When morning came, Primrose woke up earlier than most to try and work out the tension in her shoulders before they hit the road. She had been stressed all night, not that she could particularly put a finger on why. She leaned her head back to watch the sky as the sun started to crawl over the horizon, desperate to force the rushing in her mind to stop.

She knew exactly what was going on deep down. How could she not? Vanessa's actions the day before had caught everyone by surprise, and they were all mad as could be that she had so casually tossed aside the value of life in the name of her own ambitions. Primrose knew all about death; it was what had started her on this journey to begin with. She had seen her father die at the hands of the foul trio of crows. She had watched the way Yusufa's blood was swallowed by the sand outside Sunshade prior to her burial. She had enjoyed the way Helgenish writhed as her dagger plunged into his body and stole every ounce of life he possessed. She had stared down at Rufus as he faced his final moments, knowing that she was offering justice to every other person that he had hurt. Death was part of Primrose's life, constantly following her regardless of where she went or how fast she ran.

Primrose watched the sunrise from her place beside the inn, wondering half-heartedly if perhaps she should go on a walk through the town before they left. She hadn't expected to wake up so early, she had to admit, and she could only hope that the others took long enough for her to try and calm down. It shouldn't have been influencing her so much, and yet-

"Dost thou thinke Alfyn will be alright?"

The sound of H'aanit's voice startled Primrose out of her daze, and she whirled around to see the huntress approaching her carefully. Primrose swallowed dryly as she let out a sigh in the huntress' direction. "H'aanit... I didn't realize you were awake," she admitted carefully, doing her best to calm the screaming in her chest caused by H'aanit's sudden arrival. Primrose sighed heavily as H'aanit continued to watch her levelly. It took Primrose a few more moments to find a grip on herself once again enough to answer the huntress' question. "I... I think he'll get there. It might take a while, but... He's going to figure it out eventually."

H'aanit hummed in response, and Primrose could tell that her companion was still worried. Linde curled her tail around H'aanit's legs, and the huntress reached one hand down to start scratching at the snow leopard's head. Linde purred before leaning against H'aanit a bit more. "I thinke he is frightened," H'aanit said after a pause that seemed to last an eternity. "He hast much on his mind."

Primrose nodded. "You're right," she murmured, swallowing dryly once again. She eyed the ground in front of her shoes again a beat afterwards before sighing. "I... I never wanted a life like this for him. I didn't want it for anybody else either, honestly."

"The path of violence," H'aanit concluded before Primrose was able to explain herself. Hägen let out a small groan as he leaned against H'aanit, and the hunter decided to split her attention between the two animals vying for her physical affection.

"Yeah," Primrose forced herself to say after a pause that she was convinced was going to suffocate her. She tried to find her words for a few moments after the fact before sighing. "He didn't want it to come to this. He never wanted to have to fight against Vanessa, not that I can blame him. He was hoping that this would be a time for all of us to relax, and in the end... She spit in our faces and made it clear that we weren't going to be given a chance like that."

H'aanit nodded as she glanced up to Primrose. "Thou understandeth the violence of this worlde better than most," she began. "If anyone could confronten that darkness, it wouldst be thou."

"I can only hope," Primrose scoffed, too embarrassed to know how to thank H'aanit. Pink was already starting to stain her cheeks though, so Primrose was sure that H'aanit already knew what she was thinking. Primrose shook her head a beat later, and H'aanit watched her ever movement carefully. "Alfyn... He's a healer. He wants to help others by saving their lives, not by stealing the existences of those who are dangerous to others. Vanessa... He was the first one to show him that something like that might not be possible for others. I hate her for it."

"She put many people at riske with her ambitions," H'aanit said simply as she glanced down to Linde. "People like that... They truly disgusten me."

"You wouldn't be the only one who hates her for what she's done," Primrose assured the huntress. "I think all of us are mad at her. How could we not be? She... She could have killed so many people. I know that I've probably not given myself a great reputation when it comes to killing others as part of my revenge, but... Helgenish gave me no other options, and after the years he spent abusing girls before killing Yusufa, he had it coming. Rufus was hurting anyone he had to in order to keep his grip on power as strong as possible. I don't know how either one of them could live with themselves, but... They earned what came to them. I'm not going to sit here and say that everybody deserves to die though."

"Those two were monsters plain and simple," H'aanit concluded for Primrose.

The dancer nodded. "They were... I don't think I would ever be able to forgive them even if I wanted to. Nobody could. Therion's still upset with Rufus even though he's been dead for a while. I want to kill Helgenish and Rufus a thousand times over for everything that they've done. I... I like to think I'm different from Vanessa though. Nobody wants to be like a person who would throw aside life so casually."

H'aanit looked up to the horizon sagely, and her eyes tracked the sun as it continued to crawl over the skyline. "I couldst never pretend to understanden your motivations in full," she admitted. "That is something that thou can decide alone. Still... I can sayen with certainty that thou is nothing like Vanessa. She wanted to killen others in the name of her own greed. Thou wouldst never raise a blade to those not guilty of unspeakable acteth already."

Primrose found her voice going hoarse already, and she nodded her agreement stiffly. "I wouldn't dream of it," she murmured. "Orlick didn't deserve to die for being influenced by the dragonstone. He may have been a less than kind person to us, but he didn't deserve to die... Alfyn's choice to spare Vanessa is one that I can respect, but... I have to wonder where the line is. At what point do we have to resort to killing people? Where can we say that our actions are justified?"

"That is something that we musten decide for ourselves," H'aanit concluded. "The decision is a personal one... And I have every certainty that thou will maken the best choice."

Primrose looked over at H'aanit for a long moment, and when she did, she was met with the sight of a woman who truly did believe in her. Even after everything that had happened up to that point, H'aanit was willing to place her faith in Primrose and her convictions. Primrose wasn't even sure what she was trying to live for yet, but H'aanit knew that she was doing something of value. At a glance, their morals clashed fiercely, and yet, they were still there for one another in a way that Primrose struggled to describe.

The dancer reached for her dagger before sliding it out of its sheath and staring down at the blade. She swallowed dryly, remembering the feeling of the knife when blood had stained the steel so mercilessly. Had she been justified when acting in the past? Was there any justification for taking the life of another? She was fighting in the name of death against people who she despised with every ounce of her being. Did that make her any different from Vanessa? Was she the mirror of the apothecary that would have killed all of Goldshore if she was given the chance?

Primrose shook her head as she put the knife away. She would find her answers another time, but for now, she just needed to... Breathe. That was something not even Helgenish, Rufus, or Vanessa would be able to take away from her.

Alfyn found himself wandering down to the beach in the early hours of the sunrise. The party would be leaving Goldshore soon, but Alfyn was still restless and lacking in anything vaguely resembling peace. After tossing and turning for far longer than he was comfortable with, he forced himself out of bed to go and do something to get rid of the anxious energy rattling around just beneath the surface of his skin. He couldn't just sit around any longer than he already had.

The silence broken only by the water lapping against the shore was too much for Alfyn to stand, and it wasn't long before his lips started forcing words into the air. "Now then... Where out there is someone in need of a fixer-upper?" he asked himself even though he already knew the answer of where he was heading next. Stonegard may have somebody who needed him in the form of Z'aanta, and even if the hunting master wasn't there, he knew that H'aanit was going to need him there. His choice had already been made for him, but his stomach was still twisting in anticipation regardless.

"Alfyn!"

The voices of Ellen and Flynn snapped Alfyn out of his trance, and he opened his eyes to see the two sisters standing on either side of him, both watching him with eyes as bright as the sun itself. He had heard them coming from the way their shoes moved against the sand, but he smiled at them regardless. Alfyn didn't want to put on a show for them, but he didn't want to scare them more than he had to. They didn't know what Vanessa had done, and as far as he was concerned, they didn't need to know about it. They would be better off if they remained unaware of the truth.

"Ah, Ellen, Flynn," Alfyn greeted simply with a smile on his face. It truly was nice to be able to see them again before he hit the road. He had grown surprisingly fond of the girls while he was in Goldshore, and seeing their smiling faces only made him hate Vanessa more. How could she have been so willing to sacrifice people like this in the name of her ambitions? It didn't make any sense to him, and all of a sudden, Alfyn wished he had given her an extra punch that Marlene was never able to offer on behalf of her daughters.

Flynn's gaze shifted to the ground in crestfallen disappointment. "Aw, we were trying to surprise you!" She didn't seem to have noticed Alfyn's mind wandering anywhere but their conversation on the beach, and Alfyn found his stomach settling in relief that he was at least able to partially fool the pair of inquisitive and sweet girls before him.

Vanessa wanted to ruin this. She wouldn't have cared if they died in the name of her own greed.

But Alfyn didn't say any of this, knowing that he wouldn't have the strength to tell them even if he tried. "You're already looking a hundred percent, aren't ya, Flynn?" Alfyn asked with a grin. It truly was nice to see her up and running around so soon after what Vanessa had done the day before. She was already on her way to a complete recovery, and she would hopefully reach that point within a week if all went according to plan.

Flynn nodded. "I'm all better now, thanks to you!" she declared, her face set so perfectly in a smile that captured endless childhood innocence Alfyn hadn't understood himself in an eternity.

Alfyn let out a hearty laugh as he looked over to the two girls and realized just how dirty they were. They were practically covered head to to in sand, and small flecks of earth could be seen in their bright red hair as well. "But what's this? Have you two been rolling around in the dirt all day?" he asked even though he already had a pretty good idea of what their answer was going to be.

The two girls looked to one another like they had a secret great enough to shatter the world itself before they started to giggle. Flynn and Ellen nodded excitedly before the latter reached into her bag and pulled out something before pressing it against Alfyn's fingers. "These are for you!" she exclaimed proudly.

Alfyn crouched down beside her as he took all of the shells into his grasp, eyes wide as could be. They had certainly gotten to work in collecting as many shells as they could stand to hold after he left them behind the day before. While he was wondering what it meant to be an apothecary in light of Vanessa's treachery, they had been collecting a small bounty to gift him, and he stared for a long moment before finally managing to get a grip on his words once again. "Wowzers! Seashells-and scores of 'em!" he exclaimed.

"We found them together, Flynn and me!" Ellen declared, placing her hands on her hips like she was a statue perfectly exemplifying the wonders of the world. Alfyn rose to his feet as he started to place the shells in the same pocket that he had stored the previous treasure away in, and Ellen's expression sobered as she looked up to him with true, overwhelming gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you for helping us, Alfyn."

Flynn nodded before taking a step closer to him. She took his hand in hers, and Alfyn realized just how much smaller her hands were when compared to his. "Take care, okay?" she asked tenderly, looking up to him with watery eyes. Alfyn could tell by the look in her eyes that Flynn wanted to get to know him better. Ellen had become his friend so quickly, but Flynn hadn't been given the chance to bond with him before he was pulled away to the rest of his journey, and something in her eyes almost seemed to mourn for the time that they hadn't been given together.

Alfyn glanced back and forth between the two girls watching him with such overwhelming adoration, and he felt heat rise to his cheeks from embarrassment. He wasn't used to getting attention like this, and he didn't know how to handle it. In the end, he could only choke out a single word as he watched their sentimental gazes. "Shucks..."

"We found as many as we could. We know you're poor and don't charge people when you help them..." Ellen began to explain, taking a step away from him to look down at the sand beneath her feet. "Is this going to be enough?"

Alfyn smiled and nodded, not having the heart to tell them that while he didn't charge anyone for his help, he had taken more than enough from Vanessa's supply of blood money to carry himself over. Besides, he wouldn't have been able to sell the seashells even if he tried; they were a sign of how much the girls cared about him, and he couldn't get rid of something like that. Tressa was right; that truly was a treasure, and he had no intentions of letting it go no matter what happened next.

He didn't explain the tempest of emotions in his chest though, instead simply nodding. "I reckon it'll keep me fed for a while. Ya didn't have to..." He trailed off when he wasn't able to find the words, glancing back and forth between Ellen and Flynn's faces as their eyes gleamed with optimism and love so overwhelming it almost knocked Alfyn off his feet. He swallowed back his tears when he next spoke, determined to not let them see just how much it hurt to have to leave them so soon. "You take care of your mother now, ya hear?"

Alfyn could feel that something inside of him was growing fragile, so he turned on his heel and started to walk back in the direction of the stairs leading back to the main part of town. He would be able to take care of what little packing he had left and then leave the town with the rest of his group. The longer he watched the two girls, the worse he felt about all of this.

Vanessa could have killed them. She wouldn't have cared at all how many people she hurt, and these two are just the tip of the iceberg.

Alfyn found his shoulders shaking before he could stop the motion from becoming apparent. He was going to miss these girls so much, and he wished that he could do more to protect them from any people who were at all like Vanessa. Ellen took a step closer to Alfyn, looking up at his face with wide eyes laced in shock. "He's crying! Alfyn's crying!" she exclaimed to Flynn. "Grown-ups aren't supposed to cry!"

Flynn was already walking over to him by the time that he raised one hand to wipe the tears away from his face, albeit much slower than he should have. "Even grown-ups need a good cry from time to time," he told the girls even though he knew that the crying he had just done hardly applied at all. That wasn't a 'good' cry. It was his rage starting to boil over before transforming into grief for something that he shouldn't have needed to be afraid of to begin with. Once again, he hated Vanessa with everything he had, and he wished there was more he could do to keep these two sweet girls and the innocence they held as their own safe.

Alfyn started to walk away from them a moment later, a smile on his face that felt so fake it almost stung him to form it. He eyed the nearby staircase that led up to the main part of town, a sad glaze starting to cross over his eyes the longer he stood on the beach. "Stay healthy for me, will ya?" he asked softly, knowing that it wasn't going to be enough but fully aware that there wasn't much else he was going to be able to do. Still, he would have hated himself forever if he didn't say at least something.

Ellen nodded from her place behind him. "You too, Alfyn," she told him gently, the words on the verge of breaking away as she spoke them. The waves crashed against the shore nearby as Alfyn walked away, and Ellen sniffled as she waved after him. "You too!"

Flynn looked up at her sister with a small frown on her face, worry making itself apparent across her innocent features. "Now you're crying too!" she cried out. Ellen glanced down to her sister, and she threw her arms around Flynn's body. She didn't understand the full weight of Alfyn's tears, but she did know how to look after her sister, and she wasn't going to let Flynn go no matter what. It was the least she could do to repay her promise to Alfyn.

The apothecary found himself standing outside the inn where the building found a home near the entrance to the town. He stared down at his hands before looking up to the skies overhead. "You were always my hero, an unreachable ideal..." he found himself saying before he could stop himself. He swallowed back his nerves before shaking his head and glancing to the pocket of his bag containing the shells Ellen and Flynn had so kindly gifted him. "Tell me... Is this what you would have wanted for me?"

"Alfyn, are you crying?"

The sound of Primrose's voice came so suddenly that Alfyn let out a yelp of shock as he whirled around to face her. She was standing beside the door to the inn, her bags already prepared for the journey to Stonegard they would be making that day. Everything about her gaze made it perfectly clear to Alfyn that she already knew the answer to her own question; she was simply trying to be as polite as possible to keep from intruding on his moment.

Alfyn swallowed dryly, refusing to give her what she was looking for. The last thing he wanted was to worry anyone more than he already had when it came to his fears over Vanessa and what it meant to be an apothecary. "What? N-Naw, of course not... I just- I have something in my eye..." he fumbled, desperately searching for words that would make all of this sound fine. He snapped his fingers together half-heartedly when an excuse finally sprang to mind. "S-Sweat, that is! My eyes get sweaty with all this heat and..." He paused when he realized that Primrose wasn't buying it, so he jumped to the next excuse to come to mind. "No, I mean, a bit of dust! In my eyes! Both of them! You know how the sand is around here!"

Primrose analyzed his actions with a caring sense of detachment, and Alfyn could already tell that he wasn't going to last long squirming under those eyes of hers. "Alfyn, there's no shame in showing your emotions," she assured him. "Those little ones adored you, after all." Left unspoken was the idea that they both knew there was more to it than met the eye. This wasn't just about Flynn and Ellen; it was about Vanessa and everything that she could have done if she hadn't been caught when she was. They had gotten in the middle of something much greater than themselves, and Alfyn was still struggling with the weight of it.

Primrose glanced down to his bag, and she smiled at the sight of the pouch containing the shells the girls had gifted him. "Now, do look after those shells, won't you?" she asked of him, though it was more of an instruction than anything else, not that Alfyn needed to be told twice to hold his memories of Ellen and Flynn close to his chest.

Alfyn wondered for a moment how Primrose had known about the shells that the girls had given him before he realized that the inn still overlooked the beach. She had probably woken up soon after him and watched his conversation with Ellen and Flynn from afar, her way of showing how much she cared even if she wasn't ready to approach the subject openly yet. No, that wasn't true; Primrose was ready. Alfyn was the one who was still struggling to find his footing.

"Oh, er... Right," Alfyn said in place of the racing of his mind. He looked down at the shells before swallowing once again, another sniffle pushing its way free before he could stop it. "Aw, shucks. Another speck of dust..."

Primrose's hand found his shoulder a beat later, and the two simply stood there for a long while as Alfyn looked at the ground below. He didn't think he would have been able to find the words to thank her even if he had wanted to. He was desperate to say something, but all he could do was watch the cobbled streets of Goldshore below despite knowing there was nothing that could be said. He thought that at least getting a bit of sleep would help him to feel better about all of this, but the sensation of dread in the pit of his stomach was still there. It felt like some demon Vanessa left behind was still watching his every move, and all he could do was stand around and let her eyes follow his every move. He couldn't fight the ghosts of the people that she had killed for her own greed. Alfyn was capable of many things, but that wasn't one of them.

"Alfyn... I wish to thank you."

The sound of Ophilia's voice from behind him caught Alfyn off guard, and he turned to face Ophilia as Primrose pulled her hand away from him. It took a few seconds for Alfyn to find his footing once again, unsure as to how he was supposed to respond to being pulled in a thousand different directions at once. "You do? For what?" he asked, surprised he was even able to say that much around the heavy rock at the center of his chest.

"For healing Flynn," Ophilia replied simply, though Alfyn could already tell that there was more to it than that. There was something dark about her eyes that told him loud and clear that she had something else on her mind as well that she wasn't ready to talk about yet. The time would come where she was open about it, he was sure, but for the moment, he was left trying to fumble what seemed like the easiest explanation in the world.

He shook his head with a small smile on his face that he hoped didn't look as tired as he felt. "I don't need thanks for that, Phili. Easin' folk's sufferin' is my job. I'm just doing what I came here to do," Alfyn told her simply. He hadn't expected that this work would find him in Goldshore, but he wasn't complaining about being able to help Flynn and Ellen through their struggles. He could only hope that they were able to look after Marlene as well, and something at the center of his chest wished there was more they could do for them, though no amount of compensation money from the city of Goldshore would be able to erase the tracks Vanessa left behind in the name of her greed.

"Only because you are such a gentle soul and have made it your job," Ophilia pointed out. "That's a rare thing in this day and age." Her fingers drifted to the Ember where it was hiding at her waist, and Alfyn could tell that she was thinking about Vanessa. How could she not be? Vanessa hadn't cared at all about the suffering of those around her, and that was what had made her such a monster. Just thinking about her made Alfyn want to punch something.

Still, he did his best to shove his rage aside as he let one hand come up to scratch at the base of his neck. "Aww, shucks," he said softly, pink starting to color his cheeks once again. He had never been the best at dealing with attention, and that clearly still rang true regardless of where he was across the continent.

Ophilia's fingers slid across the Lanthorn for a few moments longer before she sighed. "My father back in Flamesgrace fell sick recently," she murmured. "He doesn't know if there's anyone who will be able to help him recover, and... I'm worried." She shook her head a beat later in an attempt to smile to Alfyn, though her wishes of masking her fears fell short in the apothecary's eyes. "I'm so happy that the people of Goldshore had you around before anything like that could happen. They deserved to be able to find help, and... I'm glad you were able to provide it."

Alfyn shook his head with a sad smile. "It's just part of my job," he assured her before falling silent for a beat. "Vanessa... She didn't ever believe that though. I guess that's how she was able to lose herself."

"I don't know how anybody could ever willingly place the pain of others behind their own desires," Ophilia murmured. "It's just... It's awful. That's the only way I can phrase it."

"I don't think there are any other words for it to begin with," Alfyn admitted softly. He pushed his shoulders back a moment later, and he did his best to seem as positive as possible despite the deep pain that was already starting to find a home inside of his body once again. He couldn't think about Vanessa more than he already had. That was only going to make him feel worse, and he didn't even think that was possible given the circumstances. "Are we ready to go? Stonegard awaits."

"We should be," Primorse said as she glanced over to where Tressa was finishing off their checklist of supplies. It was impressive how quickly Tressa had taken it upon herself to make sure they were ready each time they had to leave a town, not that Alfyn was complaining. It certainly seemed to make her happy, and she was much better with inventory than he could have ever dreamed to be. Her history as a merchant was certainly doing everyone in the group countless favors in managing their travels.

"And that should be it," Tressa announced, unaware that everyone was watching her as she tucked the small parchment checklist back into the bag on her back. She adjusted the bag's straps before letting out a small breath of determination. "Let's get going, everyone. You know what we have to do now."

Alfyn nodded at that, and he followed the rest of the travelers out of town. He gave one final glance in the direction of the beach where Ellen and Flynn were still collecting shells. He hoped that they were able to stay safe regardless of what happened next. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to them.

No, that wasn't true. He did know what he would do. Regardless of if she was involved with the problem or not, Alfyn would make sure Vanessa paid for everything she had done. He wasn't going to kill her, but he still wanted her to understand every bit of pain she had brought to others in the world no matter how much she tried to escape accountability.

Who knew that monsters lived in human skin?

In a rare twist, a chapter of Eight Intertwined is going up before the new release of Morix on a Thursday. Damn.

I'm very happy with how this chapter turned out, and I can now say that we're finished with Alfyn's chapter two! Our next destination is going to be Stonegard for H'aanit's chapter two, and that means we've got another god fight on the way. It's high time that H'aanit was able to do something more with her storyline, I think. She's earned it.

I'm looking forward to exploring the ramifications of this chapter for quite a while to come. I want every chapter of this story to be felt in the characters and push them in new, interesting directions. Octopath had so much potential to be character-driven, but given the structure, that wasn't possible, so... Here we are. I think the slower pacing of this story really does lend to this unique type of storytelling, and I'm really loving how it's turning out.

Anyways, it's time for me to go and work on Morix the way I should have an hour ago. Oops. Next time, we'll start the transition to H'aanit's chapter two. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital