Amira clung to her bottle of Gemdrop, lazily resting in the darkest room of the Warren.

The pang of guilt in her chest was submerged in a haze of alcohol as her attempt to reunite the three major powers had been successful. But it was all at the cost of her uncle's pride and standing as the longest member of the High Casters. Rayner Sunrisen was no longer the High Nightcaster of Neridia.

He had unceremoniously been fired moments after the Combat Mages left, intentionally used as a scapegoat to pin all of Niasi's and Sybil's transgressions onto him instead of anyone actually spending time and finding out the truth behind it all. 

But both the High Suncaster, Stormcaster and the people of Neridia had demanded answers and Amira knew the realm would not last without someone to take the blame. So they concocted the plan to shame Rayner, clear Sybil's name and unite the rift between the three major Casters of Sun, Night and Storm. The Combat Mages were only there to help spread the word.

"So, Miss Runeknight? How are you finding your new title?"

It took Amira several seconds to realise a conversation was being attempted and her face scrunched up like she had smelled fifty day old manure. The booze helped dull the pain of lying to her but Sybil's smile helped settle the bad thoughts just enough to bear it. She had been told as soon as the plan was complete but by then the damage had already been done.

"Honestly, I think I prefer One Armed Amira."

Sybil chuckled, stretching her legs on the four seater couch within the gloom of the Hovel. It was a hidden alcove just for Nightspell elves to tuck themselves away while the gloom protected them from the harsh rays of the sun. Amira sat in a wicker swing chair covered in cushions while tending to her guilt, both elves still stuffed from all the food and constant talk of politics.

"What, better than me putting your own uncle in his place? I doubt it. I've been wanting to stand up to him for moons!" Sybil whooped, throwing her head back in delight before taking another swig of the Gemdrop.

Amira gave her a small smile, not exactly sharing in the delight of completely humiliating one of her closest family members. He had been given a heads up beforehand but the look on his face when everything started to crumble around him was exactly the one she had when the Combat Mages discharged her from service. Completely defeated.

"I know he isn't the best person to get along with but he truly did all that so you could at least try to be the royal Sunstress the way you wanted. The Combat Mages had enough of a noble backing to stop you. Rayner just played the part of the coward, like he always does."

Amira tried to reassure not only Sybil but herself as well, only receiving an irritated sigh from the Sunspell elf in return. But Amira knew the signs of guilt on Sybil's face, the pinched expression paired with the fake lackadaisical attitude. She felt just as guilty for what happened and that wasn't good for a newly sworn Sunstress. She had promised to herself and Rayner to keep Sybil on the right track to help face what was ahead. Even without him to guide her.

"I know, Mira. But...you could've told me what was going on. As much as I dislike your uncle...using him to dump all the trouble I caused isn't exactly fair. Not to mention the fact I already owe him for everything else, broken nose included."

Amira spluttered at the memory, almost choking on her drink at the reminder of Sybil's 'brazen assault' on two elven nobles. It was actually a direct hit on Rayner and the snivelling Garrett. Well deserved but still blatant assault.

"Syb, you can't even lie to me when you misplace a beesnap order! Trust me. You feigning obliviousness was the only way both you and Rayner could be free from whatever Niasi was planning with those Mages. You saw how incompetent they were. They weren't really part of the Corps. They were spies."

Amira could almost see the cogs of Sybil's brain turning in her head, hoping she saw sense in her explanation. In truth the Combat Mages who attacked her were fakes but the more outspoken one's that had arrived in the Burrow were very much real. She had recognised them from her days as a trainee but had feigned ignorance over remembering their faces. It was why the Nightspell trio agreed to use a Blackout rune immediately afterwards to hide their presence and block all attempts to uncover the truth behind Rayner's sudden dismissal.

"True. You are supposed to protect me after all. Rogue jackanape bushes included." Sybil joked, recalling the terms of the decree.

Amira laughed and took the chance to lighten the mood, shuffling forwards in her chair to drop into a perfectly executed bow which would've made Rayner jealous. 

"Whatever you command, my Lady."

Sybil's look of pure astonishment was well worth the embarrassment on both their faces as Amira overshot her balance and ended up a tipsy mess on the floor. Cackling at their own stupidity, a knock at the door made them both freeze and quieten instantly. 

A mentally exhausted Rayner poked his head through the doorway, far less poised in his favourite brown jumper paired with the slightly too big second hand clothes of an Outcropper farmer. Clutching at a slightly chipped cup of beesnap tea he hesitantly addressed the two in front of them, completely uninterested in his niece being sprawled on the terracotta floor like a badger-frog. 

"My sister is adamant on getting us all drunk on Gemdrop. Can I hide in here until she falls asleep?" He asked, completely done with the day.

Amira suppresed a giggle at the thought of her mother's antics, shaking her head at the thought of two underage Stormspell elflings completely sloshed on Gemdrop. Instead she set to quickly re-righting herself, rolling up off her stomach to sit crossed legged while Sybil let out a derisive snort, gesturing crudely to a long abandoned garden chair.

"Knock yourself out."

With a tentative smile, Rayner attempted to sit down on the death trap, an accident waiting to happen. With a deadly glare towards Sybil, Amira watched as the Sunspell elf gave an overly dramatic groan and shuffled up to allow him some room on the couch beside her.

"Thank you."

Sybil ignored him as the Nightspell sat awkwardly on the gaudy couch, attempting to give her as much room as possible. Whether it was for his own safety or sanity it didn't matter as he quietly sipped his tea and allowed the silence to continue. With a huff of frustration, Sybil sat up a little straighter and much to Amira's abject horror, decided to seize a chance at making small talk.

"You're not exactly green fingered then, are you High Nightcaster?" Sybil remarked, noting how fidgety he was around the innumerable amount of Shadeleaf plants.

"I am, actually. I like to think Amira got her green thumb from me."

Rayner smiled good naturedly, setting his tea aside to engage in conversation and relaxed a little in his scavenged seat. Sybil glared at him venomously, almost daring him to provoke her into summoning Dewdrop.

"Is that so?"

Amazed that Rayner managed to ignore the slight jab at his lost profession, Amira prayed that both elves kept their cool and refrained from saying anything else out of spite. Then again, with Sybil determined to hate him who knew what the outcome would be.

"My brother in law was always the wood whittler type but Carver could drown plants quicker than a Stormspell elf. My sister however has a unique habit of setting them on fire."

Sybil suddenly burst out laughing, slapping the arm of the couch and stunned Amira into silence. Her narrowed expression had widened into a smile, her eyes softening at the thought of two Nightspell elves bickering over waterlogged jackalopes and singed redderbies. Perhaps she had imagined the hostility between the two because now they were chatting like old friends.

"That explains why Mira won't let me anywhere near her Drooplings. Y'know she once banned me from entering into her workshop for being too 'heavy handed' with the beesnap seedlings? I think I still have the welt from the sandbag she hit me with!"

Amira heard her uncle laugh heartily at the story, quickly chiming in with one of his own which was once again at her expense. Pretending to sulk, she allowed the two to continue swapping stories while fighting hard not to have a big grin on her face.

 Instead she kept busy tending to her Drooplings, lovingly adding a tiny stone rune depending on what they needed. They were mainly medicinal or could be used as substitute herbs or spices and right now she was completely lost in keeping her Shadeleaf plants nice and comfy. 

"Mira, you still there?"

A flash of movement caught her eye like a stray firework and she dived instinctively towards the closest plant pot and shielded it with her chest. The evil weapon of mass destruction in the form of a pebble hit her gently in the back and the two instigators fell about laughing once more.

"You almost hurt my babies!" Amira yelled, furious at their antics.

It seemed their decision to work together was far more chaotic than she realised.

"Oh, they're fine. Rayner was the one who threw a pebble at you, not me." Sybil said drolly, hiding her wicked uncle from view. 

"Jemima is sensitive to sunlight and you know it, Syb. Why do you think I double lock my work room with your laser fingers all over the place? You could carve her to bits in seconds just by looking at her!" Amira shrieked, expecting another retort from Sybil.

But Rayner was in hysterics, his beesnap tea long abandoned at the thought of his niece naming her Droopling plants and decided to interrupt the bickering pair just like he did to Claud earlier on.

"Oh Laia's light, you sound like Zaria and Carver. It's a lovers tiff all over again."

Amira's mouth dropped open as Sybil reacted in a similar fashion, the yellowish tinge that radiated off her soon turned an angry orange. As if in unison the two Outcroppers grabbed the nearest cushions and fired. Amira's bright pink cushion caught him full in the face and the battle ensued, Sybil thumping him in the back with all she had. The Nightspell elf was surrounded with blazes of colour and mild thrashing for his 'astute observation' before he finally held his hands up in surrender and Sybil promptly fell off the couch in victory.

"I just told the Stormageddon twins to get some sleep so now we can par-"

Zaria opened the door with excitement only for it to plummet into concern for the Sunspell elf. Amira was hovering behind the back of the couch, stray cushion still in hand but that didn't matter anymore. Neither did Rayner's tea that had been knocked over in the scuffle, sending its contents dripping onto the tiled floor.

No, what mattered most was the soggy envelope nearest the pale faced Sunspell, eyes overflowing with emotion at the sight of three glittering objects resting near the crouching Nightspell elf. Gently, as if in slow motion the once proud high Nightcaster elf took out a rune that Amira never expected him to carry and Ignited it.

"Ringent."