Elizabeth wasn't able to do much reading before someone knocked on the door to her dismay. The teen looked up from the passage she'd been underlining and frowned. “Hm? Catherine, is that you out there?”

She hoped so. That way she could talk to the elf one on one about everything that had gone down. But to her surprise the muffled answer wasn't from the blonde. “Selene?” She asked in disbelief, her eyes wide.

The doorknob turned and the woman walked in with the door baking against the wall in her haste. The fox was dressed differently compared to the last time the pair had seen each other.

Which was longer than the teenager realized. Instead of a comically out of place outfit the anamorphic human was draped in a heavy sweatshirt. Underneath was thick pants built to withstand her tail and the cold weather.

The modern clothes weren't strange to see as most new players came in with similar get upset. Her shirt had the game's mascot on it, showing its distinction. There was also the lack of his mischievous personality that the brunette had briefly encountered.

Selene had a frantic expression in her eyes that made the teenager tense. “Are you alright?” She asked with her behavior causing Sprinkles and Pudding to cling to her protectively.

The fox's ears settled down on her head reminding Elizabeth of a wounded puppy dog. The door closed with a soft click as she came closer and sat down across from her. “Catherine messaged me earlier.”

These words made the brunette laugh nervously and rub at her cheek. She was embarrassed that the older woman knew of her failure. The girl could only hope that the elf's lack of social skills meant she hadn't told anyone else.

She would melt if she found out Yuki and Jake were worried sick about her safety. The first thing that came to mind was for her to lie to the fox so that she wasn't panicked.

She opened her mouth and the cool air hit the back of her throat making her cough. The cough was heavy and wet. With Elizabeth hacking and wheezing as she tried to quiet herself down. Quickly, she covered her mouth as Selene's lips fell into a deep frown.

To downplay what happened by saying she was all good and that she could attempt the mission again. But her voice still sounded weak. Her body still looked sweaty and she was positive that her clothes had a foul smell to them.

There was no way that Selene would believe her when she could barely speak without wincing. The teenager could see the worry growing with her silence and she hated that she was making her friend so distraught.

She just smiled and made sure to look her friend in the eye. “Yeah. It didn't go as planned but I promise I'll be alright! Please, don't stress about it.”

Her words didn't sate the deep distraught in the fox. The woman reached across the table and grabbed her hands. Immediately Sprinkles attached itself to Selene to both of their surprise.

It wasn't a malicious act and it wasn't like how territorial Pudding had acted before. The ball of glitter instead was wrapping itself around Selene with a carefree expression.

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Elizabeth was relieved by this and the tenderness between the pair grew. Selene brought the multicolored slime to her chest and cuddled it close. Then she looked back up at the curly-haired girl and blurted out a mess.

“I wanted to talk to you because I had told Catherine to take you with her. She's antisocial you know? Kind of mean but she's really not. You just have to let her talk and she'll become a sweetheart.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “But none of you guys really gave her a chance to talk and it was really bothering me. It got under my skin.”

Her free hand twirled some hair as she continued her confession. “She'd been struggling to connect so I suggested the mission. It wasn't too much of a mission really but a fun bonding moment for you two. You're similar.”

Selene's voice became much more remorseful as she stuttered. “I had no idea the path would be so dangerous. Catherine didn't either so when she told me you'd gotten hurt I rushed over here.” Her guilt over not properly researching the path was thick and heavy.

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Selene and Catherine setting up a situation to bond with the maid was hilarious to think about. It made a lot of sense when she thought of how the elf really didn't explain much.

The plan she'd been given was incredibly vague and the brunette chose to go with the flow. Still, she would have appreciated being told the truth so she hadn't gotten so worked up over being useful.

All that stress and anxiety had been for nothing. She had been so worried when it was all a ruse. A thoughtful ruse. A warm feeling blossomed in her chest as she realized that she'd become so well liked that someone was willing to do that to befriend her.

The teenager had never been an ultra popular girl. She'd never been the it girl who everyone dreamed of talking to and hanging out with. This was a taste of that and she really appreciated it.

No wonder why everyone lusted after their high school years of being the cool girl. Then the guilt came over judging the elf so openly that they thought this was the only way they could bond.

Because, she had technically been gossiping about the woman even if it wasn't out of hate. Elizabeth wondered how much of the rest of the guild's curiosity about Catherine had bothered the woman.

She realized that she had a right to be mad about their scheme leading to her injury. Even if it by complete happenstance if the pair had done research they'd have seen the dangers and changed course.

So, she had a reason to be upset. As did the pair for their side of things. Catherine had all the reason to be annoyed at being misjudged due to her antisocial personality. As did the fox woman for her friend becoming the subject of careless comments.

Elizabeth definitely felt she'd been careless thinking that Catherine must be awful for not jumping to speak to her. A real hypocrite. With all this in mind she felt it was best to let bygones be bygones. To just move on to other problems.

“It's all good. I'd prefer to talk to Catherine about all this, though.” That was something the teenager felt was necessary to get the full truth about it all.

It wasn't that she thought Selene was lying. She just figured that the elf would be better to discuss with as she was the subject matter. Selene seemed to catch onto what she meant as the conversation shifted.

The pair spoke about mundane things like what the fox had been up to. Elizabeth was sad that they hadn't seen each other very much and the older woman was apologetic.

She explained that school was becoming quite a lot and she had to take time to herself. Then that free time became swallowed up by her work extending her schedule. This really left her no time to sit and play.

“Retail is such a pain.” The woman entertained Sprinkles who was growing to love it's new friend. “You're running back and forth to please strangers.”

“When your break comes, suddenly someone dropped a champagne glass and now you have to clean it up. Then when you finish you debate even trying to eat during your break as eating makes you tired. And you can't take a nap because you have to go right back on the clock.” She ranted.

And ranted. And ranted. Selene was someone that Elizabeth was finding out to be incredibly talkative. She was expressive with her hands moving as she recalled her work days and her eyes aflame when remembering bad grades.

It was amusing to the teenager who just nodded and patted Pudding. The slime was surprisingly mellow with the curly-haired girl guessing that it was exhausted. She wouldn't be shocked to find that it refused to sleep while waiting for her to safely return.

The large slime sat with a peaceful expression and bounced every once in a while as proof of being alive. Elizabeth rubbed her palm against its sleek skin, earning her a soft purr.

This moment of peace was something Elizabeth was grateful for. Having her ear talked off allowed her to relax and sink into her slime cushion.

She still felt weak but she wanted to enjoy her time with everyone for now. The older woman's talk of having to take a break rang a bell in her mind. Along with the dozen of other comments her friends and mother had made.

The flytrap had been a wake up call. Not that she was risking her life but that it was okay to take a moment to herself. That she was actually not as bad as she thought she was, that the teenager was pretty well liked. This quieted her rampant anxiety and allowed her to stretch her arms for once.