A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

For a moment, Erik was left in thought after what Lamayian had said… but then he heard a fizzing. Looking over, it was Elora's cage of energy that slowly dissolved, and the fairy wasted no time.

As soon as the cage was gone, her wings raged and her body rocketed towards Erik. Changing into her human-sized form in mid-air, she crashed against his body and wrapped both arms and legs around him.

Smiling, Erik hugged her back and closed his eyes. For a moment, they revelled in their true reunion as all tension and worry truly drained away from them.

"I want to be back inside you…" she muttered under her breath as she squeeze her body closer than physically possible and her own body trembled. Although she'd put on a brave face when Lamayian was still present, her voice now took on a far more vulnerable tone. She realised how close to death she'd come, and it shook her.

She wanted the comfort of her little corner in Erik's soul…

Erik suppressed the desire to make a crude joke about her being inside him, and simply hugged her tighter. He wasn't any less shaken than her by this event, even if it all ended on a good note.

"I just need to reach second-rank in my space affinity," Erik whispered softly, one hand caressing her long, crimson hair, the other her bare lower back. "It will be my main focus until I succeed, alright? I want you back inside me, too."

Silently, Elora nodded into his chest. The fact neither of them was engaging with the obvious jokes was proof to both of them how shaken the other truly was. A few steps away, Naeku looked at their interaction and fidgeted awkwardly.

Seeing this, Erik smirked and waved at her invitingly, spreading one arm wide. Seeing this, Naeku was hesitant at first, unsure if she should be intruding in this moment. Yet, Erik was insistent, and she eventually crept closer.

Soon, he pulled her into the hug, and Naeku instinctively wrapped her arms around both Erik and Elora. The fairy, having noticed nothing of this, flinched a little and opened one eye to softly glare at Naeku.

The young princess became nervous, but Elora soon closer her eye again in tacit approval of her presence in this moment. Naeku smiled at that and settled further into the hug.

They stayed like that for several moments, enjoying each other's warmth.

It took several minutes for Elora to finally calm down, her body no longer trembling. Coughing and scraping her throat, she awkwardly wriggled out of the hug. "R— Right… anyway… enough of that mushy crap."

As the fairy ignored Naeku and Erik's grins, she turned small again before settling on Erik's shoulder. Then she glanced at Naeku, quickly wanting to change the subject. "So, did you get his inheritance?"

Still clinging to Erik's side, Naeku nodded and held up a storage ring with a strange expression. "I did, but… he was an Arcanist, and I'm not, so I'm not sure how much use his inheritance will be for me. The only reason I'm related to him is because several of his descendants were born as Runebound as a part of the genetic experiments."

Elora nodded understandingly. "Well, I suggest you take a good look at it and come to me if you have any questions, alright? And if there's something you can't use, then perhaps Emily, Emma, or I can, assuming you're willing to share.."

Smiling, Naeku nodded, "Of course I am!" She felt the care Elora showed her now that they were family and enjoyed it. Erik watched the interaction and smiled as well.

Elora then looked around. "How about this facility, then? If there's a control core for this place, it might be in that inheritance you got." She pointed at Eira's core in Erik's armguard. "It would look a little like that, but smaller and less powerful."

Frowning, Naeku lifted her hand with the ring and started searching its contents attentively. Her eyes lit up with curiosity a few times, but eventually she made a small red gem appear, before lifting her eyes and looking at Elora. "Is this it?"

Elora nodded. "Yeah, that's good. That gem is probably only meant for emergencies, though. We should get Eira back here, as this facility's sigil construct is likely meant to be the main control mechanism."

Everyone nodded, Naeku made the gem disappear again, and Erik contacted Eira. A mere moment later, the slightly transparent Minotaur appeared before them. "Master! Did everything work out?" she asked brightly, a toothy smile on her lips.

Grinning, Erik nodded as he thumbed at the fairy on his shoulder. "As you can see…"

Eira looked genuinely happy as she clapped her hands. "Yay! I knew another servant of my mistress would see reason!"

Both Erik and Elora grimaced a little. They still felt conflicted about this man. On the one hand, Erik respected his attitude, and Elora respected his knowledge, but on the other hand, their meeting hadn't been particularly pleasant.

Still, they nodded reluctantly at Eira's comment.

"Do I have more control now, Eira?" Naeku asked curiously.

Glancing at her, Eira nodded with a smile. "Yeah! Well, not control, exactly. I'm not like the original sigil construct, so you can't give me orders, but I do need your permission to do most things. That control crystal represents direct control of the facility's functions, though!"

Enlightened, Naeku nodded. "Alright, that's fine." Then she cocked an eyebrow. "Can I just give you broad permission to do whatever you like? I mean,"—she glanced at Erik—"I don't know Eira that well, yet, but we trust her, right?"

A somewhat uncomfortable silence settled over them. Eira's trustworthiness was, and technically still is, a little bit contested because of her connection to Audumla. The question of whether she would betray them if Audumla asked was still up in the air.

Eira knew all this and fidgeted with an awkward sadness around her. "I, uhm… You could, but… that may not be… Uhm…" Before continued, she glanced at Erik, waiting for his determination.

Erik quickly glanced at Elora, and they had a quick conversation about the viability of using Naeku's control crystal if Eira turned against them.

Eventually, he looked up at Eira and nodded. The risk was there, but… honestly, he really wanted to trust Eira. "I trust you, Eira. I believe that, if it came down to choosing between me and her, you'd probably choose her, but I also believe you wouldn't stab us in the back. I hope you'd trust me enough to simply tell me."

Relief and joy flooded Eira's expression. Without delay, she surged forward and jumped into his arms. "I won't let you down!" she cried with certainty.

Erik smiled. 'Cute…' he muttered under his breath.

Then, after Naeku gave her broad permission to do as she liked, Elora clapped her hands and grinned playfully. "Alright! I know we have a facility to explore," she giggled in a mischievous tone, "but I think we should celebrate this resolution a little first."

She glanced at Eira. "Eira? Could you bring us back to that throne room, and also teleport Emily and Astrid there?" She looked back at Erik, her eyes shining lustfully. "I believe we have a new throne we can honour our husband on…"