BOOM!

Splashes of sap and pieces of skull splash into the mud. The rain mixes with it, creating streams.

The goatmantis' body collapses, dead.

With the still-smoking revolver in her hand, Sely approaches the body of the beast.

Endya is still on the floor, dirty and shocked. He stammers something that Sely can't understand. Words that get lost in the rain.

“Hey, stop thanking me, I'm embarrassed!”

“…”

“Oi, I'm talking to you, too many compliments at once… ouch, ouch!” Sely tries to play it down, but the boy is still scared.

He may be cute, but as for courage... hmm...

Hell, I wasted my penultimate bullet saving him…

Who knows if I'll be able to buy more in Vanoge...

“Ugh, look, I'm not going to eat you like this one, huh?”

“…”

“Ok-ok, it's true that we are more or less related. It looks just like a mantis, but I'm a human being, look” Sely puts the weapon away, puts her hands around her face, and shows off a funny expression.

Endya stops shaking. He pulls his foot out of the mud and watches in amazement.

“Hmm… Hmm! … of course, you are fearful Endya!” Sely takes a step forward.

“Ah! Don't eat me! NO!” Endya raises an arm to protect himself and turns his head.

“Look, I don't eat people! …the good ones at least, that is, not good in the sense of tasty, that's it, ahh, wahh! No! I didn't mean… ah!”

The stumble with her words makes Sely all red, and certain childhood memories come back to her. Indeed, the descendants of the moon eat people, but only the bad ones, those for whom imprisonment and exile are out of the question.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“…but don't worry, Endya, you're definitely not bad! Eh, eheh, eh, eh...”

“Y-you… d-do you know my name?”

Sely, happy with the change of subject, becomes serious again. “Yes, you are Endya Toslevi's student, right?”

He nods, the involuntary theatrics seem to have calmed him down. “How do you know me? I have never left my city, nor do I remember descendants of the moon similar to you.”

“I read it on your bag. The one you left at the camp when you fled.”

“Oh!” he looks down, “that bag… damn, I shouldn't have left it.”

“Hmm, why? Look, if you didn't leave it, you would surely have died.”

“Huh? In what sense?”

“I mean it says who you are on the bag, that's why I followed you. I need to get to my dad.”

The young man gets up slowly and keeps his distance, evidently still wary.

Of course, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have saved you, right?

So, stop running away, please...

Sely keeps that thought to herself, she doesn't want to stay on that terrace forever and prefers to convince rather than force.

“Your father?"

Sely nods and puts a hand on the belly. “Yes, Toslevi the alchemist, I haven't seen him since I was this tall.”

Endya gasps. “You are the daughter of a human!? That is, of a... of a... my master is... he did, those things, yes, in short...”

Endya's gaze falls on the carcass of the goatmantis.

Sely rolls her eyes and gestures with her hands. “NO! What are you saying!!! My mom isn't that ugly!!! Aaah! But how can you think that!?”

“Does she look like you? I mean... yes, sorry, in that case, she would be very nice...”

“AH! Oh… th-thank you…” Sely turns red, luckily the rain cools her spirits. Only the sound of falling water fills the silence.

Please say something, say something!

“So, you are Toslevi's daughter? Won't you eat me?”

“I won't eat you! Stop that…”

Silence falls again.

“… Yes, I am her daughter. Sorry if my nature scares you, I don't know what to do about it.” Sely lowers her head and looks at her shoes in the mud.

“No-no, I'm sorry! I'm the one who's a wimp... it's just that there bad legends are circulating and...”

“I know, I should have been wiser. I had to consider this eventuality.”

For the first time, Endya smiles. He takes a few steps forward and places the palm of his hand on her forehead.

Sely blushes, even more, embarrassed by the compliment earlier. That is a greeting, she must return it. She also places her hand on his forehead.

“So, I'm Endya the coward, eheh… what's your name?”

“Um, I'm Sely… Sely and that's it, I think?”

“Sely, a lunar name, it's nice to meet you” Endya removes his hand and Sely does the same.

“For me too, it's a pleasure to meet a friend of my father!”

“Well, friend is a big word… I'm just a student who will soon be scolded.”

“Eheheh, it doesn't matter. You're nice, come on let's go get your things.”