“Srassa, do you want us to walk you home?” asked Momo, who happily squeezed Servi’s hand. She had her head turned upwards to the sea of stars, staring at the little lights. They glimmered so brightly, even though they were so far away. Even still, she reached a free hand up and tried to grasp one, which only ended in failure.
“I’ll be fine, Momo. Whenever Jony isn’t available, father has ordered one of the security companies that protect our house to send someone to watch me. It’s a long-standing order, which pretty much means he pays for it in advance. In January, he paid for a year’s worth, but it’s seldom used because I usually have Jony beside me…”
“I see… Srassa, it really was nice you ran into us. Servy and I really like spending time with you.”
“And I like being with you two as well… To be honest, I did walk to Warden earlier, but the innkeeper was far too busy to tell me what room you two were staying in. I really wanted you and Servi to see me in my armor.” Srassa leaned against the handrail of the steps leading to Warden’s entrance. She held a hand to her hood and brought it down, allowing the nightly breeze to dance with her golden locks. They swayed ever gently, giving rise to the beauty known as Srassa. She tucked a few strands behind her ears and fumbled her fingers around her hand.
“I guess I should be getting back… We’re planning to leave early…”
“Okay… I guess I won’t be able to see you off tomorrow, but take this…”
“Take wha—” The words in her throat became caught when Momo wrapped her unoccupied hand around Srassa's back. She leaned in, giving her second favorite Human a friendly, affectionate hug. Servi joined in as well, completing the group embrace.
“You’re probably nervous about the quest, but I know you’ve got this!! And when we go to Claire's house, I want to hear all about it, okay? And Servy does, too.”
“Yes… Okay,” whispered Srassa. Her voice came out in parts, held back by the crying that wanted to emerge. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around her friends.
I… I really want to go on an adventure with you and Servi, Momo… I really do… Just the three of us… I… I think there is something else, but what is it…? Why…do I feel like this? Why does my chest hurt…?
“I promise I’ll have a tale worth sharing…” I won't mess up this time! I have to work harder... I need to work harder... Srassa wiped her eyes and confidently smiled, hiding the pain within her bosom. Momo liked that determination she saw, so when she watched Srassa walk back towards the noble district, she saw her off while being proud to have her as both a companion and a rival.
“Well, it’s been a long day… Are you sleepy? I know I—Woah!” As Momo spoke, Servi suddenly started walking away from Warden and down the street, going opposite of Srassa. And since Momo absolutely refused to let go, she was more than happy to go along with whatever Servi wanted to do.
She’s finally doing something for herself now… That’s good… Really good…
“Is this what you wanted me to see?” said Momo. She stared down at a makeshift camp located within the heart of the slums near one of the city’s walls. The surrounding buildings, which once were in various stages of disrepair, had been torn down and recycled to make smaller homes. It was these houses that offered three walls and a roof to protect against the elements, but they weren’t so much bigger than an average tent. People were out and about, doing whatever their lives willed them to do. Some were trying to fall asleep while staving off the uncomfortableness of hunger. Others were trying to use the newly constructed well to stave off hunger by overdrinking.
What food there was being used to feed the children.
And there wasn’t enough. Even from standing atop a platform from air some twenty meters up, Momo heard the agony in their voices.
“That’s all we’ve gathered today,” said an elderly woman. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, this old woman was the same surgeon at the back-alley clinic Servi was at the day prior. She was giving bad news to a mother and her two children, who took the information with a sad sigh. They were sitting around a small fire, which flickered with the strength of a newborn. Its dying embers struggled to survive in this cruel, cruel world.
“Just once, I want my boys to know what it’s like having a full stomach…” bemoaned the mother, who placed her weak hands on top of her starving children. A horrific thought tumbled in her mind. She did have the unique chance to sell her body for money, but due to a nasty incident involving a rusty knife, a portion of her face was as black as sin. Even now, the sickness was spreading across her face, and soon, it would reach her throat. Next would be her lungs and heart. Her last breath would follow soon after, and that fearful day wasn’t that far off.
And men, even as desperate as some might be, weren't that lustful to potentially gather whatever disease that ostracized the woman and caused her so much pain and heartache.
Momo turned to look a humanoid-like shape of writhing shadow. Then she looked down and saw the same tendrils cover her own body.
Earlier, Itarr had activated The Shadow’s Embrace and shared its effects with Momo, which cut its duration in half. That downside was eliminated by Servi’s impressive stockpile of souls, giving her literal hours. Those hours stretched to infinity because the Skill Energy was regenerated faster than it was being drained.
Momo looked down at her unoccupied hand and saw a gray ring wrapped around her middle finger. It was attached to a chain that came from the shadowy gauntlet on her forearm. From what Servi had said, she only needed to give it a bit of a pull to extend the deadly blade housed within, but Momo didn’t even want to do that. Not even to see how it all worked. Experimenting with that while being face to face with the cruelty of the world just didn’t sit right with her.
“Servy, I see that well. It looks kinda cool with it being all metal. But… Are you going to do anything?” It was an innocent question, one that was not loaded with any hidden meaning. Servi walked forward, and Momo trailed behind as they descended a set of invisible stairs. When they reached the ground, Servi kept charging ahead. The people and ‘tents’ she barreled through passed right by her body.
She and Momo were currently blessed by the fragmented universe of non-existence. Whatever was in the world of the living could not affect them in any manner unless Itarr wanted it to. Likewise, they couldn’t harm or touch the realm of existence unless Itarr purposely willed it to be. That went for the five senses as well, and in this case, everything but sight, touch, and hearing was halted.
“Servy, if we keep walking…” Momo started to speak, then tapered off. She kept her mouth shut until Servi came to a complete stop a few centimeters away from the old woman and her conversation partner.
The once surgeon was dressed in a wool kirtle. In a pinch, it made for an excellent bandage if an emergency reared its ugly head. And the numerous gaps of missing fabric in the bottom told a story that was recited far too often for anyone’s taste.
The dying flame passed right by Momo’s body, sending a faint flicker to the tent behind her.
Suddenly, it started to rapidly grow in strength. That attracted quite a bit of attention. The woman gasped at the brightening light, and the mother shielded her two darling children with her life.
“What’s happening?!?!” shouted a man that was missing an eye. He hobbled over a sleeping bum, nearly falling, and asked the question a second time. No one could answer it since everyone’s attention was monopolized by the ravenous flame.
When it reached the suitable, perfect size for its enclosure, the fire stabilized after Itarr placed a few final commands. She ordered it to burn for another 12 hours, and it had enough Skill Energy packed into it that only a literal typhoon could extinguish it.
Then it happened. The shadows blanketing Servi vanished, allowing her to exist in the universe once more. Her sudden appearance sent a hundred panicked gasps escaping into the atmosphere, but only one of those wasn't out of fear.
“It’s you!!! It’s you!!! I… I thought I wouldn’t ever see you again!!” cried the old woman. She had her arms up and rushed to Servi, grabbing and shaking her by the shoulder.
Momo watched all this happen as a bystander from a different dimension. And even though she was clearly grasping her hand around Servi’s fingers, her touch wasn’t reflected in the eyes of the needy around her. They saw a woman, and only a woman—nothing else.
Servi vanished as quickly as she appeared, causing some to believe that what they witnessed was nothing but a hallucination. Her disappearance was followed by 20,000 stacks of Deus Lux, the penultimate healing skill. Everyone within the camp was blessed with a warm, holy light that cured most of their maladies. Anything more serious would have to be cured by a unique skill, but luckily for Servi and Itarr, that didn’t seem to be the case this time.
Festering wounds were enclosing themselves up as if they were never inflicted, broken bones reconstructed themselves as time was rewinding, and even the mother with disease running rampant through her face was cured of her pain. The sickening infection had happened only days earlier, and the rotting had spread at a blistering pace only seemed to guarantee her death. As she felt her face tingle when the air blessed her virgin flesh, she cried… Her children wept, the old woman shed tears, the hobbling man wailed, and the entire camp vented their built-up emotions in response to what could only be called a miracle.
But then came the following demonstration of unimaginable power. Servi walked up and down the makeshift campsite, though no one but Momo saw her do this. Itarr kicked into action and started to bring out the fish she had been cooking inside the ring. Since there weren’t any tables—at least any clean ones she could use—she had to make do with converting the platforms created via Air Step. Each hungry soul, including the children, received their own invisible ‘table,’ which came with three thick slices of nocturnal cod.
The Goddess could verify that they were cooked, but she couldn’t guarantee the taste. She did try as hard as she could, though, and Itarr hoped that was enough.
It was. For people who hadn’t had a good, hot meal in weeks or months, in some cases, this delectable present of three slices of fish was a gift from the heavens.
It all happened so quickly—so fast for even excitement to spread—since just the scent of something cooked activated a primal need for nourishment. Men and women, the children, adults, the elderly… They all tore into their floating meals with ravenous desire. Teeth ripped away crispy skin, pierced the warm flesh within, sucked the delicious juices out, and swallowed without chewing. Everything, except the very bones, was devoured without care.
And just as quickly as the mysterious girl showed up, popped into existence, cured everyone’s wounds, and fed them, Servi and Momo were walking back across the sky while entangled in shadow. Momo stared back at the warmly lit camp, hoping that the good Servi had done wasn’t going to be misinterpreted. She was partly afraid they would come to rely on Servi to the point where they’d die without her, but something told her she didn’t have to worry about that. Was it trust? Or the love she had for her?
Or was it just a quizzical feeling with a basis that couldn’t be verified in an empirical sense?
This is probably going to be another rumor added to the Miracle of Canary…
Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with showing some kindness to the people that have forgotten what it felt like. Hungry people—hungry children—are falling asleep with full bellies… That’s the important thing…But fish? When did Servy and Itarr get that? It couldn’t have belonged to the Rude Crystal, could it? And boy, it sure did smell good. If I hadn’t already pigged out, I’d have liked to try some.
But maybe it’s good I didn’t… If I don’t eat any, that means there’s more food for those who need it… I need to thank the stars that I'm in the position I am in… Grampy, thank you for raising me… I hope I was the best granddaughter you could’ve asked for… And Servy… Itarr… Thank you for being my close friends… I promise to be the best friend I could possibly be…
Even as she monologued to herself, she kept watching for another camp like the one they left but relaxed when she saw the Warden office in front of her. “Hey, don’t we have to use the door? Oh, never mind… We can just walk through the wall to our room, right?” she asked. Servi silently answered her a few seconds later when they did just that.
“Oooh, that still feels kinda weird. It’s like I know I won’t crash into the wall, but it still feels like I’m about to bang into it. But hey,” Momo said aloud as her feet touched the hardwood flooring. She shook as if she had the chills when Itarr canceled The Shadow’s Embrace, bringing light back to their bodies. Gravity exerted its control once more as a wave of air danced up and down Momo’s arms and legs. It felt somewhat foreign as the natural laws of the world reconquered her mortal body.
The wispy tendrils vanished themselves to a realm that didn’t exist until they needed to be called upon again. “I’m not the biggest fan of that skill. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s very useful, but it kinda hides your cuteness. And let’s face it, you’re a very cute girl, Servy.” The Lux Sphere Itarr created had enough strength to comfortably illuminate the rather bland room. “But you’re just covered in this shadow-like thing… Maybe I’m just being whiny…”
Momo stretched and rubbed her eyes. The day she had was long, but she couldn’t deny how much fun she had. And she hoped that was doubly true for Servi. She gave the girl she loved a hug to end all hugs. Right when she was going to break away, Servi refused to move. Her arms had locked around Momo’s waist, and the girl had no intention of letting her go.
“Hehe! Do you want me to tuck you into bed?” Momo asked. She waddled over to the bed, and Servi automatically sat down. Her hands traveled down to Momo’s hips, then dropped down to her knees. The covers were pulled back a second earlier by Itarr’s Telekinesis, so the only thing to do was for Servi to get comfortable.
“You have to lay down if you want me to cover you up, you know,” playfully chided Momo, pointing a finger at her friend in a very comical manner. She gripped the blanket within her two hands, but Servi just kept sitting there in her overalls. Her big, red eyes stared up at her guardian. Then her head turned towards the empty bed. Then back to her friend and then back to the bed.
From me to the bed… And the bed to me…? Me to bed. Bed to me? Me bed… Bed me… Is she…
“Are you wanting…me to sleep…with you?” The words drained from her mouth in utter shock, but they didn’t come from a place of negativity. No, it was the complete opposite. “I—I mean—I—I still have to get changed and stuff, and I can’t do that here—” Before her eyes, Itarr summed a dagger from her ring and used Metal Wall to form a privacy curtain that almost spanned the length of the room. It was three meters tall and floated on nothing but invisible air
Okay… I see your game, Itarr…
It was as if the Goddess and Momo were playing chess, and Momo had her king flanked by the queen and bishop. Another excuse bubbled on her tongue, but she swallowed that when she realized how prudish she was acting.
You have to stop this, Momo. Don’t act like you don’t want something when you clearly want something. Just sleep with your friend, okay? It isn’t really that difficult, is it? You have to be true to yourself… Don’t deny that part of you…
“Alright. If that’s what you want, we can share a bed… There’s no reason for me to make excuses when this is what I’ve been secretly hoping for… But Servy,” Momo said while dropping the pulled-back blankets. She tapped her bag and pointed to the obviously out-of-place floating curtain of metal. “I’m gonna go change into my pajamas, okay? Be back in a second.”
I’m gonna be naked with her…when she’s in the same room… The same room… Naked…Pajamas…I’m feeling a little bit flushed… But I have to keep it together!!! Perhaps it was her excitement that caused every one of Momo’s movements to be stiff and robotic. She scampered behind the curtain and practically jumped out of her clothes, remaining naked for six or seven seconds. She slid her yellow pajamas right up her bare legs and down her naked chest, forgoing underwear entirety. She kept her cute socks on, though, just because she liked them that much.
“Okay… I’m done changing…” Momo announced. The floating metal vanished, revealing an adorably dressed Singi in yellow pajamas. Her tail playfully poked out from behind and revealed its master’s true feelings of infectious excitement. “This is gonna be my very first sleepover!” she said with a bright smile. Momo walked across the room as if she was crossing a bed of eggshells, her feet never pressing against the floor for more than half a second. The beating heart within her modest chest felt like it was about to jump out of her body.
Servi had wiggled over to her half of the bed when Momo was changing. She sat crossed legs against the comforter, and even though she was nearly fully dressed, Itarr had enough sense to absorb Servi’s boots.
“Servy, we’re gonna have to get you some pajamas or something.” Momo hopped into the bed with the haste of a turtle, then slowly laid down while facing the sitting Servi.
Servi’s mouth silently opened, then closed right after. Her hands went to her overalls as she unclipped them. While Itarr absorbed that, the silent Human stood up and undressed until she was in her skivvies. The way the black bra caressed and hugged her nearly porcelain bountiful bosom, offering a rich amount of cleavage that Momo just couldn’t look away from, was the pure definition of beauty.
Her eyes scanned down to the adorable, soft tummy. Without even noticing, Momo had started to drool. Her mind was already imagining a scenario in which she rubbed her cheeks or tongue across that mesmerizing belly.
Her eyes kept glancing lower, eventually coming across black panties, which so cutely hid Servi’s womanly peach. These were the cute underwear—with a small amount of lace that most women would have probably worn for their husbands or lovers.
Servi turned around, for some odd reason unknown to either Itarr or Momo, but that had the side effect of showing off her rich rear. Perhaps her panties were a tad too small since they snuggly hugged her curves, but it was more than what Myrabel had worn and subsequently bared.
“Bwha!!! Servy! Why’d you take your clothes off?!” Momo exclaimed a few moments after feasting with her eyes. “Are you that comfortable with me that you don’t care if I see you like this…?”
For a second, the covers beneath the girls vanished, reappearing a meter above her an instant later.
“Do you…want to see me like that? I…have to change since I don’t have any underwear on… But wow… You’re gorgeous… Even more than gorgeous, and I wish I knew the word that came after that.”
Servi laid down on the bed, remaining completely silent.
Momo felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest, then realized that stripping down was probably a way Servi wanted to show the utmost trust she had in her best friend. This was probably the most she could do in her limited state, one that didn’t have any rhyme or reason.
The Singi smiled and tapped her extra-long pillow with a hand. “Servy… You do know this pillow is big enough for two people, right? If you wanted me to share a bed with you…why are you all the way over there?”
The quiet girl failed to produce an audible answer to Momo’s query, but she responded by laying back and scooting over. Right when her hair brushed the pillow, she turned to her side and faced Momo.
Two girls—one madly in love with the other—exchanged gazes as the floating cover descended down. It hugged their bodies, blanketing them in a refreshing warmth. The Lux Sphere Itarr had created vanished, and darkness reigned supreme. It took a second or two for Momo’s eyes to adjust, but she just smiled and looked at Servi’s face.
Even in the dead of night, she could make out all of her features.
“Servy, if I’m being honest, my heart’s pounding like crazy…” she whispered. “When I was a little girl, I used to sleep with grampy because I was scared of being alone. Then one day, he told me that I had to learn to sleep by myself because that’s what big girls did. Thinking back now, I think that was the first time we had an argument because I didn’t know what being big had to do with it… I dunno even know why I’m talking about that… It might be the nervousness, but there isn’t anything to be nervous about, is there? I mean, you aren’t nervous, right?”
She waited for a response of any kind, but didn’t expect it to be in the form of wiggling. Servi narrowed the distance until they were just mere centimeters away from each other. In fact, they were so close that Momo’s warm exhales tickled Servi’s pretty lips. If the distance closed just a centimeter more, the tips of their noses would touch.
“You really are beautiful, Servy. Hey… Friends kiss friends all the time, right? Maybe not on the lips… But…”
…I just… I have…to do this… Under the covers, Momo searched for Servi’s hand and accidentally brushed a glancing hand against her warm tummy. “Ah—” she started to speak, then became quiet as her palm pressed against in. Then her fingertips applied a bit of pressure, but Servi didn’t react as much. A small gasp escaped her previous lips, and her breathing hastened just enough that it wasn’t noticeable.
“Your tummy’s so soft… I guess girls are softer than guys, huh? Not that I’ve ever touched a man like this… I did have to spread ointment on my grampy’s back one time after he accidentally leaned against a poisonous vine. It’s not the same, but…” Momo kept exploring, her fingers trailing up until she came to a lovely belly button.
They skidded down, coming to the bed, then reversed and went up until Momo’s hand caressed Servi’s bare side. The shaky appendage continued to travel along her body until it came to her shoulder, then it started on a course until coming to a set of fingers.
Momo pressed Servi’s hand to her stomach and smiled. “Does this bring you back? Remember when we took shelter in that cave, and I almost fell? You caught me by the stomach… Your hands went just like this…”
The lovely Singi then played with Servi’s fingers giving special attention to the red ring. Servi slowly tilted her head, then struggled with all of her might to produce the tiniest of smiles. The strain was visible as the sun in a cloudless sky.
She was fighting hard to return back. Every touch, every glance—every little single word that Momo uttered spurred Servi’s fighting spirit to roar alive.
And then Momo went for it—even as her entire being trembled with a mix of anxiousness anticipation, she slowly touched her pretty pink lips to Servi’s forehead while caressing her cheeks with a loving hand.
She had finally planted a kiss on the girl who had captivated her heart.
I know I said I was gonna wait, but you can forgive me, right?
Momo leaned her head back as a faint heat covered her cheeks. She touched her lips with her tongue, then stared at a very slightly damp spot on her lover’s forehead.
So that’s…what you taste like… Servy, you’re delicious… I could do what grampy once said to do… But with how affectionate that is… I want to wait until you’re all back… He never said if you had to do it to me…but I think I want you to…
Servi continued to stare with eyes full of potential wonder, then she suddenly leaned forward while slightly slithering down the pillow. In this position, she was just in the right spot for Momo to rest her nose against that bed of wonderfully soft black hair. She did just that, adding an extra kiss to the top of her head while breathing in her friend’s scent.
This is fine, right? A kiss is a kiss… And two kisses are two kisses… What’s the problem with one more… Or two more… Heck, why not three more? And… Why—no, I know why it felt good… I… I want to feel that way again… And being this close, I can feel her body heat… She’s warm… Hot, even…I just want to hold her tightly and not let go…
Likewise, Servi buried her head between Momo’s blossoming chest, her nose pressing against the soft cotton of her yellow pajamas.
And the way she’s nuzzling her cheeks against my chest… against my boobs… How would it feel if I was in my underwear…? Or even naked…? But she’s cute… She’s kinda like a cuddly cat who wants to nuzzle against me…Servy, I really do love you… A whole lot… Even more than a whole lot… The only thing left to do was for her to embrace her friend, and so when her arms wrapped around Servi’s bare back. She brushed the strap of her bra. Then slid her hands from Servi’s waist to her full hips. The position wasn’t that comfortable, so Momo went back to Servi’s waist. If she was uncomfortable, she never let it show.
Momo thought back on her life. She traveled down the path of remembrance, looking at the series of choices that led to her being in her current position… All of the death… The fights… The quests… The good and bad times… The regrets…
Is it…really that bad…that horrible…if I said it was…all worth it…for this moment…? Does that…make me a monster…? It probably does… But I just love Servy so much…
“Hey, Servy?”
The girl just squirmed, but did nothing else. Momo softly smiled, then started to sing something truly special to her and her darling Servi.
Mr. Sun, so high in the sky.
Makes me want to fly.
That’s why I’m singing this tune.
May I touch you soon?
Mr. Sky, so pretty and blue.
When I look at you, I know that’s true.
And that fills me with such a boon.
May I touch you soon?
Mr. Star, bright, bright, bright.
At night, you’re always in my sight.
Even though it’s past June.
May I touch you soon?
Mr. Moon, last but not least.
Why don’t you come join us for a feast?
We can use forks, knives, or spoons.
May I touch you soon?
Miss Servy, adding in at last.
Being with you is such a blast!
The two of us will never say farewell!
Together, I know we’ll excel!
If I have to, I’ll wait all afternoon.
Just for the chance to touch you soon.
“Well, it isn’t soon if I’m doing it right now… Note to Momo: change the song a little bit… And it’s a bit childish, but that’s fine, right? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that… Good night, Servy… Sweet dreams, Itarr… I’ll see you two in the morning, okay?” With one more final kiss to decorate Servi’s head, Momo soon drifted off to sleep. But before her consciousness had entered the world of dreams, she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around. If she hadn’t had on her pajamas, then her bare flesh would have thoroughly enjoyed Servi’s gentle, warm touch.
That was when she knew that this was meant to happen. Her, Servi, sharing a bed—a pillow, even, while wrapped in the other’s arms.
If there was even the tiniest bit wrong with this scene, Itarr would have done something. The lack of any action from the Goddess signified that she had given her blessing.
Yeah… If a Goddess allows it, then I definitely know I’m making all the right choices…
