“I-I’m sorry, Meg.” Vira nervously chuckles, completely unprepared for the request as Meg, even when this much bigger and stronger than usual, anxiously looks back at her as if she’s the most powerless person in the world. “I must have misheard you, I could have sworn you just said you wanted advice on how to hug someone.”

  “N-No, you heard me right…” Meg responds, causing Vira to stare at her silently for a few moments.

  “But… But Meg… you and Mari, you have already hugged each other in the time we’ve been here. Quite a lot, I might add.”

  “Yeah, but… it’s always Marri hugging me, I want to try and hug her.” Meg looks away, as if ashamed by this fact.

  “Have you… not done that?” Vira asks with a puzzled expression, but Meg wordlessly looks back to her with guilty eyes. “Okay, I must admit that I’m very confused about what exactly it is you’re even asking for help with here, so let’s try starting at the beginning. Has something occurred to bring on this request?”

  “Well, you saw how Marri is this morning, like constantly hovering arround and touching me a lot, right?”

  “I certainly noticed her… strong reaction to your metamorphosis, yes. She’s even more hands-on with you than usual. Is all of this extra attention causing any problems?”

  “I mean, I’m okay with it, but I think she’s… you know… scared of what’s happening to me.”

  “...Scared, you say?” Vira raises an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, she’s barely let me out of her sight at all this morning, I’m pretty sure she’s worried I’m going to break more stuff or something. I think she only went off to order on her own because she trusts you guys to keep an eye on me.”

  Vira takes a moment to think to herself. Well, she’s taken the completely wrong message from it, but she at least noticed Mari has taken some form of interest in her. I suppose that can be viewed as a step forward? “Okay Meg, so Mari’s keeping a close watch on you. What exactly does this have to do with hugging?”

  “I thought I could maybe try something to calm Marri down a bit and show her that I’m doing okay, and giving her a hug was pretty much the only thing I could think of, especially since I’m in no state to try confessing again. I just don’t know if I can go through with it, though. This sort of thing is really harrd for me…” Meg slumps forward in her chair, almost making her currently much rger form resemble her regur appearance for just a moment.

  “Well, that is very sweet of you Meg, but just as a quick aside, are you sure you’re feeling okay? You haven’t started feeling any different as these changes intensify?”

  Meg looks back at her in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean? I guess it’s a little strange that my scarrs are still there, even though the skin on my arrm has changed so much.” She points to a rge scar on her left bicep that has persisted through her transformation, taking on a darker grey hue than the surrounding skin. “But other than the hunger I haven’t felt any different.”

  “You just sound a little different this morning, is all, but if you say you’re fine I won’t press you on it further. Back to the topic at hand, I’m not sure I see what you’re having difficulties with. Surely you’ve hugged people before at some point in your life?”

  “Not Marri, though. I mean I’ve wanted to for years, especially since she’s gotten so… you know…” Meg meekly holds her hands out and pulls them apart to invoke the image of something getting wider. “But I wouldn’t know where to starrt going about it without her thinking it’s weird…”

  Vira pces her hand on her face. She really is hopeless. How in the skies did this woman get anywhere close to confessing to Mari the other day?

  …

  You’re right, Luminiera, perhaps a practical demonstration is in order.

  Vira removes her hand from her face. “I can assure you that hugging Mari will actually be much easier than you think, Meg. Just watch this.” She turns to Lyria, who is sitting beside her, with her arms held out. “Would you like a hug, Lyria?”

  Lyria turns to her with a look of wonder. “Oh, yes! I’d love one!” She eagerly stands up and practically jumps at Vira before engaging in a gentle hug for a few moments.

  “See? It’s easy.” Vira says to Meg as she releases the hug.

  “Well, yeah, but it’s a completely different thing if I have feelings for the person I’m hugging. She’s gonna think I’m a weirdo or something.”

  Vira sighs. “I can assure you that it doesn’t have to be any different even if you have feelings for the person you’re hugging, but if you really don’t believe me, just watch this. Captain, if you wouldn’t mind?”

  Djeeta looks back at her with mild surprise, having not paid all that much attention to the conversation up until this point in favour of further studying the pcemat, before Vira gestures towards Lyria, who simply stands there with her arms open expectantly.

  “Oh, got it!” Djeeta gets up and walks around the table before wrapping Lyria in a warm hug of her own, both girls smiling sweetly.

  “Hawawawa! So many hugs today!” Lyria excims with a small blush.

  “Surely now you can see that it’s not that big of a deal at all to hug someone you care about, Meg?” Vira asks as the other two return to their seats.

  “But Lyriar and the captain already know how they feel about each other! I don’t have the guts to tell Marri how I feel… Heck, I don’t even know if she’s into girls…”

  “You don’t even-” Vira stops herself. For as much as her frustration continues to mount regarding Meg’s complete cluelessness, she knows blowing up at her won’t accomplish anything. She just closes her eyes and takes a deep, deep breath with her hands csped together, before opening them again. “Meg, that woman is gay, I can personally assure you of that. You don’t think I wouldn’t have said something about this yesterday if I had even the slightest inclination that it might not be the case?”

  “I don’t know! No one ever taught me about these things, how is someone like me supposed to tell? Sure, it’s been a while, since around the time I first returned to Auguste after I started training, if I remember right, but she’s only ever had boyfriends before. But you probably know what you’re talking about when it comes to this stuff, so…” Meg stops and takes a moment to really process what Vira has just told her, and it almost looks like her eyes light up for just a moment. “She… actually does like girls?”

  “She’s… really not that subtle about it. Honestly I’m shocked to hear you say that she ever showed any interest in men.” Or anyone other than you, for that matter… “But you don’t just have to take my word for it, I’m sure the three of you must also be aware, considering the time you’ve spent around her previously?” Vira turns to Lyria, Djeeta, and Vyrn, who all respond in turn.

  “Uh-Huh!”

  “Yep!”

  “You tell ‘em, sister!”

  “Don’t call me that.” Vira says with a scowl before turning back to Meg. “Regardless, it’s pin to see that Mari is in fact interested in women, so if you really weren’t aware of that fact already, I can only hope this brings you some courage when it comes to your current efforts. Just remember, the first step is often the most frightening, but once you’ve gotten past that, everything else will come much easier, and before you know it the two of you will be able to hug, or bite, or… whatever it is that you want to do with her, as much as you want.”

  “Well, I guess that helps, but… I dunno…” Meg starts to slump again. “It still doesn’t mean a pin old girl like me has a shot, though… Ugh, maybe I should just give up…”

  “Give up on what?”

  Meg looks to her side to see that Mari has just returned. “M-Marri! I-” The shock causes her to bring her left arm down on the corner of the table, snapping a small section of it off as a loud cracking sound fills the room. “O-Oh no, not again! Sorry, I-”

  Meg moves to stand up as she frets over the damages, and all the attention from the other customers that are suddenly looking at her, only to find a set of hands firmly wrapped around her bicep before she has a chance. “Don’t worry Meg, I’ll sort it out with the owners ter! Besides, it’s hardly your fault. Your arms are so thick… and powerful… no one’s going to be surprised if you accidentally break something. We just have to be careful to make sure you, like, don’t break too much stuff, you know?”

  Meg looks around nervously for a few moments before calming down a bit. “O-Okay. Thanks, Marri. I should go and apologise to the starff myself ter, though.”

  “Now, what was going on over here while I was ordering?” Mari asks as she sits down next to Meg. “I thought I saw a bunch of hugging or something when I looked over before.”

  “I-I don’t really understand it myself, but I’m definitely not compining!” Lyria excims.

  “You needn't worry Mari, just showing some appreciation for a crew member.” Vira says. “However, I do believe Meg had something she wanted to say.”

  “Ooh, what is it, Meg?” Mari says excitedly as she turns to her, only for Meg to look completely baffled.

  “I-I did? What do you…” Meg looks to Vira, who simply makes a hugging motion outside Mari’s current line of sight while motioning towards the Erune with her head. “O-Oh! You mean… r-right now…?”

  “What’s up, Meg?” Mari asks, staring right at her with expectant eyes.

  “I… I…” Meg nervously looks between her and Vira, who only seems to be getting more impatient. “I… wanted to know if you’re ready to talk about all the weird sharrk stuff!”

  Vira pces both hands on her face as she silently groans for a few moments.

  “Oh yeah! So, what’s the pn?” Mari asks.

  “Well, if we’re getting right into it…” Vira takes a moment to adjust herself and sit up properly after all of the exhausting turns the conversation has taken over the st few minutes. “I believe it would be prudent to begin by having Lyria check on the core again, if you don’t mind.”

  “I’m on it!” Lyria gets up and walks over before holding her hands out above Meg’s left hand like she had the day before. “Hmm… The energy doesn’t feel as strong today for some reason…” A look of befuddlement appears on her face, until she starts searching further up the arm, and eventually lets out a gasp. “Oh! The energy wasn’t weaker, the shard just moved further up her arm! It’s near her shoulder now.”

  “W-What does that mean?” Meg asks, but Lyria doesn’t answer right away.

  “...I’m sorry, I don’t actually know.” She says with a guilty expression. “We’ve never dealt with anything quite like this before.”

  Vira gives Lyria a reassuring smile. “Well, thank you for checking, regardless. Any information is better than nothing at all, and if nothing else it does expin why Meg’s arm has continued to change. We can probably assume more of her body will become shark-like as the shard continues its journey.”

  “Wait, so it’ll keep moving? …What happens when it reaches wherever it’s going?” Meg looks around at the others, hoping one of them will have an answer, but to her dismay, no one speaks up regarding the matter.

  Finally, Vira breaks the silence. “Unfortunately we’re still without any strong leads on exactly what is happening to you, or what’s going on with the sharks around Auguste, for that matter. That being said, we have discovered one detail while the two of you were preoccupied this morning. The rest of us spent some time talking to the townspeople, and there doesn’t seem to have been a single report of a shark attack outside of the two that our group were subject to.”

  “Well that’s at least something, I guess. Sounds like we’re not looking at a repeat of the shark attacks from a few years back, at least so far.” Mari muses.

  “Y-Yeah, I hope we don’t have to deal with that again, it was really scary…” Lyria shivers.

  Vira nods. “What I’ve heard of that incident sounded quite frightening indeed. This news does make me wonder if these attacks were targeted, however. We were all there when that primal beast attacked us in the cavern, after all, and I recall Meg mentioning that headache of hers even before the shard could have entered her body. That being said, this is all hearsay unless we find something directly connecting the strange behaviour of the sharks to this Ukupanipo, especially considering we still do not know what he’s capable of, and we cannot simply assume the townspeople will be spared from these attacks forever. I do feel that you two would have a better chance at understanding the bigger picture here, so if either of you have any theories, I would be more than happy to hear them.”

  “M-Me?” Meg points to herself. “I-I don’t know what you mean. Why would I-I know anything about what’s going on with the s-sharrks?”

  “I did not mean anything by it, Meg. I was referring to how you’re more familiar with sharks than anyone else here, even discounting your current predicament, and that Mari is quite knowledgable about the isles and their history.”

  “O-Oh… Right… hahaha…” Meg scratches her head nervously as she ughs.

  “Meg, I can understand why you’re so anxious about all of this, but you really needn’t worry. I can assure you that I shall do all in my power to remove the sharks and any other threats from the area before they become a serious issue for Auguste and its people, no matter what it may take to do so!” Vira gives her a confident smile, only for Meg to look downwards, avoiding her gaze.

  “Mayyyyyybe we don’t have to remove the sharrks, though. W-What if they’re just being controlled or something?”

  Vira stops to think for a moment. “That’s a fascinating theory, what makes you think that may be the case?”

  “O-Oh, you know… They’re just acting so different than usual, is all…” Meg says, very defensively.

  “Well if that’s the case, we must simply eliminate the mastermind! Rest assured that I will swiftly deliver an appropriate punishment to anyone who may be involved in such a plot!”

  “Y-Yeah… Thanks…”

  “I gotta say, I’m, like, really confused about all of this as well.” Mari says after a moment. “I don’t have a clue what that thing was doing in that cavern, why the sharks are attacking us, or why Meg is… Meg… is…”

  “Uhh, Mari? You’re… kinda droolin’...” Vyrn says to the Erune who appears completely entranced as she stares at Meg.

  “Whuh?” She shakes her head a bit to break her own trance before wiping her mouth. “Anyway, yeah. We still don’t have any leads, unfortunately...”

  “No worries! That just means we gotta find some!” Vyrn calls out as he raises a fist in the air.

  “Indeed, while it is far from ideal, all we can do for the moment is continue searching for information while keeping an eye out for any sharks acting strangely around the isnd.” Vira says.

  “W-What if we split up and patrolled the town?” Meg quickly asks. “Some of us can-”

  “We’ll take the east side!” Lyria yells, jumping up from her seat.

  “...Very well then.” Vira says after a moment. “In lieu of a better pn, this sounds like the best option we have, so the three of you can patrol the east side of the isnd. As for myself, I think I’d like to do some research, and see if I can find anything that may aid us in our search for answers. Would it be possible for me to gain access to any historical records and documents reted to the area, Mari? I know you’ve looked into some of this already when trying to ascertain the history of that mysterious building, but now that we know a primal beast is involved, there may be some connections that no one would have considered before.”

  Mari nods. “Oh yeah, that’s super easy. Just go down to the library and tell them I sent you, they’ll let you go through whatever stuff you want.”

  “Excellent, and that leaves patrolling the west side of the isnd to you two, if you’re okay with that. We can reconvene at a ter point to share our findings.”

  “So Meg and I just have to walk around town for the day? That sounds like fun, doesn’t it Meg? We can go shopping, and…” Mari pauses when she looks over. “...Meg?”

  Everyone looks to Meg when Mari says her name, only to see that she’s holding her head with both hands, and her breathing seems heavy.

  “Are you okay Meg?” Djeeta says, clearly concerned.

  “...I-I’m not sure if meeting here… was the best idear, guys…” She eventually responds. “I don’t know why, but the smell… of all the food’s… making me really… hungry…”

  Meg’s breathing only grows more rapid, and the rest of the crew look at each other with worried faces.

  “We need to get her outside.” Vira decres, realising they need to act fast. She remembers how Ursu was acting when she was hungry after this all began yesterday, who knows how much of a scene she’d cause if she started shing out in a pce like this?

  “Ngh… N-No time…” Meg grunts. “Ursur… she’s… she’s gonna…”

  But just when things appear their most dire, a rge serving tray stacked with a huge variety of pastries is pced on the table. Meg immediately lowers her hands, staring at the food like a hunter would its prey.

  “Here is your order of, well, ‘A whole lot of everything’, as Mari put it.” The waiter announces.

  “Oh thank goodness.” Meg barely has time to sigh out her response before she starts to feast, shoving an entire muffin in her mouth and chewing it without a hint of concern for how it might look to anyone else, least of all the waiter who is still standing right next to her.

  “I-Is there anything else you need?” He asks, put off by this strange behaviour.

  “We’re good for now thanks!” Mari announces as Meg continues to noisily go to town on her very rge brunch, not even paying all that much attention to what each item is before putting it in her mouth. “Sorry about the table though, the tourism association will reimburse you for it.”

  The waiter looks at the broken corner for a moment before bowing. “Don’t think anything of it, Mari. Considering how much new business your ‘Megte Slice’ recipe has brought in, it wouldn’t feel right to charge you for the damage. Although… I might have to ask if Meg could be a bit more… quiet… the next time you visit, she might be disturbing the other customers.”

  “Sorry about that, we’ll be more careful next time.” Mari answers on Meg’s behalf, who is so focused on eating that she doesn’t appear to be aware of the conversation happening next to her. The waiter bows one more time before leaving the table.

  Vira then finds herself sitting in awkward silence at the table. Mari is seemingly lost in her own blissful thoughts as she watches Meg gorge herself, and the others have returned to discussing their pcemat again. She cannot allow things to go on like they are for much longer, however, and finally speaks up.

  “Mari, would we be able to speak outside?”

  The Erune looks at her as if being woken up from a dream. “Huh? Why can’t we talk here?”

  “I must ask you to trust me on this one, I promise it won’t take us long.” Vira has a serious expression on her face.

  “Okay then… I’ll be back soon Meg!” Mari doesn’t get any acknowledgement from Meg as she gets up and follows Vira outside.

  The cloud cover has eased up significantly since yesterday, allowing the isnd to get some sun again, but it’s still far from the summer days Auguste is known for, as a distinct chill still hangs in the air.

  “So, what is it?” Mari asks as the duo stop not far from the entrance.

  “I will be frank with you Mari, I want to talk about Meg.” Vira says pinly.

  “I know, right? I’m still not over it either!” She replies excitedly.

  “I don’t think you understand, I’m deeply concerned about just how much of an effect the primal energy has already had on her in such a short time. Everything about this situation is quite unprecedented, but I find the rate at which her body is adapting to whatever that shard is doing to her to be quite arming.”

  “Yeah, she is changing pretty quickly, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?” Mari says with a hand on her chin. “It just means we’ll know what we’re dealing with sooner.”

  “I would be willing to agree with that if Meg was doing a better job of handling the changes thus far, but I’m not sure we actaully want to find out what we’re dealing with here. As it is, I do not think it is wise at all to simply let it be and see what happens, considering the mental and physical toll it already seems to be taking on her. Surely you have also noticed how she has started slurring her speech at times?”

  “Yeah, but she also didn’t sleep well. She’s probably just a bit tired.”

  “That is far from all, though. Just look at how much she’s struggling to deal with her appetite after barely a day! Where is all of the food she’s eating even going? Not to mention how her already unnatural strength has been amplified to a point where she’s having an even harder time controlling it. She is already struggling to handle everything that’s happening to her, and honestly, I dread to think what may occur if this continues for much longer. What if that shard ends up embedded in her heart, or her brain? What will happen to her then?”

  “It’ll be fiiiiine! We just have to find the bad guy, then Meg will give them a punch or two, and everything will go back to normal. I don’t even get why we need to be talking about this right now.”

  “That response is exactly why I wanted to have this conversation, Mari. I don’t believe you’re taking this as seriously as you should be. I truly hope we can resolve this situation without getting to the point where drastic measures are required, but that will very likely depend on you.”

  “...What exactly are you implying, Vira?”

  “Look, the reason I’m talking to you about this instead of Meg is that she already has enough on her pte. I do not wish to stress her out even further and risk her making any irrational decisions in her current state, but she trusts you, Mari. You need to make sure she knows you’re there for her, and will support her through this tumultuous period. This isn’t the time to be taking her on a shopping trip, you need to-”

  “Well excuse me for wanting to make the most of my time with her!” Mari excims, the sudden outburst catching Vira off guard. “I have her here for just one week, and then she’s off with all of you again and I don’t know if I’ll get to see her again at all until the summer! Like hell I’m going to waste even a single moment before then.”

  “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be spending time with her, I’m just not sure if what Meg needs right now is-”

  “And how would you know what she needs? I get that you’re trying to look out for her, but you’d barely even seen her until a few days ago. Yes, she's anxious about what’s been going on, but she’s anxious about pretty much everything! That’s what happens when you’ve been through what she has, but that’s why it’s so beautiful when you can finally get her to smile again, and why it’s so important to make sure she gets time to appreciate the things she loves. Do you know what she loves, Vira?”

  “I-I mean… I could hazard a guess, but-”

  “She loves Auguste, even more than I do! That’s why she tries so hard to keep it safe from monsters, and why I work my butt off all year to keep people coming in so that there’s still a city for her to protect! So no, I don’t know anything about primal beasts or magical transformations or anything like that, but I know Meg, and I know that the best thing to stop her from stressing out too much is to see that Auguste is still doing okay, and that she still gets to be a part of it. That’s why I’m going to let you worry about Ukupanipo and the core shard, while I do my best to take care of Meg without anyone getting in my face and ciming that I’m not thinking about what’s best for her. Does that work for you?”

  “...I-I’m sorry, Mari.” Vira says after a while. “I hadn’t realised you had thought about it that deeply. I suppose you avoided talking about it for the same reason I brought you out here, not wanting Meg to worry...”

  “Now you’re starting to get it.” Mari takes a moment to calm herself. “It might not seem like it with the super strength and the shark arm and everything, but she’s not built like you guys are. She needs some time to be a normal girl, and I need you to actually trust me when it comes to helping her out with that. I’ve known that girl for my entire life, and I don’t think there’s been a single moment where Auguste isn’t on her mind. So yeah, I know this won’t fix the problem, but it’s really what she needs right now.”

  “I am willing to trust you on this matter, and I truly do hope you’re right about this not being any more serious than what she’s dealt with in the past, but none of this expins why you seemed to be enjoying Meg’s metamorphosis. I can’t say I understand how that is helping her.”

  “I mean, can you bme me? Just look at her! Not everything has to be part of some big pn to make her feel better.”

  Vira sighs. “Very well, I suppose I have to at least grant you that much. Who knows how I would react if Lady Katalina were to be the one undergoing such a change. Regardless, if you and Meg are to go off and do as you please, please promise me you will let us know if anything happens. If the situation escates we must be prepared to act before it grows out of control.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on her, hehehe…” Mari giggles before being interrupted by someone calling out from inside the bakery.

  “M-Marri?” The two look over to see Meg waving nervously through the window of one of the closed doors.

  “Meg!” Mari hurries over and opens the doors, allowing Meg to exit the building without breaking anything.

  “What happened? You two were gone when I finished eating.”

  “Don’t worry Meg, we just wanted to talk about a couple things.” Mari says reassuringly. “Didn’t you hear me say we’d be back soon?”

  “S-Sorry, I was a little… uh… distracted…” Meg mumbles, ashamed to admit she was so focused on eating that she never even noticed them leave.

  “Well I certainly hope you’re feeling better after that meal, Meg.” Vira says with a smile, although the gesture only seems to make Meg even more nervous.

  “O-Of course I’m okay! …W-Why wouldn’t I-I be?”

  “Well if anything does happen, make sure to let us-”

  “O-Okay Mari! It’s time for us to go on patrol! L-Let’s go!” Meg yells, cutting Vira off before she hurriedly starts walking away.

  “Ooh! Sure thing, Meg!” Mari calls out as she starts to leave herself, only for Vira to grab her arm, stopping her from following just yet.

  “Just… one st thing, Mari.” She says with a serious expression. “Please be careful. You know Meg better than anyone, but I have experience with problems of this nature, and I would really rather avoid a worst case scenario. This is going to be a trying time for Meg, so please make sure you’re there for her. It would truly be a shame to lose her in the darkness.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Vira!” Mari smiles. “Meg’s eyes glow in the dark, it’s, like, impossible to lose track of her!” The Erune then removes her arm from Vira’s grasp, running off to catch up with Meg, leaving the woman on her own.

  “That was… meant to be a metaphor… Also, her eyes can do… what? D-Does that mean… I didn’t imagine it earlier?”

  The doors to the bakery open once more, and the remaining crew members walk out, with Djeeta holding onto the pcemat.

  “Are the two of them always like this?” Vira asks.

  “Yeah, we’ve kinda just learnt to stop tryin’ to fight it.” Vyrn yawns. “Anyway we’re gonna go check out the other side of the isnd, see if we can find any clues.”

  “About the sharks, yes?”

  “Yeah, sure…” Vyrn flies off, with Djeeta and Lyria following on foot.

  Vira takes a deep sigh before heading off in a different direction, and a certain primal beast asks her a question.

  “We’re heading to the library like we said we would, Luminiera. It is only fair that we at least give Mari a chance to help Meg in her own way.”

  …

  “No, I do not trust it to work out either, not when that core has affected Meg so much already. Their only hope there would require them to resolve their communication issues, or at least having become aware that the issue exists in the first pce, and I think we can both agree that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.” Vira chuckles as she walks off, ignoring the strange looks she’s getting from the people watching her talk to herself. “We will give them some time, but at this point there’s little doubt that we will have to step in and resolve the situation ourselves, and I’m not just referring to pying matchmaker again…”

  SyntaxSpeedway