We decided to take it slow for the rest of the evening, moving gradually out from the heart of the Kaugs to head back the way we’d come. I was no longer in the mood to go adventuring far and wide, hitting new Map squares. I was pensive and I wanted firmer ground.

As we passed many meters south of the circles of mountains that surrounded DeGalle’s camp, my ears twitched, dimly picking up the bustle of dozens and dozens of people. Maybe they were nursing DeGalle and investigating the mountains more, or, on a slim chance, packing their things.

Sometimes the stars were up there and sometimes they weren’t, hidden by buoyant clouds. They streamed overhead as Reed leaned against a tree and took a drink. I took a quick break alongside her, lapping up a puddle of meltwater, sighing out my fatigue.

That book was beginning to disturb me. It had either come from a secret friend of mine or an evil megalomaniac. Probably the latter, because it came with lightning and swarming animals. Yet my goddess wanted me to have it. Plus, if the book itself were really that hostile…wouldn’t it have killed me by now? Riddle me that, universe.

If it tried anything serious, Bayce could always sell it on some Vencian auction website. That’s how you spin a negative into a positive.

…Okay, but seriously. I was still puzzling out all the clues the book had just given me. Only now, as we crossed the threshold back into the field of armadillos and bulls, did it hit me that the book’s author may have themself been reincarnated. Because the words “I was born in thunder, you were born in peace” (or “sun” or what-have-you) definitely implied that we’d been born about the same way…but I wasn’t “born” on Vencia, exactly.

So maybe there was another nekomata out there? Right now? An evil one?

It kind of made sense. Given the history of cats on this planet, as well as DeGalle apparently having slugged a previous nekomata in the face, more catgirls wouldn’t be too odd. But…I had no idea whether my mind was on the right track. And besides, I was not excited whatsoever to meet a fellow cat. Not after all the rejection I’d faced on Earth from fellow city cats.

We set up camp in the same place we’d set it up before: against an immense rock, with the splendor of the Kaugs spanning the world behind us and the drier savannah wafting in front. Reed shrugged her coat off into a sort of cape, and with a smile that spoke more than words, began to set up the fireplace, to show that she cared for both of us.

I was no freeloader.

Poof. I Morphed with the full knowledge that tonight’s SP could not go to a better cause than this.

Then, before Reed could cry out or tell me “no,” I dashed out to the nearest dead, twiggy tree, reached up, and ripped off branches for kindling, hurling them mercilessly to earth. Then when I ran out, I just started climbing! The nubs of former branches gave me footholds as my hands churned upward, sawing off the higher limbs.

Yay! My coordination in this form was getting a lot better. It’d been a great idea to spontaneously practice this form a little after all.

I jumped down from the tree and landed on my face.

…Granted, I had hit the soles of my blocky sandals first, but wobbling forward and windmilling my arms did not give me the balance I needed to stay upright after all.

Reed raced over. Dropping to a kneel, she gathered the kindling in one arm and circled the other arm around my torso. “Hey!” she cried. “Don’t help so much you hurt yourself! Please!”

If I’d had any less of a sense of humor, then yeah, I might’ve been crying on impact. The day had been odd and overwhelming. It had to have been for her.

Still, now that I’d made my mistake, I didn’t want her to worry. I had to tell her I was fundamentally alright. With a toothy grin, I flashed a thumbs-up and gave her a warbly, “Myeaow-w-w!”

It didn’t convince her.

After she got me steady, I lurched back to the camp, sat on a rock, and shook the bruises off. Tracing a finger around one throbbing eye—a black eye?—I realized just how much I must have scared Reed back there. And while I was an independent being making independent actions…I knew that with some forethought, I wouldn’t have put her through that. I felt not guilty, but sorry.

And to spare her the sight of my injured eye, I un-Morphed and hung my head.

“I’m alright,” Reed said, arranging the branches in the middle of camp. “And you’re really your own person…or person-spirit. I don’t want to impose.”

Please impose.

The thought surprised me.

But I actually did need cooler heads to keep me stable. The tutorial stage of my life was over. I had much to learn from Reed and Chora, with their steady thinking.

***

After gnawing quietly on leftovers for an hour, watching the occasional dark shadow pass in the tall grass around us, we were certifiably ready for bed. I was tapped out, and there was absolutely, positively, definitely nothing left to do.

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If there had been, surely it would have been nagging me constantly these past several hours, in the form of an unending System notification!

I sighed, curled up on a bed of dirt, as close to the fire as possible. I wasn’t cold, but, well, being near the Kaugs and under an occasional passing mist was making me a bit feverish. That or it was the psychosomatic effects of having done so dang much earlier.

Reed was sitting on the other side of the flames, whittling. With her head and eyelids sagging, she looked about to nod off on the spot. Sorry as usual that she hadn’t brought me more personalized camping accessories, she had loaned me her coat to wrap myself in. The one with the fluffy collar. Nuzzling against the cotton could only take my mind off of Evolving for so long.

It turned out there was a reason those notifications were persistent. Otherwise, I’d just forget about them.

And that was dangerous because killer bugs kept nearly murderizing me.

Evolution Available! Would you like to Evolve now? (Yes / No)

Yes.

And if the options stayed in the middle of my field of vision for the next twenty-four indecisive hours, so be it.

The same disclaimer I’d read before showed up next:

You have chosen to Evolve now.

This change is permanent. Once you have Evolved, you cannot go back, nor can you choose between adjacent Evolutions on your Evolution Tree.

Are you sure you wish to continue?

Yes. My thoughts were calm and weary as the end of a river.

Evolution Confirmed. Options are available:

Fawn Paladin

Strengths: ATK, WIS

Weakness: INT

Unique Trait:

Heroic: Increases and prolongs buffs on all party members.

An all-in fighter, this hybrid cat merges high offensive Stats with solid defenses and a mixture of close- and mid-range holy magic. Calico Ranger

Strengths: ATK, SPD

Weaknesses: INT

Unique Trait:

Mapmaker: Tracking, striking, and retreating unseen, this predator makes up for a lack of strong ranged options with powerful surveillance. Tortoiseshell Eccentric

Strengths: Balanced

Weaknesses: None

Unique Trait:

Copycat: Absorb the energy of terrain or a defeated foe to learn a new Skill or boost an existing one.

Learning new abilities from everyone and everything, this collector truly feels that the world is their playground.

Ooh. I was excited again now. These were starting to get really good.

It seemed like last time, I was getting basic Evolutions—the warrior, the mage, the medic—but now it was advanced stuff. Moreover, it was wacky stuff. To be fair, the first one was another flavor of magician, but I mean, one of them was literally called the “eccentric.” How could I not love that?

But this wasn’t all about loving my Evolution, really. It was about choosing what was best for me, what would serve me and Reed best right now.

…Wait, where did that feeling come from?

I looked over at Reed. She wasn’t my…owner or anything. She just coexisted with me sometimes, and we also cohabitated. We were friends. I knew that now, and I liked it. But…choosing a form for her?

It was partly true, though: I didn’t just exist for myself. I didn’t just exist for the whims of Sierra. I was here for Reed now too. I was here for Chora and Bayce. I had a home, one that wasn’t just marked by scent and trespassed on by every animal in the woods. And it was our home, one that I was…not exactly making any better, I guessed, but one I would defend.

So whatever I’d choose, I’d choose for all of us.

Wow… I guessed that was what it felt like to have a family responsibility.

Or a friend responsibility. Same thing—I didn’t have any of that on Earth. I wasn’t always alone there, but I was sometimes betrayed, always left behind. If a fellow cat was injured or a cat didn’t agree with the ones in charge, why not leave them for dead? Almost nobody had stuck their neck out for me, and I had shunned them in turn.

But now I could tell that on Vencia our feelings were mutual, that all four of us would stick our necks out for each other if we had to, maybe break our backs for each other. Even Bayce for Chora and Chora for Bayce.

So with that in mind, here were my choices reframed:

I could be the magical heroine, boosting the boosts on any number of us as long as we were in the same party.

I could be the hunter, reaffirming my natural instincts while also putting my Map to greater use.

I could be the self-determining weirdo, studying this forest to min-max myself for all I was worth.

…okay, Tortoiseshell Eccentric sounded amazing the first time, but now it seemed totally opposed to my style. This decision was getting kind of scary…

Wait. Just calm down, Taipha.

These are all good choices. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. There’s no “gotcha” trying to test you here. There’s nothing that will revert the progress you’ve already made.

You will always be powerful, I told myself.

And with that, I realized which option my heart was most drawn to.

Every option could be of service to my new family. This one would just be the most…delightful.

Across from me and a twiggy, cooling fire, Reed had pulled out a pillow and a thin mauve blanket, bundled up right there on the dirt. I blinked at her, but she didn’t see it. She was already asleep, the blanket rising and falling slowly with her breath.

I made my choice when I was certain she was totally fast asleep.

As I glowed and metamorphosized, I actually chuckled to myself. With impish glee, I imagined the surprise on her waking face—and then, of course, the welcoming acceptance. I was lucky I could count on her for that.

The Evolution swept over me, and then, content, I fell asleep.