Whether it was due to her finally piecing things together, or she's just using us to vent out her frustration, she began to interrogate us using her observations to pick at our details. I'll admit, I was not expecting her to be so observant; pegged her for more of the "naive rich kid stuck in a third world country after going down the wrong alley" type of girl.

As she listed out the evidence to her case, it became more and more apparent that we weren't as stealthy as we thought we were.

First, it was not knowing information that most, if not all, people born in any form of community should be aware of. Then, it was how none of us really fit in any form of stereotype to our races, Tah'Styr being the most egregious of this. Lastly, the whole voices in the head and instant wardrobe change, granted the clothing change was not our fault, then again admitting to hearing voices never really painted a good picture to people. She even took note of the SIlv and how it was unlike any coin she's seen, and apparently she's seen a lot.

Tah'Styr was about to speak up about it but my tug on her arm stopped her.

"I would love to explain but unfortunately we've got a long walk ahead of us and the daylight is burning away. Make sure you have your gear in check because it is going to be a long while before we encounter a village where we can restock."

I was about to start to walk before I looked at our escort-mission's VIP.

"You... do have traveling supplies, right? I mean, you couldn't have traveled here without carrying SOME supplies, right?"

As she listened to my questions, her face full of frustration at not getting HER questions answered slowly drained of anger as she started to fidget more and more. Her eyes shifted away to look at the ground as her mouth took a hard line spelled out my worst fear. I heaved a long-suffering sigh before giving her an emotionless face.

"You don't have any traveling supplies do you?"

So maybe she was indeed a "naive rich kid stuck in a third world country after going down the wrong alley". While it was a question, I wasn't expecting her to answer as I already knew it. My non-question-question still made Motherly-Wolf explode in indignant embarrassment.

"W-Well It wasn't like I was expecting to go on a long hike across the countryside, OKAY! I was supposed to have been able to get through the gates and live a comfortably free life inside them. IT WASN'T!... It wasn't supposed to play out like this. It's all YOUR fault! You were supposed to go along, and I was actually going to reward you! Why did I trust a damned Woody to do anything properly?!"

"Well, can't say that I enjoy being blamed for not smuggling an illegal immigrant into a city, but then again that was my first time it's ever happened to me. I'm gunna ignore the racial slur as it's coming from you, a knife-ear, and that I don't really give a shit as I don't know the full detailed history of the beef between high and wood Elf, just that something in my blood makes me want to collapse a bridge with a bunch of High Elves on it. Not sure why, but I'm inclined to trust what the blood says.

"Doesn't really matter though, as we are in this shit together till we get your Knife-Eared ass back to your island. So chop-chop, Times a wastin."

With that said, I started to walk down the road with Tah'Styr hugging my arm and Fahkir following a step behind. Motherly-Wolf was momentarily left gob smacked as she watched us walk ahead, but with a huff and a stomp she followed behind with loud and angry taps of her feet on the pact dirt.

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As she caught up to us, she took a spot opposite of Tah'Styr, who pulled me closer in response. While Tah'Styr's over-protectiveness was quite reassuring to me, and frankly made me want to pin her to a tree to reciprocate the feeling, it did make me worry about her recent mental shift and how seemingly overnight she went from best-friend to Jealous wife. Again, not complaining, but just worried for her.

---

We got rather far down the road before Motherly-Wolf piped up suddenly.

"Why did you call me a 'Knife-Ear', Oni..Onimis?"

"Onimous, and because you're a fuckin Knife-Ear why else?"

"But Onimous... you're a Knife-Ear too, I hope you do realize that."

"Oh I do realize that, Motherly-Wolf. The thing is... should we tell her now?"

I stopped to look at my two fellow Earthlings in question. Tah'Styr just gave me a happy nod, while Fahkir spoke with her visor up.

"I don't see why not. She'll be with us for long enough to pick out enough slip-ups from us that she'd get most of the information anyways. This way we can just interrogate her for info without having to skirt around the secret."

"But what if she uses the information to somehow bring us more trouble?"

"It's not like we aren't already in the cross hairs of multiple parties. Think about it Onimous, The DUCHESS of O’Carón already has her sights set on us as explained by her bastard of a cousin; we never did get his name did we. Not to mention anyone who has seen our "fine piece of luxury goods'' who sticks out like a working girl at Sunday mass. Though I do say, Tah'Styr, that if my Pastor looked anything like you do now, I would be the devout Christian my momma always wanted me to be.

"And onto our final attraction, we got Motherly-Wolf herself. Being a very attractive woman is the least of the reasons why she would aid in people targeting us, as her being an Elf means that we have to be extra careful that she isn't abducted by some fantasy humanoid monster that wants to use her as a seedbed. Hell, if this was before and I'd met her in a bar, you know I'd be tryin to get in her pants, She's practically my type! You know, curvy and exotic?"

Fahkir's brazen comments got a nod and thank you from Tah'Styr. I couldn't help but agree that If Tah'Styr was quite eye-catching. Motherly-Wolf on the other hand couldn't hide her disgust and openly stated that she didn't swing that way, which made us chuckle a bit, though Fahkir did make a slight frown.

"Well what if I was actually a tall human male soldier? Tah'Styr you've seen what I looked like, and are apparently attracted to men, would you say I was attractive?"

"Hmmm let me see if I can remember. I'll be real with you Fahkir, I wasn't too attracted to you, but you did have your charm. Let's see... 6'4", 230 pound, slightly tanned, active duty soldier; I'd say you were a catch, not my catch, but a catch nonetheless."

"So what, your type is a pasty-ass lanky white boy? You two would be like a real life Pacha and Kusco, just a black and white version instead of being Latino. Hehe that would be an interesting sight."

"Knock it off asshole. I'll have you know that Before yesterday I was actually planning on showing you guys that I was no longer the obese fuck you once knew me as. Hell I finally had enough confidence that I was going to ask Onimous to meet up so that I could surprise him. I was an official trap streamer on Twitch, you guys thought that was a voice changer but that was actually the voice I used during streams. I was going to admit that I loved him, no, that I LOVE him."

-Wait, what?-

That threw me for a loop, and judging by the wide eyes of Fahkir, she was also being thrown. I looked at my crimson daemoness with a fresh set of eyes wide open. Ever since the DUI, I've had bridge after bridge burned, and all from the other side. If not for the fact that I paid rent, my parents would have probably burned their bridges too. Outside of gaming "friends”, I was starting to think that I'd be alone for the foreseeable future. But here is Tah'Styr, no Darren, who has been doing all of this just so that he could finally be with me one day, together.

I won't lie, if circumstances were different and we never got isekaid, I'd probably have accepted him, Gay bashing be damned. I've been so starved for human affection that I would have taken in any that he gave, just like an actual starving man given a plate of food.

My eyes felt a bit moist as I grabbed Tah'Styr in a tight embrace. I buried my face into her chest, her shoulder being a bit too high for me to reach, and let out a muffled sniffle, my voice coming out hitched as the emotional dam that was finally able to buckle, broke.

"I'm sorry."

She returned the hug pulling me further into her warm embrace, trying desperately to smother me with her unconditional love. Love that at first I mistook for lust, a thought that colored my thought with shades of guilt that I didn't take her seriously, that I only thought with my other head and gave responses that I thought would get me in her pants. The fact that it worked only made me want to kick myself harder as I took advantage of her emotions and her love for me.

-Why me?-