Penelope dusted off her hands.

"Lights are on!" Ailis cheered. "We're done for the day!" She gave Fae-Anna a high five.

"Casters don't stand a chance against the two of us!" Fae-Anna slapped her friend's hand.

That was a lot easier than it's been. Penelope walked over to the pile of cloth armor and scanned it for the enchanted item.

Deflect Projectiles T1 (Requires Aura 30) - Air

Create a whirlwind around a friendly target that diverts projectiles away.

"We got a spell!" Penelope waved the piece of paper, drawing the attention of the Casters. "It takes thirty Aura."

The other pair of Casters lost interest at the requirement and turned to leave.

"Pat or Riva then." Circe took the item, rolled it up, and put it in her pocket. "You okay?"

Penelope glanced over at Marlow, who was walking out of the room. "I'm worried about him. He's barely said anything the last two days."

"He's a Healer who can't heal." Circe shrugged. "We've got these awesome abilities, and sometimes we feel like we're untouchable." She nodded at the pair that were still celebrating. "He's healed wounds that should have killed some of us. I imagine it's hard for him to believe in himself right now."

Penelope looked at her friend as she stood up. "When did you get so insightful?"

"Two days of coaching people old enough to be my parents on how to survive in here." Circe sighed. "I don't know how you're still sane."

Penelope shrugged. "If they didn't want to learn, then I didn't bother putting in any effort to correct their bad habits. I can try to help them survive, but if they don't want to listen, there are plenty of other people down here who could use my help."

"Ouch, that's cold." Circe smirked and bumped into Penelope. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."

"Maybe a little." Penelope conceded. "But seriously, we gave Kent so many chances, and Robert died in the end. Even with Dawson, he kept refusing to fight with us and we still let him keep coming back and in the end, he ran off with a full set of Caster gear and didn't help us fight the boss…" Her voice drifted off.

"Worried about the inevitable team-up?" Circe glanced to her right, in the direction of Derek's portion of the Dungeon.

"A little." Penelope looked at the menu. "We've still got eight full days left, and we just finished the 17s." She turned around to look towards 18F. "Even with how we're slowing down, that still gives us five extra days…"

"You're assuming that Derek's team is going to get their part done the same time we do." Circe leaned out the door. "The barrier between us and G is still up." She came back into the room. "Last I heard, 16G's barrier went down yesterday, so they're moving really slow."

"Derek said they were only running two teams, but…" Penelope shook her head. "I don't trust him."

"Me neither." Circe looked over at Patrick, who was busy shoving monster corpses into the corner. The rest of their group had already left, eager to take a break before their afternoon chores of creating material, building something, or harvesting monsters. "He never quits, does he?"

"He likes to stay busy." Penelope glanced at the industrious bald man.

Circe lowered her voice. "And he likes to keep other people busy, so unless you want to get an early start on whatever he has you do, we need to find somewhere else to be for a few hours."

Penelope allowed herself to be dragged out of the room.

"So…" Circe let go of Penelope's hands. "Any plans until chore time?"

"I'm getting better at making thicker vines that are uniformly circular." Penelope patted her pants. "I was thinking about trying to make some that were square planks."

"That's part of your chores." Circe groaned. "I meant having fun before you have to work."

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Penelope turned away. "It's restful for me to be alone and work on something." She motioned at the door they'd just exited. "I get why Patrick likes to stay busy."

"Pat still comes and hangs out with the rest of us." Circe frowned. "You haven't done a girls night with us since Freddy opened up about her past."

"It's been…" Penelope bit her cheek, then shook her head. "That feels like celebrating, and I don't feel like I've earned the right to do that."

"Because of Robert?" Circe snorted. "That wasn't your fault!"

"He was part of my team, and he died on my watch." Penelope tilted her head. "How is that not my fault?"

"He was killed by a Demon!" Circe slapped her forehead. "Every one of us down here could be killed by a Demon! What was it you just said? There are plenty of other people who could benefit from your advice, so why waste time on the ones who think they know better than you and refuse to learn from your experience?" She grabbed Penelope's hands. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"Then why does it feel like it is?" Penelope swallowed the lump in her throat. "Cecil can't feel his legs after what happened, and Eldri is keeping <Clairvoyance> up all the time." Penelope pointed up the tunnel. "Marlow has barely said ten sentences in the last two days, and Caleb is throwing a heal at anyone who so much as stubs their toe." She wiped the hot tear out of her eye with the back of her hand before it had a chance to run down her cheek. "Tell me, whose fault is it?"

"We weren't ready." Circe shrugged. "There was a threat we didn't know existed, and it caught us by surprise at one of our worst moments." She motioned for her friend to get closer for a hug.

Penelope shook her head. "A hug isn't going to make me feel better."

"You don't know that." Circe repeated the motion. "My hugs have healing properties."

"Then use it on—" Penelope bit her cheek before she could finish. "Sorry. I just really don't feel like being touched right now."

"It's okay, I get it." Circe dropped her arms.

"Liar." Penelope punched the other woman in the arm.

"Yeah. Why would anyone not want a hug?" Circe hugged herself. "See, I already feel better."

"Maybe I'm just allergic." Penelope chuckled.

Mock horror crossed Circe's face. "You know the best way to cure an allergy is exposure therapy!" She reached for Penelope. "Here, let me just hug your arm, and then when you break out, I'll kiss it to make it better."

"You put your lips on me, and I will hit you for real." Penelope pulled away from her friend.

"I'm just kidding!" Circe held up her hands. "Gosh, why do you have to be so serious all the time?"

Penelope glared at Circe.

"Okay, I wasn't kidding, sheesh." Circe grumbled. "But I was honest about you being serious all the time. You need to learn how to loosen up a little."

"I'm okay being me." Penelope shook her head. "Look, we all have different ways that we cope. You party with the girls—"

"Did you hear that Aly can power down her <Fire Stream> spell enough that it's basically sparklers coming out of her fingers?"

"Everyone has heard about that." Penelope sighed. "My point is, everyone down here has some way that they distract themselves from the reality of how close we are to dying. My method is working in a quiet corner by myself."

"And how is that working for you?" Circe raised an eyebrow. "You're still kicking yourself about what happened the other day."

"And I'll probably be kicking myself for what happened the rest of the time that we're down here." Penelope sighed. "Someone died and a lot of other people got hurt because I let our team unity get out of control. That's on ME." She looked over her shoulder towards where the fight had happened, then turned back to her friend. "The best way that I can make up for it is to make sure that it never happens again."

"Patrick is grumpy sometimes, but I think we've got a pretty good team." Circe smiled. "So stop worrying so much! Take a break for a few hours and come have some fun with the rest of us."

How do I convince her that it's more exhausting for me to be around people? Penelope turned to Jeru for advice.

"You're on your own there." Her parasite chuckled.

Penelope let out a sigh. "Look, Circe—"

"Yes?" The brunette batted her eyes.

"I appreciate you trying to help me, but what I need is not more people time." Penelope shook her head. "Creating materials is relaxing for me, and that's what I want to work on." She summoned a single globe of light into her palm and kneaded it with her mind like it was putty. "This is also when I get to do my own personal training, so don't worry about me." She forced a smile. "I'm fine."

"You can say that all you want, but it doesn't make it true." Circe shrugged. "Fine, I'll let you play with your magic, but one of these days, you're going to ask me for a hug." She waved at her friend. "Bye!"

Penelope watched the other woman skip down the tunnel. Doubtful.

"You never know." Jeru clicked his tongue. "You might need some comfort eventually."

If that ever happens. Penelope headed towards 17D, where there was a big enough room for Patrick to designate it the supply area. I'll probably just need to reset.

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