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Cass was still unconscious; she was pale, even, her skin closing in on white. She was still breathing, though, as she laid on the wagon across from me, my eyes focused on the way her chest rose and fell, some vague concern that she'd stop and someone else would miss it running through my head. I just gingerly ran my fingers across her cheek, feeling the warmth and being reassured by it.

"She's stable," Line - one of the healers here on this trip - said, and I just nodded in response, staring at Cass all the while. "You don't have to..."

"I want to."

"Okay," Line responded.

* * *

Revis's hand reached out to grasp Ais's throat, the darkness of the Dungeon lit up sapphire blue. Her finger moved as if through water, Ais's neck seeming to simply be made of smoke, and she paused as she watched the girl blow away.

"Too slow. I coulda done that." It was Alise's voice, and Revis turned to stare at the woman in question, who just planted one hand on her hips, a cocksure smile on her lips. "All that power, and none of the brains." She tapped her skull. "At least you've got a little heart, huh?"

"...you're dead," Revis said, at last.

"If I'm dead, so are you." Revis waved her hand through Alise, and just like always, there was no impact. She didn't turn to smoke - the ghost just didn't respond. "C'mon. You didn't think that was going to work this time?"

"This is a dream."

"Great," Alise said, smiling broadly. "Since I'm you, and you're me, us having this conversation in dreamland is actually the most sensible place to do so." She plopped down on the floor, sitting with her legs crossed, gesturing right across from her. "Your head's a mess, and your legs are missing, so let's get to talking."

At that point, Revis looked down on herself, and she saw that her legs had been cut off, about halfway down the thigh. Now she was located on the ground, across from Alise. "Why are my legs gone?"

"How should I know? Am I the leg police?" Alise just smiled at her, and Revis didn't bother trying to knock the other girl's head off. She knew it wouldn't accomplish anything. "Probably got cut off or something. Didn't you cut them off yourself?"

"I regrew them."

Alise just shrugged. "So, what do you think happened?"

"I don't know. My legs just disappeared."

Alise sighed. "Not with the legs, Revis. With the fight. Your brilliant plan to kidnap Ais blew up in your face. Pretty pitiful. I coulda pulled it off, easy, if I had your abilities. Your emotional state's a total mess, and it fucked you up."

"What would you have done?"

"Uh uh," Alise said, shaking her head. "I'm not Her, here to help you do crimes. I'm a warrior of justice. I would've told that bitch, hey, fuck off." She flipped Revis the bird, as if to emphasize the point. "Then I would've seen about crawling into Cass's bed, did you see those abs and tits? Hummana hummana."

"I heard Syr say... Cass was..." What was the word?

"Straight? Sure. So's spaghetti, until it gets wet," Alise said with a wink. "She didn't mind you eyeing her up, now did she?"

"That was you." Revis's voice had sudden heat to it. "There was a weird feeling, when I looked at her. That was you."

"Nah," Alise replied, waving her hand. "I didn't invent being attracted to pretty girls, girlfriend."

"This isn't..." Revis was feeling frustrated.

"Relevant? Helpful?" Alise leaned forward. "How can anything anybody says to you be relevant or helpful, when you don't want anything in the whole damn world?"

"I..." Revis was at a loss for words at that.

"A person without anything she wants is as the dead among the living. You don't even want to obey Her, not really. Otherwise Cass couldn't have talked you down so quick and clean."

"I... suppose."

"Great. Step one is admitting you have a problem. So, what do you actually want?"

"What do you want?"

"Are you me?" Alise said, tilting her head. "You don't talk like me, walk like me, remember anything I did. Ryu chatting your ear up sure doesn't seem to get you that many sparks of memory or love. Man... if I got to see Ryu again, I would hug her like nobody's business, but there you were, just staring like an idiot."

"I'll hug her," Revis said, and Alise sighed loudly. "What?" Revis snapped.

"You're just taking somebody else's desires and making them yours, sweet cheeks," Alise said, reaching out to pinch her cheek. "Same thing you did with Her. Though admittedly you did have a little fragment of Her essence in you when you did that, so that's fair."

"Am I dead?" Revis asked.

Alise smiled at that, almost mysterious. "Who knows?"

"You do."

"Do I? Why would I know, Revis?"

"If- if I'm dead, you're a god, wearing Alise's face."

"Well, I could be a ghost, too. Maybe the ol' magic stone that got stuffed in your chest pushed out me soul. Or maybe it had already fluttered away-" she made a little butterfly movement with her hands for emphasis, "-and you're the thing that got stuffed in afterwards. Did you ever think about that?"

"No."

"Why not? Seems important, to me."

"Why would it be important?"

Alise sighed at that. "You're so empty! Gods above! Every time I say anything, you just go, Does that matter? Holy shit! You were a slave warrior to a giga-monster from the depths of the Dungeon, and the collar wrapped around your neck is gone! I'd be dancing for joy!"

"My legs are missing."

"Ughhhh," Alise just flopped down to one side, lying on the ground in faux-pain. "So booooring. So this is what Hell's like, huh? You just get to watch somebody live your life, but they don't even enjoy themselves?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Be interesting!" Alise shot up to a seated position again, this time on her knees. "Be me! Have something in your life you care about!"

"I served Her-"

Alise actually smacked her at that, a sharp clapping noise ringing in the darkness of the Dungeon. "No! Something YOU care about! Not something some weirdo freakshow like Her cares about, and you do on account of there's about three neurons governing desire left inside your brainpan!"

Revis stared quietly at Alise, then smacked her back. Her hand actually collided that time, sending the other woman's head listing to one side. "There."

"You were angry then?" Alise asked, and Revis nodded. "Great. That's a feeling. I think there are funner feelings, though. Lust is a big one. I know you can feel some of that, eyefucking Cass like you did."

"I wasn't eyefucking her," Revis snapped.

"Embarrassment, that's a cute one, the guys love girls who get all blushy-crushy on 'em. I could never fake that, though. Men ran in fear of my raw confidence." She puffed up her chest. "That's why I died a virgin."

"Those are just feelings. Not a goal."

"True!" Alise smiled, leaning in to Revis, close enough their noses almost touched, her green eyes and features mirroring hers, though healthier, more full of life. "But feelings are what drives us forward. Without them, you're a leaf on the wind, doing whatever anybody tells you to do. Is that your justice?"

"Maybe it is."

Alise sighed at that, a very long thing. "Oh? So who are you going to listen to? She almost got you killed, you know. You have to pick something to care about."

"Maybe I'll pick spiting you."

Alise rolled her eyes. "So immature. I'm dead, you know? No need to bully the dead. I'm only there occasionally, when you remember me, a handful of neurons firing for juuust long enough to put together some facsimile of the beautiful moi."

"You seem pretty complete to me."

"Wow. Your dream doesn't seem to have any obvious flaws to you," Alise said, rolling her eyes and making a strange motion with one hand. "Oh? No idea what that is?" Alise asked, a grin on her lips. "See, you have a man's thing right in here," she said, pointing to the empty space inside of the o-shape in her hand, "and then you slide your hand up and down."

"I thought you were a virgin."

"And? A virgin, not an ignoramus. You must know the many beautiful parts of sex, in order to fully appreciate it," she proclaimed. Alise tilted her head. "Who knows? Maybe I'm not a virgin, and I just can't remember ever having had sex."

Revis frowned at that, looking pensively down. Her legs were still missing.

"Right. You're a great conversational partner for me, because you let me talk about the most interesting woman in the world - that's me, by the way," she added, in a conspiratorial voice. "But honestly, we're here because of you. You listened to Her. You did Her bidding. Now you've got no legs and are possibly dead or something. So, again, Revis. What do you want to do with your life? You were one of the strongest people in Orario last time you were conscious, and you were running on autopilot for somebody else. Get your own values," she said. "Your own wants."

"I want... to remember you."

"Ryu's told you most of what there is to know. Heck, I'm pretty sure I didn't actually remember some of those stories, before you plopped them in whichever part of your thick meat pudding brain is recalling the woman you used to be."

"I want to... be you."

Alise sighed, but it wasn't an annoyed sigh. It was pitying. Anger flared in Revis's chest, and Alise reached out to pat her cheek. "That's not much."

"It's what I want." That was the truth.

Alise smiled at that. "Then it'll have to be enough." She leaned in, giving Revis a kiss on the forehead. "Fake it 'till you make it, sweetheart," she said, then kissed her forcefully on the lips, a bizarre and alien movement that made Revis pull back, breaking the kiss. The sapphire blue light - and Alise herself - faded a moment later, leaving her utterly alone in the darkness of the Dungeon.

* * *

Revis didn't move as she woke up. She was utterly, completely still. Inert in her position, other than the jostling of the wagon she was inside. She didn't need to breathe; her heart didn't need to pump blood. She could simply listen, eyes kept closed to prevent anyone from realizing she was conscious again.

"So... what do you think I could do to attract the General?" Tione asked. Drake sighed. "Come on! You're a guy, and unlike Bete, you can talk about your feelings. I'm trying to be his ideal woman!"

"What did he say was his type?" Drake's voice sounded annoyed more than anything else.

"Don't take that tone!" Tione snapped. "He said it was... feminine women. So I grew my hair out," she added, making a motion that Revis's ears could clearly interpret as flicking her hair.

"Is that all he said?"

"Strong women? I'm Level Five! And if he meant willpower, running away from home was hard!"

"I think there's something he might have mentioned to you at some point that you're intentionally avoiding."

"Fine! Say it, then! I can't read your mind!"

"...a pallum woman."

There was a long silence. "Well, I can't change my race, so I can't fix that. What can I do to get around that?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on! You have like a dozen wives and you don't know how to seduce somebody to get around a little problem like that?!"

"If Finn was a woman, would you be in love with her?"

"I don't see the relevance."

"Just answer, please."

"Fine, no, I wouldn't. So? Finn's not a woman."

"Sometimes you can't get around somebody's preference," Drake continued. "Finn wants to be 'a symbol of the success of the pallum race,' he can't do that if he's with you."

"He can! He totally can! It proves that pallums can get hot young Amazon wives, which is the best thing any guy can get, you know?!"

"I don't know. Aisha is great, but the best thing any guy can get?" Drake was teasing Tione at that point.

"I'm gonna tell her you said that."

"And I'll tell her the context," Drake replied.

Tione huffed. "Whatever! It's not like that thing with Finn being a woman! Sometimes, when Finn thinks I won't notice, he looks at my tits, so there!"

There was another long silence. "Okay. What if Finn was married?"

"Then I'd kill that bitch for taking my Finn," Tione said, sounding exceedingly angry.

"I don't think that would make him like you."

"Rrgh! You're not giving me actual advice!"

"There's an old bit back where I come from - Can anybody tell me what two plus two equals? And don't say four, I want a real answer. I am giving you advice. You just don't like it."

"Maybe I'm too dumb to understand it, just say what you mean instead of asking these questions."

"Finn doesn't like you for reasons you can't change, and accepting that is the only way out."

"You're right. I don't like that advice." There was a silence. "Fine. I've now fallen in love with a new guy. He's cool and powerful and he likes feminine women, but he won't do stuff with me."

"Fine, fine. My best advice, given that you're going to ignore the primary advice? Be forward."

"Forward...?"

"Say, Finn, I really like you, let's go out. Or have sex. Or let me suck your cock."

There was a pause. "Aha!" Tione sounded like she lit up in response to that. "Since he's worried about having Amazon children, if I suck his cock, then we won't have to worry about that!"

Revis could hear Drake rub at his face. "To be clear, that choice isn't my fault, don't blame me for it."

"Don't worry, I was planning to take all the credit," Tione said, then blew a raspberry at him. There was a long silence. "So. You think that she's dead?"

"I have no idea," Drake said. He flicked her forehead, and she didn't move in response. "She was animated by a magic stone type thing, and some kind of crystal scarab apparently jumped out of her, so..."

"Yeah, but when you remove a monster's magic stone, they disintegrate," Tione pointed out. She jostled Revis, rolling her around, flipping her upside down and bonking her head against the wagon floor. She remained completely still anyway. She did notice, however, that her legs did not move as she'd have expected; after a moment of carefully inspecting the sensations that should be there, it became clear they were simply not present.

"Is that really necessary?"

"She almost killed Cass! What kind of husband are you?!"

"No, the crystal scarab that escaped her body and caused her to stop being animated almost killed Cass." Drake paused. "Besides which, I don't believe in torture. If someone needs to die, they should simply die. Torture's just pointless pain."

"How enlightened," Tione responded sarcastically. She bonked Revis's head against the floor harder this time. "Ugh. This is so boring." She plopped Revis back on the floor. "Do you think the General will appreciate my work?"

Listening to another insipid discussion about Tione's doomed romance was the last thing that Revis wanted to do, so she pretended to wake up, eyelashes fluttering open. The moment they did, of course, both Tione and Drake were snapping to attention, Drake having a knife in hand, Tione placing one hand on her throat as she laid on her back. She didn't move any more than strictly necessary. "She's awake!" Tione called out.

Revis had made a resolution, when she had been in that dream, or whatever she was. She wanted to be Alise. What would Alise do? "Ah, a cute Amazon pinning me to the floor? So fun." She managed a smile, though it was probably awkward. "Hi beautiful, handsome," she added, giving Drake a quick glance. She tried waving, but her arms were bound, so she mostly just wiggled her fingers fruitlessly against the floor. "What's going on, and why don't I have legs?"

"We cut them off to keep you from running away," Drake said.

"Ah, I see," Revis said, nodding along. "You cut off my legs to keep me from running away, haha. That'll make things pretty difficult even for me!" She tried to inject some real emotion into her voice.

"You regenerated your legs like twelve hours ago," Tione responded, squinting down at her. "We saw it happen."

"I don't remember that," Revis said. She could feel the magic stone in her chest - and it was enervated. Guttering out, even. She definitely didn't think it would be a good idea to burn the amount of energy necessary to heal.

"What do you remember?" Drake asked.

"Uhh... fighting for justice?" Revis replied. She tried to remember what was the last thing to happen to Alise. "Oh! I got... wait, killed? By a monster? Big old... pterodactyl thing? Weird. That doesn't sound right. On account of I'm pretty sure this is the Dungeon, and not my rightful reward up in Heaven."

Tione snorted at that. Finn arrived at the entrance to the wagon. "Alise?" He asked.

"Oh, look, it's Braver! Howdy," Revis said, smiling. "Now, you, I recognize."

"She's saying she can't remember anything after her original death," Tione said, obviously disbelieving Revis. That was fine. She could believe whatever she wanted.

"Hm." Finn produced his spear, pointing it at Revis, who remained still, giving him a smile. He angled it carefully - if he stabbed now, it would go right through her head.

"H-hey, Braver, c'mon n-now, I know we weren't that close, but you're not going to just kill me like this?" She peered closely at the point of the spear. What would Alise say in this situation? What were her last thoughts? She'd sent Ryu away, given her own life for the girl - "Is Ryu okay, at least?"

Finn snorted at that, pulling the spear back. "Ryu is fine, Alise," he told her.

"Thank goodness," Revis said. "I was pretty sure I was dead, so it isn't too big a deal, if you decide to kill me."

"Keep an eye on her," Finn said, looking ready to leave.

"...how long has it been?" She asked. "I don't remember the big-breasted brown Amazon being part of your party, but she seems pretty strong."

"Five years," Finn told her.

"Wow. That's a long time to be dead for. What happened, exactly?"

"Drake would know better than anyone else," Finn said, sparing Drake a glance before hopping off the wagon.

* * *

Finn's thoughts wandered back to what Rei had said. "She's pale and reeeeally tall, with dark hair. She goes topless and she's got no legs. You'll know her when you see her. You're smart." "She's strong as a Level Five right now." His ideas of some sort of precognition, future sight, seemed more plausible, looking at the girl there. Ali, even, was her name. 5'7" wasn't very tall, she didn't go topless - though, from what he remembered of Alise, that wasn't because of any great amount of shame regarding her own body - and her hair was red rather than dark. The pallor, the strength, and of course, the absence of legs... that was there.

Was it a mere coincidence? Certainly, it was part of what stayed his hand. It didn't feel quite right. He pressed his thumb against his lips. If it were future sight? Perhaps the legs would grow back longer? Perhaps Alise would dye her hair? Perhaps she had been in a state of undress when Rei had originally met her?

Hm. It was a bit too much... but the coincidence was also too much to be comfortable with. How many people as strong as a top-tier adventurer - but not one by Level alone - had no legs? So far as he knew, only one. Perhaps he should talk to Rei about it, via Drake. Yes, that would probably be for the best.

The body that wasn't watching over Revis, of course.

* * *

The trip up through the Dungeon was long, and very boring. Revis remained guttered out on power, not willing to even try to regenerate her legs with how little juice she had left to her, though at some point Cass recovered and came by to watch her. She did her best to remain still, while under the girl's observation, knowing that she was supernaturally good at reading people.

Her thoughts wandered, trying to figure out how to play this role. She needed magic stones before she could recover her legs. She felt weaker, but still strong - she suspected she could beat a goblin even without her legs. So as long as she acted the part, she could get herself back together.

Of course, she didn't plan to stop acting. She wanted to be Alise, as much as she could. So what would Alise do?

"How is Ryu doing?" Revis asked.

"Ah, she's doing great," Drake responded to her, giving her a half-smile. "We're together, by the way."

"Together? Aren't you with Cass?" Revis asked, quirking one eyebrow.

"I'm a polygamist," Drake said.

"Well, treat her right, or I'll get real upset with you," Revis replied, earning a soft chuckle from Drake. "I know it seems weak now, what with the lack of legs, but I'm a dangerous adventurer."

"You are, I'll say that. Nearly killed me a few times, when you were a monster."

"Sorry about that," Revis said, though she wasn't quite sure when he was referring to. "Tell me what's happened since I died the first time?" She couldn't feign total ignorance in front of a god, after all, and the chances she wouldn't be questioned by one were about nil.

* * *

After a long journey back to the surface, Revis was finally here. Loki peered down at her, red eyes just barely visible. "So this is the one, eh? Tryin' to take my Ais away, huh?"

"I'm sorry," Revis replied, head bowed. She couldn't lie, so she had to be careful about what she said. "I promise, I don't want to hurt her at all!"

"So why'd you try to kidnap her?" Loki asked.

"I... was ordered," Revis admitted. There wasn't a better reason than that. "Beyond that... I don't know." That was the truth. Why she did whatever She told her to - it didn't make too much sense, looking back on it.

"Yeah? So you aren't gonna cause any problems?"

"No. Well, I'll do my best to enact justice," Revis continued. "That might cause some problems."

Loki chuckled at that, some familiarity in her voice. "Yeah?" She crossed her arms under her breasts. "Like 'em?" She teased, as Revis's eyes wandered down.

"I... suppose, yes," Revis said. Alise was more of an uninhibited flirt, but the situation was too awkward. "But it's not like I can do much, without my legs."

"Promise me that you won't hurt any member of the Loki familia," Loki said.

"I promise that I won't hurt any member of the Loki familia," Revis repeated.

"Say you're sorry about trying to kidnap Ais."

"I'm sorry."

"Hmm... well, she's bein' honest," Loki said, with a shrug, glancing over at Finn. "No lies this whole time."

"Are you going to fall back under the control of whatever force?"

"I don't think so," Revis said. "But I don't know for sure." Maybe She would send something up after her. "It's not like I really 'get' how I came back in the first place, or why that made me act that way."

"Right, right..." Loki tapped her upper arm. "If she attacks Ais-y again, kill her this time, got it, Finn?"

"I'll make sure the others know," Finn replied. "Riveria, I'm sure, will look forward to the chance if it arrives."

"So are you stuck like that, Alise?" Loki asked, leaning down. "Be a bit more convenient if you're stuck as a nugget. Betcha Xulia'll be all jelly, too," Loki noted. "She's the kinda freak that's into that."

"Sounds like a fun girl," Revis replied, smiling awkwardly. "I think... I might be able to heal it, but I need more... energy. I feel hungry, ever since I woke up."

"Hm." Loki tilted her head curiously. "Well, there's one great place to get a meal here in Orario I can think of you'd like. The Hostess of Fertility." Because Ryu was there. Though, that wasn't the kind of hungry she was.

"Can I have my hands unbound?" Revis asked.

"Are you going to attack anybody once they are?" Loki asked, quirking one eyebrow.

"No."

"Alright." Loki shrugged. "Up to you, what to do with her, Finn," Loki said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "You're better at the physical end of security."

"Mhm," Finn agreed. He grabbed the knot that had her hands bound together. "Come along, Alise."

* * *

Apparently, Rei had made her a wheelchair for the time being - or, rather, Rei had guided the construction of a wheelchair. It was quite a sophisticated device, but completely pointless. The moment that Revis was no longer monitored, she would go down to the Dungeon, kill as many monsters as she had to, eat their magic stones, and regenerate her body to its full health. Still, for the moment, Revis rolled herself into the Hostess of Fertility. "Ryu...?" Her voice played at tentativeness, looking around, as if she hadn't been here before.

"Alise!" Ryu's voice was animated as she rushed forward. "What happened?"

"Your guess's as good as mine," Revis said, affecting a smile. "I think I should be able to heal them, but only once I've got some food in my belly... not exactly got a full bag of gold, though, I have to admit. You quit adventuring to become a waitress?"

"I... we discussed this earlier."

"Sorry. I think that you were talking to... well, whoever you were talking to, I don't remember what you said. Last thing I remember is that monster killing us all. Glad to see I didn't die for nothing." Ryu wore a very light melancholic smile at that.

"I'll pay for a meal for you. I'm sure Mia will understand. I have more spending money now, anyway, thanks to Drake," Ryu said, smiling as she dashed back to speak to Mia Grand.

Revis started rolling the wheelchair towards one of the tables, and then somebody grabbed the wheelchair. "C'mon, Alise," came a young woman's voice, dragging her along. "I want to talk to you alone for a moment."

"Ah? Who're you?" Revis asked, pretending not to know.

"Syr," Syr said, smiling warmly. "I'm Ryu's friend. Her best friend."

"I'm glad she has a friend."

"Me too," Syr agreed, pulling her into a side room, kicking the door closed behind her. "You're not Alise, any more than you were before. You can fool Ryu, but not me."

"I don't understand?" She feigned ignorance. She'd fooled a goddess - she could fool Syr.

"You understand perfectly. That's fine. Your brain's a mess, but it's not that much of one. You know you're not Alise, but the shattered mess that she left behind." Syr glanced at the door. "I don't have too long to have this conversation, before Ryu wonders where I dragged you off to," Syr explained. "So let's talk honestly," she said. "More honestly than I have with anyone else."

She reached back for the band holding her hair in place, shaking her long, grey hair free, and as it flowed, it seemed to transmute to a pure silvery beauty, her eyes from cold grey to beautiful silver, taking Revis's breath away as her features seemed to subtly shift, to something pure and beautiful, inhumanly, perfectly so. Her mouth fell open in sheer awe, her eyes drinking in the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen.

"I'm not going to let you hurt Ryu. You want to pretend to be Alise? Fine." Revis nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

Syr rolled Alise on out from the room, the former adventurer glancing around the Hostess of Fertility with newborn eyes. "Ah, there you are," Lion said, holding several plates with some of Alise's favorite food, balanced atop a serving tray. "What were you two talking about?"

"Syr was just telling me how good a friend you are," Alise said with an honest smile. "I already knew that, but I appreciate the confirmation," she said. "Thanks for the food, by the way. I'll pay you back once I'm back in the adventuring business." Lion's eyes went down to her legs, a small frown on her lips as Syr wheeled her over to a table. "Don't worry, this is nothing. I came back from worse, didn't I, Lion?"

Lion paused at that. "You had started calling me Ryu, earlier," she noted, as she placed the food down the way.

"Eh, I tried it out, but it's still too hard to say," Alise said, shrugging her shoulders. "I figured a little bit of dying was one thing, but calling you Lion's too natural for me to do anything else." She reached for her utensils, starting to dig into her meal.

It was tasteless. It was ash. This was her favorite food and it tasted awful. But she didn't want to make Lion sad, not when her friend had gone to great lengths - and probably expense, the Hostess was run by a financial predator - to prepare it for her, so she pretended to enjoy it. "I heard you got a boyfriend, by the way," Alise noted. "He good?"

"He is very kind. It's thanks to him that we're reunited," Lion said.

"Right. What about the whole harem lord thing? I picked that bit up, too."

"Drake is very kind to all his wives, and to me. I do not worry about his attention being spread too thin. Particularly given he has multiple bodies."

"Ooo!" Alise said, a lopsided smirk on her face. "I imagine that's pretty useful in the bedroom, eh?"

Lion paused at that, staring forward, her brow knit, as she tried to figure out what Alise meant. Then her cheeks flushed as she realized. "A-ah, ahem. I have not... done that yet."

"Try it! I hear it's pretty good, gettin' it in more than one hole."

"I will... keep that in mind."

At that point, Syr gently placed one hand on Lion's shoulder. "I'll take up the rest of your shift, so just sit down with Alise and enjoy the time with your old friend," she said.

"Thank you, Syr," Lion said, then sat down at the table across from Alise, looking as awkward as ever as she did.

Alise guessed all the stuff about non-virgins being more confident was a load of smoke. "She's cute," Alise noted, eyes wandering down to the waitress's pert butt as she walked away.

"Ah? I suppose so, yes. She has... hm... she has a more complicated relationship with Drake than me, but I do not think she is single."

"Dish," Alise said, just happy to be able to spend time like this with her old friend, glad her sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. Lion started talking about everything that had happened while Alise had been dead, and she hung on every word.

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