“You’re really clueless about everything, aren’t you?” Tub said to Nire when they landed back at Hneev Taw and Nire was still mulling over Let’s apology. Nire had been pacing in a room that was assigned to be hers if she chose to stay with Hneev Taw.

“Oh, you’re alive!” Nire was elated to hear Tub’s voice again.

“You speak as if I am deceased.”

“Well, you haven’t said anything in a while so I was beginning to worry that you were,” Nire teased. She felt a level of comfort around Tub that she couldn’t explain very well, but it made her feel warm and safe inside, and that was enough for her.

“Anyways,” Tub said, bouncing back from being picked on by a child much younger than him, “That red head, Let, you should let him know you accept his apology or something.”

“Right!” Nire was getting really carried away with her conversation with Tub that she didn’t notice Vam Lis enter the room. He had knocked, but there was no answer so he decided to enter to check up on the girl.

“Nire, I’m so glad to have you back in one piece. I heard about what had happened...”

“Oh, Vam Lis! You scared me. It’s alright! That was quite an experience.”

“Well, I’m terribly sorry to bring this up so soon to you as well, but have you given more thought to joining Hneev Taw?”

Nire paused and gave deep thought to the proposition. As she stood there, head in her hands, thinking about whether or not it’d be a good idea to join up with Hneev Taw, the door was slammed open and three kids, Let, Doro, and Kei, rolled into the room in that order. They had been on the other side of the door listening in. Corda then gracefully entered the room after the three ruined their stealthy plan.

“We don’t need this curse to join us,” Let accused, shoving Doro and Kei off of him as he approached Nire. “That eye, it’s no heavenly omen.”

“Now, Let, no need to be harsh now,” Corda tried to calm him down.

“You know just as well as I do that it’s only a sign of bad luck.”

Corda continued to try to persuade Let to treat the girl with the red eye kindly, but he was not taking it. Then, Doro spoke up. “I think that she is more than a good omen. You saw how she took down a Follower of Foom Lis and came out without a scratch. She’s powerful, and we’ll need all the strength we can get to defeat Foom Lis.”

“That’s right,” Kei chimed in.

“Doro.” Let calmed down after hearing her words. As much as he hated to admit it, it was true that the girl in question was something else entirely. She was able to escape from the stomach of the serpent with her life, and she had saved his life in doing so. He clicked his tongue and turned the other cheek. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Turning the attention back to Nire, Vam Lis asked her again. “Won’t you join us? It’s not just me who will be depending on you from here on out.”

“By joining you, I will be able to learn more about Foom Lis and his Followers, and in turn myself.” The girl turned towards the sulking boy. “Let, about your apology.” He turned a little to look at the girl out of the corner of his eyes. “You don’t need to apologize. We’re all friends now, aren’t we?” Nire looked around the room at her newly declared companions who were all smiling at her and felt a sense of belonging, something that she had been hoping to find soon. Let had a look of understanding in his eyes for a brief moment, then looked the other way again. Nire soon took comfort in Corda’s words to her and decided that this was where she would find what she had lost.

“If you’re really going to join us, you’ll have to put on our uniform,” Kei said, looking proud in his uniform.

“Could I take a bath first?” All except for Let laughed at her question, noticing that the girl was now crusted with the contents that were in Suas Lis’ stomach. The group exited Nire’s room one by one, Doro said she would return shortly with a new uniform for Nire and took Let out of the room with her.

“I can’t wear these anymore,” Nire said aloud as she undressed and began tossing her clothes. As she began to untie the dirtied pink sash around her waist, a trinket plopped to the ground. Nire bent down to pick up the trinket, and to her surprise, found a beautiful golden locket. She was now distracted by the new discovery, making her forget her initial plan of cleaning herself up. She pried open the locket and was shocked to discover two photos inside. They were old and worn through what looked like wear over time.

Doro re-entered the room with her change of clothes for Nire and was surprised to find that the girl had not cleaned up yet. Nire jumped to the gray haired girl to show her her excitement in finding this locket in her clothes.

“Doro! I think this is a clue! Wow, can you believe it, already, I’m finding a clue as to who I am.” Doro didn’t really know what was going on, but she took notice of the locket Nire was brandishing around.

“How about we take a closer look at that after you clean up?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“I’ll leave your new clothes here and toss your old ones.” Doro shooed Nire into the bathroom and started picking up the discarded clothes.

“Wait,” Nire called from behind the door. “Could you leave the flower embroidery from my shirt? I don’t want to get rid of everything.”

“Sure thing.” Doro smiled and obliged. She turned the old purple shirt over and cut the embroidery from the back of the shirt. “I’ll wash this for you,” she said as she left Nire alone.

After the shower, Nire was feeling so much better. She felt refreshed and ready to tackle the problems ahead of her. She threw on the clothes that Doro had brought for her and pulled the coat over her. She felt like a new person. When Nire had put on the whole uniform, she twirled in front of the mirror in her room to get a better look. She smiled to herself, but her smile soon turned sour.

“Yup. I look like an entirely new person.” Nire nodded to herself, unsure if she liked that feeling or not. On the table by the door, Nire noticed the flower embroidery that Doro had saved for her. She went and picked and picked it up, then folded it nicely and placed it inside her new red sash. The final thing Nire put on before leaving the room was the golden locket that she had kept with her unknowingly all this time. “I’m still me. Still Nire, no matter how I look.” She reassured herself before stepping out of the room to join her new companions in the grand hall.

Nire approached the group and was pleasantly surprised to find them joined with Captain Oda. He seemed to be doing a lot better, and Nire was glad to see it. The group stared at Nire as she walked up to them wearing their uniform, physically making her one of them now.

“You look so good!” Kei was the first to speak up. “The red on the uniform really brings out the color in your eyes. I was so taken over the Eye of Fortune that I never even noticed your purple eye. Your eyes are beautiful.”

After Kei had said that, the group tried to subtly take a look at Nire’s eyes.

“It’s true!” Doro shouted, embarrassed that she didn’t take notice earlier.

Even Let had to admit that he had never seen such colors anywhere before, but he had to play it off. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re still the possessor of that cursed eye.” Nire did not understand why Let felt so against the red Eye of Fortune when everyone else seemed to be for it. She was determined to find out eventually.

“Nire,” she finally said after a moment’s breath.

“What?”

“Nire. I never introduced myself.” Let looked dumbfounded. “I’m more than the Carrier of the Eye of Fortune. I’m more than the New Girl. I’m a comrade now, and my name is Nire.”

Again, Kei was the first to break the silence. He started to laugh as the rest of the group, except for Let, joined him. “You’re truly an interesting one,” Kei said at last, wiping away at the tears in his eyes. “Coming this far with everyone and only just introducing yourself now.”

Before Nire could say anything else, the giant doors to the grand hall swung open and Vam Lis entered with countless other people all wearing the coat of Hneev Taw. The group Nire was talking with stepped back and joined the people who lined up in ranks and columns below. Nire finally took notice now that she was up on a slightly elevated stage and Vam Lis was approaching her. The girl thought that she was in the way so she apologized and stepped down, but with just one hand, Vam Lis pointed his hand up to the stage once more, signalling for Nire to return. She awkwardly obliged and walked up the stage with Vam Lis. Despite how the man carried himself previously, Nire could feel an air of grace and authority around him in this moment in which he commanded this entire organization. It was a very impressive feat for someone his age.

“Hneev Taw, footprints.” Vam Lis said, turning to face all of his organization. “Today, we are blessed with the appearance of the Carrier of the Eye of Fortune.” All eyes seemed to be on the girl now. She gulped down the anxiety. “Nire,” Vam Lis said to the girl loudly for everyone in the grand hall to hear. “Do I have your word that you will join us in taking down Foom Lis the Destroyer and restoring peace and order to this world?” He could tell Nire was nervous, so he smiled gently at her to ease her nerves. He extended his hand towards hers and was now waiting for her formal response.

Nire shook Vam Lis’ hand firmly and responded in a voice that was contrary to how she was feeling. “Yes, you have my word.”

“Excellent,” Vam Lis said aloud to the audience then slightly turned back towards Nire and whispered. “Thank you.” He then dug into his pocket and pulled out a sparkling silver string. “Your wrist,” he commanded, to which Nire immediately thrust out her left hand. Vam Lis chuckled a little at the overly nervous girl. He then tied the string around her wrist all while chanting something in a language that Nire did not understand. Again, there was an unshakable feeling of nostalgia within her, like seeing something from a dream, but she could not quite put her finger on it so she ignored the thought. When Vam Lis finished chanting, he knotted the string one last time and let go. Nire held up her hand towards the light to catch it glistening again, but it soon vanished right before her eyes.

“It’s a magical string that will protect you from the future dangers you will face. It also binds us, Hneev Taw, together.” Vam Lis held up his right hand. Like her own string, she could not see it, but she could feel a connection between the two. Actually, focusing a little harder, she could feel a connection to everyone in the room. For the first time, Nire looked around the room and saw that it was filled with all different kinds of people. They all looked back at her, and smiled. “With this, the ceremony is complete. We welcome you, Nire, to Hneev Taw.” Vam Lis said formally. Everyone in the grand hall cheered and clapped to welcome the girl into their home.