As soon as she got outside, Rolf began calling Yam’s name and spinning around in circles, trying to find the Tabaxi. She started running in one direction only to turn back and go the opposite way. Still, there was no sight of Yam.

“Yam! YAM? WHERE ARE YOU????? C’MERE!!”

Suddenly, Rolf got an idea. Yam would definitely come if she called her like a cat… right? It was either the Tabaxi would come and slash her face or completely ignore her and storm off somewhere else. But it was worth a shot.

“YAM!!! PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP,” she yelled at the top of her voice, snapping her fingers as loudly as she could. Surely Yam couldn’t’ve gone far. Rolf stared around desperately, searching for the Bard, and a few long moments later, there she was.

Yam pricked her ears as she heard the all-too-familiar and all-too-annoying “pspspspspsp” being yelled from the direction of the tavern. She sighed and, groaning, turned on the spot. It was probably Rolf, needing something again. Whatever. She’d go see what was up and then give the Gnome a good old punch in the face, claws included. Then she could go back to her solitary little shack and sleep.

She pulled Bread out of her pocket and set him down next to her. The fox-crow chimaera chittered and blinked up at her through shiny purple eyes.

“Yeah, I know it’s Rolf,” Yam sighed. Bread chittered again and she nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, we’re going to go see what she wants.” She quickly checked the buckle on her waist-bag, tied the bow on her shirt a little more securely and began to run back towards the tavern.

It took less than a minute for the wooden building to come into sight, and Yam muttered under her breath as she saw Rolf pacing around just outside the door. The Gnome looked up as she approached and her entire face lit up, eyes sparkling excitedly.

“Yam!! You’re back!!”

“Yeah, yeah, what is it now?” Yam groaned, rolling her eyes, not really meaning to help the Gnome once she told her what was going on.

“About earlier… I’m sorry for making you unhappy…” Rolf’s shoulders slumped and she muttered a quiet apology, all while staring at her feet. Compared to just a moment before, when an energetic and over-the-top Rolf was present, the sight right now was quite a contrasting one. 

Rolf looked genuinely guilty, though her questioning eyes gave insight into her confusion about Yam’s mood. For some strange reason, Rolf’s dark blue hair with neon orange stripes seemed… extra droopy, almost as if they are alive and responding to Rolf’s emotions. Her hanging monocles sit crookedly on her hair, in different positions from the running and screaming Rolf has done prior to the conversation.

Yam scanned Rolf’s folded postures, with scepticism and puzzlement. This was one of the most confusing days she’d been exposed to so far. Yam continued drilling holes through Rolf with her questioning gaze. Finally, with hesitation in her tone, Yam spoke:

“What…?”

“Huh? Does that mean you forgive me???!” Rolf’s head shot up, eyes gleaming with hope and happiness.

The expectations and delight in her eyes made whoever looking at her more willing to agree to her statements. However, Yam was unfazed.

“For?” Yam asked while jumping backwards, increasing the distance between the two.

“For making you upset????? To be honest… I didn’t really understand why you were upset but I’m sorry…” 

Yam stared at the Gnome, still confused and more than a little wary. After a moment’s pause, she took a breath and closed her eyes, before opening them again a second later. “Look.” She put her paws together in front of her muzzle, staring Rolf dead in the eye. “It takes a hell of a lot to upset me. You… haven’t done anything close to that. Yet,” she added, still looking rather suspicious of Rolf.

“So… I’m forgiven…? YAYYY-”

Bread chirped happily and fell down from where he had been lying, curled around Yam’s shoulders. He hopped over to Rolf, crossing the distance between the two with a short jump, and began to weave around her legs, making weird, cat-like purring noises as he did so. Rolf bent down and gave the fox-crow chimaera head pats.

“Hey. Quit patting him like that,” Yam snapped, whistling a small tune that sounded not unlike Bread’s chirps and coos. The fox-crow chimaera immediately froze, turning his head in her direction, eyes wide and ears flicked upwards. After a moment’s hesitation, he bounded back over to Yam and rolled over at her paws, lying on his back and exposing his soft belly. Yam crouched down beside her pet and ran a paw down his side. “Yeah, this is better, isn’t it?” She gave Bread a quick scratch between the ears and he sat up, fluffy orange tail curled around his paws.

“Hey there loves, having a conversation without me?”

Rolf and Yam simultaneously turned their heads to the tavern door, where Aey stood, leaning against the gate and picking at her fingernails.

“Oh, not you again.” Yam got to her feet, rolling her eyes. “Look, I’m going. See ya.” She snapped her fingers and Bread hopped up onto her shoulder, perching there like a parrot as Yam raced off over the hill again, vanishing from sight in seconds.

“WAIT YAMMM- YAMMMMMMM— PSPSPSPSPSPSPS YAMMMMMM—”

Yam poofed into existence for the third time, before letting out an inhumane screech, looking annoyed and on the verge of punching Rolf. “For. The. Last. Time. WHAT IS IT?” 

Rolf flinched but stabilised herself. Rolf sucked in a breath.

“This might sound weird but…. I FORGOT WHERE MY HOUSE IS- Can I stay at your house for the night? Pleaseeeeeeee???”

“How the hell do you- no! No you may not!” Yam hissed, claws sliding out in her anger. She lashed her tail, eyes narrowed and ears flattened, before turning on her heel.

“PLEASEEEEEEEE????” Rolf pleaded, looking downcast. Before Yam could respond, Bread slipped down from her shoulders and made a beeline straight for Rolf, letting out a series of chirps and squeaks as he ran. Rolf flinched, instinctively taking a step back, but Bread somehow managed to stop himself right before he crashed into her, not even skidding as he halted.

“What is it, Bread?” Yam asked, eyeing Rolf warily as she bent down to pat the fox-crow chimaera. “Don’t touch him.” Rolf backed away, still staring at Bread, who had sat down at her feet. “Yeah? What is it? What? No, she’s not coming home with us. No, stop it. She’s not coming. Let’s go.” She snapped her fingers again, but this time, Bread stayed where he was, fluffy orange tail curled neatly around his paws. “What? No. We have to go, it’s getting late. No, she’s not.”

“Yammmmmmmm 🥺🥺🥺” Rolf squeaked, deliberately lengthening Yam’s name. Yam glared at her, flexing her claws aggressively. “Yammmmmmmm, even Bread wants it. Just… One night? Pretty pleaseeeeeee?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, no! This is the last time I’m going to tell you, Rolf. You’re not coming home with me. You can go find your own house.” Yam turned away again, and Bread got to his paws, turning his head as he blinked at her and Rolf in turn, hesitating. “Bread!” When the fox-crow chimaera still didn’t move, she turned around and glared at Rolf, staring her straight in the eyes. “This is just for Bread. One night. That’s it. You’re out when dawn comes. And you can’t touch anything. At all. Got it?”

“Now wait a minute, lovelies. Don’t forget about me~” 

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten where you live, too,” Yam growled. “No, I’m not taking you home. I’m only bringing Rolf over because Bread likes her.”

“Think of this as… repaying those glasses I’ve bought for you earlier. Fair? Don’t turn me down now, love.” As Aey spoke, both Rolf and Yam could feel something sinister brewing in the smile that Aey wears. The way that Aey spat out the word ‘love’ was quite a scene to behold.

“Well, you can either sleep in the river, or you can sleep in the field,” Yam replied slowly, feigning thinking heavily. “Both of which I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t need you polluting my drinking water, or killing all my crops.”

“But Yammmmm … Wouldn’t bread be really happy if he get two playmates? Bread seems to really like us!” 

Aey shrugged at Rolf’s statement, her smile widened . “That just proves my point. More reason for you to take me home, Yam.”

“Bread likes you.” Yam rolled her eyes at Rolf before turning to face Aey. “Why do you even want to come? I’m sure you remember where you live, do you not?”

Aey shrugged once more. “Surely you wouldn’t leave a frail and weak woman like me alone in a pub full of scary men? Besides, I’m quite drunk already, how could I possibly remember my house?”

“Well, love,” Yam hissed, “I reckon you might be able to get someone else to bring you home.” She made to turn away again, but Bread poked her leg with his nose and she stopped, looking down at the fox-crow chimaera. “What? Oh for- FINE. Bread, you bring Aey home. I’ll take Rolf back to our place, and then you come back, okay? Yeah? Alright. You run along now.” She looked up at Aey, nothing but pure hatred in her gaze, and spat, “Bread’ll take you home. Tell him where you live. He’ll get you there.”

Aey smiled with satisfaction and glanced at Bread, who, somewhat warily, trotted over to her and stared, blinking, up at her. She crouched down and stroked the fox-crow between the ears; he purred quietly, tail tip flicking, until Aey straightened up again. For a brief second, Aey’s face contorted into that of an evil villain who just had the perfect idea on how to create chaos.(evil villain???? I leave for a week and you make my poor goofy child an evil villain???)

“Oh. No~! Looks like I forgot my house address~! I guess there’s no choice for me but to follow Yam back home!”

Bread faltered, ears flat against his head. (oh no scared bread bby) Yam raced over to him and knelt beside him, pulling the fox-crow into a hug. “No, don’t be scared, Bread, it’s okay. Aey,” she snapped, glaring up at the Tiefling, “don’t you dare try and scare him. He might seem fluffy and friendly right now, but if you hurt him or me, you’re going to see first-hand just how sharp those claws are.”

“Oh no~! I am so sorry. I understand that people hate me because I am a Tiefling. But deep inside, I’m just a poor person who forgot their house!”

“Oh hell no, I don’t hate you because you’re a Tiefling, I hate you because you’re intentionally hurting Bread,” Yam snarled. She pushed herself to her feet, still hugging Bread, and began to walk away. A few steps later, however, she turned her head back around and snapped, “Rolf, hurry up. I don’t want to wait around here any longer. If you’re coming, you’d better get a move on.” She flashed a glare at Aey, who was watching the scene with mild amusement. “Anyone who hurts Bread will answer to me.” With that, she turned back around and vanished over the rise, Bread’s fluffy orange tail streaming out behind her.