Oskar felt oddly peaceful in the moment, both in spirit and company, despite the teasing twinkle in Fox’s eye.

  “You're telling me you grew up dealing with waist high spiders?” Erik asked, deadpan.

  “Of course. They are smart. We kept them as pets. They slept in the cots with us as cubs.”

  That got a reaction from Erik, but Touwon ruined the joke by chuckling, and they were soon all laughing at Fox's teasing.

  “They are smart, but they mostly keep to themselves. Taking turns hunting and sunbathing in the day, and at night, they burrow in the warm sand. So, we did much of our work in the late morning and late evening. As far as I know, they never attacked a single Kobold, especially after we started leaving them open Waysprings when we finished with them.”

  Oskar lowered his brow, thinking about that a moment when she clarified.

  “We used to cover the Waysprings with sand once we were done but eventually began leaving them open as a peace offering. Open water attracts trouble. I would remind you that Penny makes our lives so much easier because we never have to expose the spring to open air.”

  Interesting.

  Never willing to let praise go without exploitation, Penny walked up and nuzzled Fox’s hand, who laughed and gave her some attention.

  The moment was cute, but Oskar continued to keep an eye on the surrounding sky. As wide as the mesa was, they wouldn’t be visible to anyone from even the top of the dunes, but someone in the sky might see them. The sky was empty, though, aside from a few wispy clouds and a pair of the leathery looking birds far off to their south.

  “How did you know they wouldn’t be up here? Because I’m not really afraid of spiders, but those things look dangerous, and I don’t think I would have liked walking up on one sunbathing.”

  Fox grinned, answering. “They dislike the feel of the yellow stone and will not climb it or even touch it. Plus, as I mentioned, I spent much of my youth on these mesas.”

  “Your youth? What, are you an old lady now?”

  “Do you want me to throw a knife at your face?”

  “We’re gonna say no to both questions.”

  “You are wise beyond your years, cub.”

  Oskar considered telling Fox he was exactly as wise as he was young, but by the time he thought of it, the moment had passed. They were again in a companionable silence, staring out at the sky.

  Although the view and power of this place was mesmerizing, Oskar felt exposed. Fox must have sensed his trepidation and put and purple hand on his shoulder.

  How do I feel like Fox is a little sister to me and still look up to her in so many ways.

  // The little sister thing is probably a mix of misguided protectiveness and her size. //

  That was very literal. But it doesn’t mean you’re wrong. And she is rather admirable. I can see why Touwon follows her.

  “We are still waiting for something. No tricks this time,” Fox said, interrupting his thoughts.

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  He eyed her suspiciously for a moment but relented when she ignored him. Oskar looked back out at the sky and waited, watching the swirls of Sora dancing in the darkening sky.

  The power in the area shifted so slowly that Oskar noticed the change more than the process of change itself. The rambunctious Sora in the area gave way, and Rakiyu eventually filled the gaps in Oskar’s senses.

  If the Sora in the area was playful, then this power was best described as aware. It was seeking out and probing, looking for something as if it had a presence. The purple sky slowly took on a greenish hue, and as Oskar watched, he could just make out something high up in the sky.

  Some things?

  He glanced around, but everyone else, even Fox, was staring directly ahead at the slowly shifting hues of green that were taking over the sky. It looked like a monochromatic version of the Northern Lights on earth. Above it, though, were slowly forming outlines of something that made no sense to Oskar.

  Am I looking at man o’ wars floating in the freaking sky?

  // I am picking up a visual, but nothing comes up when I scan. Can you feel them or just see them? And why isn’t anyone else looking? //

  As he said it, Erik jerked his head up sharply, his eyes wide. Not in fear, just surprise. His brother’s eyes crinkled as he squinted upward.

  // Oh, oh! So I’m feeding your info to Erik’s PUB, and it’s feeding me what his blue eye is seeing! With all the data we have, it seems to point to it being pure power. There doesn’t seem to be a physical body, as far as I can tell. Sorry I can’t give you more, I’m not used to having this type of data. It’s not really… measurable. //

  No worries, bud, thanks for the update. That is useful info.

  Fox had picked up on the brothers' trepidation and followed their gazes up at the sky quizzically.

  “What do you feel or see that I do not?” she asked, poking Touwon in the back to get his attention.

  It came out short, to the point. A slight note of frustration was in her voice. Oskar considered briefly keeping her in the dark to pay her back for the spider thing, but since she was the most likely one to know something about what he was seeing and if they were in danger, he simply answered.

  “I’m looking as something in the air, just there,” he pointed, “that look like jellyfish from our world.”

  “I see nothing.”

  “They look like a mostly clear bubble… I think it’s a bladder full of gas or something… but it has dozens of super long tendrils or tentacles dangling from the bottom of the bubble part. The tentacles are dangerous. Venomous. They float on the water in my… well… our world,” he said, nodding at Erik, who was still looking up, studying the creatures, three of them now, who appeared to be just floating in the air.

  “Here, though, they’re purple and the tendrils are impossible. They reach from the sky almost to that mesa,” Oskar nodded at the one he’d first seen the giant spiders on.

  Her nose crinkled a bit as she thought, and Touwon tilted his head to the side.

  Oskar smiled at them and looked back up at the sky. There were still only three of the creatures, and Oskar remembered hearing something about man-o-war being a bunch of collective organisms, not one, and wondered if what he was looking at was similar.

  He felt a presence wash over him and froze. He wasn’t moving, just sitting and staring upward at the creatures, but there’s a difference between freezing and being still that only someone who’s frozen for a very good reason knows.

  The creature’s entire attention turned sharpy to him. The creatures’ tendrils reached toward one another, and then, fascinated, Oskar watched as the three separate creatures merged into one much larger one. It took on an almost liquid blue and purple swirl of color. Inside the creature, there was a blue, pulsing light that swayed gently back and forth. The creature slowly, carefully drew a little closer. Close enough now that Fox and Touwon froze, too, and then looked around slowly trying to source the feeling. The creature’s attention, though, was fully on Oskar.

  There was no malice, but the full attention of the creature was a potent, heady feeling. It was beautiful; a creature of almost pure Rakiyu with just the barest touch of Sora. He felt like it was staring directly at his soul, looking for something specific inside him. Maybe it was judging him, a trial with consequences Oskar could not even begin to guess the consequences of.

  Oskar felt something gently brush against his consciousness, and Oskar felt it for what it was.

  A knock. It was gentle, and Oskar knew the creature meant no harm to them.

  A more familiar feeling followed, a moment of pressure and anticipation that came whenever a Gambit was coming.

  // Gambit offered: Commune with Bluebottle

  The creature before you wishes to make contact.

  Rewards: Unknown

  Failure: Refuse, consequences unknown.

  Accept? Yes/No //

  Bluebottle, huh? I’m not going to lie, this is a little spooky.