We were walking through a massive library, filled with dust and ancient papers, and the most awkward silence ever. After I had found Ti yelling at Wulfe, I had pulled him to the side and told him what Kraken had said, and that I’d like to give him a chance. I’d smiled at Wulfe, who’d tried to give a small smile back before Ti had shoved into him on his way past. As he’d done so, Fig had leaped off Wulfe’s head and bitten Ti, before scurrying straight back to her position on Wulfe’s head. The outcome of that whole situation was the awkward silence we were wading through now. Ti was out in front, in probably the worst mood I’d ever seen him in. He could be gruff at the best of times, but he’d now resorted to grunting at anything that could be a trap, rather than using words to warn us. I wasn’t worried though, he’d cool off eventually. Wulfe had looked dejected for a minute, but after Fig had bitten Ti, he’d returned to his usual haughty posture. Kraken was silent too, though she just seemed deep in thought rather than actively mad at anyone. As a result, I had trailed behind in order to stick close to her, figuring that she was my best chance at conversation.

‘So, how’s the leg doing?’

She glanced up at me and amusement crossed her face, she clearly saw what I was doing. ‘You know, not too bad actually. It still twinges every now and again, but I spend a couple of weeks resting it in the warmth of the ocean, and that helped immensely.’ Wulfe’s ears twitched at that, and a little smile spread across his face. ‘What about you, how’s the last few weeks treated you?’

I pranced a couple of steps, careful not to dislodge any of the old books. ‘Ah, you know me, always fine. Grump over there had a few close calls with monsters down here – they seem to be increasing in number, but we’re all good.’ A grunt came from Ti’s direction, and his ears were firmly pressed flat. I rolled my eyes.

Kraken came in close to me, and murmured under her breath ‘They’ll be okay eventually, right?’

I thought about it for a moment. ‘Ti sure can hold a grudge. But if Wulfe truly is the Courser you said he was, he’ll come round.’

Kraken and I exchanged a smile, relief on both of our faces as we walked onwards.