Celebration!

 When Mary woke up, her head was clear again, but she wasn’t in the same place as when she had fallen asleep. She was looking at the roof of what seemed like an inn. Her head rose slowly from the pillows they had been set on, though she was resting on top of the blankets. The smell of cheap ale and warm food was wafting up from the floorboards, so this was almost certainly an inn with a tavern on the ground floor.

Looking around, she saw that the place they were staying wasn’t bad at all. The floor was made of wood and was well-cleaned, and there were more than enough beds for the entire party. Hers was the only one that looked like it had been laid in as of now, and the others were well-made. Rosetta must have wanted a very clean place for tonight.

Just as Mary got her bearings, she heard a single set of footsteps in the room. She looked up and saw Abel, his indifferent expression lifting a bit as he saw her. He looked like he was walking in from a washroom with how wet his hair was.

“Oh, you’re awake?” He asked.

Mary nodded in response, slowly standing up.

“Oh, you’re on your feet already, good. I was worried you’d be worse. How’s your leg?”

Mary looked down. What did he mean? Her legs both felt fine to her. She looked back at Abel, confused.

“Is your memory faulty? You couldn’t walk by the end of that.”

“I-I… Yes.” Mary’s voice was weak and whispery, like she had screamed her throat out.

“Hm. Well, while you were fighting the cultists, your legs both took a beating. One of them even got real bruised, you weren’t walking right by the end of it.”

“What… Happened, exactly?” Mary asked.

Abel sighed a bit. “You know, probably better to hear it from Hunter than me.”

That worried Mary. She remembers having done something very bad, and just thinking back on it made her feel some sort of guilt or panic. But, she couldn’t remember much, and trying to remember was giving her a bad headache.

“Was I… Supposed to forget it all?” Mary asked, her throat starting to feel like it was going to close up.

Abel didn’t respond immediately. He took a deep breath, crossing his arms to consider his answer before he responded.

“I’m not sure,” Abel replied honestly, “but you should ask that to Hunter as well. He’s the only one of us who has experience with magical rage.”

“Where is everybody?”

“Downstairs,” Abel said, turning his head away from Mary. “Brace yourself, it’ll be loud.”

Mary paused to listen, and sure enough, she could hear something. The sounds of a loud tavern, glasses clinking and voices talking. Several shouts. There might be an instrument, but she wasn’t sure. The sounds were all muffled from here.

“Do I… Have to?” Mary asked.

“Not really,” Abel replied with a slight groan, “but lots of people are expecting you.”

“I’m not really one for parties…”

“Neither am I,” Abel replied bluntly, “but I’m not much for conversation either. So, if you’ve got more questions, go down there.”

Abel’s tone shocked Mary into realizing she was probably annoying him. She wasn’t sure what she’d do at the party, but she didn’t want to bother Abel more than she already had. Silently, Mary straightened her hair a bit and brushed her dress with her hands. She was in a nice, modest purple dress. She recognized it as one of the spare pieces of clothing she had packed in her bag. This would not have been good to wear for battle, but it was incredibly comfortable on her now. With that, she put on shoes and walked out the door, quickly finding the steps that lead her down to the lively tavern scene.

The first thing that hit her was the smell. Countless people partying in such a warm area with strong drinks at every table made the air sharp with something that was both distinct yet chaotic, the kind of sensation that was impossible for your head to attach to one single odor. The second was the noise. Everybody was talking, and everybody was loud. At least a dozen conversations intertwined, making a continuous drone that matched the smell: chaotic to the point that your mind couldn’t focus on any one thing. Thankfully, the third thing Mary noticed was Hunter. He was sitting at the bar across the room from her, several full tables separating them with only a narrow walkway for her to squeeze through to reach him.

“Woah!” a man’s voice shouted through the tavern, “this a new barmaid?”

“Nah, that’s not the uniform,” a girl’s voice shouted. “Hey, girl! You looking for a table?”

Mary ignored the calls, as friendly as they sounded. She didn’t want to get wrapped up in anything she didn’t have to. She walked between the happy partygoers, thankful that nobody seemed to be trying to reach out towards her as she walked between them. She did bump into a few people, all of whom she offered a whispering apology. She didn’t think any of them heard her, but she continued forward still. By the time she reached Hunter, she felt like everything about her was slightly more humid and warm from the atmosphere. She tapped his shoulder nervously.

“H-Hunter?” she called nervously.

Hunter turned, his face immediately going from a warm smile to a massive grin. “MARY!” he shouted, patting her on the shoulder hard enough that she took a half-step in that direction. “Glad yer finally awake! Ya feelin’ alright?”

Mary nodded.

“Ahhh, yer voice not too well?” Hunter laughed. “I don’t blame ya! My first time ragin’, I screamed so much I couldn’t order a drink fer DAYS!”

He laughed again, slapping Mary on the back.

“So, Mary, what brings ya down here? I woulda thought you’d be th’ same as Abel! Wastin’ away in a room instead o’ joinin’ everybody down here!”

“I-I had some questions,” Mary whispered.

“What was that? Speak up, lass!”

Mary cleared her throat. “Questions.”

“Oh? Well, ask away!” Hunter said with cheer.

Mary took a breath, but quickly realized her throat was not holding up well. She would have to choose her questions carefully. The question about if she was supposed to forget things when she raged could wait. Asking about what happened couldn’t.

“What happened in the chamber?” she asked.

“Well,” Hunter said, “pretty simple, really. Ya went berserk on Rosetta’s order- a good thing, mind you- then tore up the cultists good! It was admirable, really. I could never do somethin’ like that myself, y’know! Ya did it without even a weapon, it was incredible! We need t’ get ya some claws or-”

Hunter cleared his throat, laughing a bit. “Sorry! Got a little sidetracked, eh? Well, after ya took out the cultists, ya turned toward us. Before I knew it, you were pouncin’ on me and Lena! Lena was able ta keep ya off o’ me, but we had t’ work together t’ make sure y’ didn’t hurt us! Got your legs good, I did, but ya crawled over to a portal and, wouldn’t y’ know it, ya turned that thing OFF!”

As he yelled the word “off”, the tavern roared in applause. Before Mary could reply, Hunter lifted one of her arms.

“FOR ALL O’ YA WHO DON’T KNOW IT, THIS IS THE LITTLE LADY WHO TURNED OFF A PORTAL!”

Another cheer from the tavern, and Mary wanted to disappear. She felt countless pairs of eyes burning holes through her, even though she knew they were staring in admiration. She hunched forward, trying to pull her arm away as she saw quite a few people standing up. Hunter glanced at her as he felt the pull, quickly putting her arm back down. He stood up from his seat as Mary put her head down in her arms, moving between her and the crowd.

“Hey, lass isn’t takin’ any questions now!” Hunter called, his voice booming just as loud as when he was calling for their attention. “Her voice is hoarse, y’see, so it’ll all have to wait for later!”

Some people sat back down, but a few of them still seemed very interested in asking her questions. Mary caught that Hunter was looking to her now, and her eyes met his. His eyes seemed softer than usual, and his eyebrows were raised with an unspoken question. Mary wasn’t sure what it meant, but Hunter seemed to find what he needed in her expression. He turned back to the few people trying to approach.

“Look, she’s not one much for parties, can’t y’see that? Now, get outta here! You can always come ta me later to pass a message along! So, unless ya don’t know if you’ll be able to find ME, then go ahead an’ sit back down!”

That seemed to get the rest of the crowd off of them. Hunter sighed, sitting back down. He looked at Mary and glanced around to make sure everybody had sat back down before taking a swig from his drink.

“So, that’s th’ long an’ short of it, Mary. Sorry about all that, shoulda known. Anyways… What else were ya lookin’ t’ ask?”

“The portal… Wh-Why did everybody cheer about that?”

Hunter looked at her in disbelief. “What d’ya mean?? Ya took out a portal, that’s more’n worth cheerin’ about!”

“It is?”

“Oh, don’t tell me y’ didn’t know!” Hunter said in genuine exasperation. He took a much bigger swig, sighing as he slammed his mug on the table and signaled to the bartender that he wanted another. Then, he turned his full body towards Mary.

“Mary, you’re the first person who’s been able to do ANYTHIN’ about these portals!”