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Ralphos had cleared up the misunderstanding about his identity after much back and forth, and they were on the road traveling out of the forest. He sniffed the pine trees, enjoying the scent and the rushing water as his mind settled and sorted. Arms crossed behind his head, he decided that he needed to get to know Juno better somehow. They had almost killed each other that morning. A mountain was obliterated in the background, and chunks of it were layered across the landscape.

“I can’t believe it, my prince gone, no wonder you were acting so strange,” complained Juno.

He had an in, finally!

“You don’t look bothered by it, Juno. What’s going on?”

“I see no reason to keep it from you, changed as you have, even looking like a human now.”

She stared at him, the goblin form was disappearing, his body a strange half-breed of goblin and human with little bumps on his shoulder-blades.

“With ‘that’ thing I felt last night, I wasn’t surprised...sorry about almost killing you. After I woke up, everything came to a head...”

“No problem. After all, I did the same. That’s how you make friends right? Shame about that mountain…”, Ralphos groaned,”so Ralphos, this goblin guy, was your prince?”

“Yes. My Cat Kingdom of the Caves, my exiled noble family. It’s all difficult to talk about for me. I’m just glad I don’t have to serve my prince anymore, though I worry for my future with a strange person like you. What should I call you?”

“Ralphos sounds good. Judging by ‘that’ down there and what I looked like from the stream, I’m about to go crazy and I’m not sure my already fragile identity can handle it,” he chuckled.

“So strange. You must have been lying then, yesterday, after old prince Ralphos died. Another world, huh. I spent so much time serving Ralphos and surviving something as fantastical as that is endearing. I’d like to go…”, Juno sighed, her tail and ears falling.

The breeze about them chilled the air. Before them, a long trail. Juno told him about the town, the money they were going to get for slaying the Shadow Demon, and about how Ralphos was the exiled prince of a goblin kingdom with a handy catgirl maid on an aimless adventure to regain his name and prestige. Ralphos was failing at that and had given up and was content to remain an adventurer.

“Juno, why didn’t you ditch that prince guy?”

Juno looked down, silently walking a pace behind him both to keep him in sight and to be respectful. She breathed in the cool air, looking out over the plains.

“Betray my prince? You’re mad. The only thing left to me is honor. Long ago I realized that I would never see my family again, and I was grateful for that.”

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Ralphos put his hand to his chin. An easy character she’s playing.

“So you were just sticking to him like glue. Surely you guys must have gotten along well? You gave me some nice looks yesterday…”

“Part of the job. I can’t process what happened, still. You do not seem evil, nor do you seem as aggressive as yesterday. Which one are you?”

“Ah, well as I told you, that was an act. I was scared. Something to do, relieved my stress a bit, just glad I didn’t end up dead,” Ralphos gave her a smile.

“But who are you really, inside, then? I have nowhere else to go. If have an ill fate planned for me, then at least tell me so I can resolve myself,” Juno countered, her face stern at his back.

Ralphos stopped and turned, confused.

“You’ve really got nothing else? I’m not your prince, you know?”

“That doesn’t matter. All I have left is my drill and Ralphos. Even if you’ve replaced him, I don’t intend on leaving. The decision what to do with me is yours.”

“Eh…”, Ralphos rubbed his head. He had little idea what to do with himself. However, he wasn’t going to stop her if she wanted to stick with him. It was just too much too soon for him, but he couldn’t deny that she was admirable and beautiful. So what if she was a tad dangerous? At least she said she was sorry. Ralphos sighed and turned.

“Well, let’s go then. Need to pick up the money. I’ll figure out the rest later. I won’t do anything bad, if you act like you did yesterday. Don’t force yourself, though, that would make me uncomfortable. I can tell when you’re acting,” he lied.

“Act normally around you? Be honest? Okay. I will do that,” Juno agreed and her tail and ears perked up.

Earlier that morning, the mountain Ralphos destroyed after firing a bulletblade ‘function’ by mistake was in the background. Juno with a stern look, her eyes like a stone as she charged with her drill into Ralphos again and again. She had enough when he woke up with a changed appearance. If it wasn’t for that, she would have let it go and said nothing. Juno was already fed up with his behavior as is, if a bit intrigued. He was interesting, unlike the normal Ralphos who was somber.

Ralphos was turning aside her drill with the bulletblade, his strange new body creaking as dragon wings spread out from his back. In a panic he was barely able to balance himself, sweating furiously now that he was exhausted. Two fights in a row, and both with a strange body and weapons, his skill with the bulletblade was being tested. The drill pushing into him, he used both hands on the blade pushing it aside. He couldn’t shoot it again or he might kill her. Dancing back and circling as Juno whirled the drill towards his body and face. Ralphos could barely get a breath in, much less talk.

He caught her charge head on with his blade by luck alone, gritting as he realized if he was off by a fraction he would’ve been drilled. Juno pushed him back, her face stalwart and aloof. After he had realized what had been digging into her all night, he didn’t blame her, much.

Ralphos caved to the force and went to the ground, scrambling back in pain trying to right himself and control the dragon wings. They popped open, whacking Juno in the face.

Juno made a chew toy noise as she fell backward onto the ground, both of them breathing hard.

“Wanna stop?”, Ralphos gasped out.

Juno’s head popped up, half moon eyes staring at him as she breathed.

“Alright,” she said.

Ralphos caught his breath eyeing her.

“Wait, what?”

“I’ll comply,” Juno said.

“No, really? You were trying really hard to kill me, you know!”

“You don’t know about the ‘functions’. I saw your face when you blew up the mountain. If you fired that bulletblade, even normally, I may have died. I was waiting for you to make a choice,” Juno explained, her tail making a turn.