Chocola continued her daily duties. It was not a busy day. Besides, other waitresses were here to cover their shifts and now refused to give back shift slots. The more, the merrier, the owner said. If anything, it meant Chocola could take longer breaks.
On her first break, she sneaked into the living room, laid on the couch, and read the book on curses.
It was exactly what Vanilla said. There were curses for everything: changing age, changing body, changing sex, everything. But these were boring. Chocola focused on the advanced ones, like the 'divine curse' or the curse that made your nightmares come true. These gave much more insight into how magic worked, or so Chocola thought.
She remembered the library and someone mentioning something about magic being programmable. Chocola made a decision to visit the library after work.
"Hey, you, come back to the real world." Vanilla came into the room and interrupted her.
"Nyo! The world of magic is super amazing." Chocola insisted.
"Cooome, or I will tell the magical girl how obsessed you are about magic." Vanilla warned, then moved closer and grabbed Chocola's tail.
Chocola's eyes grew wide. She did not expect such a threat from Vanilla. It terrified her. She immediately closed the book and walked back to the tables.
"Hey, do not touch my tail!" Chocola answered with a surprise burst of anger, and Vanilla immediately let it go.
At first, Vanilla smiled smugly. How could she not? She discovered her sister's weak point. And Vanilla could really be evil if she really wanted to. But after a minute, she realized that there was something more than just the fact that she touched her tail. Chocola still looked quite upset.
It was not the tail grab that upset Chocola. Sure, she hated when someone touched her tail. It was her private part, the one she only allowed herself to touch. But that was not enough to upset her. It was not Vanilla's words either; she could never really be angry at her sister. She was upset about an image that she had in her head. In this image, the magical girl stood in front of her, did not say a single word, but her face was scarily unamused. The next moment Mary woke up in her bed, it was as if everything she experienced here was a mere dream now fading from her grasp. This vision terrified Mary beyond anything else.
Chocola could not do anything about her upsetness either. She knew that thinking about it would only upset her further. And in this case, her being upset actually increased the probability of the nightmare that she witnessed. She forced herself to work, but it helped slightly, but the nightmare still prevailed. Vanilla tried to help with an occasional hug and a head pat. It helped, but it did not fix her.
The catgirl no longer wished to go to the library. She still wished to learn magic, but she had to do it as covertly as possible, and going to the library was anything but covert. She had to play her role. And so the work continued.
Nevertheless, she closed the book and went back to the tables. Meanwhile, Vanilla smiled smugly as if she had discovered her sister's weak point. Vanilla could really be evil if she wanted to.
"Yay, work is over!" Vanilla announced and looked at Chocola with a bright smile.
"Why are you looking at me like this?!" Chocola was surprised.
"Cause we are going camping!"
"Didn't we do that in the morning?!"
"Oh, nyo nyo, that was just a mushroom trip. I am talking about the real thing. Wait here." She smiled, disappeared, and returned with an enormous backpack. It had a sleeping bag attached to the side.
"Wait, you don't mean…"
"Yep! We will make an actual campfire, cook some food, and fall asleep under the stars." Vanilla insisted, with another smug on her face.
Chocola signed, but agreed. It sounded fun. In fact, it was something that she could use to clear her head. Maybe it would even make her fears go away.
She asked Vanilla what she needed to carry and briefly packed her backpack too. They went towards the river they found while mushroom hunting, then followed the river upstream until they reached a small waterfall.
It was not a tall waterfall; there was no mist, just a flat, grassy, and green clearing at the foot of it. The water cascade was split into seven distinct steps, and each step softened the fall. What remained was a quiet and calming rustle. It pleased Chocola's ears.
"Shall we climb up?" Chocola asked, looking upwards.
"We can, but it's not worth it. It takes quite a while to get around the cliff, and it is very windy up there. Here is perfect." Vanilla explained as if she were a camping expert.
"What if we get flooded?!"
"We won't. Stop worrying and help me start a fire." Vanilla firmly instructed.
She collected rocks and placed them in a circle, marking the boundary of a fire place. Chocola collected a bunch of small branches that littered the grassy floor. She placed fatter logs in a pile near the fire. The nights were long, so she made sure to make it into a big pile.
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The sunset began as the red rays of sun occasionally broke through the treetops on the other side of the river. Chocola looked at it and smiled. She realized she hadn't had any negative thoughts for a while. Not thinking about it was the key.
"If we were up, we could see the sunset." Chocola sighed, rather playfully.
"We would still be walking up and end up missing the sunset anyway. Plus, it's cold and windy up there!"
"So how are you going to light up the fire?!" Chocola switched the topic, staring at the pile of tinder in the circle of stones.
Chocola was very curious about it. She has never seen any matches in this world. Nor lighters. She did see some people smoke, but she did not know what they used to light it up.
"Hehehehe, watch and be amazed!"
Vanilla went through her back, then she took out a small vial and took a tiny sip out of it. Her face began red, then hot, as if she had just drunk raw hot pepper sauce. She inhaled, and the next moment, she breathed out a pure flame, instantly lighting everything on fire. It was super effective. The fireplace was lit, and Vanilla's face cooled down too.
Chocola just stood petrified in amazement. She could not say a word. She was so frozen, it surprised Vanilla.
"What? Never seen a dragon breath potion?!" Vanilla teased.
Chocola shook her head.
"The key is to just take a tiny drop and breathe it all out before it burns you. Wanna try?! But I warn you, it's very spicy."
Chocola shook her head in panic.
"Such a scaredy cat, you are. Fine, help me wash the vegetables then." Vanilla took the backpack and went towards the river.
Chocola helped; they quickly washed the vegetables and mushrooms found earlier today in the running water. They added some meat too, and soon the pot of stew was placed on the fire.
"You're so good at this, Vanilla."
"Uhm, not my first time, actually. Actually, wait, it is my first time doing this here. But anyway, I like camping and cooking too!" Vanilla cheerfully replied.
The stew continued to cook, and the skies became dark. They did not bring a tent, but they unfolded a sleeping pad and sat around the fire. Chocola stared into the flames; it calmed her down.
"Sisnya, aren't you worried about losing all of this?!" Chocola suddenly asked.
"Of course. I am. Coming here was the best thing that happened to me, and I would hate it so much if someone took it away from me. But, you know, if my time is limited here, I would rather not spend it worrying about losing it." Vanilla explained it rather cheerfully and professionally.
Chocola sighed in relief. This answer was what her soul needed.
"If you could choose to get stuck as Vanilla…" Chocola asked, but Vanilla answered before finishing.
"I would hesitate, but I would choose to become Vanilla permanently. I love my place here. I love you, I love my master, and I love my whole family here."
"I see." Chocola sighed again.
"What about you, dear sister?" Vanilla asked back.
"I don't know." Chocola replied.
Mary was not sure. She loved playing her role, but she was not sure if she would choose to be her permanently. Her true wish was to become untethered from her role and to have all the freedom to explore magic. She could do this while being Chocola, but she felt Chocola's role would always limit her. Mary loved Vanilla too, but she was not sure if she really was the person she wanted to spend her whole life with.
Chocola dropped the topic before she upset Vanilla or herself. Vanilla opened the stew lid, and a pleasant earthy and meaty smell filled the area. The catgirls began to salivate; it really smelled that delicious.
"It is almost ready, but first we must bathe!" Vanilla demanded it just as suddenly.
"What the nyaa, no!" Chocola's tail fluffed up just by thinking about it. There was a river, but the water was way too cold.
"Then there is no food for you." Vanilla insisted. "The more you wait, the colder the air will get."
Vanilla quickly took out two towels and gave one to Chocola. She undressed and disappeared into the darkness. Chocola sighed, twitching from the idea of how it would be, and finally took her clothes off too. With only a towel, she went towards the river.
"Sister!" She spoke, trying to locate her sister as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
"Yo." Vanilla briefly replied. She was very close by. "Jump here; there's a bit of depth, and the current is weak. We can sit side by side."
Chocola placed her towel on the grass and placed her foot into the water. It was so cold, it shocked her. She was terrified to put the second leg down.
And just as suddenly, Vanilla pulled her hand and dragged her fully into the body. Chocola eeped from this sudden submersion. Her body was under so much shock that it could barely process how cold the water was.
"See, the water is so cold you won't get used to it, so it's better to be brief." Vanilla explained but did not wait for her sister to reply and dunked Chocola's head under the water.
They then immediately jumped out of the water and began drying themselves while shivering from the cold air.
"I hate you for that." Chocola sulked
"No, you don't." Vanilla teased. She was right, of course.
After drying, they dressed up and went back to the fire. And it was so pleasantly warm. Truly heavenly after this brief moment of hell.
Vanilla took the pot off the fire and opened the lid. It smelled even better than before. And the stew tasted even better than it smelled. Full of various earthy mushrooms, veggies. The bits of meat were tender and juicy too. They did not bring plates, so they ate with two spoons right out of the pot.
"If you're still cold, I can add a few drops of the dragon breath potion."
"No, no, no, I am perfectly warm, and this meal is heavenly!" Chocola shook her head rapidly.
She knew a few drops would make the stew so hot it would not be edible. Vanilla seemed to enjoy sharp and strong sensations, but to her, it was unacceptable. Chocola tried to remember if Vanilla liked hot things, according to her character, but she could not remember the answer. She did not care much, either. She liked this Vanilla nonetheless.
They left some for the morning too. Chocola placed some more firewood, and in the meantime, Vanilla took the sleeping pad quite far from the fire. She removed her shoes and her upper clothes. Finally, she slipped herself into the sleeping bag.
"Why is it so far from fire?!" Chocola sighed, thinking about the cold again.
"You will see." Vanilla answered. Chocola could not see her face, but she could hear the smug.
"Should I remove my dress?"
"Of course. It's going to be hot in here."
Chocola did as she was told and finally joined her sister. She was right; it really felt quite hot. Especially Vanilla. Maybe it was the residual effects of the potion; Chocola did not know. Chocola deeply hugged her sister and nuzzled against her, stealing the happy bits of heat.
"Chocola?" Vanilla kindly asked.
"Nyani?"
"Look up."
Chocola raised her eyes and became absolutely speechless as her eyes fell into a bright and massive sea of stars. The star map was so unfamiliar, yet still so insanely beautiful. There was no moon, no dust, or mist; it was so immersive and captivating. She could see the white, milky band as if someone had spilled milk over a black tablecloth. She wondered if that was the Milky Way, yet nevertheless, it was so beautiful to behold.
The beauty overtook her, and she fell asleep.