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She placed her hands on either side of his beak and shook his head around. His chuckle was deep and playful, and it lifted her spirits slightly. She gave the end a kiss.

“Here, I have a gift for you.” She tipped his head down until she could reach one of his short, upward-jutting goat horns. “It’s the bracelet my parents and Gideon gave to me for my eighteenth birthday.”

Although only one charm out of three remained, consisting of a silver disc with the letter G engraved into it, every one of the colourful gem beads was intact. When she realised it wouldn’t fit, she took off the ribbon keeping her braid together and used it to link one side of the brown leather twine to the other. She tied it as securely as possible to him, making sure it sat in the recess where his horn and skull met so it couldn’t slide off.

He looked a little funny with a floppy red bow hanging down the side of his skull, but she also liked it. It was obvious against the stark whiteness of his bony head.

Hopefully the next human you meet sees it and realises... someone loved you.Her jaw clenched at the pain her thoughts brought.And gives you a chance because of it.

“Why are you giving me this?” Ingram asked as he tentatively touched the triple-knotted bow.

She grinned. “Consider it a good luck charm.”

“We’ll need it,” Orpheus stated solemnly.

“I have a horn charm like you now,” Ingram said, his orbs turning bright yellow while his tail tip curled.

“Mine’s better,” Orpheus huffed.

Ingram growled at him just as Reia tapped him on the stomach. “Be nice, Orpheus!”

“Iambeing nice.” Orpheus turned his head away and folded his arms, his bell charms jingling under the momentum. “I was just being truthful.” Then he reached up and flicked one with a claw, his own orbs turning bright pink. “But I know it feels nice to receive a gift like this.”

“You should have painted my face before we left, Delora,” Magnar whined as his orbs turned bright green in jealousy.

“Sorry.” She laughed at his unexpected sulking. “I’ll paint it when you get back. How about that?”

His tail wagged once more. He was easy to placate, and Delora knew just how to make him happy.

The discussion as to why Faunus was staying behind was brought up again by a jealous Ingram. Someone had to protect the women in case of Demons, and no one was willing to take his pregnant bride from him when it was obvious he’d maul them all for it.

Then, with much reluctance, Orpheus, Magnar, and Ingram left – all three of them unaware of the true reasoning as to why.

Reia, Delora, and Emerie shared a look between them. They all feared their partners’ eventual reactions when they discovered what had happened, but it was Emerie who the others’ gazes lingered on. She wouldn’t be here to make the knowledge of it better for her leaving Duskwalker.

She averted her gaze when Mayumi and Faunus moved closer and fixed their sights on her as well. “I better get changed,” she said to escape.

With a heavy heart, Emerie went to her tent while pulling her hair free to redo it after she ripped some cloth to create a makeshift, crude bow. She removed the blue dress she’d been given and instead donned her Demonslayer uniform. Reia had repaired all the holes in it by patching it with brown material.

The soles of her shoes were worn, but that made them more flexible. Hopefully there weren’t any sharp rocks within Jabez’s castle.

She also fixed the silver diadem tiara to her hair so the blue teardrop would sit in the middle of her forehead. The gem was cold, and it tapped against her skin as she ducked under the tent flap to leave.

Faunus approached from their home with his arms full of weapons, and they both arrived to where the other women waited at the same time.

A sword for Reia, a bow and full quiver for Delora, and a whip and sword for Emerie.

She turned to Mayumi.

“I wanted to thank you for all your hospitality over the last few days. I know it’s a lot for you to stay behind, but I really don’t think I could have survived staying here any longer with this decision.”

“It’s fine,” Mayumi answered with a deflated tone. She scratched at the side of her hair tied back tightly before humour twitched at the corner of her lip. “I doubt after yesterday, you would have lasted much longer. I bet I have to disinfect my tent. How’s your ass? I saw you limping around when you jumped out to pee.”

By the simple fact that Mayumi was trying to hold back laughter, Emerie knew she’d said that simply to rile her up. Whether it was because she liked to tease her friends, or she was trying to lift the sorrow clouding Emerie’s gaze, she didn’t know.

Still, she couldn’t help blushing in embarrassment all the way to her ears. As she fidgeted and brought her eyes to Reia and Delora, she wanted to expire right there and then.

“Oh my god! I was only joking, but you did, didn’t you?” Mayumi bellowed with a laugh, bright humour alight in her eyes. “You took it up the ass!”