Ana didn't keep track of time. She didn't know how long she'd lain in bed, holding Messy close. But it couldn't have been all that long before steps approached the door, followed by a light knock.

"Come in," Ana said, softly enough to maybe not wake Messy. Her chest still protested anything much louder than a whisper anyway.

Touanne entered, carrying a large tray with two bowls, two mugs, and a pitcher. "How are you both feeling?" she asked worriedly as she approached and set the tray down on the side table.

"My chest and legs are stiff," Ana admitted. "Messy blames herself, but she didn't mention any pain or anything."

"I was afraid she would," Touanne said, pulling up the stool that stood next to the side table and sitting. "Blame herself, I mean."

Ana nodded. "She's carrying a lot of guilt about the changelings she killed."

"Perhaps. I couldn't say either way. We've spoken quite a bit in confidence. You understand."

"Yeah. And I appreciate the discretion." Ana looked down at the bruising on Messy's face. "How badly did they hurt her? Can you tell me that?"

"Badly enough that I need to examine her stomach before I can give her food or water," Touanne said. "Badly enough that I suspect the bonus Vitality you provide her is what kept her alive. If she agrees, I can give you the details once she wakes."

"Alright." Ana wasn't sure that she actually wanted to know. Not after what Touanne had just said. Not daring to feed her pointed to a ruptured stomach or intestine, and if the bonus Vitality was truly all that had kept Messy alive, then the beating must have been worse than Ana had imagined.

She had an idea of what Messy had gone through. Her mind flashed back about twelve years, to when an old-timer with a shopping cart had found her bleeding, half-conscious and barely able to breathe behind a dumpster. She'd survived, thanks to a free clinic, and that kind old homeless man. Just as Messy had survived thanks to Touanne, and whoever brought her here.

And whoever got her to Touanne might know who was responsible.

"Who brought her in?" Ana asked, careful to keep her voice free of anger. "I'd like to thank them."

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I only saw them for a moment, and I didn't recognize them immediately. A man and a woman. Young. Telly would know better. Now, shall we try waking her? She needs to eat, and as I said, I need to examine her first."

A scant minute later, Touanne asked Messy, "Is it okay if I examine you and discuss your injuries in front of Ana?" Ana had shifted them around so that Messy was on the side of the bed closest to Touanne; she herself sat with her feet on the floor, holding Messy's hand and with her legs in her lap.

"Alright," Messy said. Her voice was very small, and she wouldn't look Touanne in the eye. Touanne went through what she wanted to do, putting her hands on Messy's belly, then on her chest, her arms and hands, and finally on her head. Messy just nodded her assent, mutely letting Touanne examine her.

"Good. Very good!" Touanne said brightly when she was finished. "Everything is healing wonderfully."

"I'm so sorry for the trouble," Messy mumbled.

"Not at all. You have nothing to be sorry for," Touanne said gently. "This is nobody's fault but those people who attacked you. I'm just glad I could help."

"I'll pay you—" Messy started, but Touanne cut her off.

"There's no need. You didn't choose to put yourself in danger. I couldn't possibly—"

"No," Messy protested, "if I'd paid more attention, if I hadn't frozen up—"

Now it was Ana's turn to interrupt. "Touanne, please. We'll pay you." She held her hand out, palm up, and with a thought she made one of the Major Crystals in her storage appear there. "Here. I hope this covers it."

"Ana!" Touanne said, recoiling from the proffered Crystal like it might bite her. "I couldn't possibly! And that is far too much, in any case!"

"Alright, here, then," Ana said, taking the Crystal back into storage and replacing it with the Medium she also carried. "Take it. You do so much good for this community. You've healed me for free more times than I can count. And I know that you get some small amount of Crystals from your Class for healing, but you deserve to get something more in return. Let us at least repay you a little for all you've done."

Ana could see Touanne wavering under some combination of her arguments, Charm Skill, her raw Charisma Attribute, and her Motivational Speaker Perk, which made her Charm that much more effective when trying to convince someone to do something in their best interest. She went in for the kill.

"Please, Touanne," she said. "I'd feel a lot better knowing that I'm contributing to making the settlement's only Healer stronger."

Touanne looked for a moment like she was going to argue, then slowly reached out and took the Crystal, making it disappear into her own storage. "I barely did anything," she complained weakly.

"How badly was I hurt?" Messy asked. It didn't sound like she really wanted to know; Ana guessed the question was for Touanne's benefit. "I need to know. And I don't mind if Ana hears it."

"Very," Touanne said, heaving a deep, sad sigh. "Your intestine was leaking into your belly. Your liver and spleen were both bleeding, and one of your kidneys was bruised. You had two broken ribs and a collapsed lung, a broken clavicle, several sprained and broken fingers, a broken nose, and a fractured cheekbone. Both lips were split, and several of your teeth were loose — I'm amazed you didn't lose any, to be honest. And then there was the black eye and all the bruising besides."

Messy looked sick at the litany of injuries. "I shouldn't be alive," she whispered. "But I am, thanks to you, Mistress Touanne. Please don't downplay that."

"I'm sure the bonus Vitality from Ana—"

"Yes, I'm sure that helped. I'd guess I would have never made it to you if not for that. But if not for you, your potions, and your magic, could I have lived?"

"No. No, you… not with the bleeding into your belly and your lung. No."

"So Ana may have let me make it this far. And her Party Ability let me recover a little faster. But it was you who saved my life. Thank you, Touanne. Thank you." Messy held out her free hand. Touanne took it in both of hers, and that was the end of the argument. Touanne left a moment later, leaving the tray with the food and drink

"We need to thank whoever intervened and brought you here," Ana said as they ate their porridge. "Touanne said Tellak would know, but I'm guessing she's not here."

"She would have come to say good morning," Messy agreed. "But I'm sure she'll be back soon. She spends a lot of her time here, when she's not with Jancia."

"Are they looking for a new Party?" Ana asked, actually interested. She hadn't talked to Tellak about Delving much since the white obelisk fell, but she had seen Tellak fight. The woman did so with the serenity of a warrior monk, a point of calm and stability in the chaos of battle. Ana simply couldn't see her being content to remain as Touanne's assistant for long, no matter how deep their friendship had grown.

"Yeah," Messy confirmed. "Either a Party to join, or new members."

"Maybe they should talk to Kaira, Tor, and Om," Ana said. As she did so she reflexively checked the state of her own Party, finding them all alive and well. She didn't have any notifications, either, so they must not have fought after she left.

"I don't know," Messy said, frowning with the half of her face that wasn't stiff with bruising. "Irry and Tellak don't get along great."

"Really?" Ana hadn't seen anything like that. Though she could see it, when she thought about it. Between Tellak's calm stability and Kaira's impulsiveness and mercurial temper, things were pretty much guaranteed to go one of two ways: either they'd balance each other out, or they'd wear each other down. Listening to Messy, it sounded like the latter. "Well, that's too bad," Ana concluded. "They'll need a scout of some kind."

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"How about Ray?" Messy suggested, and now it was Ana's turn to frown. "Maybe," she said. "But I liked having her along, and she worked well with the others. I don't want anybody poaching her."

Messy gave her a small, hesitant smile, the first one Ana had seen from her since her break-neck run back to the outpost. And even if it was uncertain and half-forced, it was a wonderful thing to see. "Well," Messy said slowly, "for a small Party they'd probably want a more combat focused scout anyway. But what's this I see? Jealousy? From you? Should I be worried?"

"You know you shouldn't," Ana said seriously, reaching out to put her hand on Messy's. "This is different. I don't—"

"Yeah, I know, Angel," Messy said, her smile widening a fraction as she put her other hand on top of Ana's. "I was just teasing."

They finished their breakfast in silence, but the whole time it was clear that Messy wanted to say something. There was an anxiety to her, both in her body language and in her aura, and Ana could think of a few things that might be the cause.

"About what we said, before you left," Messy started. Then she hesitated and fell silent again.

Ana stiffened. There was only one thing Messy could reasonably be referring to. "You want to talk about that now? After you almost died?" she asked, her voice flat to hide the hurt and anxiety that the subject brought with it.

Messy wilted slightly. She knew what that flat voice meant better than anyone. But she visibly gathered herself and pressed on. "We need to talk about it sometime. And it's not as bad as you fear. What I wanted to say was… I think we should put it off for a while. I still think we should try me — what was the word? Dismissing you?" She frowned slightly again. "That sounds horrible. Let's say I should try to do what's necessary for me to leave your Party for a time. Nothing else would change. We'd still be together, and I'd still love you, but I need to know. You understand? I need to know that there's something real here, and that it's not just the System keeping you with me. But not yet. I… I'm scared, Angel. The anger and… and hate in those people's eyes, I… they almost killed me, Angel! They tried! They pulled me down and they kicked and they stomped and…"

Messy's voice quavered, her eyes brimming with tears, but she swallowed it down. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and continued. "I'd be an idiot to ask that we try this now. They're still out there, and maybe others like them. Gods only know. The Vitality and the… I don't remember what your Enhancement is called, that lets you handle pain."

"Fight Through," Ana supplied.

"Right. That. If I'd had to really experience the pain, I don't think I could have put up even the pitiful defence that I did. They'd have killed me before anyone came along and scared them off. So, no, I don't think I can go out there without your protection, whatever form that takes. But, Ana… they attacked me to get to you. We both know that. And I'm not saying that it's your fault. I know you think that it is, but it's really not. But that doesn't change that I'm… if you have a weakness, I'm it. Aren't I?"

"Messy…" Ana said, not knowing how to continue. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to tell Messy that she was wrong. But she'd promised not to lie to her, and so she didn't know what to say.

After a few seconds' silence Messy said, "I don't know if they wanted to provoke you, or just to hurt you, or if they weren't thinking at all and just saw me as a convenient extension of you. But they hurt me because they couldn't hurt you. You suffered because I couldn't defend myself, and I… I hate that. I hate that you suffered because of me. I love you, Angel. And that's why I think we should try; why you shouldn't be bound to me by anything that doesn't come from you. I can't live with the idea that… that I make you vulnerable in any way, when I could so easily free you. I love you too much to let them hurt you, if it isn't real. If you still feel the same without your Ability influencing you, then… gods, that would be wonderful. And if not… but we have to try, okay? Later. When things are safe again."

Ana wanted to refuse. She wanted to tell Messy that it was pointless; that nothing would change, that what she felt was too real and too wondrous to come from any outside source. But she couldn't. For all her certainty, she didn't know. There was only one way to know for sure. Besides, she'd already agreed.

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly, a witch's brew of emotions roiling inside her: rage and sickness at Messy's pain; fear that she might feel any different without Devotion, and fear that she'd feel exactly the same; and relief, incredible relief, that Messy was putting off her dismissal.

"You need to promise me, Angel," Messy said, her red-rimmed eyes seeking Ana's. "Once we know that I'm safe, we have to try. For a week, at least. I have to know. If I'm going to be your weakness, if you're going to suffer because of me, I have to know that you're suffering for something real."

"Okay," Ana said again.

The word was poison in her mouth.

A little later, Ana reluctantly left Messy at Touanne's. Messy was still on strict bed rest, and Touanne would have preferred that Ana stay with her, but as much as it comforted Ana to be there for Messy she couldn't just lay there and do nothing.

As she went out to check if Tellak was back yet — no way was she leaving Messy undefended — she met Wandak drinking some of Touanne's in the storefront. Word had gotten out about the attack, and the extensively pierced Swordsman — Level 21, now — had apparently come on his own accord to check on Messy. And when Tellak had asked him to watch the place while she was away, he'd readily agreed.

Wandak had always been reliable. And while he was a devout follower of the Wayfarer and very much identified Ana with her role as the Chosen, he wasn't weird about it. When Ana thanked him on her way out he just smiled, the stud in one of his dimples catching the light just so, and said, "A friend asked me to watch over a friend. How could I say no?"

And so, Ana set out to set things right. A group of Stolen had hurt Messy. Less importantly, they'd defied Ana's command to keep the peace. There needed to be consequences.

Her first stop was the guardhouse. On the off chance that the perpetrators had been caught already, or even turned themselves in, things would be simple. She might even find herself feeling merciful, depending on what they had to say. It was unlikely, but not impossible.

She recognized the guard on the door — she recognized all the combat- and hybrid-Classers at this point — but she didn't know his name. He knew hers, though, because of course he did.

"Miss Ana!" the young man said. "Good to see you up! The captain asked that anyone who saw you send you up to him."

"Thanks," she said noncommittally. She'd resigned herself to being a target of gossip for as long as she stayed in this Splinter, but seriously! She'd only been out of commission for a single night — twelve hours at most — and apparently everyone knew about it.

She didn't go right up to the captain. She had nothing against him but she had her own business to deal with, and from what the guard said it sounded more like a request than an order. Frankly, despite having been one of the leaders of this little place for a short while, she didn't know if the captain could demand much of anything from her; she was pretty sure that all he could do now that martial law had been lifted was ask.

She passed the few guards and Delvers using the common room, returning a wave or two and ignoring their curious looks as she crossed to the stairs at the back of the building. Instead of going up to the captain's office, she went down to the cells. The guard here was one she knew better than most: Sira. The Peacekeeper was reliable and no-nonsense, and while they weren't friends Sira made sure to attend all of Ana's martial arts sessions. Ana liked her.

"Miss Ana!" Sira greeted her, putting aside the book she'd been reading and standing up from her chair. "Morning! Haven't seen you for a couple days."

"Morning, Sira," Ana said, looking into two cells that opened into the guard room. Each was sized to house four people in something resembling humanitarian conditions, but they were both empty. Beyond Sira, a doorway led into a hall with four more cells, each shut tight with a heavy door. That was where the traitors were kept. "Has anyone new been brought in since last evening?"

"Afraid not. Thought that might be why you're here, honestly. Word about Mestendi spread fast." Sira's voice softened. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She is," Ana confirmed. "Thanks to whoever it was that helped her. I don't suppose you know who they were? I'd like to thank them."

"Not a clue. I wasn't on duty when it happened. The captain would know who reported it, though." Sira gave Ana an apologetic half smile. "I, ah — all of us, really — I'm supposed to ask you to go talk to him if I see you. Like… I think I'm supposed to insist."

Ana sighed. "Of course you are."

"Listen, Ana," Sira said, dropping the "Miss" and taking a tentative step forward. "I don't know what you're feeling, but I think I can guess what's going through your head right now. Please talk to the captain before you do anything, alright? Nobody's going to get in your way, but please, at least talk to him."

Ana scowled. She liked Sira. She didn't like how obvious her own intentions must be, but all she got from the Peacekeeper, through her admittedly weak aura or Sense Motive, was earnest concern. She believed Sira when she said that she wouldn't stand in her way, but she also didn't want Ana to do anything hasty.

Ana found herself not wanting to disappoint the woman. Fine. If all it took to avoid that was a short conversation with a man she respected, she could do that.

With a curt nod, Ana said, "I'll talk to him." Then she turned and walked back up the stairs

A conversation. That was all she'd promised. And if Falk could talk her out of hunting these people down, then either she wasn't as furious as she thought — which was unlikely — or he had some very good arguments.

Upstairs, Marra's door stood open, as it always did, the soft sound of a pen scratching on paper floating out through it. Out of habit Ana approached Marra's office first, and as always, despite her treading softly, Marra greeted her without looking up from whatever she was writing. "Good morning, Anastasia," Mistress Falk said, finishing her line and putting down her pen before lifting her face. "I was sick to hear about Mestendi. But Miss Mirell and Mister Varron said that they'd brought her to Mistress Touanne, so I trust she's fine?"

"Morning, Marra," Ana said, standing in the door. "She'll heal. But fine? No. She's… shaken. Badly."

Something dark passed over Marra's face. "I can imagine. If it were up to me… but I'm glad to see you're here; we were about to send people out to find you. You're here to speak with Tober, yes?"

"The guards keep telling me he wants to talk to me, yeah. Is he in?"

"He is. You know the procedure."

"Knock and go right in. Got it," Ana said, turning to do just that.

"Ana?" Marra said from behind her.

Ana turned her head, looking back over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Tober can be very forgiving. Very understanding. Remember that."

"I will," Ana said, a hint of a smile finding her lips. Marra's words could have been interpreted at least two ways. The darkness in the older woman's eyes made it quite clear which one she'd meant.

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