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“Gotcha.”
Above her grinned the ever so smug sharp-eyed woman, her leg pinned on her chest and her arm on her neck. Raya locked eyes with the woman, finding a grin tug on the edge of her lips as well. Determined not to lose, Raya swung her legs upwards in a backwards somersault, using her body to throw Namaari off balance.
Having not anticipated such a maneuver, Namaari ended up sprawled on her back, Raya following suit and landing on her feet. Now above her opponent, Raya quickly pinned Namaari’s arm and used the opposite knee to pin the rest of Namaari’s body to the floor.
“Not a chance.” Raya hissed, glaring right into the dark eyes, panting lightly.
Namaari tugged against Raya’s grip, testing to see how strong it was, before sighing. She raised her eyebrow. “Fine, fine. I give.”
Satisfied with the answer, Raya released her hold on her and helped her girl up. “So is that 3 to 2?” Raya smirked. Namaari rolled her eyes as Raya playfully leaned towards her, trying to look innocent.
“Don’t look so smug.” Namaari chided cooly, shoving Raya’s face away. She ran her other hand through her hair to push her sweaty locks away. “You weren’t so lucky last time.”
“So I’ll take this win in a humble stride.” replied Raya, giving an exaggerated bow.
The woman merely scoffed, shaking her head slightly. She walked to a nearby bench, taking one of the glasses of water there and took a long swig. Following her cue, Raya plopped down on the ground nearby, reaching over to grab a glass from where she sat.
After a moment, Namaari sat down on the bench. Her expression changed to something more serious, which made Raya sense that Namaari had something to say. She quickly downed the rest of her water so she could pay attention.
“Raya...I have something important I want to do.” Namaari told her. “I want you to come with me.”
“Sure, I’m free.” Raya agreed immediately. “When?”
“In a week from now.” she began, somewhat hesitantly. “I have to go back to Fang. Just for a day.”
“Oh, okay.” The Heart princess was a little surprised at this, but nodded her head regardless. “I’ll go...but what’s this about?”
Namaari paused, looking deep in thought. She looked apprehensive. “I feel like it’s better if I show you.”
Raya, annoyed, huffed a little. Again with the secrets? It was all deja vu to what happened a few months ago when Namaari disappeared. It felt like everyone was hiding things that time and it was so terribly annoying. It was a little different this time since Raya was coming with, but still .
“Can’t tell me now?” She pressed, wondering if she could squeeze any more information out of her.
“I...don’t know how to tell you about this.” Namaari told her honestly. “I’ve never been good with words. But promise is nothing too serious.” She chuckled. “I don’t think it’s important to anyone but me. It’s stupid, really.”
Hearing this, Raya softened a little. “If you care about it that much it can’t be that stupid.” She patted her girlfriend on the thigh. “I just don’t want a sequel to a few months ago, okay?”
“I know. And it’s not.” Namaari assured her with a half smile.
Seeing as she wasn’t going to get anything out of her, Raya nodded her head and accepted what’s been told so far. She was still annoyed and slightly worried that she wasn’t getting the full story, but Raya felt a lot better knowing she was going to tag along. She was just going to let it be.
As the day approached, Raya noticed that Namaari seemed a lot more listless, staring off into the distance, thinking about something. It wasn’t totally out of character, Namaari was known to be ruthlessly calculating if need be, but the vibe that she gave seemed a lot more melancholic than the seriousness Namaari had for anti-Druun planning.
On the day of their short trip, Sisu had followed them to the bridge, wagging her tail, seeming to be in a good mood. The two were saddling their mounts and making the final preparations.
“So where are you two off to?” Sisu asked, looking around them curiously.
Raya looked to Namaari, waiting for her to explain, but she instead shyly looked away. She gave a small sigh, realizing that her girlfriend still didn’t like casually talking to Sisu if Raya was there to explain. Raya turned to Sisu instead.
“We’re going to Fang for a day or two.” Raya told the dragon, whose face fell. “We’ll be back soon.”
“Oh, I can’t come?” The dragon looked a little sad. It looked like she had been ready to join them.
“I apologize, Sisu. It’s...private.” Namaari spoke up, sounding guilty. “It’s something I want to show just Raya.”
At this, Sisu’s deamnor completely changed. Her expression turned serious and nodded, completely accepting this conversation. “Ooh, gotcha, gotcha. Don’t worry about it.” She reached over and patted the two on the back. “You two stay safe now. If ya need me, just holler.”
“We’ll be fine.” Raya assured her, giving the dragon an affectionate pat on the nose. “We’ll see you soon, you big furry lug.”
“That’s Miss Big Furry Lug, to you.” Sisu teased back, lightly whacking Raya in the back of the head with her tail.
After the last goodbye hug from Sisu, they bid the dragon farewell and made their way to Fang. The journey to the other tribe was nothing but scenic. Since the Druun have gone and the tribes have officially unified, the routes to and fro have all been reestablished. It made travel much easier and more convenient. Normally it would take a few days to trudge through the woods, but with the established paths, it would only take a full day on Tuk Tuk and a serlot.
“Nice to see your riding skills haven’t gotten rusty.” Raya called out to her companion, who was running beside her.
“Same goes to you.” Namaari answered back, raising her eyebrow.
“Wanna see who's less rusty?” goaded Raya, patting Tuk Tuk’s saddle, letting him know that she was going to speed up.
“Let’s find out.”
It was just plainly obvious Tuk Tuk was faster than a serlot outright. It just came to the fact that rolling was just simply faster, though serlots were known for their resilience and adaptability. Tuk Tuk had trouble when it came to uneven terrain but Namaari and her serlot were able to take advantage of strange angles, trees, and rocks to gain the upper hand. Their race ended without a winner when the two women realized that their mounts were losing steam.
They pulled to a stop next to a stream to water Tut Tuk and the serlot, to let them take a break before they continued on their way. Due to the unnecessary racing they’ve done, they would arrive at Fang at record time.
But for now, it seemed like a nice time to just take it easy.
Finding a flat rock to sit on, the two took out some food they brought along and settled down, taking in the bright atmosphere around them. Raya stared blankly as Namaari offered to her mount some pieces of meat from her meal, her own sandwich halfway in her mouth. Namaari noticed this and gave her a wry look.
“What? Did you want me to feed you too?”
It was a good thing Raya hadn’t taken a bite because she would’ve choked. “ Pssh, no... but if you want to…?” Raya wiggled her eyebrows, her mouth open in a smile.
Instead of gently offering the food to her in a cutesy fashion that Raya had imagined, Namaari shoved a piece of jerky into Raya’s mouth, catching her off guard. Raya gagged a little as she chewed the piece of meat, looking at Namaari aghast. Namaari just eyed at her, a grin on her face.
“There you go.”
Raya coughed, swallowing. “That wasn’t very romantic of you.”
“Oh sorry . Did you want it to be, dep la? ”
“ Screw you .”
Namaari smirked and then broke off a piece of her sandwich and held it up much more gently to Raya’s mouth. “Fine, open wide.”
This second time was something Raya had expected, but somehow it made her feel sorta shy, though Namaari looked strangely smug. Not wanting to be one-upped by her, Raya broke off a piece of her sandwich and showed it to Namaari.
“Now you open wide.”
A strange competition evolved from this. The women ended up feeding each other their own lunches in some competitive desire to one best each other, though it ended up with both of them extremely full. Raya tossed her leftovers to Tuk Tuk, who gladly ate the rest.
Feeling satisfied, Raya rested by putting her head on Namaari’s thighs, who didn’t seem to mind and instead occupied herself with looking at a map to double check their route. Raya was close to dozing off, though she kept herself awake, not wanting to get too drowsy until their destination. Instead, she busied herself watching Namaari’s face.
“Is it fun watching me?” She asked after a moment, not sparing Raya a glance.
“Oh yup. The best .” Raya said, adjusting her pose to make herself comfortable. “Could watch you all day.”
“Aren’t you the stalker.”
“Hey, don’t say that like you don’t look at me too.” Raya countered, finally making Namaari look at her. “I know you steal glances when I’m not looking.”
“You’ll never prove it.” She said, flicking her finger across Raya’s forehead, the pain of which caused Raya to recoil into a sitting position. “Now come on, lazy bum, we’ve still got a ways to go.”
-~*~-
They finally arrived at Fang in the early evening without much fanfare. For some reason, Raya was expecting a huge welcome party or festival at Namaari’s return, but there was no such thing. It took a while for Raya to remember that Namaari wasn’t even a Fang anymore, let alone a princess.
But nevertheless, the warriors guarding the entrance to the city were absolutely ecstatic upon seeing Namaari approach. They wanted to contact the palace about her arrival but Namaari admonished them for doing so, that she was just like them now.
“I’m sure Advisor Virana would be happy to know of your return.” One of the warriors insisted, ready to start running to deliver the message.
“I will let her know myself.” Namaari replied coolly. “I’m not your princess anymore.”
“You are still an esteemed person of interest to Fang.” The other soldier said. “Chief Attitaya told us that you were to be treated with respect upon your return.”
Raya noticed that a smile came across Namaari’s lips as she heard this, but the woman shook her head.
“I appreciate it, but I’ll let them know myself.” Namaari bowed towards them, which seemed to cause the warriors discomfort. “Please return to your posts.”
With that, Namaari took her serlot by the reigns and continued to walk inside. Raya, who had gotten off Tuk Tuk by this point, followed her in. Upon seeing her, the warriors offered her signs of respect and Raya returned them, they must’ve recognized who she was. As they were leaving out of earshot, Raya could barely make out their hushed whispers.
“The former princess, she’s changed…” One of the guards hissed to the other.
Raya couldn’t make anything else out, but honestly, she could make a good guess to what they were murmuring about. Namaari was pretty different to the person she was about a year ago. She went through quite a change thanks to that whole ritual ordeal half a year ago. While not all the change was for the good (Raya thought she could get rid of some of that self depreciation), Raya was proud of Namaari for becoming someone better.
“Where are we going?” Raya asked. It didn’t look like they were heading towards the palace.
“To the local inn. We’re going to stay there for the night.” Namaari told her. “Hope that suits your tastes, princess.”
“Oh please!” Raya rolled her eyes, coming into step beside her girlfriend. “Don’t tell me you haven’t taken a nap in a dark woods before? This is luxury in comparison!”
“Nice to see that palace life hasn’t spoiled you rotten.” She opened the door to a building they approached. She made a gesture to her serlot, who sat patiently outside.
“Oh, bite me.” Raya shot back. She turned to Tuk Tuk. “Stay out here, buddy, I’ll be right back.”
The two entered the inn, much to the surprise of everyone inside. All of them clamored about to different positions and offered Namaari’s signs of respect, to which Namaari returned. The return gesture seemed to shock them all, causing them to stand and freeze in place, staring at them in shock as Namaari approached the supposed owner.
“Oh um, Prin-” The innmaster started, but he cut himself off. “Namaari, what can I help you with?”
“I would like a room please. Just for the night.”
“Oh yes, of course!” He enthusiastically. He turned to the young woman next to him. “Two of our best rooms please!”
“Just one.” Namaari interrupted before he could say any more. “We’ll be sharing.”
Raya felt embarrassed as she felt the burning stares of everyone around them dig into the back of her neck. The rumor mill had been at work about their relationship. They didn’t really feel the need to go public or anything, Benja didn’t really care about whether or not they wanted to announce it or not. But the people didn’t have their suspicions then, they certainly did now.
She let Namaari handle the whole inn stuff while she would take Tuk Tuk and the serlot to the adjacent building, which was a nice warm stable to stay in for the night. As Raya was returning to the inn, she nearly bumped into Namaari, who was on her way out.
“Woah, where are you going?” Raya asked as Namaari slipped by her.
“I have to give my greetings to the Chief and to my mother.” Namaari told her, looking a little nervous. “I have to let them know the Heart Princess is visiting. You can wait here.”
“Not you?”
“I don’t have the status anymore, you do.” she pointed out. “They may insist for you to stay in the palace.”
Raya frowned. “I’ll go where you go.”
Namaari smiled. “I know. I’ll let them know. Be back soon, before it gets too dark.”
“Cool, I’ll just...wander around I guess.” She placed a hand on Namaari’s shoulder. “See you soon, dep la. ”
Namaari patted her hand before turning and speed walking towards the palace. Raya spent a moment watching her leave before getting bored and deciding to walk around Fang. She didn’t really get a good look at this place last time she’s been here. Other than for tribal meetings and all that, she’s really only “explored” the area back during the Druun stuff. The city has since been rebuilt and it seemed business as usual.
She ended up buying some Fang snacks at some of the booths at the marketplace. Raya was honestly surprised to see that some Talon merchants have set up booths and homes here. As much as Raya was sad for Namaari and Virana for losing their positions, it looks like it really did open the way for Fang to be accepted.
Munching on a few desert snacks, Raya returned to the inn, hoping to find Namaari there, but she wasn’t. Deciding to wait, she sat on the bench situated outside the door, looking at the darkening sky. It was then a little old woman hobbled her way towards the inn. She was carrying a basket of flowers.
“Excuse me, young lady, is Princess Namaari in?” She asked Raya. Even though Raya knew, she didn’t bother to correct the improper title.
“Uh no, she’s at the palace right now for a visit.” Raya told her. “She should be back soon.”
“Oh! I see.” The old woman looked troubled.
“I’m waiting for her too, you can sit with me if you’d like?” She gestured to the open space next to her on the bench.
“That would be lovely, thank you.” The older woman was about to sit down when she gasped. “Oh, you’re Princess Raya of Heart! My apologies, I can’t see very well anymore.” She quickly offered a sign of respect.
“Oh no! It’s okay!” Raya tried to insist, standing up. “Please sit down, ‘ Bu. ”
“You’re as nice as they say.” The woman thanked as she sat down on the bench. Raya sat down next to her. “Princess Namaari must’ve asked you to come with her today, hasn’t she?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s a very important day for Namaari.” The woman explained, adjusting the flowers in her basket. “And she must have wanted to share it with someone important to her.”
“Oh.” Raya realized that she was getting context on what they were doing here. “She hasn’t told me about what we’re doing here yet.”
“I’m certain she will.” She assured Raya with a gentle, but frail hand. “She usually buys flowers from me, but I thought I’d drop by in person to give them to her.”
“That’s nice of you.” smiled Raya.
“I’m not her mother and I don’t mean to ask this of you, Princess Raya.” The old woman said to her, her shaky voice quite serious. “But Princess Namaari is a good girl. She can be a little hot-headed sometimes, but she means well. I hope you can look out for her.”
“Of course I will. She’s important to me too.”
The woman laughed. “There’s nothing an old granny like me needs to worry about then.”
The sound of rushing footsteps brought the two out of their conversation. Namaari had run over, looking out of breath and wide eyed. Raya noticed that she was wearing a sling bag this time. She took a moment to look at the scene before her.
“ Ibu Gemi!” Namaari exclaimed, approaching the old woman. “I’ve been told you weren’t supposed to go out on your own.”
“Don’t be silly . I’m still as peppy as I used to be.” The older woman named Gemi said. “And Princess Raya was accompanying me.”
“Yeah, she’s with me.” Raya spoke up.
Namaari looked uneasy, but she seemed to accept this answer. At the next moment, the Gemi offered the basket to Namaari.
“I remember what day it is today. Pleased, take the one you like for today.”
It looked like Namaari was about to refuse, but Raya reached over and pinched her girlfriend’s hand, giving her a look. She finally relented and picked up a single white flower. Raya recognized it as the same flower she had put in the water that one time with Boun and Sisu.
“Ah, that’s a good one.” The old woman commented as Namaari put it carefully into her bag.
“Thank you, Ibu Gemi.” thanked Namaari. “Please, allow us to take you home.”
“Nonsense. It’s getting late, it might get too dark to do what you want to do.” The older woman said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Raya spoke up this time. In the short time that she’s known this woman, she’s gotten quite attached to her. She was like the grandma she never had.
“You two really are peas in a pod.” The woman chuckled. She made her hand in a shooing motion. “You ought to get going.”
Despite further insistence, Gemi could not be budged and eventually the two left. Namaari seemed to have a destination in mind so Raya just followed her, leaving the little old lady behind.
“You know her?” questioned Raya, adjusting her pace so she was walking alongside her girlfriend.
“She was one of my caretakers when I was little.” Namaari explained. “My mother was busy being chief at the time, Ibu Gemi was one of the people who looked after me in her stead. After I was old enough, she retired and lives with her son now.”
“She’s a nice lady.”
“She was the one who told me all about Sisu as a kid. You can thank her on why I became such a big dragon nerd.” Namaari chuckled a little.
“One more thing to like about her then. Is there anything about her you don’t like?”
“Don’t let her fool you, she can be as strict as Virana when she wants to be.” warned Namaari. “Personal experience.”
“Aren’t you a little troublemaker.”
“And you weren’t?”
“I was a good little troublemaker.”
“Still are now.”
They walked for quite a bit, the sky continued to darken. Eventually, the only thing that offered light was the glow of the street lanterns. Namaari produced a lantern of her own to light the way.
Even before they entered the location, Raya knew exactly what they were heading towards.
A graveyard.
A somber mood began to befall as Raya wordlessly followed Namaari through the entrance and through the rows of the deceased. She watched in respectful silence as Namaari approached a particular grave, farther back among the stones. Namaari knelt down in front of the grave, nodding and giving it that respectful gesture. Out of her bag, that single flower and a candle, placing it at the foot of the grave.
Wanting to join her girlfriend’s side, Raya knelt down beside Namaari, taking off her straw hat and putting it to the side. Even though she didn’t know who the grave was for, whoever was buried here was important to Namaari, so Raya offered the headstone a gesture of respect too.
“Who is that?” Raya asked, a little nervous to ask such a question.
“My father.”
“...Oh.” Raya felt her heart drop, realizing the weight of the situation at hand. “I’m...I’m sorry, Namaari, I didn’t know.”
“Don’t be.” Namaari turned to look at her, a small bitter smile on her lips. “I never knew him.”
Confused, Raya just looked at Namaari, waiting for her to elaborate. Namaari matched her girlfriend’s gaze for a moment before turning back to look at the headstone.
“My father was in the ground long before I took my first breath.” Namaari started, her voice low and quiet. “When I was little, my mother used to take me here every year on this day. I'm sure it's the day he died. Virana wanted to give me a chance to meet him, even if he was already dead.” She adjusted the flower’s placement. “She stopped taking me here when I got older. Said not to get too attached to the past, but I still come every year.” The woman scoffed a little.``Not sure why. Don’t even know him that well.”
Raya looked at Namaari’s face, who was drawn in a melancholic gaze. It was hard to tell what exactly her girlfriend was feeling at this moment.
"Tell me about him." Raya finally said, unsure what else to say. “What you do know.”
“Not much.” she admitted, looking slightly embarrassed. “I’ve seen painted portraits of him in the palace. Virana respected him quite a bit, said he was one of Fang’s best warriors. They weren’t married - or dating, but they were good friends. I heard he was the only one who could actually make my mother laugh .” At the last bit, Namaari shook her head in disbelief, chuckling a bit.
“Oh, wow.” Raya couldn’t help but comment.
In the small instances Raya’s interacted with the former Fang chieftain, she would always be so serious and formal. The extent of her range of emotions seemed to only shift from neutrally serious to formally polite. The idea of her laughing? Absolute anarchy.
“The only time I’ve seen her laugh is out of formality. ” Namaari sounded exasperated. “She doesn’t even laugh at her own jokes.”
“Sounds like I know what to do next time we have her over for dinner.” joked Raya. Namaari just shook her head, looking mockingly disappointed in her.
They sat in silence for a little while longer before Namaari spoke again.
“Sometimes, I think about how things would’ve been if he was…” She trailed off.
The unspoken tragedy in that sentence just hung in the silence that followed.
“Know how you feel.” Raya said in sympathy, breaking the silence. “I didn’t know my mother very well either.”
At this, her girlfriend perked up, suddenly looking very worried.
“Oh, she’s not dead! She and my Ba separated when I was little.” Raya quickly assured her with a shake of her hand. “She left the Heart tribe a long time ago, don’t know where she is now. I think she went to live somewhere in Talon or Tail, don’t remember. I could probably find her if I wanted to, but...” Raya shrugged.
It wasn’t a lie. Raya was curious, but it wasn’t really high up on the bucket list, so to speak.
Maybe someday though.
"...I'm sorry to hear that." Namaari murmured, still looking concerned.
"Don't worry about it, I’m not sad about it or anything. I’m happy with just my Ba and I ...But even I still wonder what it would’ve been like if she was still around.” She touched Namaari’s shoulder, offering her a gentle smile. “So, don’t think it’s weird that you come here. I think you just want to know your father a little better.”
Namaari’s gaze fell back on the grave, her eyes tracing the name engraved in stone and the offerings she left at the foot of it.
“Maybe I do.”
For the next few moments, they just sat quietly and peacefully, soaking in the atmosphere. Perhaps that was still some things they both wanted to say, but honestly, there was simply nothing else that needed to be said. Somehow, the silence just filled in the blanks.
It was a while before any of them moved or spoke. And when someone did, it was Namaari.
“Thanks for coming with me, Raya.” Namaari thanked, her words coated with emotions too complex to describe with just words.
“Thank you for sharing this with me.” Raya said back, giving Namaari a smile. “Even if he’s...not around anymore, I’m glad you took me to meet him.”
Her girlfriend returned the smile, gathering up her bag and standing up, Raya following suit and putting on her hat again. “We’ve spent enough time here. Let’s go back to the inn before it gets too dark.”
Namaari offered the grave one final nod before turning her back and heading towards the graveyard exit. Raya was going to follow, but after a few steps, her eyes were drawn back to the grave. Illuminated by the light of a lonely candle and accompanied by a single flower, Raya wondered if the man buried six feet under knew how much his daughter would’ve loved him.
“Raya?” Namaari called out.
A little emotional, Raya huffed a silent farewell to the man she never met and scuttled over to where Namaari was waiting in front of the entrance.
“I knew you would get sentimental over this.” Namaari smirked, crossing her arms as Raya came up to her.
“So what if I do?” countered Raya, rolling her eyes and walking past her. "I just care about my girlfriend."
“Didn’t say it was a bad thing." Namaari scoffed lightly, giving her a good natured pat on the shoulder. “It’s what I like about you.”
The two walked for a moment, before Raya turned to look at her girlfriend, her face somewhat serious.
“I know you don’t like staying in the palace,” started Raya. “But when we get back to Heart, do you wanna have dinner with my Ba and I? He likes you, y’know.”
Namaari pondered on Raya’s words for a moment, seeming deep in thought. But after a moment smiled. “That sounds good.”