††† Sally †††

The campfire's crackling was the fitting background music to the hearty atmosphere in their little shelter. It was a joy to watch the others sharing stories, joking and laughing with each other for Sally. It felt unconstrained and honest. The mood was contagious enough to let even her relax a bit as she munched on a piece of roasted bear meat.

Haylee, in particular, was a joy to observe for Sally. The cat-girl's vibrant bearing made her seem so unrestricted, so free. The way she giggled, cheered and expressed herself with animated movements to every emotion.

"Do I have something on my face?" Haylee asked nonchalantly, pointing at her cheek.

Sally felt her face heating up as she realised she had been staring with a dumb smile all the time. "I— Uhm, I wasn't—"

The group broke out into roaring laughter, and Sally instantly had to join them. She still felt her skin glowing from embarrassment, but somehow it didn't bother her. She laughed with all her heart until she had to wipe tears from her eyes. And then she laughed a bit more, even as the others gradually calmed down.

It felt so liberating.

Then a short hiccup intermitted her giggling, and Sally felt her eyes water again. She covered her mouth with one hand against the last snicker and closed her eyes, feeling the tears rolling down her cheek onto her fingers. She didn't cry. She wasn't sad. She was overwhelmed.

After wiping away the tears, Sally still smiled brightly. "Sorry for that. I just can't remember the last time I laughed like this," she explained.

There were no judgmental stares, only varying degrees of understanding, curiosity and amusement.

Sally huffed with contentment. "In a way, I'm delighted that I finally turned my back on the Red Brigade," she admitted. "Even if my time now might be short, I've never felt so free in my life. I don't have to hide who I am or what I think in front of you. Neither do I have to keep any grand secrets— it doesn't change anything if I tell after all. So, thank you," Sally said, bowing her head.

Haylee practically beamed at the enforcer. But to her surprise, it was Siegfried who spoke up. "I guess that has to do with how enforcers can't lie to each other. No one should have to hide who they are in front of everyone," he said with his usual stern glare. "And I will never judge you for being who you are, only for what you do," the warrior added in a friendly tone that seemed almost off to Sally, being accompanied by that intimidating glare.

But she was grateful nonetheless.

"Now, time is flying by, and you still have to finish half of that clawbear, Sieg. Chop, Chop!" Ryden called out, eliciting a dejected sigh from Siegfried, who had his grand speech ruined by the healer.

Haylee snorted while Rak eyed both the clawbear and Sieg with suspicion.

Only when the bulky shapeshifter reached for his sword to cut some more meat of the animal did Sally raise an eyebrow at Ryden. "That was a joke, right?"

"How do you think he got that big?" Haylee snickered. "In the city, they had to butcher a cow every day to keep him fed," she burst out with more laughter.

Ryden joined in right away, and even Sieg failed to hide his smile completely.

After a short cough, Siegfried elaborated, "It's not really my appetite or something," he put his chin into his fist. "But I'm not sure if I should tell you more either."

"Oh, if it's about your ability, it might be better if I don't know," Sally exclaimed, raising her hands defensively. "As said, I've kept enough dangerous secrets— I know that sometimes ignorance can be a blessing." She smiled assuringly, trying to convince Siegfried that she was honestly glad to be kept in the dark about this.

A cute yawn interrupted them as Haylee stretched her limbs.

The gesture was contagious, and Sally soon joined her, albeit a bit more reserved. "I think I'm going to get some sleep. We should move out early tomorrow," she suggested and made herself comfortable.

The following day, Sally was the first one to wake. She took a drowsy look around the temporary camp, and her jaw dropped when her gaze fell on the remains of the massive clawbear. She assumed from their earlier talk that Siegfried's powers somehow influenced his appetite but still thought Haylee's joke to be exorbitant. The bulky shapeshifter just ate his own weight in bear meat overnight.

Sally's educated mind instantly tried to find a logical scientific explanation, but she shot down her thoughts just as quickly. Knowing the answers to her questions would be dangerous at best, and she had nothing to gain from it. Instead, she opted to wake everyone up and prepared for a long march without using her powers.

Their pace was brisk, and the female enforcer was not used to travelling such distances without relying on her gift. At least without her reinforced mantle, she was able to keep up for now.

The forest slowly changed around them. The flat ground turned into hills and slopes while the mammoth trees got sparse, leaving space for smaller fir trees and the world around them brightened a bit as the dense canopy broke. The sound of rushing water became ever more distinct as they neared their goal. It was almost deafening as Sally climbed the last hill and stared down into a massive canyon amid the forest.

It looked as if Akali herself had split the word in twain, leaving a massive, rocky wound in the landscape. Tons of water cascaded over the long side of the canyon, the foamy stream breaking upon the boulders below. At the bottom of the opposite side of the deep crevice, a rectangular black surface accentuated against the grey wall— a giant door of iron or steel.

Sally gulped, looking at Ryden with trepidation. "That's the entrance?" she stated the obvious.

Ryden raised an eyebrow, smirking at her awed expression. "Welcome to Victor's Bounty, the fortress in the mountain."