Chapter 060:

Verona stood looking over them both, continuing to stare in silence. She had clearly been in more fights since they parted. Her body was covered in a mixture of blood and dirt. Her face was still filled with a strange level of smugness as her eyes darted between the two of them. Specifically, Kal's arms wrapped around his.

Kal recovered from her stun and relinquished her grip. She stood up, nearly slipping on another loose tile, as she waved her hands wildly infront of her face.

“I'm, I'm sorry, Verona.” Kal blurted out. He could feel the panic coming from her voice. “We...we were trying to climb over the rubble and we fell. I-"

“It's fine.” Verona smiled, purposefully making her way to them. She took slow and deliberate steps to avoid loose rubble.

“I didn't-”

“I said, it's fine.” Verona had look of annoyance growing on her face.

“I...I slipped and Anton-”

“Kal, it's fine.” Verona frowned deeply as she stopped a few paces from them. She looked at Anton with a sly smile on her face.

“But-”

“Kal. Sit!” Verona barked.

Kal jumped, stunned by the volume of Verona's voice, and sat. The debris crunched as a few tiles slipped from underneath her. A moment passed as she looked around in surprise, finally letting out a loud sigh.

“I can't believe I did that.” Kal scratched her head.

“Part of your...Past?” Verona asked, looking very happy that Kal had just obeyed her.

Kal slowly nodded. She did not take her face away from Verona. “Yes. I shouldn't have done that. I just wasn't expecting you to yell it that loud. I'm...still having some issues with that.”

Verona hummed. “I'll try not to do that in the future.” She looked at Anton. “You should sit as well.”

Anton opened his mouth to protest but Verona put her finger on his lips, lightly shaking her head. A clear sign that she was going to get her way. He found a relatively flat spot and sat. Verona smiled and sat right next to Anton, leaning her head and body onto his side.

“Ah...” Verona tried her best to let out a purr. “This is comfortable. Though, not on my bum.” She smiled as the looked between the both of them. “You'll be glad to know that the battle is basically over.”

“Should we do this somewhere...a little more comfortable?” Anton asked.

Verona squeezed down extremely hard on his waist, enough to make him wince in pain. Verona's eye were firmly stuck on Kal. He could not see anything through the cloth wrappings.

“No.” Verona's voice was light and fluttery. “This is fine.”

He was not sure about that.

“So, how did you go?” Verona asked Kal.

Kal recounted what she had done to the Orc leader Zig. Verona was almost laughing and cheering by the end. She looked back at the piles and dead Orcs shook her head when she saw the Orc with half its face ripped off.

“Ha.” she cried out. “Got what's coming to him for trying to hurt you.”

Verona frowned as she leant closer to Kal, over Anton. “So. You're better now after Anton's magic?”

Kal nodded. “Much better. I feel the best I have in a long time.”

Verona smiled and resumed her previous position.

“Although.” Kal began, scratching her head. “That's not all that happened.”

“Oh?”

“Umm...” She poked Anton where he had put the emerald crystal. She wanted to come clean to Verona as well. Verona looked between them as Kal touched his leg. She didn't say anything. Anton showed the emerald crystal to Verona, who looked between them confused. Kal seemed unwilling to speak.

“Well, it seems that Kal was able to pinch this when we were at Maxill.” he began. “Just the green one. If she took the blue and purple ones it would have been easy to find.”

He chuckled as he looked at Kal. “She's a good thief.”

Verona hummed, Kal moved a few centimetres away.

“Wouldn't have realised if she hadn't told us. And after the fight, well, she's had a change of heart and wanted to return it.”

“Huh.”

Verona took the crystal from Anton's hand and looked more closely.

“If you had this, and you managed to get to somewhere remote in Graterious, how long could you live on this?”

Kal shuffled. “They could sell for twenty gold coins, probably less because it's me. They would lower the price since they can get away with it. But I could live comfortably for the rest of my life.”

“And you didn't?”

Kal hesitated before shaking her head. “No. I like it here, and being in Atros, with all of you, has been the best time I've ever had. I can't do what I still need to do on my own.”

Verona chuckled, nodding and smiling, handing the crystal back to Anton. “I'm glad you're here as well.”

Kal seemed to be a little bit better as well. Two of the people she trusted, the few in whole world, had forgiven her for stealing from them. He got the feeling that she would not steal from them again. Lest she break that bond.

“So that's what you've been up to.” Verona said. “Well, let me tell you what I've been up to.”

She straightened out her legs and tired to massage them through the leather armour.

“After you climbed up that building, and sorta' brought this one down, the Clansmen just...gave up.” A strange look overcame her face. “They were being left behind by the Orcs to deal with us and buy time for their escape. Someone yelled for them to surrender. So...They did. Again.”

“I...” Kal stammered. “I didn't think they were the sort of people to do that.”

Verona shrugged and smiled. “Neither did I, or did anyone else. But they did. A lot of them were dead by then. I think they just wanted it over with. The Orcs, however, started heading back towards the way they came into the city. Thanks to you, Kal, they couldn't just blast a hole through the wall.”

Kal perked up.

“But, they move really fast. They've escaped the city and are heading north. Towards the Border Forts.”

This was the part where Anton was called away to help Kal. He had not heard where the Orcs were going nor what their plan was. Verona had continued the chase. Her clothes, covered in more blood and dirt than when he last saw her, was a testament to her violent pursuit.

“There can't be many left.” Anton said. “They couldn't even take this city...What can they possibly do against alert fortresses?”

Verona shrugged. “Maybe they've got more of whatever broke the wall and brought this building down.”

“I don't think so.” Anton said, shaking his head and bringing out the crumpled artefact. Verona looked with awe at it. “Kal brought down the lead Orc who had this. This brought down the wall and building with that white magic. I doubt they'd have more than one and this looks really expensive to make. Without this they've got no hope left.”

Verona chuckled again. “You brought down someone that could do that...That's pretty darn impressive.”

“I'm glad I didn't die fighting him.” Kal mumbled happily, fidgeting with her fingers.

That brought another gaze from Verona.

“That explains something else. Every time you disappear from our sight you seem to have a new set of clothes.” Verona said, pointing all over her body.

“Oh.” Kal chuckled. “Some of my clothes were torn during the fight, so I had to get new ones. Otherwise everyone would have seen...” Kal trailed off at the end.

“Seen what?” Verona leant over Anton again, putting her full weight on his legs to get as close to Kal as she could. A few of her fingers deliberately dug into his legs.

“Um....my tail.” Kal admitted. “It was freed from the fight-”

“Hang on.” Verona righted herself. “Did you fix that before or after Anton healed you.”

Kal was silent for some time before she answered. “After.”

Verona smirked at him. “So, you saw her tail before me.” She did not sound angry, rather playfully annoyed.

“Yes. It's usually bound and hidden. When it started moving-”

“How do you know that?” A light frown on her face.

“Because...” he knew there was no way out of this. “Because she showed it to me.”

Verona punched him in the arm, relatively hard. “I wanted to see it as well. I wanted to hold the fluffy thing in my hands...” she looked hungrily at Kal. “Is it fluffy?”

Kal stuttered at the question. “I...I guess so. I really don't get to bring it out very often. Usually it's bound around my waist.”

“Bound...Well then.” Verona pouted. “Next time that we're alone I want to see it. I wanted to see what a Beast-kin's tail looks like.”

“I think it's quite impressive.” Anton began. “It's longer than you or I am tall.”

“Now I really want to see it.”

“It's not something I'll just show to anyone.” Kal spoke with some defiance.

“But you showed it to Anton?”

“I...Um...” Kal stammered weakly, looked to Anton for help. He could not think of anything to say. She lowered her head. He caught something flickering over Verona's face, before she let out a sigh.

“Alright. I've made up my mind.” she said as she stood up.

“About what?” Anton asked as they both stood up, brushing the dirt off their backsides.

“Something....Something interesting.” Verona didn't elaborate further. “But we've got a few things to deal with first.”

“Finishing off the Orcs?” Anton asked. He was starting to kind of worry what she was alluding to. Kal looked worried as well. It didn't sound like it was about the fighting.

“That's one of the things. But we'd need to get our horses first to chase them. But they're still at the Governor's Mansion. Alfred, Hemiskr and Conrad have taken that over so they can organise everything. We'd better ask them and find out what the next plan is.”

Verona started walking over the debris, Anton and Kal following. It was easier going on the other side but there were still many places where one could slip and hurt oneself. Several times he started to slip, seeing Kal making a slight reach for his arms but recoiled soon after. When they reached the ground Verona turned around and lunged at Kal for a hug. Kal squeaked before slowly relaxing as Verona buried her head into her chest. A little whimper escaped Verona's lips.

“I thought that you might have died.” she said. “I'm glad that you're alive.” Verona pulled back, a few tears in her eyes. “I don't want to loose one of my friends...I don't have that many.”

Kal opened her mouth, evident through the expanding cloth wrappings over her face, though shut it. She brought her rigid hands up and hugged Verona back, resting her head on Verona's. Verona chuckled and hugged her back.

Anton smiled at the scene. Though when they parted Verona frowned at Kal. Specifically at her eye hight.

“Kal?” she spoke lightly. “What is that?”

“What?”

Verona poked at her chest over the armour. “Even with that armour I can tell something’s different underneath...”

“Um...”

Verona looked at Anton, who could only smile awkwardly.

“Right. We've got a lot more to talk about then.” She walked up to him and pulled him close. “Did you just heal her or did you do that on purpose?”

It was clear what aspect Verona was talking about.

“I healed her to how she was meant to be if she wasn't stuck in Seocuria and lived a normal healthy life. So that's why-”

“So you do know?” Verona shook her head.

“She told me that it was an issue she didn't have before. She asked how you dealt with it.”

Verona huffed as she looked back at Kal. “Well, we're definitely going to be talking about this later. All of us...”

Verona smirked, the exact same look she had during the dream with their gods, laid down her spear and brought him down for a deep kiss. It lasted for some time as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When they finally parted her face was quite red, his own not far behind. She glanced back at Kal, chuckled, and kissed him again.

“That's a hint.” Verona smiled at him and refused to say anything else.

She looked at Kal for quite some time. Kal glanced either side to see if there was something behind her, but there wasn't.

No...It couldn't be. Could it? No. That's...That's just fanciful.

He glanced at Kal, who looked just as confused. Verona chuckled as she picked up her spear and started skipping towards the center of Nonbu'rn. Anton sighed lightly and shrugged, hopping that everything would work out fine in the end.

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Hello!

I know, a shorter chapter. Some of these newer ones will be smaller or larger than the usual 7,000 or so words. This is definately on the smaller side.

Anyway, Verona's up to something and quite miffed about it. Though I'm sure you can guess what she's up to...

Battle's bascially done, so now it's just wrapping up.

Thanks for reading!