When the morning came, Yuki awoke. She slipped back into her clothes and looked at Erica who was sleeping beside her. She was curled up in a ball, a blanket wrapped around her that Yuki had stored away in a ring. 

‘Well. It’s time to leave,’ she thought. 

She knelt beside Erica and began to help her back into her clothes. Erica moved a little, but she stayed fast asleep. Her arms reach out and wrapped around Yuki, drawing out a small giggle. 

Yuki’s eyes drifted around Erica for a moment before she noticed the bracelet back around Erica’s wrist. She was glad that it was on again. The aura that Erica exuded was something that Yuki didn’t quite expect. She didn’t hate it though. She was just worried about what she might do if Erica’s aura was let loose all the time.

With that thought, her mind wandered to the night before. It was a blur, filled with heat and pleasure. Her mind didn’t quite remember, but her body was another thing all together. But rather than being tired, Yuki felt quite the opposite. She felt rejuvenated as if she had the best sleep of her life.

‘I also just had something else that was the best of my life,’ she thought.

Her fingers went to her neck where the bond mark between her and Erica was tattooed. It was the exact same location as the one on Erica. The design that Yuki had was a slim tail with a spade at the end that curled inward. It looked exactly like the tail that Erica had.

More memories of the night before led her hands to the back of her neck where she felt a small bruise. It was a souvenir of a few moments when Erica went a tad crazy. 

She finished putting back on Erica’s clothes and laid her gently on the watery floor of the gazebo. Feeling a chill along her back, she remembered that the shirt she had on last night wasn’t exactly one that was usable now. 

‘I forgot to control my wings,’ she thought with a frown. ‘They ripped through the shirt. It was a nice shirt too.’

Her wings also caused a few problems that turned her frown into a rueful grin. Having a large pair of scaly wings proved to be a greater obstacle that Yuki had originally thought.

She pulled out another shirt from her ring and changed into it. Then she bent down to pick the still sleeping Erica into a princess carry. She exited the gazebo which collapsed back into the lake behind her. When she made her way back to the bank of the lake, the icy walkway melted. The archways and the path were already gone. All evidence of the night before had disappeared.

Walking a bit further towards the trees, she laid Erica down on the soft grass. With a quick glance at the sky, she saw the sun barely over the mountains that rose in the distance. It was almost time to meet up with Akira and the rest. 

‘I should wake her up,’ Yuki thought.

Leaning over Erica, she began poking Erica’s cheek gently while whispering to her, trying to rouse her. When that didn’t work, she shook her lightly, raising her voice. Erica still stayed fast asleep.

‘Well, if you’re going to make this difficult, then don’t blame me,’ Yuki frowned.

Snapping her fingers, a ball of cold water formed in her hand. She raised it above Erica and let it fall down on top of her face, the ball breaking and splashing cold water all over Erica. Her eyes shot open, and she shot forward, almost hitting Yuki who moved out of the way in time.

“About time you woke up,” Yuki smiled. 

Erica looked around with a disorientated expression.

“Oh. Where did the gazebo go?” Erica asked, looking at the lake. 

“You wake up and that’s what you say after last night?” Yuki replied with a raised brow. 

“I mean, what can I really say about last night?” Erica pouted. “Anything would be a bit embarrassing, no?”

“Embarrassing? Aren’t you a succubus?” 

“Hmph. Fine then. What do you want me to say?”

“Oh, we don’t have time for that,” Yuki smiled. “We need to get going. It’s morning and you’re supposed to be gone now.”

“Wow, you bully,” Erica said, smacking her playfully. “But what about my face? It’s kinda wet right now.”

Reaching out, Yuki cupped Erica’s cheeks and let heat roll off of her palms. It enveloped Erica, drying the thin layer of water. 

“Hmm. Whenever it gets particularly cold at night, remind me to cuddle up with you so that you can be my little heater,” Erica said, staring right at Yuki with amused eyes. 

“You’ll have to share with Akira then,” Yuki replied. 

“I’m already sharing her girl. She can take your other side.”

Erica winked and tiptoed a bit to give Yuki a small smooch. Yuki smiled in response and removed her hands. 

“Speaking of Akira, she’s waiting for us with the others,” she said. “Follow me.”

“Are they still in town?” Erica asked as they began walking.

“No. I told Akira ahead of time to leave and wait out in the field for us,” Yuki explained. “You know, she helped design those arches.”

“Wait. She planned this with you?” 

“Mhm. We wanted to make this perfect,” Yuki said. “I know how much all of this has been weighing down on you, so I wanted to make sure that for at least one night, you forgot about it all.”

Erica stopped and Yuki turned back, worried that she might have struck a nerve on accident. But rather than a look of anger or sadness, Erica was looking at the ground with an embarrassed face. 

“It was that obvious, huh?” she said. 

“No. We just know you, Erica,” Yuki replied. “We’ve been together for so long. Akira, you, and I. We can read each other like a book. I know when you’re hurting. Akira knows when you’re hurting. And when we know, we’ll do everything we can to help you.”

“Then,” Erica said, “thank you. My regrets haven’t changed. But I think if Faye was here, she would like you. Akira too. I’m sure she wouldn’t want her death to weigh me down.”

“You can grieve,” Yuki said softly. “Just know that we’re here to grieve with you.”

“I know.”

“Also, you and I bonding was a long time coming,” Yuki said with a rueful smile. “I should have done it sooner. Sorry.”

“After last night, I don’t think an apology is necessary,” Erica laughed. “That had to be the best I felt in ages. Even with Akira, she didn’t remove my bracelet.”

“Oh?” Yuki began walking again, Erica beside her. “You’ve done it with her, hmm? How was it?”

“She’s gotten better.”

“Maybe one day we should get together,” Yuki mused. “After this.”

“On or off?” Erica asked.

“Oh full throttle, baby,” Yuki smirked. Erica laughed in response. 

---

 

“There you two are,” Akira said, jogging towards them as they left the forest. She gave Yuki a hug then Erica before lowering her voice in a conspiring tone. “So, how were your nights?”

“Wonderful,” Erica grinned. “You should have been there.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to ruin your moment,” Akira replied. 

“Let’s get back to business you two,” Yuki said. She led them to where Yuna and Mathali were waiting. “Mat?”

“Yes, my lady?” he replied, ready to serve.

“Eri said that you know where the angels lived. Can you lead us there?”

“Of course, my lady. It will be a bit longer than what we planned though.”

“No worries.”

“Wait, if Mathali knew, then why did we go to this village?” Yuna asked. 

“They have a faster way to get to the angels,” Erica replied. “A trade route that beelines right to them. We can’t take it without permission though, or we would get attacked.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Well, Mathali,” Yuki said. “Lead the way.”