Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cali fiddle with something in her pocket again. She’d been doing that all day. Even odder, she hadn't hardly spoken all day.
Deciding she needed some kind of help, he held his hand out.
Cali pulled her hand out of her pocket, eyes going wide and ears flattening.
“Oh, come on,” he prodded, wiggling his fingers.
Reluctantly, his cousin put a yellow stone in his hand. It was a big one, with a complicated rune pattern on it.
“Nice,” he said, trying to activate it.
- Spell failed due to incompatible magic types.
“Lightning spell?” Maki guessed, waving the box away.
“Yeah,” she said softly.
“Big stone, it must be powerful.”
She smiled nervously. “It is.”
Maeve poked her ears between them. “Oh, is that what the priest gave you?”
“Yep,” Cali said, her tail twitching. That was usually her tell for lying, but Maki wasn't sure why she would lie here and now.
Luke’s hand reached out and took the stone. “Nice gem. Well-cut, but the runes are pretty amateur. I’m surprised they even… Cali, why did the priest give you a restricted boost stone?”
Maki turned. “Restricted?” His Guard skill for detecting illegal items hadn't activated when he touched it, so the stone must have been legally acquired, at least.
“Yeah, anything above twenty levels is basically illegal, and this is a hundred,” Luke said, handing the stone back to Cali.
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Cali fiddled with it nervously. “He… wanted us to be safe. In case we met another ursa or something.”
After a moment of silence, Maeve put a hand on her shoulder. “Cali. Girl. We grew up together. We can all tell when you’re lying.”
Cali looked incredibly guilty. “He- Well- It wasn't carved when he gave it to me,” she said.
They all stared at her.
“So you risked ruining an expensive stone with miscarved runes?” Luke asked. “Why didn't you ask me to carve it?”
“Because I thought you wouldn't,” she said, ears drooping.
“Well, no, because it’s kinda illegal,” he admitted.
“Still, you must have a good reason for needing a boost stone,” Maki prompted.
Maeve added, “And why was the priest willing to give you such an expensive gem?”
“He said he would give me anything, since we’re on a divine mission to save the world,” Cali said quietly.
“Why did you want a boost stone?” Luke asked.
“Because… Because I’m always behind,” she said. “I have two magic specialties to work on, so I’m always going to be weaker than any of you! And maybe- maybe if I got a super boost to lightning magic, it would do something and make it look like I don't have charm magic! I don't want people to look at me suspiciously just cuz I have pink hair, and maybe I could force the pink out with extra lightning magic! And if we’re ever attacked by an ursa major again, I’ll have a bunch of fake magic to give it, kinda. Right?”
“So why not make it a 20-level boost?” Luke asked.
“I don't know,” she said, sniffling.
Maki glanced at Maeve. She was looking grim; apparently neither of them quite believed Cali. Something was going on with her, and it was probably illegal, and she didn't want to tell them.
Maeve touched her arm. “Hey, it’s ok. We all trust you, right?”
Maki and Luke nodded.
“Right,” Maeve said. “So whatever you’re doing, we’re a part of it. You can trust us.”
Cali looked around at them, and deflated. “I didn't… just get a citrine. I got a rhodonite as well.”
Maki shared a look with Luke. This was getting out of “bad idea” territory and into “we could be sent to jail for this” territory.
But it was Cali. Silly little pure-hearted, animal-loving Cali.
Maeve smiled a bit nervously. “And the fact that he gave it to you means you have no intention to use it for evil. Right? So since the priest, who doesn't know you, trusts you, we for sure trust you with it. Right, guys?”
Luke nodded, and Maki felt forced to agree.