Hurrying up the stairs, I quickly walked down the hallway to our room.

I found Vim in the room, but not on the bed. He was instead sitting at the desk with a bunch of little wooden and metal pieces in front of him. He was making something again, and he had a little curved knife that was paused in the air as he glanced at me.

"Renn," he greeted me, and I felt a huge smile plant itself on my face as I entered the room.

"Angie and the rest left for the night," I said as I studied the little things he was working on. They weren't familiar to me, so they weren't my pins or anything… but there were lots of little pieces. I wonder what he was making?

"Hm. It did suddenly get quiet," he noted.

I nodded. It had. "I'm actually really glad, Vim. These last few hours almost felt… normal. Everyone was happy, talking normally, and there wasn't any bad drama or yelling or anything. It was as if nothing at all was going on, and all was well," I said.

"People adapt quickly Renn. You all had your weeks of drama, now it's time to return to normal life. Or at least, attempt to do so," Vim said.

Right… "Define normal," I said as I glanced at the bed. It was made, which meant Vim had made it. I had left it in a little bit of a mess this morning.

Vim didn't define it for me as he went back to messing with his little objects. I heard him shave some wood with his knife as I walked over to the nearby windows that led to the balcony. I glanced out them, to see the courtyard and gate below in the distance.

It was shut, and no one was there.

My tail squirmed for a moment as I studied the gate, as if it was odd for some reason. It wasn't, of course, it looked the same as it had since I first saw it… but it still kept my eyes for some odd reason.

Why was it, I wonder? Was it because we were going to leave soon, so I wanted to remember such little details? Just in case we never returned here again? Or was it because the gate was something of a semblance of meaning to me? What if the gate meant something to me, deep down, like… this strange feeling of loneliness I now had, now that everyone had left?

"What are you stressing over?"

I tilted my head and turned around, as to look at Vim's back. He looked… oddly fitting sitting there in that chair. It was a wooden and plain one, but had a cushion on it. That cushion didn't fit him, really. "Is it that obvious?" I asked.

How had he noticed? I knew I had likely sounded happy, and had undoubtedly looked it, moments ago. I had felt my smile, and heard my joy in my own voice. I had vastly enjoyed the dinner I had just participated in with everyone. It had been their way of saying goodbye, since the two of us were to leave in the morning. For real this time.

I had enjoyed every moment of it. Everyone had come, though certain members hadn't stayed for long. A few of the human members had even come, such as Oplar's girls. Laura particularly, as to remind me to keep an eye out for a potential mate for her.

"I've come to believe you tackle stress and worry on purpose, after experiencing great happiness. As if it's your way of washing such euphoria down, or something," Vim said as he lifted one of his little projects up, as to stare at it closely.

Smirking at that, I stepped away from the balcony windows and towards him… but instead of approaching him, I instead paused in front of the mirror.

Studying myself, and the way my tail twitched behind me… I wondered why I hadn't changed much since our last visit.

Honestly it wasn't just the last visit, the one a few months ago, but even the visit before, years ago. I looked nearly the same. My hair was a little different, as was the smile on my face and my tail was smoother… thanks to my constant combing of it, but…

"Have I changed, Vim?" I asked him as I turned a little, to see my side and back in the mirror a little better.

"Hm?" he turned, to see what I meant and what I was doing… and then frowned at me. "You mean appearance wise?" he asked.

I nodded. I knew I'd likely changed a lot, personality wise, but… "I don't think I look any different at all? I mean… maybe a few little marks and stuff, like on my cheek," I said as I reached up to touch the very faint scar on my left cheek. From when I had startled Vim at Kaley's Grotto, and got hurt from the box he had shattered on accident. "But otherwise I look the same!" I said as I felt more and more like it was confirmed.

"It's only been a few years, Renn. You're very thick in the blood, you'll not change much… if it all, really. Odds are you won't change at all until something drastic happens, or you near the end of your years," he said.

"Drastic?" I asked. What'd he mean by that? A loss of an arm, maybe, like Randle?

"Pregnancy, or extreme stress and wounds. Something to severely affect your inner workings," Vim said calmly.

I blinked at that and glanced back at the mirror.

Pregnancy…

Taking that into account I began to undress.

Since I'd spent the last few hours here, safe in the mansio, I hadn't been wearing my outer gear. None of the leathers, or my hat or anything. But I was still wearing multiple layers, since it was still cold enough to warrant it. So as I undressed, I took my time to check in the mirror each time I removed a piece of clothing. As to see if I noticed any changes from my memories of my previous years.

"Renn… what are you doing?" Vim asked as I took off my undershirt.

"I want to compare myself," I said.

"Naked," he stated.

I nodded as I went to take off my lower layers too. "Yeah. I did last time I was here too. Or well, not the last time before we went to Lilly's. The time before that. There's no point comparing myself from a few months ago, I think," I said.

"Hm…" Vim shook his head and turned back around, to refocus on his little projects as I got naked.

"Worried I was doing this because you mentioned pregnancy?" I asked, teasing him a little.

"Not really. This place fits a few of your requests but fails several more. I know you don't want anything to happen here," he said calmly.

Although Vim might not have been trying to outright tease me back, I still felt as if it had been one of his best attempts yet. I felt not just my face flush, but most of my body, as I glared at the back of his head for a moment.

What a jerk, using my own words and emotions against me like that! Especially since it made me want to laugh and giggle over it!

Looking away from him, I refocused on the mirror and its reflection. I stepped over to it, and hummed as I glanced my body up and down.

Yep… I had a few more faint scars that I hadn't before, mostly thanks to the events in Lumen, but I looked pretty much the same…

I gripped a few parts of my body, trying to tell if I had gained or lost weight… and couldn't see or feel any different from the me in my memories of not just a couple years ago, but many.

"Seems almost wrong, to be honest, but I guess that's just how it is," I said lightly.

"Funny," Vim scoffed.

Glancing at him, I smirked. "Right. You never change at all. Not even your hair… actually you did say one time your hair and nails did grow, just slowly. Does that mean if I wait long enough you could grow out your hair, Vim?" I asked.

"Yes. Back during the wars I had long enough hair to tie it up," he said.

"Huh? Really?"

He nodded as he turned a little, as to look at me. "Not very long, but it reached my shoulders when not tied up, yes."

"So… does that mean you went that long without it getting burnt or cut?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh. No, my hair will re-grow to the current state it's at, Renn. So if it was long and got all burnt off or something, it'd just grow back to its long length until it was back to normal. So that isn't why it's short now," he said.

Frowning at him, I pointed at him. "Then why's it short now?" I asked, a little offended. I wanted to see him with longer hair!

"Because I want it to be?"

"Why!?"

"It's better this way. I don't have to deal with it, don't even need to comb it, and this era most men have shorter hair. Only those in the clergy have longer hair, like Randle," Vim said.

Gah! "So if I make longer hair more expected and normal in today's culture you'll let your hair grow out again?" I asked.

Vim's eyes narrowed a bit. "Well… yes… I suppose. As to blend in better, yes."

"Fine," I nodded and huffed… though wasn't really sure how I'd accomplish it.

He smirked at me. "You're an odd one, Renn."

"Says you? If we normal non-humans break the rules of normalcy I don't even know what to say you do to them," I said as I looked back to the mirror. I turned a bit, as to look at the spot where my tail came from.

Vim was silent for a moment as I checked my body for anything odd or out of place, and decided all was well. It was a little upsetting that I didn't see any real visible differences between the me now and the one in my memories… but as Vim said, it was normal for those like me.

If anything seeing a difference would likely be a bad sign. Or at least a worrying one.

Though not if it was because I was pregnant…

"Hey Vim," I spoke up a little as I studied my frame from the side, and imagine my belly growing larger.

"Hm?"

"You were right you know?" I told him, as to slightly distract myself from my thoughts. They were straying into places I didn't want to focus on at the moment.

"About?"

"Their prophecies. The Chronicler brought up a few times while I was with her and Mapple that she was looking forward to seeing my children soon. You were right. She thinks I'm pregnant, or about to be," I said as I glanced at the mirror again, imagining it.

"Is that why you spent so much time with her?" he asked gently.

I nodded. "I wanted to… understand. I want to hate her, them, for what they are doing… yet at the same time, I wanted to know why you seem to be so forgiving when it concerns them. It's because even if they're doing it for the wrong reasons, or because they're stupid, at the end of the day… they just want what's best for themselves and our people. To them they're not doing anything wrong, they're just trying to help all of us in their own way," I said.

"Am I hearing genuine understanding, or the words of an adorable newly-wed wife who likes to hear of happy prophecies?" Vim asked.

My whole body tensed a little as I felt blood rush to my face. "Don't call me out like that!" I shouted, a little loudly.

He chuckled at me as I groaned. How does he realize such things so easily! Was I that easy to read!? Gosh!

"I'm still upset with them! Don't get it wrong, Vim! I just… well…" I waved my hands around a little, unsure of what to say or how to say it. I felt flustered now!

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes. It's hard to actually hate them, because they genuinely aren't hurting anyone on purpose," Vim said for me.

I nodded. "Yeah… The Chronicler sees Light as some kind of boss. She's worried Light will be upset with her, for allowing the monarch's death before it fulfilled its purpose. She's given me letters to give her, I think she's sending apologies and stuff," I said.

Vim was quiet for a moment, and then sighed at me. "So Light really is being seen as the new leader then," he said.

"Seems so," I said.

Vim didn't seem to like that much. He frowned in a way that told me he was bothered, but I wasn't sure how deeply just yet. I studied his face for a moment, and noticed he had a bit of dust in his hair, near his ear. It was a tiny little bunch, barely noticeable. Odds are it was from when he was crawling in that monarch's nest.

"Did you play along then? When she spoke of such prophecies, or about you being pregnant?" Vim then asked as he re-focused on me.

Standing up a little straighter I nodded. "Yeah. I uh… didn't confirm it or anything, but I didn't deny it too. I just… blushed and played it off, as I would, normally anyway, I think," I said. Honestly The Chronicler hadn't even really spoken about it too deeply, or much. The times she had done so had just been off-handed comments while she grumbled or spoke of other things.

"Were many prophecies mentioned?" he asked further.

"Just a couple. Want me to tell you of them?" I asked.

"No."

"You had me tell you about the coin," I countered.

"In one perspective that prophecy is a failed one, since the monarch is now dead," he said.

"The one I told you had been about me though, not that little creature," I clarified.

Vim's eye twitched. "Let me indulge in my little loopholes Renn, stop ruining it for me."

Oh! I nodded quickly. "Okay…!"

He sighed, and for a moment looked away. Then he looked back. "I do suppose we need to lay down some ground rules, don't we?" he asked.

"About everything? Yes. We do."

"Right… we'll do that on our trip to the Smithy," he said.

"Please!" I nodded quickly, happy to hear it.

Gosh, finally! There were many things we needed to talk about, more than just the prophecies! Thank goodness he was finally willing to do so!

"Well… that all being said please keep putting up the act Renn. Though it won't last long, they'll start to question and notice once months and months go by and your belly doesn't change," he said.

"We could always fix that," I dared to say.

Vim ignored me, completely. "Also… we need to talk about your hearing of prophecies, Renn."

My ears were still, but my tail squirmed wildly to make up for it. "What… do you mean?" I asked.

Vim nodded gently at me. "I do not, nor ever will, want to limit you. Free will is absolute. Especially so, even, for you."

"You're… asking me to do what you do? To avoid or not allow them to be told to me?" I asked.

My husband slowly shook his head. "No, Renn… I don't want that. I do not like prophecies, I have my own rules about them, but I'm not a fool. I know that they're powerful tools, and can even save lives when handled properly. I myself have saved countless lives, or stopped terrible disasters, thanks to them. During the wars I had used them too, they had been some of the best weapons I had at the time against the gods," Vim said. My ears finally fluttered. He didn't notice, or if he did didn't show it as he continued. "So no. I'll never force you to live by my rules. If I was that type of man, I'd already have instilled them into you. I want you to do what makes you happy, Renn, no matter what it is."

For a long moment I stood there, suddenly feeling more naked than I actually was. Then I took a small breath and nodded. "You're saying I'm free to choose. If I involve myself with them or not," I said.

"Obviously."

"Then why bring it up, Vim?" I asked softly.

"Because I want you to know where I stand on it. That I'm okay with it. We'll… set some rules for each other, for when how and why you should tell me of them and such, but for now just know I'm okay with it."

"Yet it bothers you deeply, doesn't it?" I asked.

"Of course it does? But so does you flirting with pretty women, or falling in love with humans. You do many things that scare me, why should this be any different?" he asked.

I laughed at him. "Yes, my flirting is so terrible and world changing as prophecies," I said. I wonder who he was speaking of?

"It is!"

The two of us smiled at each other for a moment, and I found myself no longer feeling naked. I liked the odd feeling I had all of a sudden, I felt warm and…

Reaching up a little, I touched my chest and wondered what this feeling was. It wasn't joy, or pleasure, but… maybe some form of relief?

I wonder why I felt relief such as this all of a sudden? Was it just because he just told me that he was okay with me learning about prophecies…? In a way I had already known such a thing, what with his belief in free will, so… why?

Pondering it for a bit, I decided to put the feeling and thoughts aside for a moment and ponder them later. I needed to take advantage of this moment, this atmosphere, before it was ruined. By my own design, or another's.

"Do saints share their dreams?" I asked, going back to topic.

"Dreams? Their prophecies you mean?" he asked.

I nodded.

"No. Not once have I ever heard, or been shown proof otherwise. Each saint receives their own prophecies. Their own dreams. A saint can have the same dream again and again, for their whole lives even, but they are theirs alone. However, other saints can have prophecies about the same things. Take your Elaine's prophecy for example, of that chicken monarch. The one that led us to her. She saw its birth, and the inferno that came from it. Other saints will likely, if not already have, prophecies of that same monarch. They though will see different fires, or from different locations and times. No one else other than Elaine will have had, or will have, a dream about that monarch's birth," Vim explained as I looked back at the mirror.

Shifting a little, I wondered how it felt to have a belly reach out as far as they did. I bet it felt silly. "Why is that? Aren't they all from the gods?" I asked.

"Honestly Renn I don't know. It is odd, and I've thought long and hard about it as have others. There are many theories, but none seem valid to me. In my perspective they're all connected to the same divine conduit, if by different means. That shared connection should justify the ability to share prophecies… yet at the same time, the connection also justifies their lack of it. If their dreams really are all given by a power or god, then that same power instilling such rules makes a lot of sense even if we can't comprehend the reason for such a rule," Vim said.

Huh… he was being rather open about this. I dared a glance at him, and found him studying my body almost as heavily as I had just been doing. I looked away, back to the mirror, as to try and hide the slight blush that followed.

"So… what separates a normal dream from a prophetic one?" I asked.

"Their lucidity. The prophetic dreams are very vivid. So real that during the dream, during the prophecy, the saints don't even realize it's a dream. Even though they should. It's not until they wake up that they realize they had just had a dream, and not actually living those moments. It's why so many die or break while young, they can't comprehend or handle the things they see and experience. Imagine living a hell, or experiencing a brutal death, while very young. It's one of the reasons most saints are… odd or weird. They usually need to mature quickly as to withstand the mental burden, and it corrupts and skews their personalities in the process," Vim explained.

"Aren't all dreams vivid…?"

Vim was quiet for a moment, long enough to be odd, so I glanced at him again… and found him frowning at me.

At first I thought, with a slight panic, that he had noticed something odd about my naked body… but instead he simply shifted a little as to better face me. "You're an oddity Renn. I'm sorry for not taking that into account. Odds are your dreams are… very vivid. Thanks to your mind. A normal person's dream, a normal dream, is hazy and only partially remembered. Most people don't even remember their dreams at all, and some don't even dream in the first place," he said.

"Don't dream? How is that possible?" I asked.

"Rather easily. It can be from exhaustion, or trauma, or who knows what else."

"Hm…" I frowned at him, and felt my tail squirm as we stared at each other for a moment.

Vim didn't show if he was dreaming or not, when he did sleep, but he's told me he did. Though he said he had nightmares. Terrible ones.

My own nightmares were very memorable. I occasionally had dreams that I did forget… but the real bad ones seemed to never disappear from my mind. Though lately I've not had such dreams, anywhere near them in fact.

Actually…

Glancing at the bed, I wondered if this bed was in fact one of the last places I'd had such a nightmare. Though I had some bad dreams since, such as when we were at Lumen or when Vim and I were separated… none of them had actually been what I'd consider nightmares. At least, not like the ones that terrified me and I kept locked away deep in a dark corner in my mind.

"You're the one who brought it up, and now you're all sad. What's wrong Renn? Why ask such a thing?" Vim asked.

My ears fluttered as I nodded and smiled. I liked it when Vim noticed such things. "I was just thinking of how long it's been since I've had one of my nightmares," I said.

"Ah…" Vim thought for a moment and crossed his arms. "You used to have them a lot; yes… you had some during your fever in the south. And you've whined and stuff a few times since, but probably not as bad as you used to," he said as he pondered his memories.

My smile warmed. "Whined?" I asked.

"You sometimes let out a small whine. Lately though you just giggle and slobber all over, which I'll be honest I'm not sure which is worse," he said, teasing me a little.

"Slobber!" I laughed at that. I knew I did, since I sometimes woke up and had to wipe my face… or whatever I was sleeping on, like a pillow or him.

"So? Why the question, Renn?" Vim asked, forcing us away from this lovely little topic.

"Ah… you mean the prophecies? I was just wondering if the prophecy The Chronicler had about the coin is the same as the one Celine gave me," I said.

"No. It's likely not. Why'd you think such a thing?" he asked.

I noted the way he asked. He was trying to see where and how I had come to such a conclusion.

"The Chronicler asked me again to find it, or if you found it to make sure you gave it to her. She seems to really firmly believe it is needed to be found, and soon," I said.

"And Celine told you to put it back where you found it, implying to leave it be," Vim said.

I nodded, and then noticed Vim's eyes slide downward from my own, though only for a few moments. I felt a little stiff all of a sudden as I wondered where he had looked for a moment. My breasts? Shoulders? Stomach? Thigh again, or my tail maybe?

Of course I did not mind Vim looking at me. In fact… I wished he'd do so more often. But it also worried me, a little too much to be honest, that he found certain parts of me… disappointing. Over our journey together so far, I've seen Vim stare and flirt with many women. But all had been different. None had been similar enough to give me an idea of his true preferences, or desires. And I'm too scared to ask him about such things even though I knew he'd likely answer me honestly if I did. But there was one thing he seemed to always notice, or point out, when he had an opportunity… or even when he didn't really mean to.

And that was women with large breasts.

Though, when he did do so he usually did it in a way as if he was teasing me. In a playful way. So I wasn't entirely sure yet if such things were what he really liked the most or not, or if he was just using them to tease me since he knew I stressed over his noticing of them.

I didn't like such thoughts, so I tossed them aside and gestured at Vim with a light wave.

"Would you do me a favor Vim?" I asked.

His chair made a small noise as he tilted his head.

"Would you stand next to me? I want to see our reflection," I asked.

For a moment Vim only frowned at me, but then he slowly stood. "Not what I expected, but sure."

"What did you expect?" I asked happily as I stepped back a bit, as to stand where I thought would be best for what I wanted to do.

"Here fine?" he asked as he took his place beside me, and I nodded as I looked to the mirror.

And found myself a little embarrassed again.

I was naked. He wasn't. It made us look odd. But I put aside that oddness for a moment as to study myself next to Vim.

"You feel taller than me sometimes, yet it seems with my ears we are about the same height," I said as I had my left ear flutter, to better display such a fact.

Vim nodded.

Shifting a little, I reached over and grabbed his hand. I enjoyed the way we looked comfortable holding hands, even with Vim smirking gently at me.

I've seen a lot of partners look… a little off when standing beside one another, holding hands. Because one was too tall, or another too wide. It seemed we looked as comfortable as I felt when holding his hand, which was good.

"What are you searching for Renn?"

Stepping a little closer to him, I laid my head against his shoulder… or at least, as best I could. It was a little odd at this angle.

"Everyone lately has been talking about how we flirt and act funny together, I'm just… trying to see what they see," I told him.

Honestly what I was more-so looking for was what made people whisper quietly about their jealous feelings when they saw us. I'd heard it from more than just a few people recently, and have even heard it from passer-by's when we were out walking and traveling.

What did they see to make them so jealous? We looked like a couple, sure, but was that really something to be so envious of? Many people had partners. Most did, in fact. Yet even those who did have someone else, still sometimes mentioned such jealousy. So… what was it? Where was it? Could I even see it if I tried?

Vim smirked at that and then blew into my ears. Not too roughly, but thanks to how close we had been the tiny little blow of air had been very effective. I let out a little yelp as I shifted away, my ears fluttering as they began to itch like mad.

"Vim!" I shouted as I reached up to brush my ears and hair. I felt like I had a bunch of bugs in them now!

He chuckled at me, but didn't release my hand… though I hadn't released his either. "Who cares what they see, Renn?" he asked.

"Gosh… I just wanted to know…" I mumbled as I kept itching my ears. Not because they were still bothered, but because it was a good excuse to hide the huge smirk that wanted to plant itself on my face.

I wanted to be upset with him, not fall for that dumb smile on his face!

Then, before I could say more, Vim pulled me over towards him. He spun me around a bit, until I ended up standing right in front of him, with my back turned to him and facing the mirror.

"Vim?" I laughed a little, wondering what he was up to, as he then wrapped me in a hug from behind. It was slightly awkward, since we still held hands, but he accomplished it… and then…

Staring into the mirror, I felt the world become a little quiet as I stared at something I'd never seen before.

It was still a little silly, since I was naked and he wasn't, but suddenly the scene reflected in the mirror was… different. We were still standing together. We still looked comfortable, and serene. We still held hands, and we were both still smiling even! But… it was now… sensual, yet not. It was in fact something I'd seen many times throughout my life, though only from afar and only rarely.

He was holding me as if I was the only thing worth holding in the whole world, and somehow without even doing anything… I made it looked like I was worth it, and belonged in his arms.

"Well?" Vim asked, smiling gently at me in the mirror.

"I see it," I admitted… as I sighed a little in defeat.

Anyone could.

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