The next day, Thesa and Lelly sparred until Thesa reached 5th Level. It would have taken longer, but Lelly also reached another Level and was able to summon more powerful Water Constructs.
Thesa was pleased to discover that starting from the bottom had an advantage. When her [Paladin] Levels were stolen, Thesa lost her spells and [Blessings] and all that. She did not lose her Ability Scores. And although she had already taken Ability Score improvements as a [Paladin], the option presented itself once again.
Thesa considered boosting [Strength] since that would directly contribute to the amount of damage she could do.
“My advice,” Lelly said, “is to take another look at the rest of your Class Features. Including any new ones.”
Thesa checked the short list of [Curses] she had to choose from. She quickly dismissed all but one.
[Dive] was essentially short-range teleportation. The cooldown wasn't even half bad. It scaled off of [Charisma], which was Thesa's best stat.
Thesa vanished from her spot in a puff of feathers and appeared right behind Lelly. “It really is that fast!”
“AH!” Lelly shouted, turning in a panic.
Thesa apologized profusely while putting hands to the side of her head. The jump left a metallic taste in her mouth and a slight ringing in her ear.
Thesa ended up deciding to put another point toward [Charisma]. As high as the stat was, she hadn't exactly been acing her interpersonal encounters. Plus, that made the cooldown for [Dive] even shorter.
“I actually think I might be useful in combat now,” Thesa said. The excitement wasn't enough to totally keep her worry off of Merijest, but it made her hopeful for the future.
“[Floor] 55,” Merijest [Messaged].
“I miss you,” Thesa replied instantaneously.
“You ok, Thesa?” Lelly asked. “You just turned bright red.”
Thesa tried to explain that Merijest was getting closer and that she was worried she just sent an embarrassing response, but she was not very intelligible.
“I miss you, too, kitten,” Merijest sent back.
Thesa fell over, blushing while Lelly tried to figure out what was wrong with her friend.
***
From the futon, Thesa watched Yabba cautiously explore the room. She was glad to see her [Minor Familiar] back in spirits. Yabba's perch-nose pointed at every little thing in the room as it hopped around with renewed energy.
Lelly stepped out with the [Familiars] to check something.
Thesa put her hand out for Yabba and it approached. The Nest Walker rubbed its wooden frame against Thesa's hand, looking for pets. Part of Thesa worried she might get a splinter, but she obliged anyway.
“Thesa?” Lelly's voice came through the opening [Dungeon Seal]. “There's somebody here for you.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Thesa looked up to see Merijest and immediately leapt to her feet, running to meet the demoness in an embrace. Gaunt, scarred, and bruised, Merijest staggered. Her wings were tattered and patches of hair had fallen out around her horns. Merijest tried to say something but only a cough came out.
“Don't try to talk,” Thesa said, leading the [High Devil] to the futon. “It's my turn to take care of you.”
For the rest of the day, Merijest lay in states of fitful consciousness while Thesa doted over her every need. Lelly, for her part, focused on procuring food and other supplies that might help the process.
Merijest [Messaged] Thesa something along the lines of “thank you, kitten” every couple of hours. Thesa, however, did not swoon. She was too focused on taking care of her demoness.
That night, Merijest slept on the futon, while Thesa tried (and failed) to get comfortable on the floor. In a brief window of consciousness, Merijest turned to see her [Witch] and beckoned for Thesa to join her on the futon. Thesa wasn't usually a big spoon kind of gal, but she stepped up to the challenge admirably.
***
After three days, Merijest’s consciousness became more consistent. It was time for a new haircut. Looking at her patchy, void-black hair in the bathroom mirror, she chopped away.
Thesa sat on the mushroom-cap stool, aimlessly transforming her arm into a claw and then back to normal. She was prepared to leap into protective action at a moment’s notice.
“Garteth is dead,” the demoness said. “She was the most persistent. The other two fell back after a few days, but Garteth kept after me till the bitter end. Lured her into a trap and used the disorientation to my benefit.”
Thesa nodded.
“I'm just glad you're safe,” she said.
When Merijest finished lopping off hair, she had something like an uneven buzz cut. The sight was almost enough to break Thesa's commitment to remaining focused and vigilant throughout Merijest's recovery.
***
The next day, Thesa and Merijest realized they would need to move soon.
“You keep resting,” Thesa said. “I'll get everything ready.”
While her [Witch] prepped, Merijest eyed the stack of books in the room. “Lelly, a woman of taste, I see,” the demoness called to the other room.
Lelly poked her head in, “what?”
“I see we have overlapping literary sensibilities,” Merijest chuckled as she picked up and began flipping through the latest volume of Does Falling in Love with My Arch Nemesis at Mage School Make Me a Lesbian?.
In the bathroom, Thesa cleaned her armor and checked for damage that still needed repair.
Lelly laughed, “that is the last thing I expected to learn about a demoness.”
“What can I say, living alone at the bottom of a [Dungeon] doesn't exactly provide an eventful day-to-day,” she replied.
“So did you only start reading after you became a demoness or have you always been a fan?” Lelly asked.
Merijest’s blue forehead wrinkled and her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly relaxed the expression.
“Sorry,” Lelly added, “I didn't mean to pry.”
“That's alright,” the demoness said, noticing the copy of Plume and Granby's Encyclopedia of Demons and Fiends at the bottom of the stack. “I see you've been doing some research.”
Lelly shrugged. “Thesa and I took a peak while you were gone. Sorry if that was an invasion of privacy or something,” she said genuinely. “I didn't really think about that at the time.”
“It's public information, I suppose,” Merijest sighed, pulling the book from the stack and skimming her section aloud.
“The active years, domain, and origin are correct, but the ‘Alternate Names’ are just pejoratives the Convent came up with. How could I be the saint of killers when I've never had a sapient follower?
“Lineage…” She followed the asterisk, “‘Merijest's life prior to her active years is mostly unknown.’ Ha! These hacks don't know a thing.”
“Neither do I,” Thesa said, now leaning on the bathroom doorway. “Sorry, that sounded accusative. We don't have to talk about this right now.”
“No,” Merijest sighed. “I suppose it's time to share.”