Andy poured tea for three in silence that didn't require words to be full. They ate sugared dough and said nothing about rooftops. They didn't need to. The room held what it held; the day would ask for other things. The Oathblade leaned easy against the wall beside him, though it was more memory than metal—called and gone as he willed now.
Nia sat nearest the window, hair spilling loose over one shoulder, her staff dim but alive in her lap. Aurelia sprawled without apology across the bench opposite, dagger rolling between her fingers like a habit and a dare.
They drank. Steam rose. The silence wasn't empty; it was crowded with everything they had already risked, everything they had already claimed.
Andy blinked once and the system answered.
[Constellation System Log — Orion Path]
[Sync Status: Stable]
Nia: ⭐ 75% | Aurelia: ⭐ 69%
Combined Orion Tier II Progress: 32%
Shared Inventory: Active, Bound to three souls.
Buff: Corrupter's Bane I (+15% damage vs corrupted entities).
He closed it with a thought, the soft chime brushed into his bones.
"You always go distant when that hum comes," Aurelia said, watching him with a grin she didn't bother to dull. "Careful, Andy. One day you'll forget to come back."
Nia's smile bent warmer. "He always comes back. To me."
"Possessive," Aurelia teased, leaning forward, chin in palm. "I like it. Makes the game hotter."
Andy didn't answer with words. He poured more tea, slid one cup toward Nia, one toward Aurelia. Both accepted, though Aurelia's fingers brushed his knuckle on purpose.
The quiet stretched, but it wasn't awkward. It was just them: rivalries, loyalties, and the bond that grew whether they wanted it or not. The system didn't lie. Neither did the way their eyes kept finding him.
Outside, Stonebrook stirred. A bell somewhere near the gate clanged twice; the sound traveled across tiles and into bone. A runner skidded into the courtyard beneath their window, panting hard enough to argue with air. "Riders!" he gasped up at anyone who'd listen. "Black-scaled—north ridge—moving fast!"
Aurelia's grin grew teeth again. "Breakfast and a hunt," she said. "My favorite menu."
Nia's fingers found Andy's. "We're with you."
He answered by standing, calm as a drawn breath. The Oathblade hummed to his palm from nowhere; the brooch at Aurelia's collar ticked; the Staff of Lumina woke in a low wash of silver. Below, the village buckled on its courage like belts.
A last chime, gentle as a hand to the shoulder, closed its circle in his sight.
[Constellation Sync — Morning Rollup]
Nia: ⭐ 75% | Aurelia: ⭐ 69%
Orion Tier II Combined: 32%
Buffs: Corrupter's Bane I | Shared Inventory Auto-Summon (Ready)
Status: Proceed by living.
He smiled without showing teeth. "Let's go make the sky look easy," he said.
"Finally," Aurelia purred.
"Careful," Nia said, and kissed his cheek like a seal and a promise in one.
They stepped into day together—cool, strong, sometimes, always, theirs.
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