Back at Rafe and Eryn’s place, I counted out coins. “For the damage to your table, and to Onar’s counter,” I explained.

Rafe and Eryn shared a look. A frown, a twist of a lip, a raised eyebrow. More was being communicated without words than I could ever hope to understand. For a moment I feared a repeat of the scene with Meg, where they would refuse to accept my payment. Then Eryn calmly stated an amount nearly twice as high as what I had offered.

I shook my head but neglected to actively barter with her over the price.

As soon as I began adding the requested amount to the pile of coins, Eryn started listing more prices. For Onar’s broken pitchfork. For the room I had rented from them. For four days of looking after my horse.

I was glad all of those only cost me coppers, because the list of fees was bringing me dangerously close to broke. I couldn’t even protest about the exorbitant room fee without looking like a fool. I had vehemently insisted I pay for it just days ago.

Once they were done fleecing me for every coin I owned, Rafe produced a recognizable slip of paper. Proof of slaying. He placed a significant amount of the money I had just paid them on top of it and shoved it my way. “For the ahuizotl,” he insisted.

This, I was going to barter on. I counted what he had just offered me, rounded it up to a number divisible by three, and named that in response. “There were three, not one.” I offered as my reason.

Rafe shrugged and piled on what was missing without complaining. I should have asked for more, way more. I hadn’t even asked for anything in exchange for taking care of Uncle Tare. Once again I was being too kind. Story of my life.

I pocketed my payment and the proof of slaying. Grabbing the last of my stuff I headed out, followed by both Rafe and Eryn. My horse was already waiting for me. Someone must have readied it while I was busy taking care of payment. I couldn’t instantly tell who because half the town was there to see me off.

After a quick pat on Fern’s neck, I checked the gear stowed on her back. All of it was accounted for. I rearranged some things. Rafe handed me my crossbow and the few other possessions I had left in their room in my hasty flight days ago.

Finally ready to go, I hoisted myself into the saddle. Fern gave me her best derisive snort and a shake of her head. I stroked her mane. This only granted me an even bigger snort. I got her message. If the silly bean can only be kind to her horse when she needed it then the silly bean should not try at all.

“Sorry girl, I’ll do better next time,” I apologized to my horse.

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Steering Fern around I said my goodbyes to everyone in turn. Then I nudged my horse towards Gery and Meg. They had done so much for me they deserved a special kind of goodbye. I reached down and Meg obliged, handing me both the little gremlin and the nibble. I placed both kids in front of me, their own little honorary throne on the back of the one and only Fern, noble steed of the demon-slayer Vale.

Little kids and horses.

Never gets old.

“You take care of yourself girl,” Gery told me when I handed the kids back.

“Don’t be so dramatic old man.” I slapped him on the shoulder. If everyone else got to call me a kid then I was going to start calling them old man. “I’ll be here to give these gloves of yours back as soon as I’ve bought some new ones in Rivenston.”

Then, with a final wave, I set off, east out of town, then south towards Rivenston. I only made one last stop before leaving. There was one person who had not been there to see me off. And as much as she annoyed me sometimes, I was not just going to up and disappear on her. Not now that I had gotten a handle on her, had begun to respect her a little more.

An overly-outspoken worrywart, that was what Gery had called her. It was truer than I could have imagined. She cared about people, worried about them, maybe even about me. She voiced that care and worry loudly, unfiltered, unbridled. I had fretted endlessly about her angry rants, still had some of them stuck in my head. But that was good. Angry, pissed off, furious Reya was good. It meant she cared about you enough to get angry at.

Now, I had not seen her since late yesterday afternoon. Not this morning, when I had set out for Onar, and not even now to see me off. That was bad. It meant I had genuinely pissed her off now, to the point that she was avoiding me, that she was not venting her frustration at me in my face anymore.

After a bit of blindly sniffing around her plot of land I managed to locate her working in the field, silently fuming as she attacked weeds with a fervor and anger she would likely much rather release on me. That she was acting out like this, instead of mere calculated coldness, meant I hopefully still had an easy chance of patching things up. That she had not vented this anger in front of everyone else even showed a remarkable amount of restraint on her part.

“Reya?” I asked her.

“Vale.” She huffed in obvious annoyance.

“What did I mess up now Reya?” I asked bluntly, hoping that showing her the directness and honesty she so appreciated would help.

“Oh, I don’t know Vale,” she ranted. “But last I checked you were apparently having dinner with half the town last night, including with me. Strangely enough, no one actually had you over for dinner.”

I winced, blushed.

Oops.

Her glare broke at my blush.

I tried on a half-hearted, deferential smile.

She returned a predatory grin.

Town predators, she and I both, jockeying for position. I had lost to her. I had lost long ago. It was what had thrown me off every time I was near her, I had simply never experienced not being the alpha-predator before. If only it had not taken me this long to realize, then we would have gotten along much sooner.

“You leaving?” she asked after we were done laughing at our own foolishness.

“Hah no!” I laughed, wildly shaking my head. My ever recalcitrant hair, that I had taken so much care to wrangle into proper braids, came undone again. “I like it here, and Rafe’s letting me stay.”

Stating that out loud, it was incredible how good that felt. I could still hardly imagine it. An entire town knew what I was, and close to all of them were fine with it. I could stay here for a while, maybe a week or two, or a month if I wanted to risk it, and just... be myself.