“Tell me what? To sit still and let your world fall into the hands of people who’d love to see you and the rest of your people’s heads roll?” I spat. 

“Little brother, calm down-” 

“No!” Ryzel roared, his breath heaving as he shot his head to look at his sister. The tips of his horns slowly but surely began to glow. 

“Ne dicas ego Ortilla leniret, cum mihi se mate te quæret interficere!” Ryzel screamed. 

Slowly but surely, Ortilla’s eyes began to glow as well, her eyes narrowing as she slowly shook her head. 

I didn’t want them to fight, all I wanted was to be allowed to go to this war, I could’ve easily run away in the middle of the night without saying anything but I knew that it would hurt the man’s heart. The second I try to be bold and say what I wish? This is how he acts? I’ve been a war before...the least he could’ve done was try to support me! 

I knew what I was doing! 

“Ryzel, ut sint vobis in primis Chieftess sororem tuam a me. Ita loqui ad me adhuc, et non habent exitus frequenter puniens.” Ortilla spat, Ryzel’s chest still heaving up and down before Ortilla turned her head towards me. 

“Lady Eos...re-think your decision, the Beast War is not something to be trifled with, especially as a mortal-” 

“I’ve fought with them once and there was no issue, I can do it again!” I huffed.

“I’m done re-thinking, the more re-thinking I do? The more of your people continue to get slaughtered out there! I helped the Beasts secure a victory in the Desert, I'm confident I can do it again!” 

“And what will happen when you secure them this win? Let’s say you help them win this war like they’ve been trying to do for fifty years at this point. What do you expect them to do? Hang a statue in your honor?” Ortilla asked, her once calm blue eyes glowing even more brilliantly than Ryzel before she came around the table to place a hand on my shoulder. 

Like Ryzel, she held the same worry for me as he did but with some openness to understand my side of view. That’s all I wished for...to have someone listen and understand what I was saying, not just to tell me it was dangerous and try to scare me into changing my decision! I knew it was dangerous, this entire world was dangerous for crying out loud but I still willingly chose to get up and face it! Facing an entire race of Beasts?

 I’ve done it before, with both normal and husks...this world didn’t reward those who stood and looked on from the sidelines.

If it didn’t do it in my old world then I knew that it sure as hell wouldn’t fly here. I shrugged Ortilla’s hand off with a grumble. 

“I don’t want a statue, not money nor even for the Beasts to give me special treatment,” I said. 

“All I want to do is to help...it’s what I’ve been doing since I was a teenager,” I said with exhaustion. 

“And you’d do best leaving your ways as a teenager behind,” Ryzel commented, his words having a bite to them that only made tears resurface as well as make the fire in my soul burn even brighter.

I was going to earn permission to fight in this war, if it wasn’t from him then it would sure as hell be from someone else. Heck, at this point? I wasn’t even looking for the encouragement! Much less a fucking thanks from anyone! All I wanted was to simply help, to help Ryzel’s people end a war that’s been plaguing this world for fifty years, long before I even arrived, and have them see a day of peace! 

A day where they’d no longer live in the shadows in fear or have to hide what they were just to be accepted. It wasn’t a life to live, it was exhausting...constantly exchanging your own self for someone you weren’t just for a sliver of brownie points from the people who least deserved it.

I dared to look back at him, the sight of his body flinching a little making me scoff as I quickly wiped away a stray tear. 

“And you’d do best telling me to stop trying to help people who need it. If I hadn’t helped your tribe, you and I would’ve never-” 

“Enough!” Ortilla shouted, silencing us both and the room around us as she pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Mates are supposed to protect one another, support them in endeavors big and small...right now? You two aren’t doing either of that.” Ortilla said before she went back to sit in her chair, gesturing to the seats in front of her. 

Once more, we sat down, causing me to cross my arms in order to refrain from touching the Incubus. I could barely stand to even look at him. 

“Who wants to speak first-” 

“Me,” Ryzel said, his voice sounding like a snarl before I heard the harsh sound of a sharp nail scratching against wood. 

The Chieftess let out a tired hum. “Speak then, why don’t you want your mate to go out and fight in this war? You realize that the Beasts need all the help they can get do you? If they didn’t lay a claw on her in the Desert then what’s so different this time?”

“You’ve heard the rumors, anyone who is a Daemonium has heard the rumors...” Ryzel grumbled. 

“The final battle is to be executed in the Under-Realm. Our homeland. Do you really think our cousins would let a mortal go down there to fight with them? Mortals being in the Under-Realm is what started the war in the first place, they aren’t going to accept her without her performing some huge task that may kill her!” Ryzel shouted. 

“Our people- no, even some Incubi and Succubi tribes hate mortals, humans more.” Ryzel continued as he slowly shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“Humans were responsible for atrocities against our kind...creating husk Beasts? Using our people as live breeding livestock to make half-breeds in order to sell them or use them for ‘medicinal’ purposes? Humans are the lowest form of scum to our race...my mate? I’ll be damned to never see The One’s light before I let her willingly walk into a den that would have no issue devouring her alive.” The Incubus continued, causing Ortilla to take his hands into her own. 

“The Queen is fond of mortals...I’d understand your side more if the leader of our species wasn’t fond of mortals but she is baby brother, you know this.” She sighed.

“Indeed I do, I've seen it with my own two eyes. She has a little Guardian following behind her.” He said with a nod of his head.

“That doesn't mean I fully trust her. Foxes are deceiving, one moment they’ll smile in your face as they allow you to do their bidding for them. Whether it's stealing them a pile of gold or murdering someone, constantly promising you they’ll give you something worth your time but...the next moment after? They’ll reap the rewards while you’re left for dead in the middle of nowhere.” He continued, running a hand over his face while I couldn’t help but shake my head. 

That was with other Foxes! I spoke to the Queen privately myself and she was nice! Sure, she had the air and high expectations that I assumed was common for royalty but...she saw me for what I was and accepted it, mortal or not, I did her bidding and she made sure I was safe whilst doing it. 

She was as trustworthy as anyone else! 

“And what’s say you Eos?” The Succubus said, snapping me out of my thoughts before I looked at her. 

“Why do you feel such an intense need to fight? Your mate is worried sick over you and yet you still persist, I hope you realize the Beasts can fight on their own.” 

“If they were capable of fighting on their own then this war wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did,” I grumbled. 

“It’s lasting this long because Paladins have Beast Daemoniums on their side as well, whether willingly or forcefully is anyone’s guess.” 

“Which makes it more obvious that they need help! And let’s not forget the fact that Paladins steal Beast weapons off their corpses when they die!” I huffed.

“I don’t doubt Beast Daemoniums can fight on their own but...it’s different now. They don’t have as many numbers as they may have had in the past, some are in hiding, some are being forced into a life of slavery or are being killed right as we speak. The world isn’t the same for them as it used to be.” I continued.

 “Obviously...” I heard Ryzel grumble underneath his breath. Ortilla merely shot him a sharp glare. 

“Still doesn’t explain why you want to fight for our people. This isn’t your fight, you are a mortal who has lain with a Daemonium, should this war be lost? Should you be found hiding my tribe? Everyone will fall, it is better to stay hidden.” Ortilla hummed as she crossed her arms, causing me to slowly shake my head. 

“...Hiding, that act is old now,” I said. 

“Hiding and running from the truth won’t make it less real, it won’t solve anything or suddenly bring an end to the chaos, in fact? It will only make things worst!” I huffed. 

“I know that things are different now, hell, don’t you think I’m ready to take a fucking break?!” I suddenly exclaimed, my chest beginning to heave up and down. 

“I want to take a break from adventuring, to do more mundane tasks such as simply being in the midst of my village and having more simpler thoughts such as whether or not two or one kid is better! But...I can’t.” 

I heard a small gasp from beside me, the sound nearly making me scoff in belief.

Having kids during a war? 

Yeah, no thanks.