CHAPTER 2

“So, the legend of the twins,” Ralia was saying. “They were prince and princess of Doxen, over a thousand years ago.”

“But here’s the really cool part,” Pakos interrupted. “Only the queen and her midwife knew she was having twins. Not even the king knew. The queen died in childbirth, and the midwife was left to raise the twins.”

Pakos and Ralia stood in a large town square with their Moccan friends, staring up at a brass statue of two Latian ferrets. They were exactly identical, down to their rings and facial markings. It was impossible to tell which had been prince and which had been princess. Pakos continued. “For reasons we’ll never know, she raised the twins in secrecy. The king knew he had a child, and would see one or the other on occasion, but between being busy running the kingdom and being a reluctant father, he never really spent time with or got to know either. So he never noticed. And the kingdom was told that the king had a child, but the twins were kept hidden, so the people never saw them for long. And when they were teenagers, probably around fifteen, the king got sick and died. So one of the twins had to inherit.”

Pakos paused to catch his breath, and Ralia continued. “Right. But they’d been raised alone together for so long, neither wanted to rule without the other. And the people wouldn’t know the difference.”

“So they swapped,” said Pakos. “They’d basically take turns making public appearances, and no one knew the difference. And they worked together on policy and decision making and stuff. This went on for thirty years, and no one knew but the midwife, and she died not long after they took power. And keep in mind, these were some of the best thirty years Doxen had had in centuries, and would have for centuries to come.”

Ralia took over again. “But then, thirty-two years after they’d begun ruling the country, Fadar, a rival nation, sent an assassin. It’s unclear whether it was the prince or princess who was poisoned, but as they lay dying, the other penned a short note, saying that if their twin was to die, then so too would they, because their fates were intertwined and inseparable. And they took the same poison.”

“It was awesome,” Pakos said. “By far the coolest story from when Doxen was a monarchy.”

Niko nodded enthusiastically. “That is really cool! And better than if you made it up. Okay, where are we going next?”

Ralia started counting on her fingers. “Well, out of stuff within walking distance, we’ve got the old district, which has been around for like hundreds of years, the Doxen Museum of National History, and if we’re looking to relax a little, the Teromod Central Park.”

Kelsen, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up. “The statue was pretty cool, but there are...a lot of people here. Can we chill in the park for a bit?”

Niko and Ralia immediately answered that yes, of course they could, and Pakos shrugged and went along with it. Kelsen thanked them and slipped down far enough that he was hiding again, and stayed that way until they reached the park, where Niko patted him on the shoulder and helped him to his feet.

The park actually had almost as many people as the plaza, but it was much larger, and the paths were separated by lines of bushes, hedges, and short trees, so they were only really in sight range of a few people at a time. Kelsen seemed to like this a lot more, and spent some time just staring at the plantlife. He even joined in the constant banter Niko, Pakos, and Ralia had going, which was currently centered around their favorite multiplayer game of the past few months, Demon Hunters.

“Assassin is clearly the best DPS,” Pakos said, confident in his main class of choice. “More damage in melee than the Warrior, and similar damage at range to the Marksman. Plus all of its boss-killing abilities!”

“Pakos, dude, I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Niko responded. “I’m just saying that every class has its place in a party.”

Ralia agreed. “Cleric isn’t flashy, but you wouldn’t live long enough to use your combos without heals.”

“But just think about it. A full party of Assassins. I saw these guys do it online, and they beat Andramalech in two and a half minutes.”

“That’s because those guys are pros. They could probably run all Cleric and beat the boss faster than we could with a balanced party,” Niko said.

“I’m a pro!” protested Pakos.

Kelsen piped up, “Not with your tendency to teamkill, you’re not.” Niko and Ralia laughed, but Pakos seemed stung. Kelsen immediately backpedaled. “N-no, I mean, I’m just kidding.”

“No, you’re right.” Niko glanced up at Pakos. “He never looks where he’s swinging his swords.”

“Hehe...” Pakos seemed anything but amused. “Guess I’ll just have to show you guys next time we play.”

Niko snorted. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

...

At the end of their walk, they began planning out their next course of action.

“Museum sounds fun,” said Niko.

Pakos hummed. “Old district is pretty amazing in the afternoon, though. What time is it? Three? Good time to check it out.”

“How about you?” Ralia looked down at Kelsen, who was looking down despite their walk. “What would you like to do next?”

Pakos scoffed lightly. “He just got to pick.” Niko silenced him with a glare and a shake of his head.

“Sorry, but...could we go get settled at your place? I’m just feeling really...it’s...a lot.”

Niko nodded. “That’s a good idea. You’ll feel better when we have a home base, huh? Somewhere we can go back to whenever you’re tired out.”

“...Yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” said Ralia. “I want to head back too. Gotta get rid of your heavy bags!” Niko laughed, but Kelsen didn’t seem up to mustering a smile. A sign that they really needed to get him somewhere he felt more comfortable.

“Damn,” said Pakos. “That’s old district basically out of the question, and the museum closes at five. You probably won’t be back around here by then, huh?”

“Sorry, but no,” Ralia responded. “It’ll take us at least an hour to get to my place on foot, and it might be a bit until I’ve got them settled, and then we’ve got a dinner reservation tonight...I’d invite you along, but I only made it for three.”

“No worries,” he said. “I’ve got some other stuff to do tonight anyway. How about we regroup tomorrow and check out the museum?”

“Sounds good. Potentially, anyway. We’ll text you in the morning and let you know?”

“All right. Have fun settling in. See you guys around!” With a mock salute of two fingers, Pakos headed out, and was soon lost in the crowd.

...

It ended up taking Ralia an hour and a half to walk home. On the way, Niko thought to ask why so many people on Latia walked rather than taking their cars.

“Well, I’ve never really thought about it...I guess for a few reasons. For one thing, I think cars are a lot more expensive here than on Moccs, so not everybody has one. For another, the city is huge, and has a lot of people. You guys are from a smaller town, right?” Niko nodded. “Yeah. I think it’s actually the same on Moccs—in bigger cities, more people walk, take public transportation, or ride their bike, unless they work somewhere outside the city. I do have a car, but I mostly save it for long trips, big grocery runs, and stuff like that.”

“I think I understand,” said Niko. “Still weird though. In Brenn, you’re the odd one out if you don’t have a car...I guess we weren’t in Decegrad long enough to notice whether or not it had the same ratio of cars to people.”

“It didn’t,” Kelsen interjected from the bottom of the pocket. His voice was slightly muffled. “I didn’t really think about it until now, though.”

“As always, you’re more observant than I am.” Niko crouched down for a moment. “How you doing? Any better?”

“A little. Still want to get to Ralia’s place.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re here!” Ralia announced. The two Moccans looked up to see her entering a mid-sized—for Latians—apartment building. “I live on the second floor. Normally I take the stairs, but we’ll take the elevator while you’re here.” She entered the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor, and right as the doors started to shut, a Latian rabbit slipped inside.

“Whew, that was close! Hey, Ralia, I—” She cut short as she spotted the two Moccans riding in Ralia’s pocket. “Whoa! Are those Moccans?”

“We sure are,” Niko said cheerfully.

“Damn! I’ve never seen any of them in person. Of you, I mean.” She leaned in close, inspecting the two of them. Kelsen made himself as small and low as he could.

“And it’s nice to meet you, but could you back up, please? My friend here gets nervous.”

“Aww, I’m sure he’s fine with me getting a closer look...”

She trailed off as Ralia put her arm in between them, gesturing for her to create some distance. “Lins, they’re not zoo animals. They’re my friends. Back up, please.”

“No, I didn’t mean...”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Ralia stepped out, leaving Lins behind. Niko looked up to see a frustrated look on Ralia’s face. “She a friend of yours?”

“Next door neighbor. Okay, but between you and me, a bit nosy. And she apparently doesn’t know how to act around Moccans...” She glanced down and put on a sunny smile. “But anyway, don’t worry about that. Let’s get you two settled.”

She unlocked the door—with a metal key, which Niko and Kelsen found a bit old fashioned, accustomed to keycards as they were—and stepped inside, closing the door firmly behind her.

The first room in the apartment was a combined sitting room and kitchen. Ralia had her computer set up in the sitting room, attached to what Niko gathered was a large and expensive television by Latian standards. It was beyond massive to him, of course, but he could tell that most screens back on Moccs were proportionately larger. There was also a short leather couch, angled to face the television. The kitchen was immaculate, with a standard setup, from fridge to microwave and so on, including a drying rack with several clean dishes and a blender next to the fridge. Past the kitchen, a short hallway led to Ralia’s bedroom.

“Here we are! Home sweet home for me.” She slipped off her shoes. “Let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

Niko looked around. “You, uh, made it sound like you had a spare room, but I’m not...”

“It’s not exactly a spare room. Here.” She moved over to a corner of the sitting room, on the far side of the couch. “Like most things made for Moccans, it’s not perfect quality, but I made sure the beds were comfortable. I hope it’ll be okay.” Carefully guiding Niko and Kelsen to clamber onto her paw, she set it down slowly on the floor, in front of what looked like a tiny—even for them—Moccan-sized house. “It’s got a bedroom with two beds and a bathroom. What, uh, what do you guys think?...”

Niko gaped and opened the door, poking his head in. “This is amazing! I can’t believe you did this for us. I admit I was kind of worried about the logistics of us staying here, but this is great.” Kelsen hurried in after him and moved to one of the beds, immediately sitting down and starting a breathing exercise Niko recognized; it would hopefully help him calm down. Niko nodded to him and went to inspect the bathroom. “Wow. Everything works.”

Outside and far above, Ralia sounded pleased. “I’m glad it seems okay! I mean, most of it is plastic and it’s not the most well made...”

“Nonsense. It’s perfect.” Niko stepped outside, and found her setting down their luggage. He stopped in the middle of picking up Kelsen’s. “Hey, wait a minute! How much did this cost?! You really didn’t have to go to this much trouble.”

Ralia shook her head. “Not as much as you’d think. And I wanted to! I want you guys to have a good stay. So there.”

“All right, fine. But only if you let me and Kelsen set up your accommodations when you come to visit Moccs.” They shared a laugh, and he moved inside, setting Kelsen’s stuff on the bed beside him. To his surprise, Kelsen had deactivated and taken off his Micz, though his Earplugz were still in. Feeling worried, he turned off his own Micz. “Hey bud, why’s your Micz off?”

“I-I didn’t...want Ralia...to hear me cry.” Kelsen’s shoulders shook, and he started to sob.

“Oh, Kel...” Niko sat down on his other side and put his arm around Kelsen’s shoulders. “It’s all right. I’m here.”

“I’m s-sorry...just...everyone stares at me, and they’re all s-so huge, a-and...why did we come here?”

“Hey, don’t be sorry. This is all pretty scary.”

“But you’re not scared. You and R-Ralia are having a good time. I-it’s just m-me. Why am I-I so messed up? What’s wrong with me?”

“Hey! We’ve been over this. There is nothing wrong with you. You just react a little different, and that’s fine.” He pulled Kelsen into an embrace. “You’re my best friend, and I’m always gonna be here for you. Ralia too. And you are stronger than you think. You can do this. Breathe with me.” He breathed in slow and deep, urging Kelsen to match his breathing to his own.

“Uh, guys? You still haven’t got Niko’s stuff.” Ralia’s voice came from outside.

Niko reactivated his Micz for a moment. “Uh, one sec, just settling in and unpacking and stuff! Why don’t you give us a few? I’ll grab it in a moment.”

“Oh. Okay. I’m going to freshen up and change, then. Be back in a little while.”

Niko held Kelsen until he had stopped crying and his breathing was calm, before patting him on the back and going outside to grab his stuff. When he returned, Kelsen was on his feet rubbing his eyes. “Thanks, Niko.”

“Any time and every time, man. How about we get changed too? I’m looking forward to trying some Latian food later!”

Kelsen didn’t seem too thrilled at the prospect, though Niko reminded him they still had plenty of time to prepare; they wouldn’t be leaving for over an hour. Plenty of time to relax. Once they’d showered and changed, they reactivated their Micz and Earplugz and headed outside their temporary quarters.

...

Ralia was nowhere to be seen, apparently still in either her bedroom or bathroom. Niko led Kelsen across the carpet, which came up to their ankles in places, towards the edge of the couch. “I’d like to check out her computer, but I doubt we’d make that climb,” he told Kelsen, boosting the wolf up. He jumped up after him, and they climbed up to the cushion fairly easily, all thanks to the comparatively lightweight gravity on Latia. Niko stretched out in the center, while Kelsen sat against the back of the couch. “Man, I am having a great time, but I still can’t get over how huge everything is. Like, it makes sense in my brain, but the rest of me is just ‘Whoa!’” He thought back to Kelsen’s words at the starport “...Is that kinda how things are for you sometimes?”

“Pretty much. Just worse.”

Niko stared up at the ceiling. “I think I get it a bit more than I did before, then.” They were silent for a moment. “I’m glad Ralia doesn’t have a pet. Can you imagine?”

Kelsen shivered. “It’d probably hunt us. Think we were prey.”

“Nahhh...okay, maybe at first. But I bet it wouldn’t be that hard to train Latian animals to recognize Moccans as people too. Especially with Micz.”

“Maybe.”

Niko glanced over at Kelsen. “How about you? Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“Wondering what the restaurant is gonna be like...wondering what’s taking Ralia so long.”

“She’s probably still in the shower. Some people, you know?” A mischievous grin spread across Niko’s face. “Oh, is that what you were thinking about?”

“What?”

“Ralia. In the shower.”

“N-no! I was just...”

“Wow, Kel. I wouldn’t have thought it of you. Sitting in your girlfriend’s own apartment, imagining her showering...naked...probably—”

The door to Ralia’s bedroom flew open, and she came stomping out. Niko immediately shut his mouth, but she stormed right up to the couch. “Sound carries in these apartments, you know! And do you know what else?!”

Kelsen stammered. “N-no, I, he, I, we wasn’t, we weren’t...”

Ralia looked at him. “Someday, maybe you will get to see my beautiful body. But not Niko. Niko is going to die alone.” She winked.

Niko laughed uproariously while Kelsen blushed. “You’re not mad at him?”

She shook her head, laughing a bit herself. “Of course not. We’re all way better friends than that. I don’t mind some teasing.” She glanced over at Niko. “And if he does annoy me, I will put him on a very high shelf to think about what he’s done.” Niko just laughed harder, and Kelsen chuckled a little.

Still grinning, Ralia, seemingly unthinkingly, flopped down on the couch one cushion over. While it clearly wasn’t her intention, the force caused Kelsen to bounce a bit, though this was cut short by the back of the couch. Niko, caught in the center, was flung over twenty Moccan feet into the air. Gasping, Ralia reached out to both of them. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking—are you okay?!”

Kelsen flinched at her paw, but not as badly as before. “I-I think I’m okay…but Niko!”

Niko suddenly shot up. “Holy shit! DO IT AGAIN!” he cried, giggling like a child. “That was amazing! Do it again, do it again, do it again!”

“You’re...not hurt?” She gently poked and prodded at him.

“Nah, the couch is soft! Plus, Latian gravity has nothing on me! Again, come on!”

“Please don’t do it again,” said Kelsen.

“Sorry, Niko, but only one of you asked nicely.”

“Awww!”

“Maybe later. Right now, let’s just relax a little. We need to leave in a little over twenty minutes.”

...

They sat for a while and talked a little, but not about anything in particular, and all too soon for Kelsen the time came to head out. They didn’t have far to go; it only took Ralia about fifteen minutes to walk there. On the way, the streets were packed now that most people were off work and heading home or out to eat like they were. Niko happily waved at every passerby who noticed him, and was delighted when most waved back. Kelsen mostly tried to stay out of sight, but gave Niko a thumbs up when checked on.

Things went smoothly at the restaurant, thanks to Ralia’s reservation. They were seated at a table for two—Latians, of course—and the server, a serious-looking gazelle, brought out a smaller table, chairs, cups, utensils, and menus for Kelsen and Niko. “This is fantastic,” Niko said as he opened his menu. “I figured that only a few of the Latian dishes would be feasible to make for Moccans, but there’s a whole bunch of items on the menu.”

“Kinda surprised how much stuff they have for Moccans here,” Kelsen agreed.

Ralia smiled. “Well, it’s not all that much yet. But as more Moccans come to live here, things for Moccans will keep getting better and better.”

“And things for Latians, too. The more we trade people, things, and ideas, the better off both planets will be,” Niko said, grinning back.

“You really believe that, don’t you?”

“Don’t you?”

“Of course! I just...sometimes I wonder how exactly Moccans see Latians, without the filter of the internet.”

“I believe it,” said Kelsen quietly. He reddened as both Niko and Ralia made ‘aww’ noises. “What? Just because I...I mean...I think so too...”

Niko and Ralia were still cooing over Kelsen when the server came to take their orders. Ralia selected a lamb dish with roasted carrots and squash seasoned with garlic and parsley, while Niko ordered roast beef with a baked potato and roasted cauliflower, and Kelsen, after being gently prodded to stop hiding behind his menu, went with white sauce pasta with chicken and a simple salad composed of lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, and shredded cheese, declining any dressing.

Of course, Latia didn’t really have what the Moccans would call sheep, or cows, or even carrots; each item was replaced by an analogue of varying similarity. It was all edible, though, and most of it was easily recognizable to their palate. When they were done ordering, they handed over their menus, and the server walked briskly away.

“Not the friendliest Latian we’ve met today,” Niko observed.

Ralia’s mouth twisted for a moment. “This is a busy restaurant. She’s got other tables to take care of.”

“Fair, fair.” Niko looked around at the other tables, and found that many of them were occasionally glancing their way. He waved whenever he caught someone looking over. Most seemed embarrassed, though one coyote gave him a shy wave back. “I swear, being a Moccan on Latia is like being a celebrity or something. I love it.”

“I hate it,” muttered Kelsen. “Eyes on us all the time...”

“They’re just curious.” Niko waved to another looker, who immediately buried their face in their menu. He turned back to Ralia and Kelsen. “Wouldn’t you stare if there was a Latian on Moccs?”

“...Yeah.”

“Exactly.”

The conversation stalled for a couple minutes, before Ralia spoke up. “So, I’m curious—what did your parents say when you told them you’d landed?” Niko and Kelsen looked at each other uneasily. “What? What’s that look for?”

“We, um...we didn’t message them,” Niko admitted.

“What?! Then do it right now! They’re probably worried sick.”

Kelsen looked at his paws. “No...”

“Of course they are!”

“Hard for them to worry when they don’t, uh, know there’s anything to worry about,” Niko said.

Ralia’s stare grew colder than either Moccan had ever seen it. “What does that mean?”

“We didn’t tell them we were coming,” Kelsen blurted out.

“What?!”

Niko glanced around and saw a few tables looking their way. “Maybe not so loud,” he said quietly. “And, yeah. Neither of our parents know we’re on Latia...they just think we went to Decegrad.”

Eye twitching, Ralia hissed, “How could you not tell them?!”

“Ralia, you need to understand. I mean, your parents are cool. They support you no matter what. Our parents...aren’t always like that. My folks aren’t exactly thrilled about my Latian ‘obsession’. And you know Kelsen’s parents. They tried to stop us from leaving Brenn! If they knew we were coming to Latia, they’d totally freak out.”

Ralia’s response was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Once the server was gone, she leaned in close to the Moccans’ smaller table. Kelsen shrank away, and even Niko flinched a little. “That does not make it okay to lie to them about this. Send them a message, now.”

Despite the huge angry woman only a few feet away, Niko crossed his arms and refused. “No. They don’t need to know.”

“We’re not going back to my place until you have. We can just wait here at the restaurant all night.”

Kelsen started rocking back and forth, clearly in distress. Niko frowned. “Ralia, you can’t just say stuff like that. That’s not cool. We’re not kids, and we don’t have to tell our parents every little thing. Or every big thing. And holding that over us? I thought we were your friends, not your prisoners.”

Ralia’s eyes widened, and she leaned back, chagrined. “You’re right; I’m sorry. I just...I really, really think you should tell them. You might be surprised!”

Niko started picking at his food. “Ralia, my dad literally called me a depraved freak the first time I told him I wanted to meet a Latian. He and my mom hate Latians. Think we’re not ‘meant to mix’ and all that. Beyond that, they used to be really into separation of the species. No fur with scales. No fangs with non-fangs. Bullshit like that.” He took a bite and chewed it slowly. “I tell them what I choose to. I don’t owe them anything.”

“Niko, I had no idea. I’m really sorry...”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. But even if they weren’t...I’m an adult. I can make my own choices. Same for Kelsen.”

They ate in silence for a while after that. Kelsen mostly pushed his food around, clearly deeply unsettled, while Ralia sunk into a guilty slump. Niko ate steadily with little emotion. Eventually, Ralia said, “I really am sorry, you two. I just...I never do anything without talking to my parents about it first. I want their advice a lot, and even when I don’t, it’s just soothing for me to discuss what I’m going to do with them. I guess I have a hard time imagining it being different for you.”

“’S okay,” said Kelsen, still not looking up.

“Just...please give us a little more credit,” Niko said. “I know we’re small here, but we’re big kids. And while I do like to play things by ear, Kelsen always thinks things through, and it’s rubbed off on me. We can make our own decisions. One of those decisions was coming to Latia.” He paused. “Another was trusting you. I stand by those decisions.”

“Mm-hmm.” Kelsen hummed in agreement.

“...Thanks. I’ll trust you guys, too, to know your business better than I do.”

“Good. Now, let’s try to enjoy the food. Kelsen, you need to actually take a bite. It’s good, I promise.”

...

Their conversation was much more lighthearted for the rest of the meal. When the check came, Niko had Ralia hold it up for him to read. “Wow. I thought our food would be a lot cheaper, considering how tiny the portions are compared to yours. What gives?”

“Well, the fee takes service and prep into account, too, of course,” said Ralia. “The food might be cheap, but people had to prepare it and bring it out and make sure you were happy all evening. That costs money.”

“Well, duh, me,” he responded. “That should have been obvious...anyway, here, let me get it.” He reached into his wallet and took out a plastic card.

Ralia just laughed. “Okay, even if I wasn’t definitely paying, how did you intend to pay?”

“With my card?...”

“They don’t take those here,” she said, still giggling a bit. “Credit cards are nowhere near as common on Latia as they are on Moccs. At most places, like here, you have to pay with cash or check.”

“Oh...well, I mean, I don’t carry a lot of cash on me, but it should cover it.”

“And did you stop by the bank to convert your Moccan currency into Latian dollars? For that matter, were you planning on carrying around a coin purse heavier than you are?”

Niko facepalmed. “No...”

“Then put that away. As long as you two are here, I’m paying.” She stuck her tongue out at the two of them. “You can pay when I visit Moccs.”

...

The trip back was uneventful. Most people were off the streets by this time, and those who remained were generally in a hurry. Only one or two even glanced at Niko. Before long, they were back at Ralia’s apartment, getting ready for bed. It was a little early, but they were both wiped out from traveling and the excitement of the day. Rather than sleeping in her room, Ralia took the couch, just in case either of the Moccans needed anything during the night, and, though she didn’t tell them, in order to protect them in the event that someone broke in. Not that she thought anyone would, but she wanted to be sure.

The two of them were a little wary of sleeping in the same room—for multiple reasons—but mainly because they wanted to sleep without their Micz or Earplugz in. Ralia assured them she’d be very quiet, and would text them first if they needed to put on their equipment for any reason. They reluctantly agreed, and went to bed.

Kelsen, exhausted from the admittedly taxing day, collapsed into bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Niko had barely changed and climbed into his own bed before looking over to ask Kelsen how he was doing, only to find the wolf fast asleep. He chuckled to himself, and was soon out cold as well.