"Is she alright?! What happened? Is she injured anywhere?" He had just flown in from Nisshoki on an airship, and had run all the way until he saw the Clephsydra. When he asked how Shiloh was doing, one of her staff mentioned she was currently recuperating from exhaustion, and was not to be disturbed. He had heard bits and pieces from Nerine, who had returned from Sularia after reports of strange events taking place began there. And as time went on, more and more reports with similarities were coming from places all around the world. From Canelux, through Parvpora, until it had left the lesser of the two continents and was spotted in the land of the high elves. Shiloh had left with a group of automatons before he knew it, and when the magic seemed to settle he took a reprieve from his work to come see her here.

Like usual, hearing that she wasn't well caused him a great deal of worry. He was frantic, and wanted to see her himself–but they weren't letting him through. "I'm sorry Sir, but she needs time to rest. She has no injuries as far as we're concerned, and we've confirmed this after a lengthy physical examination. The only possibility we had left was fatigue of both the spirit and the mind. She fought like a madwoman out there. Even though she knew her power as a deity would be greatly diminished outside of Antikythera, she still gave it her all. When she wakes, you will be the first to know; I promise you." The automaton called Erasmus placed a metal hand on his shoulder as he sank into a chair. 

He was too late, like always. Part of him knew it wasn't his fault. After all, his magic wouldn't be of much help in that situation. But the guilt was still there, and it was hard to break out of that mindset. Closing his eyes, he laid back and sighed. Both of them couldn't help themselves with how they were. She was the kind to rush to the front lines if she felt she could contribute, and she threw herself into everything she did. If she didn't think she had a decent chance of surviving, she wouldn't have tried. Nevertheless, he was still anxious to see her condition. There was no doubt she would have the brooch the Goddess of Life had gifted them both after enduring the trials in the Valley of Vada. Even in her most reckless moments, she had something to fall back on.

Lying motionless on a table repurposed into a makeshift bed, Shiloh laid unconscious. Not long after she had fallen down, the damage the fighters outside had taken its toll on the magical monster. With a powerful outburst, a great deal of magic was released–sent back into the world. The rabbit itself had shrunk down to a much smaller size, and was taken by the God of Magic. Everyone was taking a well-deserved rest after that battle, and just like when Aysut had collapsed, she would be one of the last to know her efforts had not been in vain. With the massive discharge of accumulated magical energy, the spectral ferret that had followed her all the way here became corporeal. It looked no different from an ordinary ferret, and with nobody else around it hopped onto where its owner was sleeping. 

It poked its nose against her face, and pawed at her nose. Bringing its nose above her mouth, it could feel warm air. Climbing over to sit on her chest, it then started jumping up and down. When none of these actions had a response, it went over to nibble on her ears. After a while it stopped, watching closely until it could make out the subtle rising and falling of breathing. Its anxiety quelled, its ears picked up a commotion and it went to investigate. There were loud noises, and it could ear a fearful voice. The door separating it from the source of the sound was locked, but that was no obstacle for a ferret. Finding an alternate pathway, it ran around the other rooms before it came to the other side. Ducking under a seat to hide from the metal people, it scouted the area with its eyesight and nose. It spotted a new person it hadn't seen before: with hair that was shiny white. Waiting until the last metal person was gone, it quietly slunk out from its hiding place to sneak up on the one who was left. 

With a leap, it landed paws-first on their clothes, before losing its grip and slipping off the silk kimono. The man with the shiny hair almost leaped out of his own chair at the surprise attack! And when they were looking at each other eye to eye, the ferret decided it liked him. Still intent on climbing, it scampered onto his leg and sat on its back haunches. "Hello!" It said, cleaning its face with its paws. "Are you looking for someone? You look sad."  

So absorbed in his own thoughts was he that when something small and furry landed on his leg, he jumped in shock. Alarmed, his heartbeat calmed when he saw it was only a small creature. That was strange, he had never seen an animal like this here before. Shiloh wasn't one to keep pets he recalled. Even the wyvern she had was allowed to come and go as it pleased. Only rarely did she use it to send messages or bring letters. The ferret had a cute face, and its sleek yet soft features made it hard to resist taking it into his arms. The little mustelid was still determined to climb up onto him, and it did so. Getting into a more comfortable position, it began grooming itself. Just as he was about to turn his attention away, a voice called up from below. "Hello! Are you looking for someone? You look sad." 

"Who said that?" Glancing around, he thought it was one of the automatons playing tricks on him. Looking down, the ferret had its head lifted up with eyes on him. He felt a bit silly thinking of speaking to an animal, but he was alone so if he had merely imagined the voice, no one would be aware. "Oh, hello…Were you speaking to me just now?" The ferret nodded its head, and moved back onto all fours. Curling its tail about its body, it resumed cleaning itself from head to toe. "Mhm. Are you here to see her? She's sleeping right now." Confused, he asked: "Who?" The ferret pointed with a paw at the closed door he had been barred from entering. "In there. Do you want to see?" It jumped off his lap onto the ground, and stood up. Then it ran over to the door, and turned to look at him again. "I can open it for you. But don't tell anybody, ok? Pinky swear?" 

With a nod of his own, he quietly went over to where the ferret was, and watched it back up on its hind legs. Springing high into the air, it grabbed the handle with its paws, and swung back and forth. He could hear the sound of a lock turning, and with a click–the door was open. Dropping back down, the ferret nudged it wider so it could enter, and he followed it inside. Before he went to see if Shiloh was around, he made sure to close the door.

The ferret ambled over to the table the deity was on, and hopped onto the chairs. Peeking out from behind the backrest, it checked to see if the man had followed. It then climbed up onto the table top and made itself comfortable. As the man rushed to her side, the ferret scampered over to sit by her head. "She's still warm, so she'll be ok. She's tired, really tired." Pulling up a chair alongside the table, the man with the silk robe sat down to rest. "Do you know when she might wake up?" The ferret shook its head and laid it down in between Shiloh's shoulder and neck. It was quiet for a while, and the ferret was almost ready to fall asleep too. It had seen a lot of amazing things, and even tried taking on something a thousand times its size. Its first airship ride, its first time outside of the white walls, its first fight with so many other people, and so much more. All this running around made anybody tired. It was a good thing it never had the chance to see the magical rabbit when it shrunk down in size–it might have tackled it out of instinct. 

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking…" The man spoke up, and the ferret opened its eyes. "Do you know what happened? When she was out fighting, that sort of thing. If you didn't see anything, I'm sorry to have asked." Letting out a yawn, the ferret stretched its long body over its owner's neck like a furry scarf. "I saw almost everything. A lot of stuff happened. The rabbit was huge–even bigger than everybody! When we ran outside, I couldn't even see its head from where I was. I tried biting its feet, but it's ankles were bigger than me ten times over. Every time I did, it hurt but I didn't want to leave it alone. She was working hard too, all the way until she couldn't move anymore. When everything was feeling sore, she still kept coming back. But she started having trouble walking; even if she wasn't bleeding or hurt she was slowing down. Finally she fell down, and couldn't get back up. I tried to wake her up, but she couldn't hear me. Then the metal people came running, and they put her on a cloth tied around sticks. I ran after them, and they brought her back here."

Putting its head on its paws, it remembered how the automatons carried her back. She wasn't moving at all, and it was worried she wouldn't get up again. Watching them check her arms and neck, they pulled her eyelids open to see something. They were less worried after that, and they moved her around until she was flat on her back. Putting a soft blanket over her body, they turned off the lights and let her sleep. It didn't know how long time had passed since then. Whether it was one hour or three, it felt too long. It wanted her to hurry and get up again. She was always moving before, even when sitting down. It was lonely without her.

The little ferret said it had been beside her in the fighting, and he listened carefully to every word. It appeared to be telling him the truth, and there wasn't any reason for it to speak untruthfully. Its nature was very open, welcoming, and straight-forward. Amicable and lively, it was so different compared to her. It actively came to greet him, and did not shy from strangers. "Thank you. Hearing this has put my heart at ease, though not entirely. I suppose it's a persistent detrimental habit of mine." Rolling back onto its stomach, the ferret looked at him sideways. "I don't think that's bad. You're worried because you care about her. If you care about somebody, you should be worried if you think they might get hurt. It's totally normal. You only worry about things that you think are important, so she's an important person. She's an important person for me too."

He had been thinking about it for a while now, but the way the little creature put it made it unmistakably clear. "Yes, you're right. She is a very important person to me. One of the most precious people I am thankful to have in my life. We've both come a long way, and if it weren't for her I wouldn't be here. I believe she would say the same about me as well." Their tender moment of contemplation was interrupted by exclamations of delight from beyond the door. "Oh! Look, it's beautiful! What do you think it is?" A melodious voice asked. A mechanical, tinny voice with a high pitch responded in turn: "I'm not sure, it doesn't seem to match what I have stored the abridged memory banks from the bestiary. It appears to be a combination of at least three different beasts altogether."

Then a familiar voice, one he recalled as 'Galatea' gave her own opinions. "It doesn't seem to be hostile at the moment. Though how it managed to slip past us unnoticed is a subject of concern." What as going on out there? The ferret perked up, and turned its head to the door. Its previous lethargy gone, it bounded off the table to jump at the door's handle again. What could possibly make the little creature so excited? "Wait, if you open the door now they'll–" With a click, the ferret had unlatched the mechanism, swinging the door wide open for everyone to see. For its previous promise of secrecy, curiosity proved to be greater than any possible threat of being caught. Expecting them both to be reprimanded, Cymbel was left speechless at what he saw. 

The automatons were surrounding a magnificent creature–one with the body of a deer bearing branched horns with a slight curve. It was far larger than any ordinary deer, and it had a mixture of scales and fur on its belly and flanks. The scales were fine and laid flat, like the scales of a fish. It sported a silky ruff and mane, with a long scaled tail like the Ataiyan dragons. Graceful and ethereal, it had a slender face and bright phosphorescent blue eyes. The fur and scales it had were of a pure silvery white, having a pearlescent luster. What was that beast? A gentle aura radiated from its presence, and when one of the automatons reached for it, it lowered its head to allow them to pet it. The ferret was rushing at it head-on, yet the larger magical beast was not threatened. The ferret began dancing around the dragon-like deer with joy, unable to contain its excitement. 

The magical creature then lifted its head to gaze in his direction, and to his surprise he felt…a sense of familiarity. Normally seeing such a grand being would leave him in awed reverence. Yet, there was a warmth in the look that met his eyes. 

"Hello! Can I climb on your back?" The little ferret was feeling a snowball of emotions at the sight of this new creature. "Your fur is so shiny! And your antlers, scales, and tail too!" Seeing something so tall, taller than the metal people and the silver haired man was like a child seeing a great marble statue for the first time. The ferret was amazed, and wanted to make friends with it. The dragon-deer lowered itself down to give the little mustelid an easier time in leaping up. "Yes, you may. Thank you for your praise. You yourself hold such boundless energy and enthusiasm, a bright spirit indeed." Carefully, the ferret backed up to get a running start. Landing on the mystical beast's mid-back, it settled itself with better footing and triumphantly sat upon the dragon-deer with pride. Once the ferret was on, it stood up slowly so the smaller creature wouldn't fall.

"Amazing! I can see so far up here! It must be nice to move so fast without running." The two were getting along surprisingly well, but perhaps it was to be expected–with whom these two belonged to. They were different in shape and capability, but they shared much in common too. Cymbel stepped forward and realized that this was likely his magical familiar given form by the sudden changes in the flow of magic. A representation of him. "I would've never thought my familiar would be so different than hers." Gently stroking its mane, he patted the ferret waiting to be given the same attention as well. "What are your names, if you do not mind me asking?" The ferret tilted its head, and blinked at the fey. "I don't have one." The other creature nodded in agreement.

"I see. Well, I'm not entirely sure what name to give you. This is all very sudden for me…" He was somewhat troubled, but the ferret was quick to dispel those dark clouds. "That's ok! Don't worry about it. She hasn't given me a name since we first met, but she's been busy in that time too. I'm sure she's thinking about it right now! Sometimes, you just have to wait things out until the right time. That's life." Sliding off the back of the dragon-deer, it shook itself and trotted over to the door the man and it had come from. "Is something the matter?" The silver-haired man asked. "She's going to wake up soon! Come on!" Throwing a glance behind, the ferret hopped onto the door latch again. Swinging it open for them all, it was the first to run in. There was something to be said about its uncanny ability to know its owner, as sure enough–Shiloh was regaining consciousness.

She merely shifted a little, but the ferret was insistent that her eyes would soon be open. Sitting beside her head it watched and waited with an unexpected patience. Minutes passed, and what felt much longer eventually rewarded them for their wait. Stirring, her eyes opened at last. Still tired but in much better shape than she had arrived, the deity was now conscious. "Good morning!" The little ferret chimed, licking her cheek. "Somebody's here to see you."

Pushing herself to sit up, the cleric quickly came to help. "…Cymbel? When did you get here? How long was I out?" She then paused to look at the large and regal beast standing behind them both. "I just came in not too long ago. Please don't go off on your own and leave me behind, alright?" The ferret's work was done. Now pleased at their reunion, it laid down to curl into a ball. Keeping an eye on someone was hard work. But, it had been worth it. Seeing the man's smiling face was enough to make up for being tired.

"So is that your familiar? That's what they are, I think. You'd probably know better than me." Now sitting up, she leaned against the wall of the rest area on a seat. "Yes, I would suppose so. I don't remember seeing it until now." Her fiance answered. "It's really something. Like a…chimaera? No, not quite. What's the word? I know it's in there somewhere." Frowning, it looked like she wasn't fully recovered from blacking out yet.  "…Kirin. That's what I was thinking of. It's like a chimeric beast combining a deer and a dragon, varying in traits depending on the folklore source. This one looks more deer than dragon, though."

Knowing she was alright lifted a great burden off of his shoulders. But, he was a bit unhappy that she had put herself in harm's way again. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming here? I understand your concern over the effects the magical creature caused in its wake, but please don't leave me behind again. When I received word that you had left Railoch for Sidhiel, I was worried sick. Even if I wouldn't be able to heal, not knowing how you were faring would cause me to be even more anxious. You don't always have to push yourself so hard." She looked aside, not meeting his gaze. Her eyes glanced at the little ferret now fast asleep. "…So it told you everything, didn't it?" Shiloh replied quietly.

 "Yes…it said you even fainted from exhaustion. It recounted that you put up a valiant effort against the great rabbit, and had tried to wake you when you lost consciousness. Fortunately the others were able to carry you to safety." She turned away again, not saying anything in response. A long silence went on between them. They were then interrupted by the arrival of one of the automatons accompanying Shiloh in the unit that had departed from Antikythera. "Captain? We've received new information on the situation outside." Sitting erect, the deity quickly began her inquiry. "What is it? What's happening?" Flipping the pages clipped to a board, the automaton gave her report. "Our scouting units have come back saying a huge release of magical energy was just discharged in a massive explosion outside the city limits. No casualties have been noted as of yet, however the result was nothing short of extraordinary. The giant rabbit which we had all been fighting was reduced to a small, iridescent creature. Shortly after, Adraejen Porthyrius arrived to retrieve it." 

Shiloh slumped against the wall with a sigh. "So it's over. It's finally over." Taking her hand, Cymbel exclaimed: "That's wonderful! Your efforts here were not in vain. The others now can take a well-deserved rest. Though this all seems very strange to me. While I was in Nisshoki, the reports said that the rabbit was enormous–so why would it suddenly shrink like that?" "Captain, Captain!! Oh dear, where is–there you are!" A tinny high-pitched voice entered the room as a metal golem scurried his way inside. "I just heard–and you won't believe what I'm going to relay to you! A-hem." Clearing his throat, Euripides began telling them what he had learned only moments before. It was an additional update to the report they had received on what had transpired in the remainder of the battle.

"Now I still can't believe it myself, but that explosion was no ordinary accident! I heard from one of the myrmidons that they saw the Deity of Magic tell everyone to start using magic. Anything positive, so like healing or curing–the like. Everyone started doing that, and suddenly it all exploded! And when the dust finally settled, the god came to pick up a small little rabbit out of the mess."

Shiloh began to laugh in an odd way, and he was alarmed.  "Shiloh, are you alright? Why are you laughing?" Tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling, she had a wry smile. "Why am I not surprised? So all this time, what we tried to avoid was the thing to fix it all along. We went in with weapons blazing, and all we had to do was cast magic. We never had to attack the thing in the first place. It kind of makes sense now, when I think about it. It's just a big, magical fur ball. Of course magic would affect it more than anything."