After our brief visit together, Quinn made her exit, and I waved goodbye to Espada before she set back to work. I wasn’t sure what to do at this point. All of my necessary tasks and errands had been completed. The day was mine, and our visit back to Ni Island was meant to be a reprieve. At least, that’s how I interpreted it when we talked about taking a break.

Starting off our vacation strong.

Each idea that crossed my mind was stamped out by impatience or an overwhelming sense of apathy that came and went. No matter what option surfaced, I found an excuse to run away from it—learning new potion recipes at Nauka’s or practicing my swings; getting the party together to hunt Encroachers, or finding a girl to sleep with. None of it appealed to me, and I was convinced that any dopamine kicks or euphoric feelings would vanish just moments afterward. So what the hell was the point?

Eventually, I stopped wandering the town. The constant suggestive gestures and expressions being thrown my way were losing their luster, and I was quickly losing my patience.

I ground my teeth when I came to a halt in front of Saphira’s home. It’d been a few hours since I left Espada and Quinn, but Saphira was still happily chatting up each customer that walked by from behind her fruit and vegetable stall. Her smile was radiant, infectious even.

Saphira saw me out of the corner of her eye. After a short exchange with the catgirl at the counter, she skipped to my side.

“Hello, Matt! Good afternoon!”

“Hey, Saphira,” I said through a forced smile. “Business is good, it seems.”

“Never better!” She snatched up my hand and intertwined our fingers. “I’m closing up shop now, actually. Would you like some dinner? I’m sure you’re famished.” Saphira’s cheeks turned red, and her smile widened. “There’s so much I want to talk to you about!”

How could I say no to a face like that? “Sure. Thank you.”

Saphira’s cooking filled the air with aromas of fish and what smelled like roasted potatoes. I hadn’t bothered her the entire time she cooked. But she was more than willing to carry the conversation.

“So how long do you think you’re going to stay here?” she yelled from the kitchen.

This time I smiled for real. We couldn’t keep talking like this, so I walked from the living room into the kitchen and leaned against a nearby wall. “Another week or two, we’re thinking.”

Saphira giggled, then called, “I would like that! I missed you!”

“I’m right here,” I said with a small wave. “Sorry, should’ve told you.”

“A-ah! Haha!” Saphira flinched in surprise, then tossed something into the air with her frying pan before stirring it with a wooden spoon. Couldn’t tell what it was from here, but it smelled amazing. “How are the girls in your party doing?”

Wonderful question. “They’re okay.”

Saphira hummed. “Just okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m convinced one of them might burn me alive, though.”

“Did something bad happen with her?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Can never tell with her.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Matt. Do you want to talk about it any? That helps me, sometimes. You know, when I have things bothering me.”

I thought about it for a few seconds. Felt like I was being torn in opposite directions. Surely, Saphira would also bring to light some other new piece of outrageous Nyarlean law that I hadn’t heard of until now. Or offer some sort of unsolicited advice on how to make my problems go away. Or maybe blow up on me for a past I had no hand in.

I sighed. “Thanks, but I did that enough today.”

Saphira nodded. “Then I won’t pry. Just let me cook for you while you relax. You’re well deserving of a good, home-cooked meal.”

I frowned. I had to admit I was surprised. I was certain that she would try and get to the bottom of it. Equal parts dreading and preparing for the onslaught of questions that would have come from my Party.

Instead, a few more minutes passed in a silence permeated by Saphira’s humming and the sizzle of her frying pan. She took her apron off and placed it over a nearby hook. “Okay! Dinner’s ready!”

I took a seat at the table and waited, watching as Saphira carefully sprinkled a number of spices and herbs on top of two heaping plates. When she brought my plate to the table, the smell demanded that I forget all else. Before me was a beautifully cut fish whose name I’m sure I would mispronounce. I made no attempt to guess the name or ask. She’d spent time searing the fish’s edges to crisp perfection and served it alongside—well, what looked like—green beans and potatoes.

Saphira took a seat across from me as I cut through a section of the filet with a fork and knife. The meat split apart like butter, and my eyes widened while my mouth salivated. When it hit my tongue, every one of my muscles relaxed, and I breathed a satisfied moan.

“Enjoying it?” Saphira asked while she took a bite from her own plate.

“Understatement of the year.” I hadn’t noticed how hungry I was until I chewed into that very first morsel. I was quick to slice away another helping and carry it into my mouth. “This is incredible.”

“I’m glad to see my dinner is perking you up a bit.”

My chewing slowed for a moment. I swallowed and poked at a couple of the greens with my fork. “I’ve had a lot to think about lately. It’s…hard to deal with.” I paused. My muscles tensed. “The question that keeps going through my head is ‘How does one person deal with it all?’”

Saphira chewed and swallowed. “You’re doing a great job, Matt. It sounds to me like you’re just under a lot of stress. Probably a lot more than one person can manage.” Saphira popped one of the greens into her mouth. “Have you been to the other towns?”

I shook my head. “The others make a point of reminding me just how little I know about my own island.”

“In their own way, I think they’re just trying to help. The reason I’m asking, though,” Saphira said as she drained her glass of water, “is that I think you need a couple of days to yourself. Away from the stress, away from your duties.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“I know,” Saphira said with a smile, “but you don’t look happy, Matt. Not at all.”

It’s that obvious? “Maybe I’m not. This isn’t what I thought it’d be.”

“And what did you think it would be?”

“I don’t know. More fun, more laid back. Something like that.”

Saphira blinked, then giggled. “Life is what you make it, Matt. If it gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Something my grandma told me. She said it was a popular phrase from a man way back in the day.”

Another Earthling, maybe?

“My parents used to say the same thing.”

Saphira gasped. “Your parents! What were they like? Or, is that a bad topic?”

I thought about it for a bit. It hadn’t been very long, but I struggled to paint an image in my head. To begin with, we’d never been very close, but how was it that I was forgetting their faces so soon? That doesn’t seem right. “Maybe another time, if that’s okay.”

“Another time, then.”

The two of us carried on for some time like that. Saphira asking questions, while my answers remained short. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t summon up more than ten words in a response. But she was never deterred or impatient. She calmly fit in questions where they seemed appropriate and listened attentively. She asked me where I got some of my new scars and how the battles were going on the other islands. I admitted we hadn’t visited Ichi Island yet, but she was impressed enough to know that I’d been to both San and Shi Island. She marveled at my abbreviated descriptions of the Defiled and the girls of Catania.

We finished dinner and moved to the living room after I did the dishes.

“Oh, I know! What do you think of Quinn?” Saphira asked, seated next to me on her sofa.

“She’s uh, a character. Don’t know her well enough, but it seems that for a lot of catgirls, height is cause for a lot of their pent-up anger.”

“Oh? If they’re shorter, they’re angrier?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I said with an uncomfortable laugh. Though, Fiona had been an exception in Catania. The image of Quinn tearing my armor to shreds when she’d heard what I said came to mind. “Please don’t tell her I said that.”

“I don’t know,” she said with a lilt to her voice. “I’ll think about it.”

Silence surrounded us once more. I listened to the ticking of the clock on the wall, Saphira’s warmth next to me. My stresses were gradually washing away, and I had no intention of retrieving them.

“Hey, Matt. Want to feel?” Saphira motioned to her stomach.

My breath caught. “Feel?”

I raised my hand, and Saphira snatched it out of the air. She put my palm on the front of her belly. At first, I didn’t feel anything. Who knew? Maybe catgirls were different. Just the idea that a child could be born in three months was nothing short of amazing to me.

But after a while, I felt something. “Was that her kicking?”

Saphira giggled. “That was your daughter, Matt. She’s a bit rambunctious. Going to have my hands full with her, I think.”

I was entranced. I heard her, and I wanted to respond. Yet, I was so focused on this sensation against my hand. The warmth and life of another person was inside her stomach. A little girl born from Saphira and me. She’d be her very own person with her own hopes and dreams.

I pulled away slightly and looked at the wall of portraits representing Saphira’s family history. All of them were striking in their own right; a lineage carried down for at least fifteen generations.

“You’ve done something wonderful for me, Matt. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

I turned back to her to see she had put her hands around her belly, a warm and gentle smile playing on her lips. “You don’t owe me anything,” I said, returning her smile.

“Still. Thank you.”

My walls dropped, and my tension eased. Our conversation flowed easily, and the hours flew by in an instant. Before we knew it, it was far past Saphira’s bedtime. As much as I wanted to stay, a part of me understood. Doubt there was a better time than the crack of dawn to get started on a farm. Shizen had burned that into my head.

I opened the front door and breathed in the cool evening air, then turned around to plant a kiss on Saphira’s forehead. “You really helped me calm down. Thank you so much, Saphira.”

She shook her head. “Think nothing of it. And remember what I said about Abalone. Their hot springs are utter bliss, and you could use the pampering. Just tell them I sent you, and they’ll know what to do!”

“I’ll do that. Have a great night, Saphira.

“You too, Matt.”

Saphira closed the door, and I walked the path back to Keke’s house. I’m sure my girls would appreciate a reason to get away, too.

Might as well make this a field trip.