New Armor and Family.

A week had passed since Nix had locked herself up in her new workshop. Over time, Sheeva had held Nix several times as she broke down into tears suddenly. She'd barely gotten the woman to eat the food that had been delivered to them, only receiving thanks and gentle pets in return before the woman returned to work. By now, only one crate of Mana Cores remained next to table, the other crates long since given back to be put into storage.

During this week, everyone else had been set onto their duties, some delivering the last pieces of unwanted equipment before they returned to their new and old jobs. By nightfall, the hunters returned with Ju'Shal with a variety of Dark Beasts. Most of them were rank one, with a few rank two and rank three mixed in the pile. The people quickly began skinning the rabbit, wolf, and bear like animals before bringing the meat to the butcher shop. The crystals were given to Sheeva, who looked exhausted as she received the new materials.

Everyone in the village began to worry about both of them, especially Sheeva, who was taking care of Nix. It wouldn't be until nightfall that Sheeva slowly opened the door to the main hall. The villagers were holding a regular meeting about the state of affairs when she walked in, causing everyone to stand up and eye the cub worriedly.

With a soft smile, she nodded to Drevid and stepped back out, the Chief quickly ending the meeting and rushing out to follow Sheeva back to the Blacksmith. Jennifer followed faster than the others, a mix of worry and excitement welling up in her chest. As Sheeva reached the door, she gestured for everyone to stay silent before opening the door.

The inside smelled of a light body odor, metal and a thin flame. On the table laid a suit of armor that shone dimly under the blue lights that occasionally sparked orange from the metal arms that tapped at it. Nix was standing next to the table with a tablet in hand, eyeing the symbols that appeared on the screen.

As the group entered the room, Nix looked up at them and gave them an exhausted smile. She looked much happier now compared to before, though her face had whitened and deep bags hung themselves under her eyes.

"Good, everyone is here. Jennifer, your armor is ready." Nix gestured to the table as the arms lifted themselves. They then folded back together before laying in their respective slots. The armor itself looked like Nix's. It was sleek with a furred neck and shoulders, black all the way down save for some specks of grey to mark where the joints locked together. The helmet was also black, sleeker in design than Nix's while holding the same glass face plate that melded perfectly into the metal it was attached to.

As Jennifer walked up, the others followed behind her to observe the armor. All of them were awestruck at the sight. They'd all seen various styles of armor in the past, but this was something none of them could imagine. Even compared to Nix's, it was a vast improvement.

"Now, as Sheeva helps Jennifer into her armor, I'll explain how it works for everyone." Nix said as she nodded to Sheeva, who gave a bright smile and quickly went over to the table and tapped on the screen. After she did, the table turned towards the group before tilting down. The armor shifted a bit on the table before latching onto it, the feet landing on the ground as the table tilted upright. Sheeva then trotted over to Jennifer and grabbed her hand, guiding her to the new suit she would call hers.

"This is the Mark V, scout type armor. Unlike my armor, this one is loaded with the necessary per...mmm, I suppose supplies needed to help with Mana circulation. It'll not only give a generous boost to speed, but also help the user react faster and lift more. It also comes with some outlets to keep the user from overheating during a fight."

As Nix explained, Sheeva brought Jennifer's hand up to the suit and places the Va'Rish's hand on the chestplate. The armor then glowed a deep green, lines of the light began to spread around like a spiders web before opening up. As the chestplate split itself open from the belly and lifted itself up and to the side, the arms and legs opened as well. Sheeva then nodded to Jennifer and gestured for her to get inside.

The woman hesitated with a hard swallow. She was worried about stepping inside, but the hopeful look the cub gave her broke her hesitation and caused her to take a few quick breaths. Stepping up, she turned around and leaned into the armor. As her arms and legs slowly found their place, the armor wrapped itself around the woman and locked into place with some small hisses. Unlike the armor Jennifer had worn for so long, this armor felt soft and comfortable. She didn't feel the usual constriction she'd been used to. Instead, the armor felt like it was apart of her.

"This armor will help in most scenarios. Lifting, running, jumping, even in combat. Not only will you find it able to move as you wish, but you'll feel no restraints in your movement. Go ahead and give us some stretches and movement." Nix said as she moved to the table and grabbed a black sword and a small, peculiar looking item from the top of table.

Jennifer couldn't stop herself from testing it out. As everyone awed at the sight of such sleek armor hugging Jennifer, she stretched her arms and took a few steps. So far, she felt almost nothing that stopped her movements. She felt a bit slow at first, but eventually the armor seemed to adapt to her and move with her instead of just resting on her. She threw a couple of jabs away from the crowd like she was fighting before giving a few hops. More and more she admired the work and how good she felt. The others in the crowd also admired how smoothly the armor moved. Green lights could be seen dimly lit as she moved, streaming from her back into her arms and legs.

"This armor works like a magic item, as Sheeva explained to me. As you use Mana, this armor will supplement your movements and strengthen you. However, like a magic item, this armor works directly with how much you have. If it drops below a certain level, you'll be unable to use the enhancements, and instead will he asked to rest and recover." Nix explained as she held up the sword and tool for Jennifer to grab. "This is the typical scouts weapons from my old world. The sword is your usual that you are used to, but is able to use Mana to strengthen the blade, I believe Sheeva explained it as a Mana Blade? And this piece is a pistol. Your helmet will explain how it works."

Jennifer gently took the equipment from Nix and gave them a look over. With the blade in her right hand and the pistol in her left, she found that holding them felt almost to natural for her. At the thought of her own Mana Blade, the edges of the black longsword began to glow a bright green, causing Jennifer to look suddenly at Nix in surprise.

"Nix, you made all of these?" Jennifer asked in awe, looking back down at the blade as she brought it up to her face. The Mana was stable, something she'd only seen from Master Swordsman that reached the peak of their craft. In this world, a knight had to reach this state before getting an official title in any kingdom. The smooth flow of the Mana would determine what level they were at, making her immensely impressed that she was at the level of a 2 star knight.

"Well, it's only a work in progress for now. As we continue to make more, I'll be able to replicate a Mana Blade much easier. Now, as for how you holster them." Nix stopped as she took the pistol and blade from Jennifer. She then stepped around and placed the pistol on the Va'Rish's right hip, the blade being on her back with the hilt over her left shoulder. After checking them, she determined the weapons were safe for others to observe before gesturing the others to take a look. "Taking a look at your blood, it was determined with your weapons here, you'll be able to use them freely and bring them out without any issues."

As Nix finished, Jennifer wasted no time in gripping the hilt of the blade and drawing her sword, her left hand gripping the handle of the pistol and drawing it at the same time. It felt so smooth, much smoother than any draw she'd made of her previous blade.

Everyone around Jennifer awed once more at how fluid the motions were compared to before, envious now at the lucky Va'Rish. Jennifer then looked at the helmet that hung on the table, raising her brow as she wondered why that was last. Following her eyes, Nix looked over to Sheeva and nodded.

Sheeva immediately went over to the desk and grabbed a few items before walking over to the group. Handing each person a glass-made item, she attached her own, showing off how to put it on and slip the metal piece into her ear. The others followed in suit, finding each piece was built specifically for them. They felt a bit odd as the looked through the glass at Nix, who was busy slipping her own helmet on. It was made the same way it was before, though it looked much darker and sleeker now, matching Jennifer's own helmet that she'd slipped on over her head.

After confirming it fit Jennifer alright, Nix took a step back and grabbed her tablet once more. "Now everyone, you'll hear a voice suddenly in your ear. Do not worry, as the voice is not a spirit nor is it evil." Nix explained, remembering how Sheeva freaked out the first time she'd heard it. She then pressed down on a simple on her tablet, causing the glass visors on the group to light up before their eyes.

[ATTENTION: Start-up sequence started.]

[ALERT: New users detected, requesting permission to admit them into the SYSTEM.]

Everyone jumped and turned to eachother as the voice spoke to them. They all gestured to their visors, making Sheeva giggle at their reactions. Jennifer was worse off, the voice enveloping both ears and the screen before her eyes was only dark, not able to see anything.

"Acknowledged." Nix spoke softly in her helmet, causing the symbols to change before everyone's eyes. They all recognized the words now as something written in their own language. Sheeva was proud to see them now getting comfortable with the familiar writing, something she'd spent so many days to teach Nix to put into the SYSTEM.

[ALERT: New users have been registered.]

[ALERT: Tutorial recommended before use.]

"Acknowledged, they will go through it at a later time."

[ACKNOWLEDGED. SYSTEM will now implement new users. Welcome to the STELLAR SYSTEM New Users. Please say Tutorial when you are ready.]

As the system spoke to Jennifer, her visor began to clear and allow her to see the group before her. She then noticed several pictures and other writing around her screen that told her about her armor, body condition, and Mana reserves. As she turned to look at everyone, words and small boxes highlighted each individual face and gave her a small run-down on who they were, race, and some question marks. "Uhm...Nix, my helmet is telling me about everyone."

"Yes. This is apart of the system. What you see and hear will be added to the system via information you receive. As well as anyone that uses it, so everyone will get an update as you get them. Sheeva, could you show them the communications?"

Sheeva nodded before gently tapping on the side of the glass visor, looking at everyone and giving a soft whisper. "C-can everyone hear me?"

To everyone's surprise, Sheeva's small voice reached everyone's ears clearly, making them all look at eachother once more. They'd been surprised enough, but this was something else entirely.

"Is this...Mana Whisper?" Ju'Shal was the first to speak up, looking at Nix with bewilderment. Such a thing was only possible for Mages of at least rank two or above.

"If the simplest of terms, yes. Now, whoever is wearing this is able to talk to anyone else holding this. If you wish to speak to someone privately, STELLAR will explain later in the Tutorial. For now, what does everyone think?" Nix asked proudly, placing her hands on her hips.

Everyone then fell silent and looked among the others. As excited as they were, worry began to creep in the back of their minds. There were many questions to be asked, but only one thought unanimously was found among everyone.

Vela was the first to speak up, gently taking the visor off and looking at Nix. "Nix, how much sleep did you even get working on these?"

Nix paused at the sudden question, thinking for a moment before looking at Sheeva. The cub felt Nix's gaze and quickly turned away, making the woman sigh and take her helmet off. "I couldn't tell you, I've been to busy making these."

These words caused everyone to look at eachother in worry. It wasn't until Jennifer took the helmet off and turned to Nix before anything else was said. "Nix, as much as I appreciate this, and believe me, I do, but you need rest."

"Jennifer, it's alright, I just-"

"Nix, we all know the state you're in." Drevid interrupted her as he walked up, placing a hand on Nix's shoulder. "These items you've made are revolutionary, and nobody here can complain about you making these at all, but you haven't gotten any proper rest, not even a proper meal, in a week now."

These words caused Nix to lower her head. She knew what Drevid meant, and could only agree. She was weary and broken, using this new work to push herself well past the limits of her new body. It hadn't been that long since she'd recovered from her injuries either.

"Nix, I understand everyone mournes in their own way, but you aren't alone anymore. You have us, and you have Sheeva now as your family." Jennifer said as she stood next to her husband, giving Nix a warm and soothing smile. As she spoke, Sheeva finally turned back to look at Nix with weary and sad eyes.

Sheeva...as family?

The thought seemed to crash into Nix's mind. Up until now, she figured the cub simply stuck with her as a way to forget her own family that had been lost. She'd not once given thought about the state the cub was in as she was so absorbed in her work. Without realizing, tears began to stream down her face.

How many times had Sheeva held her when she'd broken down this last week? When was the last time she'd seen this child smile like before she started working? These questions brought Nix over to Sheeva, kneeling down next to her and wrapping the cub in a gentle hug.

"Oh Sheeva, I'm so sorry." Nix wept as she held the Fox-Kin, who quickly wrapped her arms around Nix and cried herself. She'd held so much in as she watched the woman struggle, not knowing how to help.

Everyone around them looked to eachother and nodded before slowly stepping out. They all decided to leave Drevid and Jennifer to take care of them, as they were the most reliable in these situations. Jennifer then knelt next to Nix and Sheeva, gently placing a hand on Nix's shoulder with a warm smile.

"Come, let's get you two home for some well earned rest. You can show us how these work later." Jennifer spoke softly, looking up to Drevid and nodding to him.

Before Drevid could move, Nix suddenly slumped against Sheeva, causing her to buckle a little as she struggled to hold the woman up. Her face was full of fear now, her tail and ears dropping as she shook the older woman. "Nix? Nix, what's wrong?"

"It's alright child, she's just passed out from exhaustion." Jennifer consoled the Fox-Kin before gently pulling Nix away. She could see Nix was looking a bit better. Already, her face looked healthier as the woman realized what she'd been missing. Jennifer carefully picked Nix up in her arms and stood up. She wad amazed at how easy it was, but quickly dismissed her amazement as she looked to her husband.

Drevid understood Jennifer's thoughts as he knelt down to Sheeva and carefully picked her up. Now that the cub was beginning yo relax, sleep was quickly over taking her as well. "Let's get you two home. We will speak more after you two are healthy enough to move around."

Drevid whispered into the cubs ear as he looked at Jennifer. She then nodded and led the two out of the room. As they left, they were met by a crowd of worried faces, some of whom looked in awe at Jennifer and her new armor. Jennifer then pursed her lips, making sure everyone remained silent before slipping into the opening the crowd made with Drevud in tow, bringing Nix to her new home while everyone else watched on.