Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To return home was a privilege, Wei decided, as Portia finally drew into sight on the distant horizon. He’d been away for ages-- years, maybe even a decade-- and he wasn’t sure if he’d still find Yan there, or if he’d find something completely new. He wasn’t sure what he expected at all-- a whole new town, maybe, or something as broken as most things he’d seen. He drew his jacket tighter around himself in the cool ocean breeze, thankful he had picked up something at least in Walnut Groove before booking a ride home.

“You alright there?” the man in blue-- One of the Hulu brothers, Wei remembered, not that he recalled any names-- manning the wheel asked. Wei jumped.

“Oh! Sorry, I was lost in thought.” He managed a smile, and he smoothed out his jacket once more. “Is there much longer before we reach Portia?”

“Not long at all. You excited?”

“Somewhat. Excited, worried, a mix of other emotions… It’s been a long time since I last saw Portia. Has it changed much over the last few years?”

“Oh, it’s changed plenty-- There’s a museum, the bridge to the Eufala Desert, the whole she-bang with the Rogue Knight just last year, and the start of the tunnel to Sandrock.”

“A museum? A Rogue Knight-- Never mind, I’ll hear about those once I settle in again. Sandrock, though? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Well, it was planned, and started, but… Never happened.” The Hulu brother sighed. “Something happened in Sandrock, I heard.”

“What? Something happened?”

“You’d have to ask my brother Erwa about the news-- It’s been too long since I last heard anything at this point, but he might have old papers for you.”

Wei nodded slightly, leaning on the railing again. “I’ll make sure to do that. First, I have to find my old home… Tell me, is Yan still in town?”

“Yan? Don’t think I heard of a Yan before…” the ship captain shook his head as they reached the port. “You looking for him?”

“In a way, yes. I’ve got a lot to talk to him about.” Wei stepped off the boat onto the shore. “Thank you for the ride and the talk. I’ll make sure to stop by Erwa’s place.”

“Oh, nah, you don’t have to do that. Just go to the Portia Times Office-- it’s at Central Plaza, by the Wishing Tree.”

“I’ll check it out, certainly. Thank you again.”

“Anytime. Welcome to Portia.”

“Nice to be home.” Wei walked along the coastline. Most of the landscape hadn’t changed too much, outside of the newness of the workshop. Once, it had belonged to the local builder. Now, it seemed to have been passed down, based on the extra machines outside of the factory, and the crystal trees lining the edges of the fence. A mechanical pig sat just outside, ready for a rider, but Wei didn’t bother to stop to admire the mechanics of it all. 

If something was happening in Sandrock that was enough to stop a major project like that, there was clearly something happening in the time he’d been away, and so close to Portia as well… He couldn’t help but worry at least a little. It was normal to worry, of course, and after so long of being away from home, it felt like home would be ripped away from him once again.

He pulled up the hood of his jacket as he passed through the city gates and the statue of Peach. The Commerce Guild was still there, with City Hall next door on one end and a small shop on the other side. Wei wasn't sure what was being sold, but he didn't care to check yet. He was on a mission-- getting home first.

He climbed up the hill, past the graveyard, and through some of the winding roads. There, nestled between a few other homes, was the old place he'd shared with his brother all those years ago. The flowerpot was still there, despite the plant inside having died years ago, and he dug his hand in through the dirt before he met with something metal. He didn't even move the key after abandoning me. Must have been sure I wouldn't come back. Wei unlocked the door, and it creaked open with the gentlest of pushes.

The lights flickered and buzzed as he turned them on, but he didn't mind it much. The walls were a bit of respite from the autumn chill, enough to put him at ease as he walked through the small main room (with Yan’s things strewn around and his own completely erased-- likely sold to whoever would take it-- it only felt smaller) to reach the bedrooms. One was wide open to a mostly-empty room, while the other’s lock had been busted ages ago. Wei sighed, but he still entered the room with the busted lock.

Most of the things remaining were of merely sentimental value: A few damaged things, some old relics that he'd found himself, that sort of thing. Even so, his safe had been left closed, despite the countless scratches and dents inflicted upon it. It had been a good investment, Wei decided, as he sat down beside it to dial the old combination. Despite all those years, he still had it in his head. Only Yan, after all, would forget their father's birthday. If they weren't twins, Wei reasoned, Yan would've forgotten his as well, so it was a relatively simple choice.

Inside, his few valuables hadn't been touched. He had kept just a few items there before their trip, expecting that the door’s lock would've kept Yan out for at least a moment. Hopefully, he reasoned, it had for a bit longer than that. No matter what Yan had done to his things, he at least still had the things in his safe, even if it wasn't much. He'd left a hand-me-down outfit from his father, a few hundred extra gols, a go-bag in case something like this had happened, and an extra bit of sentimentality in the ring his father used to wear all his life. He took all four from the safe, lying the clothes out on the bed before taking the go-bag and removing the razor from it. It didn’t take long for him to cut off the excess hair, shaving the beard that hadn’t been taken care of for years. With more than just a knife, it was much easier to clean up the rough edges. 

Finally, he donned the outfit from the safe, looking at himself in the mirror. For once, the face looking back was familiar, in a way. Despite the sleeves rubbing against scars uncomfortably, Wei couldn’t help but smile.

It had been far too long since he’d felt like himself. At last, looking in the mirror, he could recognize the face looking back at him.

He dabbed cologne behind his ears, setting the bottle back in the go-bag, and picked it up, slinging the strap around his body and hanging the bag off his shoulder before taking the key, the ring, the gols, and the rest of his few remaining things with him on his way out. Even with everything at home and no sign of Yan, he still didn’t feel like it was safe to just leave it there. Instead, he locked his door on the way out, and he ventured out to Central Plaza.

The school, he noticed, looked relatively new, to say nothing of the large museum just next door to the Research Center. He’d never seen it before, so to see a place that large (and likely full of relics and machinery!) was fascinating already. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time right then to pay attention-- he was on a mission, and one that had to be done before the Portia Times office closed.

The moment he entered, he was met with the smell of ink from the printing press, a rustling noise of paper, and-- almost immediately-- a very excited voice piping up. 

“Ohmygod, there’s a customer! Hi there! My name is Mei, I’m the editor of the Portia Times. It’s great to see you, mister.” 

Wei just stared, trying to catch up to her words, his hand naturally moving to his knives. A portly fellow-- almost certainly Erwa-- managed to quiet her down.

“Mei, really, he looks like he’s terrified. I’ll take care of it.”

“Alright, alright. But I really hope we can get a new customer--”

Wei took a deep breath, and he managed a smile. “Sorry. I’m just looking for some old newspapers. I heard something happened in Sandrock a while back? I’ve been… off-the-grid for a bit, so I’ve been trying to see what happened over the past few years.”

Erwa hummed a bit, and he walked to the file cabinets, checking them over for anything of the sort. “Sandrock, huh? Well, I’ve got a couple of copies of the Tumbleweed Standard… Haven’t heard anything from them in a year, though. Suddenly it was just… silent. Mayor Gale’s been worried about them, but he’s not been able to get through over telegraph. Highwind and Atara apparently got news about it around that time, but it wasn’t shared with us.” Erwa pulled a few papers out-- Thin things, with a child’s writing mixed in with the more professional typing, pictures attached on a second layer, sometimes drawn and re-printed, sometimes taken with a grainy black-and-white camera. Wei flipped through the front pages-- headlines about book reports, festivals, and world news were interspersed with local news about bandits, something called “Geeglers”, and pollution. He smiled slightly at the simplicity of it all-- how homey it felt, based on just that. Even so, going back a year, he found a familiar face staring back at him.

“...Wow, he looks just like you. Except for the mustache, that is.”

Wei sighed. “Great. Just great. Of course, he’s involved…”

“...President Yan?”

“Unfortunately, that’s my brother. And if he’s in Sandrock, I’ll bet he’s got something to do with whatever happened. Thanks for the help.” 

“No problem. I’ll be seeing you around, won’t I?”

“That’s unlikely.” Wei hefted his bag a bit higher. “I’m going to Sandrock.”

“You are?” Mei asked, overhearing. “But what if it’s dangerous?”

“I’ve seen danger before.” Wei adjusted his bow tie and gave a small smile. “It’s about time someone showed my brother the same.”

With that, he walked out of the office, thankful he’d brought his things with him, and started his journey to Sandrock.

It wasn’t easy to walk through an entire desert, especially when there was a small thriving community just on the other side of the river-- across the Portia Bridge, as they called it. A small plaque there memorialized the builders: Someone named Higgins and another builder named Brielle. Good for them, he thought, crossing the bridge without much other thought. It was well-made, at least-- nothing that would collapse under any sort of weight, nothing dangerous. However, just across the bridge, someone did manage to stop him.

“...Yan?” Yeye’s voice asked from just outside one of the buildings. “Is that you?”

“Er, no, actually. It’s Wei. Miss Yeye, I’m unfortunately not staying long, but--”

“Wei?!” Her eyes brightened. “I thought you’d died, young man! Come in for some tea--”

“I don’t really have the time, my brother was--”

“Nonsense.” Yeye took his hand, guiding him inside.

The old motel had changed plenty from the last time he’d seen it-- Not that he’d ever really spent time there before, except to chat with clients for whom Yan had booked the cheapest rooms. Yeye, for her part, had always made their stays pleasant, and sitting at the trading post downstairs with breakfast always brightened moods when they first saw the pancakes and eggs. 

“Now, you’d better tell me everything. Where have you been? It’s been years!”

Wei sat down across from her, fully aware that he wouldn’t get out of this one. “...It’s not a fun story, really. On our trip, Yan apparently paid people to abandon me in the Peripheries. I… Got a bit lost there. Not that I had much of a direction to go in, of course.” 

“Oh my. He…?”

“I made it back eventually, of course.” Wei shrugged.

“That’s horrible, Wei…” She set a hand on his. 

He still smiled. “I’m just happy your grandsons get along. If the seven of them argued, I don’t know how you would manage…”

“Now, now, don’t turn this around, young man. This is about you and your brother--”

“Ma’am, I know, but I really have to get to Sandrock.” Wei stood. Yeye stood up as well, crossing her arms. 

“Is there anything I can tell you to get you to stay for dinner?”

He shook his head, and he  set a hand on her shoulder. “No. I have to make sure that whatever Yan is doing, he’s not hurting anyone else.”

“... Alright. But stay safe.” She let him go at last, and Wei started his trek. He could feel her eyes watching him until he passed a line of trees and a tall abandoned building, at which point he lost all track of her. He just had to make it across the mountains, some more of the desert, and he'd be there. About a day's trip, all-in-all, but he knew better than to walk into a dangerous situation at night. It would be best if he waited until daylight to check it out closer, and until then, he could stay out of sight. The one problem, therefore, was scaling the mountain between the two cities. That much, he hadn't planned for when first packing a bag of essentials.

On the other hand, he had learned enough while in the Peripheries that he wasn't exactly nervous, either.

Scaling the mountain took most of the rest of the day, finding footholds and paths to make his way up despite how much the mountain fought him. It resisted his efforts, rocks breaking off under his feet and as he walked, but he didn't stop. He had a mission, and that was that.

Making it back down the other side, however, was a much easier task. With medicine already prepared, he instead nearly skidded downwards, stumbling whenever he snagged on anything only to resume sliding after just a bit. The sand made traveling in any other method impossible, but it was quick, despite the danger. As soon as his feet hit solid ground, he had to stop his heart from pounding before looking back up.

On this side, the mountain was mostly sheer cliffs and steep sandy paths. No way to go back. His only way now was to go to Sandrock.

As he surveyed the area, he had to squint to see in the last remaining rays of sun. The moon was already rising over the canyon, and despite the hackneyed bridge leading over it, Wei much preferred his chances where he was. He removed the tent from his bag, set it up with some difficulty, and climbed inside. Even without any sleeping bag, it was still much more comfortable than the craggy ground of the Peripheries. Here, he didn't have to worry about rain or snow or monsters spitting poison at him or the like. Instead, with a tent, he'd at least have some kind of warning first.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, with such comfortable conditions.

He woke up to an unfamiliar voice, as someone walked around his tent, complaining. “Stupid thing’s set up right by the moonstone too-- welp, guess it's time to do what I do best!”

He barely had time to leave the tent before they tried to jump over, instead landing in a pile of broken tent poles and limbs. Wei scrambled to his feet as fast as the new person did. Their green eyes stared back at him, sizing him up, before quickly narrowing.

“So, you ran off, huh, Yan? Duvos wasn't paying you enough? Don't expect me to give you any sympathy.”

Before he could come up with a response, a gun fired from behind him, and he went down.

Chapter Text

Logan huffed, looking over their new prisoner. “So, you're thinking that your old boss tried to run away, and you found him camping by the way to Portia?”

“Got it in one.” Malus nodded, pushing a lock of red hair out of their face. It had been a long time since they'd last dyed it, but with help from Haru, they'd been making do as of late.

“Wait, Yan's here?” Rian asked, finally reaching the others. “Oh, dude… that ain't Yan.”

“What? Of course it's Yan. I know Yan well enough he thought I wouldn't try to punch him when he let me out of that jail.” Malys crossed their arms, pouting.

“Yeah, but I've seen him without a mustache. Dan-dan and I used to babysit for Rocky and Krystal, so one time, when we had Pebbles-- eh, it's a long story, I don't have the energy to tell it all, but basically, that's definitely not Yan without a mustache.”

“Hate to say it, but I think he's right.” Logan shook his head. Mal, you might've found someone new here.” 

“Well, you're the one who shot at him. All I did was try to get past him to the moonstone. Speaking of--” They whipped out their pickhammer, and began to chip away at the mineral.

“What I'm thinking is--” Logan started. 

The CHCK of the pickhammer interrupted him, making his eye twitch. 

“I think we should--” 

CHCK, CHCK, CHCK.

“Mal, are you even listenin’?”

“Yep! You were saying... something.”

“Then can ya put away the pickhammer for one minute? We got a real problem here if we don't--”

Malus struck the moonstone one more time, and it broke. They gathered the pieces, putting them in their bag, before folding up the pickhammer and putting it away.

“Fiiiine.”

“Thank you kindly.” Logan cleared his throat once more. “So, I'm thinkin’ we either get this man on our side, or we get him on his way to get us help.”

“I can go with him, then,” Rian volunteered.

“Good idea, except we only have Merle and Rambo to ride, and neither of ‘em take kindly to strangers.”

“...right. I was just thinking I could, but whatever. I'm chill with that.”

“Alright, so--” Malus clapped their hands together. “--Either it's idea 1, or we lost Logan or Haru for a bit too-- and if it turns out this guy is dangerous, then it'd be losing them forever.” Malus shook their head. “I say we get him on our side. You gotta apologize first, 'kay?”

“You're the one who destroyed his tent,” Logan pointed out. “Besides, I just shot the rocks up there, nothing that'll actually hurt too long.”

“Still.” Malus knelt beside the prisoner, checking their bag. It didn't take long to find some strong medicine, and they knelt beside him, using it on the man's head where a welt was forming. 

It didn't take too long, at least, for him to wake up. The man jolted back, skittering across the ground.

“What-- who--” he managed, and got up, pulling a knife from his bag. “Who are you, what’s going on--”

“Hey. Thought you were Yan. Rian says you're not. Explain now or my buddy will actually shoot you.” Malus jabbed a finger towards Logan, who obligingly blew non-existent smoke away from the barrel of his gun. 

“I--” The man looked between them, sizing them up before relenting and raising his hands in surrender. “My name is Wei. I’m not Yan; that’s my brother.”

“...” Malus narrowed their eyes a bit. “...So, what business did you start together?”

“We were working as architects for a while. Eventually, Yan decided for us to pivot to working as builders, as it paid more. It was fine. Until it wasn’t.”

“What exactly did he do?” 

“Er… Well, that’s quite an invasive question. But he did steal all my things, take my money, and abandon me for dead if that counts for anything?”

Malus grinned, and they stuck out a hand. “Yep. You’re not Yan. You said something was his fault.”

“True,” Rian agreed. “Plus he hasn’t insulted anyone here yet. Nice to meetcha, Wei. I’m Rian.”

Logan looked between the others, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll trust ya, but… If you do anything, then I’ve got my eye on you.”

Wei took Malus’s hand, giving it a shake. “It’s nice to meet all of you. Are any of you from Sandrock? I was trying to see what happened there-- I saw Yan’s face in the newspaper when I got back, so I thought maybe…”

“Oh, trust me. You’ve got a big storm comin’.” Malus pulled Wei in for a hug. “But ‘til then, welcome to the team, man. Wanna meet the others?”

“Mal, this might be too quick to do that--” Logan argued. Mal, as per usual, ignored him, but Wei nodded.

“It’s quite alright, I’m not sure I really have the social ability to talk with more than a couple of people.” Wei awkwardly drew away. “I’d just like help with my tent if it’s broken…”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, that one’s my fault.” Malus laughed. “I’ll get on it. No charge, just your help, that work?”

“Wait, are you a builder, then?”

“Yep. I mean, I was, ‘til… Oh, you’ll figure it out.” They stuffed their hands deep into their pockets. “Lo, Rian, can you tell the others that we found someone? I mean, I bet Haru will have something to say about it.”

“You sure you’ll be fine on your own?”

“C’mon. I’ve beaten both of you in fights before.” Mal pushed the others away. “I’ll be fine, okay? Just go back and tell ‘em I’m okay.”

Logan sighed. “Alright. I trust ya.”

“They’ll be alright,” Rian answered. “Don’t worry, man.”

“Y’know that the others will be worried anyway?” Logan added.

“We got this. It’s fine.” Rian smiled slightly, walking off. Logan threw up his hands, following after, which left Malus with the newbie. 

“So, Wei. How much do you know?”

“About what?”

“Sandrock. What happened there. All that stuff.”

“Oh! I… honestly, I know nothing.” He reached into his bag, pulling out some extra tape. “If you get some sticks of some sort, we could likely use it and this to fix it for a bit--”

“Nah.” Malus instead walked up to the tent, disassembling it to see the poles. Only one had truly snapped, while the others had just bent.  “Looks like this is made of composite fibers. I’ve got some extra rods, I could drill a hole through one and use it as a splint here.”

“Is that really safe?”

“Better than being out in the elements.” They looked Wei over as they reached into their own bag, eventually puling out a fiber rod and a hand drill. As they screwed the drill in, they turned away a bit. “...Well, with an outfit like that, I think it’s pretty obvious you didn’t know what you were getting into here.”

“I’d like to know at least something -- How do you know my brother?”

“He was my boss, for a while there. He’s the guy in charge of the commerce guild. Then when Duvos came around, turns out he was working with them, and… Immediately ditched all of us for the highest bidder. ‘Cept, since I was the best workshop, they let me out to go make something for them-- some sort of… Eh, whatever. It’s a dumb thing I forgot about immediately. I went off to go find Logan--” They let go of the drill, and it fell to the ground. “Well, he and I tried to help Sandrock. Didn’t really work that well. So we’ve been doing little raids on the Duvos group and trying to get through to them in our own way-- We’ve done stuff like breaking holes in the prison, or taking out their airship engines, or just taking the nails out of Yan’s stairs. Whatever we can do. We tried attacking big things, but there’s only the five of us, so. Not too many people, which makes it a lot harder to do stuff.” They flipped the rod, drilling into the other half until the two holes met in the middle. “There we are! Now, I’ll just take the pole…” They picked it up, sliding the rod over the pole until the broken part was covered. “Tape?”

Wei tore off two pieces, handing one over at a time. Malus taped both ends, then stood, brushing off their hands.

“That should work for a while. I’d recommend getting a new tent soon, but I don’t think that’ll happen for a bit-- Duvos busted the Shonash Bridge and the East Line, so there hasn’t been much of any goods coming in, and I don’t think anyone really has a tent in town-- ‘cept maybe Vivi.”

“You talk a lot,” he observed.

“Yeah. My boyfriend says I talk too much, but I can tell he finds it cute. Did I introduce myself? Don’t think I did. Malus’s my name-- Fun fact, it’s actually another term for apples. Zeke would call it the genius. Wait, no-- the gene… genus. That’s it. You just met Rian and Logan-- they’re also from Sandrock, though Logan left a while before everything happened-- and then the other two are Haru and Stev. Haru’s actually from Doss, and Stev’s…” They trailed off. “I’ve been talking for a long while, do you want to go check out something or other? It’s not really safe to go near Sandrock when the soldiers are around, but--”

Wei raised a hand in a ‘stop’ gesture, and they obeyed, falling quiet immediately. “Thank you. Sorry, I’m still a bit… bad with new people, I suppose.”

“That’s fine. I’ve not met anyone new in ages, so I tend to just try to tell them everything all at once. I don’t think Lo likes it.”

“No, he didn’t seem to.” Wei nodded, and he sat down on a few rocks. “...Is there anything you tend to do when you’re not attempting to take back Sandrock?”

“Oh, loads of things. I build stuff, break it, get materials, go ruin diving-- I found out how to sneak into the Eufala Salvage stuff, and I’ve been leaving gols around for Rocky. I hope he actually gets them.”

“Mostly work, then?”

“Yeah. Work, if I actually got paid for it. I’m the gatherer and fixer for us-- Logan hunts, Haru cooks, Rian mostly keeps track of stuff, and Stev is our intel guy. So I don’t know what role you’d have, but hey! We can figure something out if you join us. But, y’know… You’d have to actually join us. Up to you.”

“I don’t see why not. You seem nice enough-- besides, if Yan’s working with Duvos… I doubt they have good intentions.”

“They captured the whole city just because they wanted to waste our water and use up whatever resources we’ve got left. So I was trying to get the supplies and such before they could.” Malus shrugged. “...maybe it’s kind of counterproductive, but I’d rather that I have a billion motors than let them use one for a war machine.”

“...I’m in, then.” Wei picked up his bag and packed away his tent. “I don’t want to see a war so close to my home.”

“Awesome. Let’s go tell the others.”

Malus grabbed Wei’s arm as soon as he'd finished packing, barely giving him a chance to get the bag back onto his shoulder before they began dragging him along. Despite the fabric of his suit, they could still feel how thin his arms were underneath-- skin, bone, and muscle. It wasn't an arm that felt comfortable to hold onto, and based on the look on Wei’s face, he didn't find it that comfortable either. They let go again before long, shaking their hand a bit.

“Your arm feels weird.”

“Um, thanks, I think?”

“It's not a compliment. Just an observation. You haven't gotten much food for a while, I bet-- Did you eat before you went to bed?” They studied Wei’s response, though his silence was all they needed to know for sure. “Nope, okay, then we can get you some breakfast. Are eggs okay? We've got a few chickens, and most of our meat is from wild monsters anyways--”

“Better than nothing. I've probably eaten worse, no matter how bad it is.”

“Oh, man, I wish I could go back in time and grab one of Grace's omelets to make you eat one-- They're so bad it's funny to watch someone eat it the first time.” Malus tried to laugh, but the thought of Grace made it hard. “... We're pretty far out, though, so it'll be a while before we get there. Might be a few fights. I was just in the area to grab some moonstones to get some better gear made-- I wanted to refine it before giving it to Logan, but it took moonstones, so… yeah.” Malus shrugged. “That's why I was there grabbing ‘em. Don't need that many, at least, so it doesn't matter much if I cut my trip short. Anyways-- there is one thing we can do to speed up the journey back a lot, but it's really dangerous.” Malus looked at Wei. “You up for trying to ride a wild Yakmel?”

“Sounds like a fun time. Why not?”

Chapter Text

Most days, life in Sandrock was much worse than it once had been, which was basically as much as Dan-bi expected from the moment that she’d lost Rian. She’d lived long enough in Sandrock to know what the place was like when things were bad-- Heck, she’d seen the place just beforehand, with Geeglers and bandits attacking-- but now? This was a new kind of bad. 

Duvos had interrupted everything, keeping their civil corps, leaders, and even Grace (Surprising to her and most others, but every time they tried to ask why her, they didn’t get a straight answer) under lock and key. They’d blown up the bridges, leading to no railroads-- something that Jensen had mourned as much as everyone had mourned Malus. They’d broken Owen’s spirit, Burgess’s heart, and Yan’s restraints, making the place quieter where it should be joyous and louder where it should be soft. 

All she had, outside of herself, was Linden. 

She kept her baby close to her, in a bag on her chest to match the one on her back. Despite her smiles, it was clear that nothing was going to touch her darling child.

Even if Linden was never going to meet Rian, she would keep his spirit alive. 

Dan-bi dashed up the hill to the Church, skirting the corners with expertise as she headed for Burgess’s usual quarters. Pen had taken over most of the dormitory, but there was still a space kept for Burgess, at least-- something Duvos hadn’t managed to take away from him. She didn’t bother to knock before entering, knowing that if she did, Pen would try to fight and Burgess would take the hits again.

“I promise I’m not-- Oh, hi, Dan-bi.” Burgess smiled when he saw her, and he hurried over to her. “And Lin-lin. It’s nice to see you too. What’s up?”

“I thought I’d check in on you. Is there anything I can do? Water needs delivering? Anything new about the schooling for Jasmine, Pebbles, and Andy? Just tell me something.”

“Well, I was going to deliver some water in a bit-- There’s not much that can be done there, but I know that Owen and Mi-an will need some soon enough for their machines and cooking…” Burgess walked back to his bed, taking a ledger out from under the mattress. He ran a finger down the page, checking the date. Summer 8. Once, that had been a day the Church would celebrate as a group, getting together to give Pen a gift or two as well as cheering him on as he went to punch out multiple creatures that threatened their town. Now, it was just another day-- Pen had Duvos, after all, and the Church wasn’t what was important to him anymore. Besides, with how he treated Burgess? Dan-bi was certain that they shouldn’t be celebrating him any more than they celebrated the day the Geeglers threw trash in the Oasis, or the day that Logan-- Well, Pen, actually, according to Grace and Trudy-- blew up the water tower. Those days had been hard on them, and every day they dealt with Pen was bad enough that Dan-bi didn’t even want to celebrate his birthday anymore.

(Not that she’d tell him. Linden didn’t need that kind of negativity in her life.)

“Yep, just those two. Want to come with me?”

“Absolutely. I’d love to. I’ll hold the doors and things.”

“Great!” Burgess put his ledger away again, smoothing out his bed before making his way to the door. The two of them hurried outside, barely evading Pen on his way back to admire himself in the mirror once more.

Didn’t he ask Malus to make that gaudy thing for him? And then he just keeps going like it’s nothing after they’re dead and gone-- After Ri-ri is dead-- How dare he?!

Dan-bi wanted to fight. She wanted to do something, at least. 

All she could do was keep going and keep looking for chinks in the Duvosian armor, places she could dig in and finally attack. With Burgess’s combat lessons on pause, he had taken to teaching her when he wasn’t preparing his own little sermons or his patrols for tree-chopping.

It wasn’t like there was anyone in town who really needed wood, after all. Just Duvos, Mi-an, and Owen’s fires. There was no need to do the latter, she’d reminded him. Burgess still did it, just to keep his routine.

(Every now and then, she wondered if it had something to do with searching for the bodies of the missing people-- if he was hoping he’d find some trace of Malus, Logan, or Haru. She’d long since given up the hope that she’d see anything of Rian.)

“So, first we have to go to the water tower, then go talk to Owen and Mi-an,” Burgess quietly stated. Dan-bi knew the drill as well as he did, but she didn’t mind hearing the reminder. It was how Burgess always acted-- an extra reminder wasn’t going to hurt anyone. 

“Yep. That’s the plan.”

“Awesome.”

They passed by the lodge, where Ernest and Jensen still stayed. Ernest had tried to leave on the train, of course, but his ticket was for the train right after they blew up the bridge to Atara, leaving him stranded with a piece of worthless paper. Jensen’s models were the closest they had to the real thing now-- small pieces of metal and plastic, never the same as the massive machines that had cut through the edge of town.

By The Stairs was still open and operational, though its goods had shifted quite a bit. Dan-bi still stopped by, buying out the stock of baby food and giving a bottle to Linden. Arvio waved at them, but he was caught up in conversation with a couple of soldiers about prices, so Dan-bi and Burgess were the least of his worries. 

Burgess walked to the water tower, drawing the barrels of water that were needed for the requests, biting his lip a bit at the level of the oasis and the water tower. They were running low, of course-- when weren’t they? The water had been stolen, the oasis had been littered in, and the town was suffering for it. 

Just part of life here, anymore…

“Okay, Dan-bi. Ready when you are.”

“I’m ready too.”

Burgess hefted the barrels in his arms, and Dan-bi hurried to help. He shrugged, finally getting ahold of them, and grinned. “Ta-da!”

“Nice one, Burg!”

“I’ve been practicing.” He jovially responded. “Let’s go talk to Owen!”

The two of them returned to Main Street, walking down the path. Dan-bi kept an eye on everything around them, checking for anything that could trip Burgess up.

The house Yan lived in was one of the few buildings that hadn’t fallen apart-- most likely because that was where he spent his money and effort, only where it went back to himself. The decking had creaked and split, certainly, but he’d still fixed it when it mattered, complaining to anyone who would listen. 

Tailor Made, on the other hand, was falling apart-- With five residents in the house, thanks to Andy’s presence, they didn’t have much room at all, and the whole place felt crowded whenever anyone else tried to enter. It wasn’t like Jasmine and Andy were there most of the time, but the place still echoed with their presence, their toys and things strewn about like mementos of the people they’d lost.

(That water tower had been made by Malus. The rocking chairs were Rian’s effort. The old fence had been put up by Logan all that time ago.)

She didn’t breathe a word of any of that, instead just holding the door open to the Blue Moon Saloon. Burgess made his way inside right after her, still carrying all the water.

“Burgess, Dan-bi, nice to see you!” Owen called out, giving them a wave. “I’ll be with you in a sec, okay? Lunch rush just got in.”

“Okey dokey.” Burgess nodded, though it was hard to see that behind the pyramid of water barrels. Dan-bi sat down, checking on Linden and letting Burgess finally drop some of the barrels on the table.

They weren’t large by any means-- About the size of her head, really-- but with so many of them, carrying them around was always a pain, and with Linden, it was hard for her to really help much more than taking a couple under each arm. 

“Whew. So, he’s got five, and Mi-an has seven…”

“Hey, Dan, how’s the kid?” one of the soldiers asked from his table. His companions almost groaned.

“Lin-lin’s doing well. She’s right here, actually.”

“Aw, hey, kiddo.” The soldier smiled. “Always nice to see a kid. Last time I saw mine was… what, four years ago?”

“C’mon, Alec, you’re bringing down the mood. It’s Pen’s birthday. We’ve got that party later-- stop worrying about the prisoner’s kid.”

“Whatever.” Alec huffed, turning back to his food. 

It took a moment for Owen to reach them, and he smiled at the sight of the water, giving Linden a little wave. “How much do I owe you, Burgess?”

“It’s the same as always-- 25 gols.”

“Great.” Owen opened his wallet, and handed over thirty. “Plus some extra as thanks for delivery.”

“Owen--” Burgess started, but Owen cut him off.

“It’s a big help. Thank you, both of you.”

“Well, we’ve got to do something else to help you then!” Dan-bi argued. Owen chuckled.

“Alright, then. If you insist, then you could always stop by Mi-an’s place and give her some food? I don’t remember the last time she stopped in for a meal, and she doesn’t have a kitchen in her place…”

“We’re headed there anyways. Just give us the food, and we’ll make sure everything gets to its rightful place.”

“Thanks, guys.” Owen walked off, returning quickly with a to-go bag. “Make sure she doesn’t pay, alright? She’s fixed enough around here that I still owe her.”

“Got it!” Dan-bi took the bag, giving Owen a thumbs-up. “Good luck here.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle this much.” He gave them a half-hearted smile, one that read like he hadn’t got a reason to smile. Even so, Dan-bi returned it with one of her own.

Within five minutes, she, Burgess, and Linden were on their way again, heading up the stairs by the Blue Moon Saloon to reach Mi-an’s workshop. She was still standing on the landing, working by the table, and she glanced up when they approached.

“Oh, hi!” She waved to them. “Is that my water?”

“Yep! I’ve got your delivery, and Dan-bi’s got your food.”

“My food?” She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Owen’s worried about you. And don’t worry, we paid for the food this time,” Dan-bi lied. “So it’s yours.”

“Aw, guys… Thank you so much. It’s so nice of you to help me out like this.” She managed a smile as she leaned on the railing, taking the water and stacking it up in a corner. “I don’t think I’d have time to run over to the Blue Moon for a meal, so this really helps.”

“It’s the least we can do. If you need it, you can always ask for it. That’s the Church’s thing, right?” Burgess clapped his hands together. “Helping the needy and all that.”

“I know, I know…” She yawned. “I just… I’ve got so much going on. It’s hard to even find time to ask for help.”

“I think you need to take a break, Mi-an.”

“How? If I let the Duvos commissions slip, then they’ll just get better quality things from Yan, and if I let everyone else’s commissions slip, then they won’t get done, and if I let anything else slip, then I don’t even know…”

“Well, you can ask Hugo for help with some of the commissions-- Or any of us, too. We’re here for you too,” Dan-bi reminded her. “Okay?”

“...Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mi-an managed a smile. “But take care of yourselves too, okay?”

“I’m doing my best, but just remember, you can always ask for help. See you Thursday, right?” Burgess asked. 

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss book club for anything.”

(It wasn’t book club. Not that they’d ever let Duvos know that much.)

Burgess gave her a thumbs-up, and Mi-an waved before she returned to her workbench, back to work before long. She had too much to do to stop. 

“...Do you want to try to stop by the jail?” Burgess asked Dan-bi.

“Not much point today… They’d probably just kick us out anyway.”

“I know. But I think that they’d like to know we’re thinking about them too.” 

“It’s okay. You can go. I think Linden needs a nap.”

“Oh, okay. Take care, Dan-bi. If you need me, you know where I’ll be!”

“And you know where I am if you need a place to stay too.”

Burgess waved as he walked off, letting Dan-bi return home. The house was cold and quiet without Rian’s warm presence, but Dan-bi had gotten used to it, much to her disappointment. She wrapped her arms around Linden.

“Let’s get you down for a nap, okay? Then we can figure out what else to do to help.”

Linden only babbled.