Yuzuru groaned. Sounds fluttered in front of him. He tasted colors. He felt footsteps approaching. He knew he had to get up but he couldn’t find where his body was. Everything was blurred into a hodgepodge of sensations. Children were giggling and men were shouting, then he heard a voice suspiciously like Taiga's calling to him.

It's official, he thought. My brain has been reduced to mush.

Hands turned him over. “No,” he groaned, flailing feebly with his jellied limbs. “My bones don’t make good compost.”

The hands kept pulling at him. He was turned onto his back. The nausea was overwhelming.

“Oh dear,” Taiga said. "Did they eat your brain already?"

Yuzuru’s eyes snapped open. He stared, gobsmacked, at those familiar black ears and bright yellow eyes, and…

He reached around and grabbed Taiga’s tail. It was real. She was real.

“God," he said. "Am I… dead?”

“You will be if you don’t let go,” Taiga promised him. With her help, Yuzuru managed to stand. He wobbled as the world and reality fell back into place.

“The bandits!” he gasped, pulling Taiga behind him. But no one came at them. Instead, like a bunch of mindless zombies, the bandits raced after Taiga’s kids. Yuzuru let out a cry of dismay, which turned into surprised laughter as he saw how the children were running circles around the men. He watched as Leona led one bandit to a wall, stepping up it and flipping over his head. The bandit couldn’t stop in time and crashed face-first into ragged stone.

“They’re amazing,” Yuzuru said to Taiga. “Are you all like this?”

“More or less,” Taiga said, stepping past him. Cracking her knuckles, she dropped low to the floor and sprang into the fray. Blood sprayed across the stone as the rest of the men fell, their legs and faces opened by her claws.

Up on her pedestal, Gweyn watched with an unsettled expression. She held the goblet in her shaking hand, and when the chaos died down, tipped it in Taiga's direction.

“Bravo,” she said. “For a kitty, you have some guts.” Wine drizzled from the cup, washing over the minotaur’s head. “Kill them. All except the human.”

The minotaur unfurled to his full height and jumped down to the ground. The entire cavern shook as it landed, stalactites crashing from the ceiling. The bats resting between them swarmed for the entrance.

Yuzuru tackled Taiga just as a column of rock crashed down on them. “Everyone run!” he shouted.

The children scattered. Yuzuru climbed off of Taiga and tried to help her stand, but the minotaur grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him across the cavern. Yuzuru slammed into the wall, nearly losing consciousness again.

A bull-shaped shadow fell over him. He looked up to see the minotaur raising its massive fists.

“That’s the wrong person, dumbass!” Gweyn cried, but it was too late. The fists came down. Yuzuru braced himself.

Taiga vaulted on the monster’s back. Grabbing the minotaur’s horns she shouted, "How do you like your steak?"

The monster’s angry roar was nothing compared to the inferno which consumed him.

Yuzuru cringed from the blistering light. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the brilliant colors of fire. Waves of heat washed over him, drying the moisture from his skin. Then it was over. The minotaur fell into a crunchy heap, smoke drifting from its charred remains.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Taiga hopped off its back, beaming. “This is how you fight a minotaur,” she said, reaching down for Yuzuru.

“I don’t think you can eat that, Taiga,” he told her, kicking at the burned monster.

Taiga rolled her eyes. “I didn’t actually mean that,” she said. Her hand shot out suddenly, snagging onto the back of Gweyn’s cape. “In a hurry, now, are we?"

Gweyn turned, chuckling dryly. “I actually have a dentist appointment I really need to get to.”

“Sure, sure,” said Taiga. “Aim for the bullseye, Likar.”

A rock flew out of the darkness, smacking into Gweyn. She yowled, clutching the back of her head.

Taiga threw Gweyn to the ground, straddling her chest. With her claws out, she got ready to rip and tear.

“Stop!” Gweyn cried. “I give up. You win. Alright? Congratulations, quest complete!”

Cheers echoed through the cavern as the orphans scuttled out of the dark.

Yuzuru held his arms open for Leona. The little girl ran in to give him a hug. “We totally rescued you,” she said.

“That you did,” Yuzuru agreed. “But why are you here?”

Leona beamed. “It was my idea.”

“To follow me?”

“To join you to the city, dummy.”

Yuzuru hugged her back tightly. "Thanks."

“Yuzuru.”

Yuzuru turned to Taiga, who was still sitting on Gweyn. She poked Gweyn’s cheek and said, “Repeat that last bit.”

Coming over, Yuzuru saw that Gweyn was smiling. “I know who you are,” she said.

“And I know you've got a touch of the bat-shits,” Yuzuru said.

Gweyn chortled. “I'll come clean. I know you’re a traveler called Yuzuru Sato, and I know you’re looking for someone named Honoka.”

That stopped Yuzuru in his tracks. Seeing his expression change, Gweyn went on. “I know where she went. Most importantly, I know how to get you there.”

“You’re a liar,” Taiga hissed.

“I’m a survivor,” Gweyn said. “I live by making deals with winners.” She turned her head left and right, then sighed. “And it looks like I’m going to need a new deal.”

“Liar liar,” said Likar, the leopard-boy who threw the rock. “Pants on fire.”

"Now that's an expression," Gweyn said.

Likar beamed. "I learned it from Lady Honoka."

“You heard him, folks," Gweyn said. "If I’m lying, my naked underside would be in flames right now.”

“Don’t be gross,” Taiga snapped. She turned to Yuzuru and said, “It's your decision what to do with her. She seems to know things normal people shouldn't, but she's not a traveler."

"How can you be sure of that?" Yuzuru asked.

"Travelers come in two forms," Taiga said. "Wide-eyed naivety like you, or so wise you think you've met divinity in the flesh, like Honoka was."

"And I'm neither," Gweyn said. "But let's also not forget the whole bat-situation." She wriggled the two leathery wings beneath her.

Yuzuru walked over to one of the bandits. The man was long dead. A stalactite had skewered right through his chest, poor sod. Yuzuru took the man’s dagger. It was a plain blade wrapped in a leather grip, but sharp enough to cut.

“Let her go, Taiga.”

Taiga hesitated, but obliged.

Gweyn climbed back up. She stretched, moaning in relief. Yuzuru held the blade hilt-first towards her. “Draw me a map on the ground, to the place Honoka went.”

Gweyn shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m terrible at art. If you want to follow my map, you better be ready to end up in the swamplands.”

Yuzuru slid the dagger into his own belt. “That was probably not the answer you should've gone with.”

Taiga stepped forward and raised her arm.

“Gold,” said Gweyn quickly. “Did I mention I have gold? I have a safe house in Bronzehaven. It's inside one of the flower vases. The blue one... or was it the red?”

Taiga’s claws hovered an inch away from Gweyn’s throat. “What makes you think I need it?"

Gweyn touched Taiga’s nails and nudged them away. “Well, you're a little young to have so many kids, for one. You're chasing after a traveler too, which means you either love him or you need him."

Tagia's cheeks turned pink. "You're insane," she said.

“It's seasonal,” Gweyn said with a wink.

The kids started wandering around the cave, pulling on this, tugging on that. There were no more people left. Even the servant girls who poured wine for Gweyn had fled.

“Come on, we're not kids.” Yuzuru stood between the two girls. "There's no reason for name calling." Taking Taiga’s hand, he gently lowered her arm and directed her away from Gweyn. Stepping her aside, he asked her gently, “Are you really following me to the city?" When she hesitated to answer, he added, "Leona told me."

Taiga looked away, then sighed. “Yes. It’s a long shot, but I meant it when I said I couldn’t keep them safe anymore. We need a new start, somewhere behind the protection of walls.”

"Which means you need money," Yuzuru said. “Do you have a plan?”

Taiga bit her lip, then shook her head.

“Then it’s settled.” Yuzuru went back to Gweyn and held out his hand. “I can’t believe I’m saying this to someone who just tried to grind my bones to dust, but welcome to the party.”

For the briefest moment, Gweyn seemed genuinely surprised. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open, revealing the tiniest of fangs. She scratched her cheek with a finger, and then laughed for real. “Honestly,” she said, taking Yuzuru’s hand. “I didn’t think this day would actually come.”