Thoughts, Coffee, and Opportunities

The somber mood that settled over everyone was not to Senka’s liking. She missed the barely restrained excitement Anita showed and she hated how Brenda’s curious gaze was now one of caution. The spirit glanced at Kiera, who looked miserable, her hands fidgeting.

‘Well, this is quite the problem,’ Senka thought. ‘Not how I wanted our first real outing to go. And it was going so well beforehand. Not like I can fault Kiera for being afraid for Anita. She’s been through enough to be justifiably worried.’

A dark thought crossed her mind. ‘Was she **** by Phantom Reach? It wouldn’t surprise me if that was how she ended up with them. And she subconsciously remembered that when Anita got too far ahead of us.’

Senka could feel similar thoughts racing through John’s mind, though she maintained the privacy barrier between them. If it was anything she was meant to hear, she would know it.

‘How can I make things less depressing?’ she pondered. She knew it would be a hard task. Anita and Brenda were the least adapted to the realities of the Abyss due to their recent introduction to it, even if Brenda had already experienced a harsh first exposure. ‘Maybe we should retire to the clearing after we’re done here. I’m sure Verida has some insight into this sort of thing. Maybe she’s already helping Kiera.’

‘You meant no harm and were trying to ensure Anita’s safety,’ Verida consoled Kiera as she sat in the meeting hall.

‘But I ruined her day,’ Kiera bemoaned, her anguish blindingly clear. ‘She was having so much fun and I ruined it. Everyone was and I had to open my mouth.’

Kiera’s depression grew deeper. ‘I ruined things before they even got started.’

‘Now, now, don’t get ahead of yourself,’ Verida comforted the bluenette with a psychic hug. ‘They aren’t going to abandon you for voicing your fears. Anita isn’t going to hate you for trying to make sure she remains safe.’

The goddess could feel Kiera look over to the gnoshroom, and while her herald chewed her lip nervously over her fears of ending her intimate relationship with the others, she pondered Anita’s situation. Not her abrupt exposure of the harsh world beyond Pruzonia’s borders, but her ascension to full sentience. With the Golmerk settlement as the main source of activity in the Kingdom, her attention had been on them and she had dismissed the minor changes she had sensed in the gnoshrooms that had aided Estelle and Nephele in connecting Pruzonia to more of the outside world.

Now with knowledge of the extent of the change, she focused on them, which provided a good distraction from the lustful thoughts and feelings Kiera had let slip through their bond. Verida rubbed her thighs together as she tried to push those memories aside. She knew Kiera would likely die of embarrassment if she knew how her activities were broadcasted in her lusty haze. Still, she wouldn’t lie to herself about how enticing it was, but now wasn’t the time to be giving into those impulses. There were bigger things to worry about than such base desires, no matter how gratifying they could be.

The colony of gnoshrooms that had been involved with the connection ritual had grown more powerful than other groups further from the World Tree, with only a few reaching the level Anita had been at before her recent awakening. Those select gnoshroom seemed to not be growing anymore, leading Verida to wonder just why Anita had been the one to go beyond it.

‘It could be the extra magic she was exposed to,’ was her first thought, but without knowing if Estelle’s little display provided the needed push to evolve her, she could only hold that opinion for now.

With her own, if brief, investigation at its conclusion, Verida turned her attention back to Kiera. Her assuredness that John and the others wouldn’t hold her fear against her kept Kiera from panicking too much, but she was still deeply worried.

‘If you’re serious about this relationship, then speak to them,’ Verida counseled. ‘Being open and honest is the key to successful relationships, both personal and romantic.’

Kiera nearly tripped over her feet at Verida’s suggestion, and she could feel the look she would be giving her if they were face to face.

‘Would you have fallen for them if they weren’t the type to listen to your concerns?’ Verida quickly asked, getting ahead of Kiera trying to avoid such a direct confrontation, even if it would only just meet the definition of the word. ‘From what I’ve been able to glean, it seemed they wanted to talk to you about joining them before things took a turn. Do you really think they’ll be cross with you wanting to keep people safe?’

‘No,’ Kiera replied in a small voice after a long pause.

‘I’m not saying to stop them right now and ask,’ Verida softly advised. ‘But don’t let things sit for too long. It’s not good to let these fears gnaw at you like moths. Best to put them to rest as soon as possible.’

Verida could feel some of Kiera’s anxiety fade, not a lot, but enough for her to not be spiraling with dark thoughts eating at her. There was only so much she could do while limited to talking to just her. Still, it was better than nothing.

‘I do need to figure out how to leave Pruzonia’s borders,’ she thought. ‘I believed it was only due to my recent ascension and Pruzonia still needing to settle but it seems something else is binding me here. And I think the Highest Star has tied John’s powers to it.’

“Took you long enough to think that might be the case,” Gaia’s voice came from all around her before the strongest being in the Abyss appeared opposite Verida, casually reclining in one of the chairs. Most would at least flinch at the suddenness of her intrusion, but Verida was a goddess. Even if she was far from the heights of the Highest Star, she was infinitely closer than mortals.

“To what do I owe this honor, Highest One?” Verida diplomatically asked.

“No need to be so formal, goddess of the Bloom of Spring,” Gaia said in a teasing tone. “See how much of a mouthful that is? After a few thousand years, the reverence loses its luster. Can be fun to indulge from time to time, but between us, is there really a need for the bowing and scraping?”

“When you could snuff me out with a thought, it is prudent to stay on your good side,” Verida remarked. “I will refrain from being too stuffy.”

Gaia waved her hand dismissively. “If I went and obliterated everyone that bothers me in this day and age, they'd be a massive disruption to how things run. I spent too long getting things as smooth as they are right now to mess with it. And yes, you factor into that, even new as you are.”

“I figured as much,” Verida said. “While being aware is new, Yerda seeded me generations ago.”

Straightening the simple yellow dress she wore, Verida asked, “So, what must John do to unbind me from Pruzonia?”

“He’ll be getting a quest shortly,” Gaia answered. “So no need to relay that to your herald. Just something to help this Kingdom along. Don’t want this place to just stagnate.”

“We would not have let that happen,” Verida stated, a bit of indignation sneaking into her voice.

Gaia smiled. “I know, but it’s a bit more fun this way. Plus, while I know you’re of even temperament, a goddess suddenly appearing would make waves. Wanted to make sure your powers are firmly under control. Given your mother, it was prudent.”

“Was your foresight unable to see that I would be fine?” Verida pressed.

“Oh, no. Most of your outcomes had you completely in control,” Gaia casually answered. “And the ones with bad ends were very unlikely. Like, winning the lottery, then getting hit by a car then having your wife divorce you in the hospital, unlikely. But there are times when I’d rather bet on a sure win than a coin toss. And that required a bit of waiting to see where the chips fell. Besides, you had a lot to do Kingdom side, so it’s not like you were going to bounce.”

“That isn’t what I expected you to say,” Verida slowly said, a little stunned by Gaia’s openness. She expected some amount of obfuscation or at least a non committal answer steeped in some mysticism.

“I’ve done the whole ‘mask my words in symbolism and half-truths’ thing. It gets a bit boring, even if people jump to some wild conclusions,” Gaia remarked. “Besides, goddess to goddess, no need to keep secrets.”

“Then in the spirit of being open, I’m not sure I like how meddlesome you’ve been,” Verida laid out her complaint.

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it,” Gaia said with a smirk. “John’s adventures are only just getting out of the tutorial and I’m excited to see where he goes. Who he’ll meet. Sometimes he needs a little nudge, here and there.”

Fighting down the irritation that Gaia’s continued interference might bring, Verida asked, “What sort of task will you be giving John?”

“Oh, no spoilers,” Gaia teased, a grin spreading across her face. “But, I’m sure if you tune into your herald’s senses, you’ll learn it right as they do.”

Taking Gaia’s remark as meaning the quest would be revealed within the next few minutes, Verida allowed Kiera’s senses to overlap with her’s, mainly sight and sound but scent bled through, hitting the goddess with the rich earthy smell of brewing coffee.

John hoped the coffee shop had a calming atmosphere. It was the only thing he could think of that would help ease the malaise that settled over everyone. He could feel Senka trying to work out some ploy to lighten the mood, but he gave her the privacy implied by her lack of soundboarding off him.

‘Maybe Anita will just bounce back,’ he thought, holding out hope that the gnoshroom would recover on her own. Brenda did and she had a much worse introduction to the harshness of the Abyss. But then his thoughts turned to Kiera and what he assumed was her own inner turmoil. He knew how hard it was for her to open up and the anxiety that clawed at her at the best of times. He couldn’t help but wonder just how much she was beating herself up over lowering the mood with her earnest fear.

‘I hope Verida is helping Kiera through this,’ John thought. Given how he noticed her nervous fidgeting had lessened, he assumed the goddess was at least talking to the bluenette and making headway.

The scent of fresh coffee and baked goods heralded the shop before it came into view, occupying a corner spot. There wasn’t any door, instead a good portion of the wall separating the interior from the mall hallway had been removed, giving everyone outside a good view of the cozy interior. Above the store, a sign read ‘Jeri’s’ in neon cursive.

“Any bets on if that’s the name of the owner?” Beth spoke up, breaking the tense silence.

Aeolia snorted. “If it is, we need to tell Cammie. Maybe she can form some kind of collective.”

The jokes helped to lighten the mood, but John saw that Anita still looked a bit down, her expression contemplative, though there seemed to be a slight spark in her eyes as they approached the shop, her earlier excitement slowly returning.

A small number of people sat at the tables within, none of them overly remarkable. And moving between the tables, now wearing a grey apron over her white shirt, was the girl they had literally run into at the clothing store, Salem. True to Melody’s explanation, she appeared to be working, a few steaming drinks balanced on a serving tray.

As the green haired girl placed her last cup down and said something to the patron, a girl with pale purple hair done up in twintails, she turned and saw them, a grin breaking out on her face.

“Well, look who’s come by to check up on little ol’ me,” Salem said with a bat of her eyelashes and a grin. “I’m flattered.”

“You are alright, right?” Anita spoke up timidly, almost afraid that her spores had affected Salem more than Teri and Aeolia had been.

Salem’s grin grew wider, showing off her sharp teeth before she lifted her arm. Her flesh dissolved into a thin black mist from wrist to elbow, her sleeve going limp as she sent her hand towards Anita, giving her a thumbs up.

“Right as rain,” she declared before moving her hand up to ruffle Antia’s hair playfully. “Was a bit weird to not be free to do this, but it wasn’t the end of the world or anything. Hell of an ability you got though. Probably super useful, being able to turn off people’s magic like that.”

She snapped the fingers on her disembodied hand before reeling it back in, her arm reconstituting in her sleeve. She opened her mouth to continue talking but a voice from behind the serving counter called out to her.

“Salem, I need you to grab the croissant dough from the freezer!” a somewhat tired female voice called out from the kitchen area behind the large counter that dominated the back of the shop. “I’ll take care of the new customers.”

“Duty calls,” Salem dryly said. “Maybe I’ll be back in time to serve up your orders.”

Salem turned on her heel and sauntered over towards a door, presumably one that led towards the freezer. As she disappeared behind the door, one on the other side of the long counter swung open. From what John could see, it looked like the kitchen, and from it, a somewhat frazzled young woman stepped out.

Her short, dark blue hair had a few strands sticking out at odd angles and her green eyes seemed like they were struggling to stay open. In stark contrast, her white polo shirt, black slacks and green apron were immaculate; no stains or creases marred the workplace outfit.

She regarded them with an inviting smile, one that struggled to hide her tiredness, and said, “Welcome to Jeri’s. How may we serve you today?”

Before John or any of them could say anything, a popup appeared in front of his eyes, causing him to flinch back from the suddenness.