A snarling noise echoed out from the dark barrier of trees, and Servi instantly acted. She held her sword in front of her, activated Soul Essence of Primal Combat, and barked orders to Momo.

“Momo, use Lurk and throw Dazzler at me. Tarch, stay close to her!” 

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he frantically said as she tried to get behind Momo’s shadowy cloak. The shadows produced by Lurk distorted a monster’s sense the closer they get. Noises were faded, their sight became blurry, and they lost a bit of feeling in their limbs. The only way to counteract that was to move away. That was the sole reason it was the perfect skill to sneak about.

“Got it! Servi, here it comes!” a black orb appeared in Momo’s left hand as she tossed it to Servi. It landed on her and broke, producing an inaudible sound to the humanoid races but a screeching noise to those of the monster variety.  

“Good!” Servi glanced down at the back of her hand and noticed that she still some petals left.” 

Good. You won’t need to reapply it for some time. 

“HISSS!!!” a giant rat bolted from the tree line and headed straight for Servi. She followed the afterimages produced by her skill and gracefully sidestepped out of the way. It crashed into a tree with a sickening noise and collapsed.  

A moment later, it stood up and lashed out, hitting nothing but the tree. It then turned around and bared its nasty breath, showing off a mouth full of rotten teeth. Servi heard Tarch yelp as he hid behind Momo.  

“Come on!” Servi said, trying to provoke the enemy. It was the best she could do since she didn’t have the Decoy skill. 

I'll definitely buy that skill tonight. Servi thought.

The rat snarled once more before charging, this time even faster, but that didn’t matter one bit. Servi's afterimages alerted her to the danger. Sidestepping out of the way, the rat crashed into another tree.

Not missing a beat, Servi took this time to run up and stabbed her sword into the rat’s back just above the tail. She felt it going against something hard and thick, but it didn’t seem like her attack broke it. Blood splattered about, landing on Servi, but the girl didn’t care. She just wanted to inflict enough damage so the rat wouldn’t be able to get back up. 

Good hit! If I ask, why did it stop moving? 

Servi grabbed her blade and hopped back, waiting a split second for an afterimage that never came. “That's where the spine is at. If that breaks or gets damaged, the monster can’t move.” 

I can’t really say I follow.  

“I’ll explain it to you later. Momo!” Servi hollered out for her partner, who came rushing in with her sword high. Together, the two of them jabbed down until the rat twitched no more. Momo hustled back to Tarch as Servi walked over to the rat’s head.  

“I gotta make sure,” she said before she slammed her sword down, eliciting one last death cry. A red soul floated up and went inside her ring.  

As she got to work removing the claws, Momo and Tarch walked over.  

“How scary… Do you deal with that stuff every day?” Tarch asked, still behind Momo. Though he was a man, he wasn’t the bravest, but that was alright. It made sense for him to hide behind Momo, considering he hired her.  

“We did yesterday. Here’s a small tip. You saw how it was still alive, even with all of those stabs?” Tarch nodded. “Monsters like to play dead and strike when you have your guard down. It may be violent, but it’s important to stab the monster through a vital spot like the head or heart to make sure it’s actually dead,” Servi said as she finished up with the last set of claws and started on the pelt.  

“She’s right. If we would’ve walked off and had our backs turned, the rat coulda attacked us,” Momo said.  

Though I would’ve warned you.  

“Umm, Servi? Why are you getting the fur?”  

“When I went to my room last night, I overheard these two people talking about how you can sell parts over at the cash building. I asked Rakred, and he said they take all kinds of things.  This fur might be worth something,” Servi explained, slightly lying in the process. She jabbed her sword into the pelt and began to slowly separate it from the body. It was rough, doing it by hand, and she desperately wished to have Itarr do it. 

“Cash building? Rakred?” their client asked, puzzled. Momo explained it to him while he picked flowers. It was a good thing he had his back turned to the corpse. The blood that flowed when the fur ripped and yanked from its original home would cause any regular person to feel a squeeze in their stomach. Thanks to True Immortality, Servi's nose didn't have to breathe in the stench of blood and death. Everything passing through her nostrils contained nothing but the cleanest air.

“I see. Well, I do hope you two will receive a lot from it.” 

"There we go.” Servi finished up her skinning and carried the pelt and the claws to Momo. 

“If it isn’t too much trouble, can you carry this? I’ll put the claws in my pouch.” 

With a strained smile, she accepted the bloody pelt and regrettably stored it.  

“I know it’s nasty, but I promise to help clean the bag if you want me to. I know it means a lot to you.” 

A shocked look appeared on Momo’s face as she quickly spoke. “Oh—er—no. It’s not any trouble at all,” she said, but the damage was done.  

“If you say so, but when we get back to the city, I’ll head to the guild store. If I can find a cheap backpack, I'll get it.” Servi stashed the claws in a pouch and absorbed them.  

“No…you don’t have to do that….” Momo whimpered, her voice not even above a whisper. Servi already turned her back and resumed her guarding duties.  

Stupid! Why’d you have to say something like that! She thinks you’re too stuck-up to carry stuff! Stupid! Failure of a cat!  Just like that, the wonderful and perfect day Momo was having disappeared faster than a breath in the wind.  

“o….. mo…….Momo!” hearing her voice so suddenly alarmed her, and she drew her blade. Tarch ran right behind her. It was evident that something was about to happen, but Momo was too engrossed in berating herself.  

Like a vicious cycle, she would later scream and curse herself more and more for not paying attention.  

“Momo! Use Lurk and Dazzler again! I hear something coming!” Servi glanced down at her wrist and was relieved. She still had some petals left on her Protection flower.  

“R-right!” 

Once against the shadowy cloak appeared behind her and a small black orb was in her hand. Throwing it at Servi, she waited and held her sword tight.  

Activating Soul Essence of Primal Combat, Servi scanned the perimeter and waited. She slowly circled and spun around, and that was when— 

Dodge to the left! Now! 

Following Itarr’s advice, Servi dove out of the way just in time as a speeding rat bellowed through. Unfortunately, it was on a direct course through the pseudo holy space and trampled over the flowers.  

“NO!!!” Tarch yelled out, causing the rat to turn to him. Momo stood in front and held her sword in a defensive posture that her grandpa taught her.  

The rat stood still and squinted its eyes like it couldn’t see very well. That was due to the shadowy effects of Lurk, and Servi took advantage of that. She rushed forward and jammed her sword through its neck. Momo followed suit and charged, using her anger towards herself as fuel for her sword arm.  

“YAAA!” she screamed. Her sword swung down, but her accuracy was worse than a blind whale. She missed the snout and face, only managing to cut off a dirty ear. That angered the rat. A lot. Enough for him to overcome the debuffs of Lurk and its shadowy cape.  

He was staring right at her like she was nothing more than an afternoon snack. Mouth open, teeth glistening, a disgusting rotten smell was forced out.  

I don’t wanna die! I don't wanna die!!! No, someone, save me!!!!! She mentally yelled as her eyes widen, becoming big and wet with tears.  Momo's body was too frozen with the primal fear of death to move. All she could do was think about the mistakes in her attack that led to this moment. Her heart had all but ceased to beat, limiting blood flow to her limbs.  They became cold and heavy, and she struggled to remain standing.

Servi saw the future and knew what was going to happen. With a silent prayer for forgiveness, she dropped her sword and used both hands to push Momo out of the way.  

“AHHH!” she screamed as she hit the ground rolling. Her hands weren't gripping her sword, and it flew away.  Not wasting a moment, she forced herself to her feet and saw a claw in the midst of swiping across her friend's chest. Small bits of leather were scraped off as the rat followed it up with a second swipe to her arm. Thankfully, she wasn’t sleeveless like Momo, so the attack was blocked. Protection helped a good bit, as well.

In total, she didn’t receive that much damage. To be honest, Momo would’ve probably been fine if she was on the receiving end. But Servi was the tank. She couldn’t count on potential possibilities when it was her job to take the damage.  

Even after the attack, Servi stood tall as the rat backed away. Even if she didn’t have her Immortality, she would’ve been alright. However, Momo was staring at her from the side. She didn’t see the non-existent damage and therefore thought the worst had come to happen.

“SERVI!!” she screamed with her eyes full of tears.  

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it,” Servi nonchalantly said. Picking up her sword, she continued, “I’m fine. Pick up your sword, and let’s finish this bastard.” 

Through eyes cloudy with her rain, Momo nodded and picked up grandpa’s sword before taking a spot beside her partner. Meanwhile, Tarch backed up and hid behind a tree, only peeking out when he thought it was safe.

“The same plan. I’ll take point. You wait for an opening.” Without waiting for a reply, Servi charged forward and started ‘dancing,’ as Momo would call it, with the rat.  

Then she saw her chance. The rat had its back turned to Momo, but it took a quick glance when it executed a tailspin. Momo took advantage of that and charged in right after the spin was over. Its world should have been dizzy, especially considering the blood flowing from its neck. It wasn’t a heavy hit, but it also wasn’t something it could shake away.  

With her sword held out and fueled by something other than rage, she didn’t attempt something like a swipe or a slash. No, she aimed for its body, thrusting deep, and was rewarded by a cry. A moment later, Servi used that pain to slash with her sword. Then Momo used that moment to make her attacked. In sync and using each other’s attacks as camouflage, the rat soon died. Its body filled with countless slashes and slices and thrusts and pummels.  

This time, Momo walked over and slammed her sword into its head.

Nothing. No response. Not even a final death cry.

Without a word, Servi went to slicing off the claws and brutally skinning the fur. She put far less concern into the appearance and quality of this one than the last. This time, Momo stored the pelt without any word of protest. Servi, meanwhile, absorbed the claws after she placed them in her pouch.  

“Good job, you two,” Tarch said as he rounded the tree. “I should be almost done pick— GAH!” he yelped in fear, and the two friends took up their swords but didn’t see anything.  

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re just covered with blood, and I got a bit scared.” 

Momo glanced down and groaned. She hated laundry. More than that, she hated how she acted during this quest. With a Singi's speed, she launched herself at Servi and quickly examined the spot where she was attacked.  

“Servi, are you ok? Did it hurt you? Here, take a potion? I’m sorry. It was my fault. I shoulda been paying attention, and I should’ve aimed better and—” 

“It’s okay. I’m the tank, right? Remember, I have Protection, so I’m fine. See?” Servi used her hand to go over the claw marks. “I did get scratched, but the leather didn’t break. I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard.” 

“Forget about that! I was afraid you were hurt!” Momo raised her voice a bit, and Servi did so in return. Deep down inside, they both didn't mean to.

“And I was worried about you! That attack could’ve done some bad damage! Remember, we still have two health potions left. It’s fine if I take a hit or two. My armor covers my arms, but yours don’t. If you took the hit, your arms would look like a scratching post! And then we’d be probably dealing with an infection.” 

“…” 

“…” 

The two stared at each other for but a moment before a voice reminded them that they weren’t alone.  

“So….I’m gonna go and get the rest of the flowers. I just need a few more,” Tarch awkwardly said. He read about it in his books on adventuring. Arguments between party members during the middle of a quest were often looked down upon because it was impossible to predict what would happen. One could argue one minute, and the next, they’d be dead by an ogre or a troll. If there was to be an argument, it’d be best to do so after the quest was complete.

Momo knew this deep down, but Servi didn’t. She had no memories of that, even though she retained general knowledge stuff like anatomy and sex.

Great. I yelled at Servi, but I’m not at fault. I don’t wanna see her in pain, just like she doesn’t want to see me hurt. Even worse, we argued in front of a client. Stupid cat! We were supposed to protect. That’s like the worse thing you can do besides letting them die or robbing them. You stupid cat…

Itarr, unaware of what was going on, asked Servi for an explanation.  

Is everything ok? 

Servi sighed and explained it to Itarr.  

So she’s upset at you because you saved her, but she’s mad at you because you did? Did I get that right? 

Momo glanced over and saw Servi’s mouth moving, but she didn’t know why. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last.  

I’m gonna have to say sorry, but when? She thought, then panicked when Servi walked over.  

“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I had no right to. But try to see it from my perspective. What I’m wearing is way more protective than what you have on, and I don’t mean it in a bad way. If it’ll make you feel at ease, why don’t we stop by the guild store to look for a shield? Please don’t be mad at me,” she said as she rubbed her head. Though that was probably a mistake. Servi still had blood on her hands from skinning and declawing the rat, and her beautiful black hair had streaks of red going down.  

“I’m sorry, too. I was the one who raised my voice first. I know you pushed me because you didn’t want me to get hurt. I know you don’t like it, but let me pay for half of the shield. We're party members, after all. We gotta take care of each other.” 

“Deal,” Servi extended her hand, and Momo grabbed it, shaking.

“Hey, take this. You have some blood on you,” Momo reached into her bag and pulled out two cloths they promptly used to wipe away the blood from their face, clothes, weapons, and hair. Afterwards, Momo put them back, and Servi thanked her. Momo only nodded and continued speaking.

“I have one more thing to apologize for. I didn’t mean to act like I did when you gave that pelt to carry. And don’t think you have to buy a backpack because of me.” 

“Don’t be sorry. I’d probably feel the same way if someone told me to store such a thing. If I get my own backpack, then I can carry some stuff as well. These pouches are small, after all.” 

“Alright, but if I need to store anything, then please let me know. Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

After having a brief moment to cool off, the two smiled at each other. A second later, a voice interrupted the pair.

'You two made up already?” Tarch said, his basket full of shiroblooms. He walked over and gave ten flowers to Servi. She put them in her pouch and absorbed them.  

“Here ya go. Ten flowers as promised. When we get back to the house, I’ll give you a paper I got from the guild.” 

“You mean completion paper?” Momo asked.

“Yep. So if you two are ready, shall we get going?” 

“Yep,” Momo said as she took the rear position. Servi took the front and refreshed Protection before they left.  

About halfway through the walk, Servi spoke to Tarch. “I know it was unprofessional for us to argue like that during a quest, and I completely understand if you report that to the office.” Wait, how do I know that? Well, I guess it's just common sense, right? Arguing in front of a paying client is a major no-no in every part of the world.

“It’s fine. I mean, have you ever met friends who didn’t argue? And besides, from what I’ve seen,” Tarch quickened his place until he was whispering in her ear, “She wasn’t mad. She was sad. Sad that her friend was injured and attacked because of a mistake she made.” 

“I didn’t think about it that way, but thank you.” 

“You’re most welcome,” he sleuthed back to the middle of the formation.

---

Twenty-five minutes later, the outline of Luqa came into view. Soon after, Tarch sat the basket of flowers on a table inside his house. Servi and Momo grabbed a chair and sat down.  

As an Earth Elf, Tarch and his family found themselves most comfortable around nature. That was the reason why there wasn't any metal or stone inside his house. Everything was wood, except for the food, of course.  

Oh wow, I’m so nervous. Momo fidgeted in her chair. She couldn’t get calm, and even though she and Servi made up, the fight they had resounded in her mind.  

“I must thank you two for a good job. I’m sure we have some leftover chicken salad sandwiches,” Tarch said with his head inside a cabinet. “We just made them this morning, so they’re still cold... Ah, here they are,” he reached in and pulled out four small bags, each with a sandwich inside.  

He placed the bags on the table.  

“Umm, Tarch, we can’t possibly take these,” Momo said even as her mouth drooled a bit, her actions betraying her words.  

“Please, I insist. Perhaps you two could share these on the way back. If I’m remembering right, it’s about an hour to reach Canary.” 

“Thank you, Tarch. We appreciate it,” Servi grabbed the bags and put them in her pouch, absorbing them. Immediately, she thought that Momo would look at her funny because she took all four, but she had nothing to worry about. 

About that time, Momo and Servi stood up. Tarch took this as his cue to hand over the completion paper. Servi glanced it over and was told to give it to a receptionist at Warden.

“Have a safe return!” he waved the two friends off from his front porch.  

“See ya.” 

“Bye-bye, Tarch!” Momo waved back as Servi threw up a hand.  

“Oh, we need to stop by the barn to see his dad. He said he was gonna give us some milk.” 

It was good Momo said something because Servi had forgotten all about it.

“Long time no see! Have any trouble?” Tarch’s father said. He had two bottles of cold milk in his hand. Momo graciously took them.  

“It wasn’t much trouble at all. Two giant rats attacked us, but we got them,” Servi reported.  

“Good. Very good. You two be safe on the walk back. You did receive the completion sheet from my son, right? 

“We did, and we will. Thank you for the milk.” The two thanked the man and made their back to Canary.  

About halfway back, Servi spoke to break the awkward silence that brewed between the two. Even though they ‘made up,’ it was anything but. A rift between new friends over something important to the both of them was not something that would be mended by brief words alone. Only proper actions could sew the wound before it spiraled out of control.

It might be a good time to properly make up. You two could share that food you got from Tarch.  

“Hey.” 

“Hey,” Momo said back.  

“I still feel a bit—” 

“Servi?” In an uncharacteristic move, Momo interrupted her friend.  

“Yes?” 

“I still feel a bit sad about our little fight,” Momo said what Servi planned on saying.

“I do too.” 

“I’m about to drive myself crazy. I keep thinking about it. That’s not healthy, is it?” 

“Probably not, but I’m guilty of the same thing.” 

“I see….” 

“Momo?” 

“Yes?” 

Servi pulled out the four sandwiches. Seeing what she was doing, Momo retrieved the two bottles of milk from her bag.

“Why don’t we have a picnic? We can eat and put this thing behind us. We already made up, so there isn’t any use on either of us dwelling on the past, right?” Servi walked over to the side of the road and found a nice shaded spot provided by a beautiful and sturdy tree. Momo followed.  

“That sounds wonderful,” Momo said. She reached deep in her bag and pulled out a red cloth. It was long and wide, like a bedspread. Servi and Momo took a seat after the Singi laid it out. Then reaching into her bag, she took out the two bottles of milk and gave one to her friend.  

Servi gave two sandwiches to Momo.

With her stomach rumbling, Momo couldn't wait any longer and bit into it.

“My goodness! This is delicious!” she said before taking a second bite.  

Since it was so good, Servi didn’t waste any time.  

“You’re right! Momo?” 

“Yes?” the girl in question said after downing a sip of her milk. It was still so cold, and it was the tastiest milk she’d ever drunk.  

“When we get stronger, do you wanna go back to Luqa?” 

“I do. It'd be nice seeing Tarch and his dad again, and I could stop by the barns and pet the cows and horses again.” 

The two enjoyed a little talk filled with all sorts of stuff. Eventually, their milk sandwiches dried up and vanished, respectively. 

As the two stood up, Momo started to fold up her red cloth but froze. There was something she needed and wanted to know but was afraid to ask. Actually, there were multiple things, but one stood out above all else.  

“Umm…..” 

I need to ask.  

“Yeah?” Servi asked as she took in a deep breath.  

“…….” 

You stupid cat, ask already! You need to know if she hates you! 

“Momo?” since Servi didn’t get a response, she turned around and saw her friend staring at the ground with the red cloth folded neatly in her arms.

When the girl in question glanced up and saw two red eyes staring, she quickly changed subjects and asked a different question. Unfortunately, it was something they’d already agreed upon. “Never mind. Hey, what ya wanna do when we get back? Look at shields?” 

Servi nodded. Even though she knew something was wrong, she didn’t want to press the issue.  

I dare say she has something on her mind. Perhaps it’s still the fight? But something doesn’t add up. Didn't you two agree to get over it? 

“I did too, but I’ll wait until she wants to tell me.” 

After tidying up, the two resumed their minor journey back to the city. The calmness of the open plains, as well as the mystical air of the forest, would be soon behind them.