She awoke to darkness, deep breathing, and the occasional raspy snore offered by Clemmy. She sat up, feeling…rejuvenated. As a smile creased her face, she realized it was more than that. She felt new, alive, like her old body had been replaced by another one, a better one. She swore she could sense every muscle in her body, waiting for her command. Power seemed to flow through her like a river, ready to be gathered into barrels and tapped. Even the dark didn’t seem so, well, dark, her eyes penetrating the shadows like she’d become nocturnal.

She stood up, the thought of going back to sleep absurd when she felt this way.

Made her way outside, careful to avoid the creakiest floorboards. Opened the door the minimum amount to allow her to slip through without the hinges squeaking. Stood in the clearing, bathing in the cool night air.

Something moved through the trees, silent as a whisper.

“I see ye,” she said, keeping her own voice low, knowing the bloodpanther would be able to hear her anyway with its keen ears. Her eyes darted about, trying to locate the beast’s position, but it didn’t make another appearance. “Mebbe yer shy then,” she muttered, surprised at the disappointment that caused her head to sag.

Another familiar noise caused her own ears to prick up. Scritch-scritch-scratch.

She hurried over to the cabin that housed Cainan, wasting no time in flinging open the unlocked door, finding the man sitting by the wall, finger raised and poised, ready to scratch. “Hullo,” she said.

“I was hoping you’d be awake,” the man said.

“I find it hard to sleep these days,” Perfidy admitted.

“Though tonight is for a different reason, isn’t it?”

She leveled him with a narrow-eyed stare. “Meanin’?”

“The bloodsquirrel.”

“How do ye know ’bout that?”

He chuckled. “I’ve been around for a while. How was it?”

Now that the truth was out, she let down her guard, beaming broadly. “Thrillin’. That’s the only word fer it, sir. I want to feel like that all the time.”

“Of course you do. But be careful. All power has consequences.”

“I know that now, obviously. It felt a bit like that time when I had a few too many sips of ol’ man Bednar’s moonshine an’ felt happier than a hog in muck fer ’bout two hours solid an’ then felt like all my innards wanted to become outtards, if ye catch my drift?”

Cainan nodded. “Exactly. You’ll need to learn to control the highs and lows, otherwise such ‘surges’ won’t help you. In fact, they could become your undoing.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, but I’ll keep it in mind the next time I eat anuther one o’ them delicious bloodheart thingies. Later today, hopefully, if my traps keep workin’.”

“I would wait at least a week if I were you.”

“A week? That’s…ferever. Fer the first time since I arrived in New Dawn I felt like I had access to my Ability, like I could decide when to use it an’ not sum invisible force. That’s all I want, mister.”