Laura decided she'll deal with the Dwarf and the potential witch at a later date. She had other matters to attend to tonight, and it wasn't like the Dwarf was going anywhere. With that in mind Laura went to the city park, and created a warding barrier around one of the pavilions.
Once she was finished she teleported back home. Once she made sure Zenesha wasn't in the room, Laura took out the simple necklace. Realizing she needed somewhere to sit she got onto the bed, and placed the accessory in front of her on the bed.
Her right arm turned black with faint orange lights shimmering within. Taking a deep breath Laura mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do next. She didn't know how it'll feel, but she can't imagine it'll be pleasant.
"Uhg." She groaned.
She reached her arm into her chest, far enough to where normally it'll reach through her. However she wasn't reaching into her mortal body, no she was reaching into her true body and that's why her arm reached further than normal. Far into her true self.
The sensation wasn't painful considering she wasn't forcing her way through, but it was odd. Laura didn't like it and her eyes flashed orange with displeasure. Eventually she reached the spot she was looking for.
"There's my Core." She muttered once again mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen.
Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Laura calmed her nerves. Her kind did this to reproduce so it should be fine. Admittedly she wasn't trying to reproduce here, but the initial process is the same.
Then, she did it. It was unexpectedly easy without even a hint of pain. Feeling mildly unsettled by the uneventful conclusion Laura pulled her arm out grasping its prize. Once it was out of her body Laura observed the thing in her hands.
The small piece of her Core.
Her Core was slightly different from others. It was still grey with a black haze surrounding it, but it also had flecks of black and orange within it. This was surely because of the lingering bit of Abyssal Power that was now permanently inside her.
It wasn't a lot but it did make some obvious changes to her appearance. Her true appearance. She didn't dislike the change and actually preferred the fact that having Power of the Abyss meant having her own color. All Void creatures are grey while she gets a splash of orange.
Shaking her head to dispel her wandering thought's Laura looked at the sapphire necklace and moved the piece of her Core over it. After a second of hesitation, she pressed the Core into the pendent. She slowly encourages her Core into the Sapphire and mithril, trying her best not to accidentally break either the necklace or her Core.
"There we go." Laura said with a smile as she lifted the sapphire necklace.
Most people would notice, but the sapphire seems to have a slightly shinier gleam to its polished surface. It also hummed with energy, both from the mithril and void. With this accessory she would be able to protect Zenesha wherever she may be.
"I'll need to test it first." Laura thought to herself as she laid the pendent onto the bed once again.
She then proceeded to teleport away from the city, as far as she could until she was sure it'll be impossible to teleport from her location in one go. She closed her eyes and reached out, but she didn't even have to concentrate. She could still feel the necklace.
With a smile she teleported again and found herself inside their bedroom without issue.
"Yes! It worked!" Laura cheered, just as Zenesha walked into the room.
"What worked?" Asked the fox.
Panicking, Laura dove towards the bed, and snatched up the present before her princess could see it. The fox gave her a bewildered look, confused at the silly wolf's actions. Considering it looked as if Laura was stuffing something into her pockets, she guessed the wolf was trying to hide something.
"Hey princess!" Laura said, trying to sound casual. "What brings you here?"
"I came here to shower. I just rode Tart after all." She answered.
"I see, I see." Laura said. "Welp, have fun with that… later!"
With those words Laura ran from the room.
=======
Laura sat on the sidelines of the training grounds where a group of soldiers went through some basic drills. However the wolf wasn't focused on them, even if they were fully aware of her. No, the second in command was entirely focused on the sapphire in her hands.
While she was happy it worked as intended, Laura was still slightly unsure about handing off a piece of herself to someone else. It was just so… intimate. However if it had to be someone it should be Zenesha.
"It's just the way I'm giving it to her is weird." Laura muttered.
Her kind didn't have sex to reproduce. No, instead they would take a small piece of their Core's and combine them together. This was something reserved for intimacy among her kind. Well as intimate as one could get with her species. They tend to care about one another a bit more than mortals anyway.
With a sigh, Laura pocketed the item and left the training grounds. She ended up wandering for a good while lost in thought. Most of her hangups came from her fear that Zenesha wouldn't accept such a thing.
It was a baseless fear. Zenesha has proven to be caring and understanding, but it didn't stop Laura's mind from racing.
"What's wrong with me!" She suddenly cried out, startling those nearby. "I've never been this anxious before… well not counting my childhood."
Laura paused in her walking and turned to her right. Between two buildings was a blond man dressed in white. The fox grumbled and walked over to him with obvious annoyance.
What do you want?" She spat.
"Nothing, I've just come to check on you is all." The Angel responded.
"You mean you came here to make sure I'm not being evil right?" Laura asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Allan didn't react to her words and just smiled. "I do have to wonder why you have that swo-"
The Angel was suddenly slammed against the wall without warning. The wolf in front of him growled as their eyes turned into inky pools with glowing orange irises.
"You dare enter our room?" She said through gritted teeth. "I should kill you where you stand."
"Ah, but you can't afford to do that can you." Allan mused. "You don't know how many of my kind are here, which could put you in danger. Plus you can't deal with that while worrying about those two Forsaken in the White Ash."
The two of them stood still for several minutes. The Angel didn't look like they had anywhere to be. They also kept that same smile on their face the entire time. Eventually Laura reluctantly let him go and took a couple steps back.
"If you know about them, why not deal with'em?" She asked.
"There are two of them, anchored by their deals over there." He explained. "I'm only one Angel, and while I have allies here on this planet, they can't aid me… immediately. Especially since the recent influx of void creatures coming to this planet."
"Maybe if the Celestials didn't abandon this planet things wouldn't have turned out like this." Laura said.
"Don't you dare insult them." Allan said, his smile fading. "The Universe simply decided this planet no longer needed them, so they were reassigned."
"Your stupid Universe sounds just as bad as the Void." Said the wolf said mockingly.
It was Allans turn to shove Laura against the wall in anger. "You don't get to speak that way Forsaken." He spat.
The wolf just smirked before saying, "You won't kill me. You came here because you needed something."
"You're also a filthy Void spawn." He countered. "It's a net positive getting rid of you."
Like last time they fell silent for a while before the one holding the other let go and stepped back.
"Fine. I came here to suggest we work together to take out the two Forsaken in the White Ash."
Laura raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're able to do that? What about all those 'rules'."
"Those rules only apply to mortal affairs. When it comes to your kind, we were always permitted to act as seen fit."
"You mean kill us?"
"Obviously."
Laura wasn't really upset by that. But since she hated Allan anyway, she scowled at his words out of pettiness. Honestly, him killing her own kind means less people hunting her. If only she was smart enough to trick the Celestial faction and the Void faction to go into an all out war.
"I'll call you when we're storming the capital." Laura said.
"Why then? We must strike now."
"No, we don't." Laura said. "I need to help Zenesha with her war first."
Allan squinted his eyes at her before they glanced towards her pocket. After a while he looked back at her in shock and mild disgust.
"I can hardly believe it. A Forsaken giving a piece of their Core to a mortal."
Laura frowned at the invasion of privacy but chose to ignore it.
"Just give me your number." She said exasperated, pulling out her communicator.
"Fine." Allan muttered as he gave the Forsaken in front of him his personal number.