Luna felt refreshed as she woke up. The calm and clear sky, along with the cold morning breeze, felt great on her skin.

Wait... morning?!

Everything came back to her all at once, and she cursed when she realized what had happened. Luna felt a weight on top of her and saw that Elizabeth slept on her side and used her stomach as a pillow. She quickly lifted her right arm and found it completely healed. Through her ripped coat and dress shirt, she could see that there were no traces of injuries even though it happened a few hours ago. Even her metal bones that protruded from her skin were miraculously mended inside.

Her legs, back, and arms were healed as well.

But how?!

Luna clearly broke them all last night. She tried to sit upright slowly so she would not wake the child. Luna looked around and found the remains of the fight from the night before. The Voltagh was now clearly dead as some buzzards enjoyed their feast. They were a good distance away, but the smell of the carcass could still be smelled lightly from where they were. All around them were shards, and Luna remembered that she ordered Servo to destroy itself to take the monster down.

She sighed heavily.

Luna wasn’t the sentimental type when it comes to objects but even though both of them were alive, it is as though she lost a friend. Servo had been her personal bot for three years and been her only companion in most of her contracts. It felt so surreal that she will never hear its chirps again which had been part of her daily life.

Elizabeth stirred and opened her eyes. “Morning.” Even though she just woke up the little girl looked absolutely exhausted. Her skin was pale and felt like the child might fall over.

“Morning.” Luna replied. “You… look sick.”

She placed her hand on the child’s forehead to check if she had a fever.

“I’m ok. It takes a long time to recover when using my gift.”

“Gift?” Luna asked as she tried to piece it in her head. Elizabeth pointed to her arm. “You did this?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“You’re… a mage?” Luna asked.

The child did not answer at once but she nodded again.

“Why... why would you tell me?”

Elizabeth did not answer.

Luna sat up straight until she was at the same height as Elizabeth. She tried to look her in the eyes but the child kept her gaze on the ground. Luna put her finger on the child’s chin and lifted it slowly so she was looking at her.

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” She gave Elizabeth her most assuring smile, and the child simply nodded. “But next time, do not tell anyone so easily that you are a mage. Alright? You cannot trust anyone.”

“I trust you.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. But I do.”

There was no lie in her eyes when Elizabeth said it. Luna exhaled loudly as she stood up and felt the breeze on her hair. She tried to find her hat but it was nowhere to be found. She guessed the wind must have swept it away. Luna walked towards the Voltagh’s carcass when she noticed that Elizabeth followed her as well. As they got closer, the stench grew stronger, and she expected the child to stop. But she just covered her nose.

She turned around. “Stay here. I just need to check something.”

Luna continued to walk towards the carcass, but Elizabeth still followed her. She stopped again.

“I won’t leave. I will just be over there.” But she could see the child was still anxious, so she led Elizabeth to some large rocks and sat her down. “Here. To make sure I will come back, hold these.”

Luna gave Elizabeth her money pouch, satchel bag, coat, pocket watch, and even her canister launcher, which she placed on the ground. “There. I can’t go anywhere without those. Now count to five hundred and I will be back, alright?” Elizabeth nodded.

As she got close, the stench of rotting flesh was painfully putrid. The crows and jruits, large flying insects the size of birds with sharp probes, did not even leave, as they were too busy with their meal. As she inspected the creature, only up close did she confirm her suspicion.

Despite being set on fire and bombarded with bullets and explosives, Luna could still see some of the un-burnt flesh and found that the Voltagh was diseased... no, blighted. Underneath its thick scales, it had small bumps on its skin filled with pus. Luna then remembered the blob that sprouted from its neck. The Voltagh was clearly dead, but when the blob mass took over, it was more vicious and could even take a direct punch from her, and she did not hold back.

Luna remembered the wolves from days ago and they were in the same condition. Blighted, sick, while being stronger and more feral. She tried to find some remnants of servo as well, but all around the creature she could only find metal fragments or shards. Servo was at the point of impact, so any remains were truly gone, but a little bit of her hoped the little bot would roll out somewhere and greet her with its chirps. Sadly, giving up, she went back.

"How long was I gone?" Luna asked as she came back and found Elizabeth had indeed counted under her breath.

"I counted up to a hundred three times." Luna took her belongings. Compared to three days ago, she had a lot less to put on. Elizabeth got to her feet but still looked pale.

"Sure you can walk? It will be a long way back."

"I’m alright." Elizabeth smiled at her, but Luna could feel that the child faked it.

=0o0=

It was almost noon, but their progress was incredibly slow. Luna had to slow down so the child could rest. She even offered to carry her, but Elizabeth wanted to walk. They almost arrived at the cave where Luna first spotted the Voltagh, which means her bike is not far away. From there, it was a long ride back to the main road, but at least they could cover more ground. Luna remembered there were dead enforcers by the cave’s entrance, so she chose a path to her bike that did not go by the cave, so Elizabeth would not see the corpses.

"So.... do you... know how to ride a bike?" Luna asked. Mainly, the walk back was quiet, and although it was convenient, she had to admit it was awkward.

"No. My papa got me a bike, but he never taught me how to ride it."

"Hmmmm how come?" Luna asked out of curiosity.

"He died." Elizabeth replied.

Luna’s face crinkled, and she cursed herself in her head.

"I’m sorry." She did not know what to say next and wished she could strike herself for starting the conversation. But Luna tried to save the banter. "I can teach you how to ride if you want. You will love my steambike. It’s comfy, and the seat is heated with cushions. It even has a holder for snacks. Best of all, it has---NO! "

Her prized steambike was being attacked by a quilled black bear when they arrived. The creature’s thick claw and long quills ripped through her bike's chassis and ate the meat Luna had stored last night. She reached into her satchel bag and got a small metal disc. She pulled a cord on the side, and the device suddenly made loud banging noises. The bear was scared off, but the damage to her bike had been done.

It was destroyed beyond use; the wheels, engine, seat, and trunk were slashed and ripped. Even her spare clothes and equipment were strewn all over the ground. Luna tried to check, but the quill bear had left nothing that could be salvaged. Even her wine bottles were smashed. Luna cursed out loud as she kicked her cracked helmet on the ground.

Quickly realizing that she wasn’t alone, Luna turned around to face Elizabeth. She remembered what Baldric told her about cursing in front of children.

"Uhmm... Sorry about that. Cursing is bad. Got it? Never curse. I got a filthy mouth."

Elizabeth simply nodded. Luna took a deep breath, then continued to rummage through the remains of her bike to see if anything could still be used. She had to hand it to the bear. It was thorough.

"What will we do now? Your bike is gone." Elizabeth’s innocent question made Luna even more deflated.

"We will have to walk, I guess."

It took a while, and out of all the equipment she had, the only things Luna could recover were a black briefcase, a satchel bag filled with tin canisters, two small paper bags of trail mix, three throwing knives, and a spare folding staff. Luna chose to just discard her launcher and pack everything else evenly so that she only wore two satchel bags and carried a briefcase in one hand.

When Luna was finished, she found Elizabeth sat underneath a tree, sound asleep. The child still looked worn-out, and the long walk back must have added to her fatigue.

Luna gently tried to wake her up. "Ready to go?" The child did not reply, as she groggily woke. She still looked pale and woozy, and Luna had to offer her arm. "I’ll carry you."

Elizabeth shook her head.

"You are not walking in your condition. I’ll carry you. "

Luna did not wait for a reply and carried her in one arm. Elizabeth nestled her head on her shoulder, and Luna started the long walk back to the main road. After a few minutes, she could hear the child's snores and the warm drool on her clothes.

It was an unbelievable night, and yet the most remarkable part happened only minutes ago. A mage had willingly told a bounty hunter their deepest secret. The child may not have known, but that secret could earn Elizabeth a fate worse than death. Luna adjusted her walk so as not to disturb the child. Just as she finished a can of worms, a whole new world of problems landed right on her feet. In her mind, all she could say was

Maker what am I going to do with this child...