Since that day, wherever she went, Nikki wore a necklace with a set of amethyst stones clipped onto it. It bounced against her chest as she climbed through the forest, following Joe on his latest trip for supplies. They weren't totally self-sufficient yet, but they were getting close. Very soon, these trips would be totally unnecessary.
She was looking forward to it, since she couldn't safely leave the confines of their home. As far as they were aware, Nikki was still on quite a few watch lists related to Rallsburg. Joe, it seemed, felt otherwise.
"I just feel like I'm gonna be the useless one around camp," he explained.
"How are you gonna be useless? You're still strong as shit, and you can do the crop growth spell okay."
Joe set down his bundle and leaned against the nearest tree. "Compared to the only person who can do Knowledge magic in the whole fuckin' world?"
Nikki shrugged. "I got lucky." She glanced around. "Don't forget though, we're supposed to keep that secret. Never say it outside the boundary."
"Yeah, yeah." Joe rubbed his face with his hands, then started stretching out. "Isn't that like, hypocritical though?"
"Huh?"
"Cinza's whole new schtick about being open and sharing everything. If we're sharing everything now, why wouldn't we tell people we can do Knowledge magic again?"
"Well, I still have no clue what I'm doing," Nikki pointed out. "It's only been a week."
"It has? Felt like way longer. You keep talking in your sleep."
"I do?"
"Yeah. Driving me nuts."
She frowned. "What do I talk about?"
"Fuck if I know. I can't understand a word of it."
"Sorry I'm being such a burden."
Joe's eyes widened. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's not really a big deal."
"No, really, if I'm making you uncomfortable, I'm happy to find another place to sleep. I wouldn't want to make your life difficult."
"Nikki..." Joe started. Before he could continue, a splash of water flew between them, circling around Joe and coming back to rest in Makoto's palm. "The fuck?"
"Show-off," Nikki added, smirking. Makoto's lip twitched, but Nikki still couldn't get him to actually laugh. He'd been standing by a tree a dozen feet away, watching them bicker. "When are you gonna teach me how to sneak up on people like that?"
"Later." Makoto looked over his shoulder. "Rufus will be done soon."
"The new security shit?" Joe asked.
"Yes."
"So we should hurry back?"
"Probably."
"Sounds good to me. Let's get going, then. You coming with?" Nikki asked.
"I have one more section to do." He bowed slightly to her. "See you later."
He walked past them and back into the forest. Joe watched him go, scratching his head. "The fuck is up with that guy?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't get his priorities at all." He hoisted up his bundle with a grunt and started walking again. Nikki joined him, carrying a smaller bundle. "He's gotta be burning up in there."
"Huh?"
"Guy needs to get laid, is what I'm saying."
She barked out a laugh. "Not everyone's as obsessed with sex as you, you know. Besides, where the hell's he gonna get laid out here? Everyone's pretty paired up, or not his type at all. Unless you're offering?" she added pointedly, nudging him in the elbow.
"Nuh-uh. He doesn't want me. He's got a massive crush on Ruby."
Nikki was genuinely surprised. "For real?"
"You didn't know? Shit, maybe I wasn't supposed to say."
"How do you know?"
"...I was listening in through the window."
Nikki elbowed him in the side hard. He stumbled and nearly dropped his bundle. "You dick."
"Hey, I didn't mean to! I was just hanging out with Scrappy by the furnace. That cat needs love."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fair. Keep talking though."
"So Ruby goes out to the garden and leaves Cinza in bed. This is back when she was still falling apart after the ritual, right?"
"After we got home and she collapsed?"
"Nah, like a week later."
"Okay, go on."
"So Ruby sends Makoto in to check on her. They get to talking and Cinza asks why Makoto hasn't talked to Ruby yet about his big fucking crush."
Nikki shook her head. "In so many words."
"You know how she talks. I don't remember her flowery bullshit very well."
"Call it bullshit again and we'll see how well you remember this conversation."
"Sorry, sorry. But yeah. Makoto is crushing on Ruby hard. And I guess Cinza's okay with it?" Joe shrugged. "I don't get them."
"'Course you don't, you're a guy." Nikki frowned. "Makoto isn't confident enough to ask Ruby out. That'll never take off."
"Not confident enough? The guy is fucking built of confidence. He's solid grade-A confident."
"Self-assured and confident aren't the same things," Nikki said patiently. "You're confident, but you aren't self-assured for shit."
"Huh?"
"I'm saying you suck at believing in what you're good at."
"Wow, don't mince words on me at all," Joe grumbled. They emerged into their home. Rufus waved at them from the wire he was setting up around the line of trees that made up their outer border. At a glance, it appeared to be totally natural growth, but if she looked closely Nikki could see how they'd been arranged and designed very deliberately, smoothed over by a supernatural touch.
"It's a goddamn compliment. You are good at shit, you just need to remember it and stop moping about when you're thinking about it."
"So how is that different from confidence?"
"Fine, social confidence is what I meant. You've got that."
"It helps that I stopped following Ryan around like an asshole," Joe added.
"Don't remind me."
"You hated him too?"
"Fuck no, I barely ever talked to him." She sighed exaggeratedly. "I don't want to be reminded of how inhumanly handsome he was. A specimen like that didn't belong in a town our size."
"Inhumanly handsome?" Joe repeated sarcastically.
"Again, you're a straight guy. You're never gonna get it." Nikki started talking in a faux-dreamy voice. "He was just so tall and strong. With those deep blue eyes, like the ocean on a lazy summer afternoon. And his perfect blonde hair. Mmmmmmm..."
Joe tossed his bundle onto a bench. He turned and put his arms around Nikki, shocking her into silence. He leaned forward and planted a kiss right on her lips. She didn't know how to react for a moment, but finally settled for melting into it, letting her own bundle fall to the ground and leaning into it.
When they broke apart, Joe grinned. "Who were we talking about again?"
Nikki shrugged. "No clue." She glanced over her shoulder to their cabin. "Maybe you could remind me later."