“Jeez, I thought I was done with the sappy stuff after my player logged out,” Kei said with a hint of annoyance as she rematerialized around her waystone. I glanced up to find her sitting cross-legged on the carriage seat like she had never left. While the silver-haired elf continued to tease us, I couldn’t help but notice her eyes were a bit puffy as well. I swear caught a glimpse of Karyl’s emotions showing through the cracks in Kei’s cool composure.

“How is she?” I asked, wiping the rest of the tears from my eyes.

“Mostly worried. She’s pretty frustrated that there’s nothing she can do to help you,” Kei sighed. “You’ve made quite the mess, Nina.”

Nina wiped her tears and stood up, facing her closest friend. “I know, and I’m sorry. I messed up, and it's put Sylvia in danger. I’m prepared to face the consequences of my choices, but I’m glad I gave her a chance to be herself. We’re going to meet Amateratsu, no matter what.” She took a deep breath, having relieved herself from the weight of her conscience. “Oh, and thanks for being here to help,” she added. I couldn’t help but admire my big sister. Our talk definitely did some good for her mental state.

“Uh… yeah. No problem.” Nina’s response had clearly caught Kei off-guard. The conversation died off into silence. That interaction felt almost familiar somehow. Maybe I had said something similar to Karyl in the past?

Surprisingly, it was Alec who broke the silence. “Umm… Is now a good time to ask a few questions?” he asked. I felt my face beginning to heat again. I still felt awkward about sleeping on his shoulder. I wasn’t ready to have an embarrassing conversation about last night with Alec just this moment.

“Ahh, our human captive is awake,” Nina joked, thankful for an escape from the awkward silence.

“Ignore her,” Kei said, giving Nina a light punch on the shoulder. “What do you want to know?”

“I’m gonna go see if Kriffin needs help with… uh, food,” I stammered. With that lame excuse, I quickly maneuvered around everybody and out of the carriage before breaking into a full-on sprint towards the clearing. I didn’t need to run, but I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It didn’t make sense at all. Did I use to act like this?

“Woah, woah, take it easy little one!” Kriffin called as I neared his campsite. “Everything ok?”

I doubled over, gasping for breath as I reached him. “Yeah… I… uh…” I fumbled over my words between breaths.

“Did you get a lecture from your sister?”

“S-something like that…” I lied.

Kriffin laughed. “Be sure to apologize later, ok? I’m sure she’s just trying to keep you safe.” He motioned for me to sit down. “In the meantime, you can help me cook breakfast.” I gave him a nod and sat by the fire. His words were soothing and comforting, which helped to calm my wild emotions.

“Sure.” I said hesitantly. “But I’ve never cooked before. Is that alright?”

“I’m no chef either,” he chuckled. “We’re probably just going to roast these unless we can find something better to make.” I watched as he pulled an eclectic assortment of vegetables and spices out of one of the boxes that had been in the carriage and laid them out one by one on a small tarp. As I watched him take out the ingredients, a small vial of red-orange powder caught my eye.

“What’s in that one?” I asked.

The elf frowned. “It’s called ember powder. I have no clue what it’s used for, but beastfolk love the stuff. Try some, maybe you’ll recognize the flavor.”

 Kriffin picked up the vial and unscrewed the top, offering its contents to me. I skimmed the red-orange hill with my finger and put it into my mouth.

True to its name, the ember powder was very, very spicy. The taste reminded me of curry, but much spicier than it should be. It burned my throat as I swallowed, and I began coughing as the spice clung to my tastebuds. Kriffin quickly came to my rescue, offering me a waterskin that grabbed greedily. 

“Sorry,” he said as I downed the water. “Guess I should’ve warned you.”

“It’s ok,” I coughed. “I might have an idea, actually.”

“Oh?” Kriffin asked inquisitively. “Kei mentioned you were a player. Think of something from the other world?”

“Yeah, and it’s a lot less spicy. Do you have a pot?”

I did my best to explain the taste of curry to Kriffin, and we began experimenting with the ember powder, adding varying portions of water and a few other herbs to the mixture in an attempt to keep the overwhelming spiciness from ruining the flavor. After the first few attempts, I had a general idea of how each ingredient could work together and quickly became completely immersed in curry-crafting. I was in love with the complexity of it all. I made a mental note to take up cooking as a hobby when I got home.

We couldn’t figure out how to thicken the mixture, so we eventually ended up with a mild, savory soup that retained the flavor of the ember powder without its unbearable heat. While it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, we figured it would make for a decent meal with the spare vegetables. Kriffin had lent me a small cooking knife and shown me how to handle it for the smaller vegetables while he tackled the larger ones. I was battling with a particularly slippery mushroom on an improvised cutting board when I saw Alec approaching the campsite. He gave a nod to Kriffin and sat down beside me. Alec watched me struggle with the mushroom for a bit before he sighed.

“Need some help?” He asked.

I responded without looking up. “No, I think I’ve got it.”  I got hold of the fungus, but it rolled off to the side when I brought the knife to it. Alec caught it before it could hit the ground, and he gave me a questioning glance.

“Ok, ok! Take it!” Admitting defeat, I handed him the knife and slid the wooden board closer to him. I watched in awe as he quickly cut the mushroom into even slices. He tossed them all into the pot and grabbed the next veggie in the small pile nearby. It was pretty impressive, honestly.

“My mom taught me,” he said. “My dad wouldn’t teach me how to play baseball since it was a ‘father-son’ activity, so my brother went off with my dad while mom held me in the kitchen.” 

There was a loud thud on the cutting board as Alec lopped off a carrot head with a bit of extra force. “What about you? Anything ‘too girly’ you didn’t get to do?”

I tried to remember what my family was like, only to be met with hazy memories and a ringing headache. “I can’t remember,” I said. “When I try to remember what I was like, the memories feel so unreal. I didn’t even recognize my old body when I woke up yesterday.”

“Doesn’t that scare you? Not knowing who you are, I mean?”

“Not really, actually. Like, I’m me, you know? And past me was just an imposter, and a pretty bad one at that.”

“Huh,” he said, considering the thought. “Must be nice, having no memories of your past self. The world can be pretty cruel to us queer folk.”

“I wouldn’t know. If Nina hadn’t brought me here, I probably would have been oblivious my entire life.” I handed him another mushroom from the pile. “Did you know you were trans before yesterday?”

“Nah, I thought I was just a really good ally. I volunteer at my school’s LGBTQ center, which opened my eyes to all this stuff. There was a girl I met there a few days ago that invited me to play Soulseeker Online with her. She wanted to introduce me to this childhood friend of hers, and since I was looking for a new game to play, I agreed.” He finished cutting the last vegetable before giving me a smirk. “Too bad she forgot to mention the hidden feature that sends you into the game and reveals you’re trans, right?”

That dopey lopsided grin and terrible joke somehow managed to send me into a fit of giggles. “God, you’re so lame!” I cried.

“Aha! So the little foxgirl does enjoy my company!” He teased. He stood up to add the cut vegetables to the pot. “I was worried when you bolted from the carriage like that, y’know.”

“That’s your fault!” I protested. “I was just embarrassed that I slept on a stranger’s shoulder all night.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re friends now. Consider your crimes forgiven.” He sat back down, giving me a few gentle pats on the head and a good scratch behind my new ears. I felt like I was melting as waves of euphoria and validation took control of my body, and I couldn’t help myself as I leaned into his shoulder, desperately trying to keep the headpats coming.

I heard Kriffin chuckle as he mixed the stew. “It’s a bit early to be cuddling, you two. We still have a whole day’s ride to Utau Kyookoku.”

Alec was quick to capitalize on the situation. “Oh ho ho, did I just find your weak point?” he teased.

“S-shut up, dork. Let me go!” My tail was not helping my argument as it fluttered about happily. As I struggled, I saw Nina and Kei heading towards the campsite.

“I thought you said you were helping Kriffin,” Nina asked. “Did… something happen?”

“Alec cheated...” My voice was weak, having fallen victim to his scheme entirely.

“I see…” Nina gave Alec a curious look. “What’d you do to my little sister?”

Alec shrugged. “I just talked to her, like you said to do.”

Kriffin laughed again. “You folks are the most entertaining company I’ve had all year.” The merchant filled a bowl with the finished soup and handed it to Nina. “Why don’t we eat, and you can tell me more about your travels.”

Ninichu

Apologies for the late chapter! I've been a bit busy this week and didn't have a ton of time to write. I hope you enjoyed watching Sylvia bond with the others, as well as her first dive into the world of cooking. Constructive criticism is appreciated as always! I'm still a bit of a lurker in the comments section, but I love the blob emoji comment culture on this website! Thanks for sticking with me so far!