37 - The Burrow

Lori was fine, of course, and more than the bruised hip, it was a bruised ego that was the worst of her injuries—at least from Lori's perspective.

"You had to show up the one time I make an embarrassment of myself, didn't you?" Lori muttered, rubbing the spot Claire's greathammer had slammed into her.

Claire, for her part, had rushed over to make sure Lori was okay—to Lori's plain annoyance. Lori had spotted Ari a few moments after, and that had turned annoyance into visible agitation.

Like usual, Ari couldn't help but think how Lori's bristly pride was adorable. Though—that was a thought definitely better left not voiced.

"I don't think you made an embarrassment of yourself," Ari disagreed. "You two are really good. But … why are you two sparring so early in the morning?"

"What else would we do?"

"I don't know … hang out? Wake up?"

Even Claire blinked at Ari for that.

Ari rolled her eyes. I don't know why I even asked. Her Menagerie members were clearly as dedicated as the most ambitious of adventurers … though maybe not due to lofty dreams, but a simple lack of other goals. They might've transformed into people, but they didn't have friends, an outside life, or anything else that would serve as a distraction. All they knew was fighting.

Ari would have to change that. They ought to learn it was okay to kick their feet back and take some relaxation time.

Though, not too much. They did have things to be doing. Ari appreciated their studiousness.

"What skill was that?" Ari asked Claire. She'd noticed a few unnatural movements, and effects, that were plainly the fault of a skill. "Where you freeze up?"

Claire knew what she meant. "[Stoneskin]," she said brightly, thumping her hammer into the ground and leaning against it. "Got it last night. It's super useful!"

"Practically cheating," Lori grumbled.

"And that dash thing?" Ari asked Lori. Normally, asking about one's skills could be considered a faux-pas, but she and her Menagerie members were linked in a way most people weren't—and hopefully friends, too, so it was less rude in that aspect, as well.

"[Seek Weakness]," Lori said. "When I see an opening, I can close the gap faster."

Pretty basic skills for their respective classes—but still interesting to talk about. Who wouldn't be interested in magical abilities? The only thing that stopped Ari from talking everyone's heads off about them was the social implication she shouldn't. But with Lori and Claire, she didn't have to worry about that.

Probably? They didn't seem to mind. Ari knew she'd have to be careful about asking them to do things they didn't want to, because they viewed her as a leader in a much more absolute way than they should.

Maybe a talk about that was in order … Ari just didn't know how to go about it. It was a weird dynamic thrust onto her, and one she wasn't prepared for.

"Silvy's working, I'm assuming?" Ari asked. She shrugged her shoulders, making her pack bounce on her back. "I brought some stuff she might find useful."

"Down in the burrow," Claire confirmed. "It's really coming along."

Lori scooped up her dagger, which had been discarded in her tumble, and the three of them headed off to the burrow entrance. It was a short walk. Lori and Claire hadn't gone far to have their fight.

Ari hadn't expected much, considering she'd been gone for a single night, and Silvana was starting from scratch, without tools, a thorough plan, or even a high level. A tunnel down would've been all Ari anticipated, and not even a completed one.

That wasn't what she got. The entrance tunnel had a neat stairway down with smooth walls. It was a tight fit, but intentionally; this was supposed to be a secret entrance, not some gaping cavern anyone could stumble upon.

It went down farther than she thought, too, almost two full stories, at a guess. The sounds of the forest faded away, replaced by the eerie, echoing silence of an empty underground space. We'll have to get some furniture in here. And line the walls with something? The hollow sounds to her footsteps had Ari's nose wrinkling. Silvana was making great progress, but this was far from a comfortable home, yet.

Reaching the bottom, Ari's eyes widened as the entry room sprawled out.

"Holy crap," Ari said. "How did you do this?!"

Silvana, who had previously been working diligently away at hacking into the stone walls with a pickaxe, looked over. She wiped the back of her free hand against her forehead, smudging away sweat and with it, the dust, grime, and dirt that had accumulated from her not-so-clean activities.

"Oh, Ari. You're back."

She was also naked. Ari had given her clothes, but it made sense, she supposed, the other girl hadn't wanted to get them filthy. And while Ari had been seeing more and more intimacy with stunning girls, so she probably ought to be a little more resistant to the sight, she wasn't. Silvana's body—her curves, and the confusingly large thing between her legs—had Ari's heart rate picking up like it always did.

But she focused. "I'm back," she echoed, looking around at the room Silvana had cleared out. While far from prepared for living in, she'd cleared out a shockingly large space. Thirty feet by thirty feet? Several times larger than her room at the Guild, for sure, though that made sense, considering this was to be a room three—soon, four, or more—monster girls would be sharing. And by the looks of it, it was still expanding. "How did you do this?" she repeated, gesturing around at the room. "It's only been a day!" Funny enough, the words reminded her of what she'd said to Lori, coming back from her first night away.

Silvana blinked around the room, then shrugged. "I, uh. Dug it out?"

"But where'd all the dirt go?" Silvana must've piled it far away, because she hadn't seen any mountain of rubble near the entrance. And this much space cleared out—a mountain it would've been.

"I've been voiding it." Silvana paused. "Did you, uh, want it for something else?"

"Voiding?"

"Yeah." Silvana blinked as she realized Ari didn't know what she meant. "Like, not a skill, but … void."

Huh. She must be talking about an innate skill. Not all aspects to a person's class were explicitly spelled out. Seeing how Silvana had previously been a burrowing-ant for a dungeon, it made sense she had a skill that could get rid of rock and dirt waste. Where would a dungeon lug it all? To the surface? There'd be absolute hills of the stuff all over the place. She'd never really thought about it.

"I see," Ari said. She shrugged off her backpack. "I brought you some stuff … but honestly," she laughed, "after this, I'm not sure you even need it."