Book Three – Chapter Two – Part Two – Blissful Days Won’t Ever Last

Around four hours later, Servi was woken up by the pleasant noise of rain lightly hitting their cave, the harsh distant thunder, and the soft voice of her beloved Itarr.

Good morning, Servi. Please don’t be upset, but I believe Momo fell asleep.

“I kinda figured she would, and no, I’m not mad.” Getting up and crawling out, Servi scratched her head. Her fingers slid and danced in her smooth black hair. She went to take down her little tent, but Itarr stopped her.

Don’t worry. I’ll fold your tent up and place it in the backpack for you.

“Thanks, Itarr. I suppose I should put Momo to bed.”

Servi walked over and found Momo asleep on the hard reddish ground. She was curled into a ball, something that reminded Servi of the way she liked to sleep, and she looked so delightfully adorable. Cute snoring sounds came from her, and Servi felt the strongest urge to poke her friend’s soft cheeks, but she fought against it. The weak fire threatened to burn out, but a quick Fire Wall was enough to reinvigorate it. Its beautiful orange glow relit the cave in a warm embrace.

"I don’t wanna touch her without permission. Good thing I have Telekinesis.” Concentrating, she and Itarr used over 700 anchor points to make transporting Momo as gently as possible.

And it was a success.

The sleeping Singi slowly ascended a few short centimeters in the air, and her body floated in the direction of her tent.

Using a few anchor points to open the sleeping bag, Servi and Itarr worked together to slide Momo in the opening like one would insert coins at a vending machine.

“Grampy…I love you…” Momo snuggled against the soft blue interior of her sleeping bag and whispered in her sleep.  Servi finished the task off by using Telekinesis to zip the bag back up.

“You know,” Servi took a seat by the fire and used Absorption to retrieve her canteen from her bag, “I really want to meet her grandpa. He sounds like a wonderful man, and from what I heard, it kinda makes me want to call him grampy too.”

Are grandparents special?

Servi thought it was a weird question, but she answered as she took a sip. “Yeah. They’re the parents of your parents, and a person has four. Two from your mom and two from your dad.”

I wonder if I have one. Would a Goddess even have something like that?

“I’d imagine so. Every living thing was given life by something. And that something is your parents.”

I guess so, but if I’m born of my parents, they have to have parents. It goes in a cycle, right? But I wonder what we’ll find if we go back far enough? Will it be an endless cycle of parents? Is there even an end?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”

Thinking about these things scares me. It’s like I’m afraid of what I’ll find. What if I don’t have parents? And if I did, why can’t I remember them?

“I get frightened when I think about things like that. Honestly, I’m scared of something else, too.”

What are you afraid of?

“When I go kill, it’s like I know I’m doing something bad, and I should cry for the life that I ended, but I don’t feel anything. If anything, it just feels like I knocked down a peg that stood in my way. You know, I haven’t cried in a long time….I almost forgot what it even feels like….”

I…..

“Do you think Momo will accept me? I mean, after I tell her the truth? I know I need to eventually…. My biggest fear is getting attacked by something stronger than we can handle and having to reveal my true strength,” Servi spoke so quietly that even Itarr had to strain to hear her. “If she says she hates me….I’d probably lose it. In a way, I think she’s the only thing that’s keeping me from becoming a total monster…..”

Itarr wanted to tell Servi the truth. The monster isn't you...it's me! That was what she wanted to shout, but she couldn't. The Goddess could not gather the courage to speak those six little words that had the power to effectively change her entire life. She was afraid of what would happen to her and Servi's relationship if the truth came out. But the Goddess knew that day was coming. Until then, she was going to do all she could to support her beloved friend because that's the only thing she could do.

I want you to know that I love you, Servi. And no matter what happens, I’ll always love you.

Servi felt like she wanted to cry, but the growing tears just blew away like a leaf in the wind. She knew her current emotions were liable to dramatically flicker every other second, and she didn’t know why. She wanted to ask Itarr, but it was like the words were locked away and unavailable to be uttered, whispered, spoken, or growled.

“I love you too, Itarr. Please…don’t leave me…” Servi whimpered and shook as she held her canteen close to her chest.

Please, calm down and be at ease. For as long as we both live, I will always be here for you. I can promise you that.

Once Servi heard those words that seemed to have special meaning, she took another deep breath and felt her body and mind relax. She brought out a coin from her ring and began to flip it. The red fire glanced beautifully off of its shiny surface, acting as a tiny nature-fueled spotlight that illuminated the cave. Taking special care, Servi used Telekinesis to zip up Momo’s tent so that the light reflected wouldn't have the chance to bother her.

I don’t know why but doing this seems to bring me to peace. Maybe this is something I’ve done in the past? What if the body remembers, but the mind doesn’t? If that’s the case, then which one is real and which is fake? Or are they both real to form the woman known as Servi?

Time slowly passed, and the rain and thunder and lightning came to an end as she sat there, flipping a single coin over and over again. By the time the sun’s rays peeked in from the cave opening, illuminating the area, Servi realized the fire had died out some time ago. Smelly ashes were scattered about as a freak gust of wind intruded in, blanketing Servi in a light layer of black.

I’ll take care of that, Itarr said.

“I need to get better at using the ring,” Servi muttered as her body became clean a moment later.  There weren't any signs of her ever being dirty.

You’ll get better in time. It does seem like a hard thing to get used to. Especially when absorbing tiny things like dust.

Servi went to respond but stopped when she heard a meek voice whisper from in front of her. “Grampy….? It’s cold….” She walked over and crouched down, undoing the zipper on the tent from which the voice came from.

She’s cute when she’s sleeping like this. Almost reminds me of a cat. Well, duh, she is a catgirl.

“Hey, Momo?”

Servi waited for a second, but Momo showed no signs of waking up.

“Momo?” She repeated as she shook her sleeping friend’s shoulders.

“Eehh… Grampy?” Two blue eyes as deep and as powerful as the ocean stared into red eyes that seemed as if a fire was the source of power that provided its intense luster.

“Sorry, but it’s Servy.”

“Servy?” rubbing her eyes, the sleeping Singi suddenly realized her situation and groggily rolled out of her sleeping bag. A scattered storm of pink hair reinforced her sleepy cat-like look.

“Good morning, Servy,” she lazily said before reaching for her canteen that Servi placed nearby.

“Did you sleep okay?”

Momo replied by nodding her head and yawned again. “I don’t even remember waking you up. I must’ve slept really good,” she got up out of her tent and began to do her morning stretches.

Servi observed and spoke, “You did wake me up,” it was a little white lie she had told since she didn’t want Momo to overreact because she fell asleep. “You were saying Grampy in your sleep. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear.”

“Grampy is what I called grandpa sometimes. I guess I was having a dream about him, but I haven’t called him that in years. Hey, Servy, what time is it?” Momo kept her eyes closed as she undid the cap on her canteen. She lifted it up and took a giant sip. It was cold and refreshing, almost as if it had been poured from the cup of the Gods.

“I don’t know, but I guess it’s somewhere around 7 or 8 in the morning.”

At that moment, it was like the gears inside the sleepy girl's head began to work overtime. “Servy? Wait, Servi? Oh man, I’m sorry!!”

Servi waved her hand and sat down. Momo did the same, crossing her legs as her tail stretched and waved about. “You can call me Servy if you want to. The only difference is a single letter.”

And both might even be wrong anyway. But I can cross that bridge when I get to it.

It is kind of a cute nickname. Wait, wasn’t I just thinking of coming up with a nickname for her? And she went ahead and did it for me? Momo thought as she cracked an embarrassed smile.

“Okay then. S-Servy.”

Servi reached into her bag and took out some hardtack. “Mo, here you go,” she grinned.

“Oh, than— Wait, Mo? But that’s a guy’s name.”

“Then how about Momoie? Momie? Mosie? Moey?”

Momo quietly chuckled as she finished up her light stretching. Then she leaned over and retrieved her hairbrush from her grandpa’s bag. “My name’s kinda hard to make a nickname of, isn’t it?” Next, she said a small thank you to Servi and received the bread from her hand.

“It is, but I’m sure I can come up with something. Or you might come up with something.” Servi bit off a piece of her breakfast and began to chew.

Momo also tore a piece off and tried to distract herself by both combing and eating concurrently.

I mean, Mosie sounds kinda cute. And it kinda rhymes with Servy, doesn’t it? Ouch!! This stupid bread is too hard!! I don’t see how she eats it dry. Servy, you’re a tougher girl than I!

Putting her brush down, she grabbed her canteen and noticed it was heavier than when she went to bed. She must've missed that when she sleepily took a sip a few minutes ago.

“Thanks for filling my bottle up.”

“You’re welcome,” said Servi as she snapped and cracked a piece of hardtack underneath her teeth. Each vicious sound made Momo wince a little bit.

“I don’t know how you do it,” replied Momo, “I have to pour water on mine.”

“Maybe a Singi’s teeth are more sensitive than a Human’s?”

“Maybe. I know our tongues are,” Momo cracked into the now wet and soft bread. “Next time, let’s bring some peanut butter or jam. Those can last a long time, right?”

Servi nodded. “I’m sure we can get a preserved bottle of one of the two,” having finished her breakfast, she began to pack up half of the rocks. “If you want to finish getting ready, I’ll pack up your tent and sleeping bag.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Momo had just finished her hardtack as she began to equip her gear. Suddenly, the call of nature hit her, and she rushed to put on her boots while ignoring her armor and sword. “Umm…. I…uh….I gotta use the bathroom.”

“Got it. I’ll go ahead and get everything packed up.”

“Okay. I’ll make it up. I didn’t mean for you to do the whole thing yourself,” Momo said while rushing out of the cave.  Her voice became quieter until Servi couldn't hear it at all.

Itarr was a bit worried, but Servi assured her nothing was wrong.

She was back in seven minutes. “And let’s be sure to buy some proper toilet paper. Leaves hurt…a lot…” Servi heard Momo quietly grumble to herself when she came back. A look of unpleasantness and an upset scowl blanketed her face as if she was angry at the Gods Above for making leaves, which she now considered to be nature’s worst toilet paper.

“Did you see any dry sticks?” Servi asked. She was putting the last fire-resistant stone in her bag.

“I didn’t. Seemed like everything was pretty soaked from that rainstorm. I can put some in my bag to dry out for later, though."

She’s talking about her grampy’s bag, right? So time doesn’t stop for objects stored in there? Itarr asked

“Apparently not.” She whispered before speaking louder. “If that’s fine with you, then go for it.”

“Got it. I’ll be back in a sec.”

Fifteen minutes later, the two were standing by the entrance of the cave that graciously allowed them to take shelter.

“Leaves and sticks for tinder and kindling?”

“Check!”

“Tents and other camping equipment?”

Momo scanned the sun-lit cave for anything they could’ve missed, but she didn’t spot anything. She then looked at her and Servi's backpacks. “Check! Check!”

“Map?”

The Singi pulled it out from her bag and looked it over. “Checky Check!”

“Is there a lake in the direction we need to go?”

“There is. It should be about three or four hours away. How much water do you have?” Momo glanced up from her map and eyed the black and red striped canteen. It hung from Servi’s belt and danced around when she walked. The water inside made a funny noise as it splashed around.

“I got about half left. That’s still a whole liter, though. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Well, I think that’s everything. Hey, wanna have lunch when we get to the lake?”

“You read my mind. This hardtack isn’t really the most filling breakfast.”

“Yeah…” Momo glanced down at her hand. It was more of a cracker than bread, but it was hard for her to eat it without dousing it in water. “But it’s not like it's doing it on purpose. I’m sure Mr. Hardtack will be delicious with some strawberry jelly.”

"Before we leave for our next quest, let’s be sure to pick some up.” Servi walked out of the cave, and the wet squishy grass squelched underneath her footsteps.

“Okay!”

Mr. Sun, so high in the sky.

Makes me want to fly.

That’s why I’m singing this tune.

May I touch you soon?

Mr. Sky, so pretty and blue

When I look at you, I know that’s true.

And that fills me with such a boon.

May I touch you soon?

Mr. Star, bright, bright, bright.

At night, you’re always in my sight.

Even though it’s past June.

May I touch you soon?

Mr. Moon, last but not least

Why don’t you come join us for a feast?

We can use forks, knives, or spoons.

May I touch you soon?

Servi listened as Momo went through the song again, her tail swooshing and whooshing through the air after each verse.

“You have a pretty singing voice,” she said when it was over.  Servi was so overtaken by her melancholic voice that tears almost formed in the corner of her eyes. It was like listening to a songbird in the early morning during spring while sipping a nice cup of coffee. The image of such a scene flashed in Servi's mind, and she imagined sitting outside on a freshly painted porch with her best friend.  The sea of trees with their green leaves would act as an ocean, yet they all would be the audience as Momo prepared to sing. Her voice would soothe the ears of both Humans and animals alike.

Such a sight would be a blessing, and Servi wished that scene would one day become a reality.

Momo scratched her head and lightly chuckled. “Really? Me and grampy used to sing that when I was really little. We would go outside and sit on this little swing and gaze up at the sky. If it was daylight, we’d sing the first two verses. And at night, we’d sing the last two. I haven’t sung it in a few years. I wonder why I did?”

“I don’t know why, but I do know that your grandpa sounds like a great man.”

Momo smiled. “He is. I wanna go back and see him... But maybe not for a while. I wanna greet him as a new Momo. One who’s super strong and experienced. And if you don’t mind, I wanna introduce you to him. I want him to meet my best friend.”

“And I want to meet him, too.”

“Okay! It’s a deal!” Momo stuck out her hand, and Servi shook it. And as if tradition, Momo’s stomach took the time to alert everyone it was hungry.

“Seems like your stomach always likes to growl. We’ve been walking for a while, so it might be time to take a lunch break. Hey, about how far away from the lake are we?” Servi turned her head and scanned the horizon. Trees to her left and trees to her right. The leaves in the forest were so dense and thick that it was almost pitch black. She could see in a few meters, but after that, nothing. It was nearly darker than night.

“Hmm…. Once we get over that hill there, the lake should be to our right. And there should be a green plain to our left that’s filled with flowers and a mini lake.” Momo stored the map back in her bag.

“A flower field?”

“That’s what the map said. We’ve seen the fields before, but the map makes it out to be really big. See?” she took it back out and handed it to Servi. She stopped moving and sat down.  The lightly damp grass flattened out under her, and a few small birds flew overhead. Their chirping was like music, and Momo couldn't help but nod her head and wag her tail to the rhythm.

As her friend said, the entire left side of a small square of the map had flowers drawn over it. If the map was accurate and to scale, then the field had to be at least a square kilometer wide.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out once we get over the hill,” Servi handed the map back, stood up, and took a sip of her water.

“I guess we will. It’ll be the perfect place to have lunch, but let’s cook the food on the other side, next to the lake. I don’t want to risk starting a fire in the pretty flowers.”

“That makes sense.”

“WOOOOOW!!!!!” Momo exclaimed when she reached the top of the hill that separated her from a boring old dirt road and the prettiest area she had ever seen.

Beautiful rows of pink, red, orange, blue, violet, green, black, and white flowers filled half of her vision. The many different vibrant colors formed a lovely pattern that welcomed bliss, calmness, and happiness into the hearts of all who saw it.

But that wasn’t all.

As if standing as their total opposite, a beautiful still blue lake stood apart from the flowers with nothing but a wet dirt road to separate the two. In the far distance, little ducks were wadding through the deep blue, a frog hopped from lily pad to lily pad, and a deer and her fawns were enjoying a nice relaxing lay in the hot sun. Every so often, they would dip their heads into the lake, breaking apart its still surface to enjoy the cold, refreshing water.

It was something out of a fantasy world where the concept of evil and good did not exist. It was nature in its purest form. And as if reinforcing that concept, a sudden gust of wind blew towards the Human and Singi. Like a gentle mother, the breeze deposited a single White Lily flower into Momo’s hair.

“I guess they wanted to give you a present,” Servi smiled.

“Hehe! Thank you, Mr. Flower! Oh, Servy, the White Lily is my favorite. Look at this!” Momo dug into her bag and pulled out her diary. The flower on the book was the same exact one that was in her hair.

“Mind if I adjust it? It looks like it’s gonna fall off.”

“Not at all,” using both hands, Servi lightly parted the sea of pink that was Momo’s hair and gently grabbed the flower. Then, she spent a quick few seconds debating on the optimal placement to bring out Momo’s natural cuteness.

“There,” Servi softly whispered.  She placed the flower right beside Momo’s left ear. She stood back and admired her work like a sculptor would a statue.

“Does it look good? Oh, I have a mirror in here somewhere…” Digging back through her bag, she pulled out a tiny mirror that was no bigger than her hand.

“Wow, I feel so pretty,” she whispered. She didn’t want Servi to hear it, but she did. “Thanks, Servy!”

“You’re welcome, Mosie.”

“Mosie?” she confusingly blinked.

“How do you like it? Or how about Momosie?”

“Or Momomosie?” she giggled. Servi joined in at the absurdity of the nickname. “But I like Mosie! It sounds cute.”

My best friend gave me a nickname!!!!

“Good. Then Servy and Mosie it is. Now then, how about we get something to eat?”

Momo returned the hand mirror to her bag and smiled. Servi took it as a sign to continue walking.