Chapter 8：Crumbling Foundations

When Harmony logged in to "Living Jade Empire" that night after she got home and stowed her hoverboard, and fed her cat, she had two messages waiting.

Both of them were from Jade's friend Appella. The first one read: "I'm sorry, nothing against you, I just can't talk to him right now."

The second read: "P.S. Hisui isn't what you think he is."

Harmony couldn't reply because Appella had already removed her from the friend list. If she could have, she'd have told the younger woman, "Jade is always Jade." She gazed into the distance thoughtfully, until Jade came online.

--

Jade didn't even notice the usual quests pop up and complete as he made his way home, watered his plant, and logged into the game.

A message from Harmony arrived in his smithy almost as soon as he did. He caught it in his fingers and read: "Where are you? Let's meet up!"

Jade replied: "At my smithy on the edge of the great desert, I can come to where you are?"

The messenger fluttered off and a moment later hers arrived, making him smile again a little. "No, wait there! I want to see it!"

Awhile later he sent another message: "Are you sure you don't need me to come get you?"

Jade was closing the message when he noticed that a name was missing from his friends list. Appella was gone. He frowned. It wasn't impossible that she'd died again and had to restart for a third time, but after the celestial dragon ride, she'd sent him a friend request right away.

--

Jade was still frowning at his menus when Harmony arrived. She saw him standing beside his anvil frowning at nothing, and rapped loudly on the edge of one of the wide open doors.

"Jade," Harmony said, "sorry, I mean Hisui."

Jade looked up and smiled. "Hey," he said, "of course you can come in."

Harmony's brow was wrinkled, but she summoned up a return smile for him. After a moment she sauntered into the smithy and began looking around.

The pudgy little airship took up most of the vast room. The walls were hung with both traditional tools, and devices that she couldn't recognize. There were three different forges, ranging from enormous to small.

After a bit, she looked at Jade and asked, "so? Want to talk about it?"

Jade looked away and swallowed hard before replying, "I… this is going to sound… um… I don't know if I should tell you."

Harmony tucked her arms up behind her head and replied with a bit of amusement, "I'm old Jade. There isn't much I haven't heard before."

"I seriously doubt you've heard this before," Jade replied glumly.

Harmony winked and suggested, "so tell me as much as you want to. You don't ever have to tell me more than that."

After a minute, Jade nodded and took a deep breath before saying all in a rush, "I died in front of Eric yesterday, and today I can't get an answer, and I'm really worried."

Harmony blinked. "Eric?" she questioned. "Is that the name of Appella's player?"

Jade had been expecting her to ask, "you died?" It took him a moment to comprehend the question, and then he replied swiftly, "no! I mean Appella is a girl I've known for about five years in this game. Eric is a guy I go to school with, we just met this year, but he's already a good friend."

Harmony rubbed her eyebrow and then asked the question he'd been expecting, "you died? Of embarrassment?"

Jade hesitated before answering. Finally he said, "I got hit by a car the day before yesterday."

Harmony stared at him. "I know you were gone again but you looked ok, just kind of out of it, when I saw you this afternoon?"

Jade nodded and replied, "I'm ok."

Harmony gazed at him uncomprehendingly. "Usually, I feel like we understand each other pretty well, but I feel like I can't understand you today," she complained.

"I'm sorry," Jade said simply.

Harmony walked over and sat on top of his anvil, which lowered her face close to his where he stood beside it. She spread her arms invitingly, and asked, "hug?"

He gave her a fragile smile and stepped into her hug. Harmony stroked his tangled dwarven hair with one elven hand while Jade leaned into her trustingly.

After a bit Harmony said comfortingly, "I don't understand, but I think if you give your friend some time, things will probably work out."

She heaved a sigh after another minute, and Jade pushed away from her to look into her face questioningly.

"Speaking of your friends, what happened between you and Appella?" Harmony asked.

Jade frowned and replied, "I don't know what happened to her, she was just gone from my list, and that's a bit worrisome too."

Harmony tilted her head and asked, "nothing happened that you know of?"

Jade replied, "you've seen her since I have. What were the two of you doing?"

Harmony didn't answer right away, and Jade returned her earlier words with amusement, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I want to," Harmony declared. But she looked away and muttered, "but I feel like I'd be betraying her trust."

Jade asked curiously, "what made you think something happened between us?"

She gave him a wry grin and said mysteriously, "I didn't get to tell her that Jade is always Jade." She reached out and ruffled his hair.

Jade rolled his eyes at her and she added, "even if he spells it Hisui here." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Jade smiled.

--

Eric attended class the next morning, he had a bandage on his forehead, but looked ok otherwise. He wouldn't respond to Jade at all, and stoically ignored him until the class ended.

"Eric?" Jade asked again.

Eric finally looked at him, but then he looked away again, and said roughly, "I knew that everything might not go like I hoped when I came here, but you're not even human! Leave me alone, I can't deal with it yet!"

Eric stomped out the door, while Jade stood frozen behind him, and then stopped. He stuck his head back in and yelled angrily, "but I'm glad you're still alive!" He ran away down the hall, faster than Jade could ever hope to catch up.

Jade glanced hopefully at his quest list, hoping for some kind of guidance, but there was nothing there except his main quest: to see the world through a human perspective.