1.66 – Noided

None prolly

A weight had been lifted off her. None of it had been her fault. Not really. Other weights remained—she had a lot to do—but she would stop feeling guilt over that. She made an active choice to stop, but she still couldn't help feeling like she never should have gone to SuQ Dairy in the first place.

Maple heard her name uttered more than once on the walk back. They knew her name, and she had to seriously consider changing it. Or at least not introducing herself as Maple. But it was her name.

"I'm not changing it. They'll just forget eventually, won't they?"

Emma nodded resolutely and squished into Maple while they walked. Emma valued her own name—names, as Maple knew her time as Charlie was still important to her—probably more than Maple did hers. Names were precious things, and she would guard Maple's like it were one of her own. Bailey's opinion was more practical.

"Maybe. But it might take until the next major event, and even then. People still remember the Bewitching Weaver for example, but that was much larger, of course."

"Who?"

"You know, hrr, I guess you might not. It was decades ago now, but if you were a local, you would know the name. Half a generation was lost, and Syber formed a new government. This wasn't as big as that, but still. Smaller wars happen, monster attacks, and so on. People forget those details, but this I'm Maple thing is in its own category. It might persist longer than you expect."

Because unlike other dangers, it wasn't every day that half the city turned into sex zombies, or experienced a mass psychedelic orgy. That was foreboding. But it was her name. The jokes got old, but she liked that it was a tree, or sweet like the syrup. She wouldn't let this world take that from her.

Bailey had to return to work after dropping Maple off. She wasn't sure the escort had been necessary, only Henry would recognize her face, but she appreciated it.

Maple and Emma entered the inn unnoticed. She didn't see the rest of Azure Bond, but Thera was loudly regaling and gesticulating to a crowd that'd formed around her. Sasha listened as well while mixing a drink.

"...fully nude, and at full mast with that massive cock she grew, she turns to me. Her gaze is intense. You know the stare [Adventurers] and [Soldiers] sometimes get in the heat of battle? She looks at me just like that, and all she says is: 'Get on.' And I'm like 'holy shit', right? When faced with that, I only had one choice—"

"What are you telling them?"

Maple pushed her way over and interrupted. She recognized this story. She was in it.

"Hey, there she is! Safe and sound. I was just telling everyone about how we—you, saved the day. I was just getting to the good part—"

"Why?"

"It's what we do, of course! Gotta make a name for ourselves."

Thera grinned and looked about ready to continue her story. Maple groaned and rubbed her face. It was so embarrassing, and making the problem of her name worse, and—

"She gets a bit shy about that sort of stuff, Thera. Maybe tone it down a little, now that she's back. It's a good thing though, Maple. Everyone knows about the mysterious I'm Maple they heard, but they don't know that you did it to help. Don't you think?"

Sasha pulled Maple away from the crowd. Someone yelled for Thera to continue the story, and she did. Emma rubbed Maple's head reassuringly.

"But it's embarrassing."

"True enough. I'm serious, though. I got to thinking while you were out—I assume all that guard stuff went fine, by the way? But I got to thinking, and this is the best way to handle it. You have to get ahead of these things, you know? Inns are rumor mills, so it's perfect. And Thera's taking half the credit for Azure Bond, so the focus isn't entirely on you, if that helps."

Maple sighed. It did help, but not much. It made sense, though, and—Sasha's hand was on her shoulder.

"Are you, um, doing something to me?"

Her embarrassment eased up faster than she thought it should have. Her head had cleared in general, actually. Sasha raised her hands, tail lashing the air behind her.

"Ah, sorry. Just a bit of [Calming] magic. I'm surprised you noticed."

"Hmm, that's all it does?"

"Yeah, it's nothing that invasive. I promise. It just settles your emotions so you can think rationally. Sorry, I don't usually do that without asking."

Maple sighed again. She could hear Thera sharing everything to the inn goers, but she was focusing more on herself now at least. Emma was watching intently, she noticed.

"It's fine. It doesn't really change anything. I can just change my name either way if it got bad enough. But yeah, ask before doing that next time. You've never done that to me before, have you?"

"Nope, I swear. Ask me on a truth stone if you want. I don't like using mental magic like that, especially not without asking, but it's just, I needed you to think about it before chasing Thera off. To consider it first, because I don't want to wake up to an angry mob here for either of us. Maybe it's overly cautious, but you saw Henry."

Maple nodded. She believed her, and thought that was fair. Anyway, it had only made her feel a little more calm, and it was already wearing off. Thera was telling them about their fake moans that'd broken the awkwardness in the middle. Demonstrating.

Emma looked enthralled, maybe...envious?

"Don't you be thinking about doing anything like that once you can speak."

Emma turned wide-eyed and laughed with a hand covering her mouth. She waved the idea away. Why, I'd never. What ever could have made you think I would? Maple imagined her saying. Sasha leaned in closer.

"Also, I was wondering if you were planning on telling me what happened last night? You don't have to, but I assume you did something..."

"You know about that? Jeez, why would you assume it was me? But yeah, I was going to ask you about it. It's another secret, I guess, and I don't know what it is."

Sasha sighed and shook her head.

"I thought so. Don't say anything here. Is it related to that job you had for Thera? She told me you had something. We could all meet in a dream tonight, if you want? Or just you two, or do whatever. You don't have to involve me."

"...Do you want to be involved?"

Maple couldn't tell what Sasha was getting at. Half-in, half-out, cagey. Sasha seriously considered the question, and then gestured to her stump of a wing.

"You can see what that got me last time, but yeah. I'm curious. And—it might be important. Again."

"You're really going to have to explain the wing thing sometime. Tonight, even. But um, you don't happen to have more work for me in the meantime, do you? SuQ Dairy is shutting down, so..."

She did, and that's how Maple found herself serving drinks again while Thera regaled everyone.