An Owl's Rise

Evelyn's expression warped into one of devastation when she heard Lucia say she would be keeping her storage items as payment for saving her life.

Certainly, from a logical perspective she could understand this as a fair deal, since if she had died having these items would not have done her any good. However, emotionally it was a heavy blow to think about.

Practically everything she had was stored within her cuff and rings. Including all the materials she had risked her life to gather in this gorge.

'But most importantly is Mason's diary and the langue guide he gave me. I cannot allow anyone to see those.'

Letting out a quick sigh, Evelyn steeled herself to ask for at least those items.

"Lucia if you really wish to have my storage items and what is inside them there is nothing I can do to stop you, and it would be fair since you saved my life. But while it may be rude of me, there are two things that I simply cannot part with that I have stored within the cuff. They have no real value to anyone but me and are quite sentimental. I would ask that you allow me to have them back if nothing else."

For a moment there was only silence between them, before Lucia burst out in laughter.

"Sorry about that, I just did not expect you to get so serious all of a sudden. At first, I thought you would beg me for all your items back when I saw how stunned you were, but you are pretty earnest to only ask for the things that have personal value to you. In the first place thought I was just messing with you. I always intended to give you back your stuff."

"I see, so you were just messing with me." Evelyn said with a relieved expression.

"Yes, I just wanted to see how you reacted and get a little kick out of it. I do not often have much in the way of friendly conversation down here. I have a few acquaintances down here, but for the most part any relationships are at the bottom of this gorge are business related. I have enjoyed being able to speak with you. Most lower ranked beasts would be shivering the entire time they are in my presence, and those that are closer to me would rather fight and take what I have than be friendly." Lucia said a smile creeping onto her face.

Yet she seemed to realize that she was allowing herself to show her emotions, and quickly put a neutral mask back on as she refilled Evelyn's bowl.

"Now go ahead and eat. I will let you rest here for a day or two to recover and then you can be on your way. Of course, my saving you was not free, but we can discuss what I want for payment later. I was not lying when I said that there were things that I cannot get down here."

Lucia then got up and told Evelyn that she was free to use the kitchen as she liked and to rest in the room she had awoken in but to limit herself to these areas.

"I will go and grab your storge items and bring them back to you. Make sure you eat some more, or you will not get better."

After saying that Lucia disappeared further into the system of tunnels and rooms that were home and left Evelyn all alone.

The first thing she did was dig into the delicious soup.

She could tell that it was made using alchemy just like the cooking that Melisandre, Anneli, and Katrina did.

'Wow this really does wonders. I was thinking that alchemical cooking was lesser than creating magical items like potions and pills, but when you have the time for it there is nothing better.' Evelyn thought as she filled up her bowl again.

By the time Lucia returned she had eaten seven full bowls and her stomach was bloated and she had a satisfied expression on her face.

"You certainly seem to have made yourself quite comfortable. Even if this is someone else's home." Lucia said as she looked up and down at Evelyn.

"Well, I have decided that begin on guard against you will not bring me anything but grief. If you wanted to kill me or hurt me in some way, you already would have done so. I have had plenty of experiences in the past where those that helped me at first turned around and stabbed me in the back. But I feel like I can trust you at least." Evelyn said in a rare show of certainty.

Normally she would be wary of someone for a long time no matter how much help or consideration they gave her. In fact, she had not even fully trusted Melisandre until she saved her from the empress dryad.

Still, with the similar experiences that she and Lucia had with losing everyone they cared about, and the fact that she saved her life. It made it easier for Evelyn to trust her.

"If that is how you feel then I suppose it is fine. From how you reacted when you first woke up and met me, I do not get the feeling you take to others for the most part. So. I will not warn you about being too trusting."

Lucia then returned the storge rings and cuff to Evelyn and she quickly checked the inventory.

As she did though she frowned since somethings were missing.

A number of the magical plants stores she had gathered in the gorge were lower than they had been.

However, before she could ask about it, Lucia noticed the look on Evelyn's face and brought it up herself.

"I used some of your materials in the soup. I imagine you do not have any problem with this, seeing as how it was mainly for you to eat and use to recover."

"Yes, that is fine. I just wanted to make sure that it was you that had taken them and not that my items were damaged, or that someone else got to me first and took them. And thank you again for the soup." Evelyn said while bowing her head.

Once the two of them had finish with dinner and talking about a few more things they each retired to different parts of the cave system.

Evelyn went right back to the room she originally found herself in and hopped up on the raised stone slab she had been laid down on and leaned her back against the wall.

'Yep, since I have become an owl, it is always more comfortable to sleep upright. Every time I wake up on my stomach or back it is after I have been either beaten unconscious or am too exhausted to even sit up.'

When she was nestled comfortably against the wall, Evelyn closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

Normally she would have kept at least some level of awareness in case an enemy tried to sneak up on her, but her mind was far too tired, and she felt safe enough to fall into a very deep sleep. Completely forget about the world and her worries for at least a little while.