Leila sniffed her coffee before sipping it with care, trying to note any strange tastes. Mai had slipped in concoctions one too many times, and Leila could only handle so much stomachaches and headaches and aches that a lady shouldn’t mention.

“You’re good,” Corin sighed. “Mai’s still asleep.”

“After the last potion, I can’t be too careful,” Leila shook her head. The morning was a bright one, with sun shining and birds chirping. It was a cadence that Leila had known everyday that she could remember, and because of that she was the only one who could tolerate the ravens’ yapping.

“At least she makes potions for you. Whenever I ask her for one, Mai sends her ravens after me.”

“First off, Mai’s concoctions do not have a good track record of success. Second off, love potions aren’t real.”

“A man can dream,” Corin snapped. “It may be as futile as you thinking you can ever beat me at chess, but…”

“Hey!” Leila leaned over the table, ready to launch into the lecture about her amnesia for the millionth time, but in the process her coffee cup tipped over, spilling all over the cloth.

“Damn!” Leila cursed. When Corin laughed, she shot him the evil eye. “That was my last cup!”

“And whose fault would that be?”

“I wouldn’t be talking. You spent half the money from our last mission buying drinks for girls at that tavern!”

“No offense, but my options here are limited to a mad scientist, a cat hybrid that’s over half a millennium old, and you.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Leila hissed before hastily adding, “Not that I would be ever interested in you.”

“Shh!” An annoyed voice called from Mai’s tent. “Can’t someone get a wink of sleep?”

“It’s almost noon, Mai,” Leila said. “You might as well get up.

“Speaking of the time, shouldn’t Owen and Kessie be back by now?” Corin interrupted.

“Don’t try and change the subject,” Leila said. “Why am I lumped in with a mad scientist and a six hundred year old woman who acts like she’s five?”

“Mad scientist?” Mai interrupted. She appeared from her tent, still dressed in the tunic she slept in. “I am not mad- I am a respectable former alchemy student of the University!”

“They didn’t kick you out of school for no reason,” Leila pointed out.

“That was not my fault!”

“Ladies, ladies, calm down,” Corin said. “We’ll settle this when Owen gets back.”

“This is your fault,” Mai said, looking directly at Corin. “You woke me up with your loud voice.”

“And you made me spill my last cup of coffee,” Leila pointed at him.

“Ladies, ladies…” Corin began, but a voice from behind the arguing teens abruptly interrupted him.

“Do we need to coren-tine you again?”

“Gods!” Leila jumped. “Owen, don’t sneak up on us.” She turned around. A few steps behind their leader was Kessie, who stood next to an unfamiliar face.

“Now, this is what I was talking about,” Corin said. He walked up to the mysterious woman. “What’s your name, milady?”

She looked stunned at the title. Her fingers twisted a few strands of hair. Corin, however, didn’t miss an opportunity to make an advance. “They call me Corin, but I’m sure they call you a descendant of the goddess of beauty herself.”

The woman tried to hide the flush of red in her cheeks, but it was still evident. “My name? Li’Kai.”

“She’s a sellsword who hired us to go track some bandits that stole her wyvern,” Owen explained. “She’s paying us with two hundred gold coins.”

“TWO HUNDRED?” Corin gasped. “I can spend all night buying drinks for some fine young ladies.”

“No, that’s going to my coffee fund,” Leila cut in.

“What are you talking about? I need to buy some more lithium for my latest concoction,” Mai interrupted.

“NOPE!” Kessie jumped into the conversation. “I need some yummy-yummy fish! FISHIES.”

“You can just catch some,” Mai rolled her eyes.

“I can’t eat regular fish! I need good fish, imported from the fine seas of the Feien Coast!”

“We’ll deal with dividing up the cash later,” Owen said. “Right now, we’ve got a mission.”

“I cannot thank you enough for your help,” Li’Kai stammered, looking baffled at the mercenaries’ odd behavior.

“Let’s get moving,” Owen said. “Kessie, go scout. Li’Kai said that the these vagabonds were towards the northeast.”

“Of course, Captain!” Kessie bounded off, shifting into her beast form as she leapt. The leopard soon disappeared from sight.

“Wait, you were supposed to go to the market,” Leila grumbled. “Where’s my coffee?”

“Oops,” Owen said, before grinning as he added, “Judging by your look, I’m going into a coffee-n.”

Leila didn’t respond, and Owen didn’t press his awful puns further as he, Mai and Corin began to prepare. Their client stood to the side, unsure of what to do.

“Hey,” Leila said, walking up to Li’Kai. “I’m Leila. Nice to meet you. Where are you from?”

The swordswoman seemed flustered by the question. “J-just some town no one has ever heard of. And you?”

Leila shrugged. “I dunno.”

Li’Kai gave her a confused look, before Leila summed her story up. “Almost a year ago, I woke up on the shores of Fei with amnesia and this gang of oddballs found me.” She yawned. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have any coffee beans on you?”

Li’Kai shook her head. “Sorry, I’m more of a tea person.”

“I will never understand why people like water with leaves in it.”

Li’Kai changed the subject. “Shouldn’t you be helping?”

“Last time she helped,” Owen called over, “Leila almost…”

“I thought we weren’t going to mention that again!” Leila hissed.

“Then don’t call me an oddball!” Owen laughed.

“Pardon my asking, but all of you seem a little young to be mercenaries,” Li’Kai noted.

“‘Pardon my asking?’ You sound like a noble, but you’re way too blunt,” Leila shook her head. “Who are you to judge? You can’t be older than twenty, and you’re accomplished with the blade. It’s obvious by the way you walk.”

“You have a keen eye. I assume you are an archer?”

“Fairly obvious, eh?” Leila smiled, glancing at the bow slung across her back. “I may not be able to walk ten yards without tripping over my own feet, but somehow, I can shoot an apple off of someone’s head from two hundred steps away.”

Out of the nearby trees, Kessie emerged, shifting from her beast to her human form. “I’ve got their scent! Two miles that way!”

“I can feel the gold in my hands already.” Owen’s eyes glazed over dreamily. “Shall we?”

Li’Kai looked around at the group of mercenaries. Leila noticed her hesitance. “We may be young, but we know how to fight. You couldn’t be in better hands. Just stay to the side, and everything will be fine!”

“I shall offer my help,” Li’Kai responded. “An swordswoman cannot become a master by being an idle layabout.”

“Damn... All those fancy words!” Mai came over. She had mounted her horse, Timon. Her bright red hair made it look like the black stallion was on fire.

“Kessie, it’s your turn to keep guard at the camp,” Owen said.

“Urgh…” Kessie muttered, but just as she was about to argue, Mai interrupted. “We don’t have all day. It’s past noon, and since you interrupted my beauty sleep, we need to get going.”

“Mount your horses!” Owen commanded. “Li’Kai, ride with Leila. Let’s get the gold!”

“I can smell the coffee right now,” Leila said, scooting forward on the saddle. “Shall we?”

Owen shouted out his command. “Ruinfire, go!”