Interlude - Stalking does not count as a long-distance relationship (1/2)

Rowana and Keira were having dinner together as per usual. However, the normally noisy table was gripped by a heavy silence. Only the clatter of silverware and the odd chewing and gulping noises could be heard throughout the house. It was hardly unexpected, given the circumstances, but the elf could not bear it any longer.

“So… tomorrow’s the big day, isn’t it?” she said, not even trying to hide the worry in her voice.

“Yeah, it is,” replied Keira with a flat voice.

The elf couldn’t bear to see her normally energetic girlfriend look so lifeless and subdued. Even if the catgirl’s lips were curled in a faint smile, the distant look in her eyes proved it wasn’t genuine. It was plainly obvious the beastkin was trying to keep her feelings in check, and was failing miserably. She was typically the kind of person whose thoughts floated onto her face without her noticing, so her attempts at putting up a front fell flat, to say the least. And yet Rowana was hesitant to call her out on it, because she wasn’t sure which one of the two Keira was trying to reassure with that flimsy facade.

“You don’t…. You don’t have to go, you know,” said the elf after a few minutes. “I know that conscription is mandatory, but there are exceptions…”

Keira stopped raising the spoonful of stew towards her mouth, and slowly lowered it back into her bowl. She moved her gaze away from her meal, looked directly into the elf’s eyes and spoke with a level voice.

“You’re wrong.”

“No, I’m sure of it! I’m certain there was a clause in it about immigrants and-”

“Rowie,” she interrupted, “not that. I know I can get out of it somehow, maybe make a run for it. But I won’t. I have to be there.”

“But why?! Why do you have to go off and join a war so suddenly!”

“Because I already-! … I don’t want anyone else to suffer at the hands of those who think might makes right.”

The elf fell silent as the catgirl averted her gaze and stared off into distance, beyond the walls of the cozy little house.

“My parents… They were hunters. Good ones, you know. They often brought back so much meat and fur that they didn’t know what to do with it. They’d usually trade it for other goods at the village market, but they always made sure to get some fresh salmon whenever possible.”

Keira’s face softened into a nostalgic smile, the first genuine one she had shown all evening.

“My mom, she’d steam it especially for me since I didn’t like it grilled or in a stew like she and dad did. We didn’t have much, but they spoiled me at every chance they got.”

The catgirl turned to face Rowana, who was listening intently.

“They hunted a lot at night, you know. Said the best game came out after the sun set. They weren’t adventurers or anything like that, but they still handled themselves okay. Those two would be fine even in that pitch blackness… It’s something I believed in with all my might...”

The catgirl’s face turned scornful in the next instant.

“What… what happened?” asked Rowana with a shaky voice.

“Imperial patrol killed my parents, that’s what happened!”

Keira suddenly started yelling in a rage.

“Said they mistook them for bandits out in the woods! Claimed the two of them came at them in the middle of the night and tried to ambush them, so they fought back! Fucking lying bastards! My parents would never do something like that!”

She was practically shaking at this point. However, Rowana did not believe it was due to something simple like anger.

“I’m certain those monsters attacked them on purpose! They knew full well what they had done and didn’t show even the tiniest bit of remorse! I saw- I saw what they’d done to my mom! They- they- they- they-”

Rowana instantly left her seat and went to hug the hyperventilating Keira. She held her tight against her chest, stroked her hair and tried to soothe her as much as she could. The beastkin broke out into full-blown sobbing shortly after as her bottled up sorrows overflowed like a dam that had burst.  And the elf accepted it all, waiting patiently for the troubled girl to let it all flow out. She didn’t know what to think, other than she had to be here for her.

It took several minutes for Keira to calm down before she resumed her tale.

“I couldn’t- *Sniffle* I couldn’t do anything about it. None of the other villagers cared and those soldiers denied everything. They just did whatever they pleased simply because they had the uniform and their victim wasn’t ‘their kind!’ They’re the absolute fucking worst kind of scum!”

She rubbed the tears from her face.

“I’ve… Those people, they’ll do unspeakable things if we let them, Rowie. I know I haven’t been here long, but this country is my home. Our home. I can’t let anyone else suffer like I have- like my family has. I have the power to protect people now, Rowie! I don’t want- I don’t want to run anymore!”

The elf realized how selfish she had been as she gently rubbed the upset Keira’s back. The upset beastkin was right. This unjust war was something bigger than either of them, yet all Rowana could think about was how she didn’t want to lose her girlfriend.

“You’ll… have to kill people, Keira.”

“I know.”

“You could get hurt, or killed…”

“... I know.”

A few more minutes passed as Rowana steeled herself. Her sweetheart was determined to do what was necessary for what she believed in, so there’s no way she could send her off with anything but a smile.

“I won’t stop you, but… You have to promise me something. You come back to me, you hear?! I don’t care if we win or lose this, but you come back to me safe and sound?!”

“That- That’s obviously a given!”

“Fufufu, my shy little kitty has become quite reliable lately, hasn’t she?”

“Hey! I’m always reliable! I’m a full-fledged Ranger, you know!”

“Then care to explain why I got a bill from a certain innkeeper for roof repairs a few days ago?”

“... This and that are unrelated.”

The two shared a light chuckle, as the heavy atmosphere from awhile ago steadily dispersed.

“You know, sweetie… I have a bit of a selfish request.”

Rowana was well aware this might be the last night she and Keira might spend together. The ‘full-fledged Ranger’ group was being sent out to the border tomorrow morning, so the elf wanted to make it truly special.

“Would you go on a little midnight stroll with me?”

“Of course, Rowie! Anything for you!”

The two of them got dressed and exited the small house. The elf led the catgirl up the walkway to the overhead street-sized branch, which was more or less deserted at this time of night. However, rather than stop there, she kept walking upwards, much to Keira’s surprise. There were a few sparse, cheap houses like Rowana’s further up, but that branch was pretty much the highest inhabited area of this particular Hylt tree. And yet the pair kept steadily climbing until they reached the absolute highest point they could on foot.

The place they arrived at was an old, wooden platform. It was likely intended to hold a large treehouse, but had been abandoned for one reason or another. Rowana reached into the large bag she was carrying and brought out a few blankets. She draped them onto the wooden planks and lied down on her back, motioning for Keira to do the same.

“I used to come up here whenever I was feeling down,” said the elf as she gazed skyward. “This view was one of the few things that could really soothe my soul. Fufufu, I haven’t really needed to visit here ever since I met you though ~♡!”

Above them, was a peculiar gap in the Hylt tree’s canopy, that allowed a clear, unobstructed view of the heavens amidst the countless branches and leaves that normally got in the way of it. It was as if someone had opened a small window into the cosmos. The distant stars twinkled with all their might, their light only amplified by the surrounding wall of blackness. Almost as if they were jewels in a small bag.

“So shiny…” muttered Keira.

“Yes… it is…”