Chapter 22: Intermittent Conversations

Rick spent the rest of the party avoiding human interaction in whatever ways were available. Though the dog clearly would have been happy to sit or play with him forever, as time wore on, Rick realized that he would need to connect with his mentor and sponsor again. He didn't want to find out what would happen if Josiah Craw became truly impatient.

So he did a feeble imitation of socializing. Though he avoided the drinks, some of the food was amazingly good. He got the sense that there were serious politics going on among the immortals, but he was also aware that he was a piece, not a player. Even the immortals here were in the grip of larger social systems and bounds of propriety. It wasn't a life he wanted, just something he was sampling in an effort to take himself upward.

Toward the end of the party, one of the palace aides came and requested his Showdown card. Rick was skeptical for a moment, but he'd seen how the lives of the wealthy relied on certain assumptions of trust, and it wasn't like the card itself had great value. So he handed over the card and tried not to think about it, even though it wasn't returned at the end.

Eventually H showed up beside him and jerked his head toward the door. Josiah was saying farewell to some of their hosts, kissing the hands of all the women and vigorously shaking those of the men. Though Rick had been evading eye contact, when he looked up he saw several lanterns floating overhead, ferrying guests back to their homes.

Or the closest thing they had to homes, if they were competitors.

They were escorted back to their lantern by a young man and Rick found himself a bit disappointed that it wasn't the woman from before. He immediately kicked himself. She had been nothing but professional, it was just him getting distracted. Much of the time he could sink all other thoughts into training, but when he had to be around other people, sometimes other thoughts wormed their way to the surface. Perhaps a reason to do more training, then.

"Quite a bash, eh?" Josiah sat back and laced his fingers over his coats with a look of deep satisfaction. "I've always said it, the Orientals know how to host a man. They also usually have the decency not to allow lesser types into such functions. All very respectable. Even that Siberian fellow was a gentleman in the end."

H and Rick didn't say anything, nodding like bobble-heads.

"Ah, but on that subject, it is time to give you the fruits of your labor." Josiah reached into a pocket and revealed a card that he passed on to Rick. "I hadn't yet given you my stamp of approval, since this was all so irregular, but you seem an able young lad. And you did something right, because our hosts gave you a seal of their own. Two in one day, eh? Not bad for a night of amusements."

"Thank you, sir." Rick took the card and examined the new seals. One of them looked to be of the same shining ink as the first Jade Seal, but this one had an elaborate pair of characters. Though he couldn't read them, he thought they were familiar from some of the art he'd seen throughout the house. By contrast, the other seal was a metallic coat of arms with a tiny assortment of symbols he couldn't make out.

They were silent for a while, then Josiah began rambling in praise of their hosts again. It went on for a short time before H coughed slightly. "Master Craw, perhaps we should discuss our plans?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose." Josiah turned toward Rick and regarded him seriously. "I know that a vigorous young man like yourself must be eager to participate in the Showdown, but this competition between myself and my chums really is the higher priority."

"Has a date been set?" H asked.

"Not at the moment, so you have at least some months. Those are your instructions, man! Keep him in the Showdown and prepare him for the fight to come. We have yet to decide on the terms or venue, so you must be prepared for everything. I expect to see verve from you, lad! Verve and vigor!"

When they returned to Odiyu, Rick was gladder to see the demonic city than he'd thought possible. Josiah left him with a crushing handshake and left in his flying Model T, careening out at a frankly terrifying rate. If he passed over any urban areas on his way back home, the chance of an accident seemed quite high.

Apparently the party's length had been entirely predictable, because by the time they reached the road, a taxi had pulled up waiting for them. H was oddly silent as they entered, but when they started back to the hotel, Rick looked over at him and smiled.

"Horatio, is it?"

"Oh, don't start." H lit up a cigarette, then glared down the taxi driver when the man objected. "My parents were involved in these circles, and they thought 'Horatio' was a very modern-sounding name."

"You could just change it, or tell people to call you anything you want."

"Could, but we are what we are. Have you gotten the jokes out of your system yet?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk about training." Rick settled into his seat and tried to get back into the proper mindset. "Are you really going to pull me out of the Showdown to focus on the fight? I know we have a lot to work on, but that seems... I mean, at minimum, you wouldn't be earning any money off me, right?"

H puffed on his cigarette for a time, then slowly shook his head. "If I get my proper payment from this, it will make up for the rest. But you're not getting any bonuses for seals earned through parties, only from winning. What would be best is to focus on your lucrim growth. We won't worry about winning money or earning seals - three is plenty for someone who's only been doing this for a few months. I'll put you into events when they'll test you in the right way."

"That sounds like a good plan to me. Are we going to participate in the rest of the Showdown in Odiyu?"

"No, you've already shown all your tricks. No point trying to place in the remaining events. Better to use that time to prepare for the next one."

"Alright, where are we going next?"

"New Zealand." H saw his surprised expression and shrugged. "For a little island, they've had more impact on the world than most. They have a dragonweight and Australia doesn't. Go figure."

"It's still not a very big country, right?"

"Yeah. That means that the Showdown won't be huge there, including the prizes. You should still encounter some local Lucores, because they have a few tricks your defensive core needs to experience, but it should give you a month to train."

Rick was mostly glad to hear that, but his mind rolled onward. "And after that is Siberia?"

H nodded, but said nothing for a while. Eventually he finished his cigarette, ground it up in one hand, and then looked back to Rick. "You might have managed so far, but your stubbornness over the demonic bond issue is still a major flaw. Your training will be useless if you won't help yourself."

"I'm trying to set up something with my demonic contacts." Or so he hoped. "They'll be in Siberia. Don't put me in any events too quickly and I should be able to get it worked out."

"I hope so, because you won't be able to sit out Siberia. Their champion will want to test you directly, and they don't have the same laws about personal injury there. If you don't have the power to back up this attitude, you'll pay for it."

Something else to look forward to. Rick sat back and closed his eyes, because he knew he wouldn't get much time to rest.

~ ~ ~

Though Rick had harbored hopes of returning to the demonic side of Odiyu, both to explore it further and to contact Bftgage and Ythsil, H insisted that leaving would be too great an opportunity for spying from other groups. Rick didn't see the point, when he'd be showing his training in public in the next Showdown, but he accepted it since he was interested in training anyway.

After some time correcting errors his hasty training had created, H focused primarily on teaching him something new that seemed completely inexplicable. It was all lucrim constructions that Rick hadn't seen before, and sometimes frankly baffled him. He could tell that they involved transferring energy, and obviously they would be the basis for another Lucore, but beyond that he was clueless. H seemed aggravated by his slow progress, but told him to simply keep at it.

Though it was easy to sink back into his training, it was again texts from Melissa that pulled him out of it. As soon as possible, they arranged another video chat. He saw that she was wearing a new jacket, and as always she looked healthier than before.

"Too busy to talk, Mr. McBigPants?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

"Sorry, it's been busy. But how does having big pants relate?"

"You know, the saying about people getting too big for their... well, I guess that's the opposite. Okay, here's how it goes: your pants are getting so large that they're covering your mouth. This also causes you to change your name to Leeroy McBigPants."

Knowing better than to question further, Rick just smiled and changed the subject. "How have things been in the YLAA? I read a little online about you guys going on some sort of field trip?"

"No, that's still coming up." Melissa leaned back in her chair and smiled. "We're going to Europe and I'm actually looking forward to it! Supposedly we'll be meeting our European equivalents - Junge Kämpfer Aus Europa or something - but I think it's really an excuse to travel around. But I'm glad we'll be doing it, since I worry you're going to come back all worldly and experienced."

"Yeah, I was going to mention that. I've been learning so much, I'm losing the ability to speak English. If you can't speak seven new languages by the time I get back, we can't be siblings anymore."

"Don't be silly, brother. How are you going to learn that many new languages when you have a different girlfriend in every city?"

That actually did bring up a current frustration, but it really didn't matter while he was talking to Melissa. "How do you think I'm learning them all? Pillow talk is the best instructor."

"Eww!" Melissa pretended to slap her hands to her face in horror. "Don't scandalize my sensitive ears!"

"I seem to recall your sensitive ears making some pretty suggestive movements... wait, fuck, that doesn't work."

"The ability of my ears to speak is well-known! Legendary, even!"

Rick gave up trying to say anything clever, even by their silly standards, and just grinned at her. "But really, how are things going with you?"

They talked about everything, going longer than usual. Rick began doing his exercises subconsciously and was surprised to note that Melissa seemed to be doing the same thing. Hers involved more lights dimming and dark flames licking up around her, but neither of them paid it any mind.

When it really got too late on her end, Melissa glanced at her wrist, which did not hold a watch, and sighed. "I guess we have to stop soon. Look at the time, and all that. Part of the reason I wanted to do this now is that we might not have so much time during the European tour. But after that... I was wondering if there was any way we could actually get together. In person."

"I'd like that, but would it work? I'm never sure where we're headed nex-"

"Use the gosh darn website, Rick! They post all this stuff way in advance."

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm pretty sure we'll only visit the US rarely, and we likely won't be anywhere near you. I wouldn't mind you coming to watch a Showdown sometime, but it's really not as exciting as you'd think. A few intense events, sure, but most of the time we're training."

"But that leaves us more time to do nothing, which is the point." Melissa slid forward and fiddled with something off the edge of the camera. "Actually, I had something else in mind. After the European tour, we get a month off as a break. Most of the other YLAA people are going to... go to their summer lake houses, or dress up horses all fancy, or whatever they do. It's like they didn't even think that someone might not have a home to go back to."

Rick winced, but he wasn't surprised. "Yeah, shit like that happens. So, from what you said, you're thinking of trying to come wherever I am?"

"Yeah. I mean, if it's possible. I figured that I'd already be in Europe, so there's a good chance it'd be cheaper to fly to wherever you are."

"I'd have to talk to H about whether you could come here. He wouldn't like it, but I might be able to convince him. Or..." Rick had been checking the website while they spoke and seeing how the exact months lined up. "I'll be in Southeast Asia and the Showdown that month won't be so important. What if we flew to see Uncle Frank?"

Melissa perked up and clapped her hands. "That's a great idea! Uh, he is still over there, right? We'll need to get him somehow and ask, but surely we can make it work somehow."

"I don't know if I can get permission, and you should check to see if the flights are too much. But yeah, let's try."

They said a few other farewells, but the call ended on that happy note. Even though it was an idea that had come up on the spur of the moment, Rick found himself fixating on it surprisingly quickly. It had been years since they'd seen Uncle Frank in person. Unless his perpetually busy work made it entirely impossible, it would be fun to visit him and see what he did.

As they prepared to leave China, Rick's training had progressed further, but became no more comprehensible. All the Formula T he drank went into strengthening his defensive sphere, leaving the empty ones conspicuously empty. He thought that he could feel the imbalance in his lucrima soul every time he used the Triune Golden Spheres.

H was gone more often with other business, but implied that they would begin the next step of training when they reached New Zealand. With that in mind, Rick focused more on his original cores. They might not be exploding in strength like the Spheres, but he still relied on them in every fight.

With his mind fully focused on the next step of their trip, he was actually surprised to receive a call from Lisa. He'd nearly forgotten about sending her the sample of Formula T. Come to think of it, he was surprised that she hadn't sent him a message about receiving it. Had Qing Shan simply stolen it after all?

When Lisa appeared on his screen, however, she was smiling. "Hello, Rick."

"Hey." He was suddenly self-conscious of the fact that he was filthy with sweat and was glad that she couldn't smell him through the camera. "Nice to hear from you."

"I got your gift. It was nice... uh, actually a little too nice. It made things awkward for a bit with Nathan until I explained about it being for my work."

"Nathan?" He immediately felt like an idiot for asking, since obviously it was her boyfriend. Lisa also looked awkward and tried to brush it aside.

"Boyfriend, but never mind that. Uh... I don't know why I even mentioned that. It's not a problem, really."

"Actually, I'm not sure what's going on. I thought you might find the Formula T interesting, but you're talking about it like it was a way better gift than I thought."

Lisa gave him a strange look, then bent down off camera. When she rose back up, she was holding a case about the size of a shoe box. It couldn't have been further from a shoe box otherwise, a ceramic case covered in Chinese calligraphy. Rick blinked in confusion.

"Uh... I didn't send you that much. I guess they threw in something else as a bonus."

"Well, I'm not complaining." Lisa opened the case and he saw that the interior had several trays of plush velvet. There were many notches, some filled with pills, but he presumed that the others had once been filled as well. "If you were really dealing with immortals, this was probably a trivial castoff to them, like a party favor or something. But the chance to work directly with so many rare materials has been amazing."

She went on to talk about them in detail and Rick found himself smiling at her passion for the subject. For a while he'd been worried that things had gone wrong, but it seemed sending it to her had been the right idea. Except for the central issue, which he managed to bring up once she finished.

"You did get the Formula T, right?"

"Yes, that was included." Lisa's smile faded and she raised the familiar vial, still mostly full. "I'm not your mother and I don't want to lecture you, but... be careful with this, Rick. I couldn't find any direct information, either online or in any of the databases I have paid access to. But from basic testing, the concentration of lucrim in this is quite high."

"I know. They have me taking a lot of precautions, but I can easily imagine how bad this would be for a power addict."

"Can you tell me how exactly you take it? Melissa also mentioned something about a special formulation that healed you, and that threw me for a loop, so I'd like to understand better."

The fact that the two of them had conversations about him was news to Rick, but he pushed it aside and explained about the schedule of taking it every eight hours. Lisa's expression darkened, though she didn't say anything, so he added every other detail he could. When he finally finished, she stared down at the vial for a time before speaking quietly.

"I think I should do some more tests on this. The risk... well, we've already talked about that. I really truly don't want to lecture."

"I'm glad you're taking the time, Lisa." Rick made sure to smile until she looked up enough to meet his gaze. "And if you have any warnings for me, I'll listen to them, honest. I've blundered into too many problems to think my foresight is all that great."

That got a slight smile from her. "Do you really still want some of my serum? With everything you're taking, and the way I never got an address..."

"No! I mean, no, I actually want it. Things were just crazy for a while and it looked like I might get kicked out of the Showdown. But I'm going to New Zealand next, actually in a few days. I don't know exactly where we'll be staying, but I know the city, so I'll get you an address."

"There was a risk of being kicked out?"

Apparently Melissa hadn't told her everything. Rick explained some of his recent troubles, but felt awkward talking so much about himself. He turned the conversation back to her business, deciding it might be safer to keep things professional.

As Lisa spoke, however, he found himself surprised by the parallels. She was also interested in developing a perpetual soul, though in her case it was more so that she could refine materials and create ether without it being a drain on her. Rick was no expert, but it seemed like she had good ideas. Maybe she wasn't crafting world class supplements yet, but hopefully the chance to work with everything he had sent her would help.

When the call ended, Rick was left smiling and sad. He closed the laptop and dropped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was easier not to think about that. Tomorrow, he'd be off to yet another new country to begin all over again.