Mau and Suvdaa sat back to back among the boughs of the great tree, and they sat in silence for a long time while the city celebrated below with cheering voices and fireworks in the night sky.

With the lich, Thanatos, brought low and his plan to infest the city with a tide of undeath, Dorn's Blossom Festival was able to proceed without a hitch. And though the populace at large was none the wiser about what happened, Mau, Suvdaa, and Andy had received quiet accolades from the temple of Galatea and the Adventurer's Guild. There was still much work to be done, though, and with Thanatos' political party and clout in shambles, that left the city's government system in a state of disarray as several other parties vied for their slice of power in the sudden vacuum.

Nevertheless, the people were able to have a happy and safe festival as the great tree bloomed and showered the city in sweet scented petals.

"Hhchoo!"

Mau was miserable.

As it turned out, the pollen from all the blooming flowers was throwing off her sense of smell something fierce and left her nose and throat in a state of constant irritation. Her ears drooped as she knew she was about to be more miserable in a moment, regardless of whether she spoke first or Suvdaa did.

"So." Suvdaa broke the silence, shifting just enough that the fur of her heavy bear pelt cloak tickled at the back of Mau's neck.

"What are you not telling me?" The raider girl said, tone flat and firm.

Blue eyes squeezed shut as Mau scrunched her face while she was sure Suvdaa couldn't see her, and she drew a steeling breath. She had thought about this moment long and hard, and had come up with a lot to say, but now that it was here, everything had just fled her. The catgirl sighed and finally relented.

"A lot." Mau said in response.

There was silence again, but this time is lasted much shorter than before as Suvdaa heaved a sigh.

"So where are you going to start?" Suvdaa pressed.

It wasn't an easy question and for a moment, Mau had no idea where to even begin telling her travel companion what she wanted- or what she thought she wanted to hear.

"Guess I'll start with the truth." Mau ultimately decided.

"That is a good place to begin." Suvdaa agreed tersely, turning her head to glance over her shoulder. "You have been keeping secrets from me and I know it. Do you even remotely think I have not noticed? You came to my clan feigning weakness, but here you are now and I find myself having trouble just keeping up with you. Was our fight when we met really an honest one, Mau?"

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"In my defense." Mau said, tone calm and careful, "Would *you* have accepted me if that fight went in another direction?" the catgirl asked. "Your clan might have accepted me afterwards, but you would have resented me for who knows how long, after that."

Suvdaa scowled. "So you lied. You lied and you held things from me."

Mau nodded slowly. It was the truth.

She lied.

"Why?" Suvdaa asked.

Mau rubbed at her nose, face scrunching from how raw and tender it felt from all the pollen sneezing and stifled a snotty snort as she worked on maintaining her composure.

"Well." Mau began to speak, hugging her knees to her chest, and the raider girl quieted down to listen intently.

"I'm going to tell you something. And you're going to think I'm insane." Mau finally relented. "But I can promise you every word of it is the truth, and I'm not going to lie or hide anything anymore. You're the second person to hear this out of me ever, and it's all going to sound super crazy."

Suvdaa responded with more silence, still glowering over her shoulder by the time Mau turned her head to look back at her and meet her gaze. Mau sighed. She was about to drop a bomb, and she had no idea how her travel partner would handle it.

"Suvdaa, the truth is I didn't come to your clan to learn, sought your people out because they seemed like the most badass warriors this world had to offer and I needed to find someone I could bring with me to one of the hardest battles I've ever had to fight."

"The Demon Lord?" Suvdaa interjected, remembering their conversation from the wagon train into the city, her tone still irritable but softening by a degree at he realization. "You said killing him was your duty."

Mau nodded.

"It's been my duty for way too long now. I'm kind of afraid it's all I even know how to do, anymore at this point, Suvdaa." The catgirl said in a tired tone. A tone that made even the angry raider pause for thought. She had never once heard Mau sound so utterly weary in the entire time they had traveled together. It was a weariness that was achingly, painfully, bone-deep; ingrained into the catgirl's very soul.

It was enough to silence the raider, briefly stunning her so Mau could continue.

Tipping her head back, Mau lightly bumped Suvdaa and closed her eyes.

"I feel like a fucking pawn." Mau said. "You'd think most people would be over the moon to be picked by the gods for anything. But no. They picked me to do their dirty work." Mau spat venomously.

"They took me from my home, Suvdaa. I was comfortable. I was happy. I was okay living a completely normal and ordinary life, not this fantasy bullshit they've put me through. But I ended up good at doing their laundry. They literally killed me and took me from my home, put a sword in my hand, and told me to go kill a hundred demon lords, vile kings, evil emperors, death lords, you name it. And when I'm done killing this one what's in it for me? They sure didn't promise me glory, riches, wealth, fame, or anything. Do I even get a nice cushy place in the afterlife? Hell if I know."

Mau didn't realize she had balled her hands into white-knuckled fists until she felt a touch at her wrist.

"... This world only has the one Demon Lord." Suvdaa pointed out in barely a whisper. "... Where... Where are you from?"

"I... don't even know anymore." The catgirl replied, helplessly.

A long beat of silence hung in the air between the two girls broken only by another pathetic pollen-induced sneeze. But Suvdaa didn't remove her hand from Mau's.

"Tell me everything Mau. From the beginning. I will listen. No matter how insane it sounds. If you are really telling me the truth- no more lies- then I'll follow you to the jaws of hell itself to help you kill the Demon Lord."

"Sit back for a bit." Mau finally responded, after wiping her nose. "It's a long story."