Nebl was a genius.

The rain was pouring down with a vengeance, and the raindrops were huge and heavy. Luckily for the last few hours they’d not been flying at us sideways, but instead coming down straight. And thanks to that, we were safe from being constantly soaked. Or well, we were safe from the rain thanks to a nifty little addition to the wagon that Nebl had added.

I sat with Merit in front of the wagon, holding the reins, and above us was now an angled canopy that extended off the roof of the wagon. It kept us pretty much dry; thanks to how much of the front seat it covered.

It was basically an umbrella attached to the wagon. One that Lellip had been able to unlatch and open by untying some strings. I had never seen such a thing before, and wondered why not every wagon had one. One could make a whole business enterprise just off it, I’d think! The few other travelers we’d passed by since unfolding it had all stared, obviously jealous over it.

We were near Telmik, probably would be there by midday or even the morning of tomorrow, but it was slow going. Thanks to the heavy rains the road was both muddy and the horses trotted slower than normal. It wasn’t night yet, though it felt like it thanks to the storm and dark world around us.

Merit shivered a little and scooted a little closer to me. Pulling the blanket closer draped over our laps to her as she did.

“You can go sleep and warm up if you want, Merit,” I offered.

She huffed at me, causing some small haze to escape her lips. “Shut up. There’s barely enough room in there for me, let alone three of us,” she complained.

Oh? So if Lilly and Lellip hadn’t been sleeping, Merit would be? Considering just a few hours ago Merit had woken up from a long nap, again, that was kind of concerning. Was she sleeping more, or did she just not like traveling I wonder?

Plus that was funny. Barely enough room for her…? Merit was such a tiny little thing, I doubted she’d not fit anywhere comfortably. I’ve had pillows bigger than her before.

“I’m actually kind of surprised Lilly’s even sleeping, to be honest,” I said softly, doing my best to not smirk at the thought of comparing her to pillows.

“Even she has to rest. It’s because she’s reaching her limit, she’s been going for months without any real rest and it shows,” Merit said, not speaking softly as she did.

Maybe she figured the loud rain drowned out our voices. Lellip sleeping through us talking I’d not be surprised over, but Lilly…? I’d feel bad for waking her, especially when she rarely slept and seemed to be getting so stretched thin as Merit also claimed.

“Hm… think Vim’s reached the ocean by now?” I asked, wondering if maybe a nice little conversation would warm her up.

“Likely. Depends if he got side-tracked or not.”

“He does seem to do that often enough… I feel like every time we separate he comes back and I find out he got involved in something neat without me, like Mistle’s situation,” I said.

“I’d not really phrase that as neat, but yes. He’s a danger-magnet. Says so himself.”

Magnet…? “What’s a magnet?”

Merit shifted a little and glanced at me. “Vim’s been lacking in your education, hasn’t he? Can’t say I fault him… even when you two get a chance to have a moment alone anymore it’s filled with your flirting and stuff… Magnetism is when magnetic fields end up attracting or pushing away things. It happens because of electricity, or well, their currents. Basically when something gets electrically charged it can interact oddly with things around it. Next time we stop near a river I’ll find a suitable rock to shock and make a magnet for you so you can see what I mean,” Merit explained.

“There were a lot of words there I don’t really understand,” I said gently.

Merit sighed, but not out of annoyance. She shivered again and tugged the blanket closer to her. “I bet. I’ll teach you all about it later. Vim taught me it when we built my kingdom. He built me an electrical system for the plumbing and other things, and I was the one he taught to upkeep it,” she said.

Ah… “I was hoping he’d build those for us too. I like it when I can get a hot bath with a simple tug on a faucet,” I said happily.

She chuckled at that. “Don’t mention hot baths right now, please.”

“Sorry…”

Merit shifted a little, and then leaned against me. Likely for warmth. “Vim used to come and go over years. Decades sometimes went by without seeing him. Honestly, in a certain perspective, you didn’t want to see him. Him showing up usually meant there was a reason for it. A need for him. That wasn’t a good thing,” Merit said, speaking gently. Was she going to fall asleep leaning up against me? I’d not mind, of course, but if she was going to do so I wanted to adjust the blanket a little…

“I personally kind of like traveling around with him. I think I’ll miss it, if I do end up staying up north,” I said.

“Hmph. Even if he does step down he won’t stop moving. Vim can act as indifferent as he wants, but he’s too soft inside. The moment he ends up hearing someone needs help he’ll run off to aid them. Look at those idiots in Lumen, Vim kept having to distract himself because he wanted to help them finish their new church. I’m actually surprised he didn’t get more involved in it as it was,” Merit said.

I nodded understandingly. “Yes… he even avoided some of them, like Martin. I hadn’t said anything to him, but I know he had done it on purpose.”

“Why wouldn’t he? Involving yourself with those people only ends up getting you hurt. Look what happened, you lingered too long in Lumen and now you’re separated and Vim’s sent off on some crazy quest again. Another monarch…? So quickly…? I don’t think anyone’s realized yet but something is wrong. How can we go decades without seeing any and all of a sudden they’re everywhere again? It wasn’t even this bad back during the beginning,” Merit said.

My tail squirmed beneath the blanket as I nodded. “Vim’s worried about that too. Not to mention the god…” I whispered.

“Likely all connected. Did he mention anything about it?” she asked.

“Kind of. On a few occasions he had brought it up… he’s worried about it. But he has been for a while now, Merit. I have a saint friend up north, she had a prophecy concerning the monarch that had destroyed Angie’s forest. He’s been… stressed since hearing of it,” I said.

Merit shifted a little and glanced at me. “Hearing of it…? You mean to say he actually asked to hear the full prophecy, don’t you?”

I nodded.

She sighed. “That’s not good. At all. What was the prophecy?”

“She saw a unique light and then witnessed the birth of a monarch. A very large chicken that set ablaze the forest, and eventually the world,” I said, giving her a summarized version of it.

Merit groaned and went to rubbing her hands together beneath the blanket. “Just great. I’m assuming, and desperately hoping, the god who made that monarch is the one he killed the other day? Yes?”

“Um… Vim also hopes that the case, but I have a sinking suspicion he doesn’t believe it was.”

“That’s terrifying. That means there’s a god out there summoning new monarchs. And powerful ones to boot…? No wonder Vim was so willing to ignore so much and run away as he had. I wonder if the monarch he’s to fight in the sea has anything to do with all that?”

“I hope not…” I mumbled. Vim had seemed genuinely worried over it all. And for Vim to be worried that meant we all likely should be terrified.

For a moment we sat in silence, and one of the horses shook their head a little violently. They calmed down after a moment, which told me either water had gotten into their ears or something like a bug had bothered them.

They had little sashes over them, tanned flaps of leather, where saddles would be. It covered most of their bodies, but not enough in my opinion. So they were somewhat shielded from the rain, but not completely. But no one had seemed too worried over the horses, even when the wind had been bad too.

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Wonder if horses got upset with us. They walked and pulled calmly, not needing to be ushered, but that didn’t mean they weren’t upset… right? Was too bad they couldn’t speak. Though I had been told once that horses actually loved to pull stuff. To work. That some would grow upset and anxious if they didn’t get to move around and do stuff. Though that might just be because pulling a wagon was better than being stuck in a barn, not because they actually liked to work.

“The world’s all noisy again…” Merit then mumbled.

I glanced at her, and realized she was still pondering our conversation. Deeply, too.

Not a surprise. This was the first time I’d told her of that prophecy, and Vim’s thoughts on the matter. Surprisingly it seemed Merit knew a bit about gods and their methods… likely thanks to spending time with Vim over the years, I assumed.

“Explains his willingness to so readily let you risk absorbing a heart. To help protect you,” she then said.

I nodded gently, though I knew Vim had not directly planed for it to have happened as it had. He in fact had planned to give me Miss Beak’s heart, at a later date. He had even asked Narli to try and foresee if I’d survive it or not. He had never gotten an answer… or well, he might have while visiting her last and had simply not told me.

“So… um…”

Glancing at my friend, I wondered why she was suddenly twirling her fingers beneath the blanket. “Hm?”

Merit didn’t say anything right away, and instead she sat back up a little. We were still touching, since she had gotten so close, but was now no longer leaning fully against me. With her not doing so I now felt a little colder, more than I had before she had gotten close originally.

My friend glanced at me, and then glanced behind us. The flap that led into the wagon was sealed firmly, to keep rain out, and I could hear both Lellip and Lilly still sleeping. Though Lellip snored Lilly didn’t, but her breathing was soft and even enough to tell me she hadn’t woken even from our talking.

“Since we’re about to be there… I should probably say it, but…” Merit mumbled.

I nodded and focused on my friend, patiently waiting for her to say whatever was obviously bothering her.

“Me and um… Randle? We don’t get along… I once tried to kill him, so um…”

Oh boy… “Uh… is that going to be a problem…?” I asked, concerned.

She stiffly lifted her shoulders and shrugged. “I… don’t think so? I don’t have that hate in me anymore. I… won’t attack him. I hadn’t last time I had seen him either, I just… figured I should let you know since… I mean…”

I reached around and grabbed my friend, pulling her into a side-hug. “I’m sure we can figure it out, Merit. Randle’s changed by the way, even Vim’s mentioned he’s become… different. If you two do become an issue I’ll do my best to act as your buffer and keep the peace, I promise,” I said.

Merit grumbled for a moment as she nodded. “Okay… I just… yeah…”

“It’s okay, I mean… look at Lilly! And Vim! Randle rather openly said he used to hate Vim, and they act all friendly now,” I said.

“Probably just because Randle pissed off Light and the rest…” Merit mumbled.

Well… “That’s likely it, yes…” I admitted.

Merit sighed as she nodded. “Still… sorry it took so long to say it. I promise to leave if… if it becomes a problem, so…”

I squeezed the small fish, smiling happily as I did. “Please, Merit. Don’t even worry about it. I’d just move us to another town or something if that happens. Randle’s been nice to me but he’s not my family like you are,” I said.

“Mhm…” Merit groaned at me, but I could feel her real thoughts. She was growing warmer, significantly so, which meant she was both embarrassed and happy.

I giggled a little and nodded. “What’d you even try to kill him for?”

“He blamed my kingdom’s downfall on my lack of faith. He had said it in front of me in a way I had not… liked to hear,” Merit said softly.

Ah… I nodded. “I’d have gotten angry over that too, I guess…” I said. Though would I have tried to kill him over it? No, I wouldn’t have. At least, I didn’t think I would have.

“No you wouldn’t have, Renn. You’re too nice for that.”

I smirked at my friend and gave her another squeeze. “Is that why you’re banished from the Bell Church?” I asked.

“Huh…? No. That one’s because I had killed a few of them before joining the Society. Some of their members had sold some of our people to the Epoch Cult, and I hadn’t liked that. Turns out only one of the people I had killed had actually been involved… the rest had simply been defending their friend from me, or at least had attempted to, not knowing the full story,” Merit said.

Oh gosh… “Vim’s told me of the Epoch people… I’m glad they’re all gone,” I said.

“They’re not, Renn. You even have a friend amongst them.”

“I do…?”

“The Clothed Woman? She’s a priestess of Epoch, Renn.”

What…? Oh. Right. She had indeed had that weird cross in her little church, and had prayed before it, hadn’t she? “The people who had sacrificed our people? And… she’s a member?” I asked. That explained a lot about her, at least, but didn’t explain why Vim let her be.

“She helped Vim and Lilly root out the rest leaders of the cult. She still believes in her gods, but she earned her right to be a member. Though I don’t care for her much either, having seen their handiwork more than I want to admit…”

“Hm… Vim once mentioned, off-handedly, that he had killed their gods. I wonder if he had been genuine in that statement or not,” I said.

“Knowing him, it’s likely. By the way, I don’t mind you holding me but can you not grab at my sides…? That’s where my gills are and it tickles…”

Woops. “Sorry,” I shifted a little; releasing Merit as I awkwardly wondered if I had been grabbing at her without paying attention or something. Probably had.

“It’s… not that big a deal, it doesn’t hurt, it just feels funny…” Merit said as she shifted a little.

“I get it. My tail isn’t that bad, but for some reason my ears are terrible when touched. It’s a weird itchy feeling that makes me want to jump in a lake,” I said with a point to my head. I had my hat on so they couldn’t be seen, but I shifted them enough to let Merit hear them.

“Is that why you don’t let Vim touch them?” Merit asked.

“Huh…? No? I’ve been trying to get him to touch them for years. The stupid fool wants to, but he always hesitates and cowards out,” I said.

“Cowards way out is the saying, Renn. Chickens out, is what you’re likely thinking of.”

Hm…? “Maybe.”

Merit sighed at me. “Not to ruin the lovely topic… I should probably bring up that I have quite a few… um… issues? I’ve been banished from quite a few places, and there are some people like Randle that I uh… well…”

I gently nudged her with an elbow. “It’s fine, Merit. I appreciate you telling me, and uh… maybe from now on let me know beforehand? Whenever we meet someone or something? That way I don’t make a mistake or anything? You’re not the only one, not only is Lilly like you but I’ve got the same problems you know,” I said.

“Your banishments are likely from them trying to manipulate you and are not real. Ours are.”

My lips pursed as I bit the inside of my cheek. “I mean…” I wasn’t sure what to say about that since she was right.

I’d not even fully talked about it with Vim yet, that I had overheard Brandy and Gerald saying that the only reason I had been banished from Lumen originally was because of a prophecy. I wasn’t sure if that was the same reason I had been banished from the Bell Church, but it was a possibility…

But there was no way my banishment from the Sleepy Artist was from such a thing, was it? They hadn’t done it until after Amber’s death, and the chaos, and then Crane went on to start this vote against Vim…? As far as I knew, and understood, Light and the rest were manipulating that vote and using it to their own advantage, ubt hadn’t started it themselves. They were simply using Crane’s actions to their benefit.

“Well… I’ve already talked to Vim about it. I promise not to cause more problems than I’m worth; I just wanted to let you know…”

“You’re worth all the problems in the world, Merit.”

She waved a small hand at me. “Shush.”

Giggling happily, I went to grab hold of her again. I made sure to avoid her gills this time, dedicating the knowledge that touching them brought her discomfort into my heart as I did. Merit groaned as I grabbed hold, but didn’t fight back as I pulled her into me.

I knew she, like Lilly and myself, had… difficulties. With not just the people, but the world. Ourselves, even.

But that was fine. More than fine. We all had issues. We all had mistakes in our past, and things we regretted. But to me none of that made a difference.

All that mattered was our loyalty. Our companionship.

For as long as I could trust her, and the rest, with not just my life but my heart… then I cared not what the rest of the world thought of them. In fact, I dared the world to try and take them from me. If I couldn’t properly protect them, I’d just get Vim to do so in my stead.

Thinking of Vim… I hoped he was doing okay. As Merit and the rest have said, this monarch he was off to hunt was… concerning. Vim especially so had found it worrisome.

I knew that Vim would be fine, in general. He’d survive anything, really. But… it wasn’t his physical body I worried over.

Hopefully he’d find a way to save that ship without destroying it. Or letting it be destroyed. If Vim failed, and almost six hundred people perished because of it…

He’d weep. Terribly so. Even if they were Light’s people.

And I did not want Vim to return to me sullen and forlorn. As much as I’d love for him to bury his face into my lap and a vent to me through the night again, I didn’t want to have to cry alongside him as he did. I’d much rather he came home to me with a smile, and… It kind of hurt me to know that I was having so much fun, with my family and friends, and he was out there fighting not just for his life but the lives of many others. It made me feel… kind of ungrateful. As if I wasn’t properly sharing in the burden, not carrying my own weight in the relationship.

Especially since lately I’ve not done much if at all for him. Lately our private moments had just been me getting all flustered, laughing and crying over stuff he’s said and done… I’ve not gotten a chance lately to really…

“Okay, let me go now,” Merit then said.

“Hm? Why? It’s getting colder so this is perfect,” I said happily.

“There’s someone heading this way. If they pass while I’m leaning against you like this they’ll think I’m your daughter or something.”

I chuckled as I gave her a squeeze, pulling her closer. “So?”

“Gosh…!”

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