your kind was omniscient?" Nina chuckled.

"We usually are. Unless... someone else of our kind who is our equal or greater does not want us to see. That is precisely why I'm not keen on asking HER for a favor. I don't even know where she is," The Wanderer explained. He then began to mumble.

"Really? She has been a guest in the Castle of Dreams for quite some time. Just tell her you're doing me a favor, and things should be fine," Nina explained.

"She's in the Castle of Dreams? And you know her well enough that she'll be willing to do a favor for me? Really?" The Wanderer groaned at the new information he was receiving. Had he been here too long and lost touch with everything else, or was someone going out of their way to obscure his vision? He was sure it was the latter.

"All of this reeks of that son of a bitch playing games with me," The Wanderer scoffed at the thought of his cousin and his endless pranks.

"Well, your family woes have little to do with me," Nina said.

"You're one to talk," The Wanderer snapped.

"Watch it... I have no problem destroying this planet," Nina responded.

The Wanderer put his hands up in defeat. He may not like it, but he was at a disadvantage. There was too much he couldn't "see" when it came to this planet. That meant someone didn't want him to see, which meant his not knowing played a part in things to come. He sighed and folded his arms.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" The Wanderer asked.

"This is the correct way forward. He obviously agrees," Nina said with a smile.

The Wanderer nodded his head. If this was not the correct path forward, "he" would have interfered. The fact that he hadn't seen or heard anything meant everything was moving according to his will. The Wanderer clicked his tongue in frustration but quickly refocused.

"But what of your son? Are you certain he won't try to destroy everything?"

"Oh, he probably will. No, he definitely will, at least for a while. But this works out best for both of us. Doesn't it? Don't you want to test your masterpiece against my son?" Nina smiled.

The Wanderer chuckled. She was right; it would be better if the worst-case scenario happened. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to see how Mythara matched up to a real Dragon. There were also those "Tiny Tots", recent developments made them a more fascinating prospect than Mythara in some regards. The Wanderer began to chuckle to himself. There was still much they all lacked, but he was sure he could fill in for what they were missing... even if he had to directly interfere..

"What's your third favor?" The Wanderer asked.

"When the time comes, reduce the collateral to the bare minimum," she answered as she got up from the table and walked over to make herself another cup of coffee.

"That's it? I could heal you," The Wanderer offered.

"No... that isn't what's needed for my son to grow into what he needs to be," Nina sighed as she walked back to the table and handed a cup to The Wanderer. The Wanderer took a sip, and though his face was unseen, his eyes spoke a thousand words.

"How... this planet doesn't have—"

Nina pointed behind her at a small tree that bore small, odd iridescent blue fruits. Nina chuckled.

"I may be stuck on this planet, but I'll be damned if I suffer through their mediocre culinary machinations."

The Wanderer smirked as he took another sip.

"I understand you have faith in your son. And his first shedding is ongoing, but are you sure leaving him alone is the right move?"

"He won't be alone. At least not for long. I already have things in place to guide him forward. All you need to worry about is your end of things," Nina assured him.

"Very well." The Wanderer finished drinking his coffee and got up from his seat. Before he could leave, Nina asked,

"When will it happen?"

The Wanderer stood there in silence for some time before finally saying,

"Two hours," The Wanderer answered.

Nina nodded in understanding as The Wanderer's body began to break apart into digital cubes before fading away completely.

"Hopefully this is the last time we meet," were his last words to her.

"Oh, we'll meet again. I can guarantee you that," Nina giggled as she finished her coffee and returned to the front of the flower shop.

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