I awoke the next morning alone in my hotel room. I dressed, took the quickest shower possible then walked across the hall, unlocked Vern’s door and proceeded to make my way to his bed and slap him awake. He glared angrily at me, and grumbling got up to get dressed himself.

“So, how was it?” He asked clearly not interested at all.

“It was good, I guess.” I reply. And awkward. Hayli fell asleep on me after dinner and tore her dress's- never mind. “I met the High Mother. She’s kind of an alcoholic.”

“Oh. Really.” He wasn’t listening. I could have said anything, probably.

“I was told that the King hates people named Vern."

“That’s cool.” He put on his socks.

“I killed a man.” I lied again.

“Nice.”

“I ate a human baby. Boiled over noodles.” One last lie.

“That sounds fun.”

He was too focused on today’s blessing to actually care what I say. It was also getting old. He finished getting dressed and waved goodbye to me.

I was alone now. Good.

After brushing my teeth and splashing water in my face to shock me awake and then getting undressed since I felt weird in the outfit I had thrown on after my usual staring in the mirror and feeling sick to my stomach as did so. I could never get myself to like any outfit or style I tried. Vern often joked I'd be better off a vampire so I couldn't see myself in mirrors.

The desk clerk called me over and handed me a small pile of letters after asking if I was either Earth or Vern and checking my key against the rooms and the names on them. Three were from Vern’s admirers, one was from the Duchess to Vern which could probably just be included in the first one, one was a letter from Ulther and Callie to the both of us, and one was addressed to me from someone who’s handwriting I didn’t recognize, mostly because it looked like some idiot using their non-dominant hand to try and disguise their identity. 

I sigh and walk back up to the rooms and place Vern’s letters on his bed while leaving the one from our older brother and his wife for later and walk back to my room. Then I, using the room key as a letter opener, opened the letter and began to read it.

XXXX, XX, XX14

Moana Tyrei Sai, Room 13

Dear Dirt,

Truthfully, I would rather not write this letter to you, but Vern, my desire would not accept the letter or the words if I did. Besides. Despite my distaste of you, I know you to be trustworthy and will trust you not to tell Vern of this letter.

I am planning to follow a day behind you in order to protect my Vern. I should only be a day away from the capital by the time you get this letter.

Do not tell Vern or I will torture and kill you.

Lo, hold upon they visage of the sun

Oh, lord who I am devoted to

Vern , my love who I cannot reach

Earth, the worthless who blocks him from me

Yet I cannot take the path most easy

Oh, fate for they are brethrens of blood

Until then I wait for him to realize my love

Yours Angrily,

Fredericka

(The Duchess for some odd reason has us write at least a five-line poem at the end of our letters, I don’t know why though.) (It’s to disguise when the letter is coded. I have told you this multiple times. - Vern)

Holy shit, this stalker was quite high quality. I really had to admire her dedication to getting hitched to Vern. She was the seconded greatest one I personally knew. I would also have to insult her poetry. It was bad, really bad. And I should know, having failed every poetry assignment in school. (You literally passed all of them, you're literally the best poet I know, despite how much you think poetry is bad. - Vern) (And how many poems do you know?) (Take the compliment. - Vern)

I pocketed the letter and walk down to the lobby again, this time actually leaving the hotel. I walk down the streets and enter a small theater and buy tickets for some show a local performing troupe was putting on.

It ended after a few hours, being neither good nor bad, left me unsatisfied. I wondered when Vern would be done.

I wandered around some more taking in the sights and sounds of the big city marveling at…

(Good deities, this is boring Vern. No one wants to hear about an uneventful walk. I will Time skip again even if you don't want me. I'm not writing down more of this.) (Look I am sorry I took so long, there was a line to see the High Mother, and even as a Hero cutting is rude- Vern.)

Vern returned around six in the evening, throwing open loudly the door to my room, which I had returned to after having no success of entertaining myself outside.

“Welcome back.” I looked up from the character notes I was scrawling on Hayli and Sairah. I wanted to make sure I had facts straight while writing. Their notes were small. Vern’s was a few pages largely written by himself. I’d probably forget to use theirs' and “forget” to use Vern’s. I doubted I'd be making friends with anyone, especially someone as... well, someone like Hayli.

“I am starving.” He announced, arms outstretched as he slammed down onto my bed.

I stared at him from my chair. “So?”

“That means get up and let’s go eat somewhere.”

“Laying down on my bed doesn’t give that impression, dear brother.”

Vern jumped up and retorted, “Is this better?” and dragged me out of my chair.

“Ugh, fine. Where to?” I asked as we headed towards the stairs.

“The one place where we can eat free.”

“The LDC?”

“If we have a decree from the King that lets us eat free, we should use it.”

He had a point, and free stuff was not a thing you’d turn down. Unless the free stuff was Vern's own cooking. “Lead the way, cheapskate.”

He chuckled and we made our way back to the location of our last night’s meal. The place was as busy, but we were able to easily enter thanks to the decree, much to the annoyance of some well-dressed aristocratic looking people waiting in a line outside. Once we were inside Vern noticed some people, he knew from school in the Duchess 's domain plus Ulther's training leaving me alone, sipping on the water the waiter who probably felt bad for me gave to me with two lemon slices.

After a while of placing my head on the table and staring blankly at the wall I felt a pair of presences sit down at my table

“Hello, Thornell.” The voice of Sairah greeted me.

I looked up and replied somewhat groggily, “What.”

“Does your brother often leave you on your own?” She asks me, glancing over at where Vern is busy chatting and laughing with his school buddies.

“It’s an older sibling thing. Can’t spend too much time near your younger siblings and being the last born I’m used to it by now.”

“Still, it seems rude. Don’t you agree, Hayli?” She nudged her companion.

“O-oh, y-yeah.” She stuttered looking like she had been focused elsewhere. 

“Thanks? Sorry for last night by the way.”

“Why?” The bear priestess asked.

“For, um, you know when I, um, I mean Hayli- um.” I felt my face grow red as I struggled to say exactly what I was apologizing for.

“Oh, when after Hayli fell asleep on you and you got up too quickly to take a leak and startled my Hero so much, she ripped the hem of her dress and tore a hole in the chair that I then informed you was a priceless antique.” Sairah wickedly smiled at my clumsiness as my face burned.  I hid behind the menu pretending to read it an inch from my face. “Oh, wow, look at you all red from a little teasing. It’s like having a second, taller Hayli around. Fun”

“T-That’s not nice, Sairah.” Hayli said face red, fidgeting in her chair.

“Ah, is my little lizard disciple getting embarrassed too? I mean it was mostly your fault.""

“S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Stop!” She cried.

“I’ll stop, if you ask the question. Ask and I’ll stop.”

“We just met t-though.” She replied back as I took a sip of my pity party water. This should be good.

“Oh, come on. You’ll have plenty of time to further your view of them, but if you wait, they might find some other person to be around.” Sairah rubbed the top of the younger girl’s head.

“Well, yeah but…” Hayli began.

Sairah placed a hand over her mouth, “Hey, Earth, do you think my cute little Hayli over here should tell her acquaintance that she wants to be best friends despite barely knowing them and her being scared they may reject her offer since it is honestly a weird thing to ask?” 

"Um. Sure. I don't think anyone would reject her for friendship anyways. Kind of weird thing to ask though." (D= M/V- Vern)

“Well, you heard Earth, Hayli.” Sairah smiled. “Go ahead.”

Hayli grabbed my arm and stared at me; eyes dead serious. The room felt silent as I watched her take a deep breath, chest raised in a show of courage, as her red lips parted and she said to me, “SIthIliyowiloubembesfrinter?” 

Her face grew redder, and tears began to swell in her eyes as she continued to blubber on.

“Uh, what.” I ask blankly.

“Iliyooubfrenwim!” She blabbered.

Sairah grabbed her disciple and shook her moving her aside, “Really, Hayli, really?! You’re a Hero for High Mother’s sake. If you can’t even speak to Earth, how are you…”

I turned around in my seat and looked around the room. I caught the eyes of Vern who laughed at what must have been a very exasperated look on my face and the two humons behind me, then being the ass that he is made a rude gesture. I gave a different one and scanned some more.

“But I don’t think that it will be- or they'll or-.”

“It will!” Behind me they continued on.

A heavily dressed and shifty looking person had just sat down close to Vern’s table and was watching him. The female stalker was faster than she had said she’d be. At least I hoped it was Fredericka. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to face Hayli again.

Sairah smiled. “Take it easy, Hayli. Slowly, one word at a time.”

Hayli repeated her earlier preparations and began to speak calmly and intelligently, “Earth, I…”

“Yes?” I asked as she tried to grasp her next words.

“Earth, I like you!”

“Oh. Okay. That's nice." I'd be upset if she hated me. Not surprised but upset.

“I want you to be my friend. I've never had many friends. Or any, besides Sairah, and she's more like a mom or older sister.”

“Oh deities, what?” That was sad.

“Please!” She softly shouted.

I stared blankly. This was new. Not being asked to be friends. I had that done a lot when I was a child. It was the whole theatrics. It felt like a bit much. It was making me more nervous. Earnest people were bad for me.

“I-I know this may seem weird.”

“Really, weird!” Seriously we just met yesterday.

“But you see my subspecies is one that has some involuntary precognition magics and I saw you and it went: this is your best friend, your um, never mind-and some other things, but I don't know if that is something that I want to tell you in case you don't…”

I cut her off. “Okay. I like you too, but I have a condition.”

“Yes! Anything.” She beamed. Geez, she was cute.

“Look, if you realize you don't like me as a friend, don't waste your time. I'm not going to force you to hang out because of some magical stuff I can't see or know about." Seriously I hated precognition magic. The number of times the oracles updated prophecies was enough to make me sick of it.

“Like I’d find another friend.”

“You're so weird.” I smile.

“Ah, youth. So cute and disgusting. Reminds me of me.”

“Oh, shush Sairah.” My newly minted best friend replied. Not like there was competition for that.

“Earth don’t worry about the whole barely knowing each other thing. My bestie and I became friends after a day. Then I went and I met my wife and married her in a week. I'm a rush-y kind of girl, and so is my Hayli.”

“Married?” I ask. 

“Is there a problem?” She growled.

“I thought priestesses couldn’t marry.”

“Oh, that? That only applies to those who are appointed. You can be married as a priestess if you do it before the ceremony. That’s exactly what Medela and I did.”

“Still a week seems a bit hasty.”

“Medela is a lower-level oracle, so she used the future sight she had to see that our bond was unbreakable until I died in one of five ways. Never asked her what those were, probably should of, to avoid them.”

“Isn’t usually bad to know the exact future, since it will always lead you to it?”

“I see you read Builivier.” She noticed the waitress who had just arrived.

“Good evening… Oh! You’re those poor girls those ruffians were attacking last evening. We here are so sorry for that and wish to offer you a gift of free food.”

“Thank you. Well, that said I’ll have the fish.”

Hayli and I ordered and the waitress left.

“So, Te- er, Earth. Um, where are you staying?” Hayli asked.

“Moana Tyrei Sai.” I try not to look at her having become hyper aware of how cute she was. Yeah, great job Earth. Crush on another friend of yours, Earth. That went so well last time. Deities. Friends first, then I could... deal with my issues there. 

I smiled realizing I had made friends with a Hero before Vern. That would drive him wild. Take that hero.

The food arrived and we chowed down. Sairah took this literally and was done in seconds. Hayli and I took a bit longer, so she watched us in silence obviously still hungry. I made sure to place each bite of my food in my mouth slowly, to taunt the bear.

“I’m done.” Hayli said standing up.

“Finally. You eat too slowly.” Sairah chastised Hayli.

“Sorry.”

“See you later, comrade.” Sairah said pushing in her chair.

Hayli bent down and hugged me, “I’ll be at your hotel tomorrow. It’s our first outing as friends. I've never gone out with a friend. Father never let me.” 

“Uh. Cool.” I reply.

She smiled, her scales sparkling in the light. “See you then.”

“Yeah, see you.” I waved as they departed.

I got up as well and moved over to Vern’s table. An empty plate was in front of him as he chatted with his old friends. I grab his ponytail and yank it. He let out a high-pitched yelp and turned to glare at me.

“The hell was that for?”

“The hell of it?” I shrugged. “You done?”

“No. You can go back if you want.”

“Don’t get killed then.” I left him be and moved over to the overly dressed individual nearby.

“Hey, Rica.” I greeted her.

She jumped in surprise having been focused on her target like an archer on their target. “Ah!”

Fredericka turned to me, “What the hell, you asshole!”

“Good to see you too, stalker.” I tried to give her an evil smile. “A bit early.”

“You better not tell him I’m here.” She tried to threaten me with her fork.

“I don’t need to; you’ll mess up around him like usual and he’ll find out.”

“I don’t mess up around him that often, Dirt.” 

“You broke his hand twice, gave him a concussion, tried to threaten him with a sword, burned his tent, broke his shield, made him sick... Should I go on?”

“Those are no indication of the present. Just do as I ask, please.”

“Sure, sure. But the moment you mess up, I’m telling him.”

“Don’t.” She takes off her hat and makes sure I see her eyes glaring at me.

“I’ll be hanging out with a friend tomorrow, so don’t mess up without me around. Oh, and I want twenty gold coins a day.” I place my hand in front of me. She glares again, the reaches into a pouch on her side and places twenty coins in my palm. I count them and smile.

“Asshole.”

“Stalking is a crime, so watch your mouth. Bye, criminal.” I stood up and left my weird ass guard friend alone by herself again.

The streets bustled as I walk back to the hotel, careful not to get lost again like the first time I navigated the city alone. After a slow walk back, I manage to reach the hotel in record time. Once inside I race upstairs and collapse headlong onto my bed. This had been a weird and exhausting day. I got up and latched the door just in case a certain guard wanted in. Then not really worried about the fact I should have probably left a note telling Vern to do the same, dived under the covers and went and slept like a very big baby.