The smell of the freshly made bandages was strong. It made Sharp’s room smell of medicine.

Better than the incense burning throughout the rest of the church, at least.

“Renn helped me a lot. She not only helped me gather them all, she spent half the day with me yesterday too. Surprisingly… she seemed to kind of know the process already, without being told. Poor thing has had to make bandages before,” Sharp said as she slowly spun the spool of bandages. She was winding it up, and it was several feet thick.

It was one of half a dozen similar spools. Each likely lasted her months if not a year or more. Especially since she only used the bandages as covering, not to actually tend wounds. Plus I knew she didn’t put them on every day. The only reason she was putting them on so often lately was because we were here. It made the place lively. Under normal circumstances, Sharp likely went many days without ever talking to anyone else here. Maybe even rarely leaving her room or that house full of insects.

Still I was glad to see that her supply wasn’t just suitable, but stocked to a degree that told me the plants and the process I had taught her had been worth it. Though… I knew from experience that it took many days of hard work, collecting those herbs and carefully tearing and peeling them in a way to make the plant fibers suitable for use. She and Renn had likely only made a few dozen feet of bandages at best, even with two days of work. A day to gather the plants. A week for them to properly dry and flatten, a day to work them into shape.

Hard work just so Sharp could feel comfortable enough to walk around without worry.

Stepping over to one of the spools, I reached out and tapped it lightly. It creaked, but didn’t spin much.

The bandages felt dry, but even with a slight tap I could feel the herb’s ointment that they left on my skin. It made my fingertip tingle a little… but not because the ointment was that potent.

It was that very ointment those plants released when prepared properly that allowed Sharp to utilize the bandages in the way she did. Other cloth, felt, or leather just tore and ripped. Certain quality silks lasted a little longer brushing against her skin… but…

Rubbing my fingers together, I felt the slight burning sensation of skin healing as if from a burn.

Like always my body resisted even that which was supposed to help.

“She’s a good person. Even if she’s started to consider touching me,” Sharp said with a mumble.

“Has she?” I asked. I’ll need to make another comment again to her, to have her not do so.

Renn would likely survive such wounds… but not only did I not wish to see her in such pain, I also didn’t want to see Sharp weep. The abrasive woman had a very fragile heart when it came to hurting friends.

She nodded. “Likely thanks to Oplar always trying to when she sees me. She’s not tried yet… but you can see the idea tugging at her sometimes,” Sharp said.

I smiled and nodded. “Yes. Her tail gives such things away.”

“It does,” Sharp agreed.

Stepping away from the spool, I sighed as I looked around her room. It was honestly… a little…

Well…

Girly.

Sharp had lots of pillows, stuffed animals, and other things scattered all over. Not on her bed, of course, since she couldn’t touch such things easily… but she had many shelves and tables. And they were all proudly displaying her hidden heart, which she never showed anyone else… at least not willingly.

Although it was funny that such a sharp tongued woman had such a childish and gentle side… it was also very sad, in its own way.

So many in the Society thought Sharp was a cruel and heartless woman. It has always bothered me that so many misunderstood her… but it wasn’t my place to correct such a thing. Especially since she herself was the reason for it.

Sharp didn’t like people knowing.

Like me, she pretended to be something else… as to keep the peace.

“Did you enjoy the book?” I asked her.

“I did. I copied several chapters and passages that I enjoyed the most, as to read them again until another copy makes its way here,” Sharp said with a point to one of the desks. I couldn’t make out any papers or books upon it, thanks to all the crafting supplies.

Sharp finished with the spool, and then turned to glare at me. I smiled back at her, and she scoffed. She shook her head as she went to sit in a chair.

Although another chair was nearby, I remained standing.

It was far too thin for me to risk sitting down upon.

“I hear you’re not worried about the vote at all,” Sharp said as she got comfortable.

“Should I be?” I asked.

“Feh. If they’re stupid enough to vote against you then good riddance,” Sharp said.

I didn’t want to agree with that so I didn’t nod or even blink.

“You might want to have a conversation with Renn about it, however,” Sharp then warned.

“Hm? Yes… she might vote against me just so she could keep me for herself,” I said with a smile.

“It’s scary that I could see her actually doing that, yes. But no… Renn seems to be rather upset with it. Her tail twitched mightily when she sat with all of us the other night, talking about it,” she said.

“She sees it as a betrayal. She’ll get over it,” I said.

“Do you honestly believe so?” Sharp asked.

Shifting, I shrugged. Honestly… I didn’t mind either way.

The fact she got so protective of me was rather humbling. I kind of enjoyed seeing her get so upset over it…

But Sharp was right.

It wasn’t good. We’ve lost many to such anger. To such disappointment. Though not over me, usually it happened when it concerned other members.

Plus I needed her to care for them. Or well…

I wanted her to, at least.

I needed her to… in case I ever stopped.

“You leave tomorrow,” Sharp then said, letting me drop the conversation.

“Tonight actually,” I said. It was why I was here talking to her, in her room. To say goodbye and give my last report to the de facto leader here.

Or well… that and also because she had asked for me. She had sent Renn to get me. So she definitely had something else to bring up… though I wasn’t sure if she had said it yet or not.

“Tonight…?” she then asked.

I pointed upward, to the ceiling.

“Ah. Right… the full moon,” Sharp nodded, understanding.

Yes. Enough light for us to traverse even these wooded forests.

“So all requests fulfilled. Ursula feels a little better, though I’m not sure any progress was actually made… Tim’s been dealt with, Frett’s vow of silence won’t last long considering she still talks every so often… what else did you do?” Sharp asked me.

“I fixed the roof and some statues,” I pointed out.

She grinned and nodded. “Ah. You did…”

Plus I had helped teach her how to make proper insect cages, and glass. But I didn’t remind her of it. She had omitted them on purpose. She’d already thanked me and Renn… there was nothing else to say concerning them.

Sharp shifted, and glanced to one of the spools. One connected to the wall near her bed.

“Anything I can do for you, Sharp?” I asked the suddenly unsure woman.

“I don’t know… I feel like I’m supposed to say or do something, but I’m not sure what it is,” she said softly.

I frowned at her confession… and wondered what it was she felt.

Unease? Anxiety? Such a rarity for her… especially so for her to admit to it in front of me.

For a small moment I tried to think of all that has happened, and been said, since we had arrived. Had I missed something? Was there another issue? Had I made mistake?

Had Renn…? As far as I could remember all Renn had said concerning Sharp to me was that she enjoyed her friendship. That she was a mix of Merit and the Clothed Woman, in her eyes.

An apt description really. More than Renn likely realized.

And the few times I’d been there when they had been together, like when we had made the glass cages, there hadn’t been anything too odd said between them. The two had just been… happy. Friends.

“Don’t look so worried Vim… It’s probably nothing,” she said.

“You sure?” I asked her.

“No… but I’m not sure what to say about it. Maybe I just don’t want you to take Renn away so quickly?” Sharp wondered as she crossed her arms.

I sighed. “You’d have my full support if you could find a way to keep her here for awhile,” I said.

Sharp snickered at me. “I believe it! Though… I bet you’d come running back as fast as possible, once you got lonely… I wonder how long it’d take you,” Sharp said.

Probably not long at all.

She then sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know what Rapti’s thinking, Vim. Her fascination with her gods, I understood that. It made sense, considering her life and upbringing. But this…? Claiming you’re one too?” Sharp brought forth the reason she had asked me to her room, finally.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinions,” I said simply.

Sharp scoffed at me. “Please Vim. Should we take in the opinions of the beasts and bugs too while we’re at it?” she asked.

Well…

Shaking her head at me, and likely the thoughts she had read on my face, she gestured lightly with a point. “They’re going to try and use Renn against you, Vim. Don’t let them,” she warned me.

Ah… I nodded. “I know, Sharp. But she won’t be the only one. It won’t take long for Yangli to be brought up and focused on instead,” I said.

“Yangli… speaking of him, is he dead?” she asked.

“Do you really want to know?” I asked her back.

Sharp held my gaze for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. “No. I guess not.”

I smiled and nodded and stepped away from the wall, and the spools of bandages hung upon it.

“This isn’t the first time the Society has voted against me, Sharp. Nor will it be the last. I’m not worried. I might have to… adjust a little, or perform some deed or action, or maybe change my rules a little… but that’ll be all,” I said.

“That confidence is what bugs people, Vim. It’s why they’re voting against you. You speak as if you can see the future,” she told me.

“History repeats itself… whether I want it to or not,” I said.

“Hmph,” she didn’t agree, of course, but kept her reservations to herself.

“Anything I’ve forgotten Sharp? Before I leave?” I asked again.

“No. We’ll be fine until you return… or until I see you again in Telmik, during the vote,” she said.

Tilting my head at her, and the sudden smirk she wore, I realized she may very well vote against me.

Interesting.

“By then Renn might be too much for me to handle, so I’ll probably ask for help,” I said.

Sharp’s smirk turned into a wry smile. “I bet! I look forward to it, honestly… Though if you two do separate, and you break her poor heart, just send her my way. I’ll accept her here,” sharp gently said.

Although humbled and glad to hear that Renn had once again made a very good friend… I had no choice but to realize, and admit, once again that no one else was taking my relationship with Renn seriously.

Sharp had just been completely honest. She expected me to lose interest in Renn.

I wonder why so many thought so. I’d understand it if I made a habit of mingling with members often, but…

I never did. The only member anyone would ever be able to honestly say I had ever mingled with was Celine… and she had been the one to shun me.

If anything I should be the one they all worried about, considering Renn’s personality.

Stepping over to the door, I tapped the heavy thing with a finger. The wood was as thick as my arm. Something that would have been cumbersome for a human. “Goodbye Sharp,” I said.

“Hmph. Ignoring my statement isn’t very manly, Vim.”

“On the contrary. I took your comment to heart. I’ll remember it for when she breaks my heart instead, and when I come to weep in your arms,” I said.

Sharp tilted her head at me as I opened the door and smirked at her.

She sighed and shook her head as I stepped out of the room. I shut the door behind me, and glanced both ways in the hallway.

The hallway was oddly quiet. It wasn’t the early morning anymore; people should be out and about… but…

It was also not a day of prayer. So maybe people were sleeping in and being lazy. There was likely many who were still exhausted from all the commotion lately. Between the fiasco with Tim to the meetings concerning my fate, they’ve been busy talking even late into the night. Sometimes all together in the same room, other times in small groups of two or three scattered throughout the Crypt.

Plus Oplar was here now. She was a loud woman. The type to always draw people into conversations and gossip. She’d talk to you until the morning sun if you weren’t careful.

This place would do well for us to leave. If anything just to let them return to their peace and quiet.

I went to walk around for a moment, with no real goal or reason. I’ve already talked to everyone. I had even talked to that human we had brought, Elisabell. She was happy here, and was already acting as if she’d been here her whole life.

There were no more requests. No more concerns. No more drama.

Nothing more needed to be said. At least, nothing I wanted to say or hear. I knew many here wanted to talk to me about the vote, but…

Well…

I didn’t want to talk about it.

Let them come to their own conclusions. I’ll deal with it later.

It took about half an hour to walk around the whole Crypt. In that time I passed, or simply saw at a distance, most of the inhabitants here. Some spoke to me, others didn’t even notice me as I walked past them in their rooms or sitting at tables.

The Crypt was fine. It would be.

Hopefully we would be too.

Once I rounded the same corner for the second time since I started walking around, I realized something important.

I’d not seen, or heard, Renn.

It’d make sense if I’d not seen anyone else… but I had seen even Ursula and Oplar earlier. The two had been walking through the courtyard together.

Yet no Renn…

I knew that Renn had been spending some time alone outside. In front of all the graves… but I hadn’t seen her out there either. I’d walked past several windows that looked out to most of those cemeteries and flower patches. Though she might have been hidden behind one of the many larger monuments or statues…

I paused a moment, and then headed for the nearest stairwell.

Heading to our room, I slowed a little as I approached the door.

She was in the room… but not asleep. She was doing something. I heard the sound of something moving and…

Packing maybe…? I had thought she had already done so earlier, though.

Opening the door, I found Renn on the bed. She sat up a little more, and smiled at the sight of me.

She was combing her tail.

“Is Sharp okay?” Renn asked as I shut the door behind me.

“Yes. She simply wanted to give me a warning,” I said. And to tell me that Renn could be sent here once I was done loving her, I suppose.

“Hm… Is she considered the leader here Vim?” Renn asked.

I nodded. “She is. Abel is the one they go to for guidance… especially the spiritual kind, but Sharp is the strongest and oldest here. She’s the one they go to when there’s real problems to be handled,” I said.

“Why is it that most of our oldest and strongest members seem to be women?” she asked as I stepped over to grab one of the chairs, as to sit and talk wit her.

“There are just as many men who are as old and strong… but they’re like Tor or Lawrence. Unable, or unwilling, to step outside their comfort zones,” I said.

“Like you,” she said simply.

Was I the same…? “Possibly,” I admitted.

She smirked at me and went to brushing her tail again. The comb I had made for her sounded a little odd as she ran it along her tail.

It was a smooth sound, especially since she did it so slowly. “Plus… most non-human men were too influenced by their emotions and desires. A man without restraint is hard pressed to live long in this world, for many reasons,” I said as I sat down near the bed.

“Hm…” Renn hummed at me as she paused in her combing, as to stare at me.

I enjoyed her gaze for a moment, and then smiled and shrugged. “What is it?” I asked, waiting for her strange thoughts to be shared.

“You too suffer those outburst. Those moments. Of emotion. I don’t blame you, but it’s a good thing you don’t succumb to them often I think,” she said.

Oh…? “You mean Tim,” I said, understanding.

She nodded.

“I get emotional often, Renn,” I told her.

“I know. But that was the first time I’d ever seen you so upset,” she said.

Was it…?

I had gotten upset over Ruvindale. Over Nebl’s death, or rather the lack of motivation over his supposed death. In Lumen. Landi. Miss Beak.

Or was she not speaking of pure emotion, but instead anger and hate? If so…

Maybe… But I’d argue I had been just as angry, if not more so, over Nebl’s family failing him. Granted, I hadn’t acted on that anger. I’d not harm, or even say anything to them over it, but…

“What are you thinking, Vim?” Renn asked softly.

I hesitated, since I really didn’t want to say it aloud… and as always, my first instinct was to not say the truth. To never say aloud my true thoughts, or emotions.

Yet not only had I just asked her the same, basically, just now… this was also Renn I was talking to.

I wanted to be open with her. At least about stuff like this.

“I was angry, Renn. Over hearing, and seeing, Tim act so callous… but I’d honestly not been that upset. I had been more bothered before. Over stuff like what happened at the Smithy. I’d been furious then,” I told her.

She frowned at me and tilted her head. Her tail, which was in her lap, coiled and tapped her thigh… telling me she was pondering my words deeply.

Renn thought about my statement for a bit, and then nodded. “You mean Nebl. Him being trapped in the mine… and his family’s lack of motivation to save him,” she said.

I nodded.

Her ear fluttered, and I half expected her to sigh at me. She didn’t though, and instead smiled at me. “You had been angry. I hadn’t realized it had bothered you that deeply, however,” she said.

“It had. Deeply so.”

“I can see that now. Does… Does that mean you judge a person’s inaction greater than their actions, Vim?” she asked me.

I sat up a little straighter at the question, and felt a little worried over it.

Was she really going to be like Miss Beak then? That was the kind of question she would have asked me.

“Yes. I don’t fault those who are scared… I don’t hate those incapable of facing a dangerous terror… but Nebl had not been in danger in such a way. There was no great threat. No monster. No Monarch. No God. He had simply been buried under a little bit of dirt. They hadn’t even thought of trying to save him. Not a single handful of dirt had been moved,” I told her.

Her tail thumped her thigh again as she studied me. Her smile remained on her face, but I could tell it had grown a little softer. A little more somber. “Why then did you not kill me on sight Vim? Back when I had come to bring you news of my banishment, and Amber’s death?” she asked softly.

“Renn, you had acted. You had not just risked their ire to try and save Amber, but had suffered for it. You had been banished from a place you had planned to make a home, just in an effort to attempt at saving someone’s life. That’s genuinely the opposite of what Nebl’s family did,” I said.

Renn perked up, her ears and tail going still as her eyes widened and her pupils contracted. They became more cat-like as she fixated on me.

“What…? You thought otherwise?” I asked her.

“I… I hadn’t looked at it like that. I had simply been looking at it from the perspective that my presence had brought forth death and destruction,” she said softly.

I smirked at her. “Really…? Then why did you think I so quickly trusted you, Renn? You had already proven yourself to me by trying to save Amber, and accepting your fate. Your willingness to accept the banishment, and any punishment I’d deal to you in turn, proved to me you were someone trustworthy and suitable for the Society. Or did you just think I was affable or something?” I asked her.

“Well…” she smirked at me in a shy way, telling me she had indeed simply thought I was being kind or indifferent to it back then.

Hm… “Maybe that’s one of the reasons I fell for you, too, now that I think about it,” I said as I crossed my arms and thought of it.

“Oh…? Really?”

“Possibly. That and others. Same with Lumen, and the Bell Church. You weep when you get banished, but you accept it… even if it isn’t justified. Maybe it’s because we’re so similar in that regard,” I said.

“Although glad to hear of another reason you love me, I’m not sure if I should be happy or not about it. We should not be so happy with being doormats for others, Vim,” Renn said softly.

I smirked and nodded. That was true.

“I do enjoy talking about lovey-dovey stuff Vim… but can I ask something, since we’re on this topic?” Renn then asked.

“Hm?”

“Would you really accept it? If the Society voted to remove you as Protector… or even outright banish you?” she asked.

“Yes. If that would be their will. However, if there were others who came to me and asked for help from me still… I would still give it. My help for the Society is not a shackle of slavery, Renn. I choose to do this because it’s what I feel is both right, and my responsibility. Yes, I made a contract with Celine and thus the Society… but I had signed it. I had even written most those rules myself. No one forced me. No one can, even if they wanted to,” I said.

Renn kept my gaze, but she sighed and nodded. “Right…”

“That upsets you,” I said, not asked.

She nodded again. “Verily… but I’m not sure if I should try to change your opinion, or even if your belief is wrong. If anything… it means you’re that good of a man. To be so gentle to those who so readily prove they don’t deserve it. I’ll… need to ponder it. A lot,” she said.

Shifting a little, I smiled at the woman who now looked disturbed and worried. As if she had just been told bad news. “Take your time. You got two years until the vote,” I told her.

“That’s what worries me. Today I’d vote in your favor… but what if I grow so upset at them, that I vote in their favor? Just out of spite? To separate you from them?” she asked me.

“Well… I’d not be very pleased to watch you vote in such a way, but I’d respect it. I’d ask you not to condemn them over their misguided opinions, but…” I shrugged, since I wasn’t sure how to properly express my current thoughts and emotions about what she had just revealed to me.

It was even harder to properly make sense of the weird feeling of joy over it too. I found myself really liking the idea of her being so possessive in such a way.

It was something my parents would have done. To vote in such a form. To use the system their supposed enemies created against them, in such a way.

Such a thought made me smile.

Renn sighed and went to comb her tail again. This time though she did it much faster, as if annoyed now. “I have a lot to think about,” she said.

“Hm… want more to think about?” I asked her.

She glanced at me and nodded, accepting it happily.

“If I do get banished… what do I do with myself then? Even if a few still want me to protect and help them, it won’t be enough to take up all my time. I’ll get bored again,” I said.

Renn coughed, and then went to laughing. “What a silly worry!” she said happily between her giggles.

“It’s worse than you think, Renn. Last time I got bored I joined the Society. Think about that. Boredom for me brings forth great changes, not just for me but the world…” I shook my head as I tried to think what I’d do next.

She continued to giggle happily, her tail left her hands and lap as to sway and slap the bed alongside her jubilant joy. “Indeed…! Still… didn’t you say you spent a long time on some islands? Weren’t you alone? Why didn’t you get bored then?” she asked as she calmed down.

“I had gotten bored. That’s why I came back here. I went there originally because I failed… because I made mistakes, and wasn’t able or willing to face the consequences of my actions. Plus I ended up finding it peaceful. And I wasn’t alone, entirely. My friends visited occasionally,” I said.

“Huh…? Which friends?” she asked.

“The giant tortoise. She visited a few times. She brought a few others a couple times, too,” I said.

“What’s her name?” Renn asked.

“She doesn’t have one. She doesn’t comprehend the concept of them,” I said.

Renn frowned but nodded, as if understanding.

“Though admittedly… they had only visited a few times. A handful of days amongst centuries,” I said as I thought about it.

Renn sighed at me.

For a moment we sat in silence as Renn grumbled a little and reached out to grab her tail. It seemed to only half cooperate as she put it back on her lap, and went back to brushing it.

Interesting. She could control it, yet it still twitched and moved from emotion.

Made me want to see what it did when we kissed. I hadn’t gotten to see last time, since she had been on my shoulders. Did it go still? Did it coil and twist? Did it puff up a little like it does when she was distressed?

“Those islands… are they near the others?” she asked.

“Others?”

“The other Society members. The ones you said that left to distant lands,” she clarified.

“Oh. No. They’re past the ice. That’s a different ocean,” I said.

“Hm…” she nodded.

“I was at those islands before the Society, Renn,” I reminded her.

“Ah. Yes. I know. I was just wondering if maybe you found the place they went to while you were there, so told them about it,” she clarified.

That made sense.

Her mind sure did work in odd ways. Of all things to think of, concerning this conversation, she chose them?

“We’re leaving tonight, right?” she then asked.

“I’d like to yes.”

“So… no bed for a while,” she said softly.

I nodded. Yes. Likely. The Summit would have a place for us to sleep together, but the Keep wasn’t somewhere I wanted to…

Or… well…

I tilted my head and debated it. Should I just… accept and allow it? I mean really… was it really that bad? Was it so wrong?

“Vim…?” Renn asked for my thoughts, gently.

“Debating. The next location is a place that I instinctively chose to not have us sleep together at. Yet at the same time… I’ve come to accept it. If you’re already being accused and being used as a tool against me, what harm is there in allowing our relationship to be out in the open? There’s no point hiding what they already know,” I said.

“Right…!” Renn nodded quickly.

“Basically I need to decide if I really wish to draw any lines or not,” I said with a sigh.

“You already have lines, Vim. More than I like, to be honest. But you just said it yourself… they’re using me anyway as a means to claim you’re unfit, so why should we hide or obscure ourselves?” she asked.

“Because they can’t hurt me, Renn. But they can hurt you,” I said simply.

Renn’s left ear fluttered and she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. “Wait…” she mumbled as she thought about my word’s meaning.

I nodded. “I’ve long decided to accept you, Renn. To accept my feelings for you. So I’d not be so cruel as to hide our relationship just because there would be those in the Society would voice concerns over it. It’s not their voices, or their votes, I fear. It’s the actions of those not just willing, but capable. There are many in the Society who haven’t liked me for a long time… and not a few of them are strong. Several would be able to hurt you, even kill you, if they put their mind to it,” I told her.

“And they would, because they can’t hurt you,” she said as she understood.

I nodded. “A sad reality I must address. I too have a lot to think about,” I said.

She sighed. “I figured I’d be sad and in danger by being with you, occasionally, but I never considered I’d be in danger from our own people,” she said.

“Then that’s my fault. I should have made it more clear there are many in the Society who I’d not consider friends or allies at all… I mean… really Renn… have you not noticed how I always linger and keep an eye on you every time we visit a new location? At least at certain ones?” I asked her.

“I have… but I hadn’t realized it was that big of a concern for you. You really did worry over Landi that much then?” she asked.

“She put a blade to your throat, Renn,” I said softly.

“She hadn’t meant it, Vim. She’d not have hurt me,” she said.

Possibly. But I was not going to be her life over such faith. Let alone one corrupted by a Monarch’s Heart.

Renn took a deep breath, brushed her tail one last time, and then nodded with a smile at it… as if it was now in perfect condition, without flaw.

Honestly I did find her tail adorable, but I wasn’t really sure yet if I could tell if it was ever really… out of place or not. Sometimes I noticed that the hairs on it were a little off, or ruffled, but never to the point it had stood out. Even back in Lumen, during all that chaos and commotion, her tail hadn’t looked that bad. And she had broken it. Or well, she hadn’t broken it but those fools in the sewers had.

“My sisters had nicer tails, you know? Better colors. Fuller,” she said as she stared at the tail swaying in the air in front of her.

“I’ve seen many tails, Renn. Yours suit you best,” I said.

She tilted her head at me and smirked. “Suits me best.”

“It does. As would any tail you had, to be honest. I’d find anything about you adorable, or sexy, or pretty, or whatever term you’d like to call it,” I said.

Renn’s face got a little redder, but not as much as I’d have expected. “Not sure if I should thank you or grow upset over that,” she said.

I smiled at her. “You need not worry if I find you attractive Renn. That’s the problem. I do. And I’m not sure how to handle it yet,” I said.

“Hmph. You surely don’t act it sometimes. What if you decide to not sleep with me at the next few locations? That means I could end up going months without sharing your bed, if not longer. And you’d not even blink or worry about it. How am I supposed to interpret that?” she asked me.

I noted that although she had a smile and a blush, and sounded happy, she was also being a little serious. This was likely something that had been in the back of her mind since we had brought up the whole sleeping together thing.

Adorable of her.

“I’d understand such a complaint if we actually did something, but all we do is sleep and talk,” I countered her.

Her smile turned into a wry frown, and her blush deepened a little. “Those little talks are very important to me,” she said quickly.

They were to me too.

I took a small breath, and regretted it. Her scent was suddenly very noticeable. “It’ll only take a few weeks to get to the Keep. I’ll see if I can… convince myself to stomach it, by then,” I said.

“Anything I can do to help convince you?” she asked, unbothered.

I smiled at her and shrugged. “Who knows.”

She made a grumbling noise, but didn’t press me on it. Her tail twitched as it slid off the edge of the bed, and I knew it was because she was focused on me. I was close enough it could touch me if she extended it, but she’d only be able to touch my right leg and only with the tails tip.

I of course didn’t mind her touch at all… but that was the problem.

I wanted to touch her too.

Just like recently. I had wanted to rub her ears. As if she was some dog or cat on the side of the road.

It was usually not something I minded. Some members even liked it when I was physical with them in such ways. Yet I knew many who weren’t. There were many who would not have liked it, or allowed it, at all.

Yet that was the problem.

Renn wouldn’t just like it… she wanted it. She wanted me to be more affectionate. It bothered her that I wasn’t.

And it bothered me too, honestly… but…

“Vim?”

I blinked and nodded at her. “Hm?”

“You okay?” she asked softly.

“Yeah…? Why?” I glanced around, to make sure all was well.

It was, of course.

“You suddenly looked worried. What had you been thinking about?” she asked.

My inability to control myself around you.

“I made us a tent, by the way,” I told her, changing the topic. Like the coward I was.

“Huh…? Really?” she asked, excited. She even leaned towards me on the bed, looking as if she was about to leap off it to wrap me in a hug.

I nodded. “At the Weavers. Thanks to us heading northward, and the summer ending, rain will be common… and eventually snow. Since you asked for one. I hadn’t planned on actually going to the Summit, so I had planned on rounding it and going another route. One that would have sent us far from any human locations, so it would have been useful. For you at least. Now though you might not get much use for it,” I said.

She frowned at me. “You’re saying we’ll not be taking it, aren’t you,” she said as she understood my meaning.

I nodded. “Oplar hates wasting time. At least between locations. She’ll allow a little rest, but she’s very… bearish on time,” I said.

Renn smiled, but sighed. “Well… I suppose that’s fine. Next time,” she said.

“Mhm. Next time,” I agreed.

She giggled at me, and her tail tapped me with a tiny brush along the knee. “One day we’ll go see your islands, Vim. Together, next time,” she said.

“Far stretch, Renn. Or are you saying the lack of a tent means you’ll now demand a different, more special, gift?” I asked her with a smile.

“Hm…? Not at all. I’m just saying next time… I’ll be with you. So all will be well,” she said simply.

I gulped as I realized her meaning.

She wasn’t just making an offer. She wasn’t just teasing me about the tent, or anything else.

She was telling me that she’d make sure I’d not be bored again. That even if I lose the Society… I’d always have her.

I blinked at her, and felt a strange tingle run down my spine. As if it had just been snapped in two.

To be broken by such a soft, gentle, gesture terrified me.

“Mhm. Next time,” I agreed.

“Next time,” she accepted, nodding gently at me.

“Mhm. Next time,” I agreed, repeating myself.

I was too scared to say anything else.

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