Chapter 173: Possible Path
"I just can't believe she would say that!" Hera bit down on another piece of her steak.
"Hera, it's ok. You know she didn't mean it," Blue motioned to Alex and Bonnie, asking them for help.
"Yeah, it's just a joke," Alex said.
Hera shook her head, "I know, and I know that she didn't mean anything bad. You guys are saying that for the past hour. I got it. It just sucks. I feel like she's comparing me with my mother," she was angrily cutting the last piece of the meat on her place, "I need a shower, with bleach."
After leaving the house in a huff, Hera wanted to hunt, but the group convinced her to stay in the guild gym. She wasn't exactly in the right state to do something dangerous. She took out her frustration on the weights and in a punching bag. She had left without eating breakfast, and by noon Hera was starving.
"Hera, you should talk to her. If not, you might bottle that up and explode someday. Just say you didn't like it," Alex placed one hand on Hera's shoulder.
Hera took a sip from her soda, "I will. Sorry for the freakout. It's just been a while since I thought about my mother, and it just made me angry. I'll talk to her after this."
With the improved mood, Bonnie changed the subject, "On a side note. Mark is asking about crafting positions around here. It seems there were some issues with the workshop where he's working, not that this comes as a surprise. Do you guys know any place where he could try to get a job?"
"Not here in Hazelpond, but he might find something in the caverns. I mean, there are a lot of shops there," Blue said.
"Yeah, maybe that small one that you showed us, Hera. There was just one guy working there, right? And his grandpa," Alex took a bite of her chicken.
"I'm not sure. That place is really small. Maybe they don't even have space for another crafter," Hera had finished the steak and was now attacking the fries.
"Anyway, tell him to drop by when he can. We can show him around the caverns, and worst-case scenario, he can work as a miner if he really wants to leave there. I mean, the work should be kind of the same," Blue said.
"Mining and crafting? I think they are way too different," Alex shook her head.
"Why? Both involve doing the same thing over and over in a stuffy place around a bunch of sweaty people covered in dirt. I mean, he won't be raising his skills, but at least he would have a way to leave that place," Blue replied.
"I'm still not used to you making sense, you know," Bonnie sighed.
"Your loss. I've always been smart. You just didn't get me."
"Yeah, the first one to get you was Quinn, right?" Alex teased.
"That's right. You started to change after the two of you hooked up," Hera nodded.
"Well… she's smart, and I don't want to look like a chimpanzee when we are going out," Blue started to blush.
"Awwww, that's so sweet. She makes you want to be a better person," Alex pinched Blue's cheek.
"Bite me!" Blue pushed her back.
"Isn't that something you should ask Quinn?" Hera asked.
Blue groaned and left the table for the bathroom. The three kept laughing at her reaction, but Hera was happy. Quinn seemed to make Blue push herself in a good direction. She seemed more centered and more careful about her comments and was taking more interest in strategy and tactics. It was still all about fighting, but it was nice seeing someone she cared for so much broadening her horizons.
"By the way, are you sure you are ok?" Alex turned to Hera.
"I'm still annoyed with Helena, but yeah. I'm fine."
"I wasn't talking about that. I mean the mock battle. You were the only one that didn't win a single match."
"Alex! Don't rub salt on the wound," Bonnie chimed in.
"You can rub all the salt you want. There is no wound. I'm fine. I know you guys liked the mock battle a lot, especially Blue and Runir, but I just wasn't feeling it. I don't want to hit my friends or participate in fighting tournaments. I rather find new things, get stronger, kill some strong monsters. Mock battles feel… bland. There is no thrill," Hera explained.
Bonnie stared at her, "You are an adrenaline junkie, you know that?"
"Yep. My shrink agrees and keeps telling me to be careful until we can fix that."
They kept talking and joking around. Sometime later, they returned home. Helena had ordered a cake as an apology and was waiting by the living room.
"We'll give you two some time to talk," Alex patted Hera on the back before heading to her room, followed by Blue and Bonnie.
Hera walked to a chair and sat down in front of Helena.
"Hey, sweetie."
"Hey. Do you mind if I talk first?" Helena shook her head as a reply to Hera's question, "Ok, look. I shouldn't have stormed off like that. The girls helped me see that. Instead of avoiding it, I'm just going to say it point-blank. I hate that you called me mother. I don't care if it was a joke or whatever, but I've told you about some of the problems with my family," Helena was about to say something, but Hera made a motion for her to stop, "Hold on, let me finish. What I told you was just the tip of the iceberg. My mom was the one that told the people in my school that I spent two days crying after my 18th birthday. She gave me makeup every birthday and Christmas so I could, 'Finally, be a pretty girl.' Anyway, the point is calling me a mother, a mom friend, or anything related to being a parental figure freaks me the hell out. Please, never do it again. If you need, call me a grandma, that's fine."
Hera looked to the kitchen behind Helena the entire time. It was close enough to the mage's head not to seem rude, or at least that's what she hoped. Confrontations made her uncomfortable. Saying something like that to Helena felt awful, but the girls were right. She loved living here, and if she let that one slide, more could come in the future, and she could end up having to move to feel at home again.
"Sweetie…" Helena cleaned a tear forming on her left eye and moved closer to Hera, holding her hand, "I'm very, very sorry about this. It was never my intention to hurt you. I don't know how much your mom hurt you, but I can guarantee you are nothing like her."
"Say, mother, It's stupid, but a mom is supposed to be warm and loving. Mine was, well. Closer to mother dearest."
Helena gave Hera a hug, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, I'm sorry for the mother you have, I'm sorry for not being a better friend. I'm sorry for everything."
"Lena, you don't have to be sorry for anything. Aside from what you said, I'll take that. But the rest is not your fault. Why are you the one apologizing?" Hera patted Helena's head.
"It's not fair. You are so kind. You didn't deserve to be treated that way."
"It's fine. I've been out of that place for a few years already. You don't need to worry. I'm fine now," Hera kept consoling Helena, but the irony of the situation didn't escape her. She was the one who got hurt, and now the mighty shadow mage was the one bawling her eyes out.
The two stood like that for a while until Helena calmed down. Hera tried to distract her by changing the subject to the shadow spells she used. The trick worked, and soon Helena stopped crying, even if she was still sad about Hera's childhood. Inadvertently, the discussion gave Hera some insight into what type of mage she could become. Helena used shadow magic to remove a target's senses and then restrain them. There were fell spells she used to deal actual damage, and even though they were simple, they were made to be deadly. One would deal more damage if the target wasn't moving. Another would have an increased effect if the spell hit a target afflicted by an ailment, the more ailments it had, the stronger it would be. Sadly, not all spells that Helena used to take away someone's senses were considered afflictions, but the idea seemed very interesting.
She already had a couple of ways to create some conditions. If she managed to use a similar spell, she could improve her combat ability by a lot. In games, things like being poisoned or paralyzed always felt underwhelming, but there was a reason why so much medicinal knowledge was about treatment and not cure. Removing poison from the body is nearly impossible. All we can do is to help the body fight back and wait for it to take its course. Helena got excited when Hera made her suggestion. Being someone who could specialize in ailments had a lot of potential and, although neither of the two spoke these words, it could lead to a solution for the parasites inside Helena.
The two went deep into research mode, talking about the type of spells that could synergize with afflictions. Helena had a deep understanding of the subject since she spent years perfecting her current capabilities. Even if she wasn't able to perform as well as she could before the assault on the wall, the knowledge she gained from that was still on her mind.
About two hours after the group had arrived back at home, Blue, Alex, and Bonnie emerged from their rooms, worried about the conversation that Hera and Helena were having.
"Is everything ok?" Bonnie asked.
Hera and Helena were so focused on their conversation that they didn't even hear the call.
"I guess so," Blue noticed how the two had large smiles on their faces.
"Maybe the smell of coffee can snap them out of… whatever that is," Alex headed to the kitchen.
"… So if we think about afflictions as conditions that stay inside the body and not just to meddle with the outside. Some debuffs could also be counted," Helena said.
"I see. So maybe even debuffs that target the bones or organs could be considered, just like the confusion effect," Hera added.
Bonnie rushed to the couch, "You guys are talking spells? Can I join?"
"Sweet mother of Troy! Where did you come from?" Helena gasped.
"I was just in the hallway, but I heard you talking about spells. Can I join?" Bonnie repeated.
"Well. That is up to Hera," Helena said.
"Are you ok sharing that? I mean, isn't that part of your research?" Hera asked.
"Not really. It has nothing to do with my research, and all to do with your possible future. Besides, when can I brag about knowing a lot about status effects?"
"Ok then," Hera nodded, "I was thinking about focusing more on status effects. I already can do some damage with my weapons, so maybe the spells can work as a support. You see, Helena has a spell that…."
Blue walked towards the kitchen and leaned on the counter next to Alex, "I don't get how they can be so excited when discussing theories about magic."
"Wouldn't you get like that when talking about fighting?" Alex placed the coffee in the machine.
"I would, but fighting is one thing, theory crafting a build is another."
"Aren't you looking for a new build? Wouldn't it help to join them?"
"I don't want to get in the middle of their discussion."
"C'mon, you never theory crafted a build in a game? Is the same thing," Alex nudged Blue with her shoulder.
"I was never that into games. I usually build whatever people tell me to just to be part of the group."
"What about now? Are you going to just do whatever people tell you to? "
"No, but I'm stuck," Blue rested her face on the counter.
"So talk to me. Maybe I can help. What are you thinking about?" Alex turned to Blue, " You shouldn't put your face there. I just spilled some ground beans."
"Awww, man," Blue got up quickly, cleaning her hair with her hands, "I washed my hair today."
"Who places their head in the kitchen counter?"
"Who leaves the kitchen counter dirty?"
"I'm using this. When I'm done, I'll clean it," Alex started to help Blue take the ground coffee beans from her hair.
Blue looked back at the three in the living room. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, even if they were doing something boring. She might as well try it.
"Ok, here is the thing. When I fight, I feel like…"
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