Somehow I had stayed my hand. Even though the saint had panicked upon my grabbing of her throat, and had attacked me by trying to infuse her power into my arm, I had kept myself in check and hadn't killed her. In fact I hadn't even bruised her. She had simply used so much of her power, so quickly, that she had passed out in exhaustion and had collapsed in my grip.

It was the better of the outcomes really. I had helped Merit secure the saint, and she was right now under the watchful eye of Merit's little legion. People who were not just strong enough to handle a captured saint, but also cruel enough too.

I wasn't honestly sure what Merit planned to do with her yet. She wanted to hand her off to the nation she had been tricking, as to further entice them to capitulate to her demands during negotiations… but such political schemes rarely went as planned.

"Petty politics," I mumbled.

Still, I didn't like how bothered I was about sparing the woman. A part of me knew it was because I still had the distasteful taste of an almost unjustly killing in my mouth thanks to that god, and that bothered me more than anything else.

Me. Feeling bad about killing a god.

What was the world coming to?

I sighed as I rounded a corner and heard voices. A few I even recognized.

Walking deeper into the hall, I slowed a little as I approached a large open room. One with a few tables. One of which was full, of not just citizens but members of the Society.

"Hey Vim!" Rogigo raised a cup in greeting. His feathers fanned upward as he half-stood, as if about to take flight. It was a funny thing to see since he, like all of the ducks, had no wings and hadn't for as long as I could remember.

"Rogigo, Azlo. Betty," I greeted the few faces I recognized, and was able to put names to. There were five of them sitting at the table, and all had drinks and food before them. But based on how there was a slight mess, and most of the plates had only scraps, they were all just finishing up.

Two of them were ducks. Betty was some kind of deer, with tiny little white horns poking out of her fluffy hair, and Azlo was a type of bear. He had come from the north, from that village that had recently fallen thank to the feud with those boars. I wasn't sure what the last woman was, since I didn't see any obvious traits upon her, but I'd not mistake the way she eyeballed me. She was no human, based on the way she was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Where's your wife Azlo?" I asked. She was usually inseparable with him. In fact why were they here? Hadn't they just been at Telmik? I could have sworn I saw them there recently.

"Opli's pregnant Vim. I left her home," Azlo said with a huge grin.

I paused, a little stunned, and then gave the giant man a gentle smile. "Congratulations!" I said as I stepped over to him and grabbed his shoulder. He shyly laughed as he nodded, going a slight red in the face as I squeezed his shoulder.

He was a bear, and far stronger than anyone realized, but he was a pacifist. Thus so many saw him as a weak man, even though a giant of one.

"Don't congratulate him, Vim! He should be home tending to her, not here getting drunk!" Betty said loudly, pointing her cup at the bear.

"Aye, I agree with my drunk deer," Rogigo said with a laugh.

I shook my head at them as they all teased Azlo, but I could tell some of it was not in jest. A few seemed rather upset with him over it.

"Ahem…" the woman I couldn't place, name or species, slowly stood from the table, and the rest of the table realized they had forgotten her.

"Ah! Vim, meet our newest member. A rock eater!" Rogigo said loudly, laughing as his tail feathers flapped and slapped the ground behind him.

"She doesn't eat rocks, you doofus! Ant eater! How many times do you have to be told before it settles in your ant-sized brain?" Betty shouted angrily at the duck.

"Greetings. My name is Vim. I'm the Society's Protector," I said in greeting as I held my hand out to the woman. The ant eater, it seemed.

Her eyes narrowed as she took my hand, and she gave me a strange smile. One that looked off, for some reason, then she opened her mouth and spoke and revealed why. "Nice to meet you, Vims. My name is Antly," she said, slurring a slight bit thanks to a rather obviously long tongue. It had slipped out a tad as she spoke, which made me wonder if it wasn't just long but her mouth was ill-shaped for it.

Wasn't there another anteater in the Society…? Not here, or in the north, but…

Yes. Gary. Did he have a slight lisp too? I couldn't remember.

"Antly. Welcome. If they haven't explained much, know that if you ever need anything simply reach out and let me know. No matter how small and insignificant you think it may be," I said.

"Oh…? Can I asks a favor right now then?" Antly asked as our hands separated.

I nodded, and ignored the strange grins at the table next to us.

"I'm told there's another like me. A Gary. Where is he?" she asked with a hopeful, if not bashful, smile.

I smirked at her and nodded. "I just thought of him. I think he's north of here, where the desert meets the tropical forests. I'll get you two in contact if you'd like," I said.

She nodded quickly. "Yes! Please!"

Right.

"Wish it was that easy for me," Betty said with a sigh.

"Don't be jealous deer, I'll hold you if you want," Rigogo said.

Betty ignored him as she swirled her cup a little. It didn't seem to be full of the liquor from that pitcher, but instead some kind of lighter wine. "Meet any deers looking for a wife lately, Vim?" she asked me as Antly awkwardly sat back down at the table.

"Actually I have. A man named Elk up north, though you might argue he's not exactly a deer… being an elk and all," I said, trying my best to not make it awkward as the table stared at me with utter interest.

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"What's an elk?" Antly whispered to Azlo, as Betty quickly stood up, knocking over her chair.

"You're kidding! Where?" Betty asked loudly, suddenly sobering up based on how her eyes focused.

"Far north. Where it snows nearly the whole year. He spends his days cutting down trees," I said.

Betty blinked, and went into thought. "Is he a new member?" she asked, telling me she had just tried to remember him and his name. She hadn't been able to.

"He is. He joined with his family, a bunch of other elks and deers. A few humans too. He seems to be a kind man… he helped me build a bridge a few months ago," I said.

"A bridge?" Azlo asked, and I wanted to sigh. I really didn't want to get into details about the wars at the moment.

Azlo, like his wife, were heavily involved in them. He was likely here for that reason. To check on the Oasis and the members around them. He and his wife were always running off to investigate, take census, and deliver news. Lately though it's felt more like they've been mail carriers more than anything else.

"Well, if you'd like Betty once I'm done here you can come back with me to head back north. I won't be able to take you much farther than Telmik, but by then you'll be mostly there if you'd like to go meet him," I said, offering Betty the opportunity and also changing topics a bit.

"Just ignored me…" Azlo grumbled softly, and I ignored him again as Betty quickly nodded.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Merit has me for a month. Give or take," I said.

"I'll be ready! Don't leave without me okay? I swear if he gets taken by someone else I'll blame you!" Betty said as she slowly sat back down.

I frowned at her but nodded.

"There you are! Come on Vim, Merit wants you!"

I turned to see Nasba. Her feathers were all raised up, as if agitated. She had likely been running around looking for me.

"You bet she does," Rigogo said with a snicker.

The table all laughed and snickered, so I shook my head and stepped away from them. They were lucky it was obvious most of them had been drinking, though maybe not. Nasba's face was furrowed in disgust as she glared at the table as I approached her.

"Let's go, Nasba," I said gently to her as the table continued to giggle as they went to teasing Betty instead, about how she was just as thirsty as Merit.

"Hmph." Nasba's tail feathers folded up as she turned and stepped away. I followed her out of the room and into the hallway, as we left the noisy group behind.

"I assume this is about the saint?" I asked. It'd only been a few hours since I'd handed her off to Merit and the rest.

"They tease her Vim. Over something she can't control. Something that hurts her so deeply she weeps in her sleep. It's cruel," Nasba said stiffly, her back to me.

Wincing, I nodded. Right. And I was the one who enabled that hurt.

"They'd been teasing each other before you arrived Nasba. About the same thing, basically. Though I do hear you, fully. Some of our people can be reckless with their off-handed comments," I said. We'd lost many over the years from such things. Half the time you don't even realize who you lost until years passed and you wonder where certain people went.

"They don't tease her within earshot, Vim. They know better. But it still hurts to hear it, and she still knows they do," Nasba said softly, now sounding sad more than upset.

"Monarchs are always ridiculed Nasba. If her love life is the worst of it, then she's doing a good job," I said.

"And you. Callous as a cactus. Would it kill you to just sleep with her once or twice? What harm would it do?" Nasba asked as she came to a stop.

Great. This conversation again.

"The harm would be far worse than not doing so, Nasba. We've talked about this. I've seen it before. You think she feels pain now? You have no idea the pain she'll feel when she then knows exactly what she won't and can't have, after experiencing it. Better to never had than to have lost it," I explained.

"Says you. Not everyone is like you Vim, able to endure the way you do. Why not just give her a small moment of your eternal life? Where's the harm in that?" Nasba asked, unbothered by what I'd just said.

"Considering she may well live for thousands of years I'd not so haplessly throw out that small moment as a descriptor," I said.

Nasba's tail feathers unfurled as they slapped the stone ground. "You and your fancy words!" she complained.

I sighed and nodded. "I'm her friend, Nasba. And that's something more than I give to most of our members. I can't give more than that. Even if I wanted to," I said.

"Bah…! I don't know who is worse, you or that damned fox!" Nasba said as she finally turned back around, huffing as she stepped away.

Hm. Thank you Mr. Fox, whoever you are.

Feeling saved, I followed Nasba in silence for a bit as she continued to mumble complaints. Most of them hadn't even been about me, but the fox, as we rounded a corner and found Merit.

The queen of this oasis paused upon seeing us, and Nasba hurried over to her friend. "I found him drinking and partying with the others!" she lied.

Merit grinned at her. "Partying. Sure," she said as I approached.

Before I could say anything Nasba turned to look at me. She stuck her tongue out at me and then ran off, her feathers flapping as she did.

"What… did you try and flirt with her or something? Comment on her naked body, now that you've gotten a good look at it?" Merit asked as we both watched her run back down the hallway we'd just come from.

"No? So how's it going? She awake yet?" I asked, changing topics.

Merit blinked, as if remembering what I meant, and then nodded. "Oh yes. She woke up not long after we tied her to that pillar. She's why I needed to see you," she said as she pointed for me to follow. We turned and headed back down the hall that she had come from, away from Nasba's direction.

"She still alive?" I asked.

"For now. That's the problem."

"Hm?"

Merit nodded. "I have another problem. One that might in fact take up the whole month you owe me," she said.

"Your problems are mine as well, so don't worry much about it," I said gently.

Merit slowed… which made me slow to a stop as she glanced up at me and glared.

What…?

"Comments like that are why I fell for you, you know?"

Were they…? I frowned and sighed at her. "Explains why so many are trying to sneak into my bed lately," I said as I thought about my recent trip to Telmik. The one time I had tried to lay down to get some sleep someone had tried to climb into it. And it hadn't been Celine.

"And that's why I hate you," Merit then said with a flat tone.

Woops.

"So? What's the problem?" I asked.

Merit sighed at me and nodded. "She's not from another nation, or a spy or anything. She's actually from Wevling. She hid herself on purpose," she said.

"Which is…?"

Merit shifted a moment, and I wondered how much of her glare was her earlier frustration towards me, or the situation itself. Something told me the former.

"It's a prophecy, Vim."

I blinked.

"Don't break my castle!" Merit shouted angrily, and I startled and looked down. Sure enough, there was now a bunch of cracks spread out all over the stone floor beneath me.

Woops. "Sorry," I shifted, and made sure I hadn't broken anything too badly. It seemed I had just cracked some of the tiles, nothing more.

"Jeez Vim," Merit complained.

"Sorry," I apologized again, feeling bad. I should have known better. She was a saint, for crying out loud. Of course there was going to be mention of such things.

"It's fine… Just don't break it anymore."

Right. "Do I even want to know?" I asked her as I stepped away from the web of cracks I'd made.

"I hope you do. You just promised my problems were yours too, and this is my problem," she said.

"How so…?"

"It's concerning my oasis. And the fall of it. Or rather, it drying up and disappearing."

Great.

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