Did we always agree? We still don't. Was everything perfect? Of course not.

  But it's hard to stay angry when you know the other person is truly sorry. It's hard to fight when you can feel each other's pain. I'm sure we had our moments, but in the end we were always there for one another.

  ~ * ~

  As Phelann closed the conference room door behind the three of them Seb noticed a change in her posture. She still seemed irritated but a tension seemed to have left her.

  "Thank you for this," she said as they sat. "What they had out there was undrinkable."

  "You're welcome," he answered as he sipped from his drink. "We knew we were going to be late, I hoped it would help make up for that."

  "For being late, yes." She took a sip of her coffee and he saw a smile flicker across her face for a moment. "But not for the extra time I had to deal with Sean. I now know more about local minutia, including food choices, than I suspect I'll ever need. He even tried to give me advice on how to work with you, all while mentioning how impressive it was that I was a Senior Seer at such a young age. As though I was some child to be praised."

  She paused, her breath catching audibly as she jerked upright and clenched her lips, her eyes clearly focused on the wall between them.

  "But that is not why you are here," she finished, her tone flat and affectless.

  Seb glanced at Anya, their band slipping into place instinctively.

  I know we felt he was a lot, but this sounds…

  Anya nodded imperceptibly before speaking up.

  "We apologize, it was inconsiderate of us to be delayed without finding a way to notify you. However," she drew the word out. "You mentioned that meeting here was typical. With our access to a Portal is there any reason it could not be at your usual offices and spare you the inconvenience?"

  That would avoid Sean, and let us see what non-Earth looks like, he sent along with a dose of excitement before noticing that Phelann did not seem nearly as happy with the suggestion.

  "No, that is quite alright." Her tone had warmed, but was still filled with tension. "I mostly spend my time researching, there isn't really much of an office at all. I wouldn't want to impose and make you travel all that distance through the Headquarters."

  "Perhaps a dedicated office in our Holding then?" he suggested before Anya could say anything further.

  Where? We have no rooms!

  We are about to go see them, we add it to the plans.

  At what cost though?

  We were adding rooms anyways Anya, and if it avoids ever speaking to Sean or leaving her dealing with him?

  "I could not accept such a-" Phelann began uncertainly.

  "Nonsense. A designated room for Seer business. I know Holding Lys has several such, although I am fairly certain that they are retainers and not Council members."

  Phelann seemed to consider the offer before focusing on her coffee. "And would there be coffee?"

  Seb laughed, clearly surprising her.

  "Of course. I'll make sure there's water and a coffee machine in the room, along with beans so you can make as much as you want."

  Seb… she sent with a tone of resignation

  You don't think our Seed can feed a Water Creator for coffee?

  Probably? But-

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  She seems to really like coffee, and really dislike a lot of other things, he pointed out.

  I noticed.

  "A dedicated Seer's Council space with coffee. Yes. That would be acceptable. There is precedent," she eventually answered with a sharp nod, her eyes finally meeting his once more.

  Anya?

  Fine. He could feel her urge to roll her eyes through the band and did his best not to grin.

  "Seer Phelann, Holding Syl will provide a dedicated office for your use. We will ensure you are authorized through the Portal as and when you need. We trust in your discretion and that you will make use of the space only for Seer business."

  "Lady Lysanya, or would you rather Sovereign even if your holding is not yet formally announced," she began.

  "Lady, if we are being formal. Sovereign still feels like my mother," Anya answered.

  "Lady Lysanya, I accept your offer of a dedicated office space for my work with you and yours."

  "The space will be yours to use for your duties as a Seer," Anya clarified. "We do not expect you to feel obligated to leave the office if you are there simply to deal with some interruption."

  "That is very gracious of you," Phelann answered. After a moment she set her drink down and looked at them both. "I assume you will let me know once the space is ready?"

  "Of course. We will ensure that the Engineers reach out to you to confirm it is set up to your liking. We likely will be diving much of the time between now and our next meeting so they will better be able to keep you informed. I will make sure that you have access through the Portal regardless. We can use one of the existing rooms next time if the office is not yet ready."

  Phelann nodded before clearly moving on to the next topic.

  "How has your month been? And what questions do you have?"

  No Seb, questions wait until after we summarize, Anya sent right as he turned to look at her.

  Fine, he sent with a sigh.

  They spent the next several minutes describing their experience Diving and then the practice they had been putting in while working on their Husks. By mutual agreement they made no real mention of their relationship, they didn't hide the fact that they shared a single tent but did not go into any details. They were not going to hide the fact, but they felt no need to advertise it either.

  Anya had put more effort into ensuring she incorporated Energy Techniques while training against practice dummies, she still refrained while they sparred due to the level difference and Seb's ongoing attempts to get used to combining physical and Energy disciplines at the same time. His efforts on the other hand were more focused on figuring out how to crystallize his Energy and keep it stable based on his Specialization options, and simply using Energy when doing more than throwing a basic punch. It was getting easier to maintain Energy flow while acting but not nearly enough to be usable.

  Question time? Seb asked.

  Yes Seb, you can ask your questions now.

  He smiled, he knew he didn't have to ask, that it was perfectly fine to ask questions at this point, but he enjoyed the feeling of her being amused at his apparent need for confirmation.

  "I don't think Anya has any particular questions this time but I have a few about my Path. I'm guessing I need an actual weapon for weapon imbuements?"

  "Typically yes," she answered. "In theory you might manage to imbue your own fists or feet and use them as your weapons but that would take significantly more effort to do consistently."

  "And Bladesong is the same, I need a weapon, ideally a bound weapon so I can have it emit naturally?"

  "Once again, yes. A bound weapon will make your life much easier based on that Advancement Option, bypassing a fair number of the challenges most Awakened face with Bladesong, in particular at lower levels of advancement."

  "The last two questions sort of tie in to that then. What exactly is Bladesong, you said it affects the battle, but not how. And what qualifies as Hindering?"

  "Hindering first, it is slightly easier to explain," Phelann answered after a moment. "Energy Techniques that linger on your target and weaken them, or keep harming them. It is essentially the opposite of the option Lysanya had for beneficial energy techniques."

  "So slowing them down, restraining them, burning them, blinding them, leaving them worse off until the Energy dissipates?" he asked, wanting to make sure he'd understood.

  "Essentially. As for Bladesong, I wish I could tell you more specifically what it does but the information I have is not the most reliable or in depth. It is said to empower the wielder and their allies, to make them better, greater. Whether that meant stronger, faster, or something else entirely was never clarified. The same is said about opponents, it makes them worse, lesser."

  "All the records say the same?" he wondered aloud.

  "No, some say better, some say greater, some say it outright harms their foes and heals their allies, others that it changes the course of battle without any overt effect. The only thing they agree on is that it is a challenge to learn and extremely potent if mastered."

  Did that help? Anya asked, clearly trying not to laugh at his obvious frustration.

  It helped encourage me to figure out how to get a weapon, hopefully a bound one. Obviously I'm not going to master emitting Bladesong anytime soon.

  The Vault maybe?

  Seb took a moment to think back to what they'd found. Maybe? I guess we should go back through the options when we get home.

  "Thank you very much for your time Seer," Anya said as they rose.

  "I'm sorry I was not of more help with your question about Bladesong, if you wish I'll look further to see if I can discover any hidden details."

  "I would appreciate that, but please, don't put yourself out on my account. I haven't even managed to create Bladesong yet."

  "As you wish," she answered as she led them back to the elevators. Seb noticed her tense as she glanced down the hallway but Sean's door was shut. They parted with a commitment to meet once more in a month, this time at the Holding.

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