‘It’s never just easy, is it?” Kenneth thought to himself as he walked the streets of the outpost. ‘ But that’s life; either you choose to go on or do nothing, but you have to choose.’

  The sun was still decently high in the sky and shined down on Kenneth, bathing him in warm light.

  It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t comfortable either. It was just warm.

  The outpost was louder than normal; more people were just talking and doing stuff, though where ever Kenneth went, silence and hushed whispers followed him.

  ‘Do they ever do anything else?’ Kenneth wondered, turning a corner and walking down a less busy street where no one really was.

  Kenneth preferred a bit of silence over the whispers and stares even though he had learned to ignore them, but still, something different from the norm was nice.

  However, soon, he had to walk back out into the main street since his destination was out there.

  With each step he took, the sound of banging metal became louder and louder until he stood outside Huto’s forge.

  ‘It has been a long time. I wonder if he even still remembers the deal we made?’ Kenneth wondered as he knocked on the door three times before opening it.

  “I said it will take more time then just!-“ Huto yelled, his voice filled to the brim with annoyance as he let go of his hammer and turned around, stopping mid-sentence once he saw who was at the door.

  “Am I interrupting?” Kenneth hesitantly asked, closing the door behind him and feeling the heat that emanated from the forge.

  “Oh, you,” Huto said with disdain in his voice as he turned around, grabbed his hammer once more, and started swinging it down on a sword. “I thought you were that royal pain in my backside.”

  “Did I come at a bad time?” Kenneth asked politely, looking around the forge and noticing Iko holding a tong.

  “You came,” Huto scoffed.

  “Umm… well, if you are not too busy, I wondered if you could make something for me?” Kenneth asked.

  Huto swung his hammer down with enough force that the sound echoed out into the entire room, reflexively making Kenneth blink before mumbling something.

  “Sorry, didn’t quite hear that,” Kenneth said.

  “Oh, then let me try talking a bit louder so the rich man can hear me,” Huto loudly said, throwing his hammer to the side of the room and stomping his feet on the ground, walking toward Kenneth.

  “I don’t know how long I’ve waited for you to come here so we could finish the deal we made, and now you just come in like you own the place and expect me to help you with whatever YOU want!” Huto yelled.

  ‘He’s really angry,’ Kenneth thought, feeling a sense of guilt sweep over him. ‘It has been a long time, and I haven’t come in what must be weeks.’

  “Ohh… I see…” Kenneth said, lowering his head. “I’m sorry… I guess it was selfish of me to just ask you for help out of the blue like this.”

  Huto, with his tail raised and teeth showing, poked one clawed finger right in Kenneth’s face. “You can say that again. I mean, how selfish is one person allowed to be?! If it was up to me, I’d-“

  Suddenly, Huto seemingly made a little jump as his expression of anger turned into pain; the air left his lung like a deflated balloon before he fell to the ground.

  Kenneth, confused, barely had time to react to the situation before he noticed that just behind Huto stood Iko with one of her legs raised.

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened once Kenneth saw Huto writhing in pain, holding both of his hands between his legs.

  “DAMN IT, WOMAN!” Huto screamed in pain. “How are we ever going to have kids if you keep doing this to me.”

  “Like I would have a kid with someone with as poor manners as you,” Iko said, her tail standing straight. “You know damn well you ain’t mad at him! So why take it out on him?”

  “This has nothing to do with you, so just stay out of it,” Huto growled.

  Iko, with an annoyed expression, pointed with a clawed finger as she bent over slightly. “If he had not interfered when my tail was burning and you laughed, I might have lost all of the fur on my tail!”

  “It grows back,” Huto groaned as he used one arm to help him stand up again.

  “There you go again,” Iko said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “It grows back; it grows back.”

  “Well, I don’t care if it grows back; I don’t want it gone. Do you know how humiliating it is to lose that much fur?” Iko asked rhetorically. “I’ll tell you. Pretty damn much!”

  “Why do you care so much about your looks? You know I’d love you no matter if you had a bald spot or all your fur was gone! Because you are my WOMAN,” Huto said, getting back on his feet.

  “You… you’d really still love me if I was ugly,” Iko said, seeming a bit embarrassed and hesitant.

  “I love you! Iko, to me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and even if you thought you were ugly, I’d labor unendingly until I had created a suit of armor for you so all would know the beauty I always see,” Huto said earnestly.

  Iko’s tail was moving from side to side, and her ears seemed to move independently from her body as both gazed at each other lovingly.

  Once Huto stood right before Iko, all pain seemingly gone, he wrapped one hand around Iko’s waist and one behind her head, their eyes never once breaking contact until Huto started to lick the side of her neck.

  “Huh?” Kenneth mumbled out loud, unsure if he had just watched domestic abuse or some weird Aki courting of some kind.

  ‘Should I leave?’ Kenneth questioned as Iko wrapped her arms around Huto. ‘Yeah, I should definitely leave and come back. Tomorrow!’

  Kenneth, as quietly as he could, took a step back, but like every floorboard ever in history, when you try to be quiet, creaked loudly.

  Iko and Huto stopped what they were doing, and both looked like deers in headlights as they realized it wasn’t just the two of them in here.

  “We should probably wait until later,” Iko sighed.

  “Tonight then,” Huto said, slightly disappointed.

  “Sorry, you had to see that, Ken. And sorry about my lack of manners,” Huto said apologetically, scratching the back of his head. “Iko is right; it wasn’t you I was truly mad at.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I can imagine. He pissed me off, too,” Kenneth said in a less-than-kind tone.

  “What? He complained about your mere existence,” Huto said, crossing his arms.

  “He tried to decapitate me three times,” Kenneth said bluntly.

  “I… see,” Huto said at a loss for words.

  “Well, anyway, sorry about my outburst and what you had to see,” Huto said, sounding a bit embarrassed. “We don’t normally do such a thing in front of others. You see, we just got wrapped up in our fight and forgot you… Where there.”

  “No need to explain,” Kenneth said, waving dismissively. “I’m honestly sure I only understood ninety percent of what I saw, and you don’t need to explain the last ten.”

  “As you wish… thankfully,” Huto said, sounding a bit at ease. “So what was this about you needing something.”

  “Yeah, I almost forgot,” Kenneth said, clearing his throat. “I was wondering if you could make me a grill?”

  “Grill?” Huto repeated.

  “Yes, it is like a table made out of iron meant to be a bit lower so the heat of the flame can burn meat, but not too much,” Kenneth explained.

  Huto and Iko both stood still, trying to figure out what both of them had just heard and how it was supposed to make any kind of sense.

  “Not to insult you or anything, Ken, but what you just said sounds like madness,” Huto said, his tail lazily swinging from side to side.

  “Perhaps it would be better if I explained it differently,” Kenneth said quickly, pulling out a pencil and a piece of paper from his bag.

  Huto and Iko looked intently at Kenneth as he started to draw an admittedly bad drawing, but one he was sure would convey what he was asking for.

  “Something like this,” Kenneth said, handing Huto the paper.

  Huto, with a slightly shaking hand, took the paper and looked intently at it for a good long time. “I think I get it. You just want a table with holes made out of metal and low enough that the flames touch it.”

  “Yes,” Kenneth said happily. “If it is not too inconvenient, of course.”

  “I would be happy to start work on it,” Huto said, handing back the piece of paper,” However, there are two issues.”

  “Firstly, Iko and I already have our hands full fixing the sword the royal broke, and secondly, I would need some raw material to melt and forge with, and you’d have to talk with Ulric about getting permission.”

  “Yeah, I doubt Ulric would bother to waste time on something like this,” Kenneth said, taking back the paper. “However, what if I were to supply the raw material?”

  “What do you mean?” Huto questioned. “Did you happen to stumble on some iron in the ground somewhere?”

  “No, nothing like that. I was thinking of buying a weapon or two from the merchant; you could then melt down and use the raw material,” Kenneth clarified.

  “Hmmm… clever, but weapons like the ones the merchants have are pricy, but I doubt that would be a problem for you,” Huto laughed.

  “So, how much iron would you need?” Kenneth asked, putting away the pencil into a pocket.

  “I haven’t seen the weapons myself, and depending on how big you want the… grill, it could be quite a few,” Huto explained.

  “The frame of the grill just needs to be as big as the fireplace; it will stand over like the one in the kitchen,” Kenneth explained.

  “That big,” Huto mumbled. “Then, at the very least, I’d need three normal-sized swords. However, I would prefer to work with four, but the choice is yours.”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem, and thank you for helping me,” Kenneth thanked.

  “I’ll get to it when I can, but no need to thank me,” Huto said. “After how I acted, I figured it’s the least I could do.”

  “Ohh, that reminds me,” Kenneth said, looking Huto in the eyes. “The deal is officially over; you can keep the glass.”

  Huto stood flabbergasted, almost completely frozen, except for his tail, which furiously wagged from side to side.

  “Well, how about that,” Iko chuckled. “I’ve never seen him this happy.”

  “It must have been frustrating to wait for so long, so let it just come to an end, I say,” Kenneth said to the still-frozen Huto.

  “I didn’t kill him, did I?” Kenneth jokingly asked.

  “Doubtful,” Iko responded. “I wouldn’t let that happen while there’s still work to do.”

  “Well, I should probably leave both of you to it then,” Kenneth said, waving goodbye, a gesture neither was familiar with; however, as he reached the door, Kenneth suddenly remembered something he needed to ask.

  “By the way, do either of you know where I could find Zilika?”

  “Zilika,” Huto exclaimed, breaking free from his frozen state. “Why would you want to know where she is?”

  “It is a personal matter,” Kenneth responded.

  “I doubt very much that woman will be happy to see you after you beat her in combat and got her demoted,” Huto said with slight happiness in his voice. “But if you want to find her, she should be in the armory.”

  “I hate to ask, but since I don’t want to wander around like a blind baboon, could you tell me where that is?” Kenneth asked.

  “Just walk along the wall of the outpost, and you should eventually find it near the sparring area,” Huto explained.

  “Thank you, and I hope you both have a good day,” Kenneth said, walking outside and closing the door.

  “So, you got any idea what a day is?” Huto asked Iko.

  “Beats me,” Iko shrugged. “But I like that Ken seems happier than the last time we met.”

  Following Huto’s direction and walking along the wall, Kenneth eventually found a more open space with people practicing and fighting with various weapons.

  It wasn’t big by any stretch of the imagination, but it was sizeable enough that everyone presents could train and do their thing.

  ‘Okay, I’m here now; where is the armory?’ Kenneth wondered, looking around and noticing a lone building on the opposite side of the sparing area.

  ‘Could that be it? Might as well check,’ Kenneth thought.

  Unlike almost every other place in the outpost, for once, all of the Aki wasn’t starting at Kenneth. No, instead, they seemed to be gathering in a group to watch a fight.

  Kenneth, enjoying the lack of attention and, used the opportunity to quickly walk over to what he guessed was the armory without anyone noticing.

  Standing at the door and just before he was about to open it, he could clearly hear a constant scraping noise of some sort.

  He knocked on the door before slowly opening it. I

  nside the dark building where Zilika hunched over and surrounded by weapons of all kinds and with one in hand.

  “Just throw it, and I’ll fix it,” Zilika said in a less than enthusiastic tone, not even noticing who was at the door.

  “I’m afraid I have no weapon for you to fix,” Kenneth said, opening the door.

  Suddenly, Zilika stopped what she was doing and straightened her back. “Why are you here?”

  “Because I need your help,” Kenneth said confidently, walking inside and closing the door behind him.

  “My help?” Zilika repeated. “By Akina, why would I help you?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” Kenneth responded. “And by the way, thanks for saving me; if you hadn’t, I might have been killed.”

  “Don’t get the wrong idea; it had nothing to do with you. I simply couldn’t let what he did slide,” Zilika growled.

  “Regardless, I am thankful,” Kenneth said earnestly.

  And as the words left his mouth, Kenneth was overcome by some slight guilt at what he was about to say. “In truth, I’m not the one who needs help… It’s Kica.”

  Zilika, with a weapon in hand and no word uttered, rose to her feet and turned around with her teeth laid bare.

  “I tolerate many things about you simply because of what you know, but if you lie about Kica to me, I will make you regret it,” Zilika said, brandishing her blade.

  “I’m being honest and telling you this. It isn’t something I’m truly supposed to tell you, but I have to,” Kenneth said, gritting his teeth.

  “Say your lies and then leave me to my work that if you have forgotten, I have you to thank for,” Zilika said as calmly as she was capable of.

  “Since the day Asini died, Kica has been calling herself broken for not feeling anything about her passing, and she had been avoiding it by… by trying to drown in pleasure,” Kenneth explained.

  “Wow,” Zilika scuffed. “How big of a fool do you take me for? They didn’t know each other, so she has no reason to feel anything.”

  “Your lies won’t fool me. Now leave before I give you a reason to.”

  “Haven’t you noticed she’s been acting different,” Kenneth said pleadingly.

  “The only thing I have noticed is how much of a liar you truly are, but granted, you were good enough to make me think twice once in a while,” Zilika said, holding up her weapon, ready to strike.

  Kenneth felt a drop of sweat running down his forehead as he wondered if it was a lost cause to convince Zilika; he just wanted to help Kica.

  “Zilika, I won’t claim to know Kica… Not truly. But you two… You two should know more about each other. More than anyone else in this outpost, so please just try and think, has she been acting differently,” Kenneth once more pleaded.

  For a moment, it looked like Kenneth’s words finally reached through that thick head Zilika had as her eyes narrowed while she looked thoughtful.

  “It’s nothing,” Zilika mumbled to herself.

  “What’s nothing?” Kenneth asked, slightly hopeful.

  Zilika looked at Kenneth, her eyes both wide and glassy as she turned around and went back to her work. “Leave me.”

  “Zilika, whatever you think about me-“

  “I said leave me!” Zilika snarled, her fangs bare and her eyes showing her killing intent.

  “I just want you to know I only want to help Kica,” Kenneth sighed, admitting defeat and walking out of the armory.

  Standing outside the armory, Kenneth just looked up at the sky. ‘I violated the doctor-patient confidentially, and I didn’t even get through to her. How fucking fantastic.’

  “I assume you are the black healer,” a voice sounded near Kenneth.

  Before Kenneth stood an Aki with pinkish and black fur wearing something that almost looked like a onesie and a belt tied around their stomach, and both angels.

  “Can I help you with something?” Kenneth asked.

  “I was hoping you could help with this,” The pinkish and black-furred Aki said as they presented a small wooden box and opened it up.

  In a heartbeat, Kenneth recognized what was inside the box.

  ‘The black liquid,’ Kenneth thouhgt nourvusly.