My dear friend,

First of all, I feel like I owe you an apology. I know we made a promise and we both tried to keep it, but I still think it's unfair I left you without a goodbye - And without an explanation for my behaviour. So, I have decided to write you this letter. I hope it answers most of your questions and leaves you satisfied enough to move on with your life – I don't want you to keep holding onto me when there's so many better people ahead.

I'd like you to know that these past few months I spent with you have been some of the best of my life. Whether it was training, working, or just sitting around, you made my days brighter than they had ever been before, and for that, I thank you. But, these past few months have also been incredibly stressful. I'll try to explain as well as I can – But there is a lot I cannot say, and a lot more I simply don't understand myself. Still, here goes nothing...

Ever since I was born, I had memories I couldn't place. And once it all started making sense, feelings and habits emerged that I could not stop. I don't want to scare you away – But maybe that's the safest thing to do. The thing is, my friend, I have a bloodlust. A bloodlust that is never sated, and especially seems to intensify around other people. I don't understand it. And it... scares me. I'm scared to be around people because I'm just a danger to them. And I'm a danger to you, most of all. But I don't give up easily, and you know this about me. So I've made my choice.

I'm leaving, but not forever. I'm going to look for something that can help me. Some sort of cure, some sort of fix. I don't know how long it will take. It may be months, it may be years. But now I will always remember you, the time we spent together, and will come back as soon as I can. You've motivated me to look for the change I need and not just sit and wait – And I thank you for that. And who knows, maybe, once I'm better, I'll come back and join that nation of yours.

I have no doubt it will still be standing strong, with you on their side.

Your friend,

The Blade.

Nat's hands gripped the letter, trembling as they did. She could already feel hot tears building up in the corners of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks and onto the floor below. She had found the small crumpled page in her tent that morning, and ever since, she had been sitting there, rereading it over and over. She didn't even notice the small message her finger was covering until she lifted it to her mouth out of habit – Just as she was about to bite her nail, she read the note;

P.S. Don't bite your nails. It's really, really unhealthy.

And even through a letter, he still managed to make her laugh through her tears.

She wouldn't say she didn't expect some sort of goodbye letter – As cold and distant as he made himself out to be sometimes, The Blade was a kind man who cared for those around him. Or, at least, cared for her. She couldn't say she ever witnessed him interact with anyone else. But this didn't change the fact that the whole note still made her emotional. With everything happening in Lasenberg for the past week it was nice at least knowing her friend was watching over her – But now, even he was gone. At least he was away trying to find help for himself... that, she was happy with. She folded the letter and stuffed it in her pocket, glad to finally have gotten some proper clothes from whatever Will purchased from the city. Since she escaped her previous home, she was forced to wear stitched rags, a mix of whatever she had and stumbled about out in the forest. Finally having a stable home, fresh clothes and not having to worry about the monsters was a welcome change of pace. However, life in Lasenberg, especially these days, was far from perfect.

Nat crawled out of her tent hoping to do some work and get her mind off The Blade's letter – She knew better than to run into the woods and beg him to stay, or something similar. She knew that if he were leaving this note with her, he was already long gone. As every morning, she looked around and stretched, hoping to make the most of her day. The rubble of the Lasenbergian walls was starting to be cleared out, with foundations for new, stronger ones beginning to show. Fonda had been hard at work planning them – That particular morning, he was sitting by the drawing table he made out of some leftover wood and sketching more plans. Taza was walking Fungi around the perimeter of the nation, training him at jumping over obstacles. Tom was silently training with his bow, shooting precise shots into a tree at the distance and not saying a single word as he did. Finally, there was Will – Away, most likely talking to Dissonance. Even with their independence gained, there were still a lot of terms to negotiate. For the past week, the two had been doing nothing else.

Everyone in the nation had abandoned their uniforms and prioritized comfort over theatrics – With how much physical work they were doing, having matching clothes really wasn't their priority. She was glad, in a way. With everyone wearing those uniforms and her running around in those messy rags she definitely felt a little different from this whole group. She had also heard from Taza that those uniforms were created by someone they definitely did not want to associate their nation with any more – Whatever the story there was, it really made them despise those uniforms more than anything. Nat stretched again, wrapped her coat tightly around herself and yawned. Whatever the day would bring, with the lack of sleep she got the night previous, she was not ready. Still, she had to get to work. She was a part of Lasenberg now – It was best she contributed. And her first task of the day was to overlook the building of the wall.

"Hey. Any progress?", she asked Fonda as she approached him, her voice still raspy from having just woken up and a little shaky from her reading of The Blade's letter.

The man looked back at her, forced a smile and shrugged, holding onto a small pencil in his hand and with a complicated sketch in front of him far too advanced for her to understand.

"It's coming along, I guess. But luckily there's no rush to design it this time."

The man looked down, his ears flopping down as he did.

"...As much of an ass as Errett was, he was way better at this. I have no idea how to make this thing as strong without using twice the materials."

Nat leaned forward, put her hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Don't rush it. Anyway I can help?"

The man scratched the back of his head with his pencil.

"Actually, I have a list of materials for the foundations. If you could figure out how to-"

"Sure!"

Nat snatched a list out of Fonda's hand, eager to get started.

"I can do that!"

"Alright. Thanks, Nat."

She nodded, smiled once more and turned away, looking down at the list.

Getting materials in bulk like this had been one of the biggest challenges they faced preparing the nation for getting back on its feet. With nothing to their name, the best way to buy materials was to exchange them for work. Usually it wasn't so bad – The people in the city took pity on them, delivering anything they didn't need over. With the war over, even Dissonance seemed to relax with his usual demands slightly, leaving everyone with too much supplies to do anything useful with. I guess, you could say, with it all done, both the City of Dissonance and Lasenberg were stuck in a strange limbo for over a week now. Too many tensions to act casual, but with the treaties signed, no war to fight to relieve them. Everyone was still unsure if things had truly calmed down, but at the same time, they didn't want to fight any longer. So here they were, waiting for something that would never arrive, and anticipating something that didn't exist. Nat decided her best place to start was most likely talking to Palmer and Ayala.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Walking to the City of Dissonance, although it was a short walk, always gave her time to think through things. And that day, of course, she had a lot to think about. The letter was still her main focus of the day – During the walk alone she took it out and read over it in full two separate times. As much as she knew there was no stopping her friend, it was still incredibly disheartening to see him go. She found some comfort in always knowing he was around, and now, that very comfort had faded. There was also the matter of Will and Tom – Taza had given her a very brief recollection of what Will was like before Tom arrived. Away, his mind was always in another world no one else could possibly understand. And then, a sudden snap back into reality... and a whole nation to lead at his hands. She was torn in this argument – Will had a lot on his mind, sure... but Tom did not deserve that sort of blame to be put on him. She decided she wouldn't get involved – Yet – And let them figure it out. But if their little fight carried on at the pace it was at now, she would have no choice but to intervene.

Stubborn men like that, of course, would need some guidance from a woman.

"Goddammit! Again? Are you serious?"

Ayala's voice, usually very quiet and gentle, definitely caught Nat off-guard as she approached the huge Lemon Tree. More of a tower than a tree, sure, but it was what Palmer had grown to call his home, as well as the central base for all of his business practices. Ayala, as a close business partner of his, could also usually be found around.

"Hey! Ayala! Did something happen?"

Nat came closer, seeing the woman turn. A blonde woman with a loose black shirt and skirt, often with nothing but a sword tied to her hip for defence. She was standing in front of the Lemon Tree, her eyes set on the large pile of wood and stone she and Palmer kept around for building – Noticeably, she wasn't satisfied with the sight.

"Oh! Nat! Hey!'

The woman turned and her anger faded, replaced by a sweet smile. The two had only gotten to know each other a week back when the war ended – Still, they always enjoyed spending time together.

"...And... yeah... something sort of did."

"What's up?"

Nat looked around. Nothing seemed too bad, especially considering the Lemon Tree and its luck with accidentally getting burned down an average of twice a month (because it was made fully from wood). Ayala flipped her hair back, sighed and crossed her arms. Her frustration was quite clear from her expression.

"Someone stole from us again! I don't know who's doing all of this, but there's been someone taking our building supplies. I know I shouldn't leave them out like that, but Palmer insists. It saves resources that we would waste on building some sort of holding space."

"And with how much Dissonance asks of you guys, that's not something you can afford..."

Nat nodded.

"I get it. Well, I mainly came here to ask to buy some stuff, but I'm guessing you don't really have what I need right now."

Ayala's eyes widened for a moment.

"Actually... let's strike a little deal here!"

The woman snatched the other's list out of her hand, already knowing how the Lasenbergians handled their business.

"I could get you all of this... if you catch the thief that's been ruining my business."

"Catch a thief for basically everything we need?"

Nat shrugged and grinned.

"Sure! I can do that."

She was glad to get a task like this – Just distracting enough to keep her mind off of the letter.

"Guess I gotta... look for clues..."

She sighed. She wasn't even sure how to approach this.

As Ayala returned to the Lemon Tree to handle something else she needed to take care of, Nat turned her attention to the pile of supplies. It was near impossible to move bulky things like these without leaving some sort of trail – She had given out enough to Taza for leaving little rock trails everywhere to know that for sure. And just as she predicted, barely visible in the edges of the grass, she could see dust from some of the rocks that must have been moved during the night, leading away into the forest. She checked her hip for her sword – Much like Ayala, she may have picked the clothes she looked best in, but she still needed to be protected. And once more, the woman was forced into another silent walk with nothing but her thoughts with her. And this time, her attention focused on the City of Dissonance and Lasenberg themselves.

It was strange how quickly she adjusted to the city life after spending half a year living out in the woods. She thought it would be more difficult, but clearly, her old life in her previous city had not completely faded away during that time. She missed it, in a way. Getting to focus on things that weren't the basics, like food or water. She had everything on the lowest shelf of needs, which meant she finally had time for other things. Making friends, building things, messing around. She found it relaxing, but it also took her back... took her back to her old life, back when everything seemed too simple and stable, and how it could never be uprooted. Her mind wandered to a memory...

"Don't move! The stitches are gonna get loose if you do! Just give me a moment...", Nat speaks quietly under her breath, carefully working on a rather large cut on her friend's arm.

"Do you think I'll get a kick ass scar from this? Those sexist assholes at the guard are finally gonna see I can handle myself just as well as they can if I do..."

Nat sighs.

"Do they really give you such a hard time?", she asks, tilting her head.

"I mean, you can handle yourself just as well as them. Even better, I'd say!"

"Yeah, but they don't give a shit about that just 'cuz I've got tits... a bunch of cunts is what they are."

Nat laughs. Her friend is not one to hold back on her profanities.

"Well, next time they give you a hard time, remind them that I've almost seen every single one of them cry when they came by here...", Nat says, causing her friend to laugh.

"You're taking the piss, right? You better get me some sort of fuckin' recording of it next time!", the woman laughs on, her stitches once more being disrupted because of it.

Nat, still, smiles. She hopes they stay like this forever.

They did not.

It's funny, Nat thought, how quickly things could change. How quickly a life as peaceful as theirs could get uprooted and completely flipped on its head, with Nat now serving a growing nation and her friend... being god knows where. She knew that she was okay – That woman never gave up, no matter how hopeless her situation was. That, and she was lucky to get away with lots of armour and weapons she was lucky to have on her on that fateful night. But still... she missed her. She missed her more than she did anyone else in that city. She missed talking to her during the evenings, she missed being trained in fighting by her, she missed fixing up her wounds and scolding her about how reckless she was... and it made her scared. Scared for this new home – And how quickly it could be pulled away from her, just as the old one had been.

She was soon distracted from her thoughts, however, by a strange sight.

Following the trail had finally led her somewhere – A carefully stashed away pile of stolen supplies next to a rather small home, unsteady and built without much care. It was mostly made of a red brick, with a wooden sign upfront with 'Cheap Potions Here!' hastily scratched into it. It didn't take long before someone emerged from the house, a rather short man with messy black hair and a beanie with the word 'LAUGHED' imprinted on it in white. He quickly rearranged his loose hoodie, leaned forward on a broken piece of an old fence and grinned;

"Well, hello there! Can I help you?"

And at a complete loss for words, Nat just stared.

Nat?

She held onto her head. It has been hurting so much lately.

Nat, where are you?

There was blood on her hands. Where did it come from?

You're still looking for me, right?

She could feel something on her back. She didn't want to look

You didn't forget about me, did you?

She was too tired to stand. She was in too much pain to fight.

It's so hot here, I feel like I'm choking.

I know you're looking for me, so I'll wait.

I'll wait for you, Nat.

I'll wait.

Her head started hurting again.

But please hurry.

It's so hot, I'm struggling to breathe any more.

I miss you.