Things were okay. Things weren’t as good as they could be - we weren’t as good as we could be… but it’s fine, I can settle for okay.

Reserved over depressed. Quiet instead of silent. An Ash that looked at me as opposed to one that didn’t.

In short, Ash was okay. Not great, not good even, she was just okay.

Memories helped but it didn’t cure completely, and it’d be stupid to expect it to. Still, it was nice to walk alongside her and no longer feel as if the great barrier reef itself separated us both.

No great barrier, yes. But there was still a barrier. Again, I don’t mind because it was merely an okay barrier. And like I mentioned before, I can settle for okay.

Lightning flashed the sky. A deafening boom followed. Time’s nearly up, it seems.

“Master… luck has been kind to us so far,” Ash said, her eyes looking towards the darkening clouds. “But let us not tempt fate for any longer, for I fear that our luck may be turning.”

“I think so too,” I said, noticing a sudden surge in umbrella usage among the denizens of city life. “Store… store… we turn left here?”

“I believe so…”

Such confidence in her knowledge of the city. Evidently, she was far from the Elf she used to be. Modern life had mellowed her out a bit.

I remembered how every street corner would be confronted with the utmost amount of vigilance, like really, what’s more likely? That the laugh we heard around the corner just now belonged to a psychotic witch, or a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls?

She’d spun around first, her arms raised for the fight of a lifetime, only to then immediately lower them every single time.

Gaggle of schoolgirls always wins.

Fast forward to the present, and here we were once more, turning to a corner, hearing derisive laughter, and yet nothing. No precautionary steps taken, no swords being drawn, we just continued walking along.

Why?

Because gaggle of schoolgirls continues to prevail. You go girls.

Still, can’t help but miss the Elf who thought of planes as dragons. Good times. Embarrassing times, but good times nonetheless.

Many changes were made during our days spent. She could read now. Make herself a mean bowl of cereal if she wanted to. Heck, apparently she could sew too. Yeah... many significant changes, alright.

It’s got me thinking… What else could change in the coming days?

Could she? Could we? And in what way?

Hell, who’s to say we haven’t already?

Old me wouldn’t have hesitated. Old me would have taken days not weeks. Where was the me that could so easily find the words to say? Was he even still there?

We’ll finish getting groceries, we’ll go home, and everything will be okay. But would my old self really settle for things just being okay? Or would he have strived for more?

Let’s find out…

“Hey Ash?”

“Hmm?”

We both turned to each other, stared at each other, and then… deep breath.

“I…”

I what? I don’t blame you? I think we should talk? I want to go back to how things were again?

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

Ash smiled… it was a sad smile, an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes,” Ash said. “Spare me any more words of comfort that you have to offer. I do not deserve them.”

“I think you do.”

“Because you’re kind. You shouldn’t be. Not to me.”

“Why?”

“You forget,” Ash said. “I am but a servant… treat me as such.”

“You… do you really want that?”

She chuckled. “You forget again, Master. I do not get to want, remember?”

I hated it. I hated this conversation. I hated everything it stood for. I talked about change, about how she had changed, but now I see that things haven’t actually changed, not really.

It didn’t matter how many things have changed, because some things just stay the same.

She was still my Servant and I was still her Master.

To her, that was just an irrefutable fact. Damn it, Asteria...

“Can I at least try to make you feel better?” I asked.

Ash sighed. “Haven’t you done so already?”

So she noticed. I mean, to be fair, it was hard not to. Bus rides, eager smiles, light conversations… even this walk. As Ash said long before, I was a terrible liar.

“Did it work at least?”

When she spoke again, she looked at me with light in her eyes. Never, I thought, never have I seen a more genuine display of sincerity in my life.

“Why, yes indeed,” She nodded. She smiled. “To my utter dismay, it has. Why, exploiting my intrigue for your world’s machines… mortifying me with my blunders of the past… my weaknesses out in the open, and you exploited it. How very devious of you.”

“Guilty as charged,” I said, raising my hands out in front of me. “But… you know… whatever it takes, right?”

“Indeed,” Ash said. “So please, I ask, I implore… do no more. Act no more. Such gestures are wasted on the likes of me. Leave me as is, treat me as is - as a servant and nothing more.”

She asked, she implored, but she still hasn't said it…

“Is that really, truly, what you want, Ash?”

Say no. Please say no. Don’t consider it, why are you considering, stop with the contemplating… I don’t want that smile. I don’t want -

“Yes,” she said. “That’s… that’s what I want.”

Things were not okay. Things weren’t as okay as they could be - we weren’t as okay as we could be… it’s not fine, I can’t settle for this okay.

But Ash wanted me to. So I have no choice but to be okay with it, don’t I?

Don’t I?

“One more,” I said.

Ash turned, frowning. “Pardon?”

“Give me one more chance to be kind,” I explained. “After that, if you still want to be treated… however you wanted to be treated, I’ll try and go along with it.”

“I… I suppose we - but,” She glanced upwards. “I worry for the rain.”

I worry for you.

“The rain can wait,” I said, grabbing hold of her hand. “We go now.”

I took our feet off the predetermined concrete-paved path and branched away into the coarse uncharted gravel street to the side, striding in pace, with Ash trailing along, hand in hand.

“Master, just where are we headed?” asked a bewildered Ash. “What are your intentions now?”

I glanced at her, and I smiled. “Neplims.”

“Neplims?”

“Yeah, Neplims.” My smile grew wider. “Nep-neps, neppies. Neplims. Those you surely must know of, right?”

“Y-yes,” stuttered Ash. “But those are… they’re wondrous, creatures of myth. Their very existence is the stuff of legends. Why, only a few can claim to have ever laid eyes upon one! They’re nearly unheard of… their presence unmatched - They... they are - “

“They’re cats,” I said.

Ash blinked. “Cats?”

“Here on Earth, we call them cats. I’m personally more of a dog person myself but… yeah, cats are nice too.”

“Neplims… Neplims exist? Here? At this very moment in time?”

“Oh yeah, by the motherload,” I said. “Too many to even count.”

Faintly I could hear Ash’s breath start to falter. “By the Gods…”

Yeah, okay, I am such a goddamn genius of having thought of this. What a stroke of ingenuity. Before I was utilizing the many offerings of the modern world to try and captivate her… when really I should have been using the offerings in hers.

Thank you Asteria for the information.

“Master, wait,” Ash furrowed her brow. “Are you too aware of the effects of the Neplim? The effects they have... on the people of my world?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“How is it you know? I don’t believe I have ever mentioned this to you.”

Oh. Well…

“Magical box of information, remember?” I said, drawing out the phone in my pants pocket with a flourish. “Everything I need to know, all right here.”

“I see...”

“So do you wanna see the Neplim or not?”

Indecision, indecision. To say yes, is to accept my kindness. To say no, is to miss the sight of a mythical creature of fantasy. Ash heavily considered her options with the most conflicted look on her face.

“Oh, how you tempt me indeed, Master,” she said, shaking her head, but smiling. “I suppose… I suppose a glance wouldn’t hurt.”

Y’know judging by how my party members reacted to the sight of one, and how Ash was reacting now… perhaps the Egyptians were on to something here.

“Besides,” continued Ash quietly. “This would be a good opportunity to confirm if the claims are true. For my sake...”

“You can pet them too.”

“Oh Gods… give me strength.”

"Don't worry, I'll hold you steady."

Yep those Egypt folks got it right. Hail to the cats, baby.