When I woke up, Sekh was snoozing peacefully on my chest. Compared to the typical hug pillow position, I was even more trapped than usual. My only hope of escaping without waking her up would be covering myself with oil.

“Wake up sleepyhead,” I whispered as I rubbed the top of Sekh’s head. 

After a minute or so of persistence, I was able to rouse Sekh awake.

“Why?” Sekh complained. “I want to keep sleeping.”

“Yeah but I want to wake up,” I pointed out. “Maybe just don’t sleep on top of me.”

“That’s non-negotiable,” Sekh argued. “Maybe just be less comfortable as a pillow.”

“That’s also non-negotiable,” I told her while crossing my arms. “So you want anything particular for breakfast?”

“Do you know how to make pancakes?” Sekh asked excitedly. 

“Obviously,” I replied full of confidence. “But I’ll have to go buy some ingredients.”

“I’ll come with you,” Sekh announced. Her ears were perked up and her tail stuck up, seems like she must really like pancakes. Or maybe she feels extra excited about me since last night.

“I’ll ask Sophie’s family if they also want pancakes,” I told Sekh as I pulled on a sweater.

They did in fact want pancakes.The kids even used their mother as a proxy to ask for extra fluffy pancakes. How cruel, they don't know how much it hurts my fragile heart. Anyways, I have more important things than to be bothered by 10 year olds. 

While I was at it, I also did a little grocery shopping for Sophie. Well it’s not coming out of my pocket and it’s on the way, so I don’t mind. 

“Azel, about last night,” Sekh began to speak as we were walking back. “You called me your ‘precious person.’”

“Oh yeah, I did,” I replied. “What about it?”

“How come you didn’t call me your lover or girlfriend?” Sekh asked as she tilted her head to the side. 

I scratched my cheek a bit before I answered. “Well I’m not really certain what our relationship is. Like I have a general idea that we’re romantically involved. But I’m unsure of a label. For instance, I’m your companion, love interest, business partner, personal chef, pillow, and possibly a few other things.”

“Isn’t that just a lover?” Sekh argued.

“You could argue that a servant could fit all those criteria,” I pointed out.

“That’s perfect,” Sekh said with an evil grin. “You’re my servant now.”

“Declined,” I responded. “Do that and I will raise the flag of revolution.”

“Don’t worry,” Sekh assured. “I’ll make sure to distract you with alcohol or something.”

“Anyways,” I began. “We’re lovers now?”

Sekh stood still for a moment for a moment before popping a mischievous grin. “You took me on a date, but you had no intentions of reciprocating my feelings? You’re truly awful. The only way you can fix this is by taking responsibility.”

The people around us gave us curious looks when they heard Sekh’s absurd crooning. Unfortunately for her, my resistance to shame is much greater. 

“Yeah whatever,” I brushed off. “I love you too.”

It seemed like that was what she wanted, since she began to skip around with her tail sticking up. Then an idea popped up inside my head.

“Sekh is there something on my face?” I asked her. 

Sekh looked upwards and began to inspect my face. I think there’s a quote along the lines of ‘a good general does not wait for opportunities but creates them.’ I took my chance and planted a light kiss on her nose.

“Ah, my mistake,” I laughed off. 

As I began to turn around to go home, Sekh poked a finger into my side. 

“How come you didn’t kiss me on the lips?” Sekh inquired.

“Well I don’t know if you’ve had your first kiss yet,” I explained. “In case you haven’t, I don’t want to ruin your experience on a whim.”

“I see,” Sekh muttered as she began scratching her chin.

As expected, my actions had repercussions. While we were eating breakfast, Sekh gave me kitty eyes and requested that I feed her. She even wrapped her tail around my arm. Oddly enough, Sophie’s family just sort of went along with it. I’m pretty sure one of the kids even got some ideas for her future relationships.

I had originally intended to do some work with Sekh, but she refused and said something along the lines of ‘give me about another week before I risk my life for money.’ As a result, I’m now working as a military advisor for Amorium’s town guard. The pay is 18 nummi a day, which isn’t bad considering how the chance of death is near non-existent for this job. Sekh, on the other hand, is spending her time helping out Sophie’s family and learning to read. However, she does visit me to bring food and hugs.

After two days, I went to pick up the pelts over at the tannery. The pelts turned out incredible, both durable and supple. Since they turned out so well, I decided to use the pelt from the largest direwolf as a mantle, with the head serving as a sort of pauldron on my right shoulder. 

“Sekh, you want one of these pelts to use as clothing?” I asked when I came back to the house. 

Before answering, Sekh stared for a while at the direwolf mantle I was wearing. “No thanks. I don’t think it’ll suit me. It conflicts with my cuteness too much.”

Now it was my turn to give Sekh a long stare. “I guess. I’m not sure what would look good on you. Maybe just a long cloak. I think tan or a similar color would work.” 

“I’m fine,” Sekh replied. “If I really feel cold, I’ll just use your things.”

“Anyways,” I redirected. “Once we hear from Zeno, I’m intending to leave Amorium.”

“How come?” Sekh asked while tilting her head to the side.

“There’s not a lot of work here,” I explained. “I’d also like to avoid wintering here. Even though the weather won’t be that bad, I think it’s better that we go south where it’s warmer.” 

“But isn’t it colder back in the Marches in comparison to here?” Sekh wondered. “You should be fine.”

“That’s true,” I responded. “But I think it’ll be easier on you. From what I can tell, you seem to be more accustomed to warm weather. Did you even spend a winter this far north during the war?”

“I didn’t,” Sekh admitted. “Thanks for thinking about me though.”

“Yeah it’s no problem,” I remarked. “I’m planning to travel to Damask as our final destination.”

“That seems like a good idea,” Sekh agreed. “But isn’t the city doing sort of poorly now?”

“That’s why I want to go there,” I elaborated. “Because the Zayid armies spent too long besieging the city, it was only taken in the later stages of the war. I remember that the Zayid diplomats even traded the city with the Iasor empire for possession of the old Stygian capital of Argopolis and its surrounding territories. Last I heard, the city is still in shambles. However, its position right by the border of the Zayid empire means that it’s an excellent center of trade. Which means plenty of opportunity for the two of us.”

“Are they still producing the high quality steel there?” Sekh continued. “I heard that even steel from Amida and Emesa can’t compare.”

“I think production is pretty low right now,” I complained. “Which only makes it even harder for me to get enough to use it as material for my spear.”

“That sounds like a pain,” Sekh sympathized. “Oh, I just remembered. Can we go out for a walk tonight?”

“Sure, I don’t mind,” I answered. “How about an hour after dinner?” 

“Sounds good,” Sekh informed me.

I wonder what Sekh’s plan is. It’s not like we don’t talk at the medicine store. Maybe she wants to create a romantic atmosphere. But it’s not like the town is exactly conducive to privacy, even at night. Well it has gotten better than before, considering the absence of murderous cultists. 

I went about the rest of my day as usual; calling the town guardsmen derogatory names, helping said victims become better people, and preparing dinner for Sophie’s family. 

“Alright let’s go,” I told Sekh a while after we finished eating. 

As we walked along the lightly populated streets, I could feel the cold air gently brushing against my skin. The moon stood overhead in the shape of a crescent, perhaps smiling down at the people of the mortal plane.

“Azel, can I hold your hand?” Sekh asked shyly.

“So you’re alright with peeping on me, but you’re scared of holding hands?” I teased as I gently grabbed hold of Sekh’s hand. 

“Well I got used to seeing half naked men during my time in the military,” Sekh explained. “But I’ve never had a lover before. My parents were even worried about me finding someone.”

“How come?” I asked dumbfounded. “I haven’t seen a single red flag from you yet. Don’t tell me you’re hiding something.”

“I’m not,” Sekh laughed. “I guess I was just a late bloomer in my village. To put it into perspective, I was the only unmarried woman that went on campaign from my village. But thanks for helping me feel less nervous.”

“Ah,no problem,” I replied as I began to look up at the sky. “The moon really is beautiful tonight.”

“I never took you for a nature lover,” Sekh snorted.

“Hey come on,” I joked. “You were supposed to tell me ‘you look even more beautiful.’”

“Sorry,” Sekh answered. “But I don’t think you’re comparable to a celestial body.”

“How mean,” I told her in mock sadness.

“But I’m really glad that I met you,” Sekh countered. “Even though I’m far from my family, I still feel happy everyday.”

“Me too,” I remarked as I bent down and hugged Sekh. 

“Azel…” Sekh muttered. “What if I told you I gave my first kiss away already?”

“I wouldn’t care,” I replied almost immediately. “What matters is that you’re with me now.”

Right after I finished my answer, Sekh spun her head around and locked me in a deep kiss. Better to go with the flow than resist. As our tongues intertwined, I could feel the light spines on Sekh’s tongue rubbing against mine. After a while, the two of us pulled back, a thin bridge of saliva connecting our mouths together. 

“Sorry about misleading you,” Sekh told me happily, not a hint of remorse in her voice. “But I gave you my first kiss just now.”

“Wait, was that a test?” I asked, my voice tingling with shock. “What would have happened if I gave a different answer?”

“Actually it wasn’t,” Sekh informed me. “I just wanted to know what you would think. But you gave such a romantic answer that I couldn’t help myself.”

Even though I appeared calm at that moment, I was more or less doing a celebratory dance in my head. 

“Though it’s a little strange,” Sekh continued. “I thought you might care more about whether a girl has given away her first.”

“Ok first of all, that was just a kiss,” I responded with raised eyebrows. “And I wouldn’t really care if a girl already slept with other people. It’s just something you have to accustom yourself to if you have a thing for older women.”

“I guess my image of you really is wrong sometimes,” Sekh remarked. 

“Is your perception of me that bad?” I wondered.

“Possibly,” Sekh told me. “But I’ll still love you despite that.”

“Sekh, you ended up doing more damage,” I complained.

“Don’t worry about that,” Sekh said cheerily. “I’ll fix you right up. Now let’s go home.” 

As we were walking home, Sekh started to change the conversation. “When do you think we’ll get notified about the sentence on the cultists?”

“Should be in a day or two,” I replied. “The sooner we know, the sooner we can leave for Damask.”

Sure enough, around noon the next day, I was informed that the Katepan had just received a messenger from Zeno. Naturally I left work immediately to grab Sekh and drag her to the Katepan’s office.

“Ah, you’re here,” the Katepan observed when we entered her office. “I’ll get to the news right away. Zeno has sentenced the former cultists to join a repopulation program in the southwestern territories near Beroea. Their identities will not be exposed, instead they will just be classified as generic criminals.”

Beside me, Sekh looked noticeably relieved.

“Did he explain his reasoning for his decision?” I inquired.

“He stated that he failed the citizens before during the cleanup of the Myalo situation,” the Katepan informed me. “So he is giving those he wronged a second chance. As for your pay, Zeno has provided 20 denarii in compensation for your services.”

Most likely Zeno is trying to bolster his image with his administration by admitting his mistake then smoothing out the situation. At least this is what I believe his intention is, which makes sense considering how the cultists weren’t really a threat in the grand scheme. That’s also why our pay is rather low, those cultists just weren’t that dangerous in comparison to the other issues plaguing Stygia. 

“Azel, you can keep the payment,” Sekh told me as we left the building. “I’m just glad that those people get a second chance. You also did nearly all the work anyways.”

“You found their hideout though,” I argued. “Just take 8 denarii, you’re making me feel bad.”

“Fine, fine,” Sekh surrendered. “Are we leaving town by tomorrow then?”

“Yeah,” I replied after a bit of thinking. “Oh and we should do some gift shopping today. That way we can give Sophie’s family gifts tomorrow morning and then bail.”

“Great idea,” Sekh replied with a smile. “Let’s get gifts for the children, there’s no way they can refuse.”

And that was how me and Sekh ended up shopping for children’s goods. We spent 6 denarii in total , 4 of which came from my pockets, to buy some clothes and toys for the kids. I also grabbed a cookbook for Sophie, which I believe that Marcus will be the one benefitting from the most.  

More importantly, we didn’t let the family know that we would be leaving tomorrow. Perhaps a bit dubious, but these people cannot be trusted to not find gifts within a sixteen hour period. 

It was a few hours before noon the next day when we announced our abrupt departure. 

“We really appreciate you taking care of us,” Sekh and I declared as we gave them our presents.

It seemed that Marcus and Sophie had recognized that they were checkmated. 

“Well take care,” Marcus told us. “Please feel free to visit us if you ever come to Amorium.”

“We look forward to it,” Sekh replied with a smile. “We’ll be going now.”

But before I could leave, the two children came out from behind their parents. 

“Thank you mister,” the two of them spoke to me. “We hope you come back again.”

“Ah, I will,” I replied in surprise. “Take care everyone.”

“Looks like they finally opened up to you,” Sekh remarked as we were leaving the gates of Amorium.

“It was probably the gifts,” I responded with a wry smile.

“No I think they were warming up to you a bit,” Sekh argued. “Speaking of gifts, I have something for you.”

As I gazed curiously at her, Sekh pulled out a small bundle from her bag and pressed it into my hands. When I unwrapped the cloth, I revealed a well made hunting knife. Most likely Sekh had noticed me using my dagger as an all purpose tool. 

“How much did this cost?” I inquired.

“I’m not telling you,” Sekh declared with her arms crossed. “I just wanted to give you a gift, since you’re the one who’s always giving.”

“I guess,” I replied as I set the knife to my side. Without warning, I pulled Sekh towards me and gave her a deep kiss.

“Consider that my gift,” I told her with a smile when we separated. 

“Alright, alright,” Sekh said happily. “But from now on, kisses must not be considered a marketable good.”

“Ah, sorry for setting a poor precedent,” I joked. “Just consider that a gesture of my love instead then.”