Isher Notra

A few hours later:

Ah... Stella had reached the Heavens, her eyes closed to focus solely on and indulge in the warm, prickly embrace of the angel who brought peace to her soul. Her fingers danced with the utmost diligence and devotion over the celestial being's... fur?

"Who's my good girl?"

Her back was comfortably resting on a tree as her hands shifted to the young Wolf's neck and belly simultaneously, stroking gently in direct contrast to the canine's relentless foot, tapping on her leg like a jackhammer.

"It's me! It's me!" Lien's tail slapped the ground at a rapid pace, so fast Stella could hear it faintly.

That elicited a chuckle from the young Human, a wave of bliss washing over her tranquil heart, occasionally racing with passion when her mind dug deeper into... less pure intentions.

But this held no importance. Stella's time among the living had extended, and so was the time to progress her relationship with her packmate at a steady pace. Namadi knew how much Asra reiterated the importance of relinquishing the temptations of the flesh until she reached legal age. Killjoy as he was, she knew better than to dispute his wisdom. Besides, Stella was far from a good mental state to even begin to initiate such advances. She'd need to put in a ton of research to not suck at their first night.

And that's as much as I'll divulge about these matters. Let's get a move on, now.

Another thing Stella was thankful for: the silence! After living in the boiling pot of noise that was Pantsti, surrounded by the hectic traffic through the streets day and night, and going through that whole mess in Chikukei, she clung to every moment of quiet, even if her choice for partner was anything but.

How nice of Asra to allow them this before they go. Although he could've eased up on the ten-minute-long warnings and lectures about "appropriate touching and levels of affection." Seriously, you'd think he was their fath-

"Comfy, are you?"

Captain Tash's voice, though calm and neutral, pierced through Stella's hearing and blared her mind's emergency alarm, compelling her eyes to shut wide and revisit the secluded spot in the dimly-lit woods where they had burrowed themselves in.

The grizzled Wolf stood right next to them, her copper eyes piercing through the shadowy shroud with a subtle glare.

An electric pulse surged within the girl, urging her to stand upright, accidentally pushing Lien away, sending the young huntress rolling over the floor, moaning in disappointment.

"H-How can I help you, ma'am?" Stella secreted salty bullets from her frows, forcing her widest smile.

Tash huffed, almost inaudibly, negligibly tilting her muzzle upward. "You've been here for an hour. The night will soon come before you reach the capital."

Was Tash spying on them this whole time? Lien would've picked up on her presence, wouldn't she?

Well, the guard also could've obtained this information from-

"She's right, Stella!" And the man himself landed closely beside the captain, superhero-style. "I apologize for not buying you more time..." His fake eyes closed, teardrops trickling down from them. The array of emotes his visor could produce impressed the girl further and further.

"Come on, Mom..." Lien whined, patting her tunic clean. "That can't be all! We won't see each other for so long..."

Before Tash could retort, The Silver Knight loudly cleared his throat, stealing the lead of the conversation, his pseudo-tears disappearing. "Oh, whatever shall we do! If only there were an invention that could allow two individuals to communicate over long distances!"

The captain rolled her eyes, weakly shaking her head in disbelief. "Must you always transform every conversation into a-"

"BEHOLD!" Asra pulled two rectangular objects from his utility belt. "Another wonder of Human technology, brought to you by none other than The. Silver. Knight!!!"

His cape flowed regardless of the lack of wind, glowing unnaturally, inspiring genuine awe in both girls. In Lien's case, just his enthusiastic, cheesy tone, of course.

The Knight then extended his hands at them. "Take one, my esteemed sidekicks! You deserve it!"

Lien was the first to take it, practically latching her clawed paws on it as if it were a bite-sized prey. "Oh! What does it do?!" She sniffed the strange device, then put it close to her mouth, examining its durability with a gentle squeeze between her teeth.

Stella glanced at the object in her palm, a smooth, silvery surface with a golden Dragon's Guard logo branded over it on both sides. Very on brand, as always.

Noticing the weird gap that segmented it into two halves, she poked it, her heart freezing in fear when the halves spread apart slightly, assuming she had already damaged it.

"Uh, Asra? I think I broke-"

"No, no, no!" He desperately shook his hands, gesturing to reclaim their attention. "That's exactly how it works! Gently unfold the apparatus, please!"

Stella did as she was told, flipping one of its halves, while Lien took more time, sliding her finger all over the device to find out how to open it. Opening it, she saw a small screen on the upper half. On the lower, there was a square button with two more on each side, including two with a red and green drawing of a phone separately on the bottom sides. Below these, there was a keypad with twelve buttons, organized in four rows of three, almost all assigned a number, accompanied by three or four letters or a symbol.

...

It's a flip phone.

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"Come on, dude!" Stella pouted, flipping it shut. "This thing is old! Did you come to this forest in the 80s?"

"First, these beauties started in the mid-90s! They were still all the rage in the early 2000s!" Asra rebutted, his tone quickly deflating in a rare break of character. "Second, I don't have the materials to mass-produce smartphones." He recomposed himself, raising a finger with a smug, confident emote. "Yet, mind you!"

"What now?" Lien asked, finally opening the phone.

"R-Right..." A flush appeared in his fake cheeks as he rubbed his nape sheepishly. "I didn't have time to install accessibility features for you. Yuki-onna's attack kinda shortened my deadline..."

He turned to Tash. "You'll need to aid her every time she uses the device until that's done. If you don't mind, of course..."

The older Wolf shrugged, approaching her daughter. "Not an issue." Her attention was directed to the still-blackened screen.

Asra snapped his fingers twice. "Alright! Listen attentively for instructions!"

Following his instructions, Stella pressed a hidden button on the device's bottom (heh). The initial resistance, followed by an audible click, was oddly satisfying as she held it until the phone's screen lit up. The screen revealed nothing too exciting, an apple green background for a list of only two contact numbers: Lien's and The Silver Knight's. The options of adding more or excluding were indicated at the bottom. Above all that, there was a black line, where the current time and a battery-shaped bar stood.

The girl had the impression that this was even more barebones than a regular flip phone. There was not even a damn calculator!

The Knight tapped his index fingers together, his blush returning. "Again, I was building these from scratch since the start of our emergency asylum. If Yuki-onna had made her advance later, I'd have implemented a texting option, at least..."

Stella was struck by a wave of guilt for making fun of his gift. He went through much more than he had to for her. Teaching lessons, sparring matches, literally fighting for her life multiple times, and now, this. Frankly, she couldn't respond to his altruism in kind. It made her anxious just thinking about it, wondering if she were in someone else's place. Someone worthy.

"T-Thanks, Knight." Her eyes lowered, her cheeks reddening, as she put the phone in her pocket, her pants too slim to hide its shape. She hoped there weren't many muggers in Sayama. And she prayed for some baggier pants.

"Not a problem, Stella!" The Knight walked up to her and tapped her shoulder a few times. "I can do a few upgrades when we return to my main workshop. How about a few games you can occupy yourself with when you get bored, huh?"

Her cheeks burned hotter, and so did her shame. Why was this man such an angel? He couldn't possibly exist.

Stella slid away from him, smiling sheepishly as her skin tone concealed her flush. "Look at the time! We have to get our butts moving, right?!"

The Knight nodded. "Your judgment is sound, sidekick!" Once again, he turned to see the Wolves, fiddling with the buttons with their claws, testing the "Add contact" feature by forming a string of random numbers.

"I must bid you adieu for now!" Asra bowed. "It was my greatest honor living and fighting close to you!"

As Tash's focus kept on the phone, responding to him with a nonchalant hum, Lien snapped to her senses, quickly sprinting at Stella. "Wait!"

The Human girl opened up her arms, expecting the young huntress's tight embrace, which almost brought her to the floor once their bodies latched on to one another for the last time in who knew how long. Weeks? One or two months? Any more than that would drive each of them insane.

Stella's eyes saw the two adults approaching each other before they closed shut, taking advantage of one more period of intimacy. Lien's fur, smelling of dirt and grass as always, had its warm embrace gracing her skin, a sensation the young girl would cling to every day they were apart.

Oddly enough, that feeling would also bring her back to the happy and sad memories she made in that rowdy townlet. The friends and undefined relationships she forged, the hangouts, the arduous yet rewarding training of her body and Saniya. Hell, she'd even miss the old coot's nosy, mischievous tone between lectures.

...

......

"Come on."

The old coot's nosy, mischievous tone sent goosebumps across her skin.

"Un-yellow your belly and kiss your girl! You won't get the chance 'til much later."

Stella exhaled, a grin tugging her lips. "You win, old pervert."

She slightly pulled away from her beloved. Lien was about to say something about it before she was brought back into a tender kiss, lasting for a few seconds that were perceived as minutes in Heaven.

Lien's tail rotated like a motorboat's blades once they separated. Yet, their hands lingered on each other's faces, stroking them with utmost care as they felt their hearts and minds entering into perfect harmony.

"Did you like this one?"

The pup nodded, smiling wider than she ever did today.

"Thought so."

They shared a chuckle, allowing the quiet to come between them for a few more seconds after.

"You sure you won't be mad at me for staying here for a while?" Lien murmured, a quivering vulnerability echoing in every word.

"Nah. How could I?" The Human's smile widened. "You have your mom. You almost lost her. You should take some time for you two."

Opening her eyes, Stella saw something... peculiar. Captain Tash and Asra were shaking hands, trading a solemn yet intense gaze. From the captain's side, at least.

"Good for them," Hōkō commented.

"Agreed," Stella agreed.

When the adults walked back to them, Stella and Lien separated completely. The Human's body already felt naked without her partner's embrace.

Tash and the Knight stood beside their respective mentee.

"It's time." The captain's paw caressed her daughter's head.

"Bye, Stella." Lien weakly waved, her milky eyes muted with restraint.

Stella waved back. "See you soon, Lien."

The Knight turned to the earth road next to them, and the girl followed suit, slowly walking away from the Wolves.

This was it. The Humans' goodbye to Pantsti. A looming apprehension shrouded Stella's steps. So many things could happen in a couple of months. Would she stay alive by then? Would the flame of her relationship flicker and fade?

"Stella!"

Both Humans halted. It wasn't Lien. It was Tash, calling her name for the first time.

Stella turned back at them. "Ma'am?"

A few seconds of suspense ensued before the grizzled captain asked a simple question.

"Can I put my trust in you?"

The girl's eyes sparkled, knowing precisely what this meant.

Raising her fist high, punching through the pesky doubts that had just infected her mind, Stella declared. "You bet, Captain! I'm not done growing stronger! And no one will dare stand against Lien and me when I'm done!"

"The same goes to me!" Lien cried. "You'll barely recognize me when we meet again!"

Somehow, Stella doubted that. When it came to her character, of course.

"Good! Use that youthful willpower to push yourself ever beyond your limits!" The Silver Knight puffed up his chest. "Until we meet again!"

The Humans returned to their path. The girl's heart was brimming, glowing with-

"One more thing!"

Captain Tash made them stop once more.

"Hanaken wanted to tell you that you became her arch-nemesis or something. Something about clobbering you without Lien to save you."

Stella scoffed, breaking into quick laughter. "Tell her I will thrash her by myself next time!" She flashed a cocky smirk, the competitiveness coursing back into her veins, as she turned back to the road.

"I'm not done!" Tash warned, practically commanding her legs to freeze.

Was the captain ruining the mood on purpose? It sure was sounding like it.

"Gentō wanted to tell you he's officially relieving you from 'dream battery' duties. Told me you're more trouble than you're worth."

Ouch. And after the dream stealer saved Stella's ass from Yuki-onna, to boot. A worthy opponent in a contest to see who's worst at expressing their feelings, at last!

"Heh. Tell the asshole I said thank you." Stella waved dismissively, about to shift back to the path, before realization settled in, prompting her to stare intently at the captain for agonizing ten seconds.

"What're you waiting for?" asked the older Wolf, her tone frighteningly mischievous.

Her eyes narrowed. "Spit it out, Cap'n."

Tash smirked. "Kreef says you owe him a scale-polishing cream."

"...That doesn't sound too bad."

"It costs 150 coins."

"I'll pay him in Hell!!!"