When the morning came, Keke was already preparing to leave for Abalone. I rose into a sitting position and ran a hand through my hair, yawning. “What time is it?”

“It’s time for you to get up!” Keke called from the room over.

I moved to one edge of the bed, threw my legs over, then leaned my hands on my knees and stretched. It was nice to wake up to her each morning. Her scent lingered among the sheets. You’d get no complaint from me if I could wake up to that every day for the rest of my life.

Assuming my life expectancy is going to be any higher than the average man in Nyarlea.

“Did you talk to Cannoli or Ravyn yet?” I’d tried to find them the day before, but neither was where I’d expected them to be. On Keke’s suggestion, we’d decided to look one last time before we left.

Keke came into the room and handed me a cup of tea with a shake of her head. “I asked everyone in the market about Ravyn, but she’s nowhere to be found.” She sat beside me on the bed, hesitated with a finger at her lip, then took my hand. “Cannoli wouldn’t answer. Ceres says she’s still in prayer, locked away in her tiny sanctuary.” Something about the look on my face must’ve seemed grim to her because she immediately changed her tone. “But we’re still going to have a great time! I’m going to make sure of it!”

“Ah, thanks, Keke. Really.” I didn’t want to say anything more out of fear of bringing down the mood, but I made a mental note to visit Cannoli once I had breakfast.

Seeing Cannoli before we left became my prime objective. I had to wonder just how many things she was bottling up. If the timeline of Keke’s mom’s passing was anything to go by, it would mean Aurora had only died just a few years prior. Which, well, you could’ve fooled me. She sure didn’t carry herself like someone whose parent had passed away in recent years.

I had to assume some of the more recent events regarding our Party’s travels and the gruesome matches with the Defiled had to be weighing heavily upon her as well.

I probably didn’t help much in that department either.

I approached her door, took a deep breath, and steeled myself before knocking. I tapped my foot while I waited, waving to the occasional passerby. After about ten or fifteen seconds, I knocked again, this time calling out to her. “Hey, Cannoli, are you in there? It’s me, Matt. Can we talk for a minute?”

I put my hands into my pockets while I waited. It was a cool morning. White, fluffy clouds paraded through the air, and a gentle breeze blew by. It reminded me a lot of the comfortable Saturday mornings I’d wake up to as a kid. Those were the best. Guess it was a good reminder to live in the now instead of futurizing everything.

Another fifteen seconds passed, and I was beginning to grow concerned. Under any other circumstances on Earth, I would’ve never tried to jiggle the handle. That was a great way to get investigated. The girls had a knack of reminding me just how important men were, though, and what I could get away with was more than slightly concerning. It left a bad taste in my mouth to try and flaunt my powers over the girls.

And yet, I jiggled the handle. Sure enough, it was locked. That wouldn’t have been strange to me in the past, but I found that many of the girls on Ni Island didn’t worry too much about locking each other’s doors. Had to assume that it had something to do with the fact that everyone knew everyone.

Our very own Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

Then I saw it. There was a silhouette behind the shades. With the sun shining so brightly, it was easy to see. Cannoli’s shape was undeniable.

“I know you’re in there, Cannoli.” I watched as the silhouette fled. I sighed and knocked again. “I just wanted to invite you out somewhere. Somewhere fun. Somewhere we can get away from the stress of the daily. You interested?”

There was a long pause. Maybe she was mulling it over. I could see it now—she’d be standing in front of the door, twiddling her fingers and biting her lip, afraid to get in anyone’s way or disrupt the peace. While I was willing to wait and give her time to come to me—or hell, anyone in her own time, if we were going to visit Abalone today, I needed an answer.

Just as I was about to knock for the last time, I heard a click, and the door slowly squeaked open. It took a lot out of me to hide my shock. Before me stood Cannoli. She was still in her nightgown, her cheeks and eyes pink and puffy.

Has she been crying all this time?

“Hi, Matt,” she said in little more than a whisper.

“H-hi.” I put my arm down and put on my best smile. “Been lookin’ for you.”

“Sorry.”

One-word responses. Not a great look so far.

I tried to keep my head on tight as best as I could. “Is Ceres not here?”

“I guess not,” she whimpered and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

I cleared my throat. “You know, Keke brought up a great point. We’ve all been stressed out a lot lately. Ni Island is the best place a guy could be, just saying.” I was pretty sure my tone was coming off sincere and friendly, but Cannoli’s expression remained sullen; vacant almost.

She didn’t even look up at me. Just crossed one arm across her chest and let her hair fall over her shoulders.

I continued. “Uh, so, what Keke was saying was that maybe we should take a trip to Abalone. She told me it’s a great place for manicures and pedicures. A catgirl’s dream if she’s looking to get away and relax for a while.”

“When would we go?”

“Today! As soon as everyone’s ready—”

“No, thanks.”

Way to shut a guy down. Okay, um, let’s dig a bit.

“Oh. Uh, okay. Are you sure, though? I’d love your company, and I think you could really—”

She didn’t slam the door in my face, but it was rather sudden when she closed it. If I was being honest, a part of me was relieved that she was willing to be this selfish. On the other hand, though, my concern for her worsened.

I raised my hand to knock, then stopped.

No, Kelmer. Just leave her be. If she needs space, then so be it.

I breathed deep and left.

That just left Ravyn. After everything that’d happened between us, I had no idea how to approach her anymore. Every interaction felt awkward and stiff. It’s not like the last conversation we had was anything approaching cordial or friendly either.

So I wandered. The road was quiet, which was a bit of a weird change from the hustle and bustle I was used to, particularly around Saphira and Espada’s workstations. I asked every catgirl I passed about Ravyn. Some of them had seen her shopping occasionally or making the journey to and from her home. A few of them were convinced that Ravyn was up to no good and creating some sort of new witchcraft or other.

Once in a while, I’d catch something out of the corner of my eye, look, and see nothing there. Knowing she had access to [Displace] and a number of other Skills and Spells she hadn’t told me about had me convinced that hunting her down was an impossible task.

Is she avoiding me on purpose, then?

I visited her mountainside hideout for the second time in as many days. I knocked on the door a few times, giving her the same courtesy that I gave Cannoli. Unlike Cannoli, however, I had no proof that Ravyn was actually inside. I covered the sides of my face and peered through the small window in her door. Two candles were burned down to their bases, flickering their final breaths in the darkness. Even with the low light, I could tell that the books were strewn about the room more than usual. Some of them were facedown on the floor, others had pages torn out. Hell, the ashes of one charred, thick tome blew into the wind from under the door.

I hoped this wouldn’t turn into one of those Lifetime original movies my mom used to watch, where the girl ends up parting from the boy forever because ‘things just won’t ever be the same again.’ The very thought gave me anxiety, and as I drew away from the door, a figure descending the stairs to Ravyn’s home caught my eye.

“Ara?”

The maid curtsied, her legs trembling as she glanced down the cliff beside us. “Y-yes, Matt. I came here to c-convince Ravyn that she should partake in the,” she paused to steady her breathing, “in the festivities at Abalone. But it seems I am no longer necessary.” She swallowed and began to ascend the stairs. Very quickly, might I add.

“Wait!” I reached out for her, but she had already left. I was sure she was just waiting at the top where it was safe, so I followed. Sure enough, she was still there when I arrived. “You came to help Ravyn?”

Ara cleared her throat. “I did not come to help that Shulan-birthed travesty of a woman.” She puffed out her chest and straightened her back. “It was out of concern for the young Master. He understands that there is a rift between you and Ravyn currently. It was his desire to see you both in better spirits—thus, I have come to convince her.”

“Well, you’re wasting your time. I appreciate the sentiment, but she’s not home.”

Ara raised a brow. “Are you certain?”

No, I’m not. But, your good intentions aside, I don’t think it’s a great idea for you two to talk right now.

“Positive. Door locked, lights off. Maybe we should look elsewhere.”

“Hmm.” Ara didn’t seem convinced. The last thing I wanted to see right now was these two go at it. Even if Ara did mean well, she had no idea what was going on between us, so out of respect for our privacy, I tried to wave the idea away. “If that is so. I apologize. I understand that it is not my place to interfere. I simply—”

“Wish for Tristan to be content. Yes, I know.”

She frowned. “How presumptuous of you. While it is true that I came here because I wish to see the men get along well, you would be incorrect in assuming that he alone is the reason for my visit.”

I couldn’t hide it. My mouth hung open, and I could feel a slow grin coming on. “Are we becoming friends?”

Ara’s cheeks turned to a hue of red I’d only seen once before—when Tristan had mentioned the sandwiches Ara often made for him. Ara swallowed hard. “I would not go that far, Matt.” She turned on her heel and continued back down the road. “Now, please. Let us locate that filthy woman so that we may leave. We have a schedule to adhere to.”

“Sure, Ara. Sure.”