Comforting

You chase as fast as you can after Citrinas, but you're far enough behind that her afterimage provides the smallest hint of where she went. Even Pure Land isn't enough to keep up?! You duck and weave through the trees, sprinting faster than you had thought was possible back home, and you're still losing her! "Citrinas!" Her afterimage seems to trip on a tree root and fall to the ground, before stumbling back up. That misstep gives you enough time to catch up, now seeing the real Citrinas as she briefly continues running, her arms flapping next to her face. "Citrinas!"

She doesn't respond, rounding a tree and hunkering down. She rocks back and forth, hyperventilating as she continues to flap her arms, the ends of her sleeves whipping near her face.

How...do I even approach this? Do I comfort her? Do I give her space? I didn't think this far ahead... You heave, sitting down sixty-ish degrees around the tree from her. "Citrinas..." You reach over, setting a hand on her knee. It's hard to tell whether or not she winces, with all her movement, but she doesn't push you away, so you rub her knee reassuringly. "I'm here, okay? I'm here for you."

"Cammy, are you okay?" Kara hugs her girlfriend from behind. "You're a lot more agitated than usual..."

The captain sighs, leaning into the embrace. "I'm sorry, I...ugh. It's been a day, okay?"

The kitsune hums, running her hands along Camilla's stomach. "You have had a rough day so far." She looks to the slime on the bed, pointing with her eyes toward the brunette.

The blue blob doesn't seem to move at first, but rolls forward and off the bed, sloshing over to the pair. It reaches out a tendril and pats Camilla's foot, supposedly comfortingly. The brunette glares down, and the slime pauses, before hesitantly continuing.

"I guess that's the closest I'm getting to an apology..."

"Probably." The blond giggles. "But it seems like you enjoyed that little 'dream', whatever it was. It seems like you all did."

Camilla's cheeks turn red. "I...I don't know. It seemed like a dream, but some of that really happened...and then there's the fact that he remembers it, too."

"Makes me wonder: what about Eve and her lady friend? They were there too, weren't they?" Kara begins swaying the both of them back and forth, her head nuzzled into her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Gods, I can't tell if that excites me or worries me..."

Kara hums. "I'll talk to Mom about it. Or, if I don't get a chance, remind Dusk to ask for me. She might have some insight into shared dreams, but I doubt it's a good sign. Back home, dreams are considered omens...but even then...they can be tampered with."

"Is that why you're bothered you weren't there?" The captain chuckles.

The kitsune playfully slaps her back before moving over to the bed, swaying her hips, with her twin tails exaggerating the motion. "So what if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

"Maybe I'll start fox hunting. I hear they're in season." Minding the slime, Camilla gently tackles her girlfriend to the bed, rolling her over midair to land between the kitsune and the wall, both of them giggling the whole way.

[Translated from elvish]

The question had caused Rina to pause from kicking her legs back and forth on the edge. What...DO I want to do, now? "I...I'm not sure... I haven't really given it a lot of thought..."

"You said you wanted, no, you feel you have to stay here, but what are you going to do?" Kristhyra gazes into the crater, water filling it around a quarter of the way.

"I..." Rina sighs. "I don't know if I'm..." Do I help with the goblin tribes? Can I face them again after...? The goblin pulls her legs to her chest. "I don't know..."

"Rina..." The elf wraps her in a hug. "I know...I can't relate to you the same anymore. You're...not just Rinavahl anymore. You're Eve, too. Last night...made that very clear..."

Rina's face turns brown, and she pulls her semi-floppy ears down around her cheeks. "I...I'm sorry. Again. I don't even know why I did that, or thought it was okay, or-"

"We already settled that. Back to what I was saying..." Kris sighs. "As much as I wouldn't want this for anyone, you had a whole new life before you remembered everything. I'm not going to...be mad, if you go back to...being a goblin. I'm just...glad to know you're actually okay. When that ogre-"

"Please don't..." They both shudder. "I don't want to remember that, despite how my body makes me feel about it."

"Sorry, sorry. Again, I'm glad to know you're okay...Eve." Kristhyra squeezes the goblin.

The archmage seems to calm down slowly. At some point, she sets a hand on your own, which is still on her knee. You meet her blue eyes, the first time you've seen her make eye contact, and she tiredly nods.

"Are, are you okay now?" When she nods again, you stand and help her up.

After she brushes off her butt, she reaches into her cloak, pulling out what looks like a straight wooden wand. With it, she starts writing in the air. 'Thank you for staying with me. Can you please carry me back to town?'

You stare confusedly as she writes, shaking your head to snap yourself out of it after you read it all. "Uh...yeah, I can take you back." You hesitantly turn around and squat down, holding your arms stiff as she climbs onto your back, and use your wings to sort of wedge her in place. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Citrinas begins writing again. 'Yes. Please take me to the eastern entrance of town.' The words flicker for a moment, before fading a few moments after the whole message is written.

"Yeah, sure." Is she unable to talk now? You begin walking, once more thankful to Pure Land to increase your strength. "Sorry about Camilla. She's been through a lot the past week, and if I'm being honest, I'm probably responsible for all of it, somehow." You sigh. "She means well, and she's been a huge help to me, and Eve too. I forget if we told you, but Eve is a friendly goblin. She helped me round up the local goblinoids, since I can't speak their language. Kara, the kitsune you saw earlier, is Camilla's girlfriend, which might be why she got a bit defensive before. Her family's been here something like a decade or so, but as far as I can tell, they're pretty peaceful. The last monster in town is that slime, which seems harmless enough, but I'm gonna keep my eye on it when I can." You finish up your roll call of all the monsters in town.

'Stop.' When you do so, she writes more in the air in front of you. 'Why are you telling me this? I'm a Saintess. Are you not worried?'

"That's exactly why I'm telling you. If I try to hide myself or the others, you'll find out somehow, just like you dispelled Kara's illusion earlier. Why not save everyone some time and anxiety? Besides, it's like you said before. You're here to assist with the Empress. I don't plan on stopping the army, and while you were...panicking? Is that the right word?"

'Sakurai called it a meltdown.'

You nod. "Meltdown. While you were having your meltdown, I did a bit of thinking. It's probably not my best idea, sure, but I'm basically the head of the local goblinoid tribes. Between them, myself, and what forces we have in Riverbend, we could add over sixty to our numbers for the upcoming fight, with two hobgoblins and an ogre being among the ranks. If I could somehow convince the army not to kill them outright, I can convince them to not attack the army."

There's a lull, and while you're about to continue walking, Citrinas starts writing again. 'I'll talk to the commander about it. I can convince him to let them fight.'

"Really? Why would you do that?"

'Not all monsters are bad.' She wraps her arms around your neck, seeming to signal the conversation is over.

You chuckle. "Thanks. I'm glad you're the first Saintess I met, Citrinas."