Isher Notra

The power of diplomacy wasn't easy to grasp.

Stella and Kristal stared into each other's eyes in a short yet agonizing silence. She glanced at The Silver Knight, watching them from a safe distance and crossing his fingers for the Human's success in her first diplomatic clash with a Monoke.

The hero's pep talk did lift the Human's spirits. However, now that she was face-to-face with the angry Nguruvilú, she lost her confidence in a split second.

Kristal was with her arms crossed, waiting for Stella to take the first step in the conversation. Well, the Human had no choice but to oblige.

After taking a few seconds to gather the right words, Stella took a deep breath and made the first step. "Look, I'm sorry for stepping in your head. It was a mean, unnecessary action, and if I wanted to cross the river so badly, I should have just asked you."

It was an intriguing phenomenon. As the words came out of Stella's mouth, she understood how reckless she was in her treatment of Kristal. Sure, she was afraid of the big, scary Monoke, but she grew out of that fear after a while. She could've handled that without unneeded force.

She felt like a fool after that realization.

Thankfully, Kristal's expression softened a tad bit. However, it was clear that something still bothered her.

"Why did you want to leave your turf so much?!" Her voice then started dripping with disdain. "Your dad came here searching for you. He got huffy when I told him that you crossed the river." She huffed. "Then I told him some truths about your family, and he ignored me!"

Oh boy. Stella recognized what that tone of voice meant.

"Seriously, this is why I say that you Ogres are-"

Stella's brain tuned out through Kristal's second rant. So that giant asshole went searching for her, huh? Argh, just thinking about him made the girl's blood boil! Trying to kill her was one thing, but kidnapping Lien was an unforgivable crime for her.

She wished she could have prevented her Wolf companion's capture, at least. But her rationality reminded her that such a thing was impossible. The only thing the girl could do was make sure that Lien was free again.

Where was she again? Ah yes! Kristal.

Stella interrupted the Nguruvilú's rant in a less rude way than before. "Do you want to know why I wanted out of the woods?"

Kristal gazed at the girl with curiosity embedded into her blue irises, and then she slowly nodded.

The "Ogre" clasped her hands together and took a deep breath. "The truth is..." She started making an impression of Kristal's dramatic tone. "I am not an Ogre struck by a weird sickness..."

Kristal's eyes widened. Stella took it as a good sign.

She closed her eyes and clutched her chest with her two hands. "I was born this way!"

She heard an audible gasp from Kristal! And from the Knight? Stella wondered how he reacted to her story, but she needed to focus on the river Monoke to maintain credibility.

The girl's left hand rested on her chest while the right hand was tightly closed as a fist. "Since birth, I was much different from my parents and brothers. We don't know why. It seems I'm a rare type of Ogre."

She really wanted to lean on the drama in her backstory. She probably needed to tone it down, but the girl was having too much fun.

She gesticulated towards herself and really went for the hammy voice and acting. "Unfortunately, what made me unique also made me prejudiced by my family. They prohibited me from leaving our home and interacting with other Monoke!" She knelt on the ground, choosing to not look Kristal in the eye.

Then she suddenly stood up! The girl stared straight into Kristal's soul. "Then I decided to leave my home, but my dad went crazy! So I fled from him and my brothers!"

After the Nguruvilú was startled by the show, Stella returned to her regular tone and attitude. "So that's why I was so desperate to escape. I hope you understand."

Kristal was... shocked. Her jaw was on the floor, and her blue eyes were widened beyond what Stella previously saw from her.

That... didn't look good for the Human. "I overdid it, didn't I?"

The suspense was killing her! She looked back at the Knight, and he was as nervous as her, judging by the emoticon with the sweat drops on his visor. The girl hoped that the river Monoke would only find her story ludicrous.

However, Stella's mind got completely scrambled when she noticed tears coming from the Nguruvilú's eyes, quickly followed by a loud cry.

She covered her snout with her hands. "Oh, poor child! I understand the pain of being the outcast in the family all too well!"

The Human's instincts activated, and she tried to back away when Kristal stretched her arms towards her. The girl wasn't fast enough.

Kristal caught Stella and put the "Ogre" into a tight hug. The girl felt motion sickness for a few seconds after being lifted in the air.

Stella's cheek felt the surprising smoothness of the Monoke's skin. She wasn't expecting that from a scaly creature, but you don't look a gifted horse in the mouth, do you?

"I'm so sorry!" Kristal's voice was occasionally breaking. A waterfall of tears still flowed from her globes. "I should've noticed a kindred spirit when I saw you!"

Okay, now that was getting really uncomfortable. The girl wasn't fond of hugging, though she never knew why that was the case. It made her feel so... dirty? Definitely embarrassed.

However, there was one person that she accepted hugs from...

To avoid that painful memory, Stella gently tapped the Monoke's back. "S-Sure... Now, can you please put me down?" The Human's voice was strained. "Not very fond of hugs."

Luckily, the Nguruvilú heard that and gently put Stella on the ground. "Sorry, sorry!" She fidgeted her fingers. "It's been a while since I found someone I could connect with, you know?"

Those words did resonate with Stella. She felt the same thing when she met Lien, and that feeling only grew with time, short as that was.

Maybe Kristal wasn't all that bad. Time would tell if their paths ever crossed again.

"Trust me, I understand the feeling," Stella reassured the Monoke. "So! No hard feelings?" She clasped her hands together.

Kristal waved her right hand in dismissal. "Of course not!" She lowered her head to the same level as the girl. "And if you want someone to talk to, I'm always swimming by!"

Well, that sounded amazing, actually! Though she had the feeling that, if she tried that, the river Monoke would turn the subject into being all about her. Probably not a good idea.

More importantly, the Knight reappeared next to them with his potent heroic attitude. "That is wonderful to hear, Ms. Kristal! I'm glad you two resolved your differences with the power of words!"

That speech made Stella give a genuine smile. Hearing him say that with this hammy voice made it sound like some old, out-of-touch PSA. It was oddly comforting.

However, something else came to her attention.

She looked at the sky. The moon couldn't be seen anywhere. And on top of that, she was sure she could see the first sun rays coming from the horizon.

She had spent the entire night awake. Holy shit.

The Silver Knight was engaging in a pleasant conversation with Kristal, to which Stella did not pay attention. She quickly interrupted their talk. "We'd love to stay longer, but we have important business to attend to." She gently nudged the Knight with her elbow. "This guy needs to take me home." She put on a forced smile and turned to the guard. "Right?"

Of course, the hero quickly picked up on the girl's intentions and went along. "Right! It's a shame, but we must get-"

"Wait!" Kristal frantically waved her hands. After getting their attention back, she spoke with a glint of pride. "It would be rude to let you go without granting you the privilege of experiencing my art!"

Stella stared at the Nguruvilú with a puzzled expression. She felt like she was missing something there, but what was it? She turned to the Knight, but he met her gaze with two interrogation marks as eyes.

"My music." She was visibly disappointed, but a grain of excitement resided in her voice.

Right! Her music! She did mention that, along with something about her father? It was a bit hard to keep track, to be honest.

Stella had the strong urge to say no. However, Kristal's enthusiasm was so contagious. Besides, she did owe her that since her sob story was false.

In fact, her eagerness reminded her of... Lien...

Damn, that Wolf really made a mark in her head, huh? Even after knowing she would not be killed, Stella still thought about the pup so many times!

She had to rescue Lien real soon. This stress couldn't be good for her.

Stella shook these feelings away for the moment. Then she turned to the Nguruvilú and clutched her left fist at her. "Show us what you got!" The Knight only nodded in response.

Kristal let out a short, sharp squeak, clearly from her excitement. That noise made a number on Stella's ears and clearly the Knight's. The girl saw the guard rotate a button on the left side of his helmet, like one of those old radios.

Poor Stella didn't know what would come her way.

After flailing around for a few moments, Kristal straightened her posture, took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then...

The sound of ten thousand crying birds came out of her mouth.