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Fae and Silva hadn't come out of the carriage they had been hiding in until our group got there. I wouldn't say they looked particularly shaken, they were just being reasonably cautious as far as I could tell. Fae held the front of her hood down as we escorted her to the room all of us would be sharing for the night. I didn't imagine the young noble was happy about being assigned to sleep in the same room as her rabbitkin bodyguard again but she didn't act like it bothered her. She was a noble, perhaps she had some form of skill that made her emotions harder to read.

I gently closed the door behind us. This room was a bit larger than the one we slept in the previous day but not by much. All six of us sharing this room would be a bit cramped. Everyone looked exhausted. Travelling all day is pretty tiring on its own but traveling in the rain and that last stretch after fighting that large monster created a lot of tension and anxiety. Not to mention the the people wearing black armor that clearly seemed to be searching for Fae here.

There was tension in this room as well, Fae's unease extended to the twins since they hadn't spoken much in front of her yet. To her they were just servants and the more she looked at them that way the more the twins started to act like that. It was probably unintentional, they were just falling back on their old training. The thought made me internally grimace.

The oppressive atmosphere then disappeared, nearly as quickly as it had first appeared when Torien's stomach loudly rumbled. She blushed and turned away and Morrigan burst into laughter, taking all of the tension along with her.

I smiled wryly and grabbed the handle of the door. "It sounds like we're pretty hungry in here. Why don't I go see how long it'll be until dinner is ready?"

The twins jumped up simultaneously and spoke in unison. "No! We'll go handle it Lilith!"

I raised an eyebrow at the twins, confused why this suddenly seemed to matter to them more than usual. Oh... Maybe they feel the need to be more formal and follow etiquette now that we are front of a noble. I had mixed feelings about that but maybe it was for the best right now.

I put my hand on Torien's shoulder and quietly spoke to her. "Thanks for breaking the ice there, things were getting awkward."

She blushed and looked away. "It's not like I want to make a fool of myself..."

I ruffled her hair, normally I wouldn't do something like that to the serious cat girl but she was so shaken from her embarrassment I knew I would get away with it this time. Frankly, she was being so cute I couldn't help it.

Letting her off the hook I decided to change the subject. "Will the two of you be enough to bring back six portions?"

"Uhh..." Morrigan glanced at Bella, probably considering asking for help.

I decided to make it easier for her. "Bella, do you mind going with the twins? Six bowls is probably a bit much to carry."

"Sure." Bella got up and led the twins out of the room.

"You are very gentle with your servants." Fae sat down on the edge of one of the cots huddled in the room, Silva took the cot farthest from her on the other edge of the room.

I smiled. "To me they are friends first."

Fae looked down, a pained expression broke her stoic expression for a moment before she regained control. Perhaps some of her servants had also been friends before the ordeal that had her flee from her home. She was probably unsure if any of them were still alive. Whether they were or not, her intention was to flee the country now, there was a pretty high chance she would never see them again.

I sat down next to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine."

I nodded and gently gripped her shoulder. She wasn't fine. No one who answers like that ever is. The only thing I was unsure about was whether it was a good idea to push her into talking about it or not. After a moment I decided against it, the wound was probably too fresh. She was still trying to survive, pushing her to confront her loss right now might just get in the way. Luckily my friends returned with our food and eased the heavy atmosphere.

Torien sat down next to Silva and offered her one of the bowls with a smile. Bella shared one her bowls with the young girl and Morrigan brought me my portion. She gave me a hesitant smile and wrapped her long cat tail around my waist while we ate together.

"I brought you a bowl of stew with meat. Bella told me that you two can actually eat it, despite how you look," she told me quietly.

I smiled at her. "Yeah, it's my preference. Thanks Morrigan." Morrigan gently leaned her shoulder against mine, a subtle gesture for an onlooker but it felt pretty intimate under the circumstances. I sighed. "Sorry things are working out like this again, I had hoped things would be more private on this trip."

"It's okay. I'm content with how things are right now. I knew there would be challenges like these when I asked you for it." Her tail squeezed tighter around me for a moment. "I don't mind this pace... It makes things a bit easier to ease into. Even this is much is more than I could have asked for."

I looked over at the young noble girl who seems to have grown a bit attached to Bella. Perhaps she reminded her of someone from her past. Since we first met her she's always seemed to feel the most comfortable around my deer girl. Torien on the other hand has been chatting quite a bit with Silva, they seem to be on pretty good terms so far. Torien seems to have a prickly attitude towards other people sometimes, so it was reassuring to see her get along with our new potential party member. Provided things go well of course.

And then there was Morrigan. She's been trying to get closer to me the last few days but unfortunately things have not been easy for her with everything that's been going on. I was starting to feel like it had been a mistake to come on this trip as a guard but at the same time I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing nothing while being attacked by the monster that had been chasing us earlier in the day. Doing things this way gave me a bit more control over the situation.

After we finished eating all of us went to bed a bit earlier than usual. The day was exhausting for everyone with the stress of the rain and the battle against the stream stalker. The fact there were monsters that got that big was a bit of a wake up call, I'm not sure what we would have done if we had been all by ourselves at the time. When we were being attacked everyone seemed so focused and executed a plan without coordinating much in the moment. It was rather impressive.

I was lying in bed alone for once, thinking about everything that had gone on since I came on this trip, the dungeon, and before... In some ways it had been exhausting, trial after trial. In other ways it had been refreshing, I was seeing new things, exploring new places. And best of all I've been able to find people I truly feel comfortable with. Bella, Morrigan, Mimi, even Torien has become a close friend to me.

While I was lost in my thoughts I heard Fae tossing and turning and start to cry in her sleep. She had convinced Bella to allow her to push their cots closer together while they slept. Bella was now hugging the girl and shushing her back to sleep. As magical and fantastical this world was, Fae was an example of how cruel this world could be. Slavery, death, monsters, demons... Williamson... My feelings about this world were quite conflicting.

I rolled over and let myself drift to sleep.

***

I was the first to wake up in the morning again. I didn't really need much sleep in the first place and everything has kept me on edge lately. I quietly got dressed, pulled my sketchbook out of my bag, and grabbed Mimi before slipping out of the room.

I rested my hand gently on Mimi's hilt before speaking to her through [Soultouched Connection].

-- "How are you doing Mimi?" --

-- "I'm doing good! There's been lots of interesting things to see on this trip!" --

I smiled. -- "I'm sorry you haven't been able to talk out loud to the others much lately." --

-- "It's alright. I can tell there aren't many others like me around and a lot of the other mimics that people saw were attacking others when we were at the dungeon. I don't want to be confused with a mean mimic. I don't mind conserving energy and watching everyone." --

I climbed up the stairs to the fort's battlements. It was still early morning, twilight before the sun actually rose over the horizon. I nodded to the morning watch and sat down on the edge of the battlements after pulling out my sketchbook. It had been a long time since I had gotten a chance to draw a little.

-- "I'm glad you're so understanding, not everyone would be comfortable just watching from the outside all of the time," -- I said to Mimi.

I felt acknowledgement pulse through our connection before she continued. -- "Everything is so new to me anyway. Every day I'm getting to see new things. While I might be happier if I could openly talk or sleep in the same bed as my friends, even being close to everyone is enough for me. I am so much happier than I was in the lower floors of the dungeon. Where the only... living things around me were other mimics who were mindless creatures that only wanted to attack me. I had no one to talk to and I felt so alone. Even if we can't talk all the time, I treasure the attention you give me in quiet moments like this. Avoiding talking in front of others is a small price to pay for everything you've done for me in the short time we've known each other." --

Tears formed in my eyes and I felt my chest tighten as her heartfelt gratitude flowed through our connection. The feeling was so powerful that I almost considered closing the connection. Instead I just sniffed and went back to my drawing, letting our shared feelings settle in my heart.

I turned the page away from the landscape I had been sketching and instead started blocking in a sketch of Mimi from my memories of her humanoid form. I had to admit, drawing purely from memory wasn't my strongest suit but our little talk in the quiet moments of the morning inspired me to capture her image on my page. I spent around 30 minutes before I felt happy with the result. Charcoal isn't the best medium for detailed work but I think I did a good job capturing her likeness.

[Drawing has increased from level 11 to level 12]

I nudged Mimi to borrow my sight and see the drawing I had done of her. Once she had I felt a small storm of emotions flow over to me. Surprise, gratitude, happiness, interest, pride... love.

-- "Is that what I look like?..." -- she asked.

-- "At least, the best I can do at capturing it." --

The emotions I felt from her swelled once again, causing me to smile as I felt tears gather in my eyes once again.

-- "Lilith... Thank you." --

-- "You're welcome Mimi. Lets keep doing our best, together." --

-- "T-together." --