Now carry the girl, and get going!

"We can't stay here long, who knows what heard all that commotion." Cilla says, pointing to the **** Priestess. "Monster, you're the least worn out after all this; carry Gabbie, and lets go."

Not arguing with her logic, I take hold of the sleeping girl, and grab her staff with my tail. The Alma resting atop the engraved pole seems to have dulled, and darkened.

"Hey, is this normal?" I ask, pointing at the tip of the staff.

Zana takes a closer look as the others begin their unsteady march down the road. "I've seen this in a few of the holy texts in grandma's library... she must have strained her connection to Ariel with that spell. He should be able to re-establish contact in a day or two."

I look down to the tall, young woman in my arms; sweating profusely, even with her Vibrosis having already been treated. We catch up with the rest of the group, continuing to walk the shifting woods. The others seem horribly shaken, unable to rest their thoughts for a second; hell, even Sammy seems a tad gloomy.

Klyde, it seems, wanted to break the silence. "I... I'm sorry for freaking out back there. I've never really... you know, been shot at. Or been in a fight..."

"We can't all be bullet proof." I say, looking over to Scott. "How is your cheek?"

"Aching, but the salve helps." Says the Tailor, the graze wound on his cheek now bandaged.

My worries now worked up, I slow my pace to walk with Zana, who had been falling slightly behind. "Hey, are you alright?"

"N-not really..." She whispers, tugging at the brim of her hat. "... but, I don't want to worry Ashes."

"Well, are your legs tired?" I ask. "You're falling behind a bit."

She pulls the hat tighter. "S-sorry. I'm just... w-wobbly after it all."

"It's fine. Do you want me to carry you too?" I ask, chuckling. "Or maybe you should ride your rifle?"

Taking off her hat, and giving it a shake; her Boomstick appears from its depths. "I didn't want to use it when everyone else had to walk... but, I guess I need to keep up."

The travel continued until near sunset, where the woods finally gave way to a clear, level plane of open fields. Cilla halts the group in their tracks.

"We should camp just a bit farther ahead... Monster, do you have your Domain ready?" She asks.

I nod; having made sure to get everything she had suggested.

Once further away from the damned woods, Cilla placed down one of the tent boxes. "The portals to Domains glow a bit too much for my liking; too much attention, so we'll hide it here."

"And a tent next to the road isn't going to get us 'too much attention'?" Asks Ashes, who seemed to be in a bit of a rough mood since the fight.

"A magical glowing hole in reality, or a heap of leather to keep out the rain. Which is more tempting to loot-hungry bandits?"

"Fair enough..."

I begin to pry opened the Domain; Gabbie being taken hold of by Scott, as I take the usual full minute to finally tear open the portal; the swirling gateway gleaming in a golden display of brilliance. Heading inside, I find myself a bit... disturbed. While the building I had constructed certainly seemed to have formed, the portal took me outside of it's structure. There was a door, leading into the large, somewhat odd looking building, but what irked me was the place around the home.

It was still my mindscape. The tree, the hill, the picnic, the campfire; even the shore added on from Piper's stay in my skull. All of it was here. I rush up to the tree to see if I can find the box... but nothing shows itself to me. Heading back down the hill, the portal wobbles as Ashes enters.

"Woah! You even made an exterior!" She said, looking around in amazement.

The rest begin popping into reality, with Scott passing off the **** Gabbie back to me, breathing heavily. "What are that girl's bones made of, Tungsten?!"

I perk a brow, having had no issue carrying her. "Well, she's half Dwarf, half Amazon."

"That explains so much." Says Cilla. "My back still aches thinking about her hugs."

The unease I feel from the other's presence in this representation of my mind outweighed any comfort from the safety of the Domain itself. Even as they all pile into the house, I feel as though my deepest, darkest secrets are all on display; violating any secrecy I had, and replacing it with a slowly ticking fear-bomb.

Entering the home, I see that it formed exactly to my wishes. Main entrance and primary hallway was similar to the Runacathy; a wide, open area for lounging, furnished with chairs, couches, and tables of a few sorts, leading to a long hall, which housed each of our rooms, the kitchen, the bathing chamber, and the emergency storage. The floors were an incredibly fine wood, like I had seen on the deck of the Maiyo's Kiss, with the walls being that melted together stonework I knew mostly from Saltmoore.

Finding the room I had designated for Gabriella, I open it with my tail, entering it with a bit of hesitation; I'm not sure if I got the rooms right... The familiar sight of Gabbie's paintings from her church grace the walls, with the symbols of Ariel etched into the very stone. There is a holster for her staff, which I place the pole in question upon, as well as a writing desk for her to prepare sermons; with a large, full body mirror to practice in front of. There are mind-made duplicates of the religious texts Cilla had been teaching me with upon a shelf, which rested next to an empty, yet ornate dresser. The window, which conveniently faced toward the artifical shore, was of colored glass; depicting Ariel, with the horns of a lamb, wearing the gilded mane of a lion.

As I set down Gabbie in her bed, I hear something that lightens my soured mood.

"Eee!"

A gleeful Ashes rushes into the room, taking a few seconds to look the place over, before grasping my arm like a rabid dog, yanking me out of the room, and down the hall towards her own.

"You brilliant beast! You magnificent Monster!" She says, stopping her arm yanking once we're in her room.

The room was a clean replica of her own from Saltmoore; but with additions and space, as well as a full set of spare tools. Everything from the mannequin that held her armor, to her work bench where a dresser would be. With the added space, I managed to place a full forge, anvil, and grindstone into the mix; something she was currently swooning over.

"It feels just like home!" She says, just as she grasps a hold of me, quickly kissing me on the lips; whispering to me. "I am going to repay you so hard..."

Before any payment can be dished out, I'm dragged by the hair out of the room by Cilla; who had silently approached us without our knowledge. As Ashes continued said things like "hey!" or "cyclops!" I was plopped into my Handler's room.

Even Ashes stops her tirades once she spots the interior. "Woah..."

As if by magic, the room had no ceiling; instead a gentle green canopy of leaves from trees that could not possibly exist in this space, as they should have grown into the floors of the other rooms. The gentle chirping of unseen birds could be heard as I looked about, seeing what I believed would be the best part of the room; the several, massive, empty bookshelves, which required the attached sliding ladder to use properly. There was another writing desk, around twice the size of Gabbie's; with several spare quills in it's drawer. The dresser was wide open, with Cilla's cloak already hanging onto the golden hook I had made just for it.

Cilla is doing something I don't think I've ever seen before; smiling as wide as she can, sorting her endless collection of books for putting away.

"Oooh it even has listings on the shelves for alphabetical ordering, genre, and time period!" She says, a slight hum coming from her chest; is she... purring?

"Good job, Big Guy, you broke fuzzball." Snickers the onlooking Artisan.

"Oh he's going to break me alright..." She mutters, just loud enough to put a blush on Ashes cheeks.

Wanting to just rest tonight, I try to slowly inch towards the door; trying to escape. The two women look to each other, making a silent agreement. I groan, seeing what's about to happen.

"Can we at least use my room? I haven't seen it yet."