Velka sat at her desk, organizing the book orders. She had picked up a small job in a smaller bookstore and was content with it. It had been ten years since she left Wul and still wore the band on her finger and the ring around her neck. She often played with it absentmindedly, reminding herself of the good times she had. She still trained but avoided conflict, for fear of being dragged into more problems. Looking at the clock, she hurriedly picked up her keys and stepped out the door, locking it behind her. She often closed the shop as she didn’t have a family. It was late, the hands pointing to a sharp nine in the evening. Stepping into the bustling streets, she started walking to her house, keeping a nervous eye out, out of habit perhaps.

“Let me go!”

Hearing the shout of a young girl, Velka cocked an eyebrow and went towards the sound, seeing three men harassing a young catfolk girl.

“Come on, we’re telling you, you’ll have a good time!” said one of the men, resting his arm on the wall next to the girl.

“And maybe you aren’t listening, I said I wasn’t interested!” screamed the girl back, trying to pass between the shoulders, only to be pushed back against the wall.

Velka frowned and made her way to the end of the alley. Arriving at the site of the conflict, she put a hand on a man’s shoulder.

“Is there a problem here, miss?” she asked, looking at the three looming figures.

“Yes!” yelled back the girl, beaming with hope.

“All I needed to hear.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed the back of the shoulder and bent the man over, smashing his nose into her knee, causing him to fall back onto the cobblestone. The two others took a moment to realize before dashing towards her. The first was met with a punch to the stomach, accompanied with the heat blast she had mastered long ago, making him fly backwards into the wall. The second stepped over and attempted to tackle Velka, only to get elbowed at the back of the head. The man with a now broken nose stood up again, taking a knife out and lunging at Velka who simply grabbed his arm and melted the dagger right out of it.

“You shouldn’t play with knives”, she said, looking him in the eye before knocking him unconscious with a simple hit to the head.

Dusting off her pants, she turned towards the cat girl.

“Are you okay? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?” she asked, looking over the girl quickly, trying to pinpoint what felt familiar about her.

“W-wait…” started the girl, looking at the facial features and the ears.

“Hm?”

“Velka?!”

After a quick second, the realization hit Velka full force.

“Tessa?!” she said loudly, surprising herself.

“Is it really you?” asked Tessa, making circles around her.

“Um… I… would you mind not observing every nook and cranny? I didn’t age especially well.”

“Nonsense! You look amazing!”

“Me? Look at you! You grew into a fine young woman!”

“Should we go over details over some drinks?”

“Sure!”

The two quickly went to a friendly tavern, both grabbing simple drinks; a beer for Tessa and a whiskey on the rocks for Velka.

“I didn’t know you were into whiskey” said Tessa, taking a sip of the foamy liquid.

“I blame Keela. She got me into the stuff”, replied Velka, taking a small sip, letting the liquid coat her mouth before letting the fire go down her throat; an oddly familiar feeling.

“Speaking of which, where is she these days?”

“I…”

Velka paused, looking at the bottom of her glass, her necklace hanging out of her blouse.

“She died ten years ago. I never had the strength to come tell you”, said Velka, avoiding eye contact.

“I had a hunch”, replied Tessa with a faint smile.

“You did?”

“I mean, neither of you came back in ten years. I just assumed you had both died in whatever crazy endeavor you two got caught in.”

“Crazy it was. Barely 7 months and it’s all it took for everything to go down.”

“Yeah, after Murph died, it went downhill, didn’t it?”

“Oh that’s just the start. Do you want to hear the rest of the story?”

Tessa smiled, a touch impatient, leaning forward.

“Of course!”

“Alright, it started about the day when Keela came back from the tavern and…”

Velka told the whole story, over a few drinks. The hands of the clock ticked around, the minutes passing by.

“and then here I am. I suppose the story about ends when I burned down the house”, said Velka, putting aside her third glass.

She had let down her hair and rolled up her sleeves, showing some battle and feeding scars on her forearms. Tessa had tanked five beers and was slouching a bit in her chair.

“So you two never ended up getting married? What are the rings then?” she asked, leaning back on the table.

“It’s the rings the demon gave us. I got hers off her corpse, as a keepsake I suppose”, said Velka, sadly playing with the ring on her finger.

“That’s hell of a story… It’s almost unbelievable.”

“Could barely believe it myself.”

“You two were always our two moms, Murph was like an uncle”, said Tessa, flashing a warm smile.

Pausing, Velka, looked at the clock. Noticing the time, she got up and paid the bartender for both hers and Tessa’s drinks.

“Well, this was lovely but I do have to work tomorrow. Let’s call it a day”, she said, tying her hair back.

“Hey, I have a weird favor to ask”, said Tessa, looking up from her seat.

“Sure, ask away.”

“I’m staying at an inn right now but wouldn’t it be nice if I could stay at your place instead?”

Laughing, Velka put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sure. Then you can explain to me why you’re so far away from home, young lady.”

“See?! This is why you’re still my mom!”

The two of them laughed and headed off into the night, basking in some memories and ready to make new ones. Playing with the necklace between her fingers, Velka looked up at the sky and smiled, tucking it back in her blouse. This wasn’t so bad.

The end.