5. Ren Makes A New Friend

Ren stared up at the Child of Light, her heart hammering in her chest as flashes of his stories flickered through her mind's eye, as he grinned at her, his ruby eyes sparkling. She knew sometimes he could be savage, but she could trust him. She knew, too, that he was genuinely heroic. Unlike—

"Well done!" said Merlin, reaching down to pull Ren up by her arm. Suddenly she felt very aware of the ragged state of her thin pajamas. "For a minute there I thought you were trying to replace me, but instead you've summoned a solid, obedient Servant. And he'll fit right in with the fluffball, too!"

Cú's eyes narrowed as his grin vanished. "You." Then his gaze went back to Ren. "So this is one of those wars where you've got multiple Servants, huh?" He sounded a little disappointed.

"I think so," said Ren breathlessly. "But you're my first."

A slow smile crept over his face again. "Am I now?" He tilted his head toward Merlin, who still held Ren's elbow. ��How do you explain him?"

"Who?" asked Ren, and then blinked. "Oh, him." She glanced at Merlin, noticed the teasing smile in his eyes, and flushed. "Well, he's not a warrior and he didn't come through that portal, so if he is here as my Servant, he's Servant Zero."

"Hey, that sounds pretty cool. I like it!" said Merlin, releasing Ren's elbow. A wave of disorientation promptly passed over her and she swayed until suddenly her head bumped into a muscular blue chest.

Cú's arm curved around her shoulders. "Calling me took a lot out of you, eh?"

As in response, Ren's stomach grumbled loudly, and Cú laughed. "Well, easily fixed—"

He stopped as Ritsu wailed, "Oh no! I didn't even think of that!"

Raising his eyebrows, Cú glanced down at Ren, whom he still held close. "Your apprentice?"

Weakly, Ren said, "Ah… our employer… possibly. Our hostess, definitely."

Tears brimming in her eyes, Ritsu said, "I don't have any food! I ate the last of what I had this morning. And nobody can get any more because the stupid Irregulars. They burned the fields and they're staking out the berry farm."

Cú gave a low whistle. "And you're all civilians? Nasty."

Ritsu nodded. "Everybody but me, now. They're doing it because of me. To try to get me to come out." She set her jaw. "But I won't. Not until I can fight them and win."

Ren frowned, pulled away from Cú's arm and walked over to the younger girl. But before she could say anything, Ritsu glared up at her. "There's no point in surrendering, you know? They'll just make me one of them. They've done it before. And I'd rather die than give up like she—I'd rather die." Her little face twisted in anxiety. "But I have to do it soon or else my orphans are going to starve too."

"Hey, hey, little miss," said Merlin, tugging on her orange ponytail again. "My defensive and offensive capabilities may be weak but when it comes to picking berries, I'm A-rank. In a little bit, I'll go get something. That is, if my young lady can bear for me to leave her sight for a while?" He raised his fair eyebrows at Ren.

Ren glanced back at Cú and then at Merlin. "Sure. Why not go right now? The sooner I get some food in me, the sooner we can deal with these Irregulars."

"You see," said Merlin to Cú, smiling faintly. "Our new mistress is even more rash than you. I hope you're up to keeping her alive. But! For now, food is the topic. Food. Fuel. Mana."

Ren stiffened, remembering their earlier conversation. Merlin said mana with such relish she couldn't help but dread whatever was coming next.

Cú, on the other hand, looked surprised as he apparently suddenly focused on the mana issue. "This… can't be stable. Unless…"

"Little miss, could you explain to us how you channel mana into your foxette?" said Merlin deliberately, laughter threading through his voice.

Ritsu looked between the three taller people, and her arms tightened around her furry companion. "I pet him, and brush his hair, and give him baths. There's special ribbons—"

"Wait a minute," Ren demanded. "I thought you harvested mana from your familiar, not the other way around."

"I do both," said Ritsu. "The grooming interaction creates a mana charge, which the familiars absorb. Then I pull the old wool out of the brush and roll that up into a ball and save it for later. It isn't any good to them anymore, but it can be used to for more summoning, or to fuel all sorts of other magic."

"There we go," said Merlin, beaming. "I hope you packed a hairbrush, Child of Light. And with that, I'll be off to befuddle some Irregulars and pick some fruit." He bowed, his pale hair falling over his eyes just as Ren recognized something in them.

"Hey—" she began uneasily, but Merlin had already dematerialized. She frowned. "I'm pretty sure he was hiding something."

Cú stretched. "I can figure out what it was, and given the company, I don't blame him. Don't worry about it for now, my lady. I have plenty of strength yet." He paced over to Ritsu and crouched down to inspect the foxette in her arms. "Hmm… This little one's a pretty potent mana converter, too." He scratched the foxette's ears and it jumped out of Ritsu's arms, scrambled up to his shoulder and rubbed against his face.

Ritsu said, "Hey!" and then subsided, staring in wide-eyed fascination as Cú laughed. "Are… are you two charging each other?"

"Eh?" said Cú. "Oh, nah. He needs you in particular for that. We're just making friends. To be honest, I was thinking about going out and taking a look at these Irregulars you mentioned. I have a feeling they won't be much of a challenge. But I don't think this little guy is much protection, is he?"

"Not at all," said Ritsu, an echo of old annoyance in her voice. "I mean, it's okay now because my second one is a lot more useful." She beamed at Ren with proprietorial pride.

Ren, hungry and tired, tried to smile back and then went to sit against the wall. She certainly understood the girl's feelings. She felt that way herself when she looked at the tall, strong spearman she'd summoned.

She had a little trouble believing that she could refill his mana reserves just by brushing his hair, though. Hair brushing, petting, bathing… She could feel her cheeks warming. Even she could see the pattern under all those things. Intimacy.

The thought both attracted and frightened her. It wasn't something she felt capable of in her current situation, and yet if her current position demanded it… Well, she'd come here to help out. She knew that in her bones. So everything else ultimately had to serve that goal.

Besides, hair brushing itself couldn't be that bad. Strangers styled strangers' hair everyday. She knew that the same way she knew the village was of an older style, that the castle was broken, and that she had to find better clothes.

Ren visualized unbinding Cú Chulainn's long tail and running her fingers through it. Then Merlin's pale head interposed itself in her mind's eye. She caught herself thinking about how soft his hair looked. Scowling, she shook the thought away. That one wouldn't need her mana. And maybe Cú wouldn't either.

She closed her eyes to shut out the view of the tall man as he quizzed Ritsu on the local situation, and almost immediately fell asleep.