Rex shifted his weight and opened his pouch again, just to be sure.
One… two… three… four… five… six.
He paused, then glanced down at the focus slotted into his gauntlet.
"…And one equipped," he muttered.
A small, relieved smile crossed his face. For once—for once—he hadn't forgotten anything important. No missing focus. No forgotten spell. No last-second panic where he had to sprint back through a blizzard wondering why he was like this.
He tied the pouch shut and looked up.
The girl was staring at him.
The moment their eyes met, she snapped her gaze away like she'd been caught doing something illegal.
Rex couldn't help it. He smiled.
"Well," he said casually, breaking the silence, "since we're both freezing to death, I might as well ask—why are you here? At the top of a very cold mountain. During a snowstorm."
She hesitated, eyes still fixed on the fire.
"…Commission," she said.
Rex blinked. Then his eyes lit up.
"Oh! Really? Same." He leaned forward slightly. "Which one?"
"Hunting a troll."
For half a second, Rex just stared at her.
Then—
"Really?!" he said, way too excited. "Same!"
She finally looked at him, clearly reassessing this strange demon-looking guy who was now grinning like he'd just been told there was cake.
Rex glanced around the cave, his excitement cooling just enough for curiosity to take over. Scattered near the walls were… things.
Gears. Bent metal plates. Springs. A partially disassembled mechanism. Wires. Junk. At least, junk to him.
He tilted his head.
"So," he said carefully, "how are you planning on killing it?"
She followed his gaze to the pile of parts.
"I'm not entirely sure yet," she admitted. "But I think I can whip up a trap."
Rex winced.
"Uh… I've never killed a troll," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "but I don't think traps are really going to kill it."
"Maybe not," she said calmly. "But there's only one way to find out."
Rex considered that.
Then shrugged.
"…Fair enough."
As he shifted, his foot nudged something soft. A book.
He frowned, crouched, and picked it up.
The pages were filled with scribbles. Notes layered on notes. Symbols. Half-finished diagrams. Measurements scratched out and rewritten. It looked like madness—except for the parts that didn't.
Blueprints.
Actual designs.
Rex's eyes widened slightly.
"…You made this stuff?"
She looked up just in time to see him holding the book.
Her reaction was immediate.
She lunged forward, snatched it from his hands, and hugged it to her chest.
"Yes. And—no. What about it?"
Rex raised both hands in surrender.
"Nothing bad. Just… impressed."
She eyed him suspiciously.
"I make stuff too," Rex added quickly. "Just—uh—not mechanical."
He gestured to his gauntlet. Then to the small, oval crystals tucked into his pouch.
"And those are…?" she asked.
"My spells."
Her eyebrow went up.
"…Spells."
"Yep."
"I don't know much about magic," she said slowly, "but I'm pretty sure spells don't come in colored ovals."
Rex grinned.
"Oh. Watch."
He rummaged through his pouch, pulled out a brown-green focus, and slotted it into his gauntlet.
"Terra."
The crystal flared.
Rex pressed his gauntlet to the stone floor.
A jagged earth spike tore forward from the ground, stopping just short of the cave wall.
The girl recoiled a step, eyes wide.
"…Huh," she said after a moment. "Guess you proved me wrong."
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"But how?"
"I use different runes and pure crystals to channel magic into spells," Rex explained. "Sort of like… building them."
She stared at him.
"…Yeah, I don't think that's how magic works."
Rex laughed.
"That's exactly what my master said the first time I explained it to him."
He paused.
"…Oh. Right. We haven't done introductions."
He stood, brushed snow from his coat, and offered his hand.
"My name's Rex. Nice to meet you."
She hesitated. Just a second.
Then shook it.
"Lilee."
Rex tilted his head.
"Huh. Never heard that name before."
"Same," she replied.
A beat of silence passed.
Then Rex smiled again.
"Hey," he said, bright as ever, "how about we team up and hunt the troll together?"
Lilee thought about it.
Magic. Machines. A demon-looking mage who smiled too easily. A freezing mountain. A troll.
"…Sure," she said at last. "I mean—what could go wrong?"
Rex's grin widened.
"Oh," he said cheerfully.
"We'll find out."