Luminescent Helper buzzed between Laurence and Granny's heads, it didn't seem to be paying Merry or Richard much attention.
"And yeah…" Placing his spoon down, Lauri had ended his meal just as he ended the story of his trial. "I curled up onto the altar, and apparently I passed."
Richard, who had finished his meal, was on the edge of his seat. Unlike with the children, Lauri had told Granny, Merry and Richard all of the gory details. Of how he had drowned whilst traversing the bottom of a river before being given life by a guardian angel, fighting a living shadow and dragging his half-dead body through the darkness and witnessing the final clash between Caretaker and Light Stealer.
Where Richard was on the edge of his seat taking in each word, Merry's back was firmly planted into her seat, an expression of fear stretched across her face with every new harrowing experience.
As Lauri finished, she reached a hand up to hold Lauri's hand.
"Are you, are you okay? Lauri's that's, you went through so much in such a short span of time."
As Merry looked into his eyes, Lauri felt his cheeks grow slightly warmer. Turning away he coughed.
"For the most part I was too busy trying to reach the end to really take it all in, but uh. I'm fine now… I promise."
Lauri and Merry looked at each other for some time until Laurence spoke.
"Lauri did well, sure he did a lot of running, but he lived to tell the tale and that's the most important part. He even came away with some rather nice Imprints. This pretty little bug," Laurence gestured to Luminescent Helper who was currently buzzing circles around his head. "And a rather impressive armour type Imprint.
Practically falling off of his seat, Richard turned to Granny.
"Granny, can we, can we, can we?"
Slurping up a spoonful of vegetables, Granny tilted her head.
"What are you asking my permission for, it's Lauri's power."
Richard turned to his friend, his shaggy red hair moved with a life of its own.
Seeing his friend's expectant face, Lauri sighed. Standing up, he took a few steps back from the table.
"I suppose I'll start with my Imprint, Her Aegis."
Strings of light grew from Lauri's chest wrapping around all of his body except for his head, ten seconds later the strings disappeared and in their place the shining carapace and white leather of Her Aegis.
Richard and Merry both marvelled at Lauri's armour, even Granny seemed to tilt her head in Lauri's direction, even if she couldn't see anything.
Laurence finished his bowl, gently placing the spoon into it, he pushed the bowl away from him.
"I can't lie, I was a little jealous at first. When I first started all those years ago, I went two years without getting a single armour-type Imprint so as I went against stronger Fiend's I was risking my neck every single fight. That Imprint will serve you well, I am sure."
Smiling, Lauri looked at his suit of armour. The warmth of the Caretaker's light was ever-present in Lauri's mind, but as he thought about this, a small frown crept across his lips.
'Throughout all of my walking in the dark, I only met a handful of the what? Glowing bugs, the Lucent Drone Swarm, was called Lucent. The Lucent Brood? Sure, the bunches of Lucent Drone Swarms, Caretaker and that one bug I failed to save. There were also those hundreds of eggs which weren't glowing in the final room with the altar and the statue…' Lauri's mind trailed off as he thought about the statue.
'The statue, the one made out of the same material as the statue in the middle of the square…'
Looking slightly to the side, he noticed everybody was looking at him. Blinking, he awkwardly smiled.
"Uh, sorry, did I miss something?"
Richard casually put a hand on Lauri's shoulder.
"My friend, you have a very," Richard rubbed the breastplate of Her Aegis with his finger. "Nice suit of armour, but now I wonder. You wouldn't by any chance have a certain power that is specific to you that would allow you an advantage in a fight?"
Lauri was unsure of how to respond as Richard's sentence processed inside his mind. Rolling his eyes, Lauri held out his hand.
"Oh, I've got something that can be a help in a fight."
Illuminated by the light of the candles on the dining table and by Luminescent Helper, a blade of orange light appeared in Lauri's hand.
Holding it up, Lauri looked at the exact replica of the knife he had lost during his trial. A small smile crept onto his lips.
'I might have lost my knife, but now it looks like it'll be with me for the rest of my journey.'
"That's soo coollllll." Bouncing up and down, Richard put his hands out before looking back. Glancing at Laurence and Granny, he turned back to Lauri. "Can I, can I, touch it, can I touch it!" Words were difficult in Richard's excited state.
Looking at his friend, Lauri held the dagger for Richard to hold. As Richard was about to take it, Lauri pulled back.
"Now Rich, as you know it is a knife, so you know. Don't run around with it or point it at anyone. I've yet to really test just how sharp these things can be."
"Lauri, I'm not an idiot, and I'm no child." Richard huffed, for a second he wore an offended expression before returning to ogling Lauri's knife. "Just gimme the sharp pointy thing." Richard made motions to take the knife in Lauri's hand.
Rolling his eyes, Lauri let Richard take the knife. Laurence and Granny exchanged slightly concerned glances, Merry gazed at the glowing weapon with interest, but the moment Richard took the knife she looked away, starting to collect the bowls and spoons.
Holding the weapon in his hand, Richard marvelled at it.
"Wow," He fell quiet as he held the dagger up. Looking through its translucent surface, the usually talkative boy fell silent. He glanced at Lauri. "So you can just, make these at any time? Do you have a limit on how many you can make? How fast can you make them?"
Lauri scratched the back of his head as he thought.
"Well, I need light to build them, but apparently it doesn't just need sunlight. On our way back, I summoned a sword made out of moonlight. So I guess it would have to be pitch black for me to not be able to make a weapon. Not like anything would be able to trap me in darkness at this point."
As he said this, Luminescent Helper moved from buzzing around Laurence's head to moving around Lauri's.
Richard looked at his friend in awe. "That, is… So cool! What else, did you get anything else?"
About to shake his head, Lauri squinted.
"I mean, I didn't get any other Talent I can show you. But I did get an Innate Talent that lets me grow stronger the darker my surroundings are."
Hearing this, Richard again hugged.
"Hmm, I guess not all powers need to be amazing. If it helps keep you alive, that's for the best."
Merry nodded as she put the collected bowls and spoons aside.
"I hope you know how to use that thing," She added, leaning against the cupboards.
Richard puffed out his chest as he looked at Merry.
"I'll have you know I'm well very trained in the way of the… uh… knife?"
Unable to stop himself, Lauri let out a slight snicker. Covering his mouth, he looked away.
Richard looked shocked.
"What, I am, I am, promise. The next Fiend that comes our way, oh, I'll show you all."
"That I'm sure, Richard."
Leaning forward in her rocking chair, Granny softly smiled at Lauri and Richard.
"But I'm afraid I will have to put a rain on your parade. Lauri, Laurence and I have things we need to discuss and you two have things you need to help prepare."
Richard looked sullen, but his sullen mood only lasted until Lauri spoke.
"You can take the knife with you, Rich. You can check to see how far away it can get before breaking."
Hearing this, Richard hopped up and down.
"Oh, thanks, Lauri! Okay, I'm off!"
Without further comment, Richard disappeared down the hall and up some stairs up to the first floor.
Merry cast a disapproving eye at the dirty pile of dishes, sighing, she started walking towards the hallway. Turning around just as she was about to leave the room. Her eyes settled on Lauri.
"It's great seeing you again, Lauri."
Before Lauri could get a word in, Merry had already disappeared down the hallway.
Blinking, Lauri turned back to Laurence and Granny.
Exhaling, he dismissed Her Aegis, taking a seat just as the suit of armour came apart into countless strings of light.
Clearing his throat, Lauri sheepishly smiled.
"So, what's up?"