Beth slung Jess over her shoulder and smiled, the moment Jess hit her shoulder, they were fast asleep. Beth made her way down the tree, making sure to go slow and not jostle Jess. Once at the bottom, she moved through the thin crowds and on to the path leading back to the eastern village.

At this time of night, the lanterns that lined the pathways that led all over the forest were alight, casting soft blue light all along the path. Now that they were asleep, the glowing green of Jess’s hair had dulled slightly, seemingly pulsing warmly almost like a heartbeat. This was not the first time and Beth doubted it was the last time that she would be carrying her friend back to their home. She was always going to be there whenever Jess needed her.

However, as they walked along the path, Beth’s mind began to wonder to the promise that she had just made to her friend. She was not anything close to a magic teacher or trainer and didn’t have any idea where to start. She was fairly certain Jess at least knew how to make a seal, but the more she thought about it, Beth realized she had never actually seen them create a seal before. Using primal essence, especially the way that Jess did didn’t actually require any kind of formal magic, only an understanding of the internal workings of the body and a solid ability to sense one’s own essence which Jess was practically already a master of.

She realized she would probably have to ask Jess in the morning and get some information of what kind of knowledge they actually possessed in terms of magic. For now though, Beth just needed to focus on not falling asleep or accidentally dropping Jess. Beth was strong and didn’t have much trouble carrying them since they weighed a little less than her, but it was still a somewhat awkward weight for her to carry for such a long distance. She tried to focus on other things to keep her mind off of the subject of teaching Jess.

Eventually, before Beth even knew it, she had arrived back in the eastern village. It was a relatively small village, only dwarfed in small size by the southern village. There was a little over half a dozen houses in a loose circle with a few additional buildings for things like mail, food, and a blacksmith. Jess’s house was towards the back, a little ways off the path. Their mom had always been one for not holding herself above anyone else, so much so that she had one of the smaller houses in the village. All of the houses around it were rather large, but Jess and Silvia’s was smaller, cozier.

Beth walked up the stoop and then knocked four times on the door, a slight pause in between the second and third knock.

On the other side, a voice rang out from somewhere inside the home. “You can come in, Bethany!”

Beth nodded and pushed open the door. On her right, she saw Silvia sitting in the kitchen. “Good evening, dear. Did the two of you have a good evening?”

“Yeah. We had a pretty productive evening,” Beth offered, turning to face Silvia, leaning some of her weight against the doorway to the kitchen.

“Can I assume that the two of you have already eaten dinner?”

Beth patted her belly. “Yes, ma’am. We got some food before doing a bit of sparring.”

“Good. Now, will you be staying the evening? And if so… will you be requiring a… separate bed?” Silvia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Beth shook her head furiously. “No no. It’s nothing like that… Did Jess not tell you?”

Silvia smirked softly, taking a sip of tea. “They did. But things happen, dear. I merely wished to make sure.”

Beth’s face was now rather red as she began to turn around. “Anyway… I’m gonna go put them in to bed…”

“That is likely for the best. It is quite late. If it’s too much trouble to get yourself home this light, I’m more than willing to offer you the spare bedroom. You are practically my daughter as well, Bethany,” Silvia offered, standing up and moving to the sink to wash the tea cup.

“I promise, Ms. A, it’s fine. I’ll be alright getting home. Much easier when you aren’t carrying someone and all,” Beth replied sheepishly.

Silvia nodded and headed in to another room. “As you wish, but if you change your mind, the sheets were just changed.”

Beth smiled softly and adjusted herself, still a little flush as she ascended the stairs and made her way in to Jess’s room. She blushed a bit, having not been in here since the two of them broke up. She chuckled silently to herself. The bed was just as small as she remembered. Beth gently set Jess down on to the bed and smile, brushing some of their hair out of their face. She then turned to leave, but as she did, she heard a soft sound from behind her.

“Don’ go…”

Beth swiveled back around, finding Jess staring back at her, their eyes just slightly open and a single hand outstretched.

Beth smiled softly and shook her head. “Sorry, Jessie, I gotta go home now. But I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Beth replied, her voice soft.

Jess met her response with a slightly pout and Beth felt her face get a little more flush as she cursed to herself. Removing her boots and robe, she crawled in to the tiny bed with Jess and sighed. “Fine… I’ll stay…”

Jess wrapped their arms loosely around Beth, falling asleep almost immediately after Beth joined them. Beth simply sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to slowly drift off to sleep.

Beth was awakened the next morning by the cry of some strange bird outside the window. Still sleepy, she rolled around, finding that the bed next to her was now empty. She quickly rolled back over, only to find Jess standing in the doorway, hair slightly glistening from water in a clean robe. Beth had to hold back a laugh at the fact that Jess was wearing their glasses, something they hated because they thought they looked stupid. Beth had always told them that they were cute, but Jess was prone to disbelieve that assertion.

“I ran out of contacts and I forgot to pick up my order for them yesterday. I do not want a single word out of you,” Jess said with a slightly glare.

Beth held up her hands defensively. “I said nothing. Is the shower free?”

Jess nodded and Beth stood up before blushing slightly, realizing she was in her underwear. She frantically looked around for her robe before looking to Jess.

“Mum wanted to wash your robe. It was dirty and she didn’t want you going home in dirty clothes. It’s on the bathroom door. The towels are in the usual place. Mum’s making breakfast right now, so that should be ready by the time you’re done shower. She said she wanted to tell us something.”

“Okay. I’ll try to be quick. Don’t wanna waste the water,” Beth said as she squeezed past Jess and made her way to the bathroom.

Despite the fact it was very short, the entire time Beth was in the shower, she couldn’t stop thinking about how much this reminded her or whenever she spent the night here while she and Jess were dating. It all still felt so familiar and she didn’t know how to feel about that. As she stepped out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and dried herself off before putting on her robe and her boots. She placed the towel in the hamper in Jess’s room and then made her way down to the dining room, sitting down just next to Jess who was already devouring their food.

As soon as she sat down, Silvia set a plate down in front of her. Beth smiled softly up at her. “Good morning, Ms. A. Thank you for breakfast,” Beth said as she began to dig in to the assorted fruits and veggies as well as a bit of torel bacon that Beth assumed was made specially for her like Silvia usually did whenever she spent the night.

“You know the rule, Bethany. If you stay at my house, you eat all three meals every day, no matter if you eat them at home or elsewhere,” Silvia said as she took a seat at the table with her own food.

The three of them ate in silence for a while until they were all finished. Silvia took the dishes and began to wash them in the sink.

“I presume that Jessica informed you that I wish to speak with both of you?” Silvia asked, still cleaning.

“They did, yes.”

“Do you have any idea what it is that I may want to discuss with the two of you?”

Beth and Jess just looked at one another before shaking their heads.

“No, we don’t, mum,” Jess replied.

“Well, if I am not incorrect, both of you have an interest in becoming searchers. And as I’m sure you’re aware, the searcher trial is in just a few months. It took some deliberation, but, if the two of you still wish to become searchers, I am willing to submit you two as candidates,” Silvia said, finally turning around and taking a seat at the table across from the two young apprentices.

Beth nodded happily. “Of course, Ms. A! I would be honored if you submitted me to become a searcher!”

Silvia smiled before turning to Jess who had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. “Sweetie? You’ve been rather quiet… Is everything alright?”

Before they could say anything, Jess raced out the door, leaving Beth and Silvia to sit there, looking at each other, confused and slightly concerned.

“I’ll go after them,” Beth offered, getting up and heading out of the door before Silvia could even say anything.

Once out the door, Beth turned to the right and made her way to the side of the house, immediately finding Jess sitting with their head down and their back to the house. Beth approached cautiously, sitting down next to them and putting a hand on their shoulder. Jess turned to her and Beth could see the concern in their eyes. Even their hair had taken a slightly more purple hue, one that Beth found only came about when they were scared or stressed.

“What’s wrong?”

Jess sniffed. “I’m really scared about the searcher trial… Everything you said last night about being nervous… I’ve been feeling that for years now…”

“But… you always seem so excited to become a searcher,” Beth replied, slightly confused.

“I know, but there is just… so much uncertainty… and on top of that, there’s the fact that I still can’t use basically any magic. What do I do if I run in to some kind of dangerous creature or person out there and I’m too week to fight them because I’m too afraid to use magic?”

Beth was silent for some time. She couldn’t think of the words to say that would help Jess, but then she just shook her head. “Jess… the only reason I’m so confident about the searcher trial and just… being a searcher… is because of you. You are what makes me think that things are going to go well because I know I’ll have you there for both the trial and the actual searching.”

Jess smiled softly and nodded. “You’re the only thing that’s kept me going too…”

“I know that the anxiety gets really bad sometimes, but let me just ask you, do you want to be a searcher?”

“Yes. I do. I want to travel the world. I want to find fragments and help to heal the world.”

“There’s the ram that I know. Now, go tell your mom.”

Jess stood up and headed back in to the house, Beth following closely behind. Jess informed their mom of the decision and Silvia in turn offered the central village training grounds for the next few months since they are specifically reserved for searcher candidates. The two eagerly agreed and set to start training the next day.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jessie!” Beth called as she headed back home.

“It’s a date!” Jess called after her.