“I-  I’m sorry, did you say Daikon?” Enoki blinked. “Like the plant?”

Daikon perked up at that. “You know of the legendary plant of the gods? It’s said some are grown in the farthest lands, closest to the gods. And it gives the gods their strength. That's why I was given that name.”

Enoki turned that over in hir mind. There must have been others from hir world for the same vegetable to be mentioned. Maybe another hapless foodie? If that was the case it was a bit surprising they chose another from earth. 

In this economy, maybe the gods took who they could get.

“I used to live in a place a long time ago where I could get it. I can’t now obviously. So, I was surprised. I’m Enoki.” Ze took his hand. “So, why were you stealing barrels?”

Small shrug as Daikon pulled the lantern closer. While he was not as tall as the elves, he still had a good two feet on Enoki.“Because I was paid to. I think there’s some treaty involved but it’s not really important to me. Now your friend, are they a member of the holy order?”

“Yeah, a Blaze and—”

He held up his hand. “Say no more. They will not kill her or lock her up. She’ll get free at some point. Did she say she’d meet up?”

“I um. I felt it.” Enoki put a hand over hir heart. “Here.”

Daikon nodded sagely. “Then it will be fine. You will meet again.” 

He looked like he was about to say something else and paused. His ears, which pointed straight up through his braids, twitched slightly. He blew out the lantern and whispered. “I cannot see in the dark, can you see at all?”

“A little.”

“Good.” He found Enoki’s hand and held onto it, not quite covering it completely. “Lead me out the back door. I hear the guards sneaking around.”

Ze stayed still, unsure if this was the best idea. “Do we need to worry? You said they won’t kill us.”

“They won’t kill your friend. We are non elves and criminals. We can be chopped into pieces if they like.”

Enoki suddenly tugged on his arm. “Then move it! And lead!” Ze hissed at him as they made their way back to the store room. Noodles seemed to already be grabbing things to hand over to hir. Just as ze grabbed the last thing, the guards burst through the door, swords out.

“Surrender!”

“Not with this hostage I won’t!” Daikon quickly threw Enoki over his shoulder. “So you all better back off.”

“That’s fine, ze is to die. Hand hir over and we’ll let you go.”

“ Well. That is certainly an infested crop. . .  isn’t it?” He looked to hir. “What did you do?”

“I just took holy honey and fruit they said I could have.” Ze looked to the guards. “Well, and knocked out their leader.”

He laughed again. “Gods, I like you. Well. Farewell guards. I’m choosing hir today.” He let out another echoing laugh as he threw a bolt of energy at the ground. It covered the area in a blood red light that seemed to crack reality for a single moment. As the light dimmed, Enoki saw about a dozen of Enokis, Daikons, and Noodles scattering out the various exits or even making their own. The guards split up, trying to guess the correct one. Even the sound of their footsteps were perfectly mimicked, causing every guard to lose track of the true criminals.

Without missing a beat, Daikon took off at full speed. Enoki bounced slightly as Noodles let out a squeak and followed. The guards were spread too thin to follow what must have looked like an obvious decoy down the side street away from the old burnt down shop and towards the city walls.. 

Enoki spoke with the small gasp of air ze could grab before being bounced again. “You saved me.”

“I’m tilling the field for my future harvest, my dear.” He paused as he made a sharp turn, seeming to know the area like the back of his hand. “Later you’ll need to tell me what to refer to you as. Since man and woman don’t seem to be options.”

Ze watched as the little burnt shop started to disappear in the distance behind them. Daikon was parkoring very quickly over boxes and walls, going to some unknown exit from the city. “For now? The reincarnated shapeshifter is an option I guess.”

“Very well Rs. Enoki.” He shifted hir weight on his shoulder before going through an old forgotten gap in the wall.

Enoki tried to wiggle down. “I can run myself, you know.”

“Well yes, but you are so grabbable. It was easier.” As they paused on the other side of the city wall, Noodles seemed to nod in agreement. 

“Traitor.” Ze mumbled as ze kicked hir legs. “But seriously, let me down. I can shift and follow.”

“I know you can. I noticed how you got onto my steed. It was terrifying yet beautiful. And would have used a large amount of magic I suspect, even for a shapeshifter.” As he spoke, Daikon continued walking towards the woods. “Which means you need food and rest. Not to mention time to plan.”

“I have to make wine in less than a year!”

“Perhaps. But you will make poor wine if you are tired.” He grinned. “But feel free to whine. It just tempts me to start a fight with you.”

Enoki opened and shut hir mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t just make him try to flirt more. In the end, ze let out a small huff and went limp. “Fine. Try not to be too bumpy I guess.”

“I will. Until the hole.”

“Wait, what hole?” Enoki lifted hir head up in time to see a pit. “We’re jumping over that right?”

“Ehhh.”

“Right?!”

A short but loud laugh shattered any hopes for hir. “You should grab your pet, my feisty friend.” 

Even in the light of the four not yet half full moons, Enoki could see his beaming his grin. Ze quickly reached out to Noodles who happily took it as a sign it was snuggles time. Just as Noodles grabbed hold of Enoki and Daikon, Daikon took a flying leap into the pit and fell straight down.

“Why do I spend so much time falling!?” ze yelled, as if expecting a sensible answer.

“Because you refuse to fall in love!” Still laughing, Daikon let go of Enoki and laid himself backwards as they fell. “But it’s a soft landing at least!”

Noodles clung to Enoki, squeaking and snapping as they fell. They landed in a large pile of hay. Where ze had hoped for something dry and fluffy, maybe that would playfully get stuck in everyones hair or fur. Instead they landed with a soggy splat in freshly rained on hay. There was a musty smell of mud, some mold, and general decay. Ze laid in the soaked dead grass, almost wishing ze was still with the elves. Ze got a really nice bath there. Sure, they probably would be trying to drown hir right now. But it was really nice soap they had.

Ze looked over to see Daikon laughing again and shaking his head, getting some wet straw out of his braids. “That never gets old.”

“You  are punishment for all the nonsense I pulled in my life.” Enoki slowly sat up and looked at Noodles, who was shuffling around in the wet hay. “Should I be discouraging that?”

“It’s fine. I’m the only one that takes the hole on purpose. Most take the entrance. The worst a Fairnot will do is eat all the decaying stalks from the grains we harvested.” He grinned and patted the long rump of the already dear pet. “Isn’t that right you decayer and scavenger?”

“Ok then.” Enoki slowly got up and set to work on coaxing Noodles out of the hay. Carefully walking backwards making soft kissing sounds to it. “Can I at least get cleaned up?”

“If the elf on my team has some spare magic for the day, we can see about it.” He helped hir the rest of the way up before walking down a tunnel. “For now, I need to convince those left that you are fine.”

Enoki paused the coaxing as Daikon went to light a torch.

Right.

His team. 

The bandits ze caused to get arrested.

“Have you considered it won’t be that easy?”

“Well. Saving the world is a bit more important than getting the weak arrested.” He stooped down, the tunnel just a bit too small for the seven and a half foot tall orc. “Honestly, several of them I was hoping to get rid of anyway. Not my sort really. They liked to be cruel for no reason. We’re all trying to get paid here. We don’t get extra for being cruel.”

Enoki hesitated. Growing up, several of hir friends fell into hard times and their families did a lot of questionable things to make money. Stealing. Scams. Some even drugs. When times got hard, ze knew that the temptation could get bad. When ze wanted the beta blockers and thought it was just a money issue? Ze almost did some of those things hirself. It wasn’t hir place to ask, but the curiosity was there. 

As if he could feel the question, Daikon quietly spoke up. “I appreciate you not asking right away why I want the money. I’d rather not lie to you.”

“Do the others know at least? Share the burden?” Ze hesitantly started to reach out to the Orc, almost wanting to comfort him.

“They know one of a dozen lies. My choice to do what my people don’t do is my own. The rest doesn’t matter.” He grinned. “But don’t feel guilty for costing us the job. After all, now Chaos Reflections has shown me you. I dare say no mirror could show your full form.”

“For shit’s sake Skull Drinker!” A shrill and tinnish voice spoke up. “Who are you trying to bed now?!”