Shadow Slave

Some time later, they were standing in front of a makeshift cabin. Just like Changing Star's patchwork dwelling, the cabin was constructed out of mismatched stone blocks that had been scavenged from the ruins. It was reinforced with monster hides here and there and seemed to be built slightly better than the rest of the hovels in the outer settlement.

There was a large bestial skull hung above the door, its thick forehead split apart by a devastating strike of some sharp weapon.

Glancing at the skull, Nephis took a step forward and knocked on the door. However, no response followed.

Sunny sighed.

"Maybe she's not home."

Instead of an answer, Changing Star frowned and banged on the door with her first. The first strike was somewhat gentle, but by the last, the bestial skull was on the verge of flying off the wall.

A sleepy and irritated voice sounded from the inside:

"I swear to gods, whoever you are, you'd better be a Nightmare Creature!"

A few moments later, Sunny heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Before it opened, though, Nephis suddenly spoke:

"Sunny, turn away."

Hearing a strange urgency in her voice, he scowled and did as she had asked.

"Your shadow, too."

'What is going on? Are we expecting trouble?'

As he was staring away from the cabin, the creaking of wood informed him that the door was flung open.

"Who the hell is… oh. It's you."

He swore he could hear Neph's teeth grinding against each other. A few seconds later, Changing Star spoke, her tone especially flat:

"...Put on a Memory, Effie. Please."

'Wait… what?'

Why would she… oh…

Oh!

When he was finally allowed to turn back, the last glimmers of ethereal light were yet to disappear from the fabric of Effie's provocatively short chiton. She wasn't wearing anything underneath, either.

"Here. Better?"

bronze cuirass with leather pteruges, as

and shiny the other two look, I'm

at Cassie, then said in a reserved

said, the ambiance there is… well… an acquired taste, I

Effie grinned.

Anyway, how

Star motioned at the

"Can we come inside?"

huntress glanced back,

"Sure. Why not?"

it didn't seem that lavish, but once it hit Sunny that each of the furs had come from the corpse of a Nightmare Creature,

probably the most extravagant thing

only imagine what went on between

'Pure thoughts, Sunny! Focus!'

curios that the huntress had scavenged from the ruins over the years. There was no particular logic to this opulent collection except for the fact that each object had once caught her fancy for this reason or

them were seated, Effie returned to her pile of furs, wrapped herself in one of

so important that you had to come and wake me up this early in the

morning?

a few moments, then

hunted since the day we

then said in

back into the ruins once my food runs out. Which will be in a day or two,

enough to feed a person for a couple of months. It was all gone already?

Changing Star nodded.

with us. Be our

certainly doesn't beat around the

be this direct. He had always imagined this conversation taking much longer before

at them, then threw her head back and laughed out

good one! Do you want me to be your nanny,

her laughter died down, she shook her

just arrived in the Dark City. You are as green as it gets. Best hunters out here wanted me to become a part of their party,

with a serious

part to eat and sells the rest to the people in the slum. But because of your Flaw, you can't allow yourself to do the same. You need all

Effie smiled.

see someone has been doing their

her head a little and, not paying any attention

can solve

solitary huntress