I followed Venn into Barchie's store, humming happily to myself, I mean... sure Venn was hurt, but I didn't think anything of it. He still smiled and he still smelt mostly like Venn. His eyes still twinkled and his hands were still all nice and warm and gave me the fuzzy feelings. I was happy to see him again.

Barchie seemed shocked that Ven was not only here but alive, I furrowed my brows. Was he in more trouble than he let on? He seemed fine now. I stepped in beside him and gave both him and the older man a curious look. The two continued to exchange words, Venn offering amusing remarks to Barchie's questions, I grinned.

Venn was an interesting fellow. The conversation shifted to a darker note, Venn said he had died, but he was still perfectly fine. The bemused smile on my face faltered. He was still fine I was happy that he was, why wouldn't he be? His soul burned with a mischievous and chaotic energy and brightness. It wouldn't surprise me that someone like that could come back from the dead 'just because'.

If only it were that easy for me...

I felt a pang of jealousy and melonchony tug at me, all in the one turbulent ball. Then, there was a thought, it almost didn't feel like my own. If he has such a good soul, why not just take it. I can do that. It unnerved me, such a thought never came to surface like that before. I mean, they had..but it didn't feel so dark. I shook my head. That was stupid! I liked Venn, I wouldn't touch his soul without his permission.


I felt a sudden tug on my hand, and Venn was leading me out of Barchie's store. I blinked, surprised. "O-Oh!" I turned over at the old man and gave him a wave. "Be seeing soon!" I called out with a smile. Whatever I felt, it trickled away as we walked hand in hand toward the Inn. I didn't mind the contact, it felt nice. "We go get room now?"

Venn glanced over at her, "Yeh. I need rest."

"Oh oh!" I said happily, "Like naps. Can I nap on bed too?"

His face turned a funny shade of red, he didn't reply straight away. His eyes glanced at her, then down her form then up to the sky. Then away to the distance. What was he doing?

"Y-Yeh. That's fine." Ven said.


We continued exchanging small banter as we headed toward the inn, Venn got us a room and he was now sitting in bed, propped up by pillows, his form under the bed covers. "So Eteri... what did you do since we last saw each other?" He asked.

I told him how I met up with the one warmed witch lady, Aislynn and how she was angry that I had taken a sliver of Taka's soul. I spoke about how concerned she was that we went to some place in Salvar called the 'Inner Sanctum' and scolded me for leaving her friend there. I quickly shifted to the next topic, the next big thing. How I met a librarian named Madison. How we made a deal and I got a piece of soul out of it. I even went into detail about how angry and strange the soul piece was and how it bore itself into my chest.

"It...feels strange, I always want to the owning of the soul but this feels empty still." I said, finishing the story as I pat my chest, shifting myself to sit comfortably at the foot of his bed.

"You always go on about souls and how you don't have one. Did you want one?"

I nodded and tried to tell him what it was like. Feeling frustrated I couldn't articulate my words in Tradespeak I switched to Akashimian. Venn seemed to understand it, and even speak it just fine. I took a deep breath.

<"It's...an empty feeling Venn, not having a soul. It's like there is nothing there inside of me, I know I exist. I am Eteri Yoko, and I love who I am but...it's sorta lonely. I'm also afraid of what will happen when I die..."> I twiddled my fingers, shifting my gaze down. I was never good at articulating words, or feelings...or anything for that matter. My older sister was far better at that than I ever was. She was always so good at pinning down what I was trying to say. As much as I didn't like her boring ways, I wished she was here with her angry smirk and pointed eyebrows...just so she could slap me across the head and tell the man what I was trying to say. <"I believe we don't die...not completely. We are still there, our souls are, but if I die. There is nothing there. I will cease to exist, and that's scary."> I gave an awkward laugh as I reached out to scratch the back of my head, glancing away from him.

<"It's why I am searching for people with bright souls. If I take tiny slivers off them... eventually I can make my own. Then maybe, just maybe...it won't be so empty, and I won't have to be so afraid anymore.">

Silence filled the room and it made me uncomfortable, I hated silence. My ears fell flat against my head and I pursed my lips. Venn wasn't talking, he shifted his gaze away from me, a thoughtful look upon his angular face. Did what I say bother him? I didn't want to loose his company. It felt like he understood me, that he understood the way my brain worked, and how erratic I was. I didn't want that to slip through my fingers just because I let my emotions get the better of me.

Suddenly I burst out into forced laughter. "BAHAHAHAHAHA!" I pointed at him. "Look at you face!" I said, switching back to Tradespeak. "So serious!" I said with a pout before reaching out and giving him a light slap on his back. He winced in pain. "You thought Eteri being serious! I joke. I joke!" I reiterated. It was better this way. Light-hearted Eteri, the carefree blue haired catgirl. She had no worries. No fears about death, and didn't care that she didn't have a soul.

I forced a smile, "When you is done the rest, want to adventure fun?" My ears perked up slightly but my tail remained flat and motionless against the covers, aside from the small twitch here and there.

Yeh.

It was better this way.